Chapter 31: A terrifying encounter

The top of the stone pillar was a platform about one meter in diameter, very close to the gap at the top of the cave. The moonlight shone on the platform, and the purple plants with a slight glow swayed gently with the faint wind at the top of the cave.

I didn’t want to admit that I was a little afraid of heights. Standing on a stone pillar dozens of meters high, with a narrow top, made my heart tighten. I tried not to look down. I slowly crouched down. Xiao Chengqian’s flashlight light could no longer reach here completely, but with the moonlight, everything here was clearly visible.

I will never forget the dream that solved the old village chief’s problem, and I will never forget the purple plant I saw in the dream. Even today, every detail of it is still very clearly presented in my mind. The moment I saw the purple plant at the top of the stone pillar, I noticed a problem. There was a slight difference between this purple plant and the one at the bottom of the river.

The difference is that the edges of this purple plant are actually bearing strange fruit. The fruit is not very big, about the size of my thumb, round, with a strange red color in the purple skin, which looks quite incongruous.

It should be the same plant, the only difference is whether it bears fruit or not. I saw a few withered leaves at the edge of this purple plant, as well as the stem that is unique to the fruit. Could it be…

I imagined a picture in my mind. The purple plant bore fruit, ripened, and the leaves and branches near the fruit withered, then the fruit fell into the pond, and then it was eaten by creatures in the water…

If that’s the case, then the appearance of the water monster in the X pool would have a reasonable explanation! I also have a certain understanding of the effects of this plant. Think about the new flesh on the face of the old village chief and the rotten flesh, and then think about the huge body of the water monster!

This plant should be able to promote cell division like crazy, but humans and animals are different after all. It has turned humans into zombies long ago, but it has turned animals into monsters.

This plant is a temptation. It has a strong regenerative ability, but this temptation from the “devil” is something I am not blessed with. After figuring out the whole story, I did not hesitate to reach out and decided to uproot the purple plant!

I was not fast, I was very careful, I did not leave the plant with a little bit of root, when the spring breeze blows again, after all, I do not know how its survival ability.

I forgot that I was at the top of the stone pillar, and I was so focused on the task that I forgot about time. It wasn’t until Xiao Chengqian yelled from below, “Chen Chengyi, what are you doing up there? It’s been half an hour,”

I only reacted then, smiled apologetically at Xiao Chengqian and shouted, “It’s almost done.” But because I was talking, I was a little distracted and almost slipped. I braced myself with my hand, but accidentally crushed a fruit.

This was a minor incident, but the next moment a strange fragrance inexplicably wafted out. It was a strong fruity aroma combined with a peculiar, indescribable fragrance that kept stimulating my nose. This fragrance did not bring people an olfactory enjoyment, but rather a strong stimulation of hunger and extreme activity of the taste buds.

I kept swallowing my saliva, and the crushed fruit in my palm was undoubtedly a very rich meal in my eyes. I was so hungry that I subconsciously picked up the fruit and wanted to put it in my mouth.

“Fuck, Chengyi, you brought perfume down and broke it. How come it smells so good in this hole? I realized that I was hungry. What brand of perfume is this and does it have this effect?” Xiao Chengqian’s voice came in a rush, but it suddenly made me sober up, who only wanted to swallow the fruit frantically.

Cold sweat immediately covered my forehead. I didn’t expect this fruit to have such a ‘temptation’ that it could even shake the will of my soul. It was too powerful! If I swallowed it…

I didn’t have time to explain to Xiao Chengqian, so I said, “Let’s talk about it later.” Then I silently recited the mantra of tranquility in my heart, firmly grasped the purple plant, and began to climb down the stone pillar.

Such plants, you can’t just rip them off. Fire can burn everything, so you have to take it out and use fire to solve it.

It was slightly easier to come down than to go up, and I descended quickly. The sense of crisis in my heart was still lingering, and I didn’t want to delay too much in this cave. I just wanted to finish everything quickly and get out.

In less than ten minutes, I had already climbed to the bottom of the stone pillar, less than three meters from the water surface. Looking at the dark water, I inexplicably got goosebumps all over my body. I took a deep breath, then gathered my feet and jumped into the water from the stone pillar.

With the help of my feet, I could jump further and spend less time in the water.

With a splash, the water rippled out. I tried to empty my mind and think of nothing, grabbed the purple plant and swam as hard as I could towards the shore.

I hoped that everything would be fine, that I would be able to… But after less than a minute in the water, I was gripped by a strong sense of tension and crisis. I couldn’t help but stare in horror at the water, almost forgetting to swim.

This strong sense of crisis had affected my thinking and my heart, a situation I had never experienced before in my life.

I was so scared that I broke into a cold sweat. I gritted my teeth and tried to swim forward. The shore, which was not far away, had become a paradise in my eyes.

Xiao Chengqian was sitting on the shore waiting for me. He didn’t realize anything, but I was almost desperate in the water. The people on the shore might not feel it, but I clearly felt it. The water was undulating strangely, coming from under the water.

At this moment, what else could I do? I smiled resolutely, then threw the purple plant in my hand to the shore, where it landed not far behind Xiao Chengqian.

Xiao Chengqian stood up abruptly, and his expression became somewhat uncertain. He looked at me nervously and shouted, “Chengyi, what are you doing?”

He is, after all, a descendant of the Mountain School. If his spiritual awareness was not outstanding, it would not have been possible for his grandfather to focus on cultivating him. Xiao Chengqian probably sensed the danger as well.

But what could I say? I swam hard forward, shouting, “Don’t touch the fruit of that plant. If it tempts you, recite the mantra of tranquility, and then destroy the plant with fire.”

“Damn it, Chengyi, hurry…” Xiao Chengqian suddenly realized what was going on and shouted at me, but he only shouted once, and a look of absolute determination appeared in his eyes. Then he suddenly began to chant and step on the five points of the compass, but would it work?

I don’t know if it worked or not, I could only row hard forward, but in the next moment, the strange fluctuations in the entire pool had disappeared, and everything became quiet.

But at that moment, I was horrified, and all my hair stood on end. Then, a loud noise from under the water suddenly reached my ears, as if the entire pool had shattered.

I felt the incredible momentum behind me, and it almost took my breath away. My only reaction at the moment was to turn my head numbly, and what came into my eyes was a huge figure, exuding a strong and strange fishy smell. A pair of cold eyes, much larger than a cow’s eyes, were staring at me coldly.

What the hell is it? Is it a snake? This is the typical attack method of a poisonous snake, standing up and preparing to attack its enemy. But it’s not a snake, is it? How could a snake have long dorsal fins on its back? Otherwise, it would be a ‘banded fish’?

I had no more energy to be a bachelor. A ribbon fish can’t have such strange colored scales with purple stripes. These are typical snake scales. But it also has the same thin front limbs as the X pool water monster. It’s different from the dragon’s claws. The front limbs it extends out look like two dead branches, looking weak but exceptionally ferocious!

I froze. I thought I was finished. How could I deal with such a monster?

Before I could think much more, the monster moved its body, causing a huge splash of water, pushing me away, and then it began to sink again…

My head was hit by the huge splash of water at that moment, and then suddenly sank. My entire consciousness was blurred for a moment, and the water in the pond kept pouring into my nose and mouth at that moment, choking me and making me instantly sober up.

The buoyancy of the water pulled me out of the water again. I was surprised that the monster didn’t attack me at first, but the moment I surfaced, I was even more terrified.

I saw the monster climbing towards the stone pillar, and half of its terrifying body appeared before my eyes…