Chapter 41: Spiritual Liquid Effect, Land-Traveling Ancient Whale

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Spiritual Liquid Effect, Land-Traveling Ancient Whale

"Is this... Earth Spirit Liquid?"

Ji Zhixing looked at the milky-white liquid in his hand, his expression shifting rapidly.

"Earth Spirit Liquid? It’s actually Earth Spirit Liquid?" He had seen pictures of this Spiritual Liquid in textbooks, and it looked exactly like the one in the jade bottle before him. "How did Liu Qing have such a treasure on him?"

With a mere thought, he gently removed the stopper from the jade bottle. An indescribable fragrance wafted out, entirely refreshing his mind. Just one whiff made him feel reinvigorated.

"There’s no mistake. This is Earth Spirit Liquid!" Ji Zhixing took a deep breath, trying his best to calm himself down. "To think killing Liu Qing would yield such a harvest.

"A bottle of Earth Spirit Liquid like this is no less valuable than the Red Iron Ore I obtained. This trip was worth it!"

Excitement surged in his heart.

Earth Spirit Liquid could assist Genetic Cultivators in their training, accelerating the condensation of Source Power. It had miraculous effects on Tier One and Tier Two Cultivators, and even held some utility for Tier Three Cultivators.

"The books say Earth Spirit Liquid tastes great, but this dropped from Liu Qing. I can’t be entirely sure about it, so I’d better not take it orally for the first time."

With a thought, he stored the entire bottle of Earth Spirit Liquid into his Genetic Furnace, then separated a single drop to begin refining it.

Whether it was Earth Spirit Liquid or a Source Power Genetic Potion, both could be consumed orally or directly refined using the Genetic Furnace. There wasn’t much difference between the two methods.

Inside the Genetic Furnace, the Eight Trigrams Map slowly rotated, gradually absorbing and refining the isolated drop of Earth Spirit Liquid. He could clearly feel the mist-like genetic Source Power inside the furnace undergoing subtle changes. Under the effects of the Spiritual Liquid, its originally loose structure was steadily solidifying.

Half an hour later, Ji Zhixing opened his eyes, which were now brimming with vigor.

"It truly lives up to the name of Earth Spirit Liquid," he marveled internally. "With just one drop, the genetic Source Power in my body has solidified significantly.

"At this rate, the amount of Earth Spirit Liquid I have might not be enough to advance me to Tier Two, but it won’t be far off.

"However, if I want to advance, I must first upgrade the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene. Unless it evolves into the Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene, no matter how solid my Source Power becomes, I won’t be able to break through."

Ji Zhixing’s eyes flickered.

Previously, it had been incredibly difficult for him to evolve the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene. But this time, his harvest was immense. Once he returned to Yu City Base City and sold the Red Iron Ore on hand, he would be able to buy over a dozen bottles of Gigantification Genetic Potion. If his luck held up, it wouldn’t be long before he could evolve the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene.

"I shouldn’t dwell on this now. I need to eat something and appease my stomach first. No matter how grand my plans are, it’s all useless if I starve to death."

Glancing at the darkening sky, he willed his backpack out of the Genetic Furnace. For Genetic Cultivators, as long as there was space in the Genetic Furnace, they could store whatever they pleased.

He took out some biscuits and water from the backpack and scarfed them down.

"I wonder how Teacher He and the others are doing," Ji Zhixing thought as he ate. "And Liu Qifan, Zhang Haoceng... they should all be safe, right?"

He thought of Zhao Gang again.

"Zhao Gang ran into the woods. I wonder if he managed to escape."

He sighed. Zhao Gang still had a chance at survival, but Li Qiang was definitely gone. He wasn’t close to those two; prior to this, they hadn’t even exchanged a word. But no matter what, they were still his classmates.

"Gu Zheng!" A cold light flashed in Ji Zhixing’s eyes as he thought of Gu Zheng and his group. "This isn’t over. Once I have enough strength, we’ll settle the score."

After he finished eating, the sky had turned completely dark.

Lake Heart Island was incredibly quiet. There was only the sound of the wind and the water. Occasionally, a few beast roars would echo from afar, only to be quickly scattered by the night breeze.

"I’ll continue cultivating. Every bit of improvement helps."

Ji Zhixing extracted another drop of Earth Spirit Liquid and resumed refining it. While he couldn’t break through to Tier Two just yet, elevating his cultivation to Tier One Peak was definitely feasible.

He refined the Earth Spirit Liquid drop by drop. He didn’t stop until his mind grew exhausted and driving the Genetic Furnace became difficult. Leaning against a rock, he slowly fell asleep.

The night passed without incident.

He slept straight through until dawn broke the next day. Sunlight spilled through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows on the water’s surface. In the distance, the crisp, melodious chirping of birds could be heard.

Ji Zhixing stood up and stretched his stiff body. Due to the unusual environment, he made a rare exception and skipped practicing his staff techniques, settling for some simple stretches instead.

"Gu Zheng and the others wouldn’t stubbornly wait until now, right? After a whole night, any normal person would assume I’ve already fled," he pondered.

"No, I still need to play it safe. If Gu Zheng’s group hasn’t given up and is still guarding the perimeter of Shi Lake, going out now would be walking right into a trap.

"I’ll wait one more day. I’ll leave tomorrow. Better safe than sorry."

He walked to the edge of the lake, squatted down, and cupped some water to wash his face. The water was icy cold, jolting him awake as it splashed against his skin. Just as he cupped a second handful of water, he suddenly noticed the light in front of him dimming.

A massive shadow was slowly rising from beneath the lake’s surface. The shadow grew larger and closer, churning the water and emitting a loud SPLASH. Ji Zhixing snapped his head up, his pupils shrinking drastically.

A behemoth breached the surface. The creature was astonishingly huge, stretching over a dozen meters long. It was entirely grayish-white, its skin as coarse as sandpaper. Its body was streamlined like a giant fish, yet it possessed thick, sturdy flippers, making it appear capable of both swimming in water and crawling on land.

"Land-Traveling Ancient Whale!"

Ji Zhixing recognized the creature instantly. His heart pounded wildly, his mind going completely blank.

The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale was a Tier Three Genetic Beast. Adults reached over a dozen meters in length and weighed more than ten tons, possessing boundless strength and incredibly thick hides. They usually lived in deep waters, only occasionally coming ashore to forage.

"How could there be this kind of genetic beast in Shi Lake? Did it cross over from an Otherworldly Secret Realm, or is it native?"

Ji Zhixing’s palms were drenched in sweat. He didn’t dare move a muscle. Judging by its size, this Land-Traveling Ancient Whale was at least a dozen meters long—an absolute Tier Three Genetic Beast. It was completely beyond his ability to handle.

"Run? I can’t outrun it. It’s in the water; jumping into the lake would be suicide. Run further inland? Its speed on land is faster than mine."

A chilling dread washed over Ji Zhixing.

Right at that moment, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale fully crawled ashore. Its massive, dozen-meter-long body rested on the gravel beach, its grayish-white skin gleaming with a cold luster beneath the sun.

Its small eyes swept over Ji Zhixing. Then, it rolled onto its side and spread out one of its flippers.

Ji Zhixing froze in stunned silence.

Beneath the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale’s flipper, countless water lice were densely latched onto its flesh. The largest of these water lice were the size of a fist, while the smaller ones were roughly the size of an egg. Their grayish-brown carapaces were tightly embedded in the whale’s skin. In some areas, the flesh had already become red, inflamed, and even festered with pus.

The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale lay on its side, exposing the area infested with water lice directly toward Ji Zhixing. It remained perfectly still, save for its eyes, which were fixed intently upon him.

Ji Zhixing looked at the dense swarm of water lice, then back at the ancient whale’s small eyes. A completely absurd thought suddenly welled up in his mind.

"Could it... could it be wanting me to help pick off these water lice?"