Chapter 145 Hunting the Extraordinary
Zhong Cheng was utterly stunned upon hearing "Big Bell." It was a novel nickname; no one had ever called his sister that before! As for Zhong Qing, her delicate face remained expressionless, appearing calm. However, the slender fingers clasped tightly together betrayed the tranquility on the surface.
"This hollow helmet with extraordinary properties can be taken back to your Zhong family for research. I believe that reverse engineering it could spark some kind of breakthrough. All I need is some specific scripture in exchange; I hope..." Wang Xuan began speaking.
Zhong Cheng was surprised by Wang Xuan's sudden change in subject. He had thought there might be some complicated relationship between Wang Xuan and his sister, but Little Wang calmly began discussing a potential collaboration instead.
"Oh, by the way, do you have more of these protective plates for other parts, like arms and legs?" Wang Xuan pointed to the steel plate he had just returned.
"I'm serious. No other intentions." Wang Xuan clarified.
In the end, Zhong Qing actually removed two spiked, slender steel plates from her arm!
Zhong Cheng was flabbergasted. His sister was truly extravagant!
"I'll give you some bottles and jars in exchange for borrowing these two steel plates." Wang Xuan took out part of his spoils, explaining that he had scavenged them from corpses and urged them to be cautious, suggesting they test the items carefully to figure out their uses.
Wang Xuan secured the two slender steel plates on his arms. He couldn't shake the feeling that the man who had jumped into the river wouldn't die easily. After all, having mastered the Golden Body Technique, it was unlikely that the monsters in the water could kill him.
If that man rejoined his team and told them everything about Wang Xuan, then perhaps their next encounter would yield another "steel plate surprise."
"Take care of yourselves," Wang Xuan said, turning to leave.
Zhong Cheng mumbled to himself, "That guy is getting more confident. What is he planning to do on his own?"
Then, he whispered, "Sis, was he complimenting you just now? You were so quiet. Were you pretending to be indifferent?"
Zhong Qing, irritated, almost smashed him with the steel plate, saying, "I'm about to explode from how mad he made me!"
Suddenly, Zhong Qing's beautiful eyes squinted as she held up the steel plate Wang Xuan had returned and carefully examined it in the sunlight. She spotted bloodstains! Despite being cleaned, the sunlight revealed nearly imperceptible blood traces. The venomous bee's stinger wouldn't have left blood!
"Sis, what are you looking at?" Zhong Cheng asked.
"Do you smell something on this steel plate?" Zhong Qing gestured for him to take a whiff.
"What smell? It just smells like a man. Sis, don't tell me you've fallen for Little Wang? I was going to introduce you to Old Wang—the grandmaster in his twenties, bound to surpass all others! Ah… stop!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
...
Wang Xuan moved in the opposite direction of the fleeing New Star expedition team, leaving obvious tracks for people at his level to follow.
More importantly, he left behind the two bodies he had killed, dropping them along the way several miles apart. This was a provocation, a blatant invitation for them to follow his path!
Wang Xuan circled through the forest, taking a long detour before heading back toward the group.
If the group had already started moving, they would be circling along with him. If not, he planned to get involved and see what extraordinary herbs might be nearby, evaluating the situation as it unfolded.
The group was not hard to track. The three powerful grandmasters had left many traces behind as they pursued him. With every giant leap, they covered at least ten meters, leaving the ground shattered with their footprints.
An hour later, Wang Xuan crossed mountains and a marshland before discovering the group's tracks. They were being reckless, trying to harvest a strange herb near an extraordinary beast's lair. Were they trying to provoke an extraordinary-level monster?
The surrounding vegetation was lush, except for the area around the beast's lair, where everything was dry and barren. The only sign of life there was a patch of fiery red vines growing on the cave wall, bearing several clusters of reddish-purple fruits. Even from afar, a faint fragrance was noticeable.
Wang Xuan was intrigued. Was the beast really that patient, guarding these extraordinary herbs without eating them? Or had it eaten them so often that it was tired of them?
Then he spotted the extraordinary beast, a creature that resembled but was not quite a snake.
It was incredibly thick, with a diameter of over four meters, though its length seemed disproportionate—only about fifteen meters. Its body was covered in palm-sized green scales.
It seemed clumsy, but it moved with remarkable speed, soon returning with two bear-like creatures, each over three meters long. They were as easy for the beast to carry as mice.
The bears weren't dead yet. After they were thrown at the cave entrance, two smaller extraordinary offspring rushed out. Their girth was about two meters, and their bodies were around seven or eight meters long.
In a cacophony of screams, they swallowed the bears whole, much like snakes devouring prey.
After enjoying their blood meal, the two offspring carefully selected a cluster of purple-red fruits from the vine, each cautiously wrapping a tongue around a single fruit.
Wang Xuan understood then: the extraordinary herbs weren't something the adult snake had grown tired of but were reserved for its offspring to grow stronger.
These monsters had been fed extraordinary herbs from birth. How could they not be strong?
The group was after this lair's extraordinary herbs? That was insane! Wang Xuan didn't think the extraordinary beast was one to be trifled with. If something went wrong, it could easily wipe them all out.
Wang Xuan didn't dare use his spiritual senses for fear of being detected by the extraordinary snake. Instead, he observed everything from afar, two mountain ridges away, relying on his sharp vision.
Drawing closer to the group, he watched them carefully.
He soon uncovered a shocking truth: not only were they after the extraordinary herbs, but they also intended to hunt the extraordinary beast!
It was madness! Even with top-tier grandmasters working together, they couldn't possibly defeat that creature.
Wang Xuan kept his distance, not daring to use his spiritual field, and only sent out the slightest threads of his mind to capture bits and pieces of their conversation.
After a long time, he grasped some of their plans. The group wasn't entirely unified, constantly shifting strategies, which explained why they hadn't acted yet.
In the end, they devised a plan to lure the creature to a specific location. If successful, they could not only obtain the extraordinary herbs but also kill the extraordinary monster.
From their conversation, Wang Xuan learned the creature's name: Cansu, aptly named after its form.
Afterward, Wang Xuan left, searching the area for the special location they were discussing.
The area was shrouded in mist, and as soon as he got close, Wang Xuan's hair stood on end.
The sun was high in the sky, yet this particular region was special, enveloped in a mysterious fog.
What's more, as Wang Xuan circled around this unusual area, he discovered something even more shocking. Including the silkworm snake, there were eight extraordinary creatures nesting around the mist-covered region, positioned at its periphery!
Were these people playing with fire? To dare mess around in a zone teeming with extraordinary beasts—one wrong move could mean eternal doom.
No wonder they hadn't made a move yet; they were meticulously exploring the terrain, preparing carefully, while also scouting the best escape routes.
Wang Xuan took note as well, leaving footprints all around the area, mapping out various escape routes for any unexpected situations.
That's right, he planned to get involved too! But he wasn't targeting the giant snake—he was going to steal from the people plotting against it.
When Wang Xuan returned to the mountainous area where the silkworm snake resided, he spotted a familiar face. The man who had jumped into the river was indeed still alive and had returned.
However, he was drenched in blood, clearly having encountered some terrifying creature in the river, barely surviving, and finally reuniting with his group.
The people were excited. Some gripped curved blades, while others pointed to the sky, uttering fierce threats!
Indeed, as Wang Xuan captured snippets of their conversation through his mental field, he quickly realized they were out for revenge.
They remained arrogant, derisively referring to the people of New Star as "savages," claiming they were uncivilized and would soon be slaughtered.
They regretted retreating earlier, fearing that the person with extraordinary mental power might have been a half-extraordinary expert, so they had held back, planning to strike during the night.
"These savages, they all must die!"
In the end, their words culminated into this single declaration.
Calming down, they prepared to harvest the miraculous medicine before hunting down the person with extraordinary mental power.
"Don't aim for his chest or back; he's wearing porcupine armor forged from rare secret gold!" the man who had fled warned, advising them to target the man's limbs and head instead.
...
Finally, they resumed their preparations to hunt the extraordinary creatures.
"Are we really going to kill that adult silkworm snake? It's terrifying."
"If it isn't killed, even if we manage to harvest the miraculous medicine, it'll hunt us down relentlessly. It's kill or be killed."
...
Wang Xuan understood how they planned to deal with the silkworm snake. The various bottles and jars they carried held special concoctions: elixirs to lure extraordinary beasts, especially those that attracted serpents, as well as potions that could temporarily drive creatures mad.
Wang Xuan was on high alert. These people had a deep understanding of the behavior of various creatures, indicating that the extraordinary civilization on their planet was indeed well-developed.
Moreover, they seemed somewhat familiar with the Secret Realm, as if they had received advice and warnings from predecessors.
At the very least, they knew about the misty area, often mentioning how their elders had warned them about its extreme terror.
"What a pity! No one's ever made it through. It could be a secret path!" one of them lamented.
Wang Xuan couldn't understand their language directly, but by capturing their thoughts through his mental field and piecing them together, he was shocked to learn that they might be discussing a secret path of the Old Technique!
Additionally, he caught a key word from their conversation about the misty area—something related to "death"—though he couldn't fully grasp its meaning yet.
The group finally finished their preparations. From the misty region to the silkworm snake's lair, they had spread their potions across numerous key locations.
They were about to drive the snake toward the terrifying mist, using the power of "death" to kill the extraordinary creature!
Wang Xuan was even more anxious than they were. After all, he had to not only guard against extraordinary creatures but also intercept this group, so there were many more factors to consider.
One mistake, and he could easily be the first to die.
Boom!
In the distance, a loud commotion erupted—the group had taken action!
Massive boulders, weighing dozens of pounds, were hurled near the snake's lair. At the same time, wild beasts were driven past, some of them roaring in terror as they were released by the group.
The silkworm snake was ferocious and fiercely territorial. With a whoosh, it darted into the forest, enraged.
"It worked! The snake is affected by the potion we brought!" someone exclaimed.
"Quick, go harvest the extraordinary medicine!"
A figure moved. It was a woman, swift and agile like a wisp of smoke, darting into the forest toward the extraordinary creatures' nest.
Upon reaching the nest, she quickly picked two large clusters of red and purple fruits, which emitted a fragrant aroma.
There were still a few clusters left on the fiery red vines, but the two extraordinary young beasts in the nest had been enraged and charged out to kill her.
"Damn, they're no longer young beasts; they have the strength of grandmasters!" the woman exclaimed.
She dared not pick any more fruits and immediately turned to flee.
Two people stationed in the forest were responsible for supporting her. After receiving her transmission, they glanced at the direction the adult silkworm snake had gone, confident it had gone mad and was headed toward the mist. Then, they too charged toward the extraordinary creatures' lair.
The two faced off against the juvenile silkworm snakes, attacking fiercely. Not only did they want to stop the creatures from pursuing the woman, but they also aimed to kill them in order to gather the remaining extraordinary fruits.
The woman didn't look back, her task complete. Just bringing back the two clusters of miraculous medicine was enough.
At this moment, Wang Xuan made his move. He had no qualms about stealing from people who were destined to be his enemies; in fact, he was quite excited about it.
He silently approached from behind, his sword slicing through the air toward the woman.
"Sht! That bastard actually followed us!" The man with his hands pierced by twenty-two bloody holes, who had been forced to jump into the river, screamed out loud, his eyes red with fury.
Seeing Wang Xuan wearing a hollowed-out helmet and dressed in strange black-gold armor made him even more enraged.
In fact, when the others saw this, they too were furious. How dare this savage come after them, provoking them? Did he have a death wish?
Wang Xuan's ambush was a success. Though he hadn't managed to decapitate the woman, he did strike her left shoulder, causing blood to spray.
The short sword was incredibly sharp. Even though it only grazed her, it still sliced through part of her shoulder blade, the pain unbearable.
Her left arm trembled, and the cluster of extraordinary fruits in her hand fell to the ground.
Wang Xuan swiftly scooped it up, snatching the first batch of extraordinary fruits. His ambush had succeeded!
The woman was both shocked and furious. To think someone would dare attack at such a critical moment, costing her half of the miraculous medicine! How could she tolerate this?
She went berserk, her hand slicing through the air like a blade, aiming at Wang Xuan.
"Don't attack his chest or back!" the man who had jumped into the river shouted from a distance.