Forge a path to success.

Chapter 70 A New World Lies Just Outside the Door
In the desolate mountains and wilderness, artillery fire raged. An army of over ten thousand wild beasts poured out, launching a merciless barrage against the two intruders who had strayed into the mountains. Valiant lion-headed beasts charged ahead, followed by massive bear-like beasts and agile monkey-like beasts—a perfect example of infantry-tank coordination. Even more impressively, birds with extraordinary wings soared through the sky, unleashing explosive metal bombs to provide cover fire. It was truly a well-organized and tactically sophisticated modern army of wild beasts!

Faced with such an offensive, Chu Hengkong didn't hesitate and turned to run. His speed was like riding the wind, leaving even the fastest beast far behind. Vande, clinging to his leg, was dazzled and howled, "I'm going to be thrown off! Help me—"

Chu Hengkong retracted his tentacle and stuffed it into his pocket: "What is this thing?"

"I don't know!" Van der was speechless. "I've never seen this thing before coming up the mountain! No intelligence, no information!"

"Could you be any more useless?" Chu Hengkong sighed.

"Their specialty isn't fighting and killing..."

Van der peeked half his eye out of his pocket to observe the situation, but was immediately startled back by a burst of bullets. These damned bastards were even armed with live ammunition; the hail of bullets kicked up a cloud of dust.

It huddled in its trench coat pocket for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "It might be a strange beast... but I've never seen this type before..."

Explain in one sentence.

"They're races born that are essentially Ascendants!" Vande exclaimed rapidly. "You know, races like Ancient Dragons and Giants are born as high-quality beings; Ascendancy is equivalent to their growth process. Beasts are a super-degraded version of this ideal race. They're born with quality but can't ascend, stuck in the middle. Judging by their appearance, they're probably Foundation Beasts created by external forces..."

Chu Hengkong thought the term "Foundation Beast" was quite powerful, powerful enough to drive Jie An crazy: "Has the Senluo Secret Realm gotten so rife that even a dog is a 1-point mass?"

Vande was deeply shocked: "Dude, can't you use your common sense? This is the world's largest Dust Island Mystic Realm! In this godforsaken place, a single point mass is practically no different from a dog..."

“You apologize to the entire world of Submerged Atomic Energy for all the hard work and cultivation of this 'foundation'. There are 'cornerstones' in this world who are over 60 years old and still persevere in their efforts.”

"If someone is still a foundation stone at 60, then they have absolutely no talent. The old man shouldn't push himself; he should go have tea with his grandchildren!"

"Old people can be ambitious too. Even at 60, they can still work with great energy on the front lines of swindling and cheating..." Chu Hengkong said casually.

"Isn't that just an old fraud? If he put that kind of effort into research, he should have already reached the level of a mutated blade!" Vande unleashed a barrage of fierce criticism.

"Um……"

Chu Hengkong didn't say anything more; he wisely shut his mouth.

Something's not right. He's not some idiot who'd start rambling and telling jokes during a fight. How did he suddenly start talking to this eyeball so naturally?
Something's fishy going on. Why would they do this in the middle of a fight? Could they have been infected by this idiot?
Chu Heng broke out in a cold sweat. This conjecture gave him a sense of crisis far greater than that of the mechanized beasts behind him. But there was no time to delve into the current situation. Seeing that they were about to lose their target, the beasts spewed long flames from the rear of their bodies to accelerate, instantly shortening the distance between the two sides.

"Holy crap, they've sped up!" Vande exclaimed in horror. "Look, their farts are burning!"

"Shut up!" Chu Hengkong grabbed the Fan De in his pocket. "Do you even know the way out of the mountain?"

"I came up from the bottom of the mountain, and we're running uphill right now. How are we going to get out?!" Vande yelled. "The way out is behind the herd of beasts!"

Even without Fan De's explanation, Chu Hengkong realized his current predicament. Escaping the beast horde's pursuit wasn't a problem for the time being, but breaking through the horde and descending the mountain was another challenge. Those were tens of thousands of strange beasts, not tens of thousands of pigs; unless he instantly transformed into a Bone-Strength cultivator, he had little chance of fighting his way out.

"Grandpa, look, there's a cave!" Vande suddenly exclaimed in delight.

There was a cave not far ahead, and a faint light could be seen in the distance, seemingly leading to the other side of the mountain. Chu Hengkong thought it was worth a try; if there was a place to hide, he could at least use his Turtle Breathing Technique to temporarily evade the beasts' detection.

But the environment didn't seem to want him to leave; as they approached, the cave strangely moved back a bit.

"We can't be that unlucky, can we..." Vande's eyes turned green.

The cave moved again, this time vanishing completely as the arched rocks that formed it collapsed to the ground, blocking the mountain path. It was as if an earthquake had struck the desolate mountains; the surrounding walls began to tremble, and gray dust fell in a constant stream. The textures of the rocks became clearer in the process, smooth like the exoskeleton of an arthropod. The boulders, strange rocks, and mountain walls seemed to "flow" as if connected as a single entity, sprouting sharp, pointed legs.

An enormous black-armored centipede crawled down the mountainside, its head, as big as a building, raised and stared at the two people who were trying to leave the mountain!

Now even the path up the mountain was blocked; the centipede had completely blocked the way out. Vande had completely misunderstood; the "cave" was actually the centipede's arched body, and the light was its half-open, half-closed eyes. It had been feigning sleep on the mountain. But the sound of gunfire had awakened the giant centipede, and the first thing it saw were these two unfamiliar creatures. Its eyes gleamed with hunger.

"Do you think it's possible for us to talk to it?" Van der's voice was barely audible.

The giant centipede's carapaces opened and closed, revealing countless white gun barrels. All the barrels fired simultaneously as it furiously charged towards the two men, like an armed train with no blind spots!
"Hold on tight," Chu Hengkong said in a deep voice.

Surrounded by centipedes in front and a horde of beasts behind, he remained calm. Circumstances don't play by the rules; escape was futile, so he might as well fight for his life. He accelerated, sprinting towards the centipedes, and simultaneously hurled another leaf. This time, the leaf rapidly enlarged upon impact, transforming into a green halo. This halo protected Chu Hengkong, deflecting all the bullets and laser beams.

Fallen leaves separated from their roots

Rating: 2

【Origin: Heavenly Prison Border - Despair Wilderness】

【Effect: 1. Infuses energy to generate falling leaf throwing knives, up to 5 knives at a time. 2. Can only be used once every 15 days. Infuses a large amount of energy, causing fallen leaves to return to their roots, providing immunity to low-intensity attacks for 3 seconds.】

[Remembrance: With the new hunter taking office, Warrior Chief Silar retired gracefully. Following the tribe's ancient traditions, he modernized weaponry, offering assistance to strangers far away.]

The Fallen Leaves Return to Their Roots defense helped Chu Hengkong dodge the most dangerous first wave of attacks. In those short three seconds, he closed the distance and jumped up, using the explosive power of a spring to leap onto the body of the giant centipede.

The cannon protruding from the centipede's shell could not be aimed at his own body. Chu Hengkong, who had stepped into a blind spot, ran upwards, stepping on the giant insect's body!
"Don't even dream about it!" Vande screamed. "It's a bony beast! You can't do anything about it—"

Chu Hengkong reached into his pocket and took out another relic from beside the trembling Vande. It was a cyan crystal shaped like a flame, the remnant of the Demon of Ambition. He rubbed the crystal against his tentacles, and the flames of ambition instantly ignited on the silver tentacles. The flames burned fiercely from the moment they appeared, and Chu Hengkong's tentacles shone like torches, turning the entire mountainside cyan.

At such incredible speed, Chu Hengkong was practically a phantom. The azure flames, like the long tail of a comet, lingered long after his trail. As he ran, he activated a secret technique, filling the "spirit" within his tentacles with battle intent and killing intent. The tentacles hardened due to the surging spirit, continuously extending and coiling under his control, forming a blazing "hammer."

The giant centipede instinctively sensed the danger. It thrashed and rolled violently, trying to shake Chu Hengkong off. But Chu Hengkong maintained his balance with superb agility. He leaped from his black carapace and unleashed a powerful blow, charged to the centipede's head!

The tentacle hammer shattered the carapace, the strike imbued with vital energy first damaging the brain, the fire of ambition coursing through the nerves. The giant centipede ignited from within, transforming into a torch as long as a mountain path!

This ruthless blow killed it instantly, and the centipede's massive body crashed into the mountain, forming a natural bridge. Chu Hengkong jumped off the centipede's corpse and landed among a steep rocky outcrop at the top of the mountain range. Vande, inside the pocket, stood frozen in shock.

"Dead...dead, dead?"

“He’s dead,” Chu Hengkong said.

"No, buddy," Vande stammered, "you, you... you killed a point mass 2 in a second?"

"Correct."

The beasts didn't pursue him. He put away the demonic embers and began to breathe deeply. He had only unleashed one attack, yet he clearly felt weak, and the fire of ambition quietly began to burn within him.

Ji Qiufeng had repeatedly told him that demonic power was forbidden, and this proved to be true. At least for today, he couldn't use that thing. He wouldn't fight anything else that came his way.

"Great hero! Master! You must be able to take down that thing in a second, right?" Vande asked expectantly.

Chu Hengkong slowly turned his head and saw a new strange beast appearing on the mountaintop shrouded in thick fog. The beast had a fox's head and a long tail, its body light and elegant, and its color almost as pure white as jade. The jade fox grinned as if smiling, revealing its sharp fangs. Its aura surpassed all the previous strange beasts, and the sense of danger even faintly reminded Chu Hengkong of the Fire-Scarred Serpent.

"This is hopeless." Chu Hengkong took a deep breath. "Prepare for a strategic retreat!"

Vande cried out with a mournful expression, "We're already on the edge of a cliff, where can we possibly go?! Aaaaaah!"

The jade fox leaped nimbly down the mountaintop, its teeth and claws gleaming in the mist. Chu Hengkong kicked several pebbles off the cliff, then froze, as if paralyzed with fear. Fan De, nearly crying in his pocket, cried out, "Move! Chu Hengkong! Why aren't you moving!"

Chu Hengkong's ears twitched; he caught the faint echoes coming from the valley floor. Having estimated the distance and prepared his body, he leaped with all his might, bounding towards the sheer drop below the rocks!

The sound of wind. The mist. Vande's screams and cries. The stench of blood behind him. The receding sense of danger. The Jade Fox didn't pursue; a wild beast wouldn't abandon its territory for a mere prey. Having made ample preparations, Chu Hengkong opened his eyes. He had extensive experience with jumping. Blood rushed to his head; the ground seemed to close in as fast as the ceiling. He estimated the distance. 10 seconds left. 3 seconds. 1 second!
Chu Hengkong curled his body into a ball, landing like a landing capsule! As he landed, he used a vortex to absorb the force, and the reaction force propelled him up again! He skipped seven times across the ground like a skipping stone before stopping! This was a unique technique that Chu Hengkong had improved upon after his last jump rescue, specifically designed to deal with falling objects from a great height – the Great Absorption Technique!

But it wasn't over yet; the jade fox atop the mountain relentlessly pursued them! A flick of its tail triggered a massive tremor through the mountains. Unseen by Chu Hengkong, streams of tiny characters flowed into the cliff face, causing the rocks to bulge, coalesce, and form a smooth, jade-like white sphere. This jade sphere plunged down the steep cliff, causing a cataclysmic tremor. As it fell, it grew larger and larger…

Chu Hengkong had barely landed and looked up when he saw a jade sphere as large as a house pressing down on him! Fan De let out a scream that sounded like he was dying!

There was no need for intuition; just by looking at the proportions, he knew that getting hit by this thing would be disastrous. In desperation, he stretched out his tentacles and grazed the edge of the jade sphere, using the recoil from the impact to propel himself into the air! The jade sphere rolled away with a rumble, while Chu Hengkong spun wildly in mid-air to dissipate the force!

"I'm going to throw up...I'm going to throw up...help..." The voice from the pocket gradually weakened.

After nearly thirty laps, Chu Hengkong landed with a thud, completing yet another perfect rebirth. His various belongings scattered haphazardly on the ground. Vande shakily crawled out of his pocket and immediately began vomiting a strange, rainbow-colored slime.

The jade fox on the mountaintop disappeared into the mist, seemingly having lost interest in the two creatures. Chu Hengkong lay sprawled on the ground, feeling his tentacles throbbing as if they were about to break. He thought to himself that if another Shadow Beast appeared, he would probably be truly finished.

He didn't see any strange beasts. Instead, his reversed vision revealed a pair of semi-transparent white stockings encasing slender, shapely legs. Moving his gaze upward, he could see a pleated skirt of moderate length and a royal blue coat resembling a priest's robe. A little girl with green hair was crouching beside them, a malicious smile on her face.

She glanced at Chu Hengkong's tentacles, then at the vomiting Fan De, and slapped her palm with her small hand.

"At this moment, you came down from the mountain again..." The green-haired girl suddenly realized, "You two must be the squid couple who play really hard!"

"No."

"How could I possibly vomit!"

Chu Hengkong and Fan De expressed their protest with the greatest force they had ever shown in their lives.

(End of this chapter)