Chapter 82 Chapter 82 [A ‘king’ should have some privileges…

The giant snake's vertical pupils shrank in the dim light, like poisoned amber.

Jiang Qing suddenly pulled Zhu Tianba back, and the snake's kiss brushed against its mane, and the fishy wind made its face hurt.

"Back off!" Jiang Qing held the dagger across his chest, his voice low, "There's something in its eyes."

Zhu Tianba also noticed the shiny stone.

Its eyes changed from normal to reveal a greedy look that was determined to get what it wanted.

The giant snake obviously didn't intend to give them time to observe.

Its massive body seemed unwieldy, yet it moved with an eerily fluidity, as if being pulled by invisible threads, ready to attack again.

This time it was a sweeping blow, smashing into the cave wall with tremendous force.

Jiang Qing rolled sideways to avoid the flying debris and scoffed at the air: "Pansha, your neighbors don't seem to welcome us."

Pansha's thoughts came with panic: [I don't know... It's never been like this before... It's just a very quiet stone...]

"Quiet?" Jiang Qing narrowly avoided another bite, his tone filled with rapid panting, "This has absolutely nothing to do with it now."

Zhu Tianba tried to condense ice to slow down the snake's movement, but the ice spikes shattered when they hit the scales.

It tilted its head, a hint of surprise flashing in its pupils.

Jiang Qing followed the movement of the snake's head with sharp eyes, trying to confirm the foreign object in the pupil again.

"It's not the scales...it's that it can't feel any pain!"

Living things that are deeply eroded by the source power will gradually lose their self-identity and become empty shells that act on instinct.

The giant snake's attack was completely random, driven by pure desire to attack, as if it was being driven by the crystal to eliminate all intruders.

"Pansha!" Jiang Qing shouted again, dodging while trying to get more information. "How has it changed since you woke up?"

Pansha's thoughts were filled with confusion: [Change? I... I don't remember. I just felt like it was very quiet here a long time ago. Then... Then it felt like I had a very long dream, and when I woke up, I 'heard' it... It's been lying there the whole time, like a real stone...]

Zhu Tianba suddenly stumbled and was almost hit by the snake's tail.

Jiang Qing pulled it back suddenly, but her eyes were fixed on the snake's pupils. When the snake's head raised up, she finally saw it clearly.

The yellow beast core source power crystal did not seem to be embedded inside, or formed a chimera with its eyes, it seemed more like it "grew" out from the inside.

Fine veins spread from the edge of the lens into the depths of the pupil.

"Is it... growing?" Jiang Qing said to himself.

The giant snake was obviously unwilling to give them any more chance to breathe. It let out a threatening grunt from its throat, and the entire cave shook.

Its huge body blocked the gap it came from, completely blocking its retreat.

Zhu Tianba bared his teeth and stood in front of Jiang Qing: "Jiang Qing, I want what's in its eyes."

"I know." Jiang Qing gripped the dagger tightly, his eyes calming down.

She quickly scanned the cave, searching for any possible way out. "Pansha, is there another way out of this cave?"

Pansha's thoughts were filled with panic, and he said in their minds with a hint of apology: [There is no way out... There is only that crack... I'm sorry, I didn't know it would be like this... I really didn't know...]

"There's no point in saying that now!" Jiang Qing interrupted sharply, ducking to avoid the sweeping snake's tail. Gravel brushed her cheek as it flew past. "Think of a way. You're the 'king' here, so you should have some privileges, right?"

【king? 】

Pansha paused, as if touched by this word: [I... I'm just a house keeper... Wait, house...]

The giant snake raised its head again, and its cold vertical pupils locked onto Zhu Tianba, who was moving a little slower. A gurgling sound of power came from deep in its throat, obviously preparing for a stronger attack.

"Tianba, be careful!" Jiang Qing's pupils shrank.

At this moment, the entire cave, including the main hall outside where Pansha was, shook violently, making a loud noise.

The sound came from the stone walls and slabs around them and under their feet.

A voice that seemed to come from ancient times rang out.

【roll! 】

The sound belonging to Pansha exploded directly in the depths of the giant snake that was eroded by the beast core power.

The giant snake's movement, which was ready to strike, suddenly froze, and for the first time, an emotion that was not due to greed appeared in its bright yellow vertical pupils.

It was the most instinctive fear that came from the bloodline, the fear of the true owner of this land.

Its huge body even curled up involuntarily, and it let out a confused and uneasy roar.

Jiang Qing: “…”

The new friend is quite uncultured, and the only thing he says is "get out".

Fortunately, the new friends are on their side.

Jiang Qing immediately took up Pansha's offensive and directed Zhu Tianba to launch an attack.

The extremely cold air instantly spread with Zhu Tianba as the center. The ground under the giant snake and even the lower part of its body were instantly covered with a thick and smooth layer of ice.

The sudden coldness and stiffness made the giant snake howl angrily. It struggled, trying to break free from the ice, but the smooth ice surface made it unable to exert force, and its movements became extremely clumsy and slow.

Jiang Qing's figure approached like a ghost, and the dagger pierced the snake's eye inlaid with yellow crystals with a sound of breaking through the air.

With Zhu Tianba's deep awakening, her physical fitness has also improved to an incredible level.

The giant snake sensed the danger and shook its head to avoid it.

Zhu Tianba would not give it this opportunity. He directly condensed a rock spike and pierced through the giant snake's neck.

"Hiss!" The giant snake's movements visibly froze again, and its scales covered with frost became brittle and hard.

Jiang Qing reached out his hand into the air, and Zhu Tianba instantly condensed a dagger made of ice.

“Puff!”

The tip of the dagger accurately pierced the edge of the bright yellow vertical pupil, and a sticky and smelly liquid splashed out.

The giant snake let out an earth-shattering howl of pain, its entire body twisting wildly, shaking the ice on its body into pieces.

But it is blind in one eye.

The severe pain and madness made it completely lose its mind. The remaining eye turned red and it rushed towards Jiang Qing, who had hurt it, at a speed so fast that it tore through the air.

Jiang Qing seemed to have anticipated this. He did not dodge or evade the impact, but simply held the dagger across his body, his eyes frighteningly calm.

At the moment when the snake's head was about to hit her, she kicked her feet hard and slid to the side and front, her body almost brushing against the hideous snake scales.

With a flip of his wrist, the dagger pierced the remaining intact eye of the giant snake from bottom to top like a poisonous snake coming out of a hole.

It took less than half a minute to do all this.

Jiang Qing opened his arms, loosened the ice blade in his hand, and fell backwards gracefully.

Zhu Tianba immediately jumped up, his body expanded several times, caught the beast core source crystal dropped by Jiang Qinghe, and ran all the way along the corridor where the two came from with his four hooves moving alternately at a rapid speed.

In order to prevent the energy of the beast core source crystal from leaking and contaminating other strange beasts that might exist along the way, Zhu Tianba directly swallowed the beast core source crystal.

At this moment, half of its body was filled with the pain of burning flames, and the other half was the stimulation of surging adrenaline, which accelerated the absorption rate of the beast core source power in its body.

Zhu Tianba ran wildly all the way until he rushed back to the stone chamber where Pansha was. Then his four hooves went soft, his huge body quickly shrank, and he staggered to a stop. After gently putting Jiang Qing down, he also lay on the ground, panting heavily.

Jiang Qing immediately squatted down to check its condition.

Zhu Tianba's breathing was rapid, his body was slightly hot, and the color of his mane seemed to flicker unsteadily between blue-black and sandy yellow.

The beast core source power is externalized into the body, which has never happened before.

Jiang Qing estimated in his heart that Zhu Tianba's awakening value after this evolution should have reached 85.71%.

He has completely entered a state of deep awakening, and only needs the last beast core source power to enter the complete form.

"Tianba? How do you feel?" Jiang Qing's voice was filled with imperceptible nervousness, and his hand gently stroked the hair on the side of its neck.

Zhu Tianba shook his head, trying to dispel the burning sensation and dizziness he felt after swallowing the source power. "It's hot... and a little bloated... like I ate too many roasted sweet potatoes in one go..."

It murmured something and rubbed its head against Jiang Qing's palm, seeking comfort.

Did it...did it eat the contents of that 'neighbor's' eyes? Pansha's thoughts cautiously reached out, filled with shock and fear. What about that fierce neighbor?

"I probably won't bother you for the time being." Jiang Qing answered concisely, his eyes still fixed on Zhu Tianba, "It needs some time to digest."

As Jiang Qing spoke, his eyes unconsciously swept over Pansha.

She had previously suspected that Pansha, a strange beast with only a skeleton left, could still retain consciousness because of the impression of the beast core source power in the cave.

But now it seems as if she misunderstood.

She and Zhu Tianba had severely damaged the giant snake and taken away the beast core power, but Pansha was not affected at all and was still able to maintain the state when they first met.

She could only say that the Beast King was worthy of being the Beast King!

[Oh…] Pansha's mind was quiet for a moment, as if digesting this information. Then, with a hint of apology and curiosity, he spoke again, [Is… it… okay? That shiny thing doesn't seem very friendly.]

"It must be fine." Jiang Qing's tone was light, but with unquestionable firmness.

She sat on the ground, gently held Zhu Tianba's head on her legs, combed its somewhat messy mane with her fingertips, and waited.

Time passes in silence.

The dim moss in the stone chamber still emitted a soft light, reflecting Zhu Tianba's undulating body.

It no longer spoke, but closed its eyes, as if it had fallen into a deep sleep. Only the faint throbbing inside its body, as if coming from deep within the earth, showed that changes were taking place.

Jiang Qing waited patiently.

I don’t know how long it took, maybe just a few minutes, maybe half an hour, Zhu Tianba’s body suddenly twitched slightly, and a vague "Kang Kang" sound came from his throat.

The flickering ochre-yellow light on its body stabilized, no longer alternating with blue-black, but like fine gold sand, evenly blending into every strand of its hair. The blue part had completely faded, and its hair now took on a precious black-gold hue.

Zhu Tianba slowly opened his eyes.

"Jiang Qing," it spoke, its voice a little deeper and richer than before, "I'm fine."

Jiang Qing looked at it carefully, and his tense heartstrings finally relaxed: "What does it feel different?"

When she asked this question, she also felt the changes of the contracted beast in the seal of the contract.