The two of them moved forward along the stream, and the entire journey was uneventful.
The valley during the day was truly quiet, like a paradise.
Lin Xiao Tian had truly feared that the stream would suddenly disappear as they walked, but he found that the further upstream they went, the larger the flow of water became.
Eventually, a waterfall appeared!
In front of the waterfall, a large lake had formed, covered with lotus flowers.
"Strange, I recall there being no rivers around the valley? Why is there a waterfall here?" Li Xue asked with a solemn expression.
To form such a large lake, there must be a significant upstream water source. Combined with the fact that this was a valley, the water source must have flowed in from the surrounding area. However, they had checked the map before coming, and the surroundings were all forests with no water sources.
Moreover, such a large lake should have been visible on satellite maps, as there were no trees blocking the view. Yet, they had checked the satellite map of the valley and found no trace of a lake.
"Never mind, we'll stop here for today. Tomorrow we'll continue upstream, and perhaps we can find a way out of the valley." Lin Xiao Tian looked up at the sky; it was already starting to get dark.
Li Xue nodded, offering no objection.
The night was particularly cold. Moonlight shone on the lake, and even a chill seemed to emanate from it. Li Xue couldn't help but shiver, while Lin Xiao Tian, with the help of the Shen Nong Heart Technique, felt no coolness at all.
During the first half of the night, Li Xue kept watch, and the second half was Lin Xiao Tian's turn.
In reality, Lin Xiao Tian could have kept watch by himself. With his current cultivation of the Shen Nong Heart Technique, he could maintain alertness while resting.
However, the reason Lin Xiao Tian didn't choose to keep watch alone was his fear of Li Xue noticing something unusual. After all, a person who didn't need to sleep was inherently strange. If they managed to leave the valley and Li Xue told the Yang family, wouldn't Lin Xiao Tian be exposed?
Lin Xiao Tian didn't want any trouble.
The latter half of the night grew even colder. Li Xue curled up and leaned to one side.
Initially, she kept some distance from Lin Xiao Tian, but as it got colder, she instinctively moved closer to him.
Lin Xiao Tian was like a warm stove. The closer Li Xue got, the more she felt the need for warmth. In the end, she even ended up hugging him.
A gasp!
Li Xue shivered again.
Seeing how cold she was, Lin Xiao Tian allowed her to hold him.
The night grew deeper.
Suddenly, Lin Xiao Tian heard a noise and opened his eyes. The lotus leaves on the lake stirred, as if something was emerging.
The Kunlun Valley was full of danger, and Lin Xiao Tian dared not relax his guard, his gaze fixed on the lake.
Soon, a strange face appeared.
It was a face resembling a frog, and Lin Xiao Tian could even see its mouth moving from time to time, but its overall form was human.
After the "Frog-faced Seven Treasures" fully emerged from the water, it stood about a meter tall. It opened its mouth, revealing sharp fangs that gleamed in the moonlight.
"Merman?"
The word instantly popped into Lin Xiao Tian's mind.
After the frog-faced person appeared, several others of similar size emerged from the water.
They gathered on the shore, and the sounds they emitted were also like a frog's croak.
The shore was suddenly filled with frog-like sounds.
But this noise didn't last long. The next moment, a dark shadow surged from the lake.
A catfish-like merman broke through the water. The frog-faced people instinctively scattered upon seeing it, but the catfish-merman was also fast. In a few moves, it caught one of the frog-faced individuals.
The captured frog-faced person struggled for a moment, then was swallowed whole by the catfish-merman.
The scene was extremely bizarre.
After devouring the frog-faced person, the catfish-merman still seemed unsatisfied and began searching along the shore.
Before long, it approached Lin Xiao Tian's position.
Although the catfish-merman couldn't see them, it could see things in front of it. If it continued like this, Lin Xiao Tian would eventually be exposed.
Lin Xiao Tian carefully woke Li Xue and then pointed to the front with his finger.
Upon seeing the catfish-merman, Li Xue's eyes widened.
Lin Xiao Tian immediately covered her mouth to prevent her from making a sound, then motioned for Li Xue to leave with him.
Li Xue nodded, and the two of them walked cautiously.
But as fate would have it, there was a frog-faced person in their path.
The frog-faced person was also trying to avoid the catfish-merman. Seeing Lin Xiao Tian and Li Xue approaching, it instinctively darted away.
It was very fast, disappearing in a flash, but Lin Xiao Tian and Li Xue were not so lucky.
In the blink of an eye, the catfish-merman was behind them. Lin Xiao Tian attempted to counter-attack, but a slap from the catfish-merman sent him stumbling back several steps.
"Such immense strength!"
Lin Xiao Tian felt his arm go numb.
His current body had been tempered by the Shen Nong Heart Technique, yet he struggled so much against this monster.
After repelling Lin Xiao Tian, the catfish-merman's attention immediately turned to Li Xue.
Li Xue reacted quickly and retreated, but it was still too late. The catfish-merman grabbed her.
Gurgle!
The catfish-merman made a gurgling sound as it opened its mouth, clearly intending to swallow Li Xue alive.
In this moment of crisis, Lin Xiao Tian directly raised his pistol.
Bang!
The bullet easily pierced the catfish-merman's body. The creature cried out in pain, gurgling loudly, and immediately released Li Xue, lunging towards Lin Xiao Tian.
Lin Xiao Tian dodged desperately, firing shots whenever he had an opening.
However, the catfish-merman's vitality was incredibly tenacious. Despite bleeding, it continued to press forward.
Just then, Lin Xiao Tian heard a cry for help.
Upon closer inspection, the frog-faced person who had fled earlier had returned. It stood beside Li Xue, its mouth filled with sharp teeth pointed at her, clearly intending to eat her.
Li Xue had injured her foot from the catfish-merman and couldn't run efficiently. Furthermore, the frog-faced person was exceptionally fast, and Li Xue couldn't escape.
Seeing Li Xue in danger, Lin Xiao Tian fired at the frog-faced person again.
Bang bang!
Two shots directly hit the frog-faced person's head. It collapsed to the ground, still struggling, clearly not dead.
Meanwhile, distracted by this, Lin Xiao Tian was caught off guard. The catfish-merman seized the opportunity and struck him in the chest with a palm.
Blood spurted from Lin Xiao Tian's mouth. He endured the pain and dodged another attack from the catfish-merman, concentrating his focus.
He slowly raised his pistol, felt the bullet slide through the barrel, aimed, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
One shot hit the catfish-merman in the gill area.
The catfish-merman thrashed desperately, no longer pursuing Lin Xiao Tian.
Lin Xiao Tian didn't hesitate and prepared to fire again, but the gun was empty.
"Damn it! No bullets at a crucial moment!"
Lin Xiao Tian cursed, but his complaints were useless. He quickly ran to Li Xue's side and pulled her away to a safer distance.
The catfish-merman seemed to want to pursue them, but because of the catfish-merman, the injured frog-faced person had also started running in the same direction as them.
Lin Xiao Tian was unarmed now and couldn't do anything to these frog-faced creatures. He could only try to separate from it.
But who would have thought that no matter which way he ran, the frog-faced person would follow!