Rain City Base City, Rain-Listening Garden.
Fifth floor, Building Three.
Zhang Yulan had not cooked after getting up that morning. Instead, she had gone downstairs to buy breakfast.
Ji Guodong sat at the table, chopsticks in hand, staring blankly into space.
Ji Zhiyu sat across from him with her head lowered and her little hands resting on her knees, occasionally stealing a glance at her parents.
"Eat," Zhang Yulan said, her voice a little hoarse. "You still have school later."
Yesterday afternoon, the school buses from Rain City No. 3 High School had returned. The school had summoned every student's parents and informed them of what had happened during the field training.
An Otherworld Secret Realm had appeared, the Gene Beasts had gone berserk, twenty-three students had died, and seventeen had gone missing.
Ji Zhixing's name had been on the missing list.
After breakfast, Ji Zhiyu put on her backpack and left for school. At the door, she looked back and said softly, "Mom. My brother will definitely be all right. He's so strong. He'll definitely come back."
Zhang Yulan looked at her daughter and forced a smile. "Yes. Your brother will definitely be all right."
The door closed. The apartment fell silent.
In the underground water cavern.
Ji Zhixing crouched on the rocky shore, crowded together with over a dozen Giant-Footed Frogs. He looked at the Landwalking Ancient Whale lying deep inside the cavern, utterly helpless.
The enormous creature had its eyes closed, its breathing slow and deep. Occasionally, its tail stirred, churning up clouds of sediment.
No point thinking about it now. I'll take things one step at a time.
He found a place to sit, drew out a drop of Earth Core Spirit Liquid with a thought, and began refining it.
One drop, two drops, three drops...
After an unknown stretch of time, he opened his eyes and glanced into the depths of the cavern.
The Landwalking Ancient Whale lay there with half its back above the water, motionless, seemingly asleep. Its eyes were closed, its body rising and falling with its slow breaths.
Ji Zhixing's eyes flickered.
Rather than making a break for it, he first stood, took out the Yellowstone Staff, held it in his hands, and gave it a gentle swing.
The long staff cut through the air with a faint whistle.
He stopped and stared at the Landwalking Ancient Whale, only to see it instantly open its eyes and look at him.
This fellow...
A chill ran through Ji Zhixing's heart. He was thankful he had not tried to flee outright.
He took a deep breath. Rather than stopping, he began practicing the Stonewall Staff Technique under the Landwalking Ancient Whale's gaze.
Immovable Bedrock.
He held the long staff horizontally before him, his feet rooted to the ground, steady as bedrock.
Gather Stones into a Mountain.
He swung the long staff, each move steady and weighty, as though he were building a mountain stone by stone. Every strike carried tremendous force, yet remained controlled and restrained.
Steadfast as a Mountain...
He practiced over and over, noticing that after watching him for a while, the Landwalking Ancient Whale closed its eyes and paid him no further attention.
It took me over half a month to learn the Army-Breaking Staff Technique. Now that I've awakened the innate staff heart talent, I wonder how long the Stonewall Staff Technique will take.
After practicing for who knew how long, Ji Zhixing's arms ached and his stamina could no longer keep up. He planted the Yellowstone Staff on the ground and stopped, panting.
The Landwalking Ancient Whale remained where it lay, occasionally opening its eyes to glance at him before closing them again.
The cavern was quiet, with only the Landwalking Ancient Whale's breathing and the occasional croak of a Giant-Footed Frog.
He put away the Yellowstone Staff and sat beside the rocky shore. After eating a little, he drew out another drop of Earth Core Spirit Liquid and began refining it.
Earth Core Spirit Liquid works so much better than the Origin Force Gene Potion, he thought silently, closing his eyes and leaning against a rock. At this rate, it won't be long before I reach the peak of the First Order.
He refined it drop by drop. When he grew tired, he leaned against the rock and fell into a deep sleep.
There was no telling day from night in the cavern. Only the glowing stones overhead illuminated the space.
The Giant-Footed Frogs huddled in a corner, occasionally croaking once or twice before quickly falling quiet again.
The Landwalking Ancient Whale lay in the depths, rising and falling with each breath, as though it would never wake.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of water woke Ji Zhixing.
He opened his eyes and saw that the Landwalking Ancient Whale was moving.
Its massive body swayed through the water as it slowly swam toward the cavern entrance. The disturbed water splashed loudly. Upon reaching the entrance, the Landwalking Ancient Whale suddenly stopped and glanced back at him.
Its gaze was placid, but Ji Zhixing understood what it meant.
"Do you really distrust me that much?"
Helplessly, Ji Zhixing stood, walked to the water's edge, and leaped in.
Only after seeing him enter the water did the Landwalking Ancient Whale continue swimming out. Its massive body passed through the water cavern, casting an enormous shadow in the darkness.
Ji Zhixing followed behind, muttering inwardly, Where's it going? To find food? Or patrol its territory?
Once they left the cavern, the light grew brighter.
The Landwalking Ancient Whale surfaced, exposing its grayish-white back, and slowly swam through the lake. It moved at a leisurely pace, as though taking a stroll.
Ji Zhixing followed behind it, surfacing from time to time to catch his breath.
The Frog Pendant only allowed him to stay underwater for twenty minutes.
But each time he emerged from the water, those twenty minutes reset.
After swimming for a while, the Landwalking Ancient Whale suddenly stopped, opened its enormous mouth, and sucked in sharply.
The small fish and shrimp nearby were sucked into its mouth along with the lake water. It closed its mouth, squeezed the water out through its gill slits, and swallowed the food with a movement of its throat.
It swam on, stopped again, and took another mouthful, as though snacking.
Ji Zhixing followed it, but his eyes kept sweeping the lake bed.
Petrified Crabs!
He spotted several Petrified Crabs resting on rocks at the bottom of the lake, their bluish-gray shells almost blending into the surrounding stone.
Let's see if I can hunt one.
With that thought, he immediately swam toward the crabs.
The Landwalking Ancient Whale glanced at him, paid him no mind, and continued swimming ahead.
Ji Zhixing swam above a Petrified Crab and summoned the Yellowstone Staff with a thought. Gripping it in both hands, he brought it down viciously with a Shatter Space Form.
Bang!
The long staff churned the water and struck the crab's head with a dull thud.
The Petrified Crab staggered from the blow, but quickly recovered and charged at him, waving its enormous pincers.
Ji Zhixing dodged through the water, unleashing the Army-Breaking Staff Technique.
Underwater, he was not as strong as he was on land.
But with the innate staff heart talent boosting the Army-Breaking Staff Technique to power equivalent to three stars, he barely managed to fend off the Petrified Crab's attacks.
In the distance, the Landwalking Ancient Whale turned its head, glanced at him, then at the crab flailing its claws.
It opened its mouth, and a stone ball shot out.
Bang!
The stone ball slammed into the Petrified Crab, smashing its shell to pieces. Its eight legs twitched a few times before falling still.
Ji Zhixing froze for a moment. Looking at the thoroughly smashed Petrified Crab, he hurried over and stored its corpse in the gene furnace.
It's actually perfect that it got smashed up. With that chunk of hematite ore in my gene furnace, I really couldn't have fit such a big Petrified Crab inside otherwise.
He waved at the Landwalking Ancient Whale in thanks.
The Landwalking Ancient Whale ignored him and kept swimming.
As Ji Zhixing swam after it, he split off a thread of his consciousness to activate the gene furnace and refine the Petrified Crab.
A few minutes later, the refining was complete.
Two Gene Source Stones had appeared in his gene furnace, but there was nothing else.
"No drop." Ji Zhixing shook his head, undiscouraged.
His eyes continued searching the lake bed, and soon he found a new target.
This time, he did not hesitate and charged straight at the largest Petrified Crab.
I wonder if the Landwalking Ancient Whale will help me again, Ji Zhixing thought.
Still, he did not hesitate. He reached the Petrified Crab and brought his staff straight down.
The blow briefly stunned the Petrified Crab, but it immediately launched a counterattack.
In the next instant, however, the Landwalking Ancient Whale turned and fired another shot, smashing it to pieces.
It really works?
Ji Zhixing's eyes lit up.
He immediately collected the corpse and refined it.
But once again, there was no drop.
"What rotten luck!"
Ji Zhixing sighed and found another one.
The third yielded no drop.
The fourth yielded no drop.
With the fifth, he had only just drawn the crab out and struck it with his staff. Before he could land even a couple of blows, the Landwalking Ancient Whale spat out a stone ball and smashed the crab to pieces.
He swam over, stored the corpse in the furnace, and began refining it.
A few minutes later, he swept his consciousness through the furnace's space, and his heart suddenly gave a leap.
Inside the furnace, besides two Gene Source Stones, there was now a small white bottle. Its surface was smooth and lustrous as jade, and it held a pale gray liquid.
Stone Skin Gene Potion!
Ji Zhixing's eyes lit up, and wild joy surged through his heart.
I got a drop!
Pushing off the lake bed, he made a frog leap and quickly caught up with the Landwalking Ancient Whale.
Does this mean the Landwalking Ancient Whale is keeping me as a pet?
Still, if I get a chance, I'll definitely escape. It would be even better if I could take some Earth Core Spirit Liquid with me when I leave.
He glanced at the Landwalking Ancient Whale swimming leisurely ahead and suddenly felt that it was not quite so frightening anymore.
Seemingly sensing his gaze, the Landwalking Ancient Whale glanced back at him, then turned away and continued swimming.
(Thank you to all you wonderful readers for keeping up with the story. This humble author bows in gratitude. If you have monthly votes, please don't cast them yet, I'm begging you. Wait until I post extra updates on Monday, then help push me up the new book rankings. Thank you, everyone. Also, from now on, the two daily chapter updates will be moved to noon.)
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