Cannon Fodder Cultivation Guide

Chapter 85 - To Go or Not to Go

She was neither arrogant nor impatient, neither servile nor overbearing, wise and interesting, and the beautiful girl in front of him kept surprising him with unexpected delights.

The more Zheng He observed, the more he felt that his judgment couldn't have been better. At this moment, he was immensely grateful that he had brought Zhang Yiyi along for this treasure hunt.

Otherwise, they would likely already be in dire straits.

"I don't know either," Zhang Yiyi shook her head, speaking honestly.

From the beginning, aside from hearing a few strange noises, she had only been more attuned to the dangerous aura than the others. How could she possibly know what that strange creature was?

"I think what attacked us just now might very well be the legendary, extremely ferocious Spatial Thunder Beast! And it was likely a juvenile one. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to escape and would have been blown to bits."

Zhou Ren thought the more he pondered, the more convinced he was that what they had encountered was the legendary Spatial Thunder Beast.

It could emit lightning, turn invisible, hide its aura, teleport freely, and even tear through space to escape. All the signs pointed toward the creature described in ancient records.

Zhou Ren was particularly obsessed with studying all kinds of strange creatures, and realizing that they might have encountered a Spatial Thunder Beast sent him into an indescribable state of excitement and exhilaration. The fear of danger even lessened a bit.

"Spatial Thunder Beast?"

Uncle Guan furrowed his brow upon hearing this. "How could such a terrifying thing exist here?"

Though none of them had actually seen a Spatial Thunder Beast, its fearsome reputation was well known.

If it really was that creature, and if there were other adult Spatial Thunder Beasts nearby, not just the injured one that escaped earlier, they'd be doomed.

Zhou Yi immediately understood what Uncle Guan left unsaid, instinctively glancing around as he said, "If it's really a Spatial Thunder Beast, then our luck is pretty bad. Should we retreat first?"

It wasn't that Zhou Yi was cowardly; the Spatial Thunder Beast had too terrifying a reputation. Even though they had only heard the name in legends, the mere thought of possibly encountering it made his back break out in a cold sweat.

"Stop speculating. It doesn't matter what kind of creature it is. We can research it later. Since we've come this far, we must face any risk that comes our way."

Zheng He, rarely this stern, immediately quashed the differing thoughts among the group.

He had no intention of letting the name of a rumored ferocious beast throw them into confusion. Besides, they had already injured the creature; it wasn't something they couldn't contend with.

"Uh... did you all forget about someone?"

Zhang Yiyi, seeing the group engrossed in discussion, awkwardly reminded them about the person who had sunk into the lotus pond earlier.

"Oh no! Third is still at the bottom of the pond!"

Zhou Ren was the first to react. Zhang Yiyi's reminder jolted him to the fact that Zhu Qing's fate was still unknown, and his face turned pale.

"Damn it, I wonder how that guy is doing now."

Zheng He, now anxious, hurried toward the edge of the lotus pond.

In their defense, the situation had been so sudden, and crises had hit one after another, causing them to almost forget about Zhu Qing.

The group quickly arrived at the pond's edge and found that the transparent barrier that had originally blocked them had disappeared.

Zheng He prepared to dive in personally, but Uncle Guan quickly stopped him.

"Master, don't rush. The situation at the bottom of the pond is unclear. Let me send Green Skin down to check first." (Translator XiaoBai: "绿皮" (green skin) refers to a specific creature summoned by 管叔 (Uncle Guan). The "五阶三眼蟾蜍" (fifth-tier three-eyed toad) is a type of spirit beast or monster that has recognized him as its master. "绿皮" (Green Skin) is the nickname for this three-eyed toad.)

Uncle Guan would never let his young master risk his life. He immediately summoned a fifth-grade, three-eyed toad from his beast pouch and ordered it to dive down and search for Zhu Qing.

Seeing this, Zheng He, now calmer, no longer insisted on diving in immediately but instead waited with the others onshore.

"I shouldn't have let that fool dive in first," Zheng He muttered with genuine regret. Knowing the lotus pond was strange, why had he foolishly let Third, who was half-prepared, test such a risky method?

And now, who knew what had happened to Zhu Qing underwater? After all, it had been so long with no sign of him.

"Don't worry, Boss. Third has a tough life; he won't die that easily," Zhou Yi said, placing a hand on Zheng He's shoulder to comfort him.

Honestly, Zhou Yi felt that Zhu Qing diving in early might not have been a misfortune. Given the deadly ambush earlier—especially the first unexpected lightning strike—had Third been on land, he likely wouldn't have been able to dodge in time and would have been reduced to ash.

Now, even though his fate underwater was unknown, his chances of survival were much greater.

However, this wasn't something Zhou Yi wanted to say out loud.

"Look, Green Skin is back!"

Zhou Ren was the first to spot Uncle Guan's fifth-grade demonic beast breaking through the water's surface.

Since the beast was able to come and go freely, it indicated that the situation at the bottom of the pond wasn't as dire as they had feared.

Uncle Guan quickly summoned his beloved pet back, and after a brief exchange through their spiritual connection, he didn't return the three-eyed toad to his beast pouch but kept it by his side, ready for any further orders.

"How is it?" Zheng He and the others eagerly looked at Uncle Guan.

"Master, Green Skin said there's nothing at the bottom of the pond."

Uncle Guan reported truthfully, "It searched the pond's bottom multiple times but found no trace of Zhu Qing, nor any abnormalities. It's as if the pond is just an ordinary body of water."

"How is that possible? We clearly saw such a large man sink into the water—how could he just vanish?"

Zhou Ren was the first to question, not because he doubted Uncle Guan, but because the information seemed clearly problematic.

If there was nothing at the bottom of the pond, where had Zhu Qing gone?

Alive, they needed to see him; dead, they needed to see his body. How could he have disappeared without a trace?

"Could a large aquatic demonic beast have swallowed him whole?" Zhou Yi speculated, fearing that Zhu Qing's death might have been utterly humiliating if this were the case.

"Impossible. Green Skin said there's nothing unusual under the water. If there were a powerful demonic beast, Green Skin would have sensed it," Uncle Guan denied the possibility.

"Then perhaps there's a mechanism at the bottom of the pond that only targets humans and not demonic beasts?"

Zheng He scanned his companions one by one before suggesting, "Why don't we all go down and take a look?"

"That's a good idea. If we go together, we can watch each other's backs. We can't just abandon Third like this," Zhou Ren agreed immediately, then glanced over at Zhang Yiyi, who hadn't spoken for a while, and cautiously asked, "What do you think, Miss Han?"

The brothers had been through life-and-death situations together since childhood. Even if it was dangerous, they wouldn't abandon one another.

But Zhang Yiyi was different. She was only a temporary ally, and they couldn't force her to take the same risks.