Basking in the sun

Ji Zhixing followed the Landwalking Ancient Whale through the lake, searching everywhere for signs of Petrified Crabs.

The Landwalking Ancient Whale swam leisurely ahead, occasionally opening its enormous mouth to suck in a mouthful of fish and shrimp.

Ji Zhixing followed behind. Whenever he spotted a Petrified Crab, he rushed over and brought his staff down on it.

The Landwalking Ancient Whale seemed to enjoy this game. It cooperated every time, spitting out a stone ball that smashed the Petrified Crab to pieces.

Ji Zhixing refined more than a dozen Petrified Crabs in succession. Unfortunately, apart from that first bottle of Stone Skin Gene Potion, all he got afterward were Gene Source Stones.

"These drop rates really do depend on luck." Ji Zhixing sighed and put another crab's corpse into the gene furnace.

After refining it, however, he still received only two Gene Source Stones.

By then, the Landwalking Ancient Whale seemed to have eaten and drunk its fill. With a sweep of its tail, it slowly turned around and swam back the way it had come.

"Heading back already?"

Although Ji Zhixing wanted to hunt a few more, he could only follow. His position was no different from a servant's now, and a servant had no right to say no.

He sped up and caught up with the Landwalking Ancient Whale.

Back in the Underground Water Cave, the Landwalking Ancient Whale swam into the depths and sank its enormous body beneath the water, leaving only half its back exposed. Soon, it closed its eyes again.

Ji Zhixing climbed onto the rocky shore, shook the water off himself, and sat down beside the Giant-Footed Frogs.

The Giant-Footed Frogs had grown used to his presence. Instead of huddling together in fear as they had before, they merely shifted aside to make some room for him.

I wonder how much time has passed outside. Ji Zhixing leaned against a rock and gazed at the glowing stones overhead, thinking silently, Mom, Dad, and my little sister must be worried sick after hearing I've gone missing.

But in his current situation, there was nothing he could do.

Escape?

The Landwalking Ancient Whale never gave him a chance to get away.

Rain City Base City, Rain City No. 3 High School.

A military vehicle stopped outside the school gates. The door opened, and a soldier helped a young man covered in injuries out of the vehicle.

"Zhao Gang!" The school administrators and teachers waiting at the gates immediately came forward and asked anxiously, "How are you? Are you all right?"

Zhao Gang shook his head. His face was pale, and his clothes were torn in several places, with blood staining some of them.

After fleeing in the Otherworld Secret Realm that day, he had been unable to find a way out.

Only today had the military found him and brought him out.

"Go back and rest first." An administrator supported him as they headed into the school. "Everything else can wait until you've recovered."

"Ms. He." Instead of leaving right away, Zhao Gang stopped and looked at He Yanbing, his voice hoarse. "Has Ji Zhixing come back?"

"Ji Zhixing?" He Yanbing's heart jolted, and she hurriedly asked, "You saw him in the Otherworld Secret Realm?"

"Not just Ji Zhixing. Li Qiang from our class was there too!" Zhao Gang gritted his teeth and told everyone how they had encountered Gu Zheng and his companions, and how they had been forced to lure the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python.

"Li Qiang is dead. Ji Zhixing saw him swallowed alive by the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python."

"As for Ji Zhixing, I'm not sure. All I saw at the time was him jumping into the water. I don't know what happened after that."

"Is everything you said true?"

He Yanbing's face darkened with anger.

"Zhao Gang," Principal Zhou Chenghong said then. "Do you have any evidence for these claims?"

Zhao Gang shook his head.

He had been too busy running for his life to think about preserving evidence.

Zhou Chenghong said gravely, "Since you have no evidence, don't make reckless accusations. This is for your own good. The Gu Zheng you mentioned fused with the fourth-order sword-feather peacock gene. He's destined to enter Rain City University."

"Without evidence, you're just talking nonsense. And talking nonsense will bring trouble down on your own head."

Zhao Gang froze, his fists clenched tightly. For a long while, he could not speak.

"All right, you're tired too. Go back and get some proper rest."

An administrator patted his shoulder.

"Ji Zhixing..."

After everyone left, He Yanbing thought about what Zhao Gang had said, and anger surged through her.

But she was only an ordinary teacher. There was nothing she could do either.

The Underground Water Cave.

Ji Zhixing could no longer remember how many days he had spent here.

His daily routine was simple. He woke up, refined Earth Core Spirit Liquid, practiced the Stonewall Staff Technique, and rested when he was tired.

Every so often, the Landwalking Ancient Whale went out to feed. He followed it out and hunted Petrified Crabs along the way. Once they returned, he continued training and refining the spirit liquid.

His Stonewall Staff Technique improved day by day.

At first, he had relied entirely on the Yellowstone Staff to guide him. Later, little by little, he comprehended the Bedrock intent.

There had been no hurdles.

The understanding had simply come naturally.

Now, he could imbue every staff strike with Bedrock intent, immovable as a mountain.

"Army-Breaking is offense, and Bedrock is defense. Now I have both."

Ji Zhixing put away his staff and wiped off his sweat. "Army-Breaking and Bedrock have completely different intents. Besides the Yellowstone Staff, my innate staff heart talent played a considerable part in helping me find my footing in such a short time."

Splash!

Suddenly, water churned.

Ji Zhixing raised his head and saw that the Landwalking Ancient Whale had awakened. Its enormous body rolled over in the water, stirring up a murky cloud of mud and sand.

Time to go out. Delighted, Ji Zhixing immediately stood up, ready to follow.

After so many days, he had figured out the Landwalking Ancient Whale's routine. It woke up, went out to feed, and returned to sleep once it was full.

And its feeding time was his chance to hunt Petrified Crabs. This was the moment he looked forward to most each day.

But today, the Landwalking Ancient Whale did not swim straight toward the cave entrance.

It slowly crawled ashore.

Its body, over ten meters long, settled on the rocky shore, making the ground tremble.

Ji Zhixing froze, unsure what it intended to do.

Then he saw the Landwalking Ancient Whale open its mouth and swallow a nearby Giant-Footed Frog in one gulp. The Giant-Footed Frog vanished into its mouth before it could even cry out.

The Landwalking Ancient Whale smacked its lips, its throat working several times as though savoring the taste.

A chill ran down Ji Zhixing's back.

Over the past few days, he had grown accustomed to the Landwalking Ancient Whale's presence. It took him out to feed every day, helped him smash Petrified Crabs, and never interfered with his training.

He had even started to think that this enormous creature was not so frightening after all.

But now, watching that Giant-Footed Frog get swallowed, he suddenly came to his senses.

This thing is the overlord of Stone Lake, a third-order Gene Beast. Cold sweat seeped into Ji Zhixing's palms. It's no harmless creature. It only treats me well because I'm still useful. If it gets upset one day, I'll be worse off than a Giant-Footed Frog.

He drew a deep breath and suppressed his fear.

After swallowing the Giant-Footed Frog, the Landwalking Ancient Whale glanced at him, then slowly slid into the water and swam toward the cave entrance. Its gaze was calm, no different from usual.

Ji Zhixing took a deep breath, leaped into the water, and immediately followed.

The days passed one after another. There was no sunrise or moonset, no alternation of day and night, only the stones overhead glowing endlessly.

Ji Zhixing's daily life remained unchanged: practicing his staff techniques, refining Earth Core Spirit Liquid, following the Landwalking Ancient Whale out to feed, and hunting Petrified Crabs.

He had become thoroughly proficient in both staff techniques and could switch freely between Army-Breaking intent and Bedrock intent. One offensive and the other defensive, they complemented each other perfectly.

"Huh?"

That day, Ji Zhixing followed the Landwalking Ancient Whale into Stone Lake. Before he had hunted more than a few Petrified Crabs, he noticed that the whale had actually swum to the shore, climbed onto the bank, and rolled over to bask in the sun.

"This thing sunbathes too?"

Ji Zhixing was astonished.

Then his heart gave a jolt. As though something had occurred to him, he hurried ashore after it.

Once on land, he looked around, then took out the Yellowstone Staff and used it to write out his predicament in the sand.

He was not sure whether anyone would see it, much less whether anyone would come to rescue him.

But at least it was a chance.

Splash!

After basking in the sun for a little over ten minutes, the Landwalking Ancient Whale rolled over and returned to Stone Lake.

Seeing this, Ji Zhixing immediately followed.

"Found one!"

As he followed the Landwalking Ancient Whale, his eyes searched everywhere. Suddenly, his gaze shifted, and he spotted a Petrified Crab on the lakebed.

Bang!

Before he could act, however, the Landwalking Ancient Whale ahead opened its mouth and spat out a stone ball, striking the Petrified Crab first.

It smashed the crab to a pulp.

Ji Zhixing paused at the sight, then immediately went forward, collected the Petrified Crab, and began refining it.

"Finally, a drop!"

A few minutes later, delight surged through Ji Zhixing.

Over these past days, he had used twelve bottles of Stone Skin Gene Potion, one after another.

He believed that, barring any surprises, refining this bottle of Stone Skin Gene Potion would allow him to unlock the Stone Skin gene ability.