Chapter 104: Departure

Given the massive size of that giant snake and the power of the Innate Primordial Breath, Zuo Zhicheng could clearly estimate that even with his recent breakthrough, he was definitely not its match.

To deal with the Underworld King Snake, he needed to advance his strength further or prepare some special weapons and traps. Especially since the Underworld King Snake stayed in the grove of Psychic Energy Fruit trees, he had to ensure that the grove was not destroyed as much as possible.

But all that was for another time. Right now, Zuo Zhicheng had to leave before the giant snake discovered he had escaped.

He heard the sound of air tearing around his body as he sped toward the cave entrance, gliding almost as if flying low to the ground.

Just as Zuo Zhicheng darted into the cave entrance, an earth-shaking roar erupted from the underground space behind him. It sounded like a mix of a lion and a tiger, but with an added eerie, ghostly quality.

Roar!

A visible sound wave emanated from the Underworld King Snake’s mouth. Although Zuo Zhicheng didn’t see it directly, a sense of unease washed over him. He stood not far from the cave entrance and took out a bottle of sulfur from his pocket.

He had originally intended to use it for camping to repel insects, ants, and poisonous snakes. However, the underground space where the Underworld King Snake resided had no other insects, ants, or snakes daring to enter. So he had kept it. Now, he hoped it would work on the Underworld King Snake too—at least to slow it down if it approached.

He scattered all the sulfur on the ground. From the direction of the underground space, roars came one after another.

“Is it summoning Corpse Humans?” Zuo Zhicheng casually threw away the empty bottle and sprinted at full speed toward the stone platform again.

The roars grew more and more urgent, filled with what seemed like rage. But Zuo Zhicheng remained unaffected, speeding through the underground corridor like a gust of wind.

Now, traveling light and alone—unlike last time when he had brought Qingyue Qiu and the others—his speed reached an extreme. In just five or six minutes, he had emerged from the cave and reached the stone platform.

At that very moment, the roars abruptly stopped.

A chill surged up from behind Zuo Zhicheng. Even though he had activated Night Vision Mode, the surroundings in his eyes gradually darkened. Countless rustling things lingered in the shadows, watching Zuo Zhicheng with malevolent, fierce gazes.

An ordinary person might have been paralyzed with fear, believing they had entered the Underworld. But Zuo Zhicheng was not. He just frowned. “Human Aspect? So it’s this kind of Human Aspect. No wonder it’s called the Underworld King Snake.”

As he spoke, an intense killing intent burst from his entire body. The thick killing aura around him seemed to pierce through the darkness, turning the earlier visions into mere illusions.

But Zuo Zhicheng knew that if he hadn’t grasped a key aspect of the Human Aspect during his battles, those illusions might not have remained just illusions. He would have been dragged into the Underworld King Snake’s hell, attacked by all sorts of demons and monsters until his death.

Arriving by the riverbank, besides a long branch, there was a floating piece of ice the size of a small boat bobbing beside the stone platform. Without hesitation, Zuo Zhicheng stepped onto it, thinking, “Is this the solution Qingyue Qiu mentioned for not having a boat?”

‘It must be some kind of Dao Arts material, similar to Liquid Nitrogen or Ice Lake Sea, forming this ice block.’

As he pondered, he quickly paddled out along the river. At the same time, as if sensing its attack had been broken, another roar erupted from the depths of the corridor, followed by a series of loud crashes, as if something massive was rampaging inside.

…

On the lakeshore, when Qingyue Qiu and the others heard the faint roars, they felt goosebumps rising on their backs.

Tang Xianghui beside them asked, “What is that?”

“Could it be that the Underworld King Snake has awakened?” Liu Changding wondered. “But we can even hear it from here.”

Tang Yuan advised, “Miss, let’s leave this place first. This camp was probably attacked by them before. It’s not safe for us here.”

Qingyue Qiu didn’t answer him. Instead, she stared intently toward the lake, as if waiting for Ghost Fist to appear.

But the expected figure never showed up. Everyone’s expressions varied. Tang Xianghui couldn’t help saying, “Could it be that Ghost Fist didn’t manage to escape?”

“Hard to say. Although his strength far surpasses ours, there were just too many of those monsters, and the underground passages branch out in all directions. If something unexpected happened…”

Even though Ghost Fist hadn’t emerged after so long, making everyone somewhat pessimistic, Qingyue Qiu still didn’t leave. She just instructed, “Tang Yuan, Xianghui, take the others and leave first. I’ll wait here for Ghost Fist.”

“But…” Tang Yuan’s face showed a troubled expression. “Miss, please don’t make it difficult for us. If the higher-ups find out we left you behind, we’re dead.”

“I said go, so go. I can protect myself. I’ll wait half an hour. If no one comes, I’ll catch up with you.”

Tang Xianghui and Tang Yuan exchanged glances. In terms of combat ability, Qingyue Qiu was naturally very strong. But when it came to escape or jungle survival, it wasn’t just about who was stronger.

Besides, Qingyue Qiu didn’t have the Innate Primordial Breath; her strength mainly lay in Dao Arts. How could they leave her alone in the forest?

Finally, Tang Xianghui said, “Tang Yuan, you go first. I’ll stay with the miss.”

Just as they were talking, a piece of floating ice slowly drifted over from the water’s surface.

“Is that Ghost Fist?”

“Where is he?”

They looked uncertainly at the empty floating ice, puzzled why the ice was there but Ghost Fist was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, a cold, low voice reached their ears—it was Ghost Fist’s voice.

“For some reason, the Underworld King Snake didn’t chase me out. Maybe it’s guarding the Psychic Energy Fruit. Anyway, things here are temporarily over, and I’m leaving too.”

“I’ve taken my share of the Psychic Energy Fruit. I’ll contact you back in Xinlu Port.”

“And, Miss Qingyue, don’t forget our agreement.”

Tang Yuan was stunned. He incredulously took off the pack from his back and found that half of the Psychic Energy Fruit inside was unknowingly gone.

“How did he do that! It’s like seeing a ghost.”

In the forest, Zuo Zhicheng touched the Psychic Energy Fruit in his bag. The amount here was enough for him to use for several months. But since he had removed his disguise, he didn’t want to meet Qingyue Qiu and the others.

Next time he returned to the Ruins, it would be to completely eliminate the Underworld King Snake and take over the entire underground space.