Viewed as a God

"W-what is that sound?"

The herb-gathering team, currently retracing their steps, faintly heard the furious roar of the Snake Mother.

For a moment, they trembled in spirit, at a complete loss for what to do.

This was even with the considerable distance they had already put between themselves and the source; had they heard that roar from up close, it was likely that everyone would have collapsed to the ground, unable to control their own bodies.

This was the oppression of a higher essence of life.

Compared to a Level 1 lifeform like the Snake Mother, even a powerful Transformation-level grandmaster would find it difficult to resist the pressure of such a fundamental life force.

"Hurry back."

Zhou Yu had his suspicions, knowing clearly that the sound echoing through the air was related to Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley, or perhaps it had been emitted by that terrifying Snake Mother itself.

He even understood why the creature was roaring in such a manner.

Zhou Yu touched the jade box tucked inside his robes, his pace quickening involuntarily.

"Do not be afraid; it will not come out."

At that moment, Su Yuan's voice came through the micro-earpiece in Zhou Yu's ear.

From the very moment the plot to acquire the Blood Lingzhi began, Su Yuan had already known the outcome. From start to finish, the reactions of the thousands of giant snakes and the Snake Mother in Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley had been within Su Yuan's estimations. As long as Zhou Yu and the herb gatherers followed his instructions, no unexpected variables would occur.

Hearing that familiar voice, Zhou Yu calmed down once more.

That was right, what was he afraid of?

That Snake Mother had been played like a fiddle by "Sir," and it had only just realized the Blood Lingzhi was missing.

In the end, all it could do was vent its impotent rage.

Just as the Snake Mother surged out from the underground, its terrifying aura spreading beyond the confines of Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley, and finally let out a roar of furious resentment.

Southern Frontier Observation Bureau.

Several staff members stared at the screens and instruments before them.

"An energy fluctuation exceeding the limit has appeared in the depths of the Hundred Thousand Mountains."

Suddenly, the screens and instruments began to flicker, and the staff immediately began to operate them. "Starting to pinpoint the source of the energy fluctuation. It is Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley; the two Snake Mothers in the valley are showing abnormal activity!"

Soon after.

The leader of the Observation Bureau walked in.

He looked at the screens and instruments with a grave expression.

"What is the situation now? Is there any indication that the two Snake Mothers are leaving the valley or even the Hundred Thousand Mountains?"

The leader of the Observation Bureau asked immediately.

Beings like the Snake Mother, comparable to Baodan grandmasters, had naturally been within the monitoring range of the Xia Kingdom for a long time.

Once such lifeforms left their lairs and entered human-inhabited areas, the destruction they could cause would be catastrophic.

Especially for human cities; tens or even hundreds of thousands of people would likely be displaced.

Therefore.

Once it was determined that there was a trend of the creatures leaving their lairs, the Xia Kingdom's authorities would not hesitate to strike first, covering the area with firepower before dispatching experts to surround and kill them.

As for why they did not simply exterminate these lifeforms in advance?

It was difficult to do so.

For instance, the Snake Mother in Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley usually hid underground to sleep; in such an environment, how could one possibly exterminate it?

"No, the Snake Mother shows no signs of leaving the valley."

After observing for a while, the staff member noticed that the erupting super-limit energy fluctuation had not left the perimeter of Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley, so he spoke up.

"The super-limit energy fluctuation has disappeared; the Snake Mother must have returned."

Half an hour later, the staff member spoke again.

"It went back?"

The leader of the Observation Bureau breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Although the Xia Kingdom's authorities had long since prepared response plans for these terrifying lifeforms, it was certainly better not to take action if it could be avoided.

Dealing with such lifeforms would inevitably result in losses, especially since there were two Snake Mothers in Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley—one weak and one strong, with the stronger one being even more terrifying.

Half an hour later, with it confirmed that there were no more super-limit energy fluctuations and that the Snake Mother would almost certainly not come out, the leader of the Observation Bureau finally felt at ease.

"Can you determine why that Snake Mother erupted with such super-limit energy fluctuations?"

The leader of the Observation Bureau asked.

Normally, a lifeform like the Snake Mother would rarely erupt with such a degree of energy unless it encountered a life-threatening situation or was extremely enraged.

"It cannot be determined."

The staff member rolled his eyes; how was he supposed to know why the Snake Mother did that?

Could he really just go and ask?

"That's true."

The leaders of the Observation Bureau nodded, also realizing that this question was difficult to answer.

However, the outcome was good in the end; the Snake Mother of Ten Thousand Ravine Snake Valley had no intention of coming out, and the energy fluctuation that erupted just now must have been an accident.

Southern Frontier High-Speed Railway Station.

After Zhou Yu led the herb-gathering team out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, he immediately followed Su Yuan's instructions to purchase high-speed rail tickets to Magic City, rushing there with the Blood Lingzhi without delay.

"The high-speed rail?"

Zhou Yu was quite puzzled.

In terms of speed, taking a plane was undoubtedly the fastest, as one could arrive in Magic City in just a few hours.

Even for the sake of safety, if one wanted to avoid the crowded and chaotic environment of a commercial flight, the resources of Zhou Pharmaceutical could easily secure a private jet to reach Magic City within three hours.

But the high-speed rail?

Compared to a plane, the high-speed rail was much slower, requiring about ten hours to reach Magic City.

However.

Meticulously executing Su Yuan's orders without asking for the reason had already become Zhou Yu's instinct.

Let alone taking the high-speed rail to Magic City, even if he were told to walk there right now, Zhou Yu would execute the order immediately.

Soon.

Zhou Yu boarded the high-speed train to Magic City.

Watching the buildings flash past outside the window, Zhou Yu did not relax in the slightest; instead, he remained incredibly vigilant.

He was carrying the Blood Lingzhi, something "Sir" needed, and now he was only one step away from delivering it into "Sir's" hands.

The closer it got to the end, the less he could afford to be careless.

Two hours later.

Zhou Yu remained cautious, taking the time to observe his surroundings.

Suddenly, Zhou Yu noticed a passenger to his front-left scrolling through short videos on their phone.

As they scrolled, they came across a certain "weather notification."

Extreme weather had appeared in the high-altitude airspace between the Southern Frontier and Magic City, and all flights heading to Magic City were being forced to turn back...

Staring at this "weather notification," Zhou Yu fell into silence once again.

If he had chosen to take a plane to Magic City two or three hours ago.

Whether it was a commercial flight or a private jet.

He would likely be facing a forced return right now.

In that case, with the time spent going back and forth, half a day would have been wasted.

Even if he had taken the high-speed rail to Magic City afterward, he would have been half a day late.

In other words, two or three hours ago, the fastest way to get to Magic City.

Was not the plane, but the high-speed rail.

Did "Sir"... already know that extreme weather would occur? Is that why he didn't let me take a plane?

Zhou Yu couldn't help but think to himself.

The Xia Kingdom's Meteorological Bureau existed specifically to forecast weather in advance.

But clearly, the Meteorological Bureau had not predicted the extreme high-altitude weather between the Southern Frontier and Magic City; otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to issue a mid-flight notification forcing all planes to turn back.

Yet, the weather that the Meteorological Bureau failed to predict had been easily foreseen by "Sir" in advance.

"Sir"...

At this moment, in Zhou Yu's heart, "Sir" was no different from a deity.