"Find a thick tree, quick!"
"What are you looking for a tree for at this time!"
"Climb a tree, clear the snakes from the canopy and then we can defend from a strong position!"
"Won't the little snakes still be able to climb up?"
"At least we won't have to worry about them coming from all sides!"
A few people discussed while running back towards the woods from the beach.
Stepping over snakes big and small, luckily as long as they didn't step on them, the snakes wouldn't attack rashly.
"Will this one work?" Jiang Yao pointed at a seven or eight meter tall oak tree.
Lu Zhe looked up, the tree was over ten meters high, the trunk diameter was around half a meter, and it forked at two and a half meters.
The branches and leaves were lush and vibrant.
It could definitely withstand four people.
"This is it!"
He put Ning Shu down: "You two help support her first!"
Then, he bent down and picked up a few nearby snakes.
At this time, Lu Zhe was like an experienced snake handler. His methods were rather gentle. The snakes didn't have any desire to attack and were tossed away like trash.
"You guys wait for me for a bit. I'll go up and see if there are any residents in the tree to say hi before we go up."
"Okay, but be quick!"
"The class president looks like she can't hold on much longer!"
"Got it!" Lu Zhe used his hands to grab the tree trunk. His fingertips were like iron claws, digging into the hard bark as he climbed up step by step!
Just as he was about to reach the fork, a viper as thick as a wrist poked its head out.
It was half coiled around the tree and half coiled into an S shape, sticking out its pink tongue, ready to strike at any time.
Lu Zhe didn't give it a chance to attack. He directly grabbed its neck, then pulled hard. The snake immediately straightened.
Lu Zhe wrapped it around his wrist twice, then pulled hard again, catapulting himself onto the fork.
"Thanks, snake bro!"
Lu Zhe made it up, but that pull completely dislocated the snake's spine.
Half was still coiled around the tree while the other half dangled limply.
Lu Zhe removed it and flung it away forcefully. The snake flew straight out.
Tang Xiaoguo exclaimed, "Ah, a flying snake!"
Lu Zhe had no time to care as he focused his senses of smell, taste and hearing to the most sensitive state!
Soon, he discovered two more snakes.
Without wasting words, he killed them both and threw them away.
Then, he took some rope out of his bag, tied one end to the tree trunk, and threw the other end down.
"Tie the class president first. I'll pull her up!"
Jiang Yao and Tang Xiaoguo hurried to tie the rope around Ning Shu's waist.
After settling Ning Shu, Lu Zhe pulled Jiang Yao and Tang Xiaoguo up as well.
The four people happened to lean against four branches.
Lu Zhe hurried to secure Ning Shu and stabilize her body.
She was sweating profusely from the pain, and faint red "whip marks" appeared on her legs.
Looking closer, lots of fur-like things were sticking to Ning Shu's legs - the root cause of her agony.
Lu Zhe checked the time - it was already 5 pm.
The hot temperatures during the day must have made the snakes dormant. They would come out to hunt at dusk.
The sun would set soon.
But there was no need to panic. Lu Zhe's powerful senses allowed his vision to have night capabilities. Even in pitch black darkness where he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, he could still clearly observe the hair on his fingertips.
To remove the stingers, he would need tweezers.
That was simple too. He whittled down bamboo skewers, snapped them in half, added a layer of bamboo strips in between, and wrapped it tight with bark.
A few quick scrapes to smooth the ends, and a simple pair of tweezers was complete.
Despite the simplicity of this tool, Lu Zhe still gained a potential point.
Then he sat down and placed Ning Shu's legs over his own.
"I'm going to operate now. Everyone keep quiet and don't let the tree shake! It might hurt a bit. Class president, hang in there!"
Ning Shu moaned in pain. She closed her eyes and nodded, signaling Lu Zhe to start.
Lu Zhe began plucking out the fine hairs one by one.
"Do you want our help?" Jiang Yao asked.
While removing the stingers, Lu Zhe replied, "I don't need help with the stingers, but you two have other things to do. One person prevent any snakes from climbing up from the ground, the other help wipe my sweat!"
"Okay, we'll take turns!"
The two girls worked it out between themselves. One stood watch with a trident, staring at the base of the tree for incoming snakes. The other was on standby to wipe Lu Zhe's sweat at any time.
It took Lu Zhe a full two hours to remove all the hairs.
Then he found some acorns in the oak tree. He chewed them up and carefully applied the mush to Ning Shu's legs.
Like wild persimmons, acorns also contained lots of tannins. They worked well to inhibit the alkaline venom.
By now, Ning Shu's condition had stabilized. She stopped moaning.
"How is it, class president?"
"It's like my skin peeled off. It hurt like hell, Lu Zhe. My legs won't be disabled right...?"
"Any nausea or vomiting?"
"None of that!"
Lu Zhe nodded. "Then I'm relieved. It doesn't seem too much venom entered the bloodstream. Your legs will be fine. Full recovery in ten-something days."
"I didn't expect something so tiny could be so potent!"
"This would have been life threatening if treatment was delayed."
Just then, Jiang Yao pointed at the not-so-distant beach, "Lu Zhe, look..."
By now, the sky had gone completely dark. The bright moonlight spilled onto the beach, reflecting flickering blue lights that made the beach look especially mystical and beautiful.
But beneath that beautiful sight hid terrifying dangers that made one's heart thump wildly.
That wasn't seaweed but large numbers of stranded jellyfish.
And nearby, many snakes that became active at night had also come out, crawling around looking for prey.
This was a damn poison island!
Tang Xiaoguo complained, "Why are there so many snakes on this island!"
Lu Zhe pondered, "Some islands have unique geological landforms more suited for certain species to survive! There are a lot of rocks here. During the day, the snakes hide in rock crevices and come out to hunt at night."
Jiang Yao thought for a bit, "Hmm, I think there's also a snake island up north around the same size. Just full of snakes. It's even become a tourist attraction now."
Tang Xiaoguo said, "In the future, can we also develop a tourist attraction here? Eat snake meat on Snake Island and experience what it feels like to be a little snake."
Jiang Yao frowned, "Little ancestor, not bitten enough?"
In the end, it was still Ning Shu who was more serious, "Won't Bing Jiejie and Qian Qian be worried if we don't make it back!"
Lu Zhe nodded gravely.
The original plan was to test the waters and return the same day.
But now, because some issues came up, the few of them could only spend the night on Snake Island.
Sending a Morse code signal would work if they had the chance. But their current location was in the woods. Not to mention the matches were on the bamboo raft, even if they lit a fire here the other side might not see it.
To go to the beach and send signals, they would need to break through the encirclement of the swarms of venomous snakes and send Morse code on a beach covered in jellyfish!
The risk was too high for just a simple signal.
Lu Zhe pondered, "There's definitely no way we're getting back today. Everyone take stock of the supplies we have on hand. See if there's a way to send signals.
If no signals can be sent then we'll have to think of a way to get back after sunrise tomorrow."
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
