Chapter 29: The Polluted Qilin Fruit

Yang Fan had been observing the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands.

Its core had been taken over by the black mist, and now light was emanating from that area, with a hint of impurities mixed in the green, gradually dimming.

“For other exotic beasts to fear this place, it’s likely that once the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands is completely polluted, I won’t survive either.”

“However, it seems that pollution also requires a process. The Demon Lotus Thousand Hands is too massive; it can produce three layers of defense over and over again, which likely means its core is much larger than what I’ve seen.”

“A centipede with a hundred legs doesn’t stiffen even in death; it should be able to hold on for a few more days!”

Taking a deep breath, Yang Fan took out several items from his pants pocket.

Two Beast Essence Pills, one he obtained himself and the other belonged to Zhang Jie.

Two green Qilin Fruits, these were the polluted Qilin Fruits. When Yang Fan saw these two fruits, he took them without hesitation.

Yang Fan stared at the two green Qilin Fruits!

In the competition with Liu Qi, he ultimately fell behind and failed to snatch the crimson Qilin Fruit, only obtaining two green Qilin Fruits.

However, staying here meant either dying at the hands of the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands or by Liu Qi!

At this point, he could only take a desperate gamble.

Yang Fan picked up one of the fruits and narrowed his eyes slightly. “Will eating this thing kill me instantly?”

Yang Fan tried to find an answer in the wrist screen database, but unfortunately, there were no relevant records.

This proved that no one had done this before… or if someone had, they hadn’t left a record.

In any case, Yang Fan didn’t find what he was looking for.

“I don’t know if I can digest the dark energy which is the caused by he pollution that is inside…”

“Trash? Let’s see if it can be turned into treasure!”

With that said, Yang Fan took a bite.

As Yang Fan bit down, a burst of black mist suddenly dispersed.

Without hesitation, Yang Fan quickly devoured the Qilin Fruit in just a few bites!

It tasted sweet with a hint of sourness, leaving a lingering fragrance in his mouth.

After a few seconds of calm, Yang Fan suddenly felt a burning sensation sliding down his throat and finally settling in his abdomen.

Immediately after, it felt as if his internal organs were being scorched, and he vomited out billowing “black mist” from his mouth!

Yang Fan couldn’t see his own appearance now, but if there were a mirror, he would find that his eyes were alternating between completely black and normal without any pattern, rapidly changing between the two states!

However, Yang Fan couldn’t pay attention to any of this because his brain began to go into disarray, causing him excruciating headaches!

He saw visions that had never appeared before.

An arrow pierced through his heart, and in the distance, Liu Qi was looking at him, laughing triumphantly.

“Yang Fan, the battle between you and me is destined to end with my victory. Don’t blame me; I just don’t want to be the loser!”

“The pursuit of power is in our nature!”

Zhang Jie was thrown down from a height by the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands, his body twisted under the pressure.

But there was no trace of pain on his face, only a faint smile. “If I were strong enough, I could survive and protect my family.”

The scene shifted; in a dark room, a hand suddenly dragged Yang Fan under the bed.

Immediately after, the scent of blood filled the air.

A strange voice sounded in his ear, “Weakness is your sin! Why refuse the power that can make you strong?!”

More and more voices joined in, expressing their desire for power, as if countless people were whispering in Yang Fan’s ear.

These voices were almost enough to burst Yang Fan’s head!

“Aargh!” Yang Fan let out a painful howl, his hands tightly clutching his head as he collapsed on the ground, curling up into a ball and rolling back and forth.

Black mist continuously poured out of his mouth, ears, and even his eyes!

Now, he couldn’t even focus enough to enter his consciousness space!

Just as these voices were about to completely overwhelm Yang Fan, he heard that familiar voice in his ear.

“Xiao Fan, in Mom’s heart, you are the strongest person. You may not have a tall and sturdy body like others, but your willpower is stronger than anyone else’s!”

“If you give up, no matter how hard Mom tries, it won’t matter. Fortunately, over the years, you’ve never given up.”

“Mom knows you haven’t bowed to the illness; you’ve kept going and working hard. I know you will wake up, you will!”

Back then, it was his mother’s repeated calls that miraculously kept Yang Fan alive under the Nine nebulae Chains.

It was also the ten years of hardship that forged Yang Fan’s iron will.

In extreme pain, Yang Fan fiercely guarded his consciousness. He struggled to lift himself up, maintaining a seated position with his legs crossed.

“You think you can erode my consciousness? You’re too naive!” Yang Fan said fiercely. With that, he picked up an arrow from beside his feet, disregarding whether Zhang Jie had coated it with Tianxiang Fruit juice or hallucinogenic poison, and deeply stabbed it into his own thigh!

The intense pain finally brought Yang Fan’s consciousness back to a brief moment of clarity, and he quickly focused his attention to enter his consciousness space.

Upon arriving in the consciousness space, he found himself surrounded by a dense black mist.

The light from the orb within his body was almost completely obscured by the black mist.

Among the nine chains, the one connected to the distant golden nebula was violently trembling, ready to launch an attack first.

Yang Fan’s eyes flashed with ferocity as he shouted angrily, “I’m not dead yet, get lost!”

Immediately after, Yang Fan silently recited in his heart.

“Purity and impurity coexist; when purity is disturbed, turbidity arises; when turbidity settles, purity emerges.”

“Heaven, Earth, and the human heart, at times tainted, can be transformed by mindfulness, turning impurity into purity.”

“Remain unfazed even as mountains crumble before you; stay composed even as the sky falls above.”

“When facing a formidable foe, maintain calmness like still water, with a mind free of defilements.”

The dim orb, under strong resistance, slowly began to rotate, and a thin layer of white light illuminated Yang Fan’s surroundings.

Although it seemed weak compared to the thick black mist, as long as his consciousness remained, the white light would not be extinguished!

As Yang Fan’s state of mind calmed, even the voices in his ears gradually faded away.

As the orb slowly rotated, the surrounding black mist began to follow the orb’s movement, and a small amount of black mist was absorbed into the orb…

Yang Fan wasn’t sure how much time had passed; it felt like an incredibly long period.

The strange voices had completely disappeared, and his state of mind had never been as peaceful as it was now.

He slowly opened his eyes. The black mist that had surrounded him was gone, leaving only the orb in his abdomen, which was rotating and emitting a brighter white light than before, enveloping Yang Fan’s body.

The Nebulae chains, although they were still staring at Yang Fan, no longer showed any intention of continuing their attack.

Yang Fan simply looked calmly at the now tranquil consciousness space.

The only thing that surprised him was that the orb had doubled in size compared to before!

At this moment, a new piece of information appeared in his mind.

【Third Layer: Primary Sound Seal.】

【Primary Sound Seal: A type of basic auditory enhancement state, enhancing the connection between divine consciousness and both ears, capable of, for a certain period, preventing sounds from being infused through consciousness.】

“I’ve broken through to the third level?”

Since the last time the orb broke through, Yang Fan had spent very little time cultivating it, far less than the three months of cultivation before, but a single polluted Qilin Fruit had directly elevated the orb by a full level!

” Primary Sound Seal… I thought it would enhance my hearing, but it turns out it makes me ‘deaf’!”

However, Yang Fan quickly realized that although the Primary Sound Seal ability seemed to offer no help in actual combat, it was far more useful than the Primary Divine Concentration gained from the second level breakthrough.

In reality, the significance of Basic Sealed Hearing was much greater than that of Primary Divine Concentration.

For example, during the “earlier” incident when he was almost unable to enter his consciousness space due to being invaded by turbid qi, if he had Basic Sealed Hearing, he could have blocked the sounds that directly poured into his consciousness, eliminating such danger.

In short, Primary Sound Seal was an ability of great importance for entering the consciousness space.

“After breaking through, my five senses have also improved significantly. Compared to better hearing, Primary Sound Seal is actually more useful!”

Compared to the improvement of the orb, what surprised Yang Fan even more now was that he could clearly feel a tremendous change in his body.

Yang Fan opened his eyes and repeatedly looked at his hands, arms… it was as if every finger was brimming with strength!

“Did I successfully absorb the energy of the Qilin Fruit?” Yang Fan was shocked by his own achievement.

He immediately began to self-assess his physical data.

【Strength, 174, Speed, 138, Stamina, 122.】

【Your values have reached the current physical limit; a physical breakthrough can be performed.】

Yang Fan looked at his current data, almost unable to believe his eyes.

Was this data really his?

Compared to his previous data, it was simply astronomical!

“This is a huge improvement from before… is this my physical limit?”

“However, compared to others, my physical limit should be among the lowest.”

Whether it was the spirit flesh of exotic beasts or the Qilin Fruit, they could enhance physical strength but could not break through the limits. Yang Fan’s physical condition was ultimately much worse than others, resulting in a lower limit for him.

Yang Fan couldn’t change his physical condition, but since he was ready to break through, he prepared to take the Beast Essence Pill.

At that moment, the mysterious voice that had been following him like a shadow suddenly sounded in Yang Fan’s ear.

【You have found the Crimson Qilin Fruit.】

“Huh?” Yang Fan was suddenly taken aback.