I Have 10 Equipment Slots-Chapter 157 - 113: A Surprising New Source Fruit
"One tunnel each?" Zhong Tianlang turned to look at Gu Zheng, Cheng Zong, and the others. "The scope of this cavern system is probably as vast as the Four Directions Prefecture City on the surface. It’ll likely take us a long time to find the Rule Array Hub."
"Let’s split up."
Gushuncheng spoke up. "If we search separately, we can save time. We’re all Super Bodies, so we don’t need to fear any Demon Fiends that might appear here."
"Agreed," Cheng Zong nodded.
"I have no problem with that either," Gu Zheng added.
"Then we’ll split up." Zhong Tianlang waved his hand, making the decision. "Everyone, be careful. If you run into those people from the Noble Families, there’s no need to worry. I’ve already met with them and spoken to them."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Cheng Zong bowed.
Gu Zheng followed suit, bowing and offering his thanks.
Zhang Sanshi, Zhou Meng, and Gushuncheng bowed as well.
"I said we’re companions, what’s there to thank me for?" Zhong Tianlang raised a hand, smiling as he became the first to walk toward one of the tunnels.
Cheng Zong was second, Zhang Sanshi third, and Gu Zheng fourth.
Each person chose a tunnel and walked into its depths.
Less than a hundred meters into the tunnel Gu Zheng had chosen, the passageway began to narrow.
It was originally over two meters high, making it easy to walk upright.
Now it had gradually shrunk to 1.8 meters, forcing Gu Zheng to bend over to continue forward.
After walking a few dozen more meters, a foul wind suddenly rushed toward him.
WHOOSH—
BOOM!
Without even looking, Gu Zheng immediately threw a punch.
The Fist Force, imbued with Fist Intent, shattered the air as it met the attacking Demon Fiend.
With a SQUELCH, it exploded into a shower of mangled flesh, and a putrid stench filled the air.
Spirit Capturing!
[Demon Points +1]
’Barely first-rank?’
As Gu Zheng continued forward, he glanced at the Demon Fiend he had just obliterated. It was over a meter long and resembled a pangolin, but its scales could stand on end like a hedgehog’s quills.
Gu Zheng activated his Eyes of Golden Flame and scanned the area. Finding nothing of note, he bypassed the gory remains and pressed on.
As he rounded a bend, the path ahead split into three forks.
A Source Fruit, shimmering with a faint glow, was floating gently in mid-air.
SWOOSH!
Gu Zheng used Spirit Capturing to pull the Source Fruit to him and placed it in his inventory.
[Source Fruit: Satiation]
’Not bad.’
Tucking the Source Fruit into his Storage Leaf, Gu Zheng chose the middle path and advanced slowly.
CHITTER~
He had gone less than a hundred meters when the aura of another Demon Fiend rushed toward him.
A long, serpentine Demon Fiend with five heads blocked Gu Zheng’s path, each head flicking its tongue and exuding a hot, foul stench.
"HISSS..."
WHOOSH-BOOM!
Gu Zheng wasted no words and threw another punch.
BANG!
The five-headed snake Demon Fiend’s entire body exploded into chunks of flesh, its five heads scattering across the ground.
Spirit Capturing!
[Demon Points +5]
’Hmm, one point per head?’
Gu Zheng chuckled, then levitated off the ground and floated over the pile of gore.
Zhong Tianlang had been right.
This cavern system was incredibly vast.
Gu Zheng walked for a solid half-hour without running into anyone else.
He had encountered plenty of Demon Fiends, though. They were all first-rank; he hadn’t seen any second-rank ones. ’Or maybe my luck is just good, and I haven’t stumbled into a second-rank Demon Fiend’s territory?’
Gu Zheng didn’t pay it much mind.
These Demon Fiends weren’t swarmer types. The largest group he’d encountered was a nest of iron-shelled ants about the size of cats. A single punch had killed most of them, and in the end, he only collected 16 Demon Points.
Searching along the way, he hadn’t found any Marvels, but he did find five more Source Fruits and a palm-sized piece of Magic Gold.
The Source Fruits’ abilities were either Strong Body, Dali, or Divine Wondrous.
No great surprises, but not bad either.
"WHOOSH!"
As he continued forward, a blast of foul, scorching wind, thick with a powerful aura that set one’s nerves on edge, suddenly rushed at him.
Gu Zheng stopped in his tracks, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smirk.
"Finally, a second-rank..."
SWOOSH!
SWOOSH!
It moved so fast only an afterimage was visible. A hot, stinking gale erupted with ferocious power.
"BOOM!"
Gu Zheng didn’t dodge or evade, simply throwing three punches to meet it head-on.
Furious Fist Intent!
One punch after another, each stronger than the last, they formed a triangular pattern, a frontal assault covering every part of the tunnel.
"BANG BANG BANG!"
The sound of heavy impacts instantly rang out. The resulting shockwaves swept through the passage, gouging marks into the walls and sending dust raining down.
"HISSS~!"
The attacking Demon Fiend’s long, writhing body was revealed as it recoiled backward.
It had the appearance of an earthworm, with no feet or scales. Its gaping maw lacked sharp teeth, but the scorching heat emanating from it felt like a centuries-old flame, capable of incinerating anything in the world.
Two of Gu Zheng’s punches had landed on its body, only managing to slightly dent the midsection of the second-rank earthworm Demon Fiend.
Its movements were completely unaffected, but it was clearly scared and began to flee rapidly.
It moved so fast it left a trail of afterimages.
SWISH SWISH~
Gu Zheng gave chase.
Every so often, he would launch a punch from a distance. A Fist Seal, wrapped in Fist Intent, would slam into the earthworm Demon Fiend, causing it to shriek sharply. Its three-meter-long body would tumble, crashing into the tunnel wall and gouging out craters. Its cylindrical body was dented flat, nearly looking as if it would snap.
But the next second, the flattened area would rapidly return to its original shape as the earthworm Demon Fiend sped on, kicking up clouds of dust and foul wind.
BOOM! BOOM!
Gu Zheng threw a continuous barrage of punches, relentlessly pursuing it.
Unfortunately, while the earthworm Demon Fiend’s defense was astonishing, the tunnel also twisted and turned—downward, upward, left, and right, with very few straight sections.
Most of Gu Zheng’s attacks missed, nearly causing the tunnel to collapse instead.
After chasing it through three tunnels, Gu Zheng stopped, sensing the second-rank earthworm Demon Fiend rapidly disappearing into the distance.
Just then, a Source Fruit materialized out of thin air on the ceiling of the cave, less than ten paces in front of him.
Spirit Capturing!
Gu Zheng gestured, pulling the Source Fruit over from across the space. He placed it in his inventory to be identified.
[Source Fruit: Regeneration]
Huh?
!!
’Holy crap. This is really something else.’
Gu Zheng felt a thrill of excitement, his eyes filled with pleasant surprise.
A Regeneration Source Fruit!
Just as its name implied, swallowing this Source Fruit would allow a person to regenerate any organ or flesh.
Even if their heart was gone, or their head had been blown to bits.
As long as their Divine Soul wasn’t completely annihilated, they could regenerate it in a single second!
’A surprise, a huge surprise.’
Gu Zheng couldn’t hide his excitement. He marked the Regeneration Source Fruit and placed it in a separate slot in his Storage Leaf.
Then, he circled the area a few more times.
Only after confirming there were no other Source Fruits did he resume his search for the Rule Array Hub.
"RUMBLE~"
After passing through a passageway, he suddenly heard a muffled rumble from ahead, along with fluctuations of Divine Wondrous power and the sounds of a fierce battle.
"Who’s fighting?"
Gu Zheng’s sharp brows lifted. He levitated off the ground and slowly drifted closer.
"Hehehe, beauty, don’t run. You can’t get away."
A familiar, sinister, and lecherous laugh reached his ears. Just as Gu Zheng exited the tunnel, he saw two figures in an open area ahead—one chasing, one fleeing.
The one running in front was a short-haired woman in Hundred Households Armor. She had dark skin, and her elegant brows were knitted in frustration.
The one chasing her was none other than the man from the Flaming Python branch of the Xie Family—the same middle-aged man who had stolen the Wind-Raising Banner from Gu Zheng!
"Beauty, I’ll make sure you enjoy this."
Xie La chased her playfully, not forgetting his lecherous laugh as he moved. "Judging by your appearance, I can tell you’ve never tasted a man before. Come with me, and I’ll show you today. And if you think one isn’t enough to satisfy you, we can just find another..."
"Oho, little beauty, you’ve come at just the right time!"
Suddenly, Xie La saw Gu Zheng appear. His eyes lit up, and his voice boomed.
"Haha, another little beauty has arrived! Good, very good!"
WHOOSH—
WHOOSH!
A fierce wind swept through, kicking up sand and dust.
Having also spotted Gu Zheng, Qin Si flickered several times before coming to a stop in front of him.
"Gu, what do you say we team up and destroy this lecherous python?"
Qin Si’s eyes burned with the will to fight.
"Destroy me?"
Before Gu Zheng could speak, Xie La on the other side was already laughing mockingly. "Haha, you two beauties, how cruel you are! I’m trying to bring you pleasure, bring you happiness, and what do you do? You want to destroy me!"
BOOM—
