I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 232 - 230: Escape (Part 1)

The entire tunnel was compressed by the giant sand snake’s body, with countless soil blocks falling, and everyone dodged while closely following the snake’s tail.

"Boom——" A loud noise echoed, and it seemed the earth layer ahead had collapsed, causing a large amount of dust to squeeze through the gaps between the sand snake’s body and the tunnel walls. Chu Yunyi quickly raised a wind array to protect everyone within it.

After the dust settled, everyone was horrified to find the sand snake had vanished; only a pitch-black empty tunnel remained before them.

Cui Tianxiao walked forward, asking, "Where did it go?"

Just as he was about to go forward and see what happened, Chu Yunyi shouted, "Ah Xiao, come back!"

The sand snake burrowed through another giant tunnel, much larger than its own body, creating a space it could turn around in. The sand snake was currently inside, changing direction.

The sand snake’s orange body reappeared in the tunnel, but unlike before, this time it was facing them with its head.

The entire sand snake head was dominated by a massive mouthpiece, with three membranous lobes wrapping around it. Now, the three lobes opened like an orchid, revealing the abyss-like esophagus and circle of crusher-like teeth inside, biting toward Cui Tianxiao.

The sudden change left Cui Tianxiao no time to escape, forcing him to watch as the sand snake’s lobes enveloped him.

As Cui Tianxiao closed his eyes in despair, waiting for death, a rope swung from behind, tying around his waist. In the next second, he was pulled back with great force, evading the sand snake’s abyss-like maw. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Li Xing quickly pulled Cui Tianxiao back to the group, grabbed his collar, lifted him, and shoved him forward, yelling, "Run!"

The four of them desperately ran forward, with Chu Yunyi manipulating the airflow to help increase their speed to the maximum.

Even though they were moving fast, the sand snake’s size gave it an advantage; a slight leap forward and it could close the distance between them indefinitely.

The sand snake had no eyes or nose, but it could sense its surroundings using tactile cells distributed in the soft skin of its head.

The more the four ran, the bigger the commotion they caused, attracting more of the sand snake’s attention. The snake’s lobes began actively swallowing the four little things daring to poke its rear.

A huge suction force came from behind, and Li Xing turned back, confronting the sand snake’s abyssal mouth, hot air carrying a thick stench hit her face, suffocating her.

Li Xing frowned with displeasure, uncertain if this was the only living adult sand snake. Though she didn’t harm it, unwilling to bear the karmic debt of exterminating a species, it didn’t mean the snake could recklessly threaten her safety.

Cultivators should be decisive in killing. The most effective way to handle threats is to eliminate them!

Li Xing no longer hesitated, elegantly summoned Three Thousand Lotus. Like Hellfire vapor waves, it appeared behind the group, instantly transforming into a firewall, blocking the sand snake.

"Sizzle——!"

Feeling the burning wave from the front that could destroy everything, the sand snake fearfully stopped. Yet, due to its simple body structure, its reflex arc was particularly long. Its head had stopped, but the tail was still moving forward.

Under inertia, the sand snake’s head unexpectedly got burnt nearly a third by the Three Thousand Lotus.

Any other Star Beast would have died from such severe injuries, but the sand snake’s simple structure made it extremely resilient. Nevertheless, it let out a loud roar, its deformed mouthpiece trembling like sifted chaff, teeth grinding noisily.

With a slight reveal of Three Thousand Lotus, transforming into a Fire Phoenix, it flapped its wings, hovering in front of the sand snake’s head, silently mocking it.

Star Beasts have an instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm. Now, the sand snake had no mind to chase the four humans; all it wanted was to flee!

Three Thousand Lotus noticed the sand snake’s fear, teasingly swooping toward it, causing the sand snake to abandon thoughts of retreating.

It tried to raise its head as much as possible, opened its deformed mouthpiece, and bit into the tunnel ceiling, swallowing soil into its belly, like a shield machine, escaping upwards at maximum speed.

Seeing the sand snake flee, Ye Qingting’s heart finally relaxed. He glanced at Li Xing, who was calmly "controlling Primordial Fire," arms folded.

Ye Qingting sighed, they were all Heavenly Armor-level Primordial Spirits, but in terms of ferocity, he couldn’t compare to Li Xing!

Li Xing is still young and will grow stronger; being her friend and teammate would mean constantly dealing with the feeling of having one’s pride frequently rubbed.

They waited for five minutes until the sand snake’s last segment of tail fully entered the tunnel; Li Xing hurled out Immortal Binding Rope, tying it on the sand snake’s scales. Testing the rope’s sturdiness, she nodded with satisfaction.

"Everyone, follow along. This time, it shouldn’t dare to run wildly."

After speaking, Li Xing’s body was dragged by the sand snake, like riding an elevator, into the tunnel. The other three sequentially grabbed the rope, hanging below Li Xing.

Three Thousand Lotus spiraled beneath them, providing illumination and deterring sand worms and Star Beasts attempting to ambush them.

——————

Ruoye Desert.

The time had reached early morning, and it had been over eight hours since the four students went missing.

This time in the desert should be the darkest and most tranquil of the day. Day Star Beasts’ sweet dreams were ongoing, while Night Star Beasts had finished their feasts, licking their fur, preparing to greet dawn.

But today was different from usual, as seventeen temporary camps were brightly lit, flying devices came and went, and the light from the Transmission Arrays repeatedly pierced the darkness.

Human shouting, slogans, and the deafening noise from huge machinery completely shattered the desert’s tranquility. Strong Elemental Spirits emitted Elemental Power waves, making countless low-level Star Beasts shiver in fear.

Wang Shun, acting as the temporary leader of the rescue group, had to constantly navigate between seventeen exits delivering commands and assigning tasks. At this moment, he had already met up with Chu Baili, and together they arrived at the largest Exit 9.

Eight hours of high tension, even for Heavenly Armor-level Elemental Spirits, was exhausting. Wang Shun’s forehead displayed deep vertical lines, his head pounding.

Chu Baili had his hands clasped inside his sleeves, anxiously rubbing them.

"Wang Shun, is there still no news?"

Wang Shun shook his head, "Not yet."

"Any discoveries at the other sixteen exits?"

"None either."

"Sigh——!"

Wrinkles on Chu Baili’s brows and around his eyes deepened significantly, as if aging ten years.

The unexpected incident at the military academy competition had long been reported back to the Elder Council. Elder Ji Jingtang sent Chen Luxi and Xiang Wuya to assist Chu Baili in thoroughly investigating the matter.

With the strong involvement of the two elders, apart from the First Legion, the other three major legions had sent their best interrogation personnel.

After thorough investigation, the Xi Yuan competition group indeed wasn’t clean. A total of over sixty involved individuals were captured thus far, all holding key positions as leaders and cadres. Even the deputy head of the competition group was caught.

The deputy head held the highest position among them, undoubtedly a key interrogation target.

According to him, a mysterious person had begun contacting him ten years ago. Initially, he was only asked to help with harmless minor tasks within his jurisdiction. If he could accomplish them, a generous reward awaited him. However, even if the deputy declined, a thank-you gift would still be given.

The deputy confessed this person was very measured in actions, causing no resentment whatsoever, and the bribery method was extremely safe. Even professionals couldn’t find traces. Succumbing to monetary temptations, the deputy fell.

Once becoming a partner with the mysterious figure, the deputy had inquired about their identity, but the person remained tight-lipped, always wearing a mask when meeting them. They rarely issued orders, no more than three times a year, all low-risk tasks.

This time, the figure only instructed the deputy head to deliberately overlook the Competition Banner Area in the final inspection.

The deputy head thought, since previous inspections had no abnormal reports, neglecting the final check wouldn’t matter, so he agreed.

Until the incident came to light, the deputy’s serious error became glaringly obvious.