Support me at patreon for 30+ advanced chapters :
patreon.com/YaoIk
**
Below.
Hiss~
Sensing that Wei Yang and his group were about to retreat, the King Cobra became even more arrogant. It raised its head, flicked its tongue, and let out a series of hissing sounds filled with provocation.
It was as if it were saying: Don't go, stay and fight me!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Its massive tail slammed onto the sand repeatedly, producing deep, muffled sounds.
The King Cobra's vertical pupils were filled with excitement and arrogance. As its body swayed, it continued to hiss provocatively.
A peak Rank 5 Magic Beast—its intelligence was already quite high.
A Rank 6 Magic Beast could speak human language and possessed remarkable wisdom.
Some lucky Magic Beasts could even talk at the Rank 5 level.
This mutated peak Rank 5 King Cobra had likely encountered some fortuitous event. While it couldn't speak yet, its intelligence was clearly advanced.
It had lived alone in this vast forbidden zone of life, spending countless years in solitude.
Now, upon suddenly encountering Wei Yang and Xian'er, two humans, it was naturally very excited.
Besides the fact that Wei Yang and Xian'er had trespassed into its territory, it likely just wanted a fight.
"Damned beast!"
The King Cobra's arrogant provocations made Wei Yang grit his teeth.
What an insolent creature.
If Xian'er weren't holding him back, he would have gone down to teach it another lesson.
As if you actually won the fight.
In their earlier battle, neither side truly gained the upper hand.
Instead, it was the beast that got injured—even if it was only a minor wound.
Yet now, their positions seemed completely reversed.
The injured one was acting arrogant, while the unscathed ones were reluctantly backing away.
You're just relying on your thick skin and endurance, aren't you?
Wei Yang thought with frustration.
He could see it now—this beast was doing it on purpose.
Since it couldn't fly, it was provoking him to come down.
A lonely snake… what bad intentions could it possibly have?
It just wants someone to fight with.
Wei Yang exhaled lightly and gave the beast a deep look.
Fine. Very well. I'll remember you.
Just you wait.
"We're leaving."
With a cold snort, Wei Yang turned around, his Dou Qi Wings flapping as he flew away.
Behind him, Xian'er followed closely.
Hiss~
Below, the King Cobra let out a distressed and furious hiss.
Wei Yang ignored it completely, acting as if he hadn't heard anything.
Bringing along Qing Lin, Wei Yang's group left somewhat dejectedly.
Behind them, the King Cobra unwillingly gave chase.
It continuously let out provoking hisses.
Wei Yang and his group paid it no attention and instead increased their flight speed.
The King Cobra could only keep chasing, but since it wasn't as fast as them in the air, it quickly lost sight of them.
Hiss~
Left behind, it twisted its massive body in frustration, letting out one furious roar after another.
It opened its mouth and spewed out roaring flames.
A Wind-Fire Tornado shot up, connecting heaven and earth, whipping up endless yellow sand in a frenzied storm—as if venting its rage.
Flying through the sky.
Sensing the powerful energy fluctuations from behind, Wei Yang muttered in frustration,
"That damned beast!"
It wasn't that they couldn't defeat it, but there was simply no need to fight it to the death.
If they really went all out, it would only result in mutual destruction.
In this unfamiliar and unknown Forbidden Zone of Life, fighting to the death was clearly not worth it.
After all, they had other objectives on this trip.
Not to mention, Qing Lin—who was only at the Dou Zhi Qi stage—was with them, making Wei Yang more cautious.
Seeing that Wei Yang seemed to be in a bad mood, Qing Lin didn't dare to speak to him and instead turned to look at Xian'er.
Xian'er found his reaction amusing and explained, "That serpent-type Magic Beast is very strong. Even though it's only at the peak of Rank 5, its strength is comparable to a low-level Dou Huang, and its defense is incredibly tough... We simply can't deal with it for now."
"Oh." Qing Lin nodded.
Wei Yang didn't want to look weak in front of them, so he snorted, "This was a strategic retreat, not because we couldn't beat it. There was just no need to risk everything. In the end, it was the one that suffered."
"I'm only a One-Star Dou Wang right now, but in a few days, I'll reach the peak of One-Star. Then, I'll take the Dou Spirit Pill and advance to Three-Star Dou Wang... Once I reach mid-tier Dou Wang, I'll be confident in fighting it alone without being at a disadvantage."
"And by then, if I team up with you, Xian'er, we'll be able to completely crush it!"
"Right, right." Xian'er, already a Three-Star Dou Wang, nodded with a smile.
"Young Master is the best!" Qing Lin quickly added.
"Hmph."
Three Days Later
In a wind-eroded mountain range, on the leeward side.
Xian'er carefully plucked a yellow jade-colored, ginseng-like spiritual herb as thick as a baby's arm, then placed it in a jade box.
"A Tier 7 Thousand-Year Earth Spirit Ginseng! I didn't expect us to find one here. We're really lucky!" Xian'er's face was filled with excitement as she grinned happily.
A Tier 7 Spiritual Herb!
Its value went without saying.
To Xian'er, finding such a herb was far more thrilling than stumbling upon a million gold coins.
Wei Yang also nodded with a smile.
The Tier 7 Earth Spirit Ginseng was an extremely rare herb that could replace several main ingredients in refining Tier 7 High or even Peak Grade Pills.
Its effects included cleansing the body's meridians, enhancing physical vitality, and improving cultivation aptitude—especially for those with earth affinity, where its benefits were unparalleled.
It was even more potent than Earth Core Marrow Milk.
Just this one herb alone could easily be traded for a Low-Level Earth Grade Dou Technique, with extra value left to spare.
Standing atop a weathered mountain peak, Wei Yang held a map, gazing into the distance.
This was a vast region of eroded rock hills stretching thousands of miles.
And it was also the final destination marked on the map.
The small red circle on the map indicated that their goal lay somewhere within this very area.
They had already been traveling through this terrain for a day.
Wei Yang could feel it—they were getting closer and closer to their true objective.
Yet, even here, there were no signs of life.
It was a completely dead Forbidden Zone of Life.
If not for the unexpected discovery of the Tier 7 Earth Spirit Ginseng, they wouldn't have stopped at all.
After a brief rest, they continued their journey.
Finally, at noon the next day—
They arrived at their true destination!
Ahead of them lay a small circular basin, about a mile in diameter.
Yes, a dark basin.
Using the word dark in the middle of a blazing desert might seem odd or unfitting, but that was the reality.
It was like a black stain blatantly marking the land.
Particularly under the daylight, it stood out—an eerie black dot in the endless sea of yellow sand.
Like a patch of shadow.
Like a drop of ink, spreading across the vast desert.
The scene was surreal.
The scorching sun shone brightly, yet the moment its light touched that circular black spot, it was as if the light itself was devoured.
No sunlight could illuminate that area.
Standing atop a hill, Wei Yang, Xian'er, and Qing Lin gazed at this bizarre sight from afar, utterly shocked.
That small basin looked like the gaping maw of a monster, swallowing all the sunlight that dared to approach.
-------------------------------------------------------
Support me at patreon for 30+ advanced chapters :
patreon.com/YaoIk