Chapter 116: Starlight Spirit Liquid
“Did you lie to me?”
This time, it was Zhou Ming’s turn to question Yang Yi, trying to discern the truth from the other party’s answer.
“My Beast Tamer companion, Ironfang Hound, was originally just an ordinary Gale Wolf. It was only after consuming the third-tier spiritual item, Starlight Spirit Liquid, that it successfully mutated.”
In order to convince Zhou Ming, Yang Yi continued explaining.
“Two months ago, my father obtained a test tube of third-tier spiritual item, Starlight Spirit Liquid. This kind of spiritual item can stimulate a Beast Tamer’s bloodline and enhance a Beast Tamer’s potential.”
“However, because using this spiritual item carries a certain level of risk, I only used half of the Starlight Spirit Liquid. In the end, it still allowed my Ironfang Hound to mutate successfully.”
“Because Ironfang Hound’s strength surged drastically, I dared to leave the Base without authorization.”
When Yang Yi spoke up to this point, his voice was clearly tinged with sobbing, likely regretting his own actions.
Starlight Spirit Liquid?
After hearing this, Zhou Ming immediately recalled the information he had read in the Qinshan Base Library.
Starlight Spirit Liquid was a special spiritual item condensed from starlight by the fourth-tier spiritual plant, Nether Night Orchid, which only bloomed at night.
If not for Starlight Spirit Liquid, that book might not have recorded information about the fourth-tier spiritual plant, Nether Night Orchid.
Just as Zhou Ming was analyzing whether Yang Yi’s words were true, the Radar Sensory Domain detected hunters approaching, and the distant gunfire had already stopped.
“Someone’s coming. Follow me.”
Money did not move Zhou Ming, but a third-tier spiritual item could not be ignored.
With his background and strength, even a first-tier spiritual item was something he could not purchase. This was not merely a matter of money, but more importantly, the lack of proper channels.
Upon hearing Zhou Ming’s words, Yang Yi immediately panicked.
“Listen to my arrangements. You won’t die.”
Seeing the other party’s reaction, Zhou Ming immediately rebuked Yang Yi in a low voice. Right after that, he took out two specially modified smoke bombs.
These two smoke bombs had already been re-engineered by Zhou Ming. The smoke they released carried the Snake Venom of the Ironthread Snake.
This venom had been specially refined by him, and its toxicity far exceeded that of ordinary Ironthread Snake venom.
Moreover, Zhou Ming had tested it himself. He possessed extremely high resistance to the refined Ironthread Snake venom and did not need to worry about harming himself.
After setting up the modified smoke bombs, Zhou Ming immediately asked the utterly bewildered Yang Yi beside him.
“Can your Ironfang Hound carry two people?”
“You don’t have a Beast Tamer companion?”
Only at this moment did Yang Yi react, realizing that there was no Beast Tamer companion accompanying Zhou Ming.
Even if it was sealed within the Beast Taming Space, it should have been summoned by now.
“Can it or not?”
There was no time left. Zhou Ming did not want to explain further.
“Yes.”
“Head to the left front. Go to Ghost Cavern Ridge. Don’t ask why.”
With time pressing, Zhou Ming did not want to waste it and directly ordered Yang Yi in a commanding tone.
“Alright.”
Zhou Ming’s dominance instead helped Yang Yi shake off his nervousness. He immediately mounted his own Beast Tamer companion and rushed over to Zhou Ming.
Then, amid Ironfang Hound’s unwilling emotions, the calf-sized Ironfang Hound carried the two of them and quickly fled.
Just a few seconds after the two left, a group of well-equipped hunters arrived, murderous looks on their faces, each riding their own Beast Tamer companion.
“They’re right ahead. Chase.”
The leader, riding a Violent Lion, wore a costly night-vision device. With the help of infrared thermal imaging, he immediately detected the figures of Zhou Ming and Yang Yi.
However, just as they were about to act, two Ironthread Snakes used their snake tails to pull the pins of the smoke bombs.
“Boom……”
As the explosion sounded, thick smoke instantly spread in all directions.
“It’s a smoke bomb.”
The commotion from the explosion startled the pursuing hunters, and they instantly realized it was a non-lethal smoke bomb.
However, just as they lowered their guard, those shrouded in the smoke suddenly felt their entire bodies go numb. Their breathing became difficult, and a faint sensation of their hearts about to stop beating emerged.
“It’s poisonous.”
A cry of panic suddenly rose. Hunters who had not yet been engulfed by the smoke and were less severely poisoned immediately began injecting antidotes.
When operating in the wilderness, antidotes were essential supplies.
However, even for those who injected antidotes in time, combined with the physical enhancement brought by Beast Tamer feedback, only a small portion ultimately survived.
Moreover, most of these people lost their combat capability and could only rely on their Beast Tamer companions to protect them.
This was the weakness of Apprentice Beast Tamers. Even if their Beast Tamer companions could withstand the snake venom within the smoke, their owners were far too fragile.
Without having prepared gas masks in advance, death was the only outcome.
“Big brother, they didn’t chase after us. What kind of grenade did you use?”
While fleeing on his Beast Tamer companion, Yang Yi heard the explosion from behind. Seeing that the hunters chasing him did not continue pursuing, he grew curious about Zhou Ming’s methods.
The protective suits those people wore were no simple matter. Ordinary grenades would have been hard-pressed to threaten them, especially with Beast Tamer companions reacting in time to protect them.
“Stop talking nonsense. Keep heading toward Ghost Cavern Ridge. We’d better enter the karst caves tonight.”
“Why?”
He was very familiar with the situation inside the underground karst caves. If not for his father sending people to rescue him in time, he would most likely not have made it out alive.
After hearing Zhou Ming’s instructions, Yang Yi felt some resistance.
“You think that dealing with the people behind us means you can safely return to the Base?”
Regarding the current situation, Zhou Ming did not feel optimistic at all, especially after seeing Yang Yi’s two-headed Gale Wolf Beast Tamer companion.
Given its current condition, it already possessed the potential to advance to a Professional Beast Tamer.
If the class advancement were to Phantasmal Tamer, the two-headed Gale Wolf could awaken two opposing elemental attributes. In the future, advancing to the Legendary Saint profession of Elemental Annihilator would not even require finding a second suitable Beast Tamer companion.
Of course, this was merely a hypothesis.
Since the establishment of the Alliance for several hundred years, even counting the Legendary Saints who had already died in battle, the total number had not exceeded ten.
After all, before the Doomsday Era, Blue Star had no transcendent power. Its main development focus had been technological strength.
Without sufficient foundations to support it, even over several hundred years, it was extremely difficult for more Legendary Saints to emerge.
Therefore, the probability of Yang Yi becoming a Legendary Saint was essentially zero, but the probability of advancing to a Professional Beast Tamer was very high.
If he became a Professional Beast Tamer, the Yang Family’s shortcomings would be filled, and it would no longer be just an ordinary commercial family in the future.
Perhaps it was precisely because others knew of the changes in Yang Yi’s Beast Tamer companion that the current situation had occurred.
As for why the Yang Family did not deliberately protect Yang Yi, it might have been because they considered that such actions would instead attract the attention of competitors.
After all, as long as Yang Yi did not reveal the mutated two-headed Gale Wolf, competitors would not easily make a move against an unthreatening Yang Yi. Doing so would instead provoke retaliation from the Yang Family, making it not worth the loss.
However, once Yang Yi’s situation became known, the attitude toward him would naturally be different.
After hearing Zhou Ming’s rhetorical question, Yang Yi also fell silent.
When the external threats temporarily disappeared, Yang Yi, who was not particularly foolish, immediately grasped Zhou Ming’s meaning.
After all, as the son of the Yang Family’s chairman, even if he were a piece of trash, with sufficient educational resources backing him, his intelligence would still improve to some extent.
Entering the underground karst caves and relying on the complex environment to shake off their pursuers was their only chance of survival.
Without asking further questions, Yang Yi immediately urged his Beast Tamer companion to increase speed.