Seeing Wang Hao in position, Wang Yanzhao immediately enacted their prearranged plan, casting a spell toward the lake.
With a series of thunderous booms, the water erupted, but quickly settled. Suddenly it began churning violently, as if boiling.
From its depths emerged a massive, shark-sized Demon Fish with a blood-stained maw.
Spotting a single Qi Refinement–stage human standing before it, the fish opened its gaping mouth—large enough to swallow a person whole—and let out a furious roar.
The Demon Fish struck repeatedly, but fortunately Wang Yanfeng had already retreated out of range and was untouched.
Cautious by nature, the Demon Fish waited a moment, saw no further movement, and then pursued Wang Yanfeng along the stream.
Wang Yanfeng sporadically scattered spirit talismans, deliberately taunting the fish.
Once the Demon Fish had followed him away, Wang Hao silently submerged himself, minimizing disturbance as he crept toward the small island at the lake's center.
When he was only ten meters away from the Ningyuan Condensation Tree, Wang Hao stopped.
That distance was already close enough to act and harvest the fruit.
He summoned his Flamewind Sword and, in one swift motion, sliced off all three Ningyuan Condensation Fruits.
Then, using the Attraction Technique, he pulled them into his Storage Pouch.
Watching the seeds on his farm glow inside his mind's eye, he swam back to shore without looking back!
During that time, a few First-Rank Demon Beasts in the lake had detected Wang Hao, but he was so fast that he reached land before they could catch him.
Once on solid ground, Wang Hao felt no fear of those First-Rank Demon Beasts, decapitating each with a single sword strike as they pursued.
He did not linger to continue the fight. After dispatching the few pursuing demons, he signaled the others to fall back, leaving even the demon carcasses behind and vanishing via the Earth-Evasion Technique.
Meanwhile, after Wang Yanfeng had lured the Demon Fish into the formation, he and Li Derong vigorously channeled spiritual energy to sustain it, hoping to keep the fish trapped just long enough to buy Wang Hao time.
Since everything had gone exceedingly smoothly for Wang Hao, the two did not prolong their confrontation. They abandoned the formation's core, gathered the formation plaque, and retreated swiftly.
Without their support, the formation was shattered by the Demon Fish in an instant.
By then, however, the three were already over a hundred li away.
The Demon Fish could not leave the water, so it glared at the stolen Ningyuan Condensation Fruits lying at the water's edge, roared in frustration a few times, and finally sank back into the depths to rest.
Second-Rank Demon Beasts live long lives. For that fish, only fifty years had passed, so it could afford to wait.
"Phew, that was close!" Wang Hao sighed in relief, wiping sweat from his brow. "Thankfully Fairy Li's Spiritual Hiding Incense worked. Otherwise, I never would have approached the Ningyuan Condensation Fruit so easily!"
He handed the fruits in his hand to his companions.
Wang Yanfeng took the Ningyuan Condensation Fruit carefully.
Given his own aptitude, he had no priority for the clan's Foundation Establishment PILL. Now that the chance for Foundation Establishment stood before him, he longed to swallow it and refine immediately.
Li Derong, for her part, was far more composed.
She looked at Wang Hao and asked, "Do you intend to establish your foundation here in the valley?"
Wang Hao gave a wry smile. "No. My Five Spiritual Roots cannot compare to yours. If I consumed the Ningyuan Condensation Fruit hastily, I'd probably just explode. I'd rather take it back and have it refined into a Foundation Establishment Pill first!"
"You know how to refine Foundation Establishment Pills?" Li Derong asked in surprise.
Wang Hao shook his head. "Of course not. But Old Wang is now a mid Second-Rank alchemist. Give him a few years, and he just might pull it off!"
Wang Yanfeng also caught on to the situation. With only his three Spiritual Roots, his odds of establishing a foundation directly with the Ningyuan Condensation Fruit were low. He said, "From what I know, the family patriarch is a high Second-Rank alchemist. Perhaps we can ask him to open a furnace and refine the pills! However, this matter must be kept absolutely secret, Fairy Li—do you understand?"
"I understand its importance," she replied, handing the Ningyuan Condensation Fruit back to Wang Hao. "My Li Clan will supply the other auxiliary medicines. Two Foundation Establishment Pills will suffice—right?"
"Well…" Wang Hao hesitated for a moment, then returned the fruit. "I will do my utmost to facilitate this, but the final decision rests with the family patriarch. Fairy Li, perhaps you can go back and invite the Li Clan patriarch to come discuss?"
Li Derong said, "No need. This place is closer to your Wang Clan's Ruojun Mountains. Once we are out, I will go with you and ask Elder Wang's opinion first. But how will we get out of here—shall we wait for the Golden-Eyed Duck?"
Hearing that, Wang Hao grinned, patted his spirit pouch, and unleashed Ya Ya the Golden-Eyed Duck. "I have just observed some unusual movements from Ya Ya near the lake. Upon investigation, I realized she has completed her breakthrough."
At that news, the two were radiant.
After years spent at the valley's bottom, they would finally be able to leave.
In truth, the Golden-Eyed Duck had awakened before now, but Wang Hao had wanted to secure the Ningyuan Condensation Fruit's seeds first, so he had not mentioned it to them.
Now that Ya Ya was advancing to High First-Rank as a spirit beast, she had grown significantly and could carry two people aloft.
Wang Hao sent Wang Yanfeng and Li Derong out of the valley in shifts.
Just as he was about to return quickly to the Ruojun Mountains, two figures suddenly blocked his path.
These two newcomers stood squarely in the way of the three of them.
At first, Wang Hao intended to mock their recklessness, but upon perceiving their auras, his expression shifted abruptly.
Those two were actually Foundation Establishment–stage cultivators!
A cultivator in black robes spat out the leaf he'd been chewing and laughed. "Well, well, we're lucky today—fat lambs have come right to us!"
"Judging by their clothing, they're from the Li and Wang families of Qingniu Market," said the other cultivator in gray robes, eyeing the trio with hungry intent. "Family disciples usually have resources. We two have indeed scored a boon!"
"You've eaten bear hearts and leopard viscera? How dare you meddle with people from my Wang Clan?" Wang Yanfeng could not contain himself and shouted.
"Hahaha!" The two Foundation Establishment cultivators exchanged glances. "A mere Wang Clan Establishment cultivator—what great prestige. Boy, even if your clan's ancestor were here, this dad would still strip off a few pounds of fat first!"
Wang Yanfeng continued arguing with them.
Wang Hao quickly sent a voice-transmission to Li Derong: "Fairy Li, if you distract a single Foundation Establishment cultivator, can you escape?"
As the seed of Foundation Establishment in the Li Clan, Li Derong naturally had trump cards, so she answered, "If it's only one, of course I can handle it!"
"Good—then let's split up and flee. You distract the one in gray, I'll handle the one in black. My Eighth Uncle isn't very skilled in combat; leaving him here would be a burden. Let him mount my spirit beast and go on ahead to the Ruojun Mountains to report!"
"Agreed—let's meet at Ruojun Mountain!" With that, Li Derong whipped out her long yellow sash and assaulted the cultivator in gray robes, leaving Wang Hao stunned.
"Damn, why is this woman always so impatient!" he thought as he rapidly sent a transmission to Wang Yanfeng, telling him to mount Ya Ya and flee, while Wang Hao drew forth the Earth-Mixing Seal (a treasure technique) to engage the cultivator in black.
The gray-robed cultivator quickly parried, sneering, "Heh, these juniors are certainly in a hurry. Fine—this dad will send you to the Underworld!"
The black-robed cultivator's eyes gleamed when he saw Wang Hao draw the Earth-Mixing Seal. "A Second-Rank magic tool—definitely a fat lamb. Brother, don't kill that girl; your brother hasn't seen meat for months!"
The gray-robed man replied, "Understood." Then, seeing Wang Yanfeng release the Golden-Eyed Duck and prepare to flee, he struck swiftly to block him: "Where do you think you're going!"
Thanks to this distraction, Li Derong's ferocious attack struck the large man's back, opening a bloody wound.
The gray-robed cultivator reeled, and his incantation was thrown off course.
Wang Yanfeng seized the opportunity to put distance between them and escape.
The gray-robed cultivator seethed. "Hah—junior, you're courting death!"
Wang Hao continued fighting while retreating, extremely exasperated.
He had just obtained the Ningyuan Condensation Fruit, and before he could even savor the victory, bandits had appeared.
Whom could he blame?
He had lived so cautiously all this time, never having offended anyone.
Even some hostile acts by certain Wang Clan members, he had swallowed in silence.
Why was this happening now?
Damn this sky—it never let a person rest in peace!