Chapter 621 - 617: Escape
Chapter 621: Chapter 617: Escape
BOOM—
Another claw swiped at him.
Fang Han pushed his Wind God Step to an unprecedented extreme. The Grandmaster-level Body Technique, at the Realm of Perfection, made his speed astonishingly fast.
His figure moved like a wisp of wind, narrowly darting through the gaps between the giant claws.
Only then did he get a clear look at the Demon.
It was a Demon shaped like a giant lizard. From head to tail, it was over seventy feet long, and as it lay prone, it resembled a small, dark-green mountain.
Its entire body was covered in palm-sized, dark-green scales. The surface of these scales bristled with sharp bone spikes, making it look as if it were clad in ferocious armor made of thorns.
Its vertical pupils were a dark yellow, and as its eyelids opened and closed, two clusters of cold, spectral flames seemed to burn within.
It was now moving on its four thick, short legs, chasing him at a speed that completely belied its massive size.
With every step, the ground trembled violently, and the earth was stomped into giant pits several feet deep.
The terrifying aura it radiated was like a volcano on the verge of eruption, sending all the birds and beasts within a ten-li radius fleeing in a frenzy.
SWOOSH!
Fang Han’s pupils contracted. ’I can’t believe my luck is this bad,’ he thought, ’to be teleported right next to a Grandmaster-level Demon.’
Ignoring the sharp pain in his chest, he pushed his Wind God Step to its absolute limit.
He frantically wove through ancient trees and jagged rocks, his figure as elusive as the wind, deliberately diving into the densest parts of the forest and the most complex terrain.
Behind him, the loud SNAP of breaking wood became a continuous roar. It was the sound of the giant lizard crashing through ancient trees, and it grew louder and louder.
The earth trembled ceaselessly.
Fang Han gritted his teeth and activated Ghost Shadow at the Minor Achievement Realm, suppressing his aura until it was nearly non-existent.
He constantly changed direction within the dense forest, and each turn caused the giant lizard’s lunges to miss their mark.
Finally, after being chased for dozens of li, the giant lizard’s pursuit began to slow.
It let out a frustrated and violent roar. The sound wave became a tangible force, shaking the surrounding trees until they rustled violently.
Then, it turned its massive body and slowly headed back the way it had come.
Fang Han continued to sprint for another ten-plus li. Only when he could no longer sense the terrifying aura did he finally stop on the branch of an ancient tree.
He staggered, grabbing the tree trunk for support and gasping for breath.
He looked down to see the clothes on his chest were torn, revealing the faint glow of his Mid-grade Spiritual Armor. A dull ache spread through his chest—an injury caused by the Qi Force.
This was the result of merely being grazed by the wind from its claws.
If this hadn’t been a Grandmaster Demon that wasn’t skilled in speed, and if he hadn’t possessed the Wind God Step at the Realm of Perfection—a speed that surpassed those Breaking the Three Gates and could rival a Grandmaster specializing in Body Techniques—he would have likely been doomed.
’Fortunately, the injury isn’t too severe.’
Fang Han took a Jade Dew Pill from his Storage Ring and swallowed it. He then leaned against the tree trunk, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing for a moment. The dull ache in his chest gradually subsided.
"This luck..."
A helpless smile touched Fang Han’s lips.
’The teleportation into the Secret Realm is random,’ he mused. ’I never expected to be so unlucky as to appear right next to a Grandmaster Demon the moment I arrived.’
It was a good thing that this Grandmaster Demon wasn’t skilled in speed; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Once his injuries had stabilized, Fang Han stood up.
He activated Ghost Shadow to its full potential, concealing his aura completely. Then he activated Netherworld Guide, spreading his exceptionally keen perception out into the surroundings.
He began to explore.
The surrounding forest was even denser here, and the air was filled with a damp, ancient scent.
He walked forward, each step exceptionally light and steady.
Before long, he discovered a piece of dark red ore, about the size of a basketball, half-buried among decaying leaves.
’Red Scale Ore.’
Fang Han placed his hand on the ore and summoned his system panel.
"Recharge."
As the command was given, the ore vanished.
[Wealth: 300,000 Gold → 330,000 Gold]
He continued onward.
He went on to find several more precious ores: a piece of Cold Ice Profound Iron, a chunk of Purple Essence Ore, and a few high-quality pieces of Meteorite Iron.
Each piece was quite valuable, increasing his wealth by more than one hundred thousand gold.
As he was walking, Fang Han suddenly stopped.
Not far ahead, a huge fissure—or perhaps a cavern—had opened up in the ground.
The cavern entrance was dozens of feet high and over a hundred feet long, looking like a ghastly wound slashed deep into the earth by some invisible, giant blade.
The rock at the cavern’s edge was scorched black, as if it had once been subjected to extreme heat.
"What is this...?"
Fang Han approached the edge of the cavern and peered down.
The depths of the cavern were pitch black, and he couldn’t see a thing.
However, his keen senses could detect a faint, warm current of air rising from its depths, which struck him as rather peculiar.
’I’ll go in and take a look!’
After a moment of deliberation, Fang Han took an oil lamp from his Storage Ring, lit it, and entered the cavern.
It was a massive underground cavern, with countless stalactite-like rock pillars hanging from its ceiling.
What surprised Fang Han was the sheer scale of the place. It wasn’t a single cave but a complex network of tunnels branching out in all directions.
Countless passages of varying sizes extended every which way, forming a massive subterranean labyrinth.
HUMMM—
Fang Han scanned his surroundings and immediately spotted several precious ores. ’This cavern must be a natural mineral deposit,’ he realized, ’filled with rare ores.’
"What a place!"
Fang Han took a deep breath, a fervent gleam in his eyes, and strode into the nearest tunnel.
The tunnel was about ten feet wide, and its walls were embedded with ores of all sizes that cast a cold glint in the lamplight.
Fang Han reached out and pried a fist-sized, dark purple chunk of Purple Essence Ore from the rock wall.
"Recharge."
[Wealth: 410,000 Gold → 430,000 Gold]
He had walked no more than a few hundred feet when he found another piece of Red Scale Ore, this one the size of a washbasin and deep red in color.
"Recharge."
[Wealth: 430,000 Gold → 460,000 Gold]
The tunnels twisted and branched, forming a web-like maze.
Fang Han explored the subterranean labyrinth day after day, losing all track of time.
On the second day, he found a more spacious cavern at the end of a narrow tunnel.
Dozens of ores of varying sizes were densely embedded in the cavern’s four walls, glowing like a wall studded with Gemstones.
He spent more than ten minutes recharging all the ores, and his wealth skyrocketed by over a million gold.
On the third day, he discovered a piece of Cold Ice Profound Iron in the bed of an underground river. It was the size of a millstone and had a deep, spectral blue hue.
The quality of the Profound Iron was exceptionally high; even in this cavern where treasures were commonplace, it was a rare find.
After recharging it, his wealth increased by a full five hundred thousand gold.
In just three days of finding all sorts of precious ores in the cavern, Fang Han’s wealth had skyrocketed from the 300,000 gold he had upon entering the Secret Realm to nearly four million gold.
Just as he was preparing to explore deeper, an invisible repulsive force suddenly descended upon him.
The world spun before his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the great hall of the Treasure Storage.
The cool light of the Luminous Pearls spilled down, illuminating the hall, which was as empty as ever.
"What a shame!"
Fang Han sighed, a sense of regret in his heart.
’Teleportation is random.’
’The next time I enter the Secret Realm, I might not be teleported near that underground cavern. I might never get the chance to explore it again.’
But regrets aside, the rewards from this trip had already far exceeded his expectations.
"Next, to test a theory!"
Fang Han took the second Treasure Map from his Storage Ring—the one he had obtained in the Secret Realm.
He wanted to test whether a person could use a second Treasure Map to enter the Secret Realm more than once in a single year.
Holding the second Treasure Map, Fang Han walked toward the wall once more.
The golden runes on the wall lit up in response, and ripples spread outward.
The world spun.
Opening his eyes again, Fang Han warily scanned his surroundings.
A moment later, he felt a pang of disappointment.
He was no longer in the underground cavern. The place he had been teleported to was a completely unfamiliar, dense forest.
The only silver lining was that, unlike the first time, he hadn’t been teleported right next to a Grandmaster Demon.
HUMMM—
His gaze swept over the vast, ancient trees. Using Ghost Shadow to conceal his aura completely, Fang Han strode deeper into the forest.
He activated Netherworld Guide. A cool energy flowed through his sinuses and meridians as his exceptionally keen perception spread out in all directions like an invisible spiderweb.
Within a ten-li radius, no living creature could hide from him; everything was within his grasp.
The decaying leaves were soft underfoot, and ancient trees towered all around him.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the canopy, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
After walking for about an hour, Fang Han suddenly stopped, then decisively moved off in a specific direction.
A short while later, he spotted a peculiar plant next to a fallen ancient tree.
The plant was about a foot tall, pale gold in color, with a stem as slender and straight as a sword.
At its top grew three heart-shaped leaves with veins so clear they looked carved, glowing with a soft luster in the sunlight.
But the most eye-catching part was the fruit at its apex.
The fruit was about the size of a longan, entirely pale gold, with a faint shimmer of light playing across its surface, like a small, golden pearl.
An extremely faint, unique fragrance emanated from the fruit.
The scent was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
But inhaling it seemed to quicken the flow of Inner Qi within his body.
"Is this... a Realm-Breaking Fruit?"
Fang Han’s gaze fell upon the plant, and his pupils contracted slightly.
He had read about the Realm-Breaking Fruit in the Sect’s archives.
It was an extremely rare Low-grade Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, renowned for its value even among items of its class. Its purpose wasn’t to raise one’s Cultivation or improve one’s Talent, but to help a person break through a bottleneck.
The transition from the Peak of Fourth Grade to the Third Grade was the dividing line between the Middle Three Grades and the Upper Three Grades—an incredibly difficult barrier to overcome.
Many Martial Artists, limited by their innate aptitude, were stuck at this stage their entire lives, unable to enter the ranks of the Upper Three Grades.
The Realm-Breaking Fruit represented the hope of shattering that barrier.
It could be consumed directly or refined into a Realm-Breaking Elixir.
A single Realm-Breaking Fruit could grant a Martial Artist who had been stuck at the Peak of Fourth Grade for years at least a fifty percent greater chance of breaking through.
Even the High Grade Realm-Breaking Pill—a treasure so precious that top-level factions considered it part of their foundational resources—was refined using this very Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure as its primary ingredient.