Chapter 93 - 92: Unmoving Stone Heart, Heart Refining Stone

Chapter 93: Chapter 92: Unmoving Stone Heart, Heart Refining Stone

"It’s a tricky situation," Xiao Mingyue frowned as she walked. "That Blood Snake is at least Tier 3. Even if we call Zhou Han and Tie Shan over, they wouldn’t be a match for it."

Ji Zhixing nodded, feeling a bit of regret but remaining mostly clear-headed. He thought, "Although that Blood Ginseng is tempting, our lives are more important."

He took a deep breath, suppressing the greed in his heart. "It’s fine. If we can’t get it, we’ll just give up. Let’s find a way out first. With that Blood Snake right below us, it’s not safe to stay here."

"Okay," Xiao Mingyue agreed.

The two carefully searched the area, but the results were disappointing. There was no passage leading upward; only the Blood River connected to other places.

"Looks like we can only go through the water," Xiao Mingyue sighed.

They returned to the edge of the Blood River, plunged into the water, and continued to swim upstream.

As he swam, Ji Zhixing wondered how long it would take to find an exit this time. However, after just a few minutes of swimming, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

They poked their heads out of the water and found themselves in another surprisingly large cavern. Upon entering, they noticed quite a few Single-Horned Blood Crocodiles dwelling there.

"Are we back?" Xiao Mingyue’s eyes lit up.

"No, this isn’t where we first came in." Ji Zhixing shook his head, scanning their surroundings.

On the surface of the water, several Single-Horned Blood Crocodiles were resting in the shallows, their blood-red eyes staring straight at them.

"We’ve been spotted," Xiao Mingyue said in a low voice.

A relatively large Single-Horned Blood Crocodile was already swimming rapidly toward them, followed by two or three others.

"Get on shore!"

Xiao Mingyue pulled Ji Zhixing as they quickly scrambled onto the bank. They weren’t afraid of these few Single-Horned Blood Crocodiles. What they feared was more of them swarming over. Specifically, they didn’t know if this space harbored any Tier 2 or even Tier 3 beasts.

ROAR!

The crocs chased them to the shore and, without hesitation, let out low growls before charging straight at them. The noise even alarmed more Single-Horned Blood Crocodiles in the distance.

"Look over there! It seems like a way out," Xiao Mingyue suddenly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she pointed ahead. There was a conspicuous fissure in the wall.

Without hesitation, the two immediately sprinted toward the gap. The crack was long and winding but not overly narrow, easily wide enough for several people to pass through. As they ran, the Single-Horned Blood Crocodiles pursued them relentlessly.

"Do they really think we’re easy targets?"

Ji Zhixing turned around and took out the Tide Listening Rod. With a few swift strikes, he killed all the pursuing crocodiles. He hadn’t killed them earlier because he was afraid of attracting more of the horde or drawing out a powerful Tier 2 beast. But now that these few had chased them into the narrow passage, he naturally had nothing to fear. After dispatching them, he immediately stored their corpses in the Genetic Furnace and began to refine them.

However, as he refined the bodies, he glanced down at the Tide Listening Rod in his hand, his expression darkening slightly. Several deep sword marks marred the shaft of the rod. Obviously, these had been left by Gu Zheng’s slashes. Seeing the damage, Ji Zhixing looked quite upset.

"You’ve already gotten the Weapon Order, yet you still treasure a Tier 1 rod this much?" Xiao Mingyue asked with a smile, noticing his expression.

"It’s not that I treasure it; I borrowed this thing," Ji Zhixing shook his head. "One of my high school staff-fighting teachers borrowed it from the school and then lent it to me."

Xiao Mingyue gave him a surprised look, not expecting him to have been so poor that even his Genetic Equipment wasn’t his own.

Ji Zhixing sighed. He could only plan to compensate Teacher Sun later.

The two of them stopped chatting and picked up their pace as they headed upward.

"There’s light!"

After walking a little further, their eyes lit up at the sight of light spilling down from above. A moment later, they finally squeezed out of the fissure.

Upon emerging, they found themselves at the foot of a mountain. The fissure they had exited was actually a cave that connected directly to the underground cavern.

"We’re finally out!"

Ji Zhixing looked up at the blood sun in the sky and took a deep breath, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. Having stayed in the underground cavern for so long—surrounded by blood-red water and monsters—seeing the light of day again made even the blood sun feel endearing.

"What do we do next?" Ji Zhixing turned to Xiao Mingyue. "We have no idea where we are right now. Trying to find Zhou Han and Tie Shan might be a bit difficult."

"If we can’t find them, the two of us will just team up and hunt Blood Beasts," Xiao Mingyue said in a relaxed tone. "Anyway, with our strength, ordinary Blood Beasts won’t be a problem.

"Besides, the points leaderboard will be updated tonight. Although there won’t be any extra rewards, you will definitely be on the list again.

"When Zhou Han and Su Qing see it, they’ll know we’re safe, and that’s all that matters."

Ji Zhixing nodded, knowing this was their only option for now.

"Let’s go. Before it gets dark, we should hunt a few more Blood Beasts. Let’s strive to keep Gu Zheng pinned down on the rankings today!" Xiao Mingyue said resentfully. Just thinking about how badly Gu Zheng had injured Ji Zhixing today made her furious.

Ji Zhixing nodded in agreement.

The two didn’t wander far; they immediately began hunting Blood Beasts in the vicinity. The number of Blood Beasts in this area wasn’t overwhelming, but it wasn’t scarce either. With Ji Zhixing’s Tier 2 strength, any ordinary Blood Beast he encountered could basically be taken out with a single strike of his rod. Xiao Mingyue didn’t even need to lift a finger.

SCREECH!

Suddenly, after they had been hunting for over two hours, a sharp eagle’s cry rang out from the sky. A massive Blood Eagle was diving down toward them. Its wingspan was a good four or five meters wide, its entire body a dark red, and its hook-like talons were aimed straight for the pair. The beast’s speed was incredible; in the blink of an eye, it was right above them.

"Careful!" Xiao Mingyue, who had spotted the Blood Eagle first, reached out a hand. She instantly conjured a massive Flame Spirit Bird that flapped its wings and flew up to meet the attacker.

The Flame Spirit Bird was pure red-gold and emitted a scorching heat, several times larger than Su Qing’s Flame Spirit Butterfly. The Blood Eagle tried to dodge, but the Flame Spirit Bird was faster. It traced an arc in the air and crashed into its target with flawless precision.

BOOM!

Flames exploded outward. Engulfed in the blaze, the Blood Eagle let out a miserable shriek. Within a matter of seconds, the smell of charred meat wafted from its body. The feathers on its wings were burned clean off. It plummeted from the sky, smashed onto the ground, and after a few twitches, lay motionless.

"Why do I get the feeling something is off?" Ji Zhixing stared at the scene before looking at Xiao Mingyue in astonishment. "With this level of strength, you shouldn’t be at Tier 1, right?"

"Your feeling is correct." Xiao Mingyue smiled beautifully, a flash of pride in her eyes. "I’m at Tier 2 now, too."

"Didn’t you say earlier that it might take some time for you to break through? How did it happen so quickly?" Ji Zhixing asked, surprised.

"Keep that question to yourself. I’m not answering it," Xiao Mingyue replied, glancing at him with a slight upturn of her lips.

Helplessly, Ji Zhixing shook his head and tamped down his curiosity.

"I have a question for you, too." After walking a few steps, Xiao Mingyue suddenly turned to look at him.

"What is it?"

"Are you really confident that you can evolve your gene to the Glory Level?" Xiao Mingyue asked, meeting his gaze.

Ji Zhixing looked at her in surprise, not expecting this question. He fell silent for a moment before nodding. "My compatibility with my gene is very high. I can sense that it holds immense potential.

"The only thing holding me back is a lack of resources."

He was telling the truth.

He had heard the evolution path for the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene loud and clear. Staff Soldier Stone Monkey, Ten-foot Stone Monkey, Ruyi Stone Monkey... all the way up. It could even eventually evolve into the Fighting Divine Monkey, an entity that surpassed Tier 9. As long as he had enough resources, he could take it one step at a time.

"Resources..." Xiao Mingyue nodded thoughtfully before asking, "What resources do you lack the most right now? Tell me about it. Maybe I can give you some advice."

Ji Zhixing thought for a moment and decided not to hide anything. He knew Xiao Mingyue possessed a wealth of knowledge; she really might be able to offer him some pointers. Just like when he had developed the Rock-Solid Physique. If he hadn’t used Xiao Mingyue’s gravity room, he wouldn’t have been able to develop it so soon. And without the Rock-Solid Physique, there was no way he could have snatched the Weapon Order from Gu Zheng and his group this time.

After a moment of deliberation, he spoke. "In terms of the Staff Soldier Stone Monkey, I need to upgrade the Giantization ability into Super Giantization, and I also need to evolve the Stone Heart ability into the Unmoving Stone Heart ability.

"However, I already have a solution for the Super Giantization ability. It shouldn’t take long before I can develop it.

"But evolving the Stone Heart ability into the Unmoving Stone Heart is going to be a bit difficult. I checked, and to develop this ability, I need heart-refining treasures.

"These types of treasures are usually extremely expensive, and many are practically priceless in the outside world. I can only exchange for them using the school’s points system.

"After enrolling, I checked the school’s exchange list. There’s a treasure called the Heart Refining Stone, and a single piece requires six million points."

He shook his head as he finished speaking. Six million points meant six million gene coins. If he exchanged all the Blood Crystals he currently had into points, how much would that even amount to?

"As for the Willow Tree gene, I mainly need five-element attribute gene potions, along with what you already know about—treasures nurtured deep underground, like that Blood Ginseng."

"A Heart Refining Stone?"

After hearing this, Xiao Mingyue blanked for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"The Heart Refining Stone isn’t meant to be refined and consumed; it’s kept close to temper the heart. This item isn’t a single-use consumable—it can be used repeatedly.

"Therefore, you don’t need to buy one. You just need to borrow one from someone else."

"Borrow it?" Ji Zhixing’s heart skipped a beat. "Can the school lend this to me?"

"The school definitely won’t lend it to you," Xiao Mingyue said, shaking her head. Her tone suddenly shifted playfully. "But I have one.

"The pillow I use is made entirely of Heart Refining Stone! So, you should spend the money you earn from now on to fully develop your Willow Tree gene.

"Once we leave this secret realm, I’ll lend you my pillow. You sleep on it for a night, and it’ll probably get the job done."

(Seven updates and twenty-three thousand words completed! Thank you all for reading and subscribing. I am immensely grateful!)