The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 435 Returning to the Ground
In the splashed water, a blue-purple fish swung its tail, its eyes showing a hint of surprise, but its reaction was very quick.

A blinding burst of light erupted instantly, causing everyone to squint. When the light dissipated, a giant fish, about four or five meters long, appeared in the sky above the sealed land. Its fins, like wings, flapped, and the resulting gale forcefully dispersed the surrounding black mist.

"This...this..." Looking at that incredibly familiar figure, Di You's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and his voice trembled slightly.

"A leaping... leaping fish?!"

"This guy is actually a Leaping Fish?!"

"Surprised, right?" Cao Dongdong chuckled and put his arm around his shoulder. "I've been waiting for you to make that face for a long time."

"Is it the legendary one from Leaping Fish Lake?!" Zhong Tu also looked stunned, but then his expression turned to ecstasy. "We're saved!"

"Everyone in Lanqiu City is saved!"

The previously rampaging Leaping Fish nearly destroyed the entire Yuehu City. Zhong Tu had long heard of how powerful this creature was.

Unexpectedly, the leaping fish that had left had not actually left, but had always stayed by Qin Lang's side.

No wonder Qin Lang repeatedly asked the little fish for its opinion after entering the sealed land; it was an existence on the same level as the Azure Silver Oriole!

Under the excited gazes of the crowd, Leaping Fish gave Qin Lang a resentful look, seemingly blaming him for launching a surprise attack without warning.

But then its gaze fell on the fragment of the original oath below, which was now possessed by the power of nightmares, and its expression became serious.

The enormous mouth of the Leaping Fish slowly opened, and a streak of azure light rapidly gathered in the air above it. Astonishing energy surged rapidly, finally transforming into a heavy cannon that slammed into the fragments of the original oath.

Almost the entire sealing area was engulfed by the energy of that heavy cannon.

Compared to the attack from Zhong Tu's four-star food spirit, the scale of this attack was like the difference between an arm and a thread.

This caused everyone to retreat in the aftershocks, while a strong sense of anticipation appeared in their eyes.

Such a terrifying attack must surely destroy the source of the nightmare, right?

As the light faded, the sealed area was blasted into a crater of unknown depth, and the original oath fragments had vanished without a trace.

"Is this... a success?" Cao Dongdong couldn't help but ask.

"I'm afraid not." Qin Lang carefully examined the leaping fish in mid-air and spoke in a deep voice.

At this moment, the expression on the leaping fish's face did not relax at all; on the contrary, it became even more solemn. Clearly, things were not so simple.

"Woo——"

It suddenly raised its head and roared, then plunged into the deep pit without hesitation.

As the leaping fish disappeared into the deep pit, a loud bang echoed deep within the earth. Qin Lang and the others felt their feet tremble continuously, as if it were an earthquake, making it extremely difficult to even stand still.

After finally managing to stand up again with each other's help, they witnessed a scene that left them speechless.

The Leaping Fish's massive body shot out from the bottom of the pit like a cannonball, crashing heavily onto the stalactites hanging upside down above the cave, shattering a section of the stalactites and emitting a painful groan.

The leaping fish... got knocked away?!

Qin Lang's eyes widened, his mind going completely blank.

The next instant, another figure flew out of the pit.

It was a monster made entirely of black mist, its shape constantly changing. Through the layers of black mist that enveloped its body, one could vaguely see the original oath fragment inside.

"Gah—" Accompanied by the monster's chilling roar, the nightmare power within the entire sealed land seemed to be summoned, surging in from the outer perimeter of the sealed land like a tide.

These nightmarish forces converged on the monster like rivers flowing into the sea, instantly making it larger and its aura even more astonishing.

"The power of nightmares gave birth to its own intelligence?" Zhong Tu's expression changed drastically, and the joy he had shown when the leaping fish appeared vanished from his face once again.

“There were signs of this in the image left by the eighth Silver Jade.” Qin Lang said with difficulty, “After Wei Ran was corrupted by the power of nightmares, he became a different person.”

While everyone was talking, the Leaping Fish had recovered and was fighting the nightmare monster that had appeared again.

The battle between a legendary being and a monster no less powerful than a legendary being underground was incredibly intense. Countless fragments of rock scattered within the enclosed underground space. Qin Lang and the others retreated again and again, and if it weren't for Zhong Tu's spirit-eating creatures protecting them, they would have been injured long ago.

Seeing this out of the corner of his eye, the Leaping Fish, which was originally aiming at the Nightmare Monster, suddenly raised its attack and slammed it directly above itself.

With a loud bang, a hole leading to the ground was instantly punched open.

But the nightmare monster seized the opportunity, controlling the black mist to transform into sharp claws, and viciously grabbed at the belly of the leaping fish.

"Woo!!!"

A gaping wound instantly appeared, and the leaping fish cried out in pain, quickly flying through the hole towards the ground.

"呷-"

The nightmare monster let out a sinister roar and gave chase without hesitation, disappearing into the interior of the sealed land.

"This place is about to collapse, we have to get up here." Listening to the rumbling sounds coming from above, Zhong Tu looked around and said in a deep voice.

Everyone nodded slightly.

The black mist that had blocked their view when they came had been completely absorbed by the nightmare monsters and transformed into their own power, so they returned along the same path much faster than when they entered.

Soon, the group returned to the gate of the sealed land.

"Qin Lang, what should we do with these two?" Cao Dongdong asked, pointing to Liu Chuang and Luo Mi, who were still unconscious on the ground.

"Take them with you," Qin Lang said in a deep voice. "Although these two guys are from the rare animal hunting team, they should still be punished by law, instead of being left to die here under pressure."

"These two got off easy." Cao Dongdong snorted, hoisting the unconscious Liu Chuang onto his back, while holding the equally unconscious Xiao Pi in his other hand.

Zhao Qian was about to step forward and lift Luo Mi up, but someone was faster than her.

“I’ll do it,” Fatima said calmly as she hoisted Lomi onto her shoulder.

"Okay," Zhao Qian nodded. "Thank you for your hard work."

“It’s alright.” Fatima glanced at Lomi, who was unconscious with a furrowed brow, a hint of tenderness flashing in her eyes.

Once they made sure everyone had followed, Qin Lang and the others walked out without hesitation and quickly returned to the surface via the same route they had come from.

The sounds of battle, faintly audible underground, grew clearer on the surface. Two massive figures, one blue and one black, were exchanging blows at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow, the aftershocks creating gusts of wind.

After watching for a while, Qin Lang's expression darkened slightly.

"Oops!"

"Because of her injury, Xiao Cai is at a disadvantage!"

(End of this chapter)