Chapter 79: Rat Swarm! Flee!

After several minutes, Xu Jingming collected all the rare flowers and herbs inside the cave.

He also found a space ring on the captain's corpse.

Although it bore the captain's spiritual imprint, the man was already dead.

Under Xu Jingming's powerful spiritual force, the abandoned spiritual imprint shattered instantly.

After imprinting his own spiritual signature, a space of about one cubic meter appeared in his perception.

Most of what filled this space were potions and pills.

There were also some combat technique scrolls, cash, rare flowers and herbs, and scarce ferocious beast materials.

Aside from these, there was nothing else.

"Only a C-rank combat technique? This third-rank elite squad didn't have much of value."

Xu Jingming shook his head.

Of course,

he knew most of these adepts' savings were stored in banks.

Without the password, those funds couldn't be withdrawn.

"Forget it. Let the banks keep it—consider it a contribution to the state."

Xu Jingming slipped the newly acquired space ring onto his left hand.

The most valuable item on this third-rank elite squad was probably this space ring, worth over fifty million.

"I wonder if these two one-cubic-meter space rings can be exchanged for a two-cubic-meter one."

"Otherwise, carrying a two-meter-long spear everywhere is a real nuisance."

Rubbing his chin, Xu Jingming turned and walked to Jiang Chuxuan's side.

Bloodrage Pills are desperate pills adepts take only in critical moments, granting a significant power boost.

But the side effects are severe.

The state of total bodily weakness lasts nearly one or two months before fading.

Jiang Chuxuan was now in this state—her body limp, her delicate face pale as snow.

Seeing Xu Jingming approach, Jiang Chuxuan mustered a weak smile, her voice barely audible:

"S... Senior, the Earth Spirit Spring can alleviate the weakness from Bloodrage Pills.

Senior, please feed me some—just a sip will do."

"Oh?"

Xu Jingming's eyes lit up.

He immediately pulled out the half-bottle of Earth Spirit Spring and brought it to Jiang Chuxuan's red lips, letting her drink.

Just one sip, and her complexion visibly flushed with color.

"Phew, I feel much better."

Refreshed, Jiang Chuxuan exhaled deeply, "But to fully recover, I'll still need three or four hours."

Though the Earth Spirit Spring is an S-rank healing miracle, capable of instantly mending many injuries,

the side effects of Bloodrage Pills aren't limited to the body—they also drain the spirit force into a state of lethargy.

Even after consuming the Earth Spirit Spring, it still takes three or four hours before one can move freely.

Of course,

compared to the original two-month weakness period of Bloodrage Pills, this is already excellent.

"I never knew the side effects of Bloodrage Pills could be alleviated," Xu Jingming said with a smile.

He raised his right hand and checked the time on his smartwatch.

He had received Jiang Chuxuan's distress signal at five o'clock in the afternoon.

After this series of events, the current time was 6:23 p. m.

"Three or four hours from now will be nine or ten at night—by then, it'll be dark, unsuitable for long-distance pursuit.

Forget it. We'll rest in this cave tonight—it's safer anyway."

Xu Jingming was still somewhat weakened after activating Thunder Extreme State.

After a moment's thought, he decided not to go out hunting ferocious beasts again—wait until tomorrow to fully recover.

"Still, this cave needs a bit of cleaning."

Xu Jingming's gaze sharpened; he pointed his right hand at the ground: "Thunder Prison!"

Crackling—

Purple Thunder of the Primordial Source surged forth, forming a prison of lightning ahead.

But this time, it wasn't meant to imprison enemies—it was for clearing the area.

As thunder spread, the five corpses on the ground vanished instantly into ash.

"Much better."

Xu Jingming nodded in satisfaction.

But at that moment, a faint ferocious beast roar came from the direction of the hide nest.

"Ferocious beast?!"

Xu Jingming's expression changed; he used a Thunder Flash to appear beside the hide nest.

He looked closely and saw a nest of juvenile Digging Earth Dragons at its center.

Several of the younglings were asleep; only one seemed newly awakened, whimpering softly.

"No wonder the Digging Earth Dragon chased us out—it had younglings."

Jiang Chuxuan realized aloud.

A single nest of ferocious beast cubs already had seven or eight of them; once grown, who knows how many human adepts they would devastate.

The reproductive power of ferocious beasts is too terrifying...

Xu Jingming shook his head.

Ferocious beasts are inherently cruel; even their cubs are mostly untameable.

Perhaps slightly weaker and cuter ferocious beast cubs could be kept as pets by powerful adepts.

But this nest of digging earth dragons was ugly and had absolutely no utility.

Thus, as lightning surged, the terrifying Purple Heaven Doushen Shenlei consumed all the digging earth dragon cubs.

Perhaps because their rank was too low, slaying this nest of ferocious beast cubs did not grant Xu Jingming any adept points.

"Get ready to rest; tomorrow I'll take you out of the mountain forest zone."

After telling Jiang Chuxuan, Xu Jingming immediately sat cross-legged on the ground.

At this moment, his entire body's adept energy was nearly drained—this was the perfect time to practice his adept cultivation method.

Soon, he entered a meditative state, continuously absorbing ambient yuan energy to strengthen himself.

Jiang Chuxuan, equally exhausted after the great battle, leaned lightly against the wall.

In no time, she sank into deep sleep...

The next day, 7:21 a. m.

From the hidden cave exit buried in dense forest, Xu Jingming and Jiang Chuxuan stepped out one after the other.

"Mmm~~, the air in the mountains and forests is truly better; if not for the ferocious beasts, I could live here for a month."

Jiang Chuxuan lazily stretched, and under the morning sunlight, her exquisite profile glowed like flawless jade.

At this moment, she had fully regained her vitality and wore a brand-new silver-white battle suit.

Hearing this, Xu Jingming smiled faintly.

Due to the appearance of ferocious beasts, there are almost no mountain forests left within human activity zones.

Such tranquil forests can only be found in the wilderness zones.

"Let's go; I'll take you to the forest's edge."

Xu Jingming slung his tactical backpack, gripped the Dark Cloud Wind Spear in hand, and confirmed their direction via his smartwatch.

Then he set off toward the city ruins.

"Got it, senior!"

Jiang Chuxuan giggled and followed after him.

The two raced swiftly through the forest, one behind the other.

Along the way, Xu Jingming killed several third-rank ferocious beasts.

One hour later.

Xu Jingming and Jiang Chuxuan were still sprinting along the path.

Suddenly, Xu Jingming sensed a faint tremor from behind—large ferocious beasts charging toward them.

He turned instantly and saw a ferocious, two-story-tall tiger covered in flames burst from the forest!

"Fifth-rank Flame Tiger!"

Xu Jingming was stunned, and before he could react—

The fifth-rank Flame Tiger seemed not to notice them at all.

Carrying a wave of heat, like a massive fireball, it shot straight past them.

"It didn't notice us?"

Xu Jingming raised his sword-like brows.

Human adept flesh is incredibly delicious to ferocious beasts; this fifth-rank beast could not have missed us.

"Senior, look at how that ferocious beast is acting—it seems like it's fleeing for its life?" Jiang Chuxuan mused.

"Fleeing?" Xu Jingming frowned slightly.

A fifth-rank ferocious beast is among the top dominators in the entire Yuan Shui Wilderness Zone.

What kind of beast could make it flee?

"Squeak-squeak-squeak—"

As he pondered, a dense chorus of shrieks erupted, and a black tide of ferocious beasts surged forth from the dense forest like a flood!

These beasts resembled rats, but were over forty centimeters long, each radiating a first-rank aura.

They formed a beast tide, like a rushing wave!

"It's a Rat Tide!"

Xu Jingming's expression turned grim.

Iron-Eating Rats are among the weakest ferocious beasts in their species, typically at first-rank.

Their combat power is weak—even ordinary humans can kill them.

But once Iron-Eating Rats form a massive Rat Tide, even a sixth-rank adept caught off-guard will die without fail!

"No wonder even that fifth-rank beast fled!"

Xu Jingming no longer cared for anything else—he grabbed Jiang Chuxuan and began fleeing too.