110: Chapter 110 Perilous Situation

"You... you actually killed the Black Scaled Python?"

Lin Muer widened her eyes, her voice still trembling, staring fixedly at Zhang Wen as if to confirm that the scene before her wasn't a hallucination.

"Cough, cough..." Zhang Wen clutched his chest and coughed twice, deliberately making his complexion appear a bit paler.

"Just good luck, it was just good luck. It's mainly because the captain fought it head-on earlier and exhausted most of its strength, which allowed me to pick up the scraps."

After saying this, he took the opportunity to turn his gaze toward Zhao Meng not far away.

Zhao Meng was seen leaning weakly against a tree trunk, supported by Old Wang and the others; his face was as pale as paper, and his chest was still rising and falling slightly.

Hearing Lin Muer's voice, he forced himself to straighten his back, trying to pretend that he was fine.

But as soon as he met Lin Muer's gaze, a fishy sweetness surged in his throat, and with a "pfft," he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"Captain!"

Lin Muer instantly threw Zhang Wen to the back of her mind, stepping over the gravel and rushing over, her tone both anxious and angry.

"You're injured like this and you're still trying to act tough? Hurry up and eat the healing Medicinal Pill!"

Zhao Meng awkwardly turned his face away, just wanting to explain himself, but was choked by a sudden sharp pain and couldn't speak.

Zhang Wen looked at the points that had just been added to his panel, tapped his finger quickly on the store interface, and ten thousand points were spent instantly.

A Medicinal Pill, emerald green throughout and carrying a faint medicinal fragrance, appeared in his palm.

He walked over quickly, handed the Medicinal Pill to Zhao Meng, and patted his chest, saying.

"Captain, this is my family's ancestral Hundred Herb Blood-Coagulating Pill; the healing effect is absolutely top-notch, you should try it!"

Zhao Meng held the Medicinal Pill, his eyes full of hesitation—after all, it was an "ancestral" treasure, so how could he feel comfortable accepting it so easily?

"Oh, Captain, just eat it without worry! Zhang Wen definitely wouldn't harm you!"

Without waiting for Zhao Meng to think too much, Lin Muer snatched the Medicinal Pill, pried his mouth open, and stuffed it in.

The Medicinal Pill melted the moment it entered his mouth, and a stream of warm Qi instantly dispersed from Zhao Meng's Dantian, flowing through his Meridians and throughout his entire body.

The previously tearing wounds gradually stopped hurting, and even the broken tendons and bones were slowly healing.

The exposed scars faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Suddenly, a dull "boom" came from within his body, and his Qi, which had been stagnant for a long time, surged violently, actually breaking through the shackles directly and steadily stepping into the Forming Realm Peak!

Lin Muer and Old Wang and the others were all stunned—Zhao Meng, who was on the verge of death just a second ago, not only fully recovered from his injuries the next second but also had a Breakthrough in his Realm?

Zhao Meng himself was also stunned, raising his hand to feel the abundant strength within his body, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Zhang Wen changed instantly.

The slight contempt from before had vanished, leaving only gratitude and approval; the more he looked at this kid, the more pleasing he found him.

Watching the glowing look in Zhao Meng's eyes, Zhang Wen subconsciously covered his backside.

Old Wang and the others exchanged glances, then gathered around, staring at Zhang Wen with burning eyes, rubbing their hands and saying.

"Zhang Wen, look, we are also injured, could we... also have a taste of that ancestral Medicinal Pill of yours?"

"It's definitely not out of greed, it's mainly because dragging these injuries will affect our subsequent actions... isn't that right?"

Zhang Wen quickly took a half-step back, cleared his throat, and looked embarrassed.

"Big brothers, it's not that I'm stingy. There was only this one ancestral Medicinal Pill, and I was saving it to save my own life; I really don't have any extras."

But he was muttering in his heart: Just kidding, ten thousand points each; if I give you more to eat, my points will bottom out. I'll just treat it as helping you train your willpower.

Old Wang and the others didn't pester him further; after all, for such a precious Medicinal Pill, it was already benevolent and righteous of Zhang Wen to take it out to save the captain.

They all secretly noted this favor in their hearts, feeling that although this student wasn't old, he knew how to consider the bigger picture and was a friend worth making.

Zhao Meng stood up, stretched his limbs, walked to Zhang Wen's side, and patted his shoulder.

"Good kid, this time thanks to you. If there's anything in the team in the future, just tell me!"

Zhang Wen's shoulder sank from his pat, and he subconsciously covered his backside again.

"Captain, you're too polite, it's all just what should be done."

"Should we deal with the Black Scaled Python's corpse first? I heard its scales and venomous fangs are good things; it would be a pity to lose them."

Lin Muer finally snapped out of it, looked at the huge corpse of the Black Scaled Python on the ground, and nodded.

"Right, the Black Scaled Python's scales can be used to make defensive armor, and the venomous fangs can be refined into poison weapons; we can't waste them."

"Old Wang, you guys help peel off the scales, I'll go see if there's any danger nearby."

Old Wang and the others immediately agreed, took out their daggers, and prepared to start.

Zhao Meng walked to Zhang Wen's side and lowered his voice.

"That Medicinal Pill of yours... it must be very precious. Don't worry, when this expedition ends, all of my share of the money will be yours."

Zhang Wen felt a warmth in his heart, but still smiled and said: "Thank you, Captain, there's really no need; I can still afford these Medicinal Pills."

"Let's busy ourselves with the real business first, so we don't have another Yao Beast coming over in a while."

The Black Scaled Python's scales were carefully peeled off and stacked in a pile, and the venomous fangs, gleaming with a deep blue luster, were also wrapped in cloth and put into a backpack.

Zhao Meng sat cross-legged and meditated for half an incense stick's time, completely stabilizing his newly broken-through Forming Realm Peak Qi.

Only then did the group step on the slippery path and continue walking deeper into Black Wind Ridge.

The fog in the forest became thicker and thicker, the sticky water vapor plastered on their faces, and even their vision was obscured and blurry.

In the air, besides the musty smell of rotten leaves, there was also a hint of an extremely faint, rust-like smell of blood.

It made Lin Muer subconsciously tighten her grip on the hilt of her soft sword, her knuckles turning white.

"Everyone, restrain your Qi; there might be something hiding in this fog."

Zhao Meng lowered his voice, secretly condensing internal energy in his palms, while the newly broken-through spiritual power flowed slowly through his Meridians, forming a faint protective barrier.

His gaze scanned the swaying tree shadows all around vigilantly.

Those shadows distorted and deformed in the fog, looking exactly like hibernating Yao Beasts, making people's hearts tense up.

But just as his voice fell, a "swish, swish" sound of wind breaking suddenly came from the dense forest on the left.

Six black shadows darted out like ghosts, their feet kicking against the bluestone as they landed, causing gravel to splatter and directly dispersing the fog within a half-zhang radius.

The leader was a man with a face full of flabby flesh, with a rusty mountain-opening saber tucked at his waist, and a blackened cloth strip wrapped around the saber handle.

He squinted his eyes and swept over Zhao Meng's team, his gaze pausing for a moment on the injured arms of Old Wang and the others, and the undried blood on Zhao Meng's chest, before a fierce smile suddenly hooked the corners of his mouth.

"Heh, what a coincidence, to actually run into survivors here."

Zhao Meng's heart skipped a beat; he subconsciously took a half-step forward, shielding Lin Muer behind him, and cupped his hands, saying in a deep voice.

"Brother, we are just an expedition team passing by, with no intention of offending. If we blocked your path, we will take a detour right now—"

"A detour?"

The man with the flabby face suddenly sneered, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing against wood.

"Since you've seen what you shouldn't have seen, how can there be any reason to take a detour? Brothers, do it! Don't leave a single one!"

As the final word "leave" was uttered, he abruptly drew his mountain-opening saber, the blade carving a cold light through the air, heading straight for Zhao Meng's face with the force to split mountains and crack rocks.

The wind of the blade carried a heavy, bloody stench, clearly having just been stained with blood; Zhao Meng's pupils shrank, and in his haste, he raised his hand to condense a spiritual power protective barrier.

With a dull "bang," the protective barrier was actually made to ripple by the blade's wind, and he himself was shaken back two steps, his feet dragging two shallow marks on the bluestone.

The other five men were not idle either, pouncing toward Old Wang and the others like hungry wolves.

A thin, tall man held dual daggers, his speed astonishingly fast, going straight for Lin Muer's back.

Two sturdy men brandished short staves, entangling Old Wang from the left and right, the wind of the staves sweeping through the air with a "woo-woo" sound.

Old Wang was already injured, and barely managed to raise his dagger to block; after a crisp "clang," the dagger was knocked out of his hand.

The short stave smashed fiercely onto his shoulder, causing him to groan in pain; he staggered and hit a tree, and a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out directly.

There were two more men staring at another girl in the team named Xiaoya—Xiaoya had the lowest cultivation, only at the Initial Stage of the Formation Realm.

At this moment, she was already scared pale, and the long sword in her hand was shaking like a sieve.

One of the men with a full beard grinned and rushed over, his fan-sized palm slapping directly at her chest.

The palm wind carried thick spiritual power, clearly intending to kill with one blow.

"Xiaoya!"

Zhao Meng's eyes were splitting with rage; he wanted to rush over to rescue, but the flabby man's mountain-opening saber was like a maggot on the bone.

Every saber strike slashed toward his vital points; the saber moves were fast and fierce, all desperate techniques.

He could only grit his teeth and take it head-on; his arm was grazed by the blade's wind, instantly adding a wound deep enough to see the bone, and fresh blood flowed down his arm, staining half of his sleeve red.