Chapter 27: I Won!

Liu Qi looked around in shock. He snatched the fine net from Zhang Jie’s hand and shouted, “Run first!”

But at that moment, a figure was thrown out from the area of intertwined dead roots just a dozen meters away.

Liu Qi focused his eyes and immediately revealed a killing intent, “Yang Fan!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he had already drawn an arrow, ready to kill the person.

However, the moment he released the arrow, the ground shook violently, and the arrow grazed Yang Fan’s cheek and embedded itself in the ground.

“Liu Qi, if we don’t leave now, we’ll die here!” Zhang Jie urgently pulled Liu Qi and dashed towards the outer area.

Yang Fan quickly got up, pulled the arrow out of the ground, and also rushed towards the periphery.

Now, it wasn’t just the central area that was shaking; the entire bottom of the abyss was experiencing a cataclysm.

Thick root systems burst out from the ground, shaking violently.

Regardless of whether it was Liu Qi and Zhang Jie or Yang Fan, none of them could afford to worry about anything else. They sprinted madly towards the direction of the rope and the cliff wall.

Liu Qi and Zhang Jie’s physical constitutions were also quite excellent among ordinary people, and they quickly left Yang Fan behind.

All three were originally sprinting in the same direction because they all knew that the life-saving rope was there!

However, Yang Fan’s speed was ultimately too slow, and he could only watch as the two increased the distance between them, unable to catch up.

Moreover, considering that Liu Qi had left ten meters of rope, even if Yang Fan was the first to arrive, he wouldn’t be able to climb up!

“The Demon Lotus Thousand Hands is conscious. I didn’t steal the Crimson Qilin Fruit or the egg, so it shouldn’t be primarily chasing me!”

Thinking of this possibility, Yang Fan changed his route and dashed towards the nearest cave.

Thus, the escape routes of the three diverged, with Yang Fan alone taking a turn.

Regarding the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands having consciousness, Yang Fan’s understanding was definitely deeper than Liu Qi’s and Zhang Jie’s, and the facts proved that his inference was correct.

The main direction of the ground’s collapse was indeed in pursuit of Liu Qi and Zhang Jie!

As for Yang Fan, he found temporary safety by hiding at the entrance of a cave.

Due to the large number of vines bursting out of the ground, the green fluorescence illuminated the entire abyss, and Yang Fan looked back at the center of the abyss, which had fallen into a frenzy.

A mass of black fog, denser than ever before, was hovering over the spot where the root systems had been, as if they were fighting over a delicious treat.

The Demon Lotus Thousand Hands had stopped resisting the pollution’s erosion and was madly destroying the earth.

Yang Fan suddenly felt a strange sensation in his heart, as if he were witnessing someone who had lost everything, throwing caution to the wind and going berserk in a fit of hysteria.

“Is it because all your reason to hold on is now gone?”

“Why does the second objective of the trial involve taking away your last bit of resolve?”

Liu Qi and Zhang Jie, relying on their excellent physical fitness, ultimately outpaced the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands’ pursuit. In the blink of an eye, they had reached the cliff’s edge.

About seven to eight meters from the cliff, they simultaneously shot an arrow, with both arrows having a rope tied to their ends. The arrows landed near the rope hanging on the cliff face.

The two of them quickly climbed up by pulling on the ropes tied to the arrows’ ends, almost simultaneously reaching a position where they could grab the rope above.

A large number of vines extending from the center still hadn’t given up on pursuing the two, climbing up along the cliff face.

“Liu Qi, you go first, hurry!” Zhang Jie shouted anxiously.

This time, Liu Qi did not stand on ceremony and grabbed one end of the rope, quickly climbing upwards.

Zhang Jie followed closely behind, also grabbing the rope.

Just as the two thought they were about to escape danger, a vine wrapped around Zhang Jie’s ankle, holding him back firmly.

Without a doubt, if he were dragged down, it would mean certain death!

In his haste, Zhang Jie grabbed Liu Qi’s ankle with one hand and shouted, “Liu Qi, save me!”

Liu Qi looked down at the scene and, without hesitation, roared, “Useless, let go of me, you’ll get me killed too!”

“Save me! Liu Qi, you said we’d face hardships together!” Zhang Jie pleaded bitterly, “Cut the vine, let’s leave together!”

“The rope can’t take it anymore!” Liu Qi exclaimed, “Don’t drag me down with you when you die!” As he spoke, he kicked Zhang Jie’s head with his other foot.

Strangely enough, despite being kicked in the head by Liu Qi repeatedly, Zhang Jie became more clear-headed than ever.

It turned out that Yang Fan hadn’t lied to him. The reason Liu Qi hadn’t abandoned him was that he was still useful to Liu Qi.

But now, he was no longer useful to him and even threatened his safety, so Liu Qi would not hesitate to strike him down mercilessly.

“Liu Qi, I… misjudged you!”

“You fool, you should have seen this long ago!” Liu Qi cursed angrily.

“Then I’ll drag you down with me!” Zhang Jie shouted in anger.

Seeing that Zhang Jie refused to let go even in the face of death, and with the vine now wrapped around his thigh, the tremendous force could snap the iron spider silk at any moment.

Liu Qi drew an arrow, bent down, and viciously stabbed Zhang Jie’s hand.

Zhang Jie held onto Liu Qi’s ankle with all his might, and his hand soon became a bloody mess before finally letting go powerlessly.

During his fall, Zhang Jie’s gaze remained fixed on Liu Qi.

“Liu Qi, I thought you were my friend. You despicable and shameless bastard, I won’t let you go even as a ghost!”

Liu Qi paid no heed to these words and hurriedly used a wooden knife to cut the rope beneath his feet…

But at that moment, the net bag at his waist suddenly came undone, and the white egg also fell down.

“Damn it!” Liu Qi’s eyes widened in anger as he clutched the net bag tightly while showing a look of regret.

“Forget it, the Qilin Fruit is more important. Once I have the strength, won’t I be able to get whatever I want?” Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated and used all his strength to climb quickly.

The egg fell from a height of more than ten meters and hit the ground hard, but miraculously, it didn’t break!

Yang Fan watched all of this.

He was not at all surprised by Zhang Jie’s outcome. Even if this incident hadn’t happened, given Liu Qi’s character, Zhang Jie would not have ended up well in the end.

As for the egg, it was surprisingly durable. He wondered if it’s damaged.

About thirty minutes later, the ground gradually calmed down.

The surrounding black fog grew even denser, and it was unclear what it signified, but at least the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands is no longer going berserk.

Yang Fan approached the egg, picked it up, and shone a light on it with his wrist screen.

【Unknown Exotic Beast Egg.】

It seems the wrist screen doesn’t have X-ray vision either, so it’s unknown what kind of exotic beast’s egg it is.

“It could be a Qilin egg, but it might not be.” Yang Fan pondered.

The Qilin Fruit was indeed left behind by the Qilin, but for a divine beast that owned such a massive palace, it was quite normal for the wealthy Qilin to have missed a few Qilin Fruits.

No one knew when the Qilin had left, and after it left, such as during times when the pollution wasn’t as severe, whether other exotic beasts had entered this place.

The Qilin Fruit was ultimately obtained by Liu Qi, who was indeed very strong.

However, Yang Fan was not desperate.

If he could make it out alive, even if no team wanted him, it wouldn’t change his resolve to avenge his mother.

Most importantly, he had learned the secrets about the meteorite, the otherworld, the Scavengers, and the Realm Explorers.

“They won’t make me eat a memory-erasing pill again, will they…” Yang Fan shook his head. With the mysterious orb, he wasn’t afraid of eating it again.

At this moment, Liu Qi’s laughter echoed from the cliff above.

“I won, Yang Fan, in the end, I’m the winner. It’s I, Liu Qi, who got the Qilin Fruit. I am the protagonist!”

“I couldn’t kill you this time! Live well, next time I’ll send you off myself!”

Yang Fan snorted coldly, not bothering to respond, and was about to turn and leave.

Right then, he heard a soft snort behind him.

Yang Fan stepped over the thick vines covering the ground and, through the gaps in the vines beneath his feet, saw a person whose body was twisted from the pressure, covered in blood, looking at him helplessly.

“Zhang Jie?!” Yang Fan’s eyes widened. “You, are you still alive?”

“Yang… Fan, I, I want to ask you for a favor, can I? I know I don’t have the right, but… I still want to beg you.” Zhang Jie said weakly.

Yang Fan furrowed his brows. Seeing Zhang Jie in such a state, he felt somewhat sorry for him.

Zhang Jie wasn’t inherently bad. If it weren’t for him keeping his promise, Yang Fan wouldn’t have been able to escape by sawing through the rope with the Grey Pine spear.

Not everyone in this world can become a leader, and he just followed the wrong person. If he hadn’t met Liu Qi, perhaps his fate would have been completely different.

“Speak,” Yang Fan said.

“I, I have a wife and child at home. When you have time, please go and see them… Don’t tell them about Liu Qi… Also, tell my son what you warned me about before. I… don’t want him to repeat my mistakes…”

Yang Fan lowered his head and sighed, “As long as I can make it out alive, I will.”

A comforted smile appeared on Zhang Jie’s pained face, and his voice grew weaker.

“Yang Fan, I’m sorry. I, I actually wanted to secretly let you go several times… but I, I… was too useless.”

“It wasn’t because of Liu Qi, but because of my own inner greed and selfishness. I also yearned to become stronger, to protect my family…”

“Pollution, what is pollution… Maybe none of us is pure…”

“Yang Fan, survive… Also, be careful of Liu Qi. You don’t know what he really is…”

Before he could finish, Zhang Jie quietly closed his eyes.