Chapter 42: Underground Water Cave Discovered

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Underground Water Cave Discovered

Ji Zhixing looked at the dense swarm of water lice, then at the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale’s eyes, and a sudden sense of absurdity welled up in his heart. "A Tier Three Genetic Beast actually came ashore to ask me for help cleaning off its parasites?" As soon as the thought emerged, even he found it unbelievable.

But he quickly calmed down. "No, maybe that’s not what it means," Ji Zhixing calculated rapidly in his mind. "I’ll test the waters first and see if it stops me from leaving."

He tried slowly backing away, his footsteps extremely light, inching away from the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale. He had only taken two steps.

WHOOSH!

The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale opened its mouth, and a round stone shot out, smashing into the boulder beside him with a BANG. The boulder shattered on impact, sending debris flying.

A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on Ji Zhixing’s back. The stone was the size of a football, and it had flown from the whale’s mouth so fast it was a mere blur, shattering the boulder as if it were fragile glass.

"If that had hit me..." Ji Zhixing swallowed hard, instantly stopping in his tracks and not daring to move a muscle. He looked at the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale, then back at the dense swarm of water lice. After a brief hesitation, he slowly walked toward the creature.

The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale remained still, simply resting on its side, waiting patiently. Its eyes stared at him, devoid of any readable expression.

Walking up to the whale, Ji Zhixing looked up at the thick clusters of water lice, his scalp tingling with dread. The parasites looked like oversized woodlice with shiny, grayish-brown carapaces. Their thin legs dug deeply into the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale’s skin, with some embedded straight into the flesh. The surrounding areas were swollen, red, and inflamed, looking incredibly painful.

"Here goes nothing." Ji Zhixing took a deep breath, reached out to grab a water louse, and yanked hard.

The parasite clung on tenaciously, making it difficult to pull. He added a bit more strength, and with a SQUELCH, the water louse was torn free. A red mark was left on the whale’s skin, oozing beads of blood. The water louse struggled frantically in Ji Zhixing’s hand, its thin legs kicking wildly, its carapace rubbing together with a SCRAPE.

The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale’s body gave a slight tremble, as if it felt immense relief, and it spread its fins a little wider.

At this point, Ji Zhixing understood why the creature couldn’t clean off the water lice itself. There was a natural, unclosable gap between its fins and its body. Moreover, its fins couldn’t fully extend, meaning rolling around on the ground wouldn’t help either.

He tossed the water louse aside. These things technically counted as genetic monsters, but to refine anything useful from them, one usually needed over a thousand at a time.

After throwing it away, he moved on to the second one. Having gained some experience, he pinched the edges of the water louse’s carapace and gave a sharp tug, tearing it off cleanly. The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale trembled again, this time much more noticeably.

Ji Zhixing pulled them off one by one. After removing over a dozen, his hands were covered in a sticky fluid, indistinguishable whether it was the bodily fluid of the water lice or the blood of the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale. He flicked his hands to shake off the slime and continued his work.

The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale lay perfectly still on its side, its body giving an occasional, gentle quiver as if it were enjoying the process. Once one side was clear, the whale rolled over on its own, exposing its other flank. Looking at the fresh, dense cluster of parasites, Ji Zhixing resigned himself to his fate and kept pulling.

Another ten minutes passed. When the final water louse was ripped away, Ji Zhixing took two steps back, shaking out his sore and aching hands.

Large patches of red marks covered the creature’s skin, with a few spots still oozing blood, but it looked significantly better than before. The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale slowly turned around, casting a glance at Ji Zhixing with its massive eyes. Then, it wiggled its body and crawled back toward the lake.

Ji Zhixing let out a sigh of relief. It was finally over.

However, halfway into the water, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale suddenly stopped and turned its head to look at him. Seeing him standing motionless, it opened its mouth again.

"What now? Is it trying to silence me to keep its secret?" Ji Zhixing’s heart tightened.

BANG!

The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale spat out another stone. It smashed into the ground right beside him, sending crushed rock flying. Ji Zhixing stared at the fresh crater on the ground, then back at the whale, his heart growing cold.

"What is it doing? Does it want me to follow?"

He hesitated for a moment before stepping toward the lake. Only when it saw him move did the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale resume its descent, its massive body slowly submerging into the water. Ji Zhixing stopped at the water’s edge. He watched the creature’s grayish-white spine fade in and out of view beneath the surface, a wave of conflict washing over him.

"If I don’t go in, one stone from it and I’m a goner. But if I do, who knows where it’s taking me?" Gritting his teeth, he leaped into the water.

When you lack strength, obedience is the only option.

"Thank goodness for the Frog Pendant," Ji Zhixing thought as he swam after it. "Otherwise, not knowing how to dive, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale would probably bust my head open with a rock."

The whale led him deeper and deeper, the light gradually fading. The sand, gravel, and aquatic plants of the lakebed slid by beneath him, occasionally startling a few fish that scattered in all directions. After swimming for a few minutes, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale stopped in front of a rock wall. There was a massive underwater cave there, its entrance pitch-black and bottomless.

The whale swam in slowly, its gigantic frame just barely fitting through. It swam a few meters in and looked back at Ji Zhixing. He hastily followed.

The underwater tunnel was long and winding, its walls coated in aquatic plants and moss. The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale swam ahead, occasionally flicking its tail and stirring up a cloud of silt. As Ji Zhixing trailed behind, his imagination ran wild.

"Have I stumbled upon some stroke of serendipity? Is it going to reward me and give me some hidden treasure, just like in the novels?"

While he was lost in thought, the underwater tunnel ahead suddenly widened. The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale swam straight through, and Ji Zhixing followed suit. His vision abruptly cleared.

It was a massive subterranean cavern, at least the size of a basketball court. The ceiling was exceedingly high, studded with glowing stones that bathed the cave in a hazy, ethereal light. Half of this space was flooded with lake water, while the other half rose above the surface. Above the water level lay a rocky shore, carpeted in fine sand and gravel.

RIBBIT! RIBBIT!

The moment Ji Zhixing poked his head out of the water, he heard a chorus of croaking. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw over a dozen Giant Footed Frogs squatting on the rocky shore. Upon seeing the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale, they all huddled into tight balls, too terrified to move.

After entering the cavern, the whale glanced back at him, then shifted its gaze to the Giant Footed Frogs. Witnessing this scene, an ominous premonition instantly surged in Ji Zhixing’s heart.

"What does this mean?" he wondered. "Were these Giant Footed Frogs keeping the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale clean from water lice? Were they too weak to remove the stubborn ones, which is why it came looking for me? It didn’t bring me here to reward me, but to make me its new servant? It wants to raise me just like these Giant Footed Frogs!"

Ji Zhixing stared at the cowering frogs, then at himself, his expression freezing.

BANG!

Suddenly, noting his lack of movement, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale’s patience began to wear thin. It opened its mouth and spat out another stone, which slammed into the ground beside him.

Ji Zhixing’s heart skipped a beat. Taking a deep breath, he hastily scrambled out of the water and walked over to the Giant Footed Frogs. Seeing this, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale finally withdrew its gaze and slowly swam to the deepest part of the cavern. Its enormous body sank into the water, leaving only half of its spine exposed.

Huddled together with the Giant Footed Frogs, Ji Zhixing surveyed the subterranean cavern, a complex mix of emotions churning within him.

"What kind of mess is this..." He sighed, his gaze inadvertently sweeping toward the back of the cavern. Suddenly, he froze.

At the very back of the cavern, right next to where the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale was resting, lay a small, isolated pool of water. The pool wasn’t large, only about the size of a washbasin. Directly above it, a stalactite hung from the cave wall, a drop of milky-white liquid gathering at its tip. The droplet slowly swelled before falling into the pool below with a crisp PLINK.

A shallow layer of the milky-white liquid had already accumulated in the pool.

"Earth Spirit Liquid!"

Ji Zhixing’s heart gave a violent leap, and he nearly cried out in shock. He had just used Earth Spirit Liquid for his cultivation not too long ago, making him intimately familiar with the milky-white substance. Yet here, in that small pool, there was an astonishing amount of it.

"So much Earth Spirit Liquid..." an intense longing welled up in his heart. "If it were all mine, breaking through to Tier One Peak would be child’s play. Hell, there’d even be enough to carry me all the way to Tier Two Peak after I become a Tier Two Genetic Cultivator."

But he quickly suppressed the thought.

"Right now, let alone getting my hands on this Earth Spirit Liquid, just escaping from here is going to be incredibly difficult." He glanced at the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale resting in the depths of the cavern, then at the pitch-black water near the exit, his heart heavy. "The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale is vastly faster than me underwater. Even with the Frog Pendant, it’s impossible for me to swim out right from under its nose. Not to mention, it could crush me with a stone at any moment..."

Crouching down, he looked at the cowering Giant Footed Frogs beside him and took a deep breath.

Under these circumstances, he truly had no idea what to do next.