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Yang Fan patiently waited for more than ten minutes, and finally, the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands showed some signs of change.
Surrounding the Crimson Qilin Fruit were three layers of protection.
The first layer was composed of tender branches, the second layer was unpolluted vine roots, and the third layer was dead roots.
It was the second layer that had now shown a peculiar development.
Originally, the second layer of vine roots emitted a faint blue-green fluorescence, but suddenly, Yang Fan noticed that the color of the silver light emitted from the base of this layer had changed to a green fluorescence!
Although it had not yet reached the depth of color seen in the chamber, the shade had definitely deepened compared to before.
And it was at this moment that the second layer of vine roots began to grow vigorously, at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary plant growth and development.
In just a few seconds, the second layer expanded outward, snapping the dead roots of the third layer.
After the third layer of vine roots broke, they fell to the sides, causing the outermost spherical structure to collapse with a loud crash!
At the same time, the original second layer of vine roots, by some unknown method, had self-severed the flow of internal sap, losing all its luster.
As these dramatic changes occurred, the tender branches on the innermost layer also developed rapidly, stretching outward.
These tender branches were completely untainted, emitting a faint blue-green light with each pulsation.
Yang Fan watched this scene in amazement.
The three layers of defense, when the second layer was contaminated, the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands immediately cut off the sap supply to the second layer, turning it into dead roots and replacing the original outermost layer of defense.
And the original innermost layer of defense became the new second layer of defense!
“It’s fighting to the death against the pollution!” Yang Fan exclaimed in shock.
The Demon Lotus Thousand Hands was enormous and could draw energy from the earth, but how much energy could a Thousand Hands extract if all its branches were contaminated?
This was the last untainted territory for the Thousand Hands, and to protect this sanctuary, it was willing to sacrifice its limbs to survive, pouring everything it had into a desperate resistance!
Who would have thought that the most heart-stopping battle in the Qilin Lair would be happening right here!
Even though it was just a plant, Yang Fan found himself feeling a sense of admiration for it from the bottom of his heart.
He had indeed judged that the Thousand Hands possessed some level of consciousness, but he never imagined that it would go to such lengths to defend against pollution!
The original innermost layer of tender branches quickly became the new second layer of barrier, but at this time, no new tender branches were rapidly forming.
This also meant that the innermost layer of defense was now empty.
Taking advantage of the fact that the layer of tender branches was not yet complete and the gaps were larger, Yang Fan finally caught a glimpse of the situation inside the innermost layer.
There, not only was a crimson Qilin Fruit growing, but there was also a white egg lying there!
The egg was dirty all over and emitted a foul odor, which fortunately was diluted by the surrounding Demon Lotus Thousand Hands. Without the Thousand Hands, it might have smelled even worse.
The diameter of the egg was about twenty centimeters, roughly oval in shape, pointed at the top and wider at the bottom, and it stood side by side with the Crimson Qilin Fruit at this moment.
Now Yang Fan finally understood something.
Why he had smelled the aura of an exotic beast but had not encountered one.
Because this exotic beast was currently just an egg!
“Why is there an egg here?” Yang Fan was puzzled. “It looks like it was just born not long ago. Could it be a Qilin egg?”
Yang Fan was skeptical about whether the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands was protecting the Crimson Qilin Fruit or the egg.
At that moment, to Yang Fan’s right, a voice suddenly burst out.
“Zhang Jie, the orb only falls and changes five times a day, and you’ve already failed three times. You must succeed this time!”
Liu Qi?! Yang Fan’s heart tightened. Liu Qi and Zhang Jie were indeed hiding less than ten meters away from him!
Speaking of which, Yang Fan and Liu Qi had made two different deductions about the Crimson Qilin Fruit.
Currently, it seemed that Yang Fan’s deduction was more accurate; the Crimson Qilin Fruit was indeed nurtured in “a certain special environment.”
To find the Crimson Qilin Fruit, Yang Fan spent two days exploring 341 chambers, consuming exotic beast spirit flesh, and cultivating the orb.
However, Liu Qi’s guess could not be said to be entirely wrong.
Now it appeared that this Crimson Qilin Fruit was very likely left by a Qilin for this egg, and it was indeed something left behind by a Qilin.
Moreover, Liu Qi’s unconventional thinking brought the most direct advantage, which was that after they descended, they went straight to the central area of the abyss!
They arrived here two days earlier than Yang Fan, giving them two extra days to observe the situation!
Two days was enough time for them to get a clear understanding of what was happening here.
Seeing the three layers of defense of the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands collapse and reform for the first time, under normal circumstances, Yang Fan would not have been able to act immediately, and even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t have known how to proceed.
But Liu Qi and his team had the advantage of time and had already figured out that the defense collapsed and reformed three times a day. And now it seemed that they had already come up with a plan to seize the Crimson Qilin Fruit.
Furthermore, Liu Qi had just mentioned that they had failed three times before, indicating that they had attempted this many times!
During these two days, Liu Qi and his team had not been idle!
Liu Qi and Zhang Jie rushed out from their hiding place among the dead roots and stood in front of the spherical structure.
Zhang Jie immediately drew his bow and shot an arrow, making a whooshing sound as it tore through the air!
Yang Fan’s eyes followed the trajectory of this arrow.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that what was shot was not an “arrow” but a “pebble”!
And this pebble was tied to a thin line, which should be the silk from an iron spider, with the other end of the line tied around Zhang Jie’s waist.
The pebble with the line flew out as expected, but its speed was not too fast, and its trajectory showed a slight parabola.
In the next second, Liu Qi rapidly nocked and shot arrows, releasing three arrows in almost a single second!
Liu Qi’s first shot was a double arrow, instantly surpassing Zhang Jie’s pebble, with a thin iron spider silk connecting the two arrows. The two arrows passed through the gaps in the outermost layer of dead root defense with precision.
The second layer of defense had not fully formed yet and could not stop this arrow.
The two arrows, one on the left and one on the right, sliced through the stem of the Crimson Qilin Fruit, perfectly cutting it off from the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands’ vine branches!
And in the next second, Liu Qi’s third arrow accurately hit the “pebble” that Zhang Jie had shot earlier!
The pebble was right above the egg and the Crimson Qilin Fruit at that moment, and when it was hit by Liu Qi’s arrow, it exploded!
A fine net was released from inside, covering both the egg and the Crimson Qilin Fruit!
Zhang Jie quickly pulled on the thin line in his hand, dragging the net and pulling out both the Qilin Fruit and the egg together.
To be honest, Yang Fan was shocked by the archery skills of the two when he saw this scene.
Zhang Jie’s part was manageable, but the key was Liu Qi’s three arrows, which were crucial. Now it seemed that his archery skills were simply superb!
“Even if they failed multiple times before, being able to succeed once is already incredible!” Yang Fan mused to himself.
He couldn’t help but wonder what Liu Qi had done in the past!
However, there was now a more pressing issue at hand.
Liu Qi and his team had obtained the Qilin Fruit!
“This is bad, Liu Qi has taken too much of a lead. Am I going to have to fight to take it from him?” Yang Fan’s thoughts raced.
To snatch it, he would have to fight desperately, and his chances of winning were estimated to be less than two out of ten!
Just as Yang Fan was feeling extremely anxious, suddenly, he felt a violent shaking beneath his feet!
Next to Yang Fan’s feet, a thick vine broke through the ground and shot out, flipping Yang Fan over.
It wasn’t just Yang Fan’s side; it seemed like the entire bottom of the abyss began to tremble!
Whether it was because the Crimson Qilin Fruit had been taken or the egg had been stolen, the Demon Lotus Thousand Hands… was furious!