The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 3107 The Shadow's Face

By the time Qian Ying returned, Zhou Zixing's side had already been cleaned up.

"Elder Qian, come on over without worry. I've already cleaned this place up." Zhou Zixing stepped out from the shadows of the rocks as soon as he saw Qian Ying return and greeted him.

Although Qian Ying believed Zhou Zixing's words, she still cautiously looked around, unconsciously shining her flashlight around.

He was simply too cautious for his age and didn't trust Zhou Zixing much. After all, he and Zhou Zixing had only cooperated on this expedition. They had no prior relationship or connection. Moreover, in this valley, even close friends had to be treated with caution, let alone a completely unrelated innate master like Zhou Zixing.

Of course, he believed that Zhou Zixing, like himself, harbored the same thoughts. They were both seasoned cunning individuals; there was no need for anyone to laugh at anyone else.

Sure enough, when Zhou Zixing saw Qian Ying's actions, he chuckled to himself but said nothing, sharing the same thoughts.

"Are there many poisonous creatures around here? What kind of poisonous creature did you just encounter?" Qian Ying glanced around and, finding nothing amiss, turned off her flashlight and approached Zhou Zixing, asking as she did so.

Zhou Zixing then led Qian Ying to hide among the pile of stones, answering as he did so: "There weren't many poisonous creatures, just some snakes and scorpions. Oh, and a spider, about the size of a fist, which looked quite venomous. But they were all common poisonous creatures, and although they were quick, they were relatively easy to eliminate."

After saying that, he turned on his flashlight and pointed it towards a corner: "Look, they're all over there."

Qian Ying followed the light and saw a dense mass of venomous creatures. There were several snakes, some long and some short, their triangular heads indicating they were quite numerous. There were also about a dozen scorpions, each about the size of a palm and entirely black. And a strange black spider, about the size of a fist, quite different from the venomous spiders she encountered elsewhere.

However, these poisonous creatures were now piled up together, completely still. As a master of the Innate Realm, Zhou Zixing found dealing with them extremely easy. After all, standing within his Innate Realm, he could sense how many poisonous creatures were within its range.

Then, by utilizing the domain, one can easily control and crush these poisonous creatures.

Of course, it's easy for innate masters, but it's definitely not so easy for acquired martial artists.

These poisonous creatures still pose a considerable danger to martial artists who have acquired martial arts skills. After all, the poisonous creatures here are not only fast but also highly toxic. If ordinary people were to venture in, they would definitely die one by one, or even two by two.

The same result applies to those who are slightly stronger after birth.

After the two elders finished their conversation, they turned off their flashlights and fell silent. They peered through the gaps in the pile of stones, observing the area illuminated by the emergency glow sticks in the distance. Their own auras began to slow, both to avoid being detected by the strange beasts and to blend into their surroundings.

Of course, the two still activated their innate domains for close protection. After all, it was nighttime, and there were many poisonous creatures around, so caution was paramount.

The two did not wait long before they felt a series of tremors.

'They're here!' they both thought at the same time.

However, they did not make a sound, but remained still, continuing to look at the area illuminated by the glow stick.

Their eyesight was much stronger, so they were able to see a wider area even in the dim light.

Before the two had to wait long, one after another enormous, monstrous creature rushed across the area illuminated by the glow sticks at incredible speed. One of the creatures even crushed a glow stick, instantly extinguishing the light. "Damn it!" Qian Ying thought to herself, speechless. She really didn't know if the creature was doing it on purpose or unintentionally.

But none of that matters now. The strange beasts that have appeared before them, large and small, number nearly a hundred. If these beasts are all at the first level of the Innate Realm, they are definitely not something he and Zhou Zixing can handle.

"Elder Zhou, let's retreat!" Qian Ying transmitted her voice to Zhou Zixing.

"Okay!" Zhou Zixing immediately replied telepathically and was about to leave.

"Wait, look at the back of that last beast, isn't there something there?" Qian Ying had been staring at the many beasts. After transmitting her voice to Zhou Zixing, she didn't immediately turn around and leave. Just then, she saw the last beast appear in her sight, and on its back, there seemed to be a dark shadow.

They were immediately astonished. Could it be that there were not only strange beasts in this valley, but also people?
If there is someone here, who is it? Is it an indigenous person, or someone who accidentally wandered in? Or, if we capture this person, we can learn more about the secrets of this valley.

Before Qian Ying could think any further, the strange beast with a dark shadow behind it stopped in its tracks, then raised its head and roared. All the other strange beasts instantly stopped in their tracks as well.

The dark figure stood on the back of the strange beast, looked ahead, then looked down at the glow sticks faintly glowing on the ground on both sides of the road, seemingly showing some curiosity.

In a flash, he dismounted from the beast's back and appeared near the glowing light. He picked up the glow stick from the ground and examined it, somewhat curious about it. It had no spiritual power or temperature, yet it could emit a fairly strong light, which was quite peculiar.

Meanwhile, Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing, who were hiding behind the pile of rocks, were filled with surprise.

Using the light from the glow sticks, they could make out the dark figure. It was dressed in all black, but its head was covered by a hood, although its face was still visible in the glow.

But it was precisely because they saw it clearly that they were both surprised.

That's because the shadowy figure's face had no flesh or blood whatsoever, resembling a skeleton with only a layer of skin clinging to it. The entire face was pitch black, like a dried-up zombie. Especially striking were the shadowy figure's eyes, which were blood-red, lacking pupils and irises; the eye sockets were simply blood-red, emitting a crimson glow.

The hand holding the glow stick, revealed by the loose sleeves of the garment, was entirely black, devoid of flesh and blood, resembling a withered skeleton.

This scene left Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing astonished and somewhat uneasy.

Unexpectedly, they not only encountered hundreds of strange beasts in pursuit, but also met the commander of these beasts, a guy who looked like a zombie.

But this guy's abilities are questionable; his strength must be quite high.

After all, someone capable of commanding so many strange beasts should possess even greater strength. Wouldn't that put the two of them, and the entire team, in danger?

'Damn it, we have to retreat immediately!' Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing were thinking to themselves, but they didn't move an inch. They were waiting for the shadowy figure to make a move, and they had to find an opportunity to retreat without alerting it.

Now, the shadowy figure is holding a glow stick and shows no sign of moving.

(End of this chapter)