Guixu Immortal Kingdom

Chapter 20 The Mist Is Dissipating

It didn't rush into the corridor immediately. Instead, it stood guard at the stairwell door.

What emerged was a large number of venomous snakes.

These venomous snakes move with extraordinary speed. Some not only swim on the ground, but others leap from place to place and dart through the air, making one's scalp tingle. At a glance, there are venomous snakes everywhere, in large numbers.

"Hehe, you bunch of little spicy snacks, watch out, Grandpa Qi Lin is going to give you a big gift."

Qi Lin took a puff of his pipe and exhaled through his nose. Instantly, two plumes of white smoke billowed from his nostrils and spread rapidly towards the snake swarm. This time, the smoke had no pungent smell; instead, it was completely odorless, just like normal oxygen, and he felt nothing when inhaling it.

The smoke was still visible.

Snap! !
Covered in smoke, one could immediately see that the venomous snake, which had been launched into the air, suddenly seemed to fall asleep at that moment, and then fell from the sky without waking up even after hitting the ground.

It's like it's entered hibernation, sleeping soundly!

Ruyi Smoke—Bewitching!

This was clearly a type of smoke condensed from the Ruyi Smoke within his body, called Bewitching Smoke. It was colored but odorless. Once inhaled, it would immediately cause the person to fall into a deep sleep and faint, just like what was happening before their eyes.

Normally, if one is asleep, it's just hibernation. But now, falling into a deep sleep means being completely powerless to resist, and one's life is out of control, which is equivalent to death.

Qi Lin's smoke produced a tremendous effect on the spot.

"Well, you old smoker, your breath is so strong it could knock out a snake. You've got quite a strong breath."

Hu Youni glanced at Qi Lin and said with a light laugh.

"Hey, girl, that's really mean. How about I spray you with that too?"

Qi Lin, who had been smugly pleased with himself for having a large number of venomous snakes drugged, immediately turned pale upon hearing this. This girl was beautiful in every way except for her mouth.

She would come whenever he was at his most triumphant.

One sentence put him in an awkward position.

My heart rate is getting irregular.

"I'll hold the front, you guys provide support from the flanks. Kill!!"

Ji Tianhao decisively stepped forward, standing directly at the forefront. Instead of retreating, he advanced, wielding the Karma-Slaying Blade. The bewitched snakes had no ability to resist and were cut in half while asleep. Blood flashed, and dozens were killed with each strike. With each strike, one could feel an invisible special substance merging into the blade, causing the Karma-Slaying Blade to undergo a special evolution.

While other aspects may not be immediately apparent, the sharpness of the blade is undeniably superior.

"Don't kill them all, leave some for me. I want my military dagger to improve a bit more."

Seeing this, Hu Youni hurriedly stepped forward and brandished her military dagger, slashing at the bodies of the venomous snakes. Sensing the changes in the dagger, the corners of her mouth curled up.

The sleeping powder was effective, but it was ultimately a consumable. The first wave of snakes fell, and the second wave quickly rushed over. This time, without the sleeping powder to stop them, the snakes leaped and pounced on their vital points. Ji Tianhao, who was at the forefront, was the first to be hit.

The sheer number of them was astonishing, their density was terrifying.

The Blade of Karma slashed brilliantly in his hand, slaying most of the venomous snakes that lunged at him. However, many snakes still managed to break through his defenses and bite him.

In fact, Ji Tianhao had a chance to escape, but if he had, Qi Lin and Hu Youni would have been directly exposed to the snake's jaws.

Most importantly, these venomous snakes are ordinary venomous snakes below the Black Iron level, whose life essence has not been upgraded, so they are not afraid of them at all.

"Old Ji, be careful."

Qi Lin issued a warning.

Click! !
A venomous snake lunged forward, aiming a bite at Ji Tianhao's neck. Its sharp, pointed fangs were clearly visible, making it look extremely menacing. However, the bite didn't break the skin. Instead, a layer of black iron-like light appeared on Ji Tianhao's neck, and an invisible force rebounded, as if it had struck a piece of refined iron. Not only did the snake's skin not break, but its two fangs were also snapped off by the immense backlash.

At this moment, if you look closely, you might see a clear yet bewildered look in the snake's eyes.

Then Ji Tianhao grabbed the snake's head with one hand, and with a forceful squeeze of his five fingers, the snake's head was crushed into a pulp.

Meanwhile, the other venomous snakes that bit him met almost the same fate: their fangs snapped without exception, scattering broken pieces all over the floor with a crisp, resounding crack. It was utterly unbelievable.

"A venomous snake bites, its fangs break, and black light emerges from within the membrane. Ji Tianhao, you've successfully cultivated and condensed a black iron membrane!" Hu Youni exclaimed in shock, her mouth agape and eyes wide.
They had all read the initial explanations of cultivation and knew that the most significant sign of successful formal cultivation was the formation of a black iron membrane within the body.

"It hasn't been that long, and you've already become a formal cultivator before us. That's too fast. Is there really such a big gap between us?"

Qi Lin suddenly felt that the pipe he was smoking no longer smelled good.

This is too discouraging. They've only been separated for an hour, and they're still stuck in the same place, while the other person has already become a cultivator and officially started their cultivation journey. People with poor mentality would probably feel resentful.

They had some basic knowledge of cultivation and even possessed cultivation techniques. Their discerning eyes knew that even if they began cultivating, they wouldn't easily condense a black iron membrane. That was a characteristic of successful cultivation.

Under such circumstances, they don't feel that they can achieve anything in an hour or a day.

To succeed in cultivation in one go, one must either be exceptionally gifted, a genius or prodigy in cultivation; or possess abundant resources, top-tier resources at will; or have a vast foundation accumulated before cultivation, which, after being transformed during cultivation, brings a wave of benefits.

Regardless of the reason, it is an indisputable fact that Ji Tianhao was able to become a cultivator at the Black Iron level.

"I was lucky. I found a pill that could help with cultivation in the light orbs that exploded from the snakes. I took it and tried to cultivate once. I don't know how, but I succeeded. Moreover, the so-called black iron membrane and black iron halo are actually the life force field in our bodies."

"If there is a life force field, then unless a special method is used, no attack will work unless the force field is broken. However, when life forms of the same rank fight each other, their life force fields will cancel each other out. But it is really useful against life forms of lower rank than oneself."

Ji Tianhao had a very calm expression.

It has a bit of a Versailles feel to it.

These words made Qi Lin and Hu Youni feel an urge to twitch their lips. After glancing at the ground, Hu Youni said with some surprise, "Huh, the number of light orbs on the ground is a bit off. It seems like there are far fewer."

Previously, killing one animal would yield one drop, but now the drops have decreased by nearly a third.

Some were killed, leaving only their corpses on the ground.

“I noticed before that it had decreased by about a third. I feel that something is wrong; the number of these light orbs being born may decrease further, or even disappear completely.”

Qi Lin also shared his guess.

They could clearly see how many snakes died and how many orbs of light appeared.

“I also suspect that this Ruins of Return has special rules. The light orbs may not keep being generated. Since they are showing a decreasing trend, I think we should kill as many snakes as possible. The more we kill, the more we will get. If we wait until the end and no more light orbs are generated after killing snakes, it will be too late to regret it.”

Ji Tianhao also expressed his own thoughts.

What's the point of hiding? Once you stop losing items, it'll be too late to regret it.

"He deserves to die. Such an opportunity cannot be missed."

Qi Lin's eyes lit up. Anything could be born within this falling sphere of light, even cultivation methods. If he missed it, he would regret it to death. The iron gall in his hand flew back and forth, continuously smashing at the venomous snakes. The speed of flight was faster and the power was greater.

With Ji Tianhao blocking the way, ordinary venomous snakes couldn't even break through his defenses.

They were stuck in the corridor, and the fight went on smoothly.

Outside, on the small hill, one could see that in the nomadic camp, people dressed in tattered clothes, with strange glints in their eyes, were all watching the situation at the starting point ahead. In particular, those who were pale and thin were swallowing hard, as if they saw hope in the distance.

The three leaders, Liang Hongguang, Pang Yan, and Tian Buqi, were already standing on the hill, gazing ahead.

Click! !
Pang Yan held a roasted corncob in her hand, taking big bites and eating it carefully, not missing a single kernel. Her eyes were fixed on the mist ahead as she said, "Boss, do you see that? The mist over the Initial Land is dissipating, and it's dissipating quite quickly. It seems that the integration of Guixu with this Initial Land is going smoothly. As soon as the mist dissipates, we can go in to explore and search for supplies. Many people in this camp are almost at their breaking point."

As he spoke, he finished eating the corn on the cob, and then casually tossed the bare cob toward the camp.

"Mine, this is mine."

"That's great! With this stick, Xiaolan can live a few more days."

A thin, middle-aged man was hit by the bare corn cob. His eyes lit up instantly, and he hugged it to his chest as if it were a delicious delicacy. He then turned and ran into a tattered tent.

Is it okay to eat a completely eaten corn cob? Under normal circumstances, no, it's not. But when there's no other food, then there's nothing you can't eat; when you're starving, you can even eat dirt.

(End of this chapter)