The entire world’s situation seemed to be changing…
There were even rumors of a massive earthquake in Changtian Mountain, in the northeast of the Great Dragon Country, causing an unknown number of deaths, and only the emergency deployment of troops for rescue prevented a major commotion.
All of this made Zhou Qi unable to stop overthinking.
Night, profoundly dark.
Seeing no one around, Zhou Qi arrived at the mountain entrance, and with a movement of his body, he floated directly into the air, flying towards Second Base.
Opening the speed recorder, he watched the numbers rapidly climb, and soon it reached 300 meters/second.
Zhou Qi wanted to see his limit, and his speed surged again: 350, 400, 500, 550…
It wasn't until a full 750 meters/second that the speed recorder stopped displaying; at this point, Zhou Qi’s speed had exceeded twice the speed of sound, yet he did not produce a sonic boom.
His Mental Power gently glided through the air, allowing for silent flight, and in the blink of an eye, Zhou Qi arrived above Second Base in White Snake Mountain.
Enveloped by the night, White Snake Mountain’s contours undulated under the fading light, the mountain forest resembling a giant dark green carpet.
Zhou Qi’s Mental Energy enveloped his body, emitting faint points of light, like converging stars, gently rippling, carrying a mysterious and tranquil aura.
The mountain wind in White Snake Mountain whistled, rustling his clothes and hair.
Zhou Qi looked down at the mountain forest, the leaves rustling in the breeze, each leaf shimmering with a faint glow of life.
White Snake Mountain beneath his feet resembled a colossal coiled snake, its undulating peaks forming its spine, and the vast forest its scales, extending from the Huangshi Mountain Range all the way to the back of Zhou Qi’s village.
Zhou Qi hovered above Second Base for a moment, not entering directly, but looking towards the Huangshi Mountain Range, which connected end-to-end with White Snake Mountain.
With a shift of his body, he shot straight into the clouds.
The mountain wind howled, and Zhou Qi looked at the layers of lush green mountains below him, a Concept of great freedom emerging in his heart.
Soaring through the sky—this was humanity's fantasy from ancient times until now; even with the advent of various flying tools in modern times, humans gained the ability to traverse the sky.
However, it was still vastly different from this tangible feeling of flying through the air and burrowing through the earth.
“The immortals in ancient legends were probably nothing more than this,” Zhou Qi thought to himself.
In the mountain forest at night, Zhou Qi swept his Mental Energy across it.
In the perception of his Mental Energy, the Huangshi Mountain Range slowly unfolded like a strange painting.
A group of fiery red Scarlet Flame Foxes played in the valley, resembling burning flames;
Poisonous snakes were poised in the forest, ready to attack sleeping squirrels;
Not far away, a group of massive yellow cattle rested together…
After a long while, as Zhou Qi continued to fly forward, the Mental Energy scanning range continuously expanded.
Suddenly, a strong tremor caught his attention.
In a canyon deep within the mountain range, where even mountain paths no longer existed, it was a completely desolate and uninhabited scene.
A group of people dressed in black robes were encircling a dark cave in the center.
They poured bags of a cement-like gray substance into the cave entrance, muttering something unintelligible.
“How can there be people on the mountain in the middle of the night, and why are they dressed so strangely?” Zhou Qi’s heart grew increasingly uneasy; anyone would be flustered to find others in a place where humans shouldn't be in the middle of the night.
Moreover, these people were all dressed so bizarrely.
Zhou Qi slowly descended, hiding behind a thick tree in the canyon.
He narrowed his eyes, using the cover of the branches and leaves, and stared intently at the black-robed figures below. Their every movement exuded an inexpressible strangeness, a lack of human agility in their gestures, their movements stiff and mechanical, as if controlled by an invisible force.
Zhou Qi was afraid of being discovered by these strange people, so he slowly extended his Mental Energy. After realizing they couldn't perceive his Mental Energy’s presence, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The circle formed by these black-robed people was impenetrable, and they chanted continuously, their voices low and hoarse, distorted as if an unknown, strange creature was imitating human speech, obscure and difficult to understand.
Zhou Qi tried his best to catch those phrases, distinguishing fragments like “Ancient Will,” “Abyssal Glory,” and “Titans Awakening.”
Just then, the tallest black-robed figure in the center suddenly poured the contents of his hand into the cave and roared loudly. With his action, the black robes on several people began to fall off.
A strong sense of unease surged in Zhou Qi’s heart, and he fully activated his Mental Energy, extending it towards the figures.
He sensed that deep beneath the Huangshi Mountain Range, a vast and terrifying power was slowly Awakening.
He felt its outline, like a colossal beast that had been slumbering for ages. Its body was immense, lying horizontally underground like a mountain, its scales incredibly hard, each one the size of a house.
Its breathing was heavy, causing the entire underground rock to tremble slightly, and the sound of its heartbeat was like a muffled war drum, each beat accelerating Zhou Qi’s own heart.
Such a monster was hidden deep underground in the Huangshi Mountain Range, at an unknown depth.
Zhou Qi was momentarily dazed but quickly recovered. After experiencing so many shocks recently, he no longer found it so difficult to accept.
The scenes before him made Zhou Qi understand even more clearly.
These strange people were probably members of some fanatical cult, coming here likely to release the monster from underground.
Zhou Qi reached for the backpack behind him, and the Five-Tier Annam Centipede poked its head out and crawled forth.
Looking at the Five-Tier Annam Centipede’s life strength of 4.5, Zhou Qi felt it was a bit unreliable, so he directly activated the enhancement. Evolution Points were abundant now, so he didn't lack this bit.
“Ding, consumed 320 Evolution Points. Annam Centipede evolved into Six-Tier Annam Centipede. All attributes slightly increased.”
…
“Ding, consumed 5120 Evolution Points. Annam Centipede evolved into Rank 10 Annam Centipede. All attributes significantly increased.”
“Ding, congratulations to the Host for successfully enhancing a Rank 10 Annam Centipede, promoting to Second Order Apostle, and gaining a new talent: Lethal Venom Mist.”
The Annam Centipede, enhanced to Rank 10, underwent a transformation, its body length exceeding 1 meter.
Its shell was incredibly hard, like a thick layer of armor, and its head was wide and flat, like Captain America's shield.
Sharp venomous fangs extended from its mouth, glinting like small daggers, and venom slowly dripped from them, corroding small pits in the ground wherever it fell.
It had hundreds of legs, each stout and powerful, like pillars cast from steel, and covered with a layer of fine black hair.
The end of its tail had a row of sharp, spiky protrusions, just like an Alien, making it truly a killing machine.