The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 3049 A Tail Whip Sends Them Away
When Zhou Zixing and Qian Ying saw the strange beast jump into the lake, they stopped recovering their innate power and said with some sigh, "This strange beast is a very good swimmer. If we can't eliminate it and try to cross this lake on the raft we made, it might come out from the bottom of the lake to attack us."

The way the beast entered the water and its speed after entering the water make it easy to imagine what would happen if the beast suddenly jumped out of the lake and attacked the many rafts when the whole group was crossing the lake on rafts.
If it were him and Qian Ying, it wouldn't be so bad. Even in the water, though they couldn't defeat the beasts with their rafts, they could still evade them and safely reach the shore. But what about the others? Without him and Qian Ying's help, these martial artists, whose strength was already inferior to the beasts, would be helpless in the lake. What could they do but wait to die? Perhaps they could slow down the beasts' eating by using their weight?

It seems that Qian Ying's earlier suggestion of using rafts to cross the lake is not feasible.

Qian Ying watched the strange beast enter the water and heard Zhou Zixing's words. Although she didn't speak, she knew he was right. If they wanted to cross the lake, they should focus on this strange beast.

"Never mind, it's a good thing the beast has returned to the lake. It allows us both to recover properly. We can talk about other things after we've recovered," Qian Ying said to Zhou Zixing.

Zhou Zixing nodded in agreement with Qian Ying's opinion.

The two of them remained where they were and began to meditate to restore their innate power.

About an hour later, the two slowly finished their practice and stood up. Then, they began to discuss how to deal with the strange beast.

“Elder Qian, although this beast is roughly equivalent to a first-tier innate expert, we can both handle it easily. However, because of its superior defense, it's difficult to kill. But every time we attack it, it still feels pain. So let's take turns attacking it, using a slow and steady approach, to see just how much it can withstand.” Zhou Zixing was determined. Since its defense was high, but their attacks were still effective, they would adopt a sustained attack strategy to see if the beast could endure it.

“Okay, let’s do it your way. Also, since the beast’s defenses are so strong, it will still feel pain when we attack. So let’s change our attack method and use a method of attacking from a distance, transmitting the power into the beast’s body through our fists. Since the external scales are so strong, let’s attack the internal organs protected by the scales.” Qian Ying nodded, agreeing with Zhou Zixing’s statement, and also offered her own proposed method.

The method of "hitting a cow through a mountain" is incredibly simple for a master with a domain. The only difference lies in the method of exerting force—attacking the internal organs through scales. The resulting outcomes are also different. While the specific techniques may be unknown, the transmission of power can be accomplished under the control of the domain.

“Okay, I’ll go first, and then you can take over after I’ve used up half of my energy,” Zhou Zixing said.

He said that he would rotate his innate power when it was half depleted because this was a valley, and he couldn't exhaust his innate power completely. Otherwise, if other dangers occurred while dealing with the strange beasts, how would he cope?
Therefore, preserving half of their innate power is the only way to ensure their safety. In the valley, safety is the top priority; otherwise, they might die without even knowing how.

“Okay, let’s do it this way.” Qian Ying naturally understood Zhou Zixing’s meaning and nodded in agreement.

After the two finished discussing, Zhou Zixing slipped behind the building, reached out and pressed the stone button. A huge roar rang out again, echoing throughout the valley.

Zhou Zixing observed carefully, trying to figure out how the roar came about. Unfortunately, after examining the building, he couldn't find any source of the sound. It seemed the strange building itself was transmitting sound, without any horn-like openings.

It's a really strange building. It doesn't have a horn-shaped opening, yet it can still make sounds, and the sounds are so loud.

After muttering a few words, he noticed something unusual on the water's surface. Through the water, he saw a shadow burst through the surface from below, leaping out of the water with a bang. Its body, nearly forty meters long, actually leaped out of the lake and hovered in the air for a few seconds before crashing back into the water.

Then, it revealed its enormous head, raised its head and roared, the roar echoing throughout the entire valley.

The sound gradually carried into the distance, and the beast turned its head to look at Zhou Zixing, who was standing next to the building. Its blood-red eyes stared at him, revealing a fierce look.

With a flick of his limbs in the water, his entire body quickly parted the surface and charged towards Zhou Zixing. As he approached the shore, he suddenly leaped out of the lake, using the buoyancy of the water to rise into the air. His massive shadow completely enveloped Zhou Zixing and the area around him.

"Hmph! Good timing! Let's see if your defense is stronger or my strength is stronger." Zhou Zixing said in a low voice, then rushed towards the beast and punched it in the head.

With a deafening roar, the beast was struck by the punch, its body instantly halting in mid-air before being sent flying and crashing into the lake.

This punch was delivered with Zhou Zixing's full power, which is why the beast was forced back into the lake. Furthermore, the beast's body had leaped directly out of the water as it charged at him, without using any leverage in the air, making it vulnerable to Zhou Zixing's powerful punch, resulting in this outcome.

Of course, Zhou Zixing was, after all, a peak second-tier expert of the Innate Realm. His punches were powerful and heavy, causing the beast to feel dizzy and its eyes to become bloodshot. Fortunately, it only fell into the lake for a few seconds before being jolted awake by the cold water. It turned around in the water, placed its feet on the underwater bank, and used the momentum to leap out of the lake again. It opened its mouth and lunged at Zhou Zixing, while its sharp claws also reached for Zhou Zixing's chest.

As the strange beast leaped out, a large amount of lake water surged toward Zhou Zixing, who was standing on the lakeside.

From a distance, it looked like a colossal beast, tens of meters long, leaping out of the lake and carrying a huge amount of water, attacking a small old man standing on the shore. The scene was absurd and incredibly oppressive!

Anyone who witnessed this scene would feel that the old man was no match for the beast and would be torn to pieces by its sharp teeth in the next second.

Especially the beast's blood-red eyes, like two enormous lanterns, and its sharp claws, like blades. By all accounts, the old man was doomed.

But just as the beast's sharp teeth were about to touch the old man's body, the old man dodged and instantly appeared beside the beast. Then, he swung his fist, breaking through the engulfing lake water, and attacked its ribs.

Zhou Zixing's earlier punch, which sent the beast flying, emboldened him. He sensed that while the beast was enormous and had strong defenses, it wasn't fast or agile. Moreover, his overall strength was a level higher than the beast's, so as long as he maintained his speed, dodging its attacks shouldn't be a problem.

Sure enough, the punch that cleaved through the lake water slammed into the beast's ribs with a resounding crash. Water splashed everywhere, and the beast's body was thrown sideways a distance. One can imagine the immense power of that punch.

The attacked beast howled in pain, its body even twitching a few times. It stopped attacking Zhou Zixing and used its tail to control its body, using the force of the punch to land quickly. However, when it landed, the lake water splashed everywhere, covering the beast in mud and making it look quite disheveled.

Fortunately, the beast's body is protected by scales, which not only provide high defense but also have a water-absorbing effect. The mud that got on it was shaken off as the beast trembled.

Before the beast could turn around and bare its teeth at him, Zhou Zixing leaped into the air, aiming at the spot he had just attacked, ready to deliver another punch.

Jumping into the air is also to increase the power of the punch.

If flying were not prohibited throughout the valley, attacking this beast would be much easier.

However, although Zhou Zixing was fast, the beast, despite its continuous screams, reacted quickly. It twisted its body to the side and lashed its thick tail at Zhou Zixing in mid-air. At the same time, it dodged a punch that came straight down from the sky.

Because Zhou Zixing was in the air, he did not expect the beast to move so fast, and its tail swung even faster. So he could only pull back his fist and use his arm to protect himself, taking the impact of the beast's tail.

He felt helpless, realizing he had been careless and hadn't dodged the blow. He could only endure the lash from the tail.

With a deafening roar, Zhou Zixing was sent flying by the immense force.

Upon seeing this, Qian Ying immediately rushed over. Although it was too late to provide assistance, she managed to arrive in time to stop the beast from continuing its attack.

The beast's tail attack was extremely powerful. Even though Zhou Zixing was at the peak of the second level of the Innate Realm, he would most likely not be able to withstand this attack.

Sure enough, Zhou Zixing was sent flying about twenty meters away before finally landing on the ground. His body slid for several more meters before coming to a stop. The powerful recoil caused his internal organs to tremble, and he felt a sweet taste in his throat, almost spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Fortunately, Zhou Zixing knew that spitting out the blood would worsen his injuries. So he quickly suppressed it and used the innate power in his dantian to alleviate the shock to his internal organs.

He hadn't expected the beast to change its attack so quickly, catching him off guard. His earlier attack had been too successful, making him complacent. He'd been focused on securing victory quickly, which was why he'd leaped down from the air to amplify his power. But the beast seized the opportunity, using its speed to swing its tail and send him flying like a baseball.

Indeed, no beast should be underestimated, especially when facing a powerful one; one should be even more careful.