Chapter 330: The Use of the Gray Heart? A Hair's Breadth

As his thoughts drifted, Dan had already stood back up. Carrying a massive greatsword, a man-tall greatbow, and a spear, he arrived at the edge of the deck in a striking display of full armament.

The next instant, he raised the Gray Heart, brought it to his mouth, and immediately tore off a fierce bite, swallowing it down.

Then, he jumped.

His tall, burly frame leaped violently from the great ship, passing through the white-hazy barrier and falling into the grey-hazy scenery outside.

Like a holy deity, sacrificing himself for righteousness, leaping into hell.

In just a few breaths, his figure vanished. Only the whoosh of the wind remained.

Beside him, Baichuan watched Dan leap down, lost in thought.

Earlier, Dan had only said the girl couldn't do it; that didn't mean he couldn't.

Although the Grey Mist was dangerous, it presumably wasn't unsolvable—otherwise, how would those living beings out in the wild survive?

Those creatures couldn't all possibly be strong ones; the weak being countless was the normal situation.

All things under heaven, no matter what crisis they faced, as long as it wasn't instant extinction, always had their own ways of coping.

Dan's act of biting the Gray Heart at the very last moment was absolutely not useless.

The Grey Mist—one day, he would face it himself.

After all, he couldn't stay by the girl and the young man's side forever. There were no endless banquets in this world. Little Lizard Dadi was still waiting for him, and he still had to leave this Star System.

Given that, why not take this chance to explore a bit? If it proved unfeasible, he could just rush back within a Time.

Thinking this, Baichuan decided to follow them out later!

Of course, the main reason was still that the missing person was connected to him.

……

Not long after Dan vanished, Vice Captain Ren dismissed the crowd; the Grey Mist was imminent.

Even though Dan had said what he said, Ren had no intention of sitting and waiting for death, merely waiting.

As the backbone of the group had decided this, how could his followers rest easy hiding away?

If it were really like that, today's Sand Castle would never have been formed!

The massive Hunting Ship slowly lit up two extremely bright beams of light from within the grey-hazy night, illuminating everything within fifty meters ahead brightly, and casting the hazy light far into the distance.

Just like an undying beacon standing in the darkness on a stormy night by the sea, guiding the way.

This Hunting Ship set sail from the dimness, circling the edge of the Life Continent at a snail's pace. Deep, resonant long cries echoed far into the distance, like a loving mother endlessly calling her wandering child home.

Inside the cabin, Baichuan kept searching through the room's contents. He remembered that when he had left Gucheng, the Spirit Organs he had dissected out were collected by Zhou Yun and put into a backpack.

But, why couldn't he find them no matter how he searched now… could it be?

Baichuan paused, thinking of a certain possibility. Could that kid Zhou Yun have taken the backpack containing the Spirit Organs out with him?

"Mao Mao, are you going out to look for brother?"

Beside him, the girl sitting on the bed spoke softly. Her voice was soft and fluffy, light and slow, like a drifting cloud.

"Can you take me with you?"

The girl hugged her small bag, looking at her own magical, adorable cat with a hint of hope.

The girl was well aware of her cat's miraculous nature; even if someone said it could speak human language, she wouldn't doubt it at all.

It was like her most precious treasure, carrying her out of the dark, dangerous place when she was in the greatest peril.

Now, she had lost her brother; she only had her one remaining Mao Mao. She didn't want to lose anything else.

Baichuan raised his head, quietly gazing at the girl, gazing at those reddened eyes that held a glimmer of hope, feeling her resolve.

After a long while, he still gently shook his head and refused her.

The girl was too weak right now, or rather, the time left for her to grow was too short.

In the current danger, even Dan who had reached Tier 2 couldn't claim to protect himself, let alone her.

Even now, he himself couldn't guarantee he could protect her.

Ignoring the girl's gradually dimming gaze, Baichuan walked to a corner of the room, picked up in his mouth a small glowing crystal tube. A mysterious liquid, dark blue tinged with wisps of purple, swayed continuously within the crystal tube as he moved, emitting a faint halo of light.

That was the ability potion he had made earlier, after his body had reached its limit, while he had surplus energy—Digestion and Absorption LV2.

It was something he had carefully considered preparing to bestow upon that pair of siblings after observing the Sand Castle people training their bodies for some time. After all, in the eyes of that group, he and that pair of siblings shared honor and disgrace as one. The stronger that pair of siblings became, the more information, secrets, and resources he could obtain.

Not to mention anything else, just the large amount of energy-filled meat he needed required that pair of siblings to be stronger, with more points, to be able to afford the exchange.

Unfortunately, he had only just finished making it and hadn't had the chance to give it to them before this mess happened.

In thought, Baichuan placed the tube of potion emitting a mysterious halo beside the disappointed girl, nudged it with his paw, and then quietly gazed at her.

"F-for me?"

Zhou Xiaoxiao pointed at herself in some confusion, momentarily not even having time to consider where this crystal tube containing the strange liquid had come from.

Baichuan gently nodded.

The girl squatted down, picked up the tube of potion……

Five minutes later, after some effort, Baichuan silently watched the girl who had finally drunk the potion and fallen into a sleeping state.

From their earlier exchange of gazes, he understood that if he couldn't make the girl temporarily unable to leave for some reason, then even though he had refused her company, she would still secretly follow after him once he left.

There wasn't much Time left!

Thinking this, Baichuan walked out with a Spirit Organ in his mouth, roughly the size of a baby's heart.

Fortunately, back when he had watched Zhou Yun slaughter the high-level "human shadows," he had dissected quite a few Spirit Organs even without knowing their purpose. That was how he found the last one in the girl's little bag.

From this, one could also see that Zhou Xiaoxiao had already connected the dots from Dan's actions. Cleverly, she had returned to the room and found the only Spirit Organ, hoping to invite him to go down together with it, or, in the event he refused, even to go search alone by herself.

Unfortunately, she was still too green.

Thinking about how he had tricked her earlier, saying that after she drank the potion, he would take her along. But the moment she drank it, she got drowsy and lay down. Baichuan couldn't help but laugh.

The next moment, Baichuan, who had silently arrived at the edge of the deck, also bit down on the Spirit Organ in his mouth and swallowed it.

In an instant, he felt a stream of cold rush from his mouth straight to his chest, then spread throughout his entire body, as if he were in an ice cave—his whole body icy cold and stiff beyond compare.

This was not merely a coldness of the body, but a coldness of consciousness and emotion as well.

At this moment, all the thoughts throughout his body greatly diminished, as if he had fallen into a state where, if the heart is not startled, even the heavens collapsing would not startle him.

Baichuan recalled the burning sensation when he had previously come into contact with the Grey Mist, as well as the impulse that had arisen within his heart, and guessed that perhaps this coldness was suppressing the adverse reaction after contacting the Grey Mist.

Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated. He extended his left claw through the white, hazy barrier, and upon sensing no reaction, decisively leapt off the deck, vanishing from this stretch of heaven and earth.

The next instant, as large amounts of Grey Mist made contact, the burning sensation continuously arose, and his previously somewhat stiffened body once again recovered its soft flexibility.

Baichuan only felt large amounts of Grey Mist adhering to his body, like living things that would never let go again. Looking through the haze, it seemed his body had grown just a fraction larger.

Fortunately, no adverse reaction had been detected yet.

Nimbly twisting his body to avoid the slowly advancing Hunting Ship, Baichuan landed on the soft sand. Immediately, a soft, loose sensation transmitted from beneath his feet.

He began running toward the Life Continent not far away.

……

At the same time, in a certain sand cave.

Three wretched figures slowly emerged, advancing at a sluggish pace from within the cave, leaving a trail of blood along the way. In the surrounding darkness, large numbers of crimson eyes continuously lit up, watching those three somewhat diminutive figures, yet wary of the massive, limping beast-shadow behind the two human figures.

A starved camel is still bigger than a horse — the injured Sand Beast leader was still not something ordinary wild beasts could easily eye.

Only, looking at the increasingly restless stirrings in the darkness, how long this intimidation could still persist within the Grey Mist was anyone's guess.

"Brother You, wake up, keep it together!" Zhou Yun, his face covered in fine scratches, anxiously and worriedly called out to the tall figure leaning on his shoulder, while continuously and with difficulty shuffling forward.

To one side was another tall figure, hunched at the waist, alertly guarding the surroundings.

"Cough, cough…" The tall but weak figure, You Fei, coughed powerlessly. "Z-Zhou kid, put me down, I-I can't make it…"

"Don't talk nonsense, hold on!" Zhou Yun cut off the other's words.

"L-listen to me," You Fei powerlessly raised a hand and patted the youth, signaling him to stop first, then called back his companion on one side. Speaking in broken fragments while leaning on the youth's shoulder, he said, "Kid, don't bother with me. My injuries are too severe; you carrying me is just a burden. Right now those beasts around us are getting harder and harder to hold back. If this continues, we'll all die. Xiao Shi, take him and go…"

"Sshaa~gaa…"

The Sand Beast leader behind, who had been warily surveying the surroundings, responded with a sound, tinged with sorrow.

The man called Xiao Shi beside him remained silent, instinctively tightening his grip on the bone bow in his hand.

"……" Zhou Yun lowered his gaze, his lips trembling ceaselessly, unable to speak, yet his body was fixed in place as rigidly as a nail.

Anyone with eyes could see that dropping the burden was the best choice, but the words "abandon" and "leave" sounded so light to say, yet to Zhou Yun they were as heavy as a thousand jin.

If not for Brother You saving him, he would never have been gravely wounded in the Mist Spirit's attack. Having been saved by his big brother, how could he possibly bring himself to abandon the other?

"Go! A real man, don't be so wishy-washy!" You Fei grew angry, turned his head to look at You Shi beside him, and said sharply, "What? Xiao Shi, you won't listen to me either? If this continues, everyone dies!"

"Not considering yourselves, aren't you considering your families? Xiao Shi, if you die, what will become of your little brother? And you, kid! Your little sister is still waiting for you!"

The moment these words came out, the two silent men suddenly stiffened…

"Big brother, take care!"

In the end, You Shi clenched his teeth, dropped to his knees with a thud, bowed once, then stretched out a large hand and grabbed the struggling Zhou Yun, striding over to the side of the also-injured Sand Beast leader.

……

Within the mist.

Crimson eyes, hazy human and beast shadows flickered unsteadily, appearing and shattering in an instant, stirring the thick Grey Mist into ever greater chaos,

Crimson light bloomed, rolling Blood Qi transforming into all manner of strange omens, mingled with thunderous roars of blades that ground everything to dust.

A one-eyed brute with a pallid face and a numb, lifeless expression shielded a weakened youth behind him, mechanically slaughtering the incoming Mist Spirits. From time to time he raised his great bow, drew and nocked an arrow; the arrow-light flashed like lightning, tearing through the darkness.

Yet, no matter how the brute slaughtered, the incoming Mist Spirits seemed never to diminish. Coupled with the need to protect the youth behind him, he was forced to fight while retreating.

The mist grew thicker and thicker.

In the darkness, a bone-chilling wind stirred, sweeping up endless yellow sand that transformed into a yellow cloud. Amidst the yellow cloud filling the sky, the ground seemed to move, rustling and crackling, as if some great creature were stealthily stirring beneath.

……

"Boom boom…"

In the sand cave, heavy footsteps could be clearly heard, mingled with violent gasping and the dripping of liquid.

The already-injured Sand Beast leader, carrying two not-light humans on top, grew slower and slower.

Enticed by the splashing sweet blood, the crimson eyes watching from all around drew closer and closer.

"Squeak!"

"Pat pat pat…"

The next moment, as if reaching a critical point, the instant the first slapping sound appeared, one after another slapping sounds rang out, and one by one, incomparably crimson eyes finally burst forth from the darkness!

Like a streak of red glow continuously shooting forth, in the blink of an eye they adhered to the wounds of the Sand Beast leader, followed by a horrifying sound of sucking.

"Sshaa!"

Under the intense pain, the Sand Beast leader finally could not endure, stumbled and crashed directly to the ground, bringing Zhou Yun and the other person on top down with him.

At the very last moment, the Sand Beast leader endured the pain and lunged forward with all its might, using its own body as a shield to cover Zhou Yun and the other person.

At this moment, the two shielded beneath finally realized with a shock that what they had taken for rosy glow was actually half-human-tall bats!

Flared ears, rat-like heads with sharp fangs, pitch-black, covered in wrinkled fleshy wings, clinging tightly to the blurred flesh and blood, their entire bodies shrouded in a red glow that could not be told whether it was the sheen of blood or radiance emitted from themselves.

In the blink of an eye, that Sand Beast leader visibly shriveled and withered away.

Under the life-and-death crisis, the Sand Beast also Burst forth!

Earthy-yellow light began to flicker from all over its body. In the cave that was already made of sand, the yellow sand began to writhe and adhere under the illumination of the earthy-yellow light,

"Sizzle sizzle…"

Sounds of crushing and shattering rang out one after another, and then the adhering yellow sand visibly grew damp, sticking together into a single mass.

However, the previous attrition by those mutant bats had not been in vain. In merely a few breaths, under the wave-upon-wave attacks of large numbers of mutant bats, the Sand Armor grew increasingly shattered, faintly revealing the bare white bones beneath, stripped of flesh and blood!

Suddenly, at this moment of crisis.

A streak of grey-white light rushed in from afar, at incomparably swift speed, ricocheting up and down within the cave, and wherever it passed, large numbers of mutant bats lost their lives and fell.

……

(End of Chapter)