Chapter 170: Chapter 168: I Even Scare Myself

A colossal shadow blotted out the sky, pressing down on them.

Everyone had to look up just to see the true form of this behemoth.

It was a Poison Beetle King!

It was as massive as a small mountain, looming right behind them.

Without a doubt, falling behind the Poison Beetle King meant certain death, with not a shred of hope for survival.

At this moment, only the Blood Refining Alliance, the Guo Family, the Zhongg Family, and a team of Loose Cultivators were at the front—about a hundred people in total!

They hadn’t been in the valley for long. Hundreds of people had been reduced to just over a hundred. The thought alone was chilling to the bone.

"Hurry, don’t let the Poison Beetle King catch up!"

It was unclear who shouted, but then everyone started to dash madly toward the valley’s entrance.

The Poison Beetle King was bound by a Restriction and could only move within the valley. It couldn’t leave. Therefore, their only hope for survival was to get out of the valley alive.

"HISSS..."

However, just as everyone started moving, they felt a rain of poison descend from the sky, showering down on them.

This was the venom spat by the Poison Beetle King. A single gape of its maw unleashed what seemed like a poisonous downpour.

The venom was ink-black, countless times more toxic than the poison released by the previous Poisonous Beetles. Anyone below the Foundation Establishment Realm would die on contact.

Even Jiang Jichen, Yee Youmeng, and Luoo Long’s expressions turned grim. They dared not touch the Poison Beetle King’s venom.

"This Poison Beetle King must have already entered the Earth-level Spirit Insect Realm! It’s terrifying, equivalent to a human at the Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm."

Someone shouted, simultaneously running forward with all their might.

At a time like this, it was every man for himself. Everyone could only use their own life-saving techniques and charge for the valley exit.

If you were too slow, death was the only outcome, your body reduced to blackened, withered bones.

Basically, no one below the level of a Grandmaster could survive this rain of poison. They all died.

Of course, Jiang Jichen, Yee Youmeng, and Luoo Long were exceptions. Their escape skills surpassed even many Grandmasters. Especially under Jiang Jichen’s lead, they easily moved to the very front of the group.

In the end, only about fifty people made it out of the area where the poison rain fell.

Jiang Jichen ended up in a line with the group from the Blood Refining Alliance, as well as Zhongg Li, Guo Qishan, the Independent Cultivator Captain, and five other Profound Level Foundation Establishment Middle Realm Cultivators.

Zhongg Li was with Wei Xiaohao. Of course, he had activated a Secret Artifact; his body was wreathed in a treasured light, his speed had surged, and he had no fear of the venom.

Many of the others had also used their life-saving Secret Artifacts to varying degrees. That was how they managed to escape to the front and avoid the poison rain sprayed by the Poison Beetle King.

"Jiang Jichen, I’m going to kill you!"

Guo Qishan thought of his team, now almost completely wiped out with only a few survivors. He thought of his brother, also killed by Jiang Jichen. His hatred for the man was now bone-deep.

They were now running side-by-side, not far apart, but the red-caped captain of the Blood Refining Alliance stood between them.

The people from the Blood Refining Alliance were indeed powerful. Only two of their ten members had fallen, which showed just how astonishing their strength was.

Jiang Jichen showed no fear at all, smiling coldly. "You can try. I doubt I can’t hold you back. When the Poison Beetle King gets here, we’ll see whose luck is good enough to survive. And my luck has always been good!"

Hearing Jiang Jichen’s words, Guo Qishan’s expression flickered. He knew Jiang Jichen was speaking the truth. He had witnessed Jiang Jichen’s strength firsthand; if Jiang Jichen fought with reckless abandon, he really might be able to stall him for a moment.

After a moment of wavering thought, Guo Qishan finally spoke, "Isn’t this whole situation your fault? You’re the one to blame for all this! Brother Blood Hand, we should kill him!"

The captain of the Blood Refining Alliance was known as Blood Hand. He didn’t respond to Guo Qishan’s words, merely giving him a faint, meaningful glance.

The meaning was clear: ’You want to use me? Let’s see if you have what it takes.’

Jiang Jichen retorted, "So what if I’m the one who caused it? All of you wanted to kill me, so I’m not allowed to fight back? The strong live, the weak die. That’s the rule of your Noble Families, isn’t it?"

After speaking to Guo Qishan, Jiang Jichen turned to the Blood Refining Alliance captain. "Brother Blood Hand, I feel a kinship with you at first sight. I am deeply impressed by your character. Why don’t we team up, kill everyone else? I only want their lives; all their Treasure Medicines and other things can be yours. How about it?"

Hearing Jiang Jichen’s overly familiar tone, everyone was speechless, internally cursing his shamelessness.

Blood Hand’s gaze fell on Jiang Jichen, a hint of interest in his eyes. His voice was grim as he said, "You are only at the Innate Sixth Layer. If you cooperate with me, what help could you possibly be?"

"To be honest, Brother Blood Hand, I have many secret techniques. Once I unleash them, even I’m afraid of myself! So rest assured, if we team up, we’ll sweep through everything. These guys won’t even be a footnote!" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Jiang Jichen spoke with overflowing confidence and immense pride.

Blood Hand watched the young man speak so eloquently, feeling a little astonished.

Logically, a Cultivator at the Innate Sixth Layer shouldn’t even have the right to stand before him, or rather, wouldn’t dare to.

Even some of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the Blood Refining Alliance were trembling before him. And beside him, Guo Qishan, Zhongg Li, and the Independent Cultivator Captain were clearly extremely wary of him, maintaining what they considered a safe distance.

Only Jiang Jichen seemed completely oblivious, standing extremely close to him—less than half a meter away—as if they were old friends.

"Oh? You’re quite confident. But are you aware that no one who has ever dared to come within a meter of me is still alive?"

Blood Hand said faintly.

Only then did Jiang Jichen sneak a glance and realize it was true. Even Blood Hand’s own subordinates from the Blood Refining Alliance were more than a meter away from him. He, on the other hand, had become the person closest to him.

"This..."

Jiang Jichen sucked in a cold breath. ’I think I’ve been too careless,’ he thought.

"Brother Blood Hand, how can their relationship with you compare to ours? We’re comrades-in-arms now! Look, the Poison Beetle King is coming! If we don’t team up this time, we’re all done for!"

Jiang Jichen suddenly turned and pointed at the Poison Beetle King, which was now not far behind them. Seizing the opportunity, he quietly increased the distance between himself and Blood Hand, finally putting more than a meter between them.

Only then did Jiang Jichen let out a sigh of relief.

This Blood Hand was too powerful, unfathomably so. Jiang Jichen’s heart was still pounding.

No one noticed Jiang Jichen’s subtle movements. Instead, his reminder made them realize that the Poison Beetle King was truly catching up. They were still several hundred breaths’ worth of distance from the valley exit.

Blood Hand finally spoke. "In that case, it’s best we all put aside our grudges for now and work together to get out of this valley. If anyone drags us down or has any treacherous thoughts, they will die!"

His voice was very soft, but Jiang Jichen noticed that no one dared to refute his words.

"Brother Blood Hand, rest assured! I stand firmly with you! We advance and retreat together, through life and death..."

Jiang Jichen’s tragically heroic voice echoed through the valley. Everyone who heard it was left speechless, cursing him internally.

’Shameless bastard!’