The two walked cautiously in front, carrying small medicine baskets.
Chen De followed behind them, not too fast, not too slow.
But they were walking too slowly. At this pace, how long would it take to arrive?
Perhaps he should give them a little 'boost' to liven them up.
"Map scan alert: A fifth-level Demon Qi Realm demonic beast detected fifty meters ahead!"
But before Chen De could act, a massive python had already slithered out from a patch of grass behind the two.
Its two vertical eyes were fixed on them, its tongue flicking out, its body coiled and ready to strike.
Chen De's raised paw froze in mid-air.
Given the current situation, with this demonic beast's sneak attack, the two of them would likely not survive.
Especially since Zhang Shan and Zhao Qi were still completely unaware of the impending danger.
Chen De felt a pang of reluctance and decided to give them a small hint.
After all, life was hard, and he should at least offer them a glimmer of hope.
He casually picked up a small stone nearby and threw it towards Zhao Qi's back.
Bang!
Zhao Qi, who was walking ahead, suddenly felt something fly from behind and hit him.
He whirled around sharply and immediately made eye contact with the coiled python, his expression instantly freezing.
In just an instant, Zhao Qi had already thought of his last words.
He recognized this python, an Azure Python, which rarely appeared on the outskirts of the Demonic Beast Forest. Today, they had 'luckily' encountered one here.
With such good luck, he didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
The Azure Python's greatest strength was jungle combat.
Here, its combat power would be greatly amplified.
This one, in front of him, appeared to have at least a fifth-level Demon Qi Realm cultivation.
With a geographical advantage, it was almost comparable to a sixth-level Gathering Qi Realm human martial artist!
The Azure Python was also stunned!
It had been coiled and ready, looking for an opportunity to ambush, but Zhao Qi's sudden turn had startled it.
The movement was so small; how did he even notice?
Because of Chen De's interference, its plan had to change.
Originally, it intended to ambush Zhao Qi first, but after a moment of hesitation, it changed its target.
It decided to take advantage of Zhao Qi being temporarily stunned to deal with the unprepared one first, then come back for the remaining one. So, it swiftly turned its attack towards Zhang Shan.
Meanwhile, after a series of mental storms, Zhao Qi was forced to unleash his survival potential, preparing to strike first.
Both sides attacked almost simultaneously, but Zhao Qi's cultivation was ultimately inferior to the Azure Python's, and his attack speed was a beat slower.
However, it was fortunate that Zhao Qi was not the Azure Python's initial target, and he barely managed to block the attack with his weapon.
But the Azure Python's strength was too great, causing Zhao Qi to stumble backward repeatedly.
The Azure Python, failing to strike, immediately retreated from the two.
At the same time, it darted onto a nearby tree, biding its time and looking for an opportunity.
This was their jungle law: even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit.
No matter what kind of opponent they encountered, they would not be careless. Before the dust settled, they could never let their guard down.
Even if it might ultimately lead to coming up empty-handed, caution was paramount.
Seeing this, Chen De couldn't help but ponder, even low-level demonic beasts in this world had remarkably high intelligence!
Perhaps deep within this forest, there was even a society and nation established by demonic beasts.
Or perhaps, they already possessed a complete racial system.
But these were matters for later. For now, Chen De was most interested in the current battle.
He wanted to observe the combat style of human martial artists in this world.
For Zhao Qi at this moment, his hasty attack, forcibly unleashing an attack far exceeding his usual power, had undoubtedly placed a huge burden on his body.
Coupled with the Azure Python's superior cultivation, he was already injured after just one exchange.
This caused Zhao Qi's blood and qi to surge, his face to flush, and blood to subtly seep from the corner of his mouth.
Fortunately, the immediate danger of the ambush had been averted for the two. Now, as long as he and Zhang Shan worked together carefully, they still had a good chance of survival.
As for killing the opponent, Zhao Qi dared not even think about it. Both of them were only at the fourth level of the Gathering Qi Realm, while that python was at the fifth level of the Demon Qi Realm.
Neither of them was a genius, nor did they possess the ability to fight above their level; otherwise, they wouldn't be in such a predicament.
Among those of the same level, demonic beasts were usually much stronger than humans, a fact particularly evident in the early stages.
For example, newborn wild beasts could achieve considerable combat power in just one month.
Some powerful wild beasts could even contend with humans who had just broken through to the Gathering Qi Realm.
If a sixth-level Gathering Qi Realm expert were to encounter this fifth-level Demon Qi Realm Azure Python, they wouldn't dare claim victory.
Especially since these demonic beasts were quite cautious. For instance, the one before them, even when facing two minor characters, chose to rely primarily on ambush.
After striking, if it failed to achieve a one-hit kill, it would immediately retreat to the side and look for another opportunity.
Facing such an opponent, their chances of survival seemed slim!
However, if they were to die at the hands of such a cautious demonic beast, it wouldn't be an unfair death.
At the first sign of movement, Zhang Shan immediately noticed Zhao Qi's situation, quickly drew his weapon, became vigilant, and slowly moved closer to Zhao Qi.
This exchange happened in an instant. Zhao Qi was busy dealing with it when he noticed, and had no chance to warn Zhang Shan.
If not for Chen De's kind assistance, they might have already been ambushed and killed.
Zhang Shan only became aware of Zhao Qi's situation after the attack ended, and he then became alert to his surroundings.
Naturally, he spotted the Azure Python nearby, ready to attack at any moment, and his heart sank.
He went to Zhao Qi's side, quickly checked his injuries, confirmed they were not serious, and then adopted a defensive stance with Zhao Qi.
The two exchanged glances, confirming their understanding without a word.
Having been targeted by this Azure Python, it was highly likely that both of them would perish here today, leaving no complete corpses.
Facing this situation, Zhao Qi had few complaints, only some regret.
Although he was brought into this situation because Zhang Shan had sought him out.
But he had agreed to it himself from the start. When Zhang Shan came to him, the possibility of encountering such things was openly discussed; it was just bad luck.
In the Demonic Beast Forest, let alone encountering a fifth-level Demon Qi Realm Azure Python, it was not impossible to encounter Demon Origin Realm or even Demon Spirit Realm demonic beasts if one had bad luck.
He had made some mental preparations when he came, but he never expected it would actually happen!
In Zhao Qi's opinion, if everything was discussed thoroughly before an action, then to start shifting blame, evading responsibility, or getting angry when things went wrong seemed utterly ridiculous.
Moreover, he and Zhang Shan were good brothers. If they truly died here today.
Perhaps...
Perhaps it was because he didn't value his promises enough! Perhaps it was due to his own irresponsibility!
Then he couldn't help but smile wryly to himself. In this world where strength was revered, it seemed that being a good person and loyal wasn't enough to get by!
Subsequently, Zhao Qi calmed his mind, composed himself, and stared intently at the demonic beast before him.
The greater the crisis, the calmer he needed to be. Today, he was determined to carve out a path to survival!
Thump!
From behind, Zhao Qi suddenly felt someone push him hard, a surge of force propelling him towards the Azure Python.
In his astonishment, Zhao Qi seemed to understand something.
He turned his head sharply, disbelief in his eyes, only to see Zhang Shan's panicked retreating back.
Seeing Zhao Qi dare to move towards it voluntarily, the python retreated a little, then gave up looking for an opportunity and attacked Zhao Qi.
Betrayed by his friend, he was filled with sorrow and indignation, spitting out a mouthful of blood and letting out a loud roar towards the sky.
In despair, Zhao Qi advanced instead of retreating, launching a full-force attack at the python.
With Zhao Qi's reckless fighting style, he actually exchanged several blows with the Azure Python, neither gaining an advantage.
This bought Zhang Shan some time to escape.
The python saw its other prey about to escape into the distance, then looked at the madman-like Zhao Qi.
It immediately intensified its attack, making Zhao Qi's already injured body even more battered and broken.
Finally, the Azure Python found an opening, delivered a powerful tail whip that struck him, leaving him on the verge of death, and flung him towards a nearby tree trunk.
After that, it paid him no more attention and chased after Zhang Shan in the direction he fled.
Chen De, with quick eyes and hands, swooped up in a flash.
He arrived before Zhao Qi could hit the tree trunk, and with a single claw, he tore it apart.
The two halves of the corpse fell to the ground, kicking up a lot of dust.
Its head stared intently in the direction Zhang Shan had fled, its eyes filled with hatred and unwillingness.
"Ding! Host has killed a fourth-level Gathering Qi Realm wild monster! Gained 1 attribute point!"
Having obtained this attribute point, Chen De didn't even look at it and followed closely behind the Azure Python.
One had already died; the other one couldn't die now.
Although the Azure Python was fast, it was still within the scope of a fifth-level Demon Qi Realm.
With Chen De's peak sixth-level Demon Qi Realm speed, the distance was not far to begin with, and Chen De quickly caught up.
While it was single-mindedly focused on Zhang Shan, Chen De directly ambushed its vital point.
With one successful strike, he instantly knocked it to the ground, unable to move, his claw piercing its body and pinning it to the ground.
Then, because Chen De didn't hear the system prompt, he delivered another fierce claw to its head.
"Ding! Host has killed a fifth-level Demon Qi Realm demonic beast, the Azure Python! Gained 2 attribute points!"
Hearing this sound, Chen De felt satisfied. He slowly withdrew his claw from the Azure Python's head, stepped over its body, and left the area.
After taking two steps, Chen De turned back and said with some sadness:
"Alas! I didn't want to kill you, but you killed my poor kinsman!
And I, well... I was just helping him find release! I am a good person!
You, you brought this death upon yourself!"
Chen De grew more and more agitated as he spoke, as if trying to prove something.
"Alas, sometimes I think I'm just sick!
But now that I think about it, it's not me who's wrong, but this world. Alas, there aren't many good people like me left!"
With that, Chen De squeezed out two tears, then turned and left.