The Programmer Cultivator

Chapter 115 - 3: Striking at the Same Time

This appeared to be a natural rock cave at the base of a tree. From beneath a massive stump, a natural cavern sloped gently downward.

Perhaps because it was located deep in the mountain forest, the entire cave felt somewhat damp.

A faint Spiritual Light glowed in everyone’s eyes, so the darkness didn’t hinder the group in the slightest.

The cavern was vast and deep.

It looked like an ancient karst cave, showing signs of an underground river.

After walking for a short while, they came upon an underground river, and it was quite wide.

On the other side of the river was a wide stone platform. The platform was concave, resembling a nest. Behind it lay a profound darkness.

Faint, fluorescent lights flickered on the cavern ceiling, where subterranean microorganisms drifted about.

"There it is."

Feng Mingyou’s face lit up with joy. He pointed to a corner of the stone platform across the river, close to the water’s edge. A small herb, its leaves emitting a faint, cyan-green fluorescent glow, was swaying gently.

The small herb was like a living piece of cyan jade. Its jade-like leaves gave off an eerie, cool glow, looking exceptionally beautiful in the darkness of the cave.

The group surveyed their surroundings. Purple light flashed in Yuling’s eyes, and after a moment, she nodded to the others.

Vines shot out from under Zhang Deming’s feet, growing and intertwining with incredible speed to form a bridge connecting to the other side.

Feng Mingyou, who knew the most about the herb, went first. With the wind seemingly at his feet, he tapped lightly on the Vines and floated across.

Ling’er and Yuling glided over next. After a slight hesitation, Zhang Deming followed them.

Seeing this, the remaining two, Hek Tuan and Hua Wei, quietly followed close behind.

Feng Mingyou stepped forward, ready to begin.

Just then, Ling’er suddenly spoke up, "Be careful. The Cyan Jade Ghost can cure a hundred poisons, but it must grow in a place of extreme toxicity."

Feng Mingyou smiled. "Don’t worry, Junior Sister Ling’er. I’m aware of that."

With that, he took out his tools and began carefully digging up the Medicinal Herb.

Zhang Deming, meanwhile, was inspecting the smooth stone platform. It was quite large, several square meters at least.

When he reached the concave part of the platform, Zhang Deming froze for a second.

There, at its center, were some white fragments.

Zhang Deming stepped forward for a closer look. A Vine sprouted from his palm and curled around a white fragment for inspection. ’Is this... an eggshell?’

’This is not good!’

Zhang Deming spun around abruptly. "That scorpion from before," he asked, "was it male or female?"

The sudden question made the others, who were busy looking for any other treasures, pause in surprise.

Yuling answered hesitantly, "It was probably a male. Why?"

"In that case," Zhang Deming said, "I don’t think we’re finished here."

"I don’t think we are either..."

Just then, Hua Wei’s stiff voice rang out.

Everyone looked in the direction he was facing. From the depths of the cave, in the shadows behind the stone platform, a female scorpion slowly emerged. It was about twice the size of the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion they had fought earlier.

They knew it was the female because its entire body was covered in a dense, crawling mass of countless baby scorpions.

The babies formed a sphere, completely encasing their mother’s body, leaving only her legs, tail, and head exposed.

The sight of the writhing mass was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

This was exactly what Hua Wei had seen, which was why his voice had gone stiff.

The mother scorpion’s eyes glinted with a cold light as it slowly advanced on the group.

Feng Mingyou, who had been digging up the herb, no longer cared about damaging the roots. He hastily yanked the Cyan Jade Ghost from the ground.

He pulled a Jade Box from his bag and swiftly packed the herb away.

The group immediately began to back away carefully, step by step. The Vine bridge by the river quickly unraveled, separating into several individual Vines.

By the time they had carefully backed up to the edge of the dark river, there was a single Vine waiting behind each of them.

"Run!"

At Zhang Deming’s word, the group, already poised for action, burst into motion. With wind at their heels, they turned, tapped lightly on the vines, and shot across to the other side.

As they moved, the mother Hundred Poisonous Scorpion lunged after them.

Reaching the river’s edge, it crouched down and then launched itself into the air, skillfully flipping over in mid-flight.

In an instant, it was clinging to the cavern ceiling. Its legs, like spears, stabbed into the rock, and it scurried after them upside down at terrifying speed.

The group tapped lightly on the vines, gliding gently across the river.

They didn’t stop for a second, heading straight for the cave entrance.

There wasn’t enough room in the cavern; it was unsuitable for a group attack.

If they engaged in Combat here, the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion would have the complete terrain advantage, putting Zhang Deming and his party at a severe disadvantage.

As he ran, Zhang Deming glanced back.

He saw they hadn’t shaken it off in the slightest; in fact, the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion was already preparing to lunge at them.

He quickly threw out seeds with both hands. Spiritual Power surged, and Vines instantly shot out, lashing and tangling with the Hundred Poisonous Scorpion behind them.

The relentless pressure eased for a moment. However, the act of Casting had slowed him down, and a small gap had formed between him and his teammates.

Light Wings vibrated at Zhang Deming’s heels, and he instantly accelerated, closing the distance.

Running at full speed, it only took a moment for the cave entrance to appear before them.

"Feng Mingyou!"

Hek Tuan yelled the moment he burst out of the cave.

Immediately, he dropped and rolled on the ground. The clothes he had just put on ripped apart again—this time, not even a loincloth or underwear remained.

As he hit the ground, his entire body began to writhe.

His body began to elongate and soften, twisting ceaselessly.

Bloodline: Python Transformation!

By the time the rest of the group burst out of the cave, he was already twisting and thrashing on the ground, having transformed into a ten-meter-long, cyan giant python.