Chapter 139 : Corpses
Chapter 139: Corpses
After sorting out this harvest, Chen Beiwu felt a surge of emotion.
Working so hard to earn Spirit Stones was nothing compared to striking a single big score.
No wonder the order in the Southern Wastes was chaotic, with so many Demonic Cultivators lurking about.
The reason was nothing else but sheer profit!
“Gulu?”
Gold Egg looked toward the Spirit Lake, eyes flickering with eagerness.
Ever since it had followed Chen Beiwu, it was either in the Spirit Beast Bag fish tank every day or running endlessly on land.
Now that a Spirit Lake brimming with heaven and earth spiritual energy was right before its eyes, it could hardly hold back its impatience.
“Aren’t you afraid of being frozen into an ice sculpture?” Chen Beiwu teased.
Even though the grand formation before them had long fallen into disrepair, it could still easily suppress the speed of the Sand-Swimming Falcon.
This alone showed the extraordinary attainment in formation arts of the one who had arranged this Spirit Lake array—at least a Second-Tier High-Grade Formation Master, with even the faint possibility of being a Third-Tier Formation Master.
If Gold Egg dared to rush headlong into the Spirit Lake, it would most likely end up battered and bloodied.
“Gulu.” Gold Egg looked at Chen Beiwu with a flattering gaze.
What did it matter if it didn’t understand formations?
As long as Chen Beiwu did!
“You…” Chen Beiwu shook his head, then turned his gaze to Iron Egg.
“The Spirit Lake formation is not friendly to you. How about you stay in the Spirit Beast Bag for now?”
Iron Egg nodded.
Stowing Iron Egg away, Chen Beiwu circled around the Spirit Lake.
Every so often, he would pluck a branch and toss it into the lake.
“Kazzz!”
Without exception, every branch turned into ice crystals with visible speed, falling down and sending ripples across the surface of the lake.
‘Strange. Just how did that Cang Thunder Tiger move freely within the Spirit Lake without being affected?’ Chen Beiwu’s eyes narrowed.
Not only the Cang Thunder Tiger, but he also noticed that the fish inside the Spirit Lake—even when leaping out of the water—were completely unaffected by the formation.
On the other hand, Pei Xiao and the Sand-Swimming Falcon, upon accidentally entering the formation, were immediately slowed and frozen by the array until the flying beast met its end under the tiger’s claws, barely allowing Pei Xiao to escape.
“Do you want to give it a try? Maybe you can swim out a safe path.” Chen Beiwu suggested.
“Gulu.” Gold Egg quickly shook its head.
With those branches serving as examples, it had no intention of bringing disaster upon itself.
“Then go and catch me a clever enough spirit creature—something that can swim and follow simple orders.”
After issuing the task, Chen Beiwu took out Six Spirits of Formations from his storage pouch to study, while Gold Egg turned into a streak of golden light and vanished.
Half an hour later, Gold Egg returned to the lakeshore, spitting out a Gray Rock Rat with round eyes that showed decent intelligence. Its cultivation years were around fifteen.
‘Follow my commands exactly—or die.’
As Chen Beiwu’s thought fell, the trembling Gray Rock Rat repeatedly nodded, clearly understanding his words.
“Splash!”
Facing the rushing waters ahead, the Gray Rock Rat swallowed nervously and instinctively looked back at Chen Beiwu.
‘Jump or die. Choose one.’ Chen Beiwu transmitted his thought. ‘If you jump now, you can even earn a piece of tiger meat.’
At that, the Gray Rock Rat’s eyes flickered with hesitation. It glanced at the meat in Chen Beiwu’s hand, then at the lake before it.
Clenching its teeth, it jumped in.
“Plop!”
The Gray Rock Rat thrashed its limbs frantically, maintaining a steady pace across the turbulent lake surface.
Seeing this, Chen Beiwu felt reassured.
His deduction was correct—the Spirit Lake contained two overlapping formations.
One was a water-element array that gathered heaven and earth spiritual energy, while the other was an ice-element killing formation strong enough to freeze the flesh of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
To safely cross the killing formation, one had to follow the water-gathering array’s Xun and Kan positions, continuously shifting directions along the path.
“Chichi!”
Halfway across, the Gray Rock Rat squealed sharply, as if it had encountered its nemesis.
Chen Beiwu looked up and saw, at the edge of the central island, a serpent over three meters long. Its triangular head and emerald pupils marked it as a Verdant King Scale, flicking its tongue in and out.
【Species】: Verdant King Scale
【Attribute】: Wood, Poison
【Bloodline】: Second-Tier Low-Grade (Spirit Beast)
【Innate Abilities】: King Scale Body (ten times larger than a Verdant Scale, with scales imbued with Jadeheart Poison), Withering-Miasma (able to exhale emerald miasma that petrifies flesh into wood)
Chen Beiwu’s pupils contracted, but he quickly calmed.
From its size and aura, it was merely a Verdant King Scale that had yet to advance to the Beast Creature realm—nothing to be concerned about.
“Chichi!”
The Gray Rock Rat, naturally fearful of snakes, panicked at the sight of the serpent king, turning tail immediately.
The next instant, because it strayed from the Xun and Kan path, it froze into an ice sculpture and sank to the lake bottom.
‘Let’s go.’
Having discerned the array’s workings, Chen Beiwu took Gold Egg and activated Wave-Stepping Through the Tide, transforming into a streak of rainbow light rushing toward the island’s center.
“Hiss!”
Spotting the sudden intruder, the Verdant King Scale did not retreat. Instead, it raised its head high, spreading its neck scales into a fan-like hood, revealing emerald markings of intimidation.
“Shhh-shhh-shhh!”
The serpent shot scales from both sides of its body, filling the air with a faint green mist and strange fragrance.
“Clang—!”
The Cold Pool Spirit Sword unsheathed from behind Chen Beiwu, cutting apart the mist with a flash, its momentum carrying through to cleave the serpent’s neck and split it cleanly in two, precisely picking out the emerald gallbladder.
Gold Egg, meanwhile, opened its mouth and activated its Sea-Absorbing talent, swallowing all the poisonous mist into its belly.
“???” Chen Beiwu stared at Gold Egg in astonishment.
That green miasma was the Verdant King Scale’s unique Withering-Miasma and Jadeheart Poison. Any Qi Refining cultivator who touched even a trace would be reduced to withered wood within moments.
And yet, Gold Egg had eaten it!
“Gulu?”
Gold Egg burped, tilting its head in confusion.
“It’s nothing.”
Seeing that Gold Egg was perfectly fine, Chen Beiwu let out a breath of relief and carefully stored away the serpent gallbladder.
The King Scale Gallbladder stabilized essence and nourished vitality, with an even greater effect on Qi Refining than the Verdant Scale—a rare Second-Tier High-Grade spiritual medicine.
However, since this Verdant King Scale had yet to advance to the Beast Creature realm, the medicinal potency was greatly diminished.
In terms of pure value, it barely qualified as a Second-Tier Low-Grade spiritual medicine.
Continuing toward the island’s center, after about a quarter-hour, a wooden hut entered Chen Beiwu’s divine sense.
Perhaps due to years of neglect, one-third of the hut had collapsed, while the remaining parts leaned crookedly into tall weeds.
Outside, two more Verdant King Scales were lazily sunning themselves on the walls.
Chen Beiwu’s eyes flickered with surprise.
Even in resource-rich Southern Wastes, Verdant King Scales were extremely rare—and here they were, clustered together on this Spirit Lake island.
Dispatching the two serpents neatly with Gold Egg’s help, Chen Beiwu pushed open the hut. At once, a stench of mold mixed with rotting corpses rushed out.
But what drew Chen Beiwu’s attention most was the corpse seated cross-legged on a meditation mat.