CHAPTER 185: CHAPTER 185: THE APOCALYPSE - I AM NOT THE HOLY MOTHER 92

After rushing out of the cave, everyone ran another hundred meters to ensure their safety before collapsing on the ground with limp hands and feet!

Collapsed on the ground and gasping for breath, they looked back to find that the cave they had just escaped from was no longer visible. The entire entrance had collapsed, and even where it hadn’t, large rocks had completely sealed it off!

Lin Shuangshuang, not caring about anything else, pulled out food and juice from her waist pouch and started eating voraciously, while shouting to a few others nearby, "Hurry and eat to regain your strength, that giant serpent isn’t so easy to kill!"

Even though everyone was exhausted to the point of trembling, they followed Lin Shuangshuang’s instructions, hurriedly taking out food and jamming it into their mouths. They took a few bites of roast meat, washed it down with juice, and swallowed quickly.

The food was hard to swallow, so they mainly drank the juice. Though it couldn’t fill the stomach, it was easier to swallow and helped recover physical and superpower strength more quickly. For now, regaining strength was most important; being a bit hungry wasn’t a big deal.

When everyone’s strength had mostly recovered, a loud noise burst out as a giant serpent, as thick as a truck, pushed aside the rocks blocking the cave exit and emerged from the completely collapsed cave!

The giant serpent was dozens of meters long, slithering out with awe-inspiring momentum. Lin Shuangshuang and the others seemed as tiny as ants in front of it!

After coming out, the giant serpent didn’t attack but instead swam in front of them, lowering its head to scrutinize everyone! Lin Shuangshuang and the others held their breath in tension, not daring to move, fearing they might accidentally anger the serpent.

The giant serpent, after staring at them with its enormous eyes for a while, slightly lifted its head. Although it only slightly raised its upper body, it felt as if a skyscraper appeared before them! The sheer impact was overwhelming.

Everyone was aghast, looking up at the giant serpent which gazed back at them, especially noticing the small horns on either side of its head, which sank their hearts!

Sure enough, the energy stone had fostered something more formidable than usual mutated creatures! This was no longer merely a serpent but had evolved into the mythical Jiao! A serpent grows horns to become a Jiao and claws to become a dragon! Originally thought to be legendary creatures, here they stood witnessing one today!

The Jiao didn’t attack them; it seemed to still be assessing the group. No one dared to move, fearing they might irritate it. Everyone held on to the hope of staying calm for a while longer, allowing more time to regain strength and superpowers.

To everyone’s surprise, after the Jiao scrutinized them with its colossal eyes once more, it spoke! Of course, it was speaking through consciousness in their minds! And it was the voice of a young boy.

The Jiao said, "Why did you all run away, making me chase you for so long, and even getting hit by those rocks several times? Just now a particularly large rock hit my head several times, it really hurt!"

The Jiao spoke with a slightly complaining tone and lowered its massive head, placing it directly on the ground in front of them. Its big tail raised up, and it used the tip to point at a white mark on a large scale on its head, showing them to prove it wasn’t lying.

Everyone was silent...

This scene is off; it suddenly shifted from a tense warrior-slaying-Jiao scenario to a fantasy blockbuster! And this Jiao was communicating so clearly and expressing its intentions, completely different from any other mutated creatures able to interact with humans before.

The most distinct difference was that this Jiao had higher wisdom, possessing the ability to structure logical thoughts and language, traits of intelligent beings, like humanity, the only intelligent species between heaven and earth!

Although the Jiao had no intent to attack, its action of pointing its head with its tail caused a tremor in the ground. Yet, everyone could feel that the Jiao’s demeanor was incredibly peaceful, with no feeling of malice.

It must be said, its peaceful attitude and communicable intelligence made everyone relax a bit, believing that the ability to communicate suggested the possibility of a peaceful coexistence!

"But didn’t you attack us with your tail in the cave?" Li Wenbo thought differently from the others. He still remembered the power of those two tail slaps by the Jiao in the cave which cracked the ground and walls; no way it could deceive him.

"Attack you? No!" The Jiao’s voice was filled with confusion.

"I never usually go into that cave; it’s too small and winding, uncomfortable, and I can’t even turn around in it. I usually live on the mountaintop. Today, after going out to eat, I returned to find you all inside. I hadn’t seen people in a long time and wanted to ask you something, so I hurried in and got stuck. I just wanted to turn around and speak to you, but you all ran off before I could turn back — I had to chase you! Why did you run? My former master and his friends never ran upon seeing me!"

Everyone was silent...

How could they wait for it to turn around? By the time it turned, they’d either be flattened by its tail or buried alive in the collapsed cave.

With their fragile bodies, they certainly couldn’t match its capability; bursting out of a collapsed cave left only another mark on its scales. How could such an overwhelmingly powerful creature be permitted to exist in nature? It’s too much!

At this moment, a flurry of words filled their minds, as they realized their life-threatening escape was merely because it was turning around. If it had really attacked, would they be having tea with King Yama by now!

"Aren’t you angry that we took the energy stone?" Song Yuhang was most concerned about the energy stone.

If the energy stone was the root of the Jiao’s evolution, it shouldn’t be so calm after they took it unless it was lying to deceive them. Given that it had evolved intelligence, learning to deceive wasn’t impossible for the Jiao.

"Why be angry? That stone is useless to me. Are you all that foolish? The true energy lies in this land and cannot be taken away. That stone was merely an energy absorber. By taking it away, you stopped it from competing with me for energy!"

While speaking, the Jiao quivered its tail a few times, showing a delighted mood, causing the ground to shake in waves. Everyone standing on the ground was bounced up and down like on a trampoline, jumping several times!

Everyone was silent...

After bouncing from the trampoline-like ground, everyone hurriedly calmed their minds, trying to sense the energy in the air around them. The energy stone had been placed into Chi Shaolong’s space, so no energy was leaking anymore.