Chapter 157 - 140: A Genius Who Fused Tier 5 Genes? I’ll Still Surpass You!

Chapter 157: Chapter 140: A Genius Who Fused Tier 5 Genes? I’ll Still Surpass You!

"Rest assured. In the future, I will help you get revenge for this!" Ji Zhixing said, looking at Xu Cheng.

"Forget about revenge. If you can continue evolving your genes in the future, even to a Tier 4 Morning Star rank, I definitely won’t stop you." Xu Cheng shook his head and said, "But for now, let’s just let it go."

He knew his own limits and was well aware that he was no match for Gu Zheng. At the same time, he felt that Ji Zhixing was certainly no match for him either. Even if Ji Zhixing had broken through to Tier 3, it still wouldn’t be enough. After all, Gu Zheng had fused with the Tier 4 Morning Star rank Sword Feather Peacock genes. Furthermore, he possessed a five-star gene ability. Even within the genius class, he ranked among the very top.

"We’ll talk about this later," Xiao Mingyue said, taking out a vial of medicine and handing it to Xu Cheng. "You were implicated by us in this matter. Take this."

Xu Cheng glanced at the vial and hastily waved his hands in refusal. "No need, no need. I have my own healing medicine. This minor injury is nothing."

"Just take it," Ji Zhixing said. "This medicine is much more effective. It’ll help you recover sooner."

Xu Cheng wasn’t good at turning people down. Seeing that both of them were insisting, he could only accept the medicine.

"Thanks." He put the medicine away and then congratulated Ji Zhixing. "Congratulations on becoming a Tier 3 Genetic Cultivator. I am truly in awe of your cultivation speed."

Ji Zhixing smiled but didn’t say much. He merely replied, "Save the congratulations for later. Hurry up and go heal your injuries."

"Alright, I’ll get to it then." Xu Cheng nodded. He then walked a distance away, set up his tent, and crawled inside to begin his healing.

"Ming Yue, Zhixing, I’ll be heading back first as well. See you tomorrow." Seeing that she was the only one left, Jiang Qingqian didn’t linger, leaving the space for Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue.

"See you tomorrow," Xiao Mingyue replied, waving at her. Once Jiang Qingqian was far away, Xiao Mingyue paid no mind to any onlookers and entered Ji Zhixing’s tent with him.

Upon entering the tent, Ji Zhixing asked, "How is it? Has your cultivation broken through?"

"It has." Xiao Mingyue nodded, the corners of her lips curling up into a faint smile.

"That fast?" Ji Zhixing was somewhat surprised. When he had just broken through, he was completely unable to control his surging aura, which was why everyone had sensed it. However, Xiao Mingyue had clearly broken through alongside him, yet she hadn’t exposed a single trace of her aura. If she hadn’t admitted it herself, Ji Zhixing wouldn’t have noticed that she had advanced to Tier 3 at all.

"My situation is a bit special," Xiao Mingyue said, seemingly seeing through his thoughts with a smile. "My gene ability allows me to perfectly control my aura. As long as I don’t want others to know my cultivation level, they won’t be able to sense it."

Ji Zhixing nodded, asking no further questions. Although their relationship was now anything but ordinary, Xiao Mingyue definitely had her reasons for not bringing it up herself. It wouldn’t be good for him to pry too much.

"Are you hungry? Let’s eat something first." Xiao Mingyue took out some food.

Ji Zhixing nodded, chatting with Xiao Mingyue as they ate. "Let’s go to that ice plain tomorrow," he suggested.

"Mm," Xiao Mingyue nodded. "You’ve broken through to Tier 3, and so have I. With our current strength, we should be able to reach the foot of that iceberg."

"I just wonder if anyone else has taken the treasure there after all these days." Ji Zhixing thought of Yu Mengdie.

"We’ll find out once we go take a look," Xiao Mingyue said. She wasn’t entirely certain herself. After all, what Yu Mengdie had fused with were Tier 5 Radiant Moon rank genes, and she was walking the path of Spiritual Power.

Afterward, Ji Zhixing ate a bit more, chatted with Xiao Mingyue for a while longer, and soon began to feel fatigued. This fatigue wasn’t a weariness of the spirit, but rather a weariness of the heart. From venturing into the ant nest with Xu Cheng in the morning to continuously pushing past his bottleneck upon returning, his mind had been tightly strung the entire time. Although Spiritual Power could be restored with potions, the exhaustion of the heart could not be cured by medicine.

Seemingly noticing his state, Xiao Mingyue turned around and arranged his pillow.

"Go to sleep early today," she said. "Don’t use the Heart Refining Stone Pillow tonight. Your current condition isn’t suitable for refining your heart; forcing it will only backfire."

Ji Zhixing nodded, then gazed at her with a burning look in his eyes. "What about you?"

Xiao Mingyue rolled her eyes at him playfully. She then took out a regular pillow, placed it side by side with his, and lay down on the inner side of the tent. "Is this alright now?" she asked, turning on her side, a hint of playful reproach in her voice.

Ji Zhixing smiled and lay down as well. Reaching out to wrap his arms around her waist, he gradually drifted into a deep slumber.

The next morning.

After waking up and briefly packing their things, Ji Zhixing spoke respectfully into the void, "Lord Azure Sky Divine Wood, please teleport us to the front of the forest we visited previously."

As his words fell, a spatial fluctuation enveloped them both. The next moment, their figures vanished from the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest. When they reappeared, they were already standing before a lush, verdant forest. This was the exact forest that had previously held an attraction for his Five-Colored Willow Variant Tree genes. At that time, their strength had been insufficient, and they had been forced out by the frenzied trees not long after entering.

"Has no one entered this forest yet?" Ji Zhixing looked out over the area and saw that the forest looked no different from before. The trees were tall and dense, with luxuriant branches and leaves. At the same time, he could still faintly sense the attraction this forest held for the Five-Colored Willow Variant Tree genes within his body. Clearly, the treasure here was still present and hadn’t been taken by anyone else.

"Should we give it another try?" Xiao Mingyue looked at Ji Zhixing.

"Let’s try," Ji Zhixing nodded.

The two exchanged a glance and stepped into the forest together. The moment they set foot in the woods, a sudden anomaly occurred. The trees, which had been standing quietly just a moment ago, seemed to instantly come alive. Thick roots tore out from underground, writhing like giant pythons. Accompanied by the howling sound of breaking wind, they lashed out madly at the two. Simultaneously, the branches overhead drooped down from mid-air, acting like whips that cracked sharply through the air.

"Surge!"

Ji Zhixing immediately pulled out the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod. Gripping it with both hands, he swept the long rod outward.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

As the long rod swept past, seven or eight incoming roots were cleanly snapped, sending dark green sap splattering in all directions. However, even more roots surged up from beneath the ground in dense clusters, seemingly endless.

Xiao Mingyue also made her move. With a wave of both hands, Flame Spirit Birds flew out from her palms, flapping their wings as they dove toward the trees. The Flame Spirit Birds landed on the trunks and exploded violently. Flames rapidly spread, burning the trees and emitting loud crackles.

"This won’t work!"

After fighting continuously in this manner for just three or four minutes, the two were forced to retreat.

"No wonder the treasure here hasn’t been taken away yet," Ji Zhixing said, shaking his head as he looked at the forest before him that had now returned to a state of tranquility. "These trees are far too twisted. No matter how many we smash, they just keep growing back. There’s simply no end to them."

Xiao Mingyue nodded in agreement. This forest was indeed troublesome to deal with.

"Let’s go. We’ll head to the ice plain instead," Ji Zhixing suggested with a shake of his head. "We’ll think of a way to deal with this place later."

"Mm," Xiao Mingyue nodded. The two turned around and headed in the direction of the ice plain.

About two hours later, they arrived at the edge of the ice plain once again.

"Huh?"

Just as they arrived, Ji Zhixing swept his gaze across the plain and suddenly noticed a figure continuously approaching the iceberg. That figure was dressed in a purple skirt. It was none other than Yu Mengdie.

"Come on, let’s head in," Xiao Mingyue immediately urged upon seeing Yu Mengdie. Her impression of the girl had never been very good.

"Alright," Ji Zhixing nodded, and they marched into the depths of the ice plain together.

The moment they stepped onto the ice plain, a bone-chilling coldness surged toward them from all directions. This was no ordinary cold; it was an icy chill that seeped directly into their marrow, feeling as though even their blood was about to freeze. Even more terrifyingly, this cold could freeze not just the body, but also the mind.

But this time, it was different from before. With both of them having broken through to Tier 3, their physical bodies, Genetic Source Power, and Spiritual Power were all immeasurably stronger than before. Ji Zhixing could feel that although the chill was still biting, it could no longer easily affect him like it had in the past.

"Let’s go!"

The two picked up their pace, advancing rapidly across the icy expanse. Ahead of them, Yu Mengdie had already stopped. At this moment, she was still over a dozen meters away from the iceberg. Yet this distance of just over a dozen meters felt like an insurmountable chasm. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t take a single step further.

"Hmm? Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue?"

Suddenly hearing footsteps behind her, Yu Mengdie turned around. Realizing that Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue had unexpectedly come here as well, she instantly furrowed her brows. She thought to herself, "Coming here right after breaking through to Tier 3? If even I can’t obtain the treasure in this ice plain, how could they?"

Watching the two of them steadily approaching and drawing closer, Yu Mengdie paid them no mind. She refused to believe that Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue could surpass her. She even estimated that the two would come to a halt when they were twenty to thirty meters away from her.

However, no sooner had this thought emerged than her expression changed. Because when Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue arrived twenty to thirty meters behind her, they didn’t stop at all. Their speed merely slowed down slightly before they continued closing in on her.

Fifteen meters... Thirteen meters... Ten meters...

"No wonder Yu Mengdie still hasn’t obtained the treasure here after so many days."

As they approached within ten meters of Yu Mengdie, Ji Zhixing took a deep breath. "The chill of this ice plain only grows stronger the closer we get to the iceberg." If it weren’t for the Hundred Generations Stone Heart ability, Ji Zhixing figured his mind would have been frozen stiff long ago. But even with the Hundred Generations Stone Heart ability, he felt he was nearing his absolute limit upon reaching this point.

"Ming Yue!"

Ji Zhixing turned his head and shot a glance at Xiao Mingyue. Xiao Mingyue happened to be looking at him as well and gave a slight nod. The next moment, their spirits resonated with each other once again. Following this spiritual resonance, their resistance to the biting cold was immediately bolstered by a significant margin.

"Let’s keep going!"

Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue pressed onward. A few steps later, they arrived right beside Yu Mengdie. They were now standing at the exact same spot as her.

"How is this possible?"

Yu Mengdie’s pupils constricted as she looked at the two of them in disbelief. But the very next second, she watched as they took yet another step forward.

*(I’m back from the countryside, brothers. Time to start catching up on updates.)*