Strike while the iron is hot!
Despite sensing that the ferocious beast before him was different from others, Li Chonglou knew he had to act decisively.
"Roar!"
The beast suddenly spewed out a black mist, and the miasma of dark spiritual energy assailed him. A potent sense of danger surged through Li Chonglou.
Could this truly be a dark spirit?
"Tian Yi, run!"
Li Chonglou shouted, simultaneously covering his mouth and nose and retreating rapidly.
Two figures, one large and one small, sprang apart in opposite directions. When the black mist dissipated, Li Chonglou found himself alone in the passage.
"That guy sure is fast."
Li Chonglou glanced in the direction Tian Yi had fled, shaking his head.
The ferocious beast earlier was undoubtedly an intelligent being. He had only observed such emotions in a handful of peculiar beasts.
Among them, Xiaobai was undoubtedly the most prominent.
"Should I try to subdue it?"
For some reason, this thought suddenly flashed through Li Chonglou's mind.
But he quickly dismissed it.
He had no energy to raise such creatures now. If he had the time, he'd rather focus on nurturing Xiaobai, whose potential far exceeded what she currently displayed.
Far away in the underground world, Xiaobai suddenly felt an inexplicable warmth, and her expression froze.
"Xiaobai? What's wrong? Have you found something?"
In a dark valley, Yue Hai suddenly stopped.
The meat mountain walking at the front also immediately halted. Everyone in the group that had entered from the company now fixed their gaze on Xiaobai.
Chen Pao cautiously whispered, "Alert!"
The atmosphere instantly turned tense.
Xiaobai snapped back to reality and repeatedly shook her head with an apologetic look.
The others breathed a sigh of relief.
"Xiaobai, we're all counting on you this time. You must inform me immediately if anything happens."
Yue Hai's expression was grave, and no one in the group had any objections to his words. It seemed the fate of them all rested on Xiaobai.
"Ao."
Xiaobai let out a sound akin to a small tiger's cub and nodded repeatedly.
Chen Pao, who was walking in the middle, then spoke, "Let's keep moving. We aim to reach our destination before dawn. Once we complete this mission, our group evaluation will be approved."
Upon hearing the words "group evaluation," everyone's eyes suddenly blazed with fervent light, their spirits soaring.
"Let's go!"
Underground Mine.
Suppressing his distracting thoughts, Li Chonglou finally stepped through the second stone door.
It was largely as Tian Yi had described. The interior was also a corridor-like space, but its area was only about half as large.
Besides the path leading further inward, both sides were sealed off, with no other way to proceed.
"No wonder that guy said ordinary people could withstand its attacks. If there are enough people here, it's not a problem at all."
Li Chonglou shook his head. Of course, there was a prerequisite: they had to possess enough strength to withstand the beast's power.
Sensing his strength, the ferocious beast had long since vanished without a trace. Li Chonglou effortlessly plucked the top-grade live grass.
He had learned how to harvest this item from Tian Yi when they were at the first stone door. It wasn't difficult, similar to weeding, as long as the roots weren't damaged.
Yes, it was that simple. Even after pulling it out, he just stuffed it into his pocket without ceremony.
"This thing, why does it feel more and more like common weeds?"
Patting the weeds in his pocket, he turned around and saw Tian Yi's sneaky figure.
"You ran."
Li Chonglou called out gruffly.
He had told Tian Yi to run first, but when he looked back, the guy had already vanished. This meant Tian Yi had fled before he even spoke!
The meaning behind him telling Tian Yi to run and Tian Yi running on his own was entirely different!
Tian Yi sheepishly scratched his head and cautiously approached.
"Brother, are you alright?"
Li Chonglou didn't reply but pointed to the live grass on the ground. "Hurry up and harvest it."
"Did you really run?"
Li Chonglou rolled his eyes. "If you don't come, I'm leaving."
Seeing that Li Chonglou was about to leave, Tian Yi's expression changed, and he quickly trotted over.
"No, no, no, brother. Only you are fierce enough to drive it away alone. You have to guard me here."
In a few swift movements, Tian Yi stuffed several stalks of live grass into his pocket.
"Let's go quickly."
The two hurried away. As Tian Yi was about to close the stone door, Li Chonglou frowned.
"Wait!"
Tian Yi turned back in confusion.
Before he could speak, he saw the second stone door slowly opening.
Three island nation guards mumbled as they pushed the door open and entered.
"I don't know what they're thinking upstairs. Who would dare come in at this time? Are those cowards from headquarters challenging the beasts? Heh."
"Enough talk, just consider it a routine check. It won't take much time anyway."
As soon as they finished speaking, the stone door opened, and ten pairs of eyes met.
"Damn it! Run!"
Li Chonglou furrowed his brow. "Who are they?"
However, Tian Yi had already pulled him back into the area of the top-grade live grass and was anxiously closing the stone door.
"Damn it! There are still those who aren't afraid of death. Hurry up and attack!"
The faces of the three men changed drastically, and they all charged towards the duo.
Bang!
The stone door slammed shut heavily, but Tian Yi's anxious expression did not fade.
"What's going on?"
Li Chonglou asked sternly.
"It's those bastards from the island nation! They made a rule that we're not allowed in the top-grade live grass area, or they'll kill us!"
"Island nation people?"
Bang!
A slamming sound came from behind the stone door. Tian Yi, who was leaning against it, was almost thrown off by the force. His face had turned ashen.
"What are you afraid of when I'm here?"
Li Chonglou said with some exasperation.
Tian Yi gave a wry smile. "Brother, they're not ordinary people. They are cultivators who entered through special means. They can unleash their realm's strength when necessary."
Bang!
A furious roar came from behind the stone door. "Get out here now! Don't force me to get serious!"
Li Chonglou asked in confusion, "Aren't cultivators not allowed in here?"
"Brother, there's no time for lengthy explanations. You go further inside and see if you can kill that beast. Perhaps they won't dare to chase after you."
Tian Yi genuinely wanted to cry at this moment. Caught between a rock and a hard place, he regretted being so terrified by the beast earlier that he forgot the rule set by the island nation people.
"Heh, move aside. This is our territory. Do these things get to make rules?"
Li Chonglou said, pulling Tian Yi aside.
The latter's face immediately turned anxious. "Are you crazy? They are cultivators! And elite warriors. My brother died at their hands before!"
"What are you afraid of!"
As soon as Tian Yi pulled away, the stone door was kicked open by the three men. Before the fierce-looking man could react, a fist landed squarely on his face.
"Damn!"
The man was sent flying backward. The two behind him quickly dodged to the side.