"What in the hell is this?"

Chen Fei felt his hair stand on end, his entire body covered in goosebumps.

He truly hadn't expected that the mysterious cave under Emerald Lake would contain not only the legendary Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures—the Jinchan Moon Fruit—but also this terrifying Snake Viper! It was massive, breathing out a foul smog with a frightening hiss, making it no different from the Fierce Beasts of legend!

"ROAR!"

"HISS! HISS! HISS!"

The filthy underwater Snake Viper let out a piercing hiss. A moment later, ear-splitting screeches rippled through the water as its tail, like a steel whip, smashed toward Chen Fei with the force of a collapsing mountain. It created underwater tornados and surging undercurrents, leaving Chen Fei struggling to breathe.

He was currently relying solely on the Spiritual Energy in his body to create a barrier, allowing him to move underwater without getting wet. But now, the presence of such a terrifying Snake Viper subjected him to an immense, endless pressure. His expression changed drastically, and he fled the Emerald Lake Cave without hesitation.

"Get out of my way!"

"BOOM!"

Chen Fei summoned all his strength, channeling the Spiritual Energy from his body into his fists and palms. In that instant, his entire arm seemed to transform into a milky-white glow as he forcefully swung it at the Snake Viper's whip-like tail, causing a deafening crash. Sparks flew, followed by a violent surge of water.

Chen Fei felt as if his arm had struck solid steel. An unimaginable impact and recoil engulfed him, nearly crippling the limb. He spat out a mouthful of corrupted blood, staining the lakebed. His face turned visibly pale.

Damn it, what kind of monster is this? How can it seriously injure me with a single casual strike?

Horror filled Chen Fei's eyes. He no longer dared to think about the Jinchan Moon Fruit in the cave and fled for his life. He knew that if he didn't leave now, he might truly be unable to leave at all.

With his current strength, he was at least comparable to a cultivator at the Peak of First-Class Master. This meant that even bullets from ordinary firearms couldn't harm him. But now, this terrifying Snake Viper, using merely its physical strength, had almost buried him in the cold, dark depths of Emerald Lake with a single swipe of its tail. How could this not shock him?

In his eyes, that terrifying underwater Snake Viper definitely possessed strength comparable to an Innate Expert. Not only that, but its body was as hard as iron, nearly impenetrable to spears, and its tail was a steel whip carrying tremendous force. Most importantly, this underwater environment was its home turf. He feared that even a true Innate Expert might not be its match down here. It was utterly terrifying.

No wonder the Jinchan Moon Fruit has never been discovered. So there's a huge monster hidden down here. Anyone who found it must have ended up dead, right? Chen Fei glanced at the bone-like objects in the cave tunnel as he fled, a bitter smile touching his lips.

Clearly, in his earlier excitement, he had completely forgotten the stark warning in the inheritance from the Cultivation World expert. Wherever Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures are found, Fierce Beasts will surely be guarding them. Whether they were mountain spirits, ghosts, venomous insects, or vipers, they would never be easy to obtain. One might very well lose their life in the attempt; examples of this were far too numerous.

"HISS..."

Just as he was smiling bitterly and fleeing madly, the murky, gigantic figure attacked again. Its blood-red eyes were as large as a human head, and a foul, choking stench wafted from it. As it drew near, it opened its cavernous, bloody maw to bite down, causing Chen Fei's face to pale in horror. He knew that underwater, this was entirely the monster's domain. Furthermore, the creature possessed strength on par with an Innate Expert. He was instantly thrown into a desperate situation, his nerves stretched to their absolute limit.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

Even so, Chen Fei hadn't given up. He furiously pounded the Snake Viper's head with all his might. The force of his blows was cataclysmic, like the Yellow River bursting its dams or a mountain collapsing, and the impact was incredibly explosive. He finally managed to buy himself a chance at survival and, in that critical moment, burst out of the tunnel of the Emerald Lake Cave.

In his view, since the Strange Snake had survived so long in Emerald Lake without being discovered, it must follow a strict pattern of behavior. For example, it shouldn't be able to leave the mysterious cave. Otherwise, with the advanced technology of modern society, a place as small as Emerald Lake couldn't possibly hide such a secret. If it were discovered, the nation would definitely be alerted. At that point, its strength as an Innate Expert wouldn't matter much, because the state would never allow such a massive hidden threat to exist. After all, a Fierce Beast is fundamentally different from a human. Those not of our kind are sure to be of a different mind.

What? Impossible! It's actually chasing me?

But in the next moment, Chen Fei's expression changed again. He saw that the Strange Snake was indeed pursuing him. Icy waves surged violently, causing a section of the once-calm lake surface to churn. A terrible pressure, like a torrential downpour, cascaded down, focusing entirely on him.

"Damn it."

Chen Fei now truly felt that his life was in danger. Blood began to ooze from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. His breathing grew ragged; he was on the verge of suffocating. The pressure was so immense that it had actually shattered his Spiritual Energy shield.

"CLANG!"

However, in the next instant, a silvery thread shot in from a distance, fiercely wrapping around the terrifying Strange Snake and briefly restraining it. Then, an elderly voice rang out, "What are you standing there for, boy? Run!"

As the old voice spoke, the silvery thread began to constrict around the snake's body, cutting into it like a cold blade and producing a sharp, grating sound. Sparks flew, revealing bright red marks on its scales. Even so, the sight made Chen Fei's scalp tingle. He could hardly imagine how terrifying that silver thread was. The real problem, however, was that no blood flowed from the Strange Snake. It wasn't even wounded. It was hard to fathom just how formidable its physical defense was to escape such an attack unscathed.

"HISS! HISS! HISS!"

"CLANG!"

In the next moment, the underwater terror let out a series of piercing hisses and actually snapped the silvery threads binding it. At the same time, it seemed to fly into a rage.

Seeing this, Chen Fei's face turned pale, his heart quaking. But then another silvery thread shot through the water to engage the Strange Snake. The elderly voice, now sounding somewhat exasperated, rang out again, "You stupid boy, I told you to run! Didn't you hear me!?"

"Master?"

Chen Fei jolted, finally realizing the elderly voice belonged to his master. Without a second thought, he fled frantically, at last escaping the dreadful depths of Emerald Lake and scrambling onto the shore.

"HUFF! HUFF..."

Once on the bank, Chen Fei collapsed, gasping for air. He felt exhausted as if he had just taken a trip to the underworld. His heart was still pounding violently, a frantic rhythm that hadn't stopped. It was hard to imagine the peril he had just been through.

BANG!

His head was suddenly struck by a heavy blow, and he yelped in pain. A stooped figure had appeared beside him out of nowhere. He wore a white shirt and blue trousers, his face was deeply wrinkled, and his hair was gray. In his hand, he held a broken, ordinary fishing rod. He glared at Chen Fei and said impatiently, "Are you tired of living, you scoundrel? You even dared to provoke that monster snake in the lake! Don't you know that even your master can't beat it? Down there is its territory. Anyone who goes there dies!"

"Master, why are you here?" Chen Fei asked, clutching his head. He knew very well that if his master hadn't arrived today, his fate would have been tragic even if he had managed to escape. He certainly wouldn't have avoided serious injuries. But how did his master know he was here? And it seemed his master also knew about the terrifying Strange Snake.

"Why am I here? If I hadn't come, you'd be dead and buried here today," his master said grumpily, shaking his head. His tone then grew serious. "Remember this: don't mess with that snake in the water. With your current strength, you're barely a snack for it!"

"Yes, Master. But with your strength, can't you handle it? When I went down there earlier, I found a mysterious cave with a marvelous treasure inside!" Chen Fei said, unwilling to give up.

That was the Jinchan Moon Fruit! A true Mid Grade Human Level Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure. If he could obtain it, he could at least easily advance to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer! And if he were lucky, even reaching the Qi Refining Fifth Layer wasn't out of the question. Of course, he was reluctant to abandon it.

"A marvelous treasure? You mean that magical, golden plant?"

Hearing Chen Fei, his master frowned slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his cloudy eyes. "The fruit from that magical, golden plant is indeed a wondrous treasure. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have made my breakthrough back then. However, that snake's strength is too formidable underwater, and the space inside that cave is far too cramped. No matter what, it's too risky!"

"What? Master, you've eaten a Jinchan Moon Fruit?" Now it was Chen Fei's turn to be shocked. He never expected his master to have consumed such a high-level Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure.

"Jinchan Moon Fruit? You... you know the origin of that magical golden plant?" his master said, stunned. With all his vast knowledge, even he didn't know what that plant was. But now, his fledgling disciple actually knew. No wonder he was so astonished; it was simply unbelievable.

"Mhm, I do know a bit. But, didn't you notice earlier? My Cultivation Level, my strength..." Chen Fei nodded, unable to resist speaking with a hint of pride.

When he left Chengyang County a few months ago, his Cultivation Level was only around that of a novice Second-Class Ancient Martial Artist. But now, only a few months later, his power had soared to the Peak of a First-Class Ancient Warrior. Naturally, he couldn't help but want to show off a little in front of his master to prove that he hadn't been lazing around these past few months.

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