Roarrr….
The sky was getting darker as the the river surged and ebbed.
At dusk, the beach was colored red with crocodile blood, and hundreds of six legged crocodile corpses were lying all around two youths.
From beside one particular gigantic crocodile corpse, Fang Yuan slowly stood up.
He did not have any thoughts of fleeing when the six legged crocodile groups had attacked. Although he only had Rank one initial stage cultivation, he had Bai Ning Bing who was a Rank three peak stage Gu Master!
Her cultivation base added with his Rank three Gu worms, were more than enough to annihilate a hundred beast group.
On one hand, he was in need of an external force like the six legged crocodile groups to oppress Bai Ning Bing and also take the chance to train her. On another hand, he also needed to find suitable Gu worms for himself.
"I might only be at Rank one initial stage, but with my A grade aptitude and Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus, my primeval essence recovery speed is fast enough to let me use Rank two Gu worms. But what a pity that both the Crocodile Strength Gu and Carapace Gu aren't really ideal for me," Fang Yuan sighed as he pondered in his mind.
Sky Canopy Gu was a Rank three defensive Gu which he lent to Bai Ning Bing. Now, he needed a suitable defensive Gu for himself. However, the Carapace Gu's defensive area was too small in that it could only defend his back.
And even though Crocodile Strength Gu was a precious Gu, Fang Yuan already had the strength of two boars; strengthening further would instead harm him.
Below Rank six, Gu Masters only possessed a mortal body which had a limit in how much it could endure and couldn't be strengthened continuously.
Fang Yuan already used the Black and White Boar Gu to remodel his body and increase his fundamental strength. Using the Crocodile Strength Gu would surpass what his body could endure and would only harm him.
That is to say, unless he found other Gu worms which could supplement for the Crocodile Strength Gu, he would be committing a suicidal act by using it.
"In the inheritance inside Bai Gu mountain, there is a Jade Bone Gu which can increase the strength of the Gu Master's bones. After using this Gu, there would be no problem in using the Crocodile Strength Gu. However, there is still quite a distance from Bai Gu mountain and it will take at least ten-fifteen days."
Fang Yuan gazed at southeast direction, then he willed and summoned the Crocodile Strength Gu.
He gave the Crocodile Strength Gu to Bai Ning Bing, and at the same time, called back the Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus.
"Use this Crocodile Strength Gu, it will let you gain the strength of a crocodile. The process will be a bit tough, but it should be done after you repeatedly activate it for a month," Fang Yuan instructed.
Bai Ning Bing nodded, she was inwardly happy.
With the Crocodile Strength Gu, she could make up for her weak strength. She had looked for such a Gu back when she was in Bai clan, but she had no luck in finding such Gu. To think that she unexpectedly found the Gu which she had always wanted out in the wild!
Dangers lurked everywhere when Gu Masters journeyed outside, but at the same time, there were plenty of opportunities.
"Let's go, the blood odor here is too concentrated and will definitely attract the wild beasts, the cliff is also almost collapsed; it will be dangerous to camp here."
Bai Ning Bing approved of Fang Yuan's proposal.
But before leaving, Fang Yuan gathered as much of the crocodile blood and flesh as he could and stored them in the tusita flower.
Crocodile Strength Gu's food was crocodile flesh. And the fresh crocodile blood could be used to feed the Blood Skull Gu and Blood Moon Gu.
The sun had already completely disappeared into the horizon and the night fell.
Numerous stars could be vaguely seen in the sky.
The cliff had collapsed by the grand crocodile king's attack, becoming easier to climb. After Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing climbed the cliff, a dense jungle welcomed them.
The jungle seemed to continue on and on, touching the shadows of the faraway mountains. Furthermore, the depths of the jungle were covered in deep darkness, concealing unknown dangers and beasts.
Chichihouhou...
A series of odd noises sounding like the cries of birds or the howling of the apes, resounded in the two youths' ears.
The two glanced at each other, realizing that the dangers lurked everywhere in the jungle. More so during the night time, where there were scarce light; the jungle became more dangerous than during daytime.
They had no other choices, however.
"Let's go," Fang Yuan hinted at Bai Ning Bing.
Bai Ning Bing grinded her teeth, but she had no choice other than to drag her extremely tired body and walk in front, opening a path for Fang Yuan.
The trees in this jungle were at least four meters tall. And being close the river, the air was filled with moisture and the soil was much softer than normal soil.
Under this warm and moist atmosphere, moss grew wildly, spreading over the ground, rocks and tree trunks.
The darkness deepened and the chillness increased as the deeper they went into the jungle.
Fang Yuan was still in a better condition; Bai Ning Bing, however, shivered from cold. She had just engaged in an intense battle, and her whole body was soaked with sweat. Right now as the chill invaded her body, she naturally felt much more cold.
"Hey, how about making a fire and warming ourselves first?" Bai Ning Bing spoke while scouting in front.
Her voice echoed within the jungle, making the quietness of the jungle even more prominent.
"Warm ourselves? Haha." Fang Yuan laughed, "Don't you feel that this jungle is too quiet? Let's stop and check the trees in front."
Bai Ning Bing slowed down her steps and concentrated.
The trees in front of them were short and thick, with twisted roots that spread over on the ground. The ends of the branches all grew out into vines like green pythons; either coiling around each other or dropping down into the ground.
The tip of the vines were like venus flytrap or like mussels with open shells, quietly waiting for the pray.
"Beast-trap tree!" Bai Ning Bing thought of what he had learned in the academy and recognized this tree.
This tree was carnivorous, and the ends of its branches had softened down to become vines with only two leaves on the ends. The leaves were wide and big, and would normally remain open like a giant open mouth. However, once a prey walks close, the vines would shoot like a snake and the leaves would snap shut, swallowing the prey.
Afterward, the tree would secrete acidic liquid and melt down the prey over the course of tens of days or even months, before absorbing it.
Bai Ning Bing counted the amount of beast-trap trees in front of him; there were at least thirty to forty. There were some distance between each trees, upon which grew ordinary trees.
"This is the area of beast-trap trees, no wonder it was so quiet with no signs of any living creatures. But it isn't a problem, I can forcefully open up a path with a Rank three Gu," Bai Ning Bing said.
Fang Yuan, however, shook his head, "We need a safe campsite right now, and from how I see it, this area of beast-trap trees looks pretty good. We might not necessarily find a safer place to spend the night in this dense jungle if we charge through this area."
Bai Ning Bing couldn't help opening up her eyes wide when she heard what was said, "In this place? These beast-trap trees are safer?"
Fang Yuan glanced at her, but didn't explain; instead he turned around and walked back through the way they had come.
Bai Ning Bing grinded her teeth; Yang Gu was with Fang Yuan, so she had no choice but to follow Fang Yuan back to the beach.
Fang Yuan chose two sturdy crocodile corpses and opened up their cut bellies; he removed the internal organs and cleaned it thoroughly before dragging the corpses back to the jungle.
"You are actually thinking of?!" Bai Ning Bing was smart and as she saw this, she already could vaguely guess Fang Yuan's motive.
She couldn't help but be amazed by Fang Yuan's creativity.
"Humans are above all creatures, having unbound wisdom; thinking up odd ways to survive is normal. We will sleep inside these today," Fang Yuan said, and after explaining what to do, he entered inside a crocodile belly.
The next moment, he rolled inside and got closer to a beast-trap tree in the six legged crocodile's body.
Swish!
The nearest vine pounced, as swift as the wind. The huge opened two leaves swallowed the whole crocodile corpse in one bite and then firmly closed together.
Following next, the vines twisted and gently supported the heavy leaves to the treetop.
"Go to sleep, we still need to continue on our journey tomorrow." The leaves on the treetop shook for a moment before Fang Yuan's voice travelled out.
Bai Ning Bing was dumbstruck on the spot, watching this scene with open mouth.
She came to her senses only after a long while.
The darkness completely enveloped the land, and the night wind gently blew and passed through the jungle, producing sounds like that of a sob.
Bai Ning Bing clenched her teeth, and just like how Fang Yuan demonstrated, she drilled into the crocodile belly and rolled towards a beast-trap tree.
Almost immediately, she felt the attack of an external force, causing the whole crocodile body to shake for a while.
After the shaking, she sensed herself slowly rising up.
Finally, the force lifting her stopped.
Bai Ning Bing was lying inside the crocodile's belly, and the crocodile belly was lying flat inside the leaves.
She gazed outside and her sight passed through the small crack in the closed leaves, landing upon the many stars in the sky.
The surroundings were extremely quiet, and the stars were shining brightly like mischievous kids winking at her.
"The sky is filled with stars; our luck is good, the weather is going to be good tomorrow." Fang Yuan's voice came from outside.
Bai Ning Bing didn't reply, she moved her body to get into a more comfortable position.
However, she still felt cold due to the ice-cold crocodile body.
At this moment, she got a whiff of a fragrant scent.
Bai Ning Bing wasn't surprised as Fang Yuan had already explained this to her; this was the acidic liquid being released by the beast-trap tree.
However, this acidic liquid would need at least three months to melt the crocodile body. Hence, hiding inside the crocodile body was very safe for the moment.
"Oh right, I better use the Crocodile Strength Gu first and then sleep…." Bai Ning Bing thought inwardly but her eyelids seemed to be as heavy as a mountain, gradually shutting close. The next moment, she was in a deep sleep.
She was too tired; first it was continuously drifting for five days and five nights, then it was the intense battle with the crocodile groups. And in the battle, she had surpassed her physical limits and unearthed a part of her potential.
Maybe it was because she had turned into a female, the pressure from Fang Yuan intentionally or otherwise, it made her exhausted in both body and mind.
Fang Yuan, however, wasn't asleep.
From within the crocodile body, he called out the tusita flower and took out some cotton clothes and cloak. He then divided these into two parts - one part for a cushion under his body; another part for covering his body.
Although he tossed around, this layer of preparation immediately brought him some warmth.
Under the cage of the leaves, the crocodile body changed into a pleasant hotbed.
Fang Yuan still had some energy left; he closed his eyes and fell into meditation, using his primeval essence to nurture his aperture.
He might have no Liquor worm to upgrade his primeval essence, but with the assistance of Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus and his A grade aptitude, the amount of time he could nurture his aperture increased by a great amount.
The primeval sea was turbulent, rising and falling as its waves cleansed the aperture walls. Every time the primeval essence was consumed, it would be immediately replenished. Even continuing to nurture the aperture for a whole night wouldn't be able to exhaust the primeval essence.
However, Fang Yuan did not do such a thing, for nurturing the aperture couldn't replace sleep. He stopped cultivating after midnight and went to sleep.
He was a light sleeper and was able to hear the vague sounds of the wind and the howling of beasts in his sleep. Many wild beasts were attracted to the odor of the blood in the beach and trudged through the jungle towards it. And when they passed through this area of trees, they were captured by the beast-trap trees.