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After emerging from the tunnel, Yang Fan realized that the exit was far from the Qilin Lair, beyond the reach of the black mist.
His location seemed to be in another direction from the entrance to the Qilin Lair.
He wondered who the owner of the tunnel was, daring to extend it all the way to the home of the Qilin divine beast.
Were they intending to steal Qilin Fruits?
For the exotic beasts of the Shan Hai Jing world, the tunnel was quite narrow. The fellow who dug it was probably not a large exotic beast.
It’s just that he hadn’t expected that the fellow, though not big in size, had quite the audacity to dig around the Qilin Lair.
Just like how in the homes of humans, who are considered the lords of all spirits, there would still be mice causing frustration and helplessness, this perhaps is the marvel of nature.
From Yang Fan’s vantage point, he could still see the area near the Qilin Lair shrouded in black mist.
Thinking about finally escaping from there, Yang Fan took a deep breath of fresh air.
Then, that mysterious voice resounded.
“Head west for about 5 kilometers until you reach the Thousand Beast Lake. Then follow a tributary northward for another kilometer to find Phoenix Mountain.”
“Sneak into the tributary of the Thousand Beast Lake and enter the depths of the underground cave on the southern side of Phoenix Mountain to find that Phoenix Flowing Flame Grass.”
“During this time, you need not worry about encountering exotic beasts. Just swiftly claim your reward.”
Yang Fan nodded, “Just a moment, I have a few things on me, need to tidy up for the journey.”
The voice didn’t respond, indicating tacit approval.
Yang Fan opened Zhang Jie’s waist pouch, turning it into a makeshift net, securing the exotic beast eggs and tying them to his back.
Yang Fan also had the arrows left by Zhang Jie. He had originally intended to use them for climbing cliffs, but now he decided to hang them around his waist.
The spare Level 1 Beast Essence Pill and the contaminated Qilin Fruit were still tucked into his pockets. He used an iron spider silk to tie the stem of a Mountain Peach Fruit and hung it on one of the arrows.
He had kept the Grey Pine Spear with him all along. While there wouldn’t be any exotic beasts on the road, it could still help clear away weeds and vines.
Once he was ready, Yang Fan glanced at his wristwatch.
After his physical breakthrough, surprisingly, his stats hadn’t changed.
Strength: 174, Speed: 138, Stamina: 122.
“After the breakthrough, no increase in stats?” Yang Fan pondered for a moment before realizing the reason.
Exotic Beast Spirit Flesh and Qilin Fruit can enhance the physical body, but the Beast Essence Pill’s role is to break through the limits of the flesh.
Only by breaking through the limits of the flesh can one continue to strengthen the body. Otherwise, even if you consume a lot of Exotic Beast Spirit Flesh and Qilin Fruit, you’ll still be stuck at the current limit.
“So that’s how it is… Spirit Flesh, Qilin Fruit, and Beast Essence Pill are like completely different types of medicines, requiring different materials for enhancement and breakthrough,” Yang Fan silently noted this point.
Although the breakthrough didn’t further improve Yang Fan’s physical qualities, his body’s condition was now incomparable to before, filled with strength from head to toe.
After preparing, Yang Fan set off for the Thousand Beast Lake.
Indeed, along the way, Yang Fan didn’t encounter any exotic beasts, allowing him to travel boldly and confidently.
Perhaps feeling too relaxed, Yang Fan’s mind had room to ponder other matters.
“Elder, can we activate the second objective now?”
The voice remained silent.
“I’m just worried,” Yang Fan said as he cleared away the bushes in front of him. “Liu Qi should have activated the ultimate goal by now. Although you’ve replenished my rewards, I’m still behind him.”
Yang Fan once again shifted the responsibility onto the owner of the mysterious voice.
A sigh sounded in his ears, indicating that the voice was reluctantly being drawn out by Yang Fan.
“The second objective, which is the ultimate goal.”
“Choose one between finding the Bodhisattva Blue Lotus or the Remnant Fragrance of Ghost Annihilation, and then enter the Qilin Lair to destroy the completely contaminated Demon Lotus Thousand Hands.”
Before Yang Fan could respond, the voice continued, “Indeed, obtaining the Phoenix Flowing Flame Grass has consumed extra stamina and time, but at the same time, I’ve also helped you evade ambushes from your opponents.”
“If you feel it’s unfair, then you can return to the Qilin Lair, and I’ll find a way to give you other rewards… but whether you can live to receive them, that’s not my concern.”
“No, no, no, it’s fair, very fair!” Yang Fan hastily replied.
The mysterious voice confirmed Yang Fan’s earlier speculation—Liu Qi hadn’t left yet.
That guy was definitely a tough opponent!
Both he and Liu Qi had achieved a physical breakthrough, but their foundations were different, their limits were different, so the effects of consuming Qilin Fruit would surely be different.
Liu Qi’s physical qualities were definitely higher than his own, and he held an absolute geographical advantage on the cliff. Climbing up would consume a tremendous amount of energy, and it might be difficult to leave his hands alive.
Considering all this, losing the initiative for the ultimate goal was definitely worth it.
“Elder, where can I find the Bodhisattva Blue Lotus and the Remnant Fragrance of Ghost Annihilation?”
“Sigh… The Bodhisattva Blue Lotus is to the west, and the Remnant Fragrance of Ghost Annihilation is to the east,” the voice sounded resigned.
Yang Fan nodded in acknowledgment.
Heading west conveniently, Yang Fan planned to collect the Phoenix Flowing Flame Grass first and then go for the Bodhisattva Blue Lotus.
Between Liu Qi and the Bodhisattva Blue Lotus lay the Qilin Lair, with a deep abyss inside but appearing as a rocky mountain from the outside. It was impractical for him to detour around the Qilin Lair to find the Bodhisattva Blue Lotus. Liu Qi was more likely to choose the Remnant Fragrance of Ghost Annihilation.
His primary task was still to accomplish the ultimate goal. Avoiding encounters with Liu Qi would be the best scenario.
It seemed that the mysterious voice’s decision to reward him with the Phoenix Flowing Flame Grass had been carefully considered, probably to prevent him from making further demands.
After walking quietly for a while, Yang Fan became restless again.
“Elder, may I ask what form you actually are?”
Silence.
“I’m curious. Originally, the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands were still resisting pollution, so they should have been able to hold out. Why did you want us to take away the Crimson Qilin Fruit? Isn’t that forcing it to give up resistance?”
“But in the end, you still want us to destroy it? Why arrange it like this?”
Silence.
“Elder, the first two objectives weren’t easy. The ultimate goal must be even more dangerous. The Bodhisattva Blue Lotus shouldn’t be easy to obtain, right?”
“Elder, you said that compared to the Qilin Claw, the Phoenix Flowing Flame Grass is only strong and not weak. What’s the criterion for judgment?”
“Elder, what exactly is pollution? Where does it come from?”
A sigh, followed by continued silence.
Well, it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to extract any more information from that voice.
But words aside, Yang Fan wasted no time in his steps.
With only a day and a half left until the end of the trial, and considering the time needed to retrieve the Phoenix Flowing Flame Grass, he didn’t have much time left to complete the ultimate goal.
Judging by the difficulty of the first two objectives, and considering that the ultimate goal involved finding one of two spiritual herbs, entering the Qilin Lair, and destroying the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands, it was going to be tough.
Simply throwing those two spiritual herbs into the Qilin Lair to destroy the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands would be effortless.
So the real challenge must lie in obtaining one of those two spiritual herbs.
As the ultimate goal, the level of danger involved was self-evident!
Yang Fan wondered about Liu Qi’s progress on his end.
While contemplating the ultimate goal, Yang Fan followed the guidance of the mysterious voice and found the tributary of the Thousand Beast Lake leading to Phoenix Mountain. He submerged into the underground cave on the southern side of Phoenix Mountain.
After diving along the underground river for 78 meters, a waterfall unexpectedly appeared ahead.
At the end of the waterfall, a large amount of water vapor rose, enveloping the surroundings in mist.
Yang Fan quickly took precautions, swimming to the shore and grabbing onto a stone pillar to pull himself ashore.
He approached the edge of the cliff and looked down.
The underground water poured down, cascading for kilometers. At the end of the waterfall, there were streams of red magma, flowing slowly like blood vessels.
When the water touched the magma, a large amount of water vapor evaporated upwards.
“I swear… Didn’t you say I wouldn’t encounter any danger? If I fell down there, there wouldn’t even be a sliver of a chance of survival!” Yang Fan exclaimed, still shaken.
Finally, the mysterious voice replied, “I hadn’t even warned you, and you’ve already climbed up on your own.”
Well, it seemed like his vision exceeded the expectations of the mysterious voice.
“The Phoenix Flowing Flame Grass is by the cliff,” the mysterious voice said.
Yang Fan looked along the cliff and indeed, 56 meters away from the cliff, he spotted a plant.
It was a small red grass, its entire body tinged crimson. Its roots extended into the crevices of the cliff rocks, and under the onslaught of the waterfall mist, the grass leaned, trembling incessantly.
Yet, despite this, it stubbornly clung to the rocky wall, standing tall and unyielding.
Yang Fan immediately aimed his wristwatch at the grass.
With no interfering objects around, the wristwatch quickly provided the result.
[Phoenix Flowing Flame Grass: A rare type of advanced spiritual plant, extremely rare, it only grows in places where water and fire clash violently.]
[This spiritual plant contains extremely strong elemental energies of both water and fire. It cannot be consumed by those without special constitutions.]
Reading this explanation, Yang Fan was stunned for a while.
Could he not consume it without a special constitution? Did he have a special constitution?
Would his weak body count?
“Elder, why did you give me something like this? Do you think I can make use of it?” Yang Fan questioned.
“You indeed can’t use it right now,” the voice appeared timely this time, “Furthermore, my original intention in giving you the Phoenix Flowing Flame Grass was not for your consumption.”
“Anyway, if you want it, then pick it quickly, being careful not to harm the roots. If you don’t want it, then it’s your own problem, unrelated to this trial,” the voice instructed.
Yang Fan sighed.
Regardless, the evaluation of the Phoenix Flowing Flame Grass in the database as “extremely rare” indicated its significant value.
Having come this far, he had no reason to give up.
The Phoenix Flowing Flame Grass grew by the cliff, but it wasn’t too far from the top. With the help of the iron spider silk, Yang Fan descended a few meters and could reach it.
After obtaining it, Yang Fan didn’t notice any immediate difference with the spiritual plant, so he simply stowed it away in his pocket.
“The exit is behind you. Once you’re out of the cave, continue westward. The Bodhisattva Blue Lotus is in that direction,” the mysterious voice said. “Alright, I’ve given you your reward. From now on, I’ll only provide hints when you’re close to the Bodhisattva Blue Lotus. I won’t guide you separately.”
Yang Fan took a deep breath.
The acquisition of the Phoenix Flowing Flame Grass was just a minor episode. The ultimate goal ahead was the real challenge!