Volume One: The Soul-Guiding Gourd and the Soul-Burning Lamp Chapter 105: Goodness Gracious!
By noon, the entire sweltering rainforest was bathed in warm sunlight. Everything before their eyes resembled a half-cooked egg yolk, exceptionally enticing.
The lush vegetation soared into the clouds; the lake’s waters babbled gently, shimmering with ripples.
Although the surrounding air was sticky and scorching, the pleasant scenery offered a unique charm.
A small bamboo raft drifted peacefully, while beneath the lake’s deep orange-green glow, danger lurked everywhere...
Splash—splash—
Li Hetang and Min Wenhua sat at the bow and stern of the raft, gently rowing with their paddles. Gu Mo sat in the center, admiring the beautiful landscape that unfolded before him.
A warm breeze brushed past, and coupled with the delightful scenery, it stirred a longing for travel within Gu Mo’s heart, something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
He then turned his head to Li Hetang and smiled, saying, “Soup drinker, there’s really no danger here!”
No sooner had he spoken than a flock of birds suddenly took flight from deep within the rainforest.
Li Hetang immediately furrowed his brow, scanning the surroundings cautiously, placing a finger to his lips and whispering anxiously.
“Brother Gu, you must never underestimate this rainforest...”
Before Li Hetang could finish, Gu Mo scoffed with disdain.
“This place is so beautiful! The rosy sunset and solitary wild goose fly together; the autumn waters blend with the vast sky.”
Gu Mo’s literary flourish was immediately followed by a twitch of his face, then he added:
“You can’t just say: ‘Damn, so many birds! Damn, so many birds!’ Can’t you be a little cultured?”
Li Hetang frowned, disapproving of Gu Mo’s joke, inwardly regretting having dragged both Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou into the team.
Those two fools had no real understanding of danger; their words were nonsensical. Their minds seemed short-circuited, sparking wildly!
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Li Hetang proceeded to educate Gu Mo on the dangers hidden within the rainforest.
Outwardly, Gu Mo listened seriously, but inside, he was filled with turmoil and scorn.
‘That damned Li Hetang only knows how to scare me.
Where are we? This is the Well of Gods and Demons!
Where would all these monsters come from? This isn’t some miniature forest.
A twenty-meter-long anaconda? That thing’s stronger than an immortal dragon incarnate? Nonsense!’
Gu Mo hated being lectured, especially since Li Hetang wasn’t much older than him.
Yet, instinctively, Gu Mo gripped his Measuring Rod tightly.
Just in case...
No “just in case”!
Suddenly, ripples stirred on the distant lake.
Min Wenhua, at the front steering the raft, perked up his ears, sensing the anomaly. The iron-willed man clenched his fist and raised his left hand.
Behind him, Gu Mo could only tense his breath, praying for calm waters.
Meanwhile, the sly Li Hetang pressed the orange visor on his helmet and activated his invisibility mode.
Moments later, beneath the rippling lake, dark currents surged!
A loud thud!
The bottom of the bamboo raft was struck with immense force, lifting it.
Such a violent impact could only come from the anaconda. It hadn’t had its fill earlier and had returned for another assault!
In an instant, the small raft carrying the three was hurled seven or eight meters into the air, flipping two and a half rotations.
The wind hissed past their ears. Suspended midair, Gu Mo felt dizzy and nauseous, his stomach churning as if ready to vomit last year’s New Year’s feast.
The three clung desperately to the raft’s edges, trembling with fear.
Before they could prepare, with a loud slap, the raft flipped bottom up, crashing onto the lake’s surface.
Bubbles burst forth on the turbulent water.
All the creatures in the stifling rainforest fixed their gaze on the overturned raft.
At this point, Li Hetang cursed inwardly.
If Daoist Xiao were here, this wouldn’t have happened. Without the turtle shell shield or the thousand-pound anchor, overturning the raft was inevitable.
...
Beneath the lake, a massive, pitch-black shape filled the entire frame.
Had Li Hetang’s warning come true?
Did he truly possess that ominous “crow’s mouth” that always predicted misfortune?
What next—
(End of chapter, please turn the page)
What?
Fear, anxiety, confusion... an indescribable tangle of emotions wove a new chapter.
Immediately after falling into the water, Gu Mo dared not hesitate. He sank his body and summoned the ghostly energy within.
Boom!
Under the lake, Gu Mo was enveloped by eerie green ghost flames, chilling him to the bone.
In a flash, a bloodthirsty maw lunged at Gu Mo.
Without time to think, Gu Mo held the Measuring Rod horizontally before him.
Thud.
The powerful current, reeking with a foul stench, slammed into Gu Mo.
In utter tension, Gu Mo summoned every ounce of strength. But the ghostly creature seemed intent on killing him.
The tremendous force pushed Gu Mo rapidly through the lake beneath the rainforest. His hands tingled painfully; every muscle was taut.
It wasn’t the terrifying anaconda pushing him—it was a gigantic electric ray!
Damn! Even electric rays aren’t this big!
In a split second, the anaconda propelled Gu Mo past Li Hetang.
Swish—
A flash of cold steel—Li Hetang, wielding a special dagger, attacked futilely.
The lake’s resistance was too great; no human could match a creature that had lived here for years.
Furious, Li Hetang gritted his teeth, preparing for a desperate fight. If Gu Mo died, the higher-ups would never forgive him!
Suddenly, Min Wenhua grabbed Li Hetang’s wrist.
Holding his breath, Min Wenhua nodded toward the raft, signaling Li Hetang to retreat.
Watching Gu Mo swim farther away, Li Hetang finally yielded to reality.
Frowning, he cooperated with Min Wenhua to right the raft.
The two soaked men hurriedly paddled forward in pursuit.
After a few strokes, Li Hetang was puzzled.
He had activated invisibility through his polar combat suit—a high-tech optical camouflage—so how had Min Wenhua instantly pinpointed his location?
Realizing the life-or-death nature of the question, Li Hetang asked hurriedly.
Min Wenhua, sitting at the raft’s front, stared at the ripples on the lake and said coldly,
“Brother Mao, how did you find me?”
The towering figure answered simply: “Instinct.”
Those two words left Li Hetang baffled, but he soon accepted it. Min Wenhua—the midnight orange tabby—was a veteran soldier with extraordinary perception.
They then rowed cautiously but swiftly forward. The rainforest was fraught with danger; the anaconda was far from the only threat.
...
The scene shifted.
The colossal, terrifying anaconda relentlessly pushed Gu Mo forward.
Its massive jaws opened and closed, attempting to snap the Measuring Rod held at Gu Mo’s mouth and swallow him whole.
Each time its horrifying maw closed, a surge of foul, murky water crashed toward Gu Mo’s face.
Gu Mo was terrified, stunned. His sole thought was to find a chance to kill this monstrous worm.
Not long ago, Gu Mo had been a simple incense shop owner. Who knew how things had escalated like this?
First, he was dragged to the Underworld; then ghosts and zombies appeared everywhere, and even century-old immortals emerged like bamboo shoots after rain.
Damn—who had he offended?
...
In a flash, a sharp crack sounded.
The ghost-energy shield around Gu Mo was shredded by a sharp underwater branch.
Holding his breath, Gu Mo gasped—three pounds’ worth! (Don’t ask why; one pound wouldn’t do it justice!)
Bubbles floated rapidly to the surface.
With only a little oxygen left, Gu Mo faced the terror of death.
The crushing water pressure made him suffocate; murky lake water filled his throat.
At this critical moment, the giant anaconda’s eyes shifted.
It changed tactics, pushing the struggling Gu Mo rapidly toward the lake bottom.
(End of chapter, please turn the page)
Did Gu Mo struggle?
Certainly, but humans were the weakest in nature.
That damned worm seemed tireless, and underwater, Gu Mo’s strength was greatly diminished.
‘Damn! Is this it for me?’
In a split second, Gu Mo’s mind raced for solutions.
‘What do I have? The Measuring Rod—a black fire poker; the Soul-calling Gourd—an artifact for refining lost souls; the Soul-burning Lamp—how to light it underwater? And White Impermanence’s Binding Rope—has it rusted?’
Facing life and death, Gu Mo thought of the fuzzy little glutton. Where had that pitch-black creature gone?
Bang!
Gu Mo’s feet struck the bottom firmly. Heart pounding, his face veins bulged, flushed red.
Another bubble shot upward. Gu Mo was severely oxygen-deprived; his vision blurred.
Suddenly, a rush of murky water battered him like a storm.
The massive anaconda coiled its thick body—like a well’s circumference—around Gu Mo.
It seemed intent on drowning him before slowly devouring him.
Gu Mo tried to summon ghost energy again, but the cursed power refused to respond—was this a death sentence?
Fear unlike any before engulfed Gu Mo, crushing his spirit.
‘I’m done for! I’m still a virgin. So many delicacies I haven’t tasted; I haven’t seen the colorful world; my beautiful life’s only a quarter over—I can’t stop here!’
The anaconda’s huge body wrapped tighter; its slippery coils squeezed with increasing force.
Crack, crack, crack!
Bones creaked ominously. Gu Mo’s remaining breath was squeezed out.
‘I’m… done for...’
Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, Gu Mo’s vision darkened and he slipped into unconsciousness.
The anaconda relaxed its grip slightly, carrying Gu Mo’s limp form deeper into the rainforest...
After an unknown time, Gu Mo’s fingers twitched as he slowly regained consciousness.
The slimy, icy sensation on his skin jolted him fully awake.
A foul stench invaded his nostrils, but the danger before him forbade rash movement.
Rustle rustle—
A continuous scratching noise filled the air.
Peering through the haze with fear, Gu Mo was horrified by the scene.
A shallow lagoon deep in the rainforest stretched before him.
The vast shallows were littered with toppled shrubs and trees, crushed beneath the massive bodies of the anacondas.
Fortune favored him; he was not submerged in the water.
Seven or eight terrifying anacondas flicked blood-red tongues, coiling around an even larger black anaconda.
Their thick bodies bore varying patterns, twisted into a giant mass of flesh.
Faintly, Gu Mo noticed that the male anacondas’ skins were scarred—likely wounds from competing for mating rights.
Estimating roughly, even the smallest of these monstrous snakes measured over twenty meters; the largest female in the center stretched thirty meters long.
Seeing this, cold sweat drenched Gu Mo.
‘That sleazy bastard called these anacondas “earthworms”? Damn... but Li Hetang was right!’
Was this still the world he knew? This was no joke!
Looking up, Gu Mo saw seven or eight highly corroded animal carcasses hanging from nearby trees.
There were crocodiles with torn flesh, catfish with exposed bones, even huge snakes with mangled bodies...
Each so-called “prey” was enormous, all coated with a sticky layer of digestive gastric juice.
Drip drip—
The viscous digestive liquid, reeking foully, dripped steadily.
This was no anaconda nest—it was a living hell!
‘Good grief! I’ve been dragged straight into the anaconda’s lair.
Li Hetang was right; I’ve probably become food for the female anacondas again!’
Why “again”? Recall the spider dens in the micro-forest.
‘Luckily, I wasn’t swallowed and then spat out, or I’d have lost three layers of skin!’
This alarming realization tightened Gu Mo’s bowels, made him shiver uncontrollably, and stirred a tidal wave in his bladder...
(End of chapter)