kvmb Chapter 178 That Woman
Chapter 178 That Woman
We finally reached the end of the dense forest.
"Sister, the bamboo forest is just ahead," Xiao Jiu said to Zhi Yan, pointing ahead.
Zhiyan pulled Jianjian behind her, saying, "Stay close to me." She then gave instructions to Nagi, who was behind them, "Be careful, I smelled an unusual demonic beast scent over here. Take good care of Xiao Jiu and Qinwu later..."
"Since it's so dangerous, then Brother Tanyou and I won't go in~" Xiao Jiu suddenly ran to Tanyou's side and tugged at his sleeve: "Sister Qinwu, why don't you stay too? Let Sister and Brother Nagi go find the evacuation servant~"
Zhiyan thought for a moment and then nodded. Indeed, if too many people went in and something went wrong, she wouldn't be able to handle it all.
With her strength, she could easily protect Jianjian, and at most, protect Nagiya. But she couldn't protect anyone else.
"Ah, but..." Tan You still wanted to try to go in with her, as he was very concerned about whether Jian Jian could get her things back.
At this moment, Lu He immediately provided a good assist, pressing down on Tan You's shoulder and gently reminding him to go with the flow: "Okay, okay, we'll stay here and not cause you any trouble."
She wanted to use Tan You as bait to probe Xiao Jiu's true nature. Her intuition told her that this guy had been in his comic book world for a very long time, at least much longer than she had.
Besides, this bamboo forest is definitely not a place for refuge. Xiao Jiu probably has ulterior motives for trapping them inside. He desperately wants Zhiyan to go in, because the creature inside must be a powerful demon beast of level ten or higher.
Lu He speculated that Xiao Jiu was either using Zhi Yan to get rid of the great demon beast he wanted to eliminate, or using the other party to get rid of Zhi Yan.
But regardless of which type it is, someone like her, a level eight Karami, shouldn't go in and join the fun; she might end up losing her life.
The deeper they went into the bamboo forest, the stronger the beastly aura became, and Zhiyan couldn't help but tighten her grip on Jianjian's hand.
Jianjian seemed to sense her unease: "Sister, what's wrong?"
"Something's not right... There's probably a monster here that's on par with me..." The scent in the bamboo forest was deliberately masked, so in theory, anyone of a higher level should be able to see through it easily.
However, Zhiyan had been deep within this mist for a long time before she could sense the other party's true spiritual energy, indicating that they were not easy to deal with.
"Zhiyan, the opponent's pressure is so strong? Could it be that he is stronger than you?" Nagi felt it especially clearly, and even the hairs on her body stood up uncontrollably.
"Take Jianjian and get out of the bamboo forest immediately..." Zhiyan suddenly pushed Jianjian to Nagi and unleashed her demonic power to rush towards the white mist above the bamboo forest.
With a crisp clang, the fox's claws struck the opponent's fang knife.
"Hmph! You actually tried to ambush me!" Zhiyan snorted coldly and flicked away the fang knife with a finger.
The opponent somersaulted in mid-air, landed, and finally revealed its true form.
The young man had long, unkempt blue hair, which was very messy and made him look like a wild beast who didn't care about his appearance.
Very well, it seems he's a lone wolf without a clan.
"Fire Fox Clan?" The other person hesitated. "What are you doing here?"
Zhiyan was also aware of the situation. Although the opponent was a level 12 demon beast, its strength was below hers, but it might have a magic weapon to enhance its power. She might not be able to win easily and needed to be cautious.
"Since you've recognized me as a member of the Fire Fox clan, you probably don't intend to be my enemy. If you know what's good for you, just hand over what I want..."
Before Zhiyan could finish speaking, the man suddenly swung his heavy twin swords: "Heh, your Fire Fox Clan actually covets the treasure in my hands? You're openly trying to steal it? That's really going too far!"
He snorted, white breath billowing from his nose, and his demonic power spread out, striking towards Zhiyan.
A fight had already broken out inside the bamboo grove, and naturally, things weren't peaceful outside either.
At this moment, Lu He was supporting the unconscious Tan You, facing Xiao Jiu, who had already returned to her youthful form.
He didn't even have time to use the talisman he gave Tan You earlier.
Everything happened so suddenly. Xiao Jiu took out a pair of white fur gloves, put them on, and immediately plunged them into the depths of Tan You's dantian, forcibly extracting the phoenix inner core.
Tan You was instantly severely injured, spitting out a mouthful of blood and collapsing to the ground.
After swallowing the Phoenix Core, Xiao Jiu instantly regained his teenage form and was no longer a child.
"Haha, it's a pleasure to work with you, Qin Wu." Xiao Jiu extended her hand to Lu He. "I have now resumed my original role in 'Beast King,' Gong Zhan."
"You... no, why are you in the form of a teenager on this side? Is it because of the power of the inner core just now?" Lu He did not take the hand he reached out, still wary of him.
"No, it's because the timelines of these two books are different. Yours is set five hundred years ago, while this one is set five hundred years later..."
Gongzhan withdrew his hand that had been showing goodwill, crossed his arms, and patiently explained to Lu He, "I could have chosen to restore my original form as soon as I stepped into this place, but with Zhiyan here, even if I restored myself to my current level, I still wouldn't be able to fight against her."
"To be on the safe side, I will naturally continue to pretend until she enters the bamboo forest, at which point I will choose to revert to my original form. As you can see, I am now a level ten demon beast."
Gongzhan pointed to his dantian: "The phoenix inner core I just swallowed will transform me into a great demon once I digest it. You've done me a great favor, so I'll naturally do you a favor in return."
Lu He silently checked the system to see if the task of obtaining the Phoenix's inner core had been completed.
This is bad; it shows "incomplete." What someone else took doesn't count. This is hopeless!
"Do you really need the Phoenix Core? Wasn't this originally from my comic book? How come your mission includes something that doesn't exist in your world..."
If this inner core isn't part of Gongzhan's mission, then is there any hope for negotiation?
“This world has a Phoenix Core.” Gongzhan pointed at Tan You, who was still unconscious: “Because he gave the power of the Phoenix to his son, and his son, Chi Yu, is the protagonist of this comic.”
"Shouldn't you be looking for Chi Yu? How could you take shortcuts and go to another territory..."
Hearing Lu He's question, Gongzhan sighed helplessly: "If it could be completed on their own territory, who would want to go to such lengths... It's all because things were messed up here..."
Then, Gongzhan said something that shocked Lu He: "Another transmigrator has also come to my territory. That woman deceived me so badly..."
"There are others!" How did it become so complicated? Originally, Lu He thought that this kind of mission travel was as simple as a straight line, just follow the plot.
It's like a single-player game turning into a massively multiplayer online game... There are so many more players, and you can't even tell the difference between players and NPCs...
"I don't know what her purpose was in taking the life and inner core of the male protagonist in my comic..."
"Chi Yu is dead?" Lu He grasped the key point of this news very accurately: the male protagonist was dead and his inner core was gone, so Gong Zhan was forced to go to the Spirit Beast Mountain.
"Wait a minute...you...you're not a combination of a fire fox and a rabbit demon, are you...no, you, you're not the Fox King's child...you...you're Tan You's..."
The fur glove he used before, which could directly penetrate Tan You's body, must have been made from Tan You's fur!
"Oh, you're so clever. My true identity is actually the child of Tan You and Zhi Yan. It's just that I knew the old Fox King was a womanizer, so I went to Hundred Steps Hill to claim his bloodline with the rabbit demon..."
Lu He understood immediately, which is why he could immediately think of going to Hundred Steps Hill and Spirit Beast Mountain, because the original inner core was in Tan You's body.
Since Gongzhan is a descendant of Tan You and Zhiyan, a villain, and even tried to kill the protagonist Chi Yu, and his inner core was passed on to Chi Yu, then...
Chi Yu is probably the child of Tan You and Jian Jian... and a half-demon...
As expected, it's a standard protagonist setup...
"Are you leading Zhiyan to the bamboo forest to get rid of her, or do you need to use her to help you complete your mission?" Lu He was now more concerned about what Gongzhan was planning and whether it would hinder her from completing her mission.
"Of course, we'll use Zhiyan to seize the treasure." Gongzhan extended a friendly hand to Lu He again: "I still have a piece of advice for you: you'd better cooperate with me, because that woman is still in this territory. She's unethical; as long as it benefits her, she'll also target other transmigrators..."
"Who exactly is that woman you're talking about?" Lu He left Tan You behind, reached out and grasped Gong Zhan's hand, and the cooperation agreement was reached.