Half an hour later, the two arrived at a valley.
The valley was shaped somewhat like an apple, which was why it was called Salt Frost Tree Valley.
"Is that the Salt Frost Tree?"
Zhang Ping stared in surprise at the enormous white plant in the center of the valley.
The Salt Frost Tree was nearly seventy meters tall. Its trunk was massive, and its surface was covered in a layer of glistening salt frost. With the tree at its center, the entire valley was blanketed in salt. Now, the snow-white salt had been stained crimson.
All around the valley, densely packed Mutated Beasts were fighting to the death. Mutated Wolves, Mutated Dogs, Mutated Monkeys, and others—Zhang Ping could identify dozens of species, while many more were so bizarrely shaped that he could not tell what animals they had once been.
Through Wind Whisperer, he discovered that these Mutated Beasts were not all of them.
Many Mutated Beasts with intelligence no weaker than humans were lurking around the valley. Some human Awakened were hiding nearby as well, all of them waiting for the right moment.
Zhang Ping looked toward the Salt Frost Tree's crown. There seemed to be about twenty fruits growing there.
"Sisi, you really stole a fruit back then?" Zhang Ping asked doubtfully as he looked at the densely packed Mutated Beasts in the valley.
In a low voice, Liu Sishan said, "I only said that I had stolen one before. When did I ever say I actually got one?"
"..."
Zhang Ping thought back and realized that Liu Sishan really had never said she had gotten a fruit.
"I'll go steal the fruit you need. Your job is to kill that rabbit," Liu Sishan said.
Zhang Ping followed her gaze and saw the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit crouching in a corner of the valley, its red eyes fixed on the fruits atop the Salt Frost Tree.
It was only one rabbit. It shouldn't be a problem.
Zhang Ping had not expected to run into the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit he had just escaped from again so soon.
But in the next moment, he sensed that something was wrong. Another pair of ears appeared behind the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit, followed by densely packed Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbits crawling out from behind the large one.
This was not one rabbit, but an entire nest!
Zhang Ping looked at Liu Sishan in disbelief and asked, "Sisi, don't tell me you knew this all along?"
"Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbits live around the Salt Frost Tree in the first place. Salt Frost Grass only grows where there are Salt Frost Trees, and Salt Frost Grass is the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbits' food," Liu Sishan explained.
Zhang Ping frowned. "I might have a chance against one, but with so many rabbits, I feel like I'll be drowned in their saliva."
"Don't worry. These rabbits reproduce too quickly, so whenever the Salt Frost Tree's fruits ripen, they launch a charge to reduce the size of their population," Liu Sishan said.
In truth, the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbits had no chance of obtaining the fruits. Their behavior was more like the mass suicide of lemmings.
[All right, the timing is about right. Move!] ... [That Dog-Nose King has made his move. Let's go!] ... [Roar! Roar!] ...
At that moment, Zhang Ping heard voices coming from all sides.
He looked into the distance and saw seven or eight Awakened rapidly charging out from around the rocky cover. They did not join the battle. Instead, they skirted around it, combining their abilities to form a Rainbow Staircase.
Under the moonlight, a female Awakened stepped onto the Rainbow Staircase and quickly charged toward the Salt Frost Tree's crown.
On the other side, several burly men simultaneously threw the axes in their hands. A woman manipulated thin threads that connected to the axes. When the axes landed on the Salt Frost Tree, the thin threads immediately transformed into thick hemp ropes, and the burly men stepped onto the ropes and charged toward the tree.
"Roar!"
At that moment, a group of White Giant Apes also rushed out through a gap in the valley. Any Mutated Beasts blocking their path were swept away by their massive arms and trampled beneath their feet.
At the same time, a White Giant Serpent roughly twenty meters long burrowed out from beneath the salt. It opened its bloody maw and swallowed large numbers of Mutated Beasts.
The Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbits also launched their charge.
The densely packed rabbits crashed into the battle, instantly sending flesh and blood flying. Large numbers of Mutated Beasts were struck by the rabbits' corrosive water as well, letting out shrill cries of agony.
Blood covered the ground. The battle was so fierce that a layer of blood mist even hung above the battlefield.
"Move!"
Four water spheres appeared beside Liu Sishan as she spoke.
As soon as she finished, she swiftly jumped downward. A road made of ice appeared beneath her feet. Zhang Ping immediately leaped down from the height as well, then reached out and grabbed onto a rock, quickly closing in on the largest Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit.
The largest Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit was clearly not the one he had fought earlier.
As Zhang Ping approached, he immediately activated Appraisal Technique.
[Appraisal successful] [Mutated Beast: Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit Leader] [Race: Mutated Rabbit] [Potential: ????] [Lifespan: 35] [Rank: Intermediate Mutated Beast] [Level: 10] [Talents] [Corrosive Water Bullet: Fires highly corrosive water from sweat glands hidden in its ears] [Water-Storing Fur: Its fur can store liquids and release the stored liquid when necessary] [Powerful Hind Legs: Its hind legs possess terrifying strength] [Rapid Reproduction: Reproduces faster than normal creatures] ...
After reading the attributes, Zhang Ping actually felt as though he could not beat a rabbit.
But he was already here.
Retreating at the last moment would be too humiliating.
The Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit Leader was larger than ordinary rabbits. Now, it was the only one left standing alone in place. Zhang Ping landed not far away, immediately picked up a rock covered in salt frost, and charged forward, smashing it at the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit Leader.
In the next moment, the motionless Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit Leader suddenly leaped into the air. Its powerful hind legs kicked hard, and the rock Zhang Ping was holding exploded.
His entire body was sent flying and slammed heavily into the ground.
After landing, the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit Leader flicked its ears. A large amount of corrosive water shot toward Zhang Ping on the ground. His head rang, and both arms were numb from the shock. But after landing, he did not dare lie still. Instead, he immediately began rolling.
It was a completely instinctive reaction.
More than anything, he did not believe the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit Leader would let him lie on the ground and rest.
Sure enough, after he had rolled twice, he heard sizzling from where he had been. It was the sound of something being corroded.
Using both his hands and feet, he quickly climbed to his feet and first circled around behind a rock. He gasped for breath while examining his arms.
It hurt.
It hurt terribly.
He strongly suspected that both his arms had suffered fractures. And it was not only the insides of his arms that hurt—his chest felt tight as well. He tried to breathe deeply, but the discomfort only grew, accompanied by an itchy sensation.
He could not help coughing twice, and a lump of blood came up.
He had suffered internal injuries.
Zhang Ping's heart sank, but now was not the time to think about that. He slapped his cheeks, then cautiously poked his head out to observe.
The Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit Leader had not pursued him. Instead, it had returned to its original spot and stood motionless, staring at the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbits still fighting in the distance.
"That was terrifying."
Zhang Ping sighed in relief and simply sat down to rest.
He had to admit it.
He had been careless this time.
In truth, although the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit Leader was very strong, it was not as powerful as the Heavenly Fox that had attacked him earlier.
Even a lion used all its strength against a rabbit.
First of all, his attitude had been improper. He had probably thought of himself as the hunter and the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit Leader as his prey, so he had subconsciously underestimated it.
This was truly a hard-learned lesson.
Zhang Ping sighed inwardly.
He looked into the distance. Liu Sishan had already fought her way into the thick of the battle, leaving ice crystals everywhere she passed.
Liu Sishan was extremely strong. When faced with attacks from various Mutated Beasts, two water spheres always remained beside her to defend her. The two water spheres changed constantly and could rapidly shift between boiling water, Pure Water, and ice. The fluidity of those transformations alone was enough to prove that Liu Sishan's greatest strength was probably defense.
On the other side, the female Awakened standing on the Rainbow Staircase had already approached the crown. But at that moment, a giant eagle swooped down from the sky, and the female Awakened immediately became entangled in a battle with it.
At least several hundred Mutated Beasts had died across the valley by now, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.
Zhang Ping could not help sighing. Was it really worth it for a Salt Frost Fruit?
Suddenly, he heard a phoenix cry.
He looked up toward the source of the sound and immediately saw a small bird engulfed in flames flying rapidly toward the Salt Frost Tree.
A Firebird!
Zhang Ping immediately stood up. He had really wanted equipment made from Firebird feathers, so he could replenish his stamina whenever he wished.
The Firebird was incredibly fast. But just as it approached the Salt Frost Tree, the White Giant Serpent suddenly raised its head and sprayed a cloud of white mist upward. It was frost mist with an extremely low temperature.
The Firebird plunged headfirst into the frost mist. The flames on its body immediately dimmed, and it let out a mournful cry as it rapidly fell from the sky. A White Ape happened to be below it. With a slap of its thick palm, the Firebird was sent flying and only rolled to a stop at the edge of the battlefield after a while.
Zhang Ping stared fixedly at the Firebird's corpse, and his heart began pounding violently.
How many feathers could he take from an entire Firebird?
He got up and examined the area around the Firebird.
The most dangerous creature was a Mutated Wolf. It felt like it should be of Intermediate rank.
He was wearing the Assassination Ring. As long as he did not attack first, he should not alarm it.
It should be fine!
Zhang Ping made a decisive choice and cautiously approached the Firebird.
The closer he got to the battlefield, the more he could sense its terrifying aura. The entire battlefield was like a meat grinder, and even from dozens of meters away, he could feel an astonishing wave of heat.
It was the heat produced by the collision of vital energy and blood.
Closer.
He was only twenty meters from the Firebird's corpse.
Zhang Ping crawled forward, alert to every possible danger lurking nearby.
Bang!
A heavy crash rang out.
The ground immediately began to tremble.
A huge pig's head landed in front of Zhang Ping. Its pig eyes still radiated a vicious light.
That pig's head weighed at least a hundred pounds. If it had hit him, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Zhang Ping swallowed and immediately went around the pig's head. But then he sensed that something was wrong and quietly backed up a few steps.
He crouched beside the pig's head, pressed both hands against the pig's mouth, and pried it open. A black bead rolled out of the pig's mouth and landed right beside his foot.
What was this?
He picked up the black bead and tried Appraisal, but failure after failure appeared.
Now was not the time to appraise it. He put the bead away and once again cautiously approached the Firebird's corpse. But before he had gone far, a bolt of lightning swept across the battlefield, instantly plowing a deep ditch into the ground.
Worst of all, the lightning grazed the Firebird's corpse. Only half of the Firebird remained, and most of its feathers had been burned to a crisp.
Zhang Ping hurried forward a few steps, picked up the Firebird's corpse, and turned to run.
The return trip was just as dangerous.
Beams of light, lightning, and flames shot out from the battlefield at irregular intervals. Although Zhang Ping was clearly at the very edge, he had the illusion that he was crossing the battlefield.
Especially when he was almost clear of the battlefield, a small stone flew past his back, immediately leaving a bloody mark.
He returned behind the rocky cover.
Leaning against the rock, he gasped for breath.
The entire trip had taken only a few minutes, yet it had left him feeling as though a lifetime had passed.
Nothing tempered a person more than the boundary between life and death.
Once Zhang Ping relaxed, he immediately felt a burning pain in his back.
There was a wound on his back, and the rock behind him was covered in a layer of salt frost. Salt had gotten into the wound, so it was easy to imagine how painful it was.
The problem was that he had only a pair of pants left. His hands were also covered in salt, and even if he wanted to treat the wound, he had no tools. He could only grit his teeth and endure it.
He placed the Firebird's corpse on a rock. The Firebird had originally been about the size of a pigeon, but the lightning had blown away its lower half, leaving only a small number of feathers still intact.
He did not know whether they could still be used.
After briefly examining the Firebird's condition, Zhang Ping sighed.
It was bad enough that most of the Firebird's feathers had been burned away by the lightning. He also discovered that the remaining intact feathers were covered in a layer of white frost. The frost clung to the feathers as though it had fused with them. He did not know whether it had damaged the feathers' original effects.
He then took out the black bead.
Appraisal!
Appraisal failed!
Appraisal!
Appraisal failed ×666!
After a string of failures, Zhang Ping went numb.
This was definitely the most difficult thing he had ever tried to appraise. But because of that, a trace of anticipation arose in him. Could this be some kind of treasure?