"Is this... Earth Core Spirit Liquid?"
Ji Zhixing stared at the milky-white liquid in his hand, his expression shifting.
"Earth Core Spirit Liquid? It's actually Earth Core Spirit Liquid?" He had seen pictures of this spirit liquid in his textbooks, and it looked exactly like what was in the jade bottle before him. "How did Liu Qing get his hands on a treasure like this?"
With a thought, he gently pulled out the jade bottle's stopper. An indescribable fragrance drifted out, seeping into his heart and lungs. Even a single whiff left him feeling refreshed.
"There's no mistake. It's Earth Core Spirit Liquid!" Ji Zhixing took a deep breath, struggling to calm himself. "I never expected killing Liu Qing to bring me a windfall like this."
"This bottle of Earth Core Spirit Liquid is worth no less than the piece of hematite ore I found. This trip was worth it!"
Excitement surged through him.
Earth Core Spirit Liquid could aid Gene Cultivators in their cultivation, accelerating the condensation of Source Force. It worked wonders for both first-order and second-order cultivators.
It even had some effect on third-order cultivators.
The book said Earth Core Spirit Liquid tasted good, but this dropped from Liu Qing. I can't be sure about it, so I'd better not swallow it on my first try.
With a thought, he stored the entire bottle of Earth Core Spirit Liquid in his gene furnace, then separated out a single drop and began refining it.
Both Earth Core Spirit Liquid and Origin Force Gene Potions could be taken orally.
Alternatively, they could be refined directly in a gene furnace.
There was little difference between the two methods.
Inside his gene furnace, the eight-trigram pattern slowly rotated, absorbing and refining the drop of Earth Core Spirit Liquid bit by bit.
He could clearly feel subtle changes taking place in the mist-form gene source force within the furnace.
Under the spirit liquid's influence, its formerly loose structure grew denser little by little.
Half an hour later, Ji Zhixing opened his eyes, his gaze bright and lively.
It really does live up to its name, he marveled. Just one drop, and the gene source force in my body has already become much denser.
At this rate, even if the Earth Core Spirit Liquid I have isn't enough to advance me to the second order, it won't fall far short.
But to advance, I have to upgrade my Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene first. Until it evolves into the Pikeman Stone Monkey Gene, I won't be able to break through, no matter how dense my Source Force becomes.
Ji Zhixing's eyes flickered.
Previously, evolving his Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene had been a daunting task.
But he had reaped a tremendous haul this time. Once he returned to Rain City Base City and sold the hematite ore, he could buy more than a dozen Gigantification Gene Potions.
If he was lucky, he might be able to evolve his Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene before long.
Enough of that. I need to eat something and make an offering to the temple of my stomach. Even the sweetest dreams are worthless if I starve to death.
He glanced at the darkening sky and, with a thought, retrieved his backpack from his gene furnace.
For Gene Cultivators, as long as there was room in their gene furnace, they could store whatever they liked inside.
He took some crackers and water from his backpack and began eating in big mouthfuls.
I wonder how Teacher He and the others are doing, Ji Zhixing thought as he ate. And Liu Qifan, Zhang Haocheng, and the rest. They should all be safe, right?
Then he thought of Zhao Gang.
Zhao Gang ran into the woods. I wonder if he got away.
He sighed.
Zhao Gang still had a chance of surviving.
Li Qiang was definitely gone.
He had barely known either of them.
Before this, they had never even spoken.
But whatever the case, they had still been his classmates.
Gu Zheng!
As Ji Zhixing thought of Gu Zheng and his companions, a cold gleam flashed in his eyes.
This isn't over. Once I'm strong enough, I'll settle the score with them, bit by bit.
By the time he finished eating, the sky had gone completely dark.
Lake Center Island was quiet, with only the sounds of wind and water. Occasionally, a few beast roars rang out in the distance, only to be scattered by the night breeze.
Keep cultivating. Every bit of improvement counts.
Ji Zhixing took out another drop of Earth Core Spirit Liquid and continued refining it.
He could not break through to the second order for now, but raising his cultivation to the peak of the first order would be no problem.
He refined the Earth Core Spirit Liquid drop by drop.
Only when his mind grew weary and operating his gene furnace became difficult did he stop. Leaning against a rock, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
The night passed without incident.
He slept until daybreak the next morning before waking. Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow across the water.
Birdsong sounded in the distance, clear and sweet.
Ji Zhixing stood and stretched his stiff body.
Given his unusual surroundings, he skipped practicing his Staff Technique for once and simply loosened up his arms and legs.
Gu Zheng and the others wouldn't be stubborn enough to wait until now, would they? After a whole night, any normal person would assume I'd already escaped.
He mulled it over. No, I should play it safe. If Gu Zheng and the others haven't given up and are still keeping watch around Stone Lake, heading out now would be walking straight into their net.
I'll wait another day and leave tomorrow. A cautious hand keeps the boat sailing for ten thousand years.
He walked to the lakeside, crouched, and scooped up some water to wash his face.
The lake water was cold, and splashing it on his face refreshed him. He had barely washed his face twice when he suddenly noticed the light before him dimming.
An enormous shadow slowly rose beneath the lake's surface.
The shadow grew larger and closer, churning the lake water into surging waves with a loud splashing sound. Ji Zhixing jerked his head up, his pupils abruptly contracting.
A colossal creature surfaced.
It was astonishingly huge, well over ten meters long, with a grayish-white body and skin as rough as sandpaper.
Its body was streamlined like an enormous fish, yet it also had thick, powerful flipper-like limbs. It looked capable of both swimming through water and crawling over land.
"A Landwalking Ancient Whale!"
Ji Zhixing recognized the creature.
His heart pounded wildly, and his mind went blank.
The Landwalking Ancient Whale was a third-order Gene Beast. Adults measured well over ten meters long and weighed more than ten tonnes, possessing boundless strength, thick skin, and tough flesh. They usually lived in deep water, occasionally coming ashore to forage.
How could Stone Lake have a Gene Beast like this? Did it come from the Otherworld Secret Realm, or is it native to this place?
Ji Zhixing's palms were slick with sweat. He did not dare move.
Judging by its size, this Landwalking Ancient Whale was well over ten meters long and definitely a third-order Gene Beast. It was completely beyond his ability to handle.
Run? I can't get away. It's in the water, so jumping into the lake would be suicide. Run along the shore? It's faster than I am.
An icy chill filled Ji Zhixing's heart.
Just then, the Landwalking Ancient Whale crawled fully ashore. Its enormous body lay on the gravel beach, its grayish-white skin gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Its eyes swept over Ji Zhixing. Then it turned sideways and lifted the flipper on one side.
Ji Zhixing froze.
Beneath the Landwalking Ancient Whale's flipper, countless Water Lice clung in a dense mass.
The largest Water Lice were the size of fists, and even the smallest were as big as eggs. Their grayish-brown shells were embedded tightly in the Landwalking Ancient Whale's skin. Some areas were already swollen and inflamed, or even ulcerated and oozing pus.
The Landwalking Ancient Whale held its body sideways, presenting the area covered in Water Lice to Ji Zhixing. It remained motionless, its eyes fixed on him.
Ji Zhixing looked at the dense mass of Water Lice, then at the ancient whale's tiny eyes. An absurd thought suddenly rose in his mind.
It... doesn't want me to help remove these Water Lice, does it?
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