Chapter 284 - 116: Immortal Golden Body, Ancient God Seed

Chapter 284: Chapter 116: Immortal Golden Body, Ancient God Seed

"What a terrifyingly oppressive aura of death!" Zhao Zhuo’s face was ashen, his voice exceptionally grave. "This aura... it’s definitely beyond the Fourth Grade! I’m afraid... I’m afraid it’s a Fifth Grade Realm Zombie Tree Demon!"

"Look! At those undead birds!" Liu Mei pointed in horror at the five black shadows circling above the withered tree and the lakebed.

The five giant undead birds were as large as eagles. Most of their feathers had long since rotted away, revealing festering, oozing, dark-red flesh and bare white bones. Eerie green ghost flames burned within their empty eye sockets.

"Look at their form. Though they’re decayed, that skeleton... that wingspan... Could they be the legendary descendants of the Heavenly Roc?!"

Zhou Tiankuo’s voice held a mix of incredulous excitement and deep apprehension.

"My god! They actually raised Heavenly Rocs here?!" Lei Gang sucked in a sharp breath, and an even more avaricious gleam erupted in his eyes. "This is definitely the heart of the Beast Taming Sect’s grounds! The real treasure vault!"

However.

After the excitement.

Came a bone-chilling realization.

A Zombie Tree Demon radiating the terrifying power of the Fifth Grade, plus five Fourth Grade zombies—suspected Heavenly Roc descendants—that were clearly not to be trifled with.

This force was like an insurmountable chasm lying between them and the unimaginable treasures they envisioned.

"No way! The gap is too wide!"

Du Qi was the first to sound the retreat, his voice sharp.

"That Zombie Tree Demon is too strong; its aura alone could crush us! And those five Undead Vultures are absurdly fast. We can’t even get close! Only a fool would charge ahead knowing it’s a dead end! Retreat! We have to retreat immediately!"

His face was a mask of terror, his earlier greed utterly crushed by the absolute power before them.

The others were unwilling to give up, but their reason told them Du Qi was right.

But Lei Gang snorted coldly and said:

"The zombies here are this powerful, which proves this is an important area of the Beast Taming Sect. There must be great treasures! Didn’t we all come to explore this ancient tomb for treasure? Are we just going to leave like this?"

Zhao Zhuo suppressed the pounding of his heart and looked at Lei Gang.

"Lei Gang, be patient. The power of this giant Zombie Tree is unfathomable; it’s not something we can fight right now. Why don’t we retreat for now? Once we’re back, we can make thorough preparations, gather more people, bring stronger weapons, and then come back to explore this core area!"

Lei Gang stared fixedly at the giant Zombie Tree emitting its terrifying aura and the circling Undead Vultures, his fists cracking, his face a mask of frustration.

He looked at Zhou Tiankuo and asked in a rumbling voice:

"Boss Zhou, what do you say? Are we really leaving empty-handed? I can’t accept this!"

Zhou Tiankuo’s gaze was locked on the giant Zombie Tree, his eyes flickering as if he were rapidly weighing the options.

A moment later, a hint of decisiveness flashed in his eyes, and he said in a low voice:

"This giant Zombie Tree is indeed powerful, but it’s not completely unbeatable!"

"Oh?" Everyone’s eyes instantly focused on him.

"It has a fatal weakness!" Zhou Tiankuo said slowly. "It’s a tree demon that gained sentience. Its main body is rooted to this spot and cannot move! This means it can only passively defend and attack with its roots and branches. Its range is limited!"

He paused, then carefully took out four fist-sized spheres from the special tactical backpack behind him. They glinted with a cold metallic luster and were engraved with complex energy circuits.

"Energy Grenades?!" Du Qi cried out, his eyes shining.

"Mr. Zhou, you actually brought this kind of devastating weapon?!" Liu Mei covered her red lips in surprise.

Lei Gang and Zhao Zhuo’s spirits were instantly lifted.

Energy Grenades used a highly compressed Energy Core to create an instantaneous explosion, their power far exceeding conventional gunpowder weapons.

They were true military-grade restricted items.

’Zhou Tiankuo actually had the connections to get his hands on them?!’

"That’s right!" Zhou Tiankuo weighed an Energy Grenade in his hand, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "If we can accurately throw these four Energy Grenades and detonate them near its main root system, even if we can’t kill it, we can still cripple its foundation! We can destroy its massive body and Energy Core!"

"With these, this Tree Zombie really isn’t unkillable!" Lei Gang was instantly excited, his earlier dejection swept away.

"Great idea! We’ll blow up its roots and see how arrogant it can be then!" Zhao Zhuo also nodded in agreement.

Hope was rekindled in Liu Mei’s eyes as well.

However.

Zhou Tiankuo’s expression was far from relaxed.

He pointed to the five Undead Vultures circling in the air like grim reapers:

"The key problem is... those Undead Vultures! They’re too fast. They’ll never let us get close to the Zombie Tree. The moment any of us step onto the lakebed, we’ll become living targets! Let alone making a precision throw!"

The hope that had just begun to rise was instantly dashed by a bucket of cold reality.

Everyone’s expressions dimmed once again.

"That’s easy!" Lei Gang slapped his thigh and said in his rumbling voice, "We’ll use the old method! Lure them out and kill them one by one! Without those feathered bastards in the way, that immobile dead tree will be at our mercy, won’t it?"

The suggestion was met with immediate agreement.

"Right! Split them up!"

"Lure them out and kill them! Take them down one by one!"

"It’ll work!"

Everyone quickly came to a consensus.

Zhou Tiankuo’s gaze swept over the group and finally landed on Du Qi. He said in a low voice:

"Du Qi, luring monsters is your specialty. You go and draw out those Heavenly Roc zombies one by one! We’ll immediately go set up an ambush in that ravine over there!"

He pointed to a distant, rocky slope that would be easy to hide in and set up an ambush from.

Hearing this, Du Qi shook his head like a rattle, his face full of terror.

"No! Absolutely not! Boss Zhou, I really can’t do it this time!"

"Those are Heavenly Roc zombies! Even if they’re decayed, they’re still frighteningly fast! They’re flying in the sky while I’m running on the ground. Once they lock onto me, I’ll be torn to shreds before I even have time to reach your ambush point! This job is a death sentence; I wouldn’t do it for any amount of reward!"

He was willing to lure other zombies.

But luring these Heavenly Roc zombies, becoming their target—that was suicide. He absolutely wouldn’t do it.

Lei Gang snorted coldly.

"Mr. Zhou gave you an extra ten percent of the profits earlier. Are you saying you won’t go now? Taking the money and not doing the work?"

Du Qi’s attitude was exceptionally firm. He even said bluntly:

"That extra ten percent share you gave me, I don’t want it anymore! Whoever wants to lure this monster can go do it themselves!"

Seeing Du Qi so resistant, Zhou Tiankuo looked at the others.

"If Du Qi won’t go, who will? Whoever successfully lures the monster, I’ll give them an extra ten percent share of the profits!"

The air instantly froze.

Everyone looked at each other in dismay.

Whether it was Lei Gang, Zhao Zhuo, or Liu Mei, they all subconsciously avoided Zhou Tiankuo’s gaze.

Facing the five Heavenly Roc zombies that were eyeing them menacingly from the sky and radiating a vicious deathly aura, no one was confident they could survive being hunted by them.

That ten percent share was tempting, but you had to be alive to collect it.

"Sigh..." Lei Gang let out a heavy sigh, his face full of frustration and unwillingness, but he could only shake his head helplessly. "Forget it, Boss Zhou. Du Qi is right. This isn’t a job for a living person. We know it’s a dead end... Let’s just retreat. We’ll come back next time when we’re fully prepared."

"Yeah, as long as we’re alive..."

"It’s the only way."

Everyone else chimed in with their agreement.

Although they were extremely unwilling, reason ultimately prevailed.

Even the most reckless one, Lei Gang, had given up.

The others were even less willing to gamble their lives on such a slim chance.

"Retreat!" Zhou Tiankuo also understood the situation was impossible. He gritted his teeth and gave the order, preparing to lead the team away from this coveted treasure ground.

Just then.

A calm but unusually firm voice spoke up:

"Uncle Zhou, let me give it a try."

Everyone turned back in astonishment, only to see Lin Yi take a step forward from the group, his calm gaze fixed on Zhou Tiankuo.