Jiang Chen and the other Zombie Progenitors stopped.
They gazed intently at the crystal in Gu Liâs hands, their eyes glinting with greedy light.
Finally, Gu Li rose, gaze fixed intently ahead. He didnât let his guard down in the slightest.
The crystal in his hands was long, thin, and pale purple. It glittered translucently as if emanating dazzling light from within.
However, the crystal wasnât especially durable. So long as he used just a bit of forceâŠ.
It would snap in half.
âDo you still want to kill me?â asked Gu Li mockingly.
Jiangchen had been just about to raise his leg when he heard Gu Liâs rebuke. âStay where you are. Donât move! Do you want to watch me snap it?â
He froze.
Jiangchen lowered his leg and gulped, staring greedily at the crystal.
âBrother Gu Li, didnât you say you only knew its location? Why do you have the crystal?â
âDid you really think Iâd be stupid enough to trust you with everything?â Gu Li laughed contemptuously. The spiritual power in his hands had yet to disippate. âI know full well what kind of people you are. Working with you is no different from dealing with the devil; without some sort of back-up plan, I might die without even knowing what killed me.â
âBrother Gu Li, what are youâŠ.â said Jiangchen. He prepared to take a step forward. The instant he saw this, Gu Li knit his brows.
âStay where are!â he roared. "Donât move."
The Zombie Progenitors smiled derisively, but nevertheless froze. Their hungry gaze had yet to leave the crystal. They longed for it desperately, but now it was in Gu Liâs hands. If he broke it...
All they could do now was try and keep him calm.
âWant to kill me? Feh,â spat Gu Li hatefully. The zombie didnât dare show any signs of displeasure.
âBrother Gu Li, if the crystal has already fallen into your hands, shouldnât you keep your promise and give it to us? In return, we can complete the mission you gave us earlier,â sneered Houqing.
In response, Gu Li narrowed his eyes and squeezed the crystal. âWant it?â
They nodded.
âDo you think Iâm three years old?â Gu Liâs expression shifted. âRight now, this is a treasure capable of preserving my life. If I give it to you, wonât you just up and kill me?â
âGu Li, youâre sayingâŠ.â
âThatâs enough. Shut up,â said Gu Li, his expression suddenly cold.
âI know that you desperately long to use this crystal to recover the divine power you once had as a primordial savage beast,â he said with a short, âbut your behavior just now deeply displeased me.â
âGu Li, donât go too far. Werenât you the one who betrayed us earlier?â shouted Hanba furiously.
âHm?â
His hands suddenly tightened around the crystal. Jiangchenâs heart clenched. He turned and slapped Hanba.
âShut up!â
After striking her, Jiangchen bowed as low as he could and said, âGu Li, Boss, what do we need to do in exchange for the crystal?â
In response, Gu Li nodded in satisfaction. âNot bad. You see the situation clearly. Youâre not as brainless as that ugly woman.â
A cold light flashed through Hanbaâs eyes, but Jiangchen turned and glared at her furiously. Although they were all Zombie Progenitors and had all come from the primordial savage beast DenglongâŠ..
Jiangchen was still the highest-ranked of the bunch.
Hanba dared not defy him. She could only grit her teeth and lower her head.
âNot bad, not bad, Iâm quite pleased,â said Gu Li. He had already recovered from his former nervousness.
He nodded calmly, then said, âItâs simple. If you want it, go and complete the same mission as planned. Naturally, once itâs complete, Iâll hand over the cyrstal.â
âHow can we trust you?â frowned Jiangchen.
âDo you think you have any other choice?â laughed Gu Li coldly.
âHowever,â said Gu Li, âI am absolutely not the type to break a promise. I can even swear by my heart demons that, so long as you successfully accomplish your mission, Iâll give you this very crystal.â
A streak of purple light flashed by,
The oath to his heart demons had been completed.
âHow about it? Does that work for you?â
Jiangchenâs eyes flashed. His gaze had been fixed upon the crystal this whole time.
After a long pause, he nodded to Gu Li. âAlright, itâs settled.â
With that, he turned to look at the other zombies. âLetâs go.â
âŠ..
âJiangchen, are sure Gu Li isnât playing another trick on us?â said Houqing shortly after they left. Then he frowned. âI simply canât picture that guy being so kind.â
âHe swore by his heart demons. With that sort of deterrent, he wouldnât dare deceive us,â said Jiangchen simply. âIf we finish the mission, even if he doesnât want to give it to us, heâll be compelled to do so.â
âThatâs good, then,â said Houqing with a sigh of relief.
âDonât any of you think somethingâs strange?â said Yinggou. His arms were uncovered, his brow deeply knit.
âBeast God Soul Crystals are relics from ancient times. Theyâre so rare, it would be difficult to obtain one even in the higher realms. Even East Monarch Taiyi, someone with astonishingly good luck, used an entire lifeâs worth of good fortune to get his hands on one. With that alone, he obtained the power of a primordial divine beast, and became the supreme ruler of the Yao Realm. How could a little brat like Gu Li get his hands on such an item?â
âSome people are just that lucky,â said Jiangchen. âNo need to get suspicious.â
âBut didnât any of you notice that the power contained within the crystal didnât seem especially strong?â Yinggou frowned. âThink about it carefully. Itâs the crystallized soul of a Beast God. Even if itâs just a hundred-millionth of the original soul, it shouldnât contain so little energy.â
âI thought the same thing,â said Hanba, whoâd been slapped earlier.
Jiangchen was silent.
If he thought it over carefully, itâs true that the waves of power emanating from the crystal were awfully small. Even so, he had undoubtedly sensed the power of a Beast God.
âDonât overthink it,â said Jiangchen. âEither way, we need to get our hands on that crystal. If Gu Li deceived us, weâll just kill him and vent our frustrations. At most, weâre letting him live a few days longer, thatâs all.â
âŠ...
Gu Li followed the Zombies Progenitorsâ departure with his eyes until theyâd completely disappeared from view. Then, without any hesitation at all, he turned in the opposite direction and scurried away.
He ran for an hour before pausing to look at the crystal he carried, his breathing ragged.
Before long, he smiled wantonly. âWhat a bunch of dumbasses. Itâs nothing but a purple crystal I infused with Beast God energy, but they really believed it was a Beast God Soul Crystal.â
Earlier, heâd been in extreme peril. This was the solution heâd thought of as a last resort.
Heâd just gambled on whether or not theyâd mistake this crystal for the real thing.
If he lost, heâd inevitably die. If he succeeded, heâd earn a lot. Fortunately for him, those guys wanted the crystal so desperately, they hadnât noticed anything.
âGo on and risk your lives for me,â he said. âWhen youâre done, Iâll be perfectly happy to give you this crystal.â
He laughed contemptuously and returned the crystal to his pocket, then narrowed his eyes and looked into the sky.
âSeems like I ought to go add some fuel to the fire.â
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