146: Brother, hurry up, I can't hold on anymore!

How did it become only three Spirit Stones?

Mo Fan's head buzzed, suspecting he had misheard.

Gu Shuiyue smiled sweetly, stating as a matter of course:

"Isn't it just three Spirit Stones?

"What's the difference between this thing and an Ordinary Stone, besides being a bit harder and prettier?

"Only because the Logistics Department issued a mission that collecting one such stone can be exchanged for one Spirit Stone, otherwise, Senior Sister wouldn't even look at it!

"And these things are especially rare. I was teleported to a very large town, spent two or three hours searching it inside out, and only found these three..."

After speaking, Gu Shuiyue forcefully stuffed the Origin Stones into Mo Fan's hand.

"You really don't need to be polite. It's only worth three Spirit Stones. You just saved my life. If you're polite with me, I'll be too embarrassed!"

Hearing this, Mo Fan, who had originally intended to give Gu Shuiyue Spirit Stones, awkwardly stopped and said seriously, "Then I'll accept them!"

Finally, Mo Fan added in his heart: As for the favor, consider it repaid!

Give me all the Origin Stones from now on, the more the better!

"Mm-hmm, that's good!" Gu Shuiyue's smile was brilliant, full of joy.

She could tell that Mo Fan really liked these green stones.

When Mo Fan held the stones just now, his hand immediately trembled!

Gu Shuiyue felt that being able to help Mo Fan was a good thing!

After all, Mo Fan had just saved her life!

Consider these stones, worth three Spirit Stones, as a small interest payment!

The two continued to walk forward.

Mo Fan, meanwhile, put the Origin Stones into his system space and subtly cast an Appraisal Technique.

Immediately, the azure virtual panel flashed, and a prompt box appeared.

[Discovered 3 low grade origin stones, can be absorbed and converted into attribute points. Absorb now?]

Mo Fan didn't hesitate and directly chose to absorb!

With a whoosh, the three Origin Stones that had been quietly lying in the system space instantly vanished.

The azure virtual panel flashed, and Mo Fan's attribute values quietly changed.

[Name: Mo Fan]

[Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Second Level (+)]

[...] (Click to expand folded space)

[Available attribute points: 1200]

"attribute points increased from the original 900 to the current 1200 points!

"Absorbing Origin Stones is truly refreshing—"

Mo Fan looked intoxicated.

So refreshing!

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he could Breakthrough again!

"Right, I can buy Origin Stones from other Inner Sect Disciples!

"The Sect mission offers one Spirit Stone per Origin Stone, but I can offer two, or even five!

"I happen to have some spare Spirit Stones. This business is feasible, a huge profit!"

Thinking of this, the smile on Mo Fan's face grew even brighter.

"I'm just afraid the spare Spirit Stones won't be enough—"

Mo Fan glanced at his system space and found that he only had 160 spare Spirit Stones.

"It's fine if it's not enough! I can trade them after I go out!"

"I can also get quite a few Spirit Stones in advance from the Scripture Hall. No matter what, it's a huge profit. I'm going to get rich!"

The smile on Mo Fan's face grew wider and wider; he almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Gu Shuiyue, witnessing this, was somewhat bewildered and muttered to herself:

"Why does Junior Brother like that green stone so much?

"Is this some kind of special hobby?"

As they walked, the two arrived at a place covered with dense, brown boulders.

Upon reaching here, Gu Shuiyue inexplicably grew nervous and whispered:

"Before, Yang Yi and I met that incredibly powerful spiritual entity right here. Its cave is not far ahead. Let's be careful and go around this place..."

Mo Fan nodded slightly, concealing his aura, and followed behind Gu Shuiyue.

Instantly losing perception of Mo Fan, Gu Shuiyue was startled, her face full of astonishment, saying:

"Junior Brother, your Breath Concealment Art is too strong; I can't sense you at all!"

Mo Fan was like an invisible person now, his presence reduced to the absolute minimum.

If Mo Fan hadn't been right under Gu Shuiyue's nose, she wouldn't have been able to detect his presence at all.

"I'm quite good at concealing my aura," Mo Fan said casually.

"So that's it!" Gu Shuiyue nodded, not delving deeper, and likewise concealed her aura, planning to bypass this area and move forward.

As she walked, she transmitted her thoughts, explaining:

"A large area around here requires passing through this stone forest to reach the Main City.

"Unless we take a huge detour, we can't avoid passing through here.

"But in that case, by the time we reach the main area, it'll probably be too late, and all the Opportunities will have been snatched up!

"Don't panic, although that spiritual entity is strong, there's no need to worry too much!"

Pausing, Gu Shuiyue continued to transmit her thoughts:

"That's a beast-shaped spiritual entity, massive in size, with strength roughly at the peak of Transcendent Middle Stage. Yang Yi and I were no match for it.

"However, it seems particularly concerned about its Immortal Cave. Yang Yi deliberately lured me towards its Immortal Cave before.

"After I frantically took the Mountain and River Visualization Technique from inside, I endured one of its attacks and immediately fled.

"Even so, it still stayed within its Immortal Cave and didn't chase us out.

"So I speculate that it only stays within its Immortal Cave and won't come out unless absolutely necessary.

"As long as we're careful and don't make too much noise, there definitely won't be any problems!"

Perhaps catching a glimpse of Mo Fan's expression out of the corner of her eye, Gu Shuiyue abruptly turned around, still transmitting mentally:

"Junior Brother, what's that expression? Don't you believe what I'm saying? Senior Sister tells you, my words are blessed! If I say there's no problem, then there's definitely no problem!"

Gu Shuiyue transmitted her thoughts with a confident smile plastered across her face.

In response, Mo Fan stopped, pointing forward with an expression like he'd swallowed a fly.

Gu Shuiyue was stunned and turned her face around, full of doubt.

The next second, the smile on her face instantly froze, and she stared blankly ahead, her mouth slightly agape, filled with disbelief.

"Roar!"

A roar filled with immense pressure came, shaking the entire stone forest a few times.

Mo Fan's expression changed, and he looked up to see a nearly solidified phantom, four or five meters tall, standing not far away.

It was entirely brown, with a long, narrow head and a mouth full of sharp, steel-like teeth.

Its hind limbs were long and powerful, its forelimbs short like decorations, and it had a single horn on its head, with a hideous and ferocious appearance.

"Roar!"

A loud roar almost made Mo Fan fall to the ground.

"Senior Sister, is this the spiritual entity you were talking about?" Mo Fan looked resentfully at Gu Shuiyue, who was equally dumbfounded.

"Y-yes..." Gu Shuiyue swallowed, not reacting for a moment.

"Didn't you say it would only stay in its cave?" Mo Fan wanted to hit someone.

This flag was set... and sure enough, there was a problem!

"I-I don't know either..." Gu Shuiyue was also bewildered.

How did it suddenly come out?

It didn't come out even when I stole things from its home before.

Why did it inexplicably come out now?

It's not logical!

"What are you standing there for? Run!"

Mo Fan roared, grabbed Gu Shuiyue's hand, and ran to the side.

Gu Shuiyue immediately snapped back to her senses, concentrating on circulating her breathing technique and performing the Flowing Light Peak Legacy secret art.

In an instant, wind generated under her feet, and the air seemed to offer no resistance to her. Her speed instantly increased severalfold!

With a whoosh, she carried Mo Fan away at extreme speed, directly turning into an afterimage, astonishingly fast.

However—

"Roar!"

Another muffled roar.

The space even trembled a few times.

The area in front of Mo Fan and Gu Shuiyue seemed to crack open, with spiderweb-like fissures appearing!

"Damn it!" Gu Shuiyue's expression changed drastically, and she was forced to stop.

The space ahead had become temporarily chaotic; forcing their way through could lead to serious problems!

However, why did a mere spiritual entity of Transcendent combat power possess such might?

Gu Shuiyue became apprehensive and uncertain.

This dinosaur-like spiritual entity's abilities seemed to specifically counter her!

Taking a deep breath, the hesitation in Gu Shuiyue's eyes flashed and disappeared.

She immediately made a decision, rushing towards the spiritual entity while quickly saying to Mo Fan:

"I'll hold it off, Junior Brother, find an Opportunity to run!"

Gu Shuiyue's speed was extreme, and in an instant, she arrived in front of the spiritual entity, fiercely striking out with a palm print.

Terrifying gusts of wind swirled, this palm strike seemed capable of overturning the entire stone forest.

The ground vibrated violently, and boulders weighing a thousand catties each floated slightly, trembling intensely.

Boom!

With a palm strike, heaven and earth changed color, carrying terrifying might as it struck towards the beast-shaped spiritual entity.

However—

"Roar!"

A muffled roar, and the space directly experienced a small-scale collapse.

Gu Shuiyue's heaven-shaking palm strike was inexplicably dissolved by spatial power, like hitting cotton, making her extremely uncomfortable!

"Holy crap, so strong!" Gu Shuiyue felt like dying!

Although the spiritual entity in front of her seemed to only be at the peak of Transcendent Sixth Level based on its aura.

However, combined with its Heaven-Defying spatial manipulation ability, even a Transcendent Seventh Level might not be its opponent.

"Roar!"

A furious roar dissolved the attack, followed by a thick tail sweeping horizontally, moving very fast, arriving in an instant, seemingly intending to cut Gu Shuiyue in half.

"You damn thing, that's too outrageous!"

Gu Shuiyue spat, quickly circulated Flowing Shadow, and instantly shifted, dodging the attack.

However, the spiritual entity seemed to have already captured Gu Shuiyue's movement trajectory.

The moment Gu Shuiyue's figure flashed, she was met with a short, massive claw.

Bang!

Struck by terrifying force, Gu Shuiyue flew backward, her old injuries were aggravated, and fresh blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

"Too strong, too strong!"

Despair filled her eyes, and as she landed, she glanced with her peripheral vision in the direction Mo Fan had been.

He bought so much time?

That guy must have successfully escaped, right?

However, in the next instant, Gu Shuiyue’s face darkened.

Mo Fan was standing there, frowning, carefully looking around, seemingly lost in thought.

"What time is it? Is this guy agonizing over which path to take to escape?"

Gu Shuiyue wanted to hit someone.

At a time like this, what is there to agonize over?

Of course, you charge forward!

Break out of this stone forest, and ahead is the Main City!

"Junior Brother, run! What are you standing there for?! If you don't run now, you won't get another chance! Run towards the Main City! Remember to burn some good things for me next year!"

Gu Shuiyue shouted anxiously.

"Senior Sister! Hold on for one more minute! Just one minute! I have a way to deal with this big guy! Just block it a little! Don't let it come over to my side!" Mo Fan shouted loudly.

Gu Shuiyue: "??!"

There was no time to explain to Gu Shuiyue. Mo Fan's figure flickered, and he ran towards a stone forest on the right.

That was precisely where the current Spirit Body's nest was located.

Watching this scene, Gu Shuiyue was stunned.

"Is he throwing himself into the net?"

Gu Shuiyue's face was filled with despair.

She wanted to lie down and wait for death.

But at the thought of Mo Fan's firm eyes, filled with extreme confidence, she fiercely wiped away the blood from the corner of her mouth, leaped up from the ground, and actively charged towards the Spirit Body.

"Come on, big guy! Your grandma is here! Where are you looking, you noob!"

Bang!

With one palm strike, the space within a dozen meters was distorted.

This palm directly sent the beast-shaped Spirit Body, which was about to turn to chase Mo Fan, flying.

"Ow!" With a humiliated roar, the beast-shaped Spirit Body gave up chasing the weak human who was trying to raid its home, locked its gaze on Gu Shuiyue again, and charged over with a roar.

"Hmph! You beast! Now you'll know how formidable your grandma is!"

Gu Shuiyue's expression hardened. She circulated her movement technique and also charged towards the beast-shaped Spirit Body.

Of course, she wasn't being reckless.

Instead, she skillfully used her movement technique to maneuver around the beast-shaped Spirit Body, hoping to buy time for Mo Fan.

At this moment, besides hoping Mo Fan could create a miracle, she had no other choice.

In a head-on confrontation, Mo Fan was definitely no match for the beast-shaped Spirit Body before them.

After all, this thing could almost contend with a Transcendent Seventh Level creature.

And Mo Fan, even if he used a secret technique to unleash his full power, could only barely exert the power of Transcendent First Level.

The gap was too vast!

They were not on the same Rank!

Gu Shuiyue fended off the beast-shaped Spirit Body's attacks while her mind raced with random thoughts.

A mere minute felt infinitely stretched at this moment.

The Flowing Light Peak's movement technique Legacy was excellent.

But Gu Shuiyue had only just touched the threshold, not even truly comprehended it.

Therefore, her movement technique still had many flaws; she would occasionally fail to react in time and be hit by the beast-shaped Spirit Body.

With a slap.

Gu Shuiyue was sent flying by a tail whip.

However, in the next second, she fiercely wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, then climbed up from the ground again, and once more charged towards the beast-shaped Spirit Body.

"Hurry up, Junior Brother, I can't hold on much longer!" she shouted.

"Ten seconds!" Mo Fan replied.

"Alright! I'll risk it all!" Gu Shuiyue gritted her teeth and continued to entangle with the beast-shaped Spirit Body.

A mere ten seconds felt as long as a lifetime!

Gu Shuiyue's injuries worsened, her internal organs were displaced, countless bones in her body were broken, and blood gushed from her mouth as if her life depended on it, staining her entire body crimson.

She only felt a burning pain all over her body, and her consciousness began to blur.

The fact that she could persist this long was entirely due to her powerful willpower.

"Are you... ready yet..."

Once again sent flying, Gu Shuiyue felt her vision double, and her mind was completely blank.

"I... I can't hold on..."

Gu Shuiyue felt her eyelids fighting each other, and her head was as heavy as lead, unable to function no matter how hard she tried.

However, at this moment, Mo Fan's voice rang out.

"It's ready, Senior Sister! You don't need to hold it back anymore! Let it come over!"

Hearing this, Gu Shuiyue, who had just fallen to the ground, smiled with relief, tilted her head, and fainted.

"Roar!"

The beast-shaped Spirit Body roared, no longer bothering with Gu Shuiyue, and instead dashed towards its nest.

Damn human!

What have you done to this king's nest?!

It charged straight ahead, and large chunks of rock collapsed.

In an instant, the beast-shaped Spirit Body appeared before Mo Fan, and without a word, it swung its long and powerful tail, attacking Mo Fan.

At this point, Mo Fan no longer held back. With a whoosh, he activated the Golden Body Art, and in an instant, his body glowed golden, and his skin turned a golden-yellow.

Duang!

The beast-shaped Spirit Body's tail struck Mo Fan, but it was as if it hit a lump of iron, emitting a piercing, sharp roar.

Bang!

Mo Fan flew backward, smashing several huge rocks in a row before barely stopping his momentum.

"Holy crap! That hurts!"

Mo Fan rubbed his chest, grimacing as he crawled out of the pile of rubble.

Foundation Establishment Realm is still a bit lacking!

Although he wouldn't be killed by a single tail whip from the beast-shaped Spirit Body in front of him, it still hurt him so much that his whole body went limp.

However, at this moment, he could only endure the severe pain and gave the beast-shaped Spirit Body the middle finger.

"Four-legged big lizard, is that all you've got? I'm perfectly fine! If you've got guts, whip me to death with your tail!"

"Roar!" The beast-shaped Spirit Body seemed to understand Mo Fan's provocative words and roared, then charged towards Mo Fan.

In response, Mo Fan unhurriedly ran towards the beast-shaped Spirit Body's nest, giving it a contemptuous glare.

This action undoubtedly enraged the beast-shaped Spirit Body. It accelerated, instantly appearing before Mo Fan, and with a Dragon's Tail Sweep, it sent Mo Fan flying once again.

This time, it was serious, and its power had increased by several tenths compared to the previous strike.

Bang bang bang!

Mo Fan was like a bullet fired, moving at extreme speed. After shattering an unknown number of giant rocks, he barely managed to stop himself.

This time, even with the Golden Body Art's enhancement, he cried out in pain, his internal organs burning as if they were about to split open.

"Trash, nothing more than this!" Mo Fan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and again gave the beast-shaped Spirit Body the middle finger.

"Roar!" The beast-shaped Spirit Body roared in fury, its body trembling.

It charged towards Mo Fan again, stirring up a strong wind that crushed the surrounding giant rocks one by one.

In an instant, it appeared before Mo Fan.

This time, it didn't use its tail to strike; instead, it directly opened its gaping maw, revealing sharp fangs that gleamed with cold light, and bit down on Mo Fan.

At this moment, Mo Fan seemed to be scared stiff, standing motionless in place.

Crack!

A crisp sound.

Half of Mo Fan's body was instantly gone, his intestines spilled onto the ground, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Seeing this scene, a human-like smile appeared on the beast-shaped Spirit Body's face, as if to say: Finally got rid of this hateful bug!

However, before it could finish celebrating, Mo Fan, who had lost half his body, instantly became whole again and once more gave it the middle finger.

"Trash! Is that all you've got? If you have the guts, bite me again?!"

"Ow!" The beast-shaped Spirit Body was enraged beyond measure. It roared, tilted its head back, and once again opened its gaping maw to bite down on Mo Fan.

Crack!

A crisp sound rang out.

Half of Mo Fan's body was gone again, his intestines spilled onto the ground, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

"Roar!" The beast-shaped Spirit Body roared excitedly.

However, in the next second, Mo Fan was perfectly fine again.

"Trash! Is that all you've got? If you have the guts, bite me again?!"

"Roar!"

...On the other side, in front of a spacious, brightly lit nest built from huge stones, Mo Fan rubbed his still burning and aching chest, grimacing as he watched the beast-shaped Spirit Body spinning in place, almost unable to hold back his laughter.

"It really worked!

"This Field thing is truly profound!"

Smiling, Mo Fan no longer paid attention to the beast-shaped Spirit Body and turned to walk into the nest.

Just now, he had noticed a clue, perceiving that the Field of this stone forest still retained some power.

Thus, he had Gu Shuiyue stall for a minute.

During that minute, he repaired the Field in that small area in front of the nest and successfully lured the beast-shaped Spirit Body over, causing it to fall into a magical Field similar to a 'ghost hitting a wall'.

Before long, Mo Fan arrived inside the nest.

"Since Senior Sister Gu could find a top-tier Visualization Technique here, there might be other good things!"

While thinking, Mo Fan immediately focused his spirit and cast Appraisal Technique on the various miscellaneous items within the nest.

[Ordinary Stone, wide and long, hard in texture, warm in winter and cool in summer, can be used as a bed board.]

[Hundred-Year Plantago, unranked Spirit Medicine, main material for refining Clear Eye Pills.]

[Worn Iron Sword, an iron sword from several epochs ago, corroded by time, has lost its inherent power, now like scrap iron.]

[...]

"Hiss! This whole nest is full of junk!"

Mo Fan winced in pain.

However, in the next second, he locked his gaze behind a fist-sized, dark spherical stone.

"There's something good!" Mo Fan's eyes lit up.