Chapter 111: Cramming at the Last Minute

“Boom!”

At that moment, the first fire lizard’s entire belly was blown apart. It was Mei Renli who successfully broke free; all he needed was those two seconds.

As a Mount Mover of eight Jiazi cycles, did he really think swallowing him would lead to his death?

Of course, if Wei Cheng hadn’t intercepted the fire lizard and it had dragged Mei Renli straight into the magma river, the old man would have been doomed.

“Retreat!”

Wei Cheng shouted loudly and strode forward to provide support.

Mei Renli, sharp as ever, immediately turned to flee. He was genuinely terrified moments ago, but he kept his composure under pressure, fully embodying the spirit of a seasoned man in his eighties.

“Rumble!”

In the magma river, the magma giant that was about to emerge suddenly vanished.

It seemed unsure and temporarily withdrew from the fight, raising a peculiar ceasefire flag.

Very strange.

After Wei Cheng finished off the fire lizard and waited by the cliff edge for several minutes, there was still no sign of movement. Not a single power-transferring stone tablet fell, indicating the battle was not over yet.

So he made a quick decision.

“Fall back! Everyone, be alert—something’s wrong. This wave of attacks was interrupted. The next one will learn from this and be even more troublesome.”

“Also, pay special attention to the fire lizard. Its teleportation range is three hundred meters. Its three heads likely represent three different talents. The purple head’s talent is definitely Devouring; the antlered head probably inherits the abilities of the antler demon—it could be immobilization or ranged attack. The middle head seems to be teleportation, but it appears to have only two charges.”

At this moment, Bai Han also spoke up:

“Exactly. That’s what I think too. But the biggest threat from the fire lizard isn’t its direct assault. I’m really worried—if the magma giant and the fire lizard coordinate, with the giant holding the front line and the lizard launching sneak attacks, that would be a nightmare.”

“So everyone stay alert and regroup as soon as possible.”

Bai Han regretted his choice deeply now. How could he have agreed to Liu Wenli’s suggestion to split their thirty-strong elite team into two smaller squads?

Back in his youth, he used to scoff at horror movies where characters foolishly split up and got themselves killed. He thought the directors and screenwriters were childish. But now it was his turn to realize the folly—he could only curse himself for what he called ‘brilliant wisdom.’

“Old Wei, I have another idea,” Liu Sui suddenly approached, lowering his voice. “Just now, a magma giant was about to jump out of the river, but since both fire lizards were occupied, the giant retreated. That gave me a feeling.”

“I think this magma river is more like a Zerg hive from a game—it can continuously produce and adjust different magma-type creatures.”

“Also, that fire lizard didn’t hesitate after swallowing Old Mei; it rushed straight into the magma river. This is probably more than simple guerrilla tactics.”

Wei Cheng felt a chill rush up to his crown. Upon reflection, it made sense.

Especially the magma giant’s retreat—it gave him the impression that the enemy lacked spare forces and had to hatch and produce reinforcements on the spot.

“I understand. Stay vigilant. Also, inform Yu Liang and Old Mei that in situations like just now, a roar can repel the fire lizard.”

Wei Cheng lowered his voice. He now had every reason to suspect that this demon river could hear their loud conversations.

So next, this monster river was likely to unleash its trump card.

It could very well be a battle to decide victory or defeat in one fell swoop.

What Wei Cheng didn’t know was how the two squads from District 15 and Liu Wenli’s team were faring.

If they all regrouped, Wei Cheng might even dare to charge directly into the magma river.

But he dared not hope for that.

He worried more that the demon river could learn from others’ battles and harvest more experience—like corpses—

Damn!

Corpses?

Wei Cheng suddenly looked up sharply at Bai Han fifty meters away. That guy was still cautious but hadn’t realized this yet.

Wei Cheng truly felt a cold dread piercing to his brain.

How did those two fire lizards emerge?

If this magma river was really like a Zerg hive, then the fallen challengers might have already transformed into different magma-type creatures.

“We need to rest here and wait. Let’s see how long that magma giant wants to play hide-and-seek with us,” Wei Cheng said loudly, burning with anger.

There was no need to push forward and waste time.

They had to use this opportunity to strengthen themselves and prepare for the final battle.

“Wei Cheng, I think you’re missing the opportune moment,” Bai Han said, failing to catch Wei Cheng’s glance. Or rather, he hoped to find Liu Wenli’s squad soon—he only had two left out of fifteen on his side; the other team must be safe.

District 13 boasted five thousand elite warriors, carefully selected. They couldn’t afford to be wiped out now, or their voice after the merge would definitely diminish—perhaps falling into the hands of this sly and foolish Wei Da Sha.

“Old Bai, I hope you stay rational,” Wei Cheng narrowed his eyes, unwilling to explain further or reveal his true intentions.

“I understand your point, but I absolutely won’t abandon my teammates!” Bai Han said firmly.

“I advise you to come to your senses, or when we return to Earth, I’ll go pursue Chen Ce’s sister the very next day. By the way, her name is Chen Yu, right? Chen Ce, no offense intended!” Wei Cheng shouted, his gaze suddenly turning mischievous.

The fact was obvious—there was more than just a professional relationship between the shop owner’s wife and the cook. Wei Cheng didn’t believe Bai Han wouldn’t be smitten or secretly in love with such a beauty.

“You son of a—” Bai Han’s eyes flashed with murderous fury like an enraged brown bear, while Chen Ce nearby looked innocent—no, he seemed to relish this rumored dog-eat-dog scene.

Alright, madam sister, I truly mean no offense.

“Damn!”

Seconds later, Bai Han swore he wouldn’t move.

He wasn’t stupid; if he and Chen Ce set out together, they’d be prime targets for concentrated strikes and annihilation.

Having watched countless horror movies, he knew all too well the importance of not splitting up. He had already made that mistake twice in one day.

Would he be so lucky to meet Wei Da Sha again next time?

If he died, Chen Yu wouldn’t even earn the title of widow—it would be a tragedy.

“I guess you and Liu Wenli are actually from two different teams within District 13. Your relationship might not even compare to the fate of us living under the same roof.”

“Let’s do it this way. I’ve decided to stay here and wait it out. Bai Han, you team up with Chen Ce; Liu Sui, you and your wife together; Yu Liang, Old Mei, you two as a team. Take turns resting and keeping watch. I’m going to cultivate first—don’t disturb me!”

With that, Wei Cheng flicked his eyes at everyone and casually set down his miner’s basket. He then enveloped himself in an immovable golden bell of defense.

The others instinctively took positions around the bell, some to the left, some to the right. Although they didn’t understand what Wei Cheng was up to, even Bai Han and Chen Ce chose to trust him.

After all, Wei Cheng was likely the number one Mount Mover in this server—and the best since the merge.

That fact alone meant that despite his self-deprecating nickname “Wei Da Sha” and his deliberate low profile, Bai Han’s sharp eyes couldn’t be fooled.

As a fellow Mount Mover, facing Wei Cheng, Bai Han felt a helpless sense of defeat.

Inside the immovable golden bell, Wei Cheng didn’t seem to be doing much at first. He simply retrieved a vermilion bead from the miner’s basket and, using the basket as cover, began to enhance the small wine cup.

Previously, he hadn’t chosen to strengthen it because he found it difficult to control this magical artifact.

But now, first, he had successfully advanced to the ninth Jiazi cycle, unlocking the ninth innate meridian and increasing his Mount Mover internal energy.

Second, he had optimized the deeper details of his Mount Mover visualization chart to 96%. This was an extraordinary achievement—only 4% shy of a spiritual root transformation, which would practically make him an immortal cultivator.

So his overall strength could no longer be described as merely having increased his internal energy by one Jiazi cycle.

It was a comprehensive, multifaceted leap.

Specifically:

First, if he released a slightly lower-level golden bell shield, its defense would rival that of Yu Liang and Mei Renli’s current immovable golden bells. If that were revealed, Bai Han would surely faint on the spot.

Second, the ordinary immovable golden bell he released had about six times the defensive power of the ones released by Yu Liang and Mei Renli, and roughly twice that of Bai Han’s. Again, Bai Han would be knocked out instantly.

Third, his one Jiazi cycle of internal energy could now sustain the release of ten immovable golden bells at once, with explosive efficiency. Yu Liang and Mei Renli could currently release about two such bells per Jiazi cycle, and Bai Han could manage four. Needless to say, Bai Han would faint again.

Moreover, for the ultimate form of the immovable golden bell, Yu Liang and Mei Renli were not yet qualified, but Bai Han was. He had to exhaust all his Mount Mover internal energy at once, regardless of how many Jiazi cycles he possessed.

Wei Cheng previously needed six Jiazi cycles of internal energy for this, but now only needed three.

In other words, he could release the ultimate form of the immovable golden bell three times in succession, and his versions were slightly stronger than Bai Han’s, even though both had reached the bell’s full perfection.

The advantage gained from merging the golden bell visualization chart with his Mount Mover visualization chart was immense.

So, in reality, Bai Han would have to release the ultimate form of five immovable golden bells consecutively just to match Wei Cheng’s three.

In short, if Bai Han knew all this, he would faint on the spot.

This was the main reason Wei Cheng chose to strengthen the small wine cup.

At the same time, this was his trump card to deal with the demon magma river.

The only question was, once all cards were laid bare, who would laugh last?

The enhancement of the small wine cup was not earth-shattering. After all, it was just a magical artifact that was low-level upgraded to mid-level downgraded.

The vermilion bead smoothly fused into the cup, which now radiated a bright golden light. It was less than two feet long, just right, as the immovable golden bell also shimmered with golden light outside, perfectly masking it.

Moreover, the cup could now float on its own, slowly spinning—quite magical.

Wei Cheng observed the entire process with his spiritual power. At first, he detected no major changes, but gradually he realized some flaws inside the cup.

More precisely, the cup’s current operating core logic was flame immunity plus the ultimate form of the immovable golden bell.

The former, Wei Cheng found no fault with—it was a masterwork of an immortal cultivator, no matter how humble.

But the latter needed an update.

He had to inscribe and integrate the ultimate form of the immovable golden bell combined with his Mount Mover visualization chart into the artifact’s core.

And Wei Cheng believed the success rate would be very high.

The only trouble was it would take some time. If the demon magma river launched an attack during this phase, it would be disastrous.

So Wei Cheng decisively chose to postpone it; he wasn’t willing to take that risk.

Because this enhancement alone nearly doubled the artifact’s power from its original state.

That was enough.

(End of chapter)