Chapter 44: Sunbathing

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Sunbathing

Ji Zhixing followed the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale, continuously swimming through the lake as his eyes searched everywhere for traces of petrified crabs.

The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale swam leisurely in front, occasionally opening its massive mouth to suck in a mouthful of fish and shrimp. Following behind, Ji Zhixing would rush forward and smash down with his rod every time he spotted a petrified crab.

The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale seemed to enjoy this game. It cooperated every time, spitting out a stone ball that flew over and smashed the petrified crab to pieces.

Ji Zhixing refined over a dozen petrified crabs in a row. Unfortunately, apart from the initial bottle of Stone Skin Genetic Potion, the rest yielded only Genetic Source Stones.

"This drop rate really depends on luck," Ji Zhixing sighed, storing another crab corpse into his Genetic Furnace.

After refining it, however, it still only produced two Genetic Source Stones.

At this moment, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale seemed to have eaten its fill. With a flick of its tail, it slowly turned around and swam back the way it came.

"Are we going back?" Ji Zhixing wondered. Although he wanted to hunt a few more, he had no choice but to follow. His current status was no different from a servant, and a servant had no right to say no.

Picking up his pace, he caught up with the giant beast.

Upon returning to the underground water cave, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale swam into the depths. Its massive body sank into the water, leaving only half of its back exposed, and soon it closed its eyes once again.

Ji Zhixing climbed onto the rocky shore, shook off the water, and walked over to sit beside the Giant Footed Frogs. The creatures had grown accustomed to his presence. They no longer shrank into frightened little balls like before; instead, they simply shuffled aside to make some room for him.

"I wonder how much time has passed on the outside," Ji Zhixing thought silently, leaning against a rock and staring at the glowing stones on the cave ceiling. "Mom, Dad, and my sister are probably worried sick knowing I’m missing."

But in his current situation, he had absolutely no options. Escape? The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale gave him no opportunity to do so whatsoever.

Meanwhile, back at Yu City Third Middle School in Yu City Base City.

A military vehicle parked at the school gates. The door opened, and a soldier helped a heavily injured teenage boy step out of the car.

"Zhao Gang!" The school administrators and teachers waiting at the gate immediately rushed forward, asking with deep concern, "How are you? Are you alright?"

Zhao Gang shook his head. His face was deathly pale, his clothes were torn in several places, and some spots were still stained with blood. After fleeing the Otherworldly Secret Realm that day, he hadn’t been able to find the exit passage. It wasn’t until today that military personnel had found him and brought him out.

"Let’s get you back to rest first," an administrator said, supporting him as they walked into the school. "Everything else can wait until you’ve recovered."

"Teacher He." Zhao Gang didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he stopped in his tracks, looking at He Yanbing with a hoarse voice. "Did Ji Zhixing make it back?"

"Ji Zhixing?" He Yanbing’s heart skipped a beat as she quickly asked, "You saw him in the Otherworldly Secret Realm?"

"Not just Ji Zhixing, but also Li Qiang from our class!" Zhao Gang gritted his teeth and publicly recounted how they had run into Gu Zheng and his group, and how they were forced to lure the Two-Winged Thousand Steel Python.

"Li Qiang is dead. I saw him get swallowed alive by the Two-Winged Thousand Steel Python with my own eyes.

"As for Ji Zhixing, I’m not entirely sure. At the time, I only saw him jump into the water. As for what happened after that, I don’t know."

"Is everything you’re saying true?" He Yanbing’s face turned ashen.

"Zhao Gang," Principal Zhou Chenghong interjected. "Do you have any evidence for these claims?"

Zhao Gang shook his head. He had been too focused on running for his life; how could he have possibly gathered evidence?

Zhou Chenghong said in a low, solemn voice, "Since you have no evidence, do not spout nonsense. This is for your own good. The Gu Zheng you mentioned has integrated the Tier Four Sword Feather Peacock gene. He is destined to enter Yu City University.

"Without evidence, you are just talking rubbish. And talking rubbish will only bring trouble upon yourself."

Zhao Gang froze. His fists were tightly clenched, and he couldn’t speak for a long time.

"Alright, you’re exhausted. Go back and get some proper rest." An administrator patted him on the shoulder.

"Ji Zhixing..." After the crowd dispersed, He Yanbing felt a surge of fury as she thought about Zhao Gang’s words. But she was just an ordinary teacher; there was nothing she could do either.

Back in the underground water cave.

Ji Zhixing could no longer remember how many days he had spent here. His daily life was incredibly simple. He would wake up, refine the Earth Spirit Liquid, practice the Boulder Staff Technique, and rest when he grew tired. Every so often, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale would go out to forage, and he would follow along, hunting petrified crabs in passing. Upon returning, he would resume his training and continue refining the Spiritual Liquid.

His Boulder Staff Technique improved day by day.

From initially relying entirely on the guidance of the Yellow Stone Rod, he had subtly and unconsciously come to grasp the Boulder Will. There were no hurdles or bottlenecks. He had simply comprehended it naturally. Now, he could imbue every strike with a Boulder Will as immovable as a mountain.

"Army Breaker is for offense, and Boulder is for defense. I now have both an offensive and a defensive stance."

Ji Zhixing put away his rod and wiped the sweat from his brow, thinking, "Army Breaker and Boulder are two completely different wills. Being able to grasp the basics in such a short amount of time is largely thanks to my Innate Staff Heart talent, aside from the Yellow Stone Rod itself."

SPLASH!

Suddenly, the sound of water echoed through the cave. Ji Zhixing looked up to see the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale waking from its slumber. Its enormous body rolled over in the water, stirring up a murky cloud of silt and sand.

"Time to head out," Ji Zhixing thought with a surge of delight. He immediately stood up, ready to follow.

Over the past several days, he had completely figured out the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale’s routine. It would wake up, go out to forage, and then come back to sleep once it was full. And when it was foraging, it was his time to hunt the petrified crabs. This was the moment he looked forward to the most every day.

Today, however, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale didn’t swim directly toward the cave entrance.

It slowly crawled ashore. Its dozen-meter-long body came to rest on the rocky beach, causing the ground itself to tremble.

Ji Zhixing froze, unsure of what it was trying to do.

Then, he watched as the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale opened its mouth and swallowed one of the nearby Giant Footed Frogs in a single gulp. The frog vanished into its maw before it could even let out a croak.

The giant whale smacked its lips, its throat undulating a few times as if savoring the taste.

A chill ran down Ji Zhixing’s spine.

Over these past days, he had grown accustomed to the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale’s presence. The creature took him out to forage every day, helped him smash petrified crabs, and never interfered with his training. He had even started to feel that the big guy wasn’t all that terrifying.

But now, staring at the spot where the Giant Footed Frog had just been swallowed, reality suddenly came crashing back to him.

"This thing is the overlord of Shi Lake. It’s a Tier Three Genetic Beast," Ji Zhixing thought, cold sweat seeping from his palms. "It’s no gentle giant. It’s only treating me well because I’m still useful. The day it gets annoyed, I won’t even be worth as much as that Giant Footed Frog."

He took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the fear bubbling in his chest.

After swallowing the Giant Footed Frog, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale threw him a glance before slowly sliding back into the water and swimming toward the cave entrance. Its gaze was flat and indifferent, exactly the same as always.

Ji Zhixing took another deep breath, leaped into the water, and immediately followed.

Days passed one after another. Without a sun to rise or a moon to set, and with no alternation between day and night, only the glowing stones on the cave ceiling remained forever illuminated.

Ji Zhixing’s daily routine was monotonous. He practiced his staff techniques, refined the Earth Spirit Liquid, followed the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale out to forage, and hunted petrified crabs. He had perfected both of his staff techniques, effortlessly switching between the Army Breaker and Boulder wills. The offensive and defensive stances complemented each other flawlessly.

"Huh?"

One day, after following the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale out into Shi Lake, Ji Zhixing had barely hunted a few petrified crabs when he noticed the giant beast swimming to the edge. It crawled onto the shore, rolled over, and began sunbathing.

"This thing sunbathes too?" Ji Zhixing thought in astonishment.

But an instant later, his heart skipped a beat. Struck by a sudden realization, he hurriedly rushed ashore.

Once on land, he scanned his surroundings before taking out the Yellow Stone Rod. Using it, he etched a message into the sandy beach, describing his current predicament.

He wasn’t sure if anyone would see it, much less if anyone would actually come to save him. But it was a chance nonetheless.

SPLASH!

After basking in the sun for a dozen minutes, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale rolled back into Shi Lake.

Seeing this, Ji Zhixing immediately followed suit.

"Found one!" he thought. Trailing behind the whale, his eyes continuously swept their surroundings until they suddenly locked onto a petrified crab resting on the lakebed.

BAM!

However, before he could make a move, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale up ahead opened its mouth and spat out a stone ball, striking the petrified crab first and smashing it to pieces.

Ji Zhixing froze for a second before quickly swimming forward. He gathered the remains of the petrified crab and began the refining process.

"A drop!" A few minutes later, a surge of joy rushed through Ji Zhixing’s heart.

Over the past several days, he had steadily consumed twelve bottles of the Stone Skin Genetic Potion. He was confident that, as long as nothing went wrong, refining this final bottle would allow him to fully unlock the Stone Skin genetic ability.