The Elf Bow, into the water

"Whatever it is, if we can do it, we'll definitely help!" Li Qiang and Zhao Gang both spoke up, ingratiating smiles on their faces.

As they saw it, helping geniuses like Gu Zheng might let them bask in a little reflected glory.

Ji Zhixing's expression, however, shifted slightly.

This Otherworld Secret Realm is so dangerous, and Gu Zheng's group is much stronger than we are. His thoughts raced. What could they possibly need our help with that they can't do themselves?

He glanced at the three people behind Gu Zheng, then at his own group.

All three of them had fused with first-order genes. Their strength was nowhere near the other group's level.

Of Gu Zheng's four-man group, even the weakest was a genius who had fused with a third-order gene. Gu Zheng himself had fused with the fourth-order Sword-Feather Peacock Gene.

They wanted the three of them to help with something they couldn't handle themselves?

Something's wrong. Ji Zhixing grew wary.

"Brother Gu, it's too dangerous here," he said. "There are even third-order Gene Beasts roaming around. We should find a spatial passage and leave as soon as possible."

As he spoke, he edged imperceptibly closer to the nearby lakeshore. If things went wrong, the water at least offered one way out.

"Don't worry." Gu Zheng smiled, his tone gentle. "This Otherworld Secret Realm has only just appeared, and its space is unstable. There must be plenty of spatial passages. Once we've finished our business, we'll take you to find a way out."

While he spoke, the three beside him had already approached without a sound, loosely surrounding Ji Zhixing's group.

Li Qiang also sensed something was wrong. The smile froze on his face as he asked nervously, "B-Brother Gu, what exactly do you need us to do?"

"You'll know when we get there." Gu Zheng turned and headed off in one direction.

The other three followed, sandwiching Ji Zhixing's group between them and leaving no room for discussion.

Ji Zhixing grew increasingly uneasy, but he could only follow. The four of them were far stronger than his group. A direct confrontation offered no chance of victory.

Li Qiang and Zhao Gang went pale. They exchanged a glance, neither daring to say another word.

They walked along the lake for about ten minutes before the view ahead suddenly opened up.

A valley appeared before them.

Steep slopes rose on either side of its broad entrance, and jagged rocks littered the valley floor. Deep inside, an enormous black shape lay coiled on a rock.

It was a snake, so huge it took their breath away.

"That's... a Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python!" Ji Zhixing's pupils contracted as he recognized the Gene Beast.

Li Qiang and Zhao Gang recognized it too, and their faces instantly turned deathly pale.

A third-order Gene Beast.

"Those are..." Upon spotting the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python, Ji Zhixing also noticed several fiery-red stones at the valley's entrance.

"What we need you to do is lure that Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python out for us." Gu Zheng turned to face the three of them. His smile vanished; the map had unrolled, and the dagger lay exposed.

"Once you've lured it out, you can run as far as you like. If you manage to escape, you'll be safe."

"What?" Li Qiang's eyes widened, his voice trembling. "That's a third-order Gene Beast! How could we possibly escape after luring it out?"

Zhao Gang grew frantic too. "Brother Gu, we've never done anything to you. You can't do this!"

Gu Zheng ignored them. He raised a hand, took out a palm-sized boat, and casually tossed it into the lake.

The little boat swelled in the wind. In the blink of an eye, it became a wooden boat with a carp-shaped prow, floating steadily on the water.

Gu Zheng leaped aboard, and the other three followed.

One of the four extended a hand and took out a silver bow. Standing at the stern, he looked down at the three on shore with a faint sneer.

"If you don't want to test the accuracy of my Elf Bow, you'd better not try to escape before you've lured out that Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python."

He raised the silver bow, a faint glow flowing along its frame, and aimed at Ji Zhixing's group on shore.

"There's something else you probably don't know," he added. "Like us, you're all first-order gene cultivators. But Brother Gu broke through to the second order not long ago."

"So if you don't want to die, you'd better not try to resist."

"You!" Li Qiang and Zhao Gang were furious, their fists clenched and their bodies trembling.

They had never imagined Gu Zheng's group could be so vicious. Back at camp, they had been perfectly polite. Now, in the blink of an eye, they had turned on them without a shred of consideration.

Ji Zhixing's heart sank too.

Second order... He rapidly weighed their chances. Gu Zheng has already reached the second order, and the other three have all fused with third-order genes. The three of us are only first order. In a head-on fight, we wouldn't stand a chance.

We can't escape, and we can't beat them.

He looked at the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python coiled in the valley, then at the wooden boat on the lake, and drew a deep breath.

"Well? Surely I don't need to tell you what to do again?" The man holding the Elf Bow waved it, his tone casual. "Get it over with, and we'll all save ourselves some trouble."

The others rowed the boat a little farther from shore.

Li Qiang and Zhao Gang looked at Ji Zhixing, their eyes filled with despair.

Ji Zhixing said nothing. He merely bent down and picked up a stone.

He drew a deep breath and hurled it into the valley.

The stone traced an arc through the air and landed at the valley's entrance with a sharp crack.

The Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python remained motionless inside the valley, as though it hadn't heard a thing.

"Join me." Ji Zhixing glanced at Li Qiang and Zhao Gang, then bent down to pick up another stone. This time, he threw it a little farther.

Seeing this, Li Qiang and Zhao Gang gritted their teeth, picked up stones, and hurled them into the valley too.

After several more stones, the enormous python finally reacted.

Its body shifted slightly. Then it slowly raised its head, its icy, slit-pupiled eyes sweeping toward the entrance.

"Hiss!"

A low, rasping hiss rose from its throat, like metal scraping against metal, piercing their eardrums painfully.

Then it moved.

Its body, more than ten meters long, uncoiled and surged toward the entrance like a black torrent. Its massive bulk crushed across the ground, sending loose stones flying and raising a cloud of dust.

"Run!" Ji Zhixing shouted, turning to flee.

Li Qiang and Zhao Gang also ran for their lives, the three scattering in different directions.

Li Qiang and Zhao Gang both ran away from the lake, toward a dense forest where the thick trees might offer somewhere to hide.

Ji Zhixing, however, ran close along the lakeshore. He wasn't as fast as a speed specialist like Liu Qifan, but at a full sprint, he was hardly slow.

After charging out of the valley, the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python paused briefly, seemingly deciding which direction to pursue.

On the wooden boat, the young man holding the Elf Bow watched the three fleeing figures, a faint sneer curling his lips.

"They're pretty quick."

He raised his bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at Li Qiang, who was farthest ahead.

"But if we let you escape and spread stories outside, you'd ruin our reputation."

The bowstring thrummed, and the arrow sliced through the air.

Li Qiang was running desperately and never noticed a thing. The arrow flashed through the air and pierced his calf with a wet thunk.

"Ah!" Li Qiang screamed and crashed to the ground, clutching his leg as he rolled in agony.

"Ha! You really thought I'd let you escape!" The man on the boat laughed, then shifted his gaze to Ji Zhixing.

Of the three, letting one get a little farther away should be enough for them to collect the hematite.

He nocked another arrow, drew the bowstring, and aimed at Ji Zhixing.

Damn it! Ji Zhixing's expression changed instantly when he saw this.

The water is my only chance!

He abruptly changed direction. No longer concealing his intentions, he rushed to the lakeshore in a few strides and leaped in.

Splash!

The icy lake water swallowed him in an instant.

"He went into the water?" Gu Zheng frowned.

"Brother Gu, don't worry about him," Liu Qing said with an easy smile. "Once the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python gets a little farther away, we'll collect the hematite, then come back for him."

"The idiot doesn't have a brain. So what if he dives into the water? Can he stay underwater forever?"