Chapter 177: A Game of Picking Up the Soap
"Everyone, fall back ten miles immediately!"
"Everyone, fall back..."
The shouts echoed everywhere.
Tang Wen heard them too, of course.
A chill seeped through the massive boulder behind him.
He reached out to touch it. The surface of the stone was coated in a layer of chilling frost.
Tang Wen’s face paled, his eyes filled with shock.
Frost on a hot summer day—it was nothing short of a miracle.
In the sky.
The darkness was being suppressed by the white mist.
The Ice Chilong was showing its might.
Tang Wen wasted no more time. He gripped the red Beast Taming Ring he had just acquired with both hands, focusing all his Spiritual Power on it.
HUMMM.
The Beast Taming Ring trembled lightly.
It was like the slight tremor of a vehicle when you slam on the gas.
He increased the output of his Spiritual Power.
It was like jamming the gas pedal right into the fuel tank.
The car began to shake violently.
The horn blared nonstop, the sound starting to crack.
Tang Wen felt no pity.
’He didn’t care. It was a stolen car.’
Gripping the Beast Taming Ring tightly, he frantically poured out his Spiritual Power in a high-frequency, rapid, continuous torrent.
In just a few minutes, the original spiritual brand on the Beast Taming Ring was washed away.
Tang Wen opened his hands. The Beast Taming Ring, subdued by his Spiritual Power, lay quietly in his palm, no longer vibrating, no longer trembling.
After he put it on.
SWISH.
The ring gently contracted, fitting his wrist perfectly.
It was neither too tight nor too loose.
It wouldn’t fly off when fighting or punching.
’It really is a Curiosity.’
A deep bellow~
A deep cry sounded in his mind.
Though it was the first time Tang Wen had heard it, he immediately understood its meaning.
The Earth Beast, controlled by the ring, was confused about its new master.
Time was short.
Tang Wen took out a few pieces of Extraordinary Dried Meat from his pocket and tossed them down toward the cave entrance.
HMMMM.
The time of a few dozen heartbeats passed.
The Earth Beast let out a joyful cry.
Tang Wen also became aware of the situation in the cavern below.
Besides the Earth Beast, there were also three Green Water Pythons down there.
As for the cavern, because it was so deep, the cold pool water had already begun to seep in.
Following the orders given by the three Black-clothed Martial Artists before they left, the three Green Water Pythons surrounded the Earth Beast, continuously ramming the leaking stone wall.
The four High-level Exotic Beasts were toiling away diligently, without a moment’s rest.
After a moment of thought, Tang Wen switched to the Water Spirits’ perspective.
A good while had passed, but the two Water Spirits, who had been knocked unconscious by the Ice Chilong’s oppressive aura, were still out cold.
Tang Wen tried calling to them again and again.
Finally, the two Water Spirits, one large and one small, gradually opened their eyes.
’Dive, dive, dive.’
He urged them again and again.
The two Water Spirits finally woke up completely.
They slowly moved their limbs.
Reluctantly, they pushed off the stone wall and began to dive.
’The Ice Chilong is up there! If you don’t want to die, hurry up and swim down!’
The large and small Water Spirits abruptly sped up their descent.
Tang Wen rubbed his temples. ’The Beast Taming Ring is so much more convenient.’
Unlike the two Water Spirits, the Earth Beast worked harder, more tirelessly, and in greater danger, yet it uttered no complaint.
Time passed, second by second.
The black-and-white battle in the sky grew even more intense.
The Ice Chilong and the Black Water Gang Leader seemed to be fighting with genuine fury.
Tang Wen focused his attention, trying to watch.
But he couldn’t even see a shadow.
Only the occasional explosions and the ever-dropping temperature proved that experts were fighting here.
Snowflakes began to drift down from the sky.
Hexagonal, crystal-clear snowflakes landed on his neck and melted instantly.
It was an icy chill.
’Fifth Grade masters... they’re this powerful.’
’I wonder what a master of the higher Divine Power Realm would be like?’
HISS!
It was cold outside.
The bottom of the Cold Pool was even colder.
The two Water Spirits were so cold in the water they could barely move.
The area at the bottom of the Cold Pool was much larger than Tang Wen had expected.
Searching it was not easy.
The Water Spirits felt the pressure at the bottom of the pool and were unwilling to open their eyes.
Tang Wen urged them again and again, so the two Water Spirits had no choice but to open their eyes a crack.
Two blue halos of light entered their vision.
Getting closer, they saw it was indeed a stone slab reflecting light.
’So this is the Azure Stone Slab?’
’Don’t! Don’t move it yet.’
The Public Water Spirit had just gotten close, wanting to pick up the Stone Slab.
Tang Wen quickly stopped it.
’The Ice Chilong’s Spiritual Power is absolutely terrifying.’
’For an Exotic Beast like that to place the Azure Stone Slab in its lair, how could it not have some way of sensing it?’
’To be safe, I should wait until the tunnel is dug through.’
The four High-level Exotic Beasts were already exhausted.
THUD THUD THUD!
CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH!
Between the tunnel and the pool, there was clearly only a thin layer of rock wall left.
Even water was slowly seeping in.
But this thin layer of rock wall, no matter what they did, they couldn’t break through it.
Through the Earth Beast’s eyes, he could even feel the turbulent water on the other side of the rock wall.
’There’s something strange about this rock wall.’
’But that also makes sense.’
After all, it was the lair of a Fifth Grade Exotic Beast, the Ice Chilong.
’It would be stranger if it could be broken into that easily.’
’Come up.’
’Stop ramming the wall.’
After Tang Wen gave the command, a good while passed before the three green Water Snakes crawled up first.
Followed by the enormous Earth Beast.
As soon as it came up, it affectionately nuzzled Tang Wen.
Tang Wen stared at its huge head and, in the center, found a sliver of silver thread.
Without a word, he reached out and pulled out the silver thread.
Then he sent a few waves of spiritual soothing.
Taking advantage of the goodwill he had built, he ordered the four High-level Exotic Beasts to leave.
Before they got far,
Tang Wen casually picked up a stone and threw it into the hole.
CLACK!
The stone hit the rock wall.
This showed that the hole was a straight, downward-sloping line.
His eyes narrowed, and he took out three pebbles.
The darkness seemed to coat the pebbles in black.
Visualization... Eruption!
Three Stars Chasing the Moon!
After three explosive sounds, the sound of flowing water rang out.
Tang Wen vanished from his spot.
In the air, the deadlocked white mist and the dense darkness both came to a standstill.
The Divine Martial Realm powerhouses heard the commotion.
Their Spiritual Power swept over at the same time.
Naturally, they discovered the deep hole here.
"That was close."
Tang Wen fled for several miles without stopping, only sighing in relief when he saw that the black and white mass in the distance wasn’t pursuing him.
The darkness and the white mist had unknowingly left the area above the Cold Pool, following the direction of the sound.
They precisely located the spot above the tunnel.
The man and the Ice Chilong each probed the deep cavern.
At that moment, on the surface of the Cold Pool, a furry hand emerged.
The hand was holding a stone slab caked in thick mud.
The stone slab had just broken the surface.
A Brown-tailed Crow swooped over the water’s surface, snatched the stone slab, and shot away, skimming the water like an arrow.
The Ice Chilong, in the middle of its battle, sensed something and glanced uneasily toward the Cold Pool.
The Black Water Gang Leader also directed his attention that way, but as soon as his Spiritual Power entered the white mist, it was immediately blocked.
The white mist over the pool was a special mist formed by the Ice Chilong’s abilities.
Spiritual Power had difficulty penetrating it.
The Black Water Gang Leader didn’t mind.
His Spiritual Power told him that deep in the tunnel, a Water Spirit was climbing out with the Stone Slab.
For him, this was the best possible news.
He pressed his attack with a couple of sharp moves, forcing the Ice Chilong to focus and leaving it no time for anything else.
The mist and the darkness became entangled once more.
Two hours later, Tang Wen was back in Ganshan City.
The mud-caked Azure Stone Slab was hidden in his shirt.
Returning home, he quietly went to the backyard of the Beast Taming Garden, wrapped the Beast Taming Ring and the Azure Stone Slab in some dirty clothes, and buried them in the fish pond.
He turned and went back to the house to wash off his original disguise.
Xiaorou brought him a bar of soap.
And so, the two of them played a game of "picking up the soap."
By evening, he had taken care of the two women.
Tang Wen carried some wine and meat over to the Beast Taming Garden next door.
The subordinate on duty today was both surprised and delighted to see him.
Wu Hao heard the news and came over soon after.
He even brought a whole butchered sheep and a few fat chickens.
Everyone started having a good time in the courtyard, roasting and eating the meat.