Ji Zhixing leaned against the large rock, closed his eyes, and seized the chance to rest.
The Whirlpool Sandworm was not far away.
He was certainly bold. Even after reading up on Whirlpool Sandworms, most people would not dare linger beside such a vicious creature.
Meanwhile, on the shore of Stone Lake.
Gu Zheng and the other three stood by the lake, staring at its calm surface with grim expressions.
"How can that bastard hold his breath for so long?" the young man holding the Elf Bow said bitterly. "Why hasn't he come out yet?"
"He must have some kind of diving Gene Equipment," Liu Qing said. "Otherwise, there's no way he could stay underwater this long."
Gu Zheng said nothing, his gaze dark as he watched the lake.
He turned toward Yu Zhirou, his eyes flickering as he considered how to handle her.
"Yu Zhirou!"
Just then, a shout suddenly came from the distance.
Gu Zheng looked up and saw several students from Third Middle School walking toward them. A middle-aged man accompanied them-a teacher from Rain City No. 3 High School.
"A teacher's here." Yu Zhirou's expression brightened.
Gu Zheng frowned but said nothing more.
He took the palm-sized boat from inside his clothes and casually tossed it into the lake.
The little boat swelled in the wind, becoming a wooden boat in the blink of an eye and floating steadily on the water.
"Let's go." Gu Zheng leaped aboard, and the other three followed.
The wooden boat cut through the water toward Lake Center Island.
"I wonder how Mr. Zhou and Liu Chen are doing," Liu Qing said from the bow, his gaze fixed on Lake Center Island.
Their team had five members in all, along with a teacher leading them. But when the Otherworld Secret Realm appeared, only the four of them had entered it.
The teacher who had brought them here, along with Liu Chen, had been left on Lake Center Island.
"They should be fine," Gu Zheng said mildly. "Mr. Zhou is at the second-order peak, and Liu Chen fused with third-order genes. They can protect themselves."
He paused, his gaze settling on Lake Center Island in the distance.
The reason they had kept visiting Lake Center Island over the past two days was that they had discovered a natural treasure there: Earth Core Spirit Liquid.
Earth Core Spirit Liquid could be consumed directly to speed up cultivation, with extraordinary effects for both first-order and second-order cultivators.
But a Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle guarded it, and they had been unable to get their hands on it.
Now that they were out of the Otherworld Secret Realm, they naturally wanted to take another look.
The wooden boat sliced through the water, silently approaching Lake Center Island.
Standing at the bow, Gu Zheng swept his gaze over the island's bushes and gravel shore. The island was quiet. Apart from the wind and the occasional birdcall, there was nothing.
"Pull in," he said quietly.
The wooden boat nudged gently against the shore. Gu Zheng jumped off first, and the others followed. Liu Qing jumped down last, his ears twitching slightly as he warily scanned their surroundings.
"No one here," he said quietly. "That brat didn't come this way."
Gu Zheng nodded and recalled the wooden boat with a wave of his hand.
"Let's go." He turned and headed toward the center of the island.
The four followed a hidden path through the bushes toward a small hill in the island's center. They had taken this path several times over the past few days and knew it well.
The hill was only a few dozen meters high. At its foot was a concealed cave entrance, completely screened by vines and bushes.
Gu Zheng pushed aside the vines and led the way inside.
After a few dozen meters, low roars and the clash of metal sounded ahead.
Gu Zheng quickened his pace.
At the end of the passage lay a spacious cavern, roughly ten meters high and over twenty meters wide.
Deep inside, two people were locked in a fierce battle with an enormous turtle Gene Beast.
The turtle stood over two meters tall. Its gray-black shell was covered in rocklike patterns.
Its limbs were thick as pillars, and the ground trembled slightly with every step it took.
It was the Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle.
By now, it had wounds all over its body. Several cracks split its shell, and a wound on one foreleg was deep enough to expose bone, with blood dripping steadily from it.
But that wound did not look like the work of a blade. It looked more like something a massive beast had torn open with its teeth.
One of the two fighting it was a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in fitted gray combat clothes. He was Zhou Hang, the teacher who had brought them to Lake Center Island.
The other was a sturdy boy around their age, wielding a large axe. He was their classmate, Jiang Chen.
"Mr. Zhou!" Gu Zheng called. A slender sword appeared out of thin air in his hand, its gleaming blade giving off a faint silver sheen.
The other three drew their weapons as well and charged forward.
Already badly wounded, the Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle faltered further under their combined assault.
Gu Zheng's swordplay was fierce. Every thrust targeted a crack in its shell, or went straight for its head and limbs.
The young man holding the Elf Bow retreated to a distance and fired arrow after arrow at the Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle's eyes.
Soon, under their combined attacks, the Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle let out a low, mournful cry. Its enormous body crashed to the ground, its limbs twitched a few times, and it went still.
"Whew..." Zhou Hang put away his longsword and let out a long breath. "You came just in time. Any later, and the two of us would've had to find a way to escape."
"Mr. Zhou, those wounds on the turtle..." Gu Zheng looked at the injuries on the Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle, frowning slightly.
"Something that came out of the Otherworld Secret Realm did that." Zhou Hang wiped away his sweat and smiled ruefully. "After you went into the Secret Realm, the two of us waited outside. Before long, another Gene Beast charged out of that otherworld passage and started fighting this Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle."
He pointed at the wounds on the Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle. "The Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle won, but it was badly injured too. Jiang Chen and I saw how badly it was hurt and decided to try our luck."
Jiang Chen put away his large axe and chuckled. "We'd been fighting for ages and were almost at our limit. Good thing you showed up."
Gu Zheng nodded, his gaze settling deep inside the cavern. There lay a small pool of milky-white liquid, giving off a faint luster. It was the Earth Core Spirit Liquid.
"Either way, it's good that we've dealt with it." Gu Zheng smiled. "Come on. Let's divide the Earth Core Spirit Liquid as we agreed."
As he spoke, he took a jade bottle from inside his clothes and began collecting the Earth Core Spirit Liquid.
Seeing this, Liu Qing, Jiang Chen, and the other two followed suit.
Before long, they had collected all the Earth Core Spirit Liquid.
Naturally, Gu Zheng received the largest share.
The others received roughly equal amounts.
"Let's go." Zhou Hang turned toward the cave entrance. "The appearance of the Otherworld Secret Realm caused quite a stir. Powerful people from the Base City will probably arrive soon to deal with it. Staying here will be dangerous."
They nodded and followed Zhou Hang out of the cave in single file.
Once outside, they headed straight toward the shore of Lake Center Island.
"Wait." Just then, Liu Qing suddenly spoke, his ears twitching slightly.
He glanced at the others, then looked at the only girl in the group, an embarrassed smile appearing on his face.
"Go ahead and wait for me on the boat. I need to relieve myself. I'll be right back."
"A lazy donkey always needs to piss and shit when it's time to turn the mill," the young man holding the Elf Bow joked. "Hurry up."
Liu Qing chuckled, turned, and slipped into the nearby bushes.
Gu Zheng frowned but said nothing.
After leaving, however, Liu Qing did not go to relieve himself. Instead, he lightened his steps, pricked up his ears, and crept toward a spot on the distant shore.
As he walked, he tilted his head slightly, his ears twitching as he caught the faint sounds carried on the wind. At that moment, he pushed the Six-Eared Gale Hound's hearing to its utmost limit.
There was the sound of water in the wind. Breathing. And a heartbeat.
Faint and careful, but carried on the wind, they could not escape his ears.
A cold smile curled Liu Qing's lips. Treading lightly, he moved silently toward the edge of the island.
Skirting several boulders and passing through a patch of bushes, he spotted a large rock on the distant shore.
The rock was over two meters tall, and he could just make out a figure leaning behind it.
It was Ji Zhixing.
Liu Qing crouched behind the bushes, a flicker of excitement crossing his eyes. He glanced back. Gu Zheng and the others were already out of sight.
He had come alone precisely so he could find Ji Zhixing before anyone else.
That biggest chunk of hematite... Liu Qing's thoughts raced. It must be worth more than a million Gene Coins.
If I can get that chunk of hematite, my haul will be no worse than the Earth Core Spirit Liquid I've already received.
Gu Zheng is a second-order gene cultivator, and he got the most Earth Core Spirit Liquid. I can't beat him. But dealing with a piece of trash who fused with first-order genes? That'll be as easy as grabbing something right in front of me.
He took a deep breath, rose from behind the bushes, and strode toward the large rock.
Behind the rock, Ji Zhixing had been resting with his eyes closed. Suddenly hearing footsteps, he snapped his eyes open and sprang to his feet.
Their eyes met.
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