Chapter 260 - 159: All for Becoming a Transcendent! Anomaly in the Overgrown Field! Entering the Bloodthirsty Vine’s Lair

Chapter 260: Chapter 159: All for Becoming a Transcendent! Anomaly in the Overgrown Field! Entering the Bloodthirsty Vine’s Lair

Chen Chong, Wang Biao, Qi Zhen, Xu Jun, plus the Tiger Striped Dog, were all Transcendents or Extraordinary Creatures.

Their physical fitness was far beyond that of ordinary people, and their speed was even more astonishing.

A journey that would normally take one or two hours was completed in just half an hour.

They weren’t even flushed or out of breath, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever.

Upon arriving at the overgrown field, Wang Biao, true to form, immediately plunged into the half-human-height weeds to check the traps he had set.

Last time, because he hadn’t checked for a few days, the traps had been messed up. After returning, he had personally made several more, increasing the total to ten, and had taken the time to reset them here.

Meanwhile, Chen Chong, Xu Jun, and Qi Zhen headed toward the bird nets and fish traps, with the Tiger Striped Dog following closely behind.

Before they even got close, the group saw many dark specks on the bird net, one of which was particularly conspicuous.

Xu Jun and Chen Chong exchanged a smile. They knew without a word that the net had caught something big again—definitely more than just those palm-sized little birds.

The two of them quickened their pace and rushed to the net. Sure enough, there were seven or eight common birds of different species hanging in it. At the very top, the wings and feet of a medium-sized bird were tightly ensnared.

But from the looks of it, it had long since stopped breathing...

The bird was neither a wild pheasant nor a wild duck, but rather resembled a crane, with a pair of long legs and a long neck.

The two untangled it and looked at the new, black-feathered species with expressions of regret.

"Brother Chong, this should be some kind of crane, right?"

Chen Chong nodded. "Yes, it’s a crane. I just can’t tell the species, though it looks a bit familiar."

Xu Jun sighed. "What a pity, it’s dead. We finally caught a new species, and if it were alive, we could have taken it back to raise with the wild pheasants and ducks."

Chen Chong wasn’t as disappointed. "Wild cranes aren’t as easy to raise as wild pheasants or ducks. Most cranes are quite delicate, their meat yield isn’t high, and the taste probably isn’t as good either."

"Oh well. It doesn’t look like it’s been dead for long. Let’s take it back tonight and make soup."

"I guess that’s all we can do."

Xu Jun nodded and casually stuffed the black crane into his backpack.

He tossed in the nearly ten palm-sized birds along with it.

The group reset the bird net properly and walked toward the stream.

The fish trap was still in the same old spot. When they lifted it, they could hear the familiar sound of splashing.

But Chen Chong and Xu Jun’s faces showed no satisfaction, only a hint of disappointment.

"The catch is too small today. The fish trap isn’t even a fifth full, and it’s almost all small fish. There are hardly any palm-sized ones."

Chen Chong looked at the fish in the trap, his brow slightly furrowed.

Over the past few days, aside from the time they went to hunt the Blood-tooth Python and hadn’t checked the traps for days—which yielded an especially large catch—the hauls had been pitifully small.

Although this stream wasn’t as wide as the large river behind their back gate, it wasn’t small either.

The fish population inside couldn’t have plummeted just from being trapped for half a month, could it?

Chen Chong recalled the intelligence he had seen two days ago: the jungle would soon enter its rainy season... ’Could that be the reason?’

Animals have keen Perception and can sense seasonal changes and approaching disasters before humans. ’Could it be that the fish in the river have migrated as a group? Was it their Perception of the coming rainy season that made them leave?’

Chen Chong couldn’t figure it out, so he decided not to waste any more thought on it.

"This small a catch isn’t worth a special trip back. Let’s just leave it in the water. We’ll come back tomorrow or the day after and take them all at once when there are more."

"Besides, fish and shrimp aren’t as valuable as birds and wild rabbits, so we don’t need to check frequently to prevent them from dying. As long as the trap isn’t packed to bursting, these fish can survive in there for three to five days without any problem."

With that, he placed the fish trap back in the water.

Just as he finished, Wang Biao emerged from the overgrown field, carrying three things in his hands.

Xu Jun saw them at a glance and immediately grinned. "Well now, caught another new species!"

In one of Wang Biao’s hands were two wild rabbits, still struggling and looking quite lively.

In his other hand, however, was a black-and-yellow fox, quite a bit larger than a wild rabbit.

But just like the black crane, half of the fox’s body was limp, swaying slightly with Wang Biao’s movements. It was already dead.

Chen Chong leaned in for a closer look out of curiosity. Having been in this world for half a month, it was his first time catching a fox, and he couldn’t help but feel a little intrigued.

"My lord, three of the ten traps were triggered this time. We caught this fox, but unfortunately, they’re high-strung creatures. It’s already dead."

"Also, for some reason, there’s a lot less prey in this overgrown field than before. I’m planning to find some time to look for a new hunting spot, or I’m afraid we’ll catch less and less in the future."

Chen Chong nodded, wondering to himself. ’Is the prey in the overgrown field getting scarcer because we’ve caught most of the wild rabbits, or is it like the fish in the stream? Was it their Perception of the approaching rainy season that made them all migrate?’

"Can you eat fox?" Xu Jun suddenly asked.

Wang Biao replied, "It just died, so you can definitely eat it. The taste just isn’t as good as typical game."

"But the most valuable part of a fox isn’t the meat, it’s the fur. If you make it into a hat or clothes, it provides excellent protection against the cold in the dead of winter."

"Do you know how to make them?"

Wang Biao nodded. "I do."

"Then stuff it in the backpack along with the rest. Put these two wild rabbits in there too."

The haul from the overgrown field this time was hardly satisfactory.

There were too few fish in the trap, so Chen Chong decided to leave them for now and come back in a couple of days.

After all that, the only medium-sized bird they caught in the net was already dead.

Fortunately, Wang Biao’s traps had caught two live wild rabbits. Taking them back to be raised with the others at home would at least add to their livestock numbers.

"Let’s go. With a haul this small, there’s no need to go back to the apartment."

"That cave from last time is over a thousand meters from the dwarf forest. Even though it’s in the opposite direction of the overgrown field, we don’t have to cut through the school. We can just take a detour around the side. It’ll actually be faster."

"This bit of prey isn’t heavy, so carrying it is no problem. Let’s just pack it all in the backpacks and head straight for the cave..."

...

Less than an hour passed in a flash, and Chen Chong’s group arrived at the foot of the low mountain Zhang Meng had led them to last time.

The harsh sun was high in the sky. It was already afternoon, but with plenty of time left before nightfall, the group had ample time to prepare.

Drawing on their previous experience, Chen Chong walked straight to the midway point of the mountain. The vines that had once covered this area were gone, leaving only a dense expanse of rock and soil.

Without the cover of the vines, the cave entrance stood in stark contrast to its surroundings and was instantly recognizable.

Xu Jun asked in confusion, "Well, damn. Has the Bloodthirsty Vine given up on hiding? It’s just leaving the cave entrance out in the open like this?"

Chen Chong’s eyes narrowed. He thought for a moment before speaking. "This change is probably related to the death of the Parasite in the school."

"The Bloodthirsty Vine King is highly intelligent. It knows it’s been exposed, so there’s no point in hiding anymore. It’s still unclear why it suddenly retreated, but it doesn’t matter. We’ll find out once we go inside."

The cave entrance was sealed tight by half-human-height boulders and earth, clearly the handiwork of the Bloodthirsty Vine King.

Looking inside, the rocks were packed with unusual density, far more than it seemed on the surface. Clearing the rubble to reveal the entrance would be no easy task.

Even for Transcendents like Chen Chong, Xu Jun, and Wang Biao, it would likely take a great deal of effort.

Just then, Qi Zhen spoke up. "My lord, allow me to try."

Chen Chong smiled at his words. ’I’d forgotten about Qi Zhen,’ he thought, ’the pure Body Cultivator.’

This kind of manual labor was his specialty.

"Then I’ll be troubling you."

"My lord, you’re being too formal."

Chen Chong, Xu Jun, and Wang Biao retreated a few hundred meters.

Qi Zhen took a stance. A golden light flashed across his body, the muscles in his arms suddenly swelled, and a terrifying power gathered in his palms.

Then, he threw a punch!

The immense force instantly brought the pile of rubble crashing down.

The entire low mountain shook slightly from the shattering of the great rocks.

Xu Jun, Chen Chong, and Wang Biao subconsciously took a few more steps back as a continuous RUMBLE filled their ears.

Gravel and rock fragments rolled down the slope to the bottom of the mountain, flattening all the soil and sparse vegetation in their path.

And the sealed cave entrance was once again exposed before them...

Returning to the front of the cave, they gazed into the pitch-black, seemingly bottomless passage and exchanged glances.

In the end, Chen Chong was the first to step inside.

Xu Jun, Wang Biao, and Qi Zhen followed close behind. The Tiger Striped Dog also stayed by Chen Chong’s feet as they all stepped into the darkness...

...