161: Combat intuition, incredible operation

If everyone were at a bathhouse, and a Young Miss asked if they wanted to experience something more exciting,

they would swipe their cards without hesitation and head straight to the second floor.

But this was an Earth Cave!

When Shen Bei uttered the words “more exciting,”

the Zha Tian Gang members shivered.

This kind of excitement, they feared, would come at the cost of their lives.

“We’ll try to push towards the Northwest, cross the tall mountains, and see what’s behind them,”

Shen Bei said directly, pointing in the direction, his eyes filled with excitement and longing.

At this moment, Qi Chuanyu stared for a moment, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.

He opened his map, glanced at it, and his mouth twitched: “That’s Qianlin City, the territory of the Outsiders, marked with red for danger.”

Shen Bei didn’t hear a single word of Qi Chuanyu’s warning.

Du Ziteng, however, asked curiously, “What’s on the other side of the mountains?”

He had seen Shen Bei’s map, which was completely different from everyone else’s, with an extra area.

Shen Bei grinned: “On the other side of the mountains… live a group of Smurfs.”

“Damn it!”

Du Ziteng’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his eyelids twitched wildly, and his entire face turned dark.

Niu Yanben was a bit resistant: “Let’s not, okay? What if we run into Outsiders from Qianlin City along the way? That wouldn’t be fun.”

Liao Zhongyang nodded, agreeing with Niu Yanben, and said, “What’s more, that large mountain is full of eighth-tier Vicious Beasts. We can’t climb over it at all. Let’s not risk it. Let’s go back and complete our clear-out mission.”

Shen Bei rubbed his nose and waved his hand: “Remember what I said: the bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish.”

“With me here, there’s naturally a way to cross the tall mountain.”

Everyone exchanged glances and squatted together to study the map.

They murmured for about ten minutes.

They stood up again.

Following Shen Bei, they continued to advance Northwest.

During their map study, they found a relatively good route.

They could travel about 30 kilometers away from Qianlin City.

By taking a slight detour,

they could reach the designated location on the tall mountain.

As long as they were careful, the journey would be about 100 kilometers.

It would take about three days to arrive.

Of course, the reason the Zha Tian Gang followed Shen Bei

was that Shen Bei was reassuring.

At least, they had discovered a blind spot.

Shen Bei was immortal; he had lived for so many years, and they had never seen him die.

All of the above was nonsense.

The important thing was “the bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish.”

If Shen Bei had a way to cross the tall mountain, that would mean expanding the Luan County Earth Cave map.

This achievement would be significant.

If they could also gain something, that would be even more awesome.

…

They advanced all the way.

They exited the Red Valley and entered the swamp forest.

Ahead, scattered patches of swamp were covered by gray dead leaves and shrubs. Wisps of mist drifted with the wind, and tall, straight, deformed gray trees grew within, forming a vast, seemingly endless swamp forest.

This swamp forest looked ordinary, but it was shrouded in thin mist and breeding miasma. Just standing at the edge and sniffing it caused a slight feeling of dizziness.

Qi Chuanyu strained his eyes, but saw no signs of life inside; the sparse aquatic plants all exuded Death Qi.

“A place like this definitely holds great danger. Either the swamp itself is incredibly dangerous, or there’s something terrifying within.”

Qi Chuanyu flipped through his notebook, continuing to warn: “There might be creatures like Iron Wire Nematomorpha inside. My grandfather described and recorded them as the creatures responsible for the most deaths among Martial Artists.”

“When soldiers come, we’ll block them; when water comes, we’ll cover it with earth.”

Shen Bei took out his gas mask, put it on, and was the first to step in, leading the way.

In fact, Shen Bei’s anti-poison attribute was as high as 90%.

Inhaling a few breaths of miasma was similar to smoking; at most, it would cause coughing and a sore throat.

But because he didn’t know how long they would be inside, a gas mask was safer.

Shen Bei naturally knew that one should never enter a forest, a strict rule forged by countless lives in the Earth Cave.

Because places like this, rich in resources and with wild growth, also mean more, fiercer, and harder-to-deal-with predators live here.

The swamp forest before them was a typical example of such a place.

Especially in the vast swamps, miasma capable of killing an ordinary person with a single breath constantly permeated the air. Besides the assassin-like Iron Wire Nematomorpha lurking in the swamps, there were also various poisonous insects and ferocious beasts. All these combined, even a Martial Artist could lose their life instantly if they were not careful.

But to bypass Qianlin City, this was a necessary path.

They had to bite the bullet and go.

The others also donned their gas masks and followed closely in Shen Bei’s footsteps, entering the swamp forest step by step.

After walking for about three minutes,

Shen Bei suddenly stopped.

His Fifth Dimension Attribute, his combat intuition, told him there was danger under the dead leaves less than three meters in front of him!

The others looked confused, unable to understand why Shen Bei had stopped.

The path ahead was no different from the path they had already walked.

The next moment,

Shen Bei immediately flicked his finger.

A Shadow Needles shot out!

Boom!

The Shadow Needles spun at high speed, vibrating the air, and a sudden, inexplicable gust of wind swept out as Shen Bei swung his arm.

And at the same time, the ground less than three meters in front of him suddenly exploded as if a bomb had detonated, sending countless mud, dead leaves, and blood splattering horizontally!

A soft-bodied creature, as thick as a person and resembling a leech, was blown into two sections. One section was writhing madly in the mud, its ferocious mouthparts, which occupied most of its head, constantly contracting and struggling, a sight that sent shivers down one’s spine.

It was the notorious killer of the desolate swamp forest, the Iron Wire Nematomorpha.

This creature concealed itself in the mud covered by dead leaves, cutting off all scent, temperature, and movement, making it extremely difficult to guard against.

However, Shen Bei, with his explosive Fifth Dimension Attribute, was clearly not in this category.

At his level, he could intricately perceive the external environment.

Simply by having “combat intuition,” he could feel everything within five to several meters of the ground he stood on, even vaguely detecting the Iron Wire Nematomorpha hidden in the mud.

At this moment, Du Ziteng gave a thumbs-up and said admiringly, “It has to be Shen Bei! I didn’t even notice it.”

“Through such thick layers of decay and water plants, he could detect it in advance?” Niu Yanben gasped: “Do your eyes have built-in X-ray machines?”

Liao Zhongyang clicked his tongue: “Shen Bei, has your Fifth Dimension Attribute… already exploded?”

Qi Chuanyu was also stunned when he heard Liao Zhongyang’s words and turned to look at Shen Bei.

Shen Bei’s laugh was crisp and clear: “The Fifth Dimension Attribute can’t be detected, so how would I know?”

With that, Shen Bei continued forward.

Qi Chuanyu’s eyeballs rolled, and he said, “You guys, do you think that when Shen Bei’s Martial Arts was bad before, all those attribute points went to his Fifth Dimension Attribute?”

Only Liao Zhongyang could understand what this meant.

Niu Yanben and Du Ziteng looked utterly confused.

They both looked puzzled and bewildered: “Huh? A Martial Arts Exam Champion, and you’re telling me Shen Bei’s Wu Ke was bad in high school?”

Liao Zhongyang nodded: “Don’t disbelieve it. Back then, he even tried to get close to me to secretly learn Stance Training.”

Qi Chuanyu spread his hands: “He was the worst in his class at Wu Ke. I don’t know what happened, but he suddenly soared and rose powerfully.”

Niu Yanben and Du Ziteng exchanged glances; this kind of inside information was the first they had heard of.

Niu Yanben shrugged: “Heroes don’t ask about the past. Now he’s awesome.”

“That’s true.” Qi Chuanyu paused, then continued: “I just suspect Shen Bei’s Fifth Dimension Attribute has already exploded to the heavens.”

“No need to envy. Shen Bei is even more handsome than I am, and what did I say?” Du Ziteng pulled out a brush and tidied his hairstyle.

Everyone: …

It was the first time they had seen someone compare their own disadvantage to another’s advantage.

…

Crack, crack, crack.

The sounds of breaking dead wood and leaves continually echoed. In the faint poisonous miasma, Shen Bei, wearing a gas mask, advanced through the swamp forest.

Behind him, the Zha Tian Gang members were tense, observing and listening for every clue as if facing a formidable enemy.

In the desolate swamp forest, one second their feet might be on solid ground, and the next they could step into a swamp hidden under dead leaves and be attacked by Iron Wire Nematomorpha. Therefore, everyone had to be on high alert to prevent being ambushed.

…

Cutting through thorns and brambles, led by Shen Bei, everyone safely dealt with fatal threats such as miasma, venomous insects, and Iron Wire Nematomorpha without a scratch.

After about five hours of walking,

the Zha Tian Gang arrived at a small clearing in the central part of the desolate swamp forest.

The clearing was a patch of mud, soft and yielding underfoot, like a water bag.

Here, trees were sparse, and the ground was entirely covered with dead leaves and shrubs. Beneath the seemingly flat terrain, danger seemed to lurk.

By the trees near Shen Bei’s feet, one could even clearly see traces of a large reptile passing by, and a large puddle of black blood.

“Holy crap! There’s blood!” Du Ziteng shrieked.

Shen Bei waved his hand: “This place is definitely haunted. Detour, detour.”

Everyone immediately retreated.

They planned to bypass this flat little clearing.

After all, they weren’t here to fight Vicious Beasts.

They were just passing through.

However, before everyone could leave,

a strange phenomenon suddenly occurred!