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Liu Qi’s mind was racing, unable to fathom how Yang Fan managed to escape.
However, Yang Fan’s escape, with the time taken to cut the rope, proved one thing — he hadn’t encountered any exotic beasts!
Zhang Jie, filled with guilt, asked, “So, what do we do now?”
Glancing coldly at Zhang Jie, Liu Qi pondered for a moment, thoughts swirling in his head.
Then, his tone softened as Liu Qi spoke, “The second objective is right before us, the opportunity is within reach. I refuse to leave just like that. Even without that useless one, with you by my side, I will give it a try!”
“Moreover, even though that useless one ran off, his data is so pathetic, and he’s injured. He couldn’t have gone far.”
“Even if there’s danger ahead, our chances of survival are much higher than his!”
Zhang Jie widened his eyes, “You still want to continue?”
Liu Qi, now devoid of his previous anger, smiled faintly, “Not just me, but us! Zhang Jie, I’m sorry for losing my temper earlier. I just felt it was such a waste…”
“I-I understand.”
Nodding, Liu Qi continued, “Zhang Jie, there’s nothing to fear. I’m here with you.”
“You must understand, surviving today doesn’t guarantee survival in the long run! Since we’re here for the assessment, there’s no turning back. The examiner mentioned that we’ll face even greater dangers in the future. Scavengers have a high mortality rate!”
“But there’s one thing you must admit! If your strength surpasses that of your peers, your chances of survival are definitely higher than theirs!”
“As long as we find the Crimson Qilin Fruit, we can achieve a physical breakthrough. We might even accomplish the ultimate goal.”
“Achieving the second objective is like winning at the starting line! One step ahead!”
Once again, Zhang Jie was inspired by Liu Qi’s determination, realizing the truth in his words.
“Alright, let’s go down as well!”
True to his word, Liu Qi was the second to descend.
Half an hour later, Liu Qi stretched his body, with Zhang Jie following suit.
It took the two of them over an hour to descend, as they didn’t want to make any noise, slowly climbing down the fifty-meter cliff using the rope.
Upon landing, even though they were brave, they didn’t dare to venture towards the center of the abyss for exploration. They could only search along the cliff face.
In doing so, they easily discovered the numerous openings at the base of the cliff.
“So many openings?” Zhang Jie exclaimed.
Liu Qi snorted, “Yeah, now we don’t know which opening that kid used to escape from… But no need to worry, he’s already injured. We’ll search through each opening one by one, and we’ll eventually find him.”
With three components to the second objective — exploring the Qilin Lair’s source of pollution, finding the Crimson Qilin Fruit, and achieving a physical breakthrough — Liu Qi planned to track Yang Fan while working towards completing the objectives.
“By the way, it seems like you have a decent relationship with that kid. Do you know his name?” Liu Qi suddenly inquired.
After a moment’s thought, Zhang Jie had nothing to hide, “His name is Yang Fan.”
“Yang Fan?” Liu Qi silently noted the name and didn’t say anything further.
…
At that moment, Yang Fan, leaning on his Grey Pine Spear, limped towards the depths of the cave.
Even though over an hour had passed since his escape, he hadn’t really gone far.
It seemed that Liu Qi’s blow was aimed to break his bones; his left leg still couldn’t bear any weight.
The cave here was much narrower than the outer openings, measuring three to four meters in height and a little over two meters wide, with a flat ground.
The rocky walls appeared uneven, and there was a strong musty smell in the air, though the stench of wild beasts had diminished.
“There shouldn’t be any exotic beasts here. It’s fortunate not every cave houses them.”
After walking a bit further, Yang Fan was exhausted. At that moment, he noticed that the dark mist billowing at the end of the passage was denser than outside. Behind the veil of darkness, there seemed to be something emitting a faint green light!
Faintly emanating from within was the scent of a certain plant.
“Could this be the source of pollution?” Yang Fan, despite his fatigue, quickened his pace.
Before long, he reached the end of the passage, where a spacious cavern lay before him.
This chamber had only one entrance, its shape irregular, neither round nor square, but with a considerable area, perhaps around two hundred square meters.
However, Yang Fan’s attention was drawn to the vines clinging to the rocky walls.
These vines, resembling ivy, covered the walls entirely, with thick roots exposed on the ground’s surface, pulsating with a greenish-silver light like veins.
Stretching from all directions towards the center of the chamber, these vines clustered densely there. Unfortunately, most of the roots were deeply buried underground and not visible.
With each pulsation of the exposed roots at the base, emitting a green light, wisps of black mist dispersed from the surface, drifting outward.
“Is this plant causing this dark mist?” Yang Fan stared in astonishment at the plant in the center of the chamber.
After a moment of shock, he immediately raised his wrist screen.
[Demon Lotus Thousand Hands: A large vine plant. The complete Demon Lotus Thousand Hands has yet to be excavated. Conservatively estimated, it can cover 2-3 square kilometers once mature.]
[Demon Lotus Thousand Hands mostly grow underground, possessing the ability to absorb underground essences. Its sap contains incredibly potent energy, intolerable for elite-level exotic beasts below the fifth rank, and higher-level exotic beasts must consume it in minute quantities!]
[The Demon Lotus Thousand Hands does not bear fruit naturally, but certain powerful exotic beasts can use special methods to induce fruit production, reducing its energy content to shorten the consumption cycle. These fruits, varying based on the exotic beast, are individually named after the exotic beast due to their uniqueness. ]
Reading this explanation, Yang Fan felt like his knowledge had expanded significantly.
“Great, a fifth-rank exotic beast… elite-level… I remember Mengji was just an ordinary exotic beast, only reaching the third rank in adulthood.”
“Obtaining a fifth-rank elite directly now, this is quite the entrance assessment!”
None of those undergoing the assessment had achieved a physical breakthrough.
Fortunately, regardless of the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands’ level, it hadn’t undergone any changes and remained within the category of plants.
Without a doubt, regardless of how potent the sap of the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands might be, Yang Fan dared not even touch it now, let alone disturb the murky mist emanating from it.
“But the information only introduced the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands and didn’t mention it producing dark mist…”
After some thought, a bold idea sprang to Yang Fan’s mind.
The objective mentioned finding the Crimson Qilin Fruit from the polluted Qilin lair.
If even the Qilin Fruit was contaminated, wouldn’t that imply that the source nurturing the Qilin Fruit, the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands itself, was contaminated!
It was because of this contamination that it emitted the dark mist!
In that moment, a mysterious voice sounded in Yang Fan’s ear.
[You have found the source of pollution.]
“Indeed, the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands is the source of pollution.”
This place, known as the Qilin Lair, likely housed a Qilin in the past. Judging by the scale here, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it an underground palace, fitting for the identity of the Qilin divine beast.
Most importantly, with a Demon Lotus Thousand Hands of such size here, for a creature on the level of the Qilin, it’s akin to cultivating in the heart of a spiritual source!
Yang Fan even speculated that there might be branches of the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands in every cave. After all, the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands can cover two to three square kilometers, making this chamber just a fraction of its total size.
That Qilin could cultivate Qilin Fruits in different chambers.
Life here seemed rather luxurious indeed.
However, this Demon Lotus Thousand Hands later became contaminated, causing the Qilin to abandon this place.
Unexpectedly, by randomly choosing a mountain cave, Yang Fan completed the first part of the second objective.
While Yang Fan found the source of pollution, he didn’t relax.
“Liu Qi and Zhang Jie will definitely come down. As long as they aren’t too unlucky and don’t encounter exotic beasts, they probably have found the source of pollution too!” Yang Fan squinted slightly.
“So, the challenge of the first part of the second objective isn’t in finding it, but in daring to descend to the depths of the abyss and avoiding exotic beasts!”
Everyone could complete the first part of the task, but the second part would be crucial.
“Find the Crimson Qilin Fruit!”
As mentioned earlier, the fruits of the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands are named after the exotic beasts that induce their fruiting.
This means that the Qilin Fruit is the fruit of the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands, which must surely grow on the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands.
But how can an uncontaminated Crimson Qilin Fruit grow on a contaminated Demon Lotus Thousand Hands?
After pondering for a moment, Yang Fan shook his head, his gaze determined. “Since this part of the objective exists, there must be such a Crimson Qilin Fruit.”
“There must be some special reason why that particular Qilin Fruit remained uncontaminated. I must find that unique Qilin Fruit among all these caves!”