Chapter 799 - 80: Strange Little Beast
Chapter 799: Chapter 80: Strange Little Beast
The mountain wind blew gently.
The Dragon Blood Bodhi tree swayed, rustling softly.
At the entrance of the valley, only the sound of the Dragon Blood Bodhi tree swaying could be heard.
Looking at the immovable boulder, Lin Chen squinted slightly. In the next moment, he flicked his right hand, and a wisp of blue light shot towards the boulder.
"Whoosh——"
The light sunk into the rock, causing powder to scatter, and finally pierced through, creating a fist-sized hole in the rock.
It seemed to be just a normal boulder.
Lin Chen showed a playful smile on his face; now he couldn’t feel the previous aura at all, but he believed his Divine Soul Perception was not mistaken.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Lin Chen continuously flicked several rays of icy blue light. If hit, the entire boulder would be riddled with holes.
This time, the boulder finally changed.
Bang!
Before Lin Chen’s Innate Power could hit, the boulder suddenly exploded, sending stone dust everywhere, obscuring all vision.
When the debris and dust settled, the boulder was gone, yet a flame appeared at Lin Chen’s fingertip this time.
The flame flicked out, directly surrounding a few scattered pieces of stone.
As the temperature of the flame rose, one of the pieces of stone finally changed, transforming into a light that tried to break through the surrounding flame.
"Trying to escape?"
A pair of golden wings appeared behind Lin Chen, and his figure vanished on the spot, transforming into a rainbow light chasing after the direction the stone fled.
The stone had just escaped the flame when it sensed danger. The whole stone stretched out, and the previously sharp stone angles shed their hard outer coats, revealing below four short, thick, fuzzy little legs.
The claws on the four legs extended from small cushions, clawing at Lin Chen, but unfortunately, the claws were too short, not even as thick as the pads, appearing completely harmless.
"Aow—woo!"
With a roar after revealing its true form, the little beast let out a growl, though it sounded more like a cute whimpering.
Whoosh!
Lin Chen’s hand, initially moving to strike, shifted to a grab when he saw the little beast, grasping the back of its neck and lifting it up.
"Aowu, aow... aowuwu..."
Being held by the back of its neck, the little beast frantically shook its body, trying to break free, but all in vain. Those four short legs were not even half a foot long and couldn’t reach Lin Chen.
"What kind of Demon Beast is this?"
Looking at the round, furry little beast with four short legs in front of him, Lin Chen also showed a hint of curiosity.
At this moment, the little beast had pure white fur, without any semblance to the earth-toned boulder from before.
The Flame Dynasty’s territory is vast. The variety and number of animals certainly exceed that of the islands; even Innate Martial Artists in the Myriad Phenomena Realm couldn’t possibly recognize all creatures.
After all, some animals barely stir the intellect and hold little value in the eyes of Martial Artists, not drawing much attention.
Yet, a creature able to transform into a boulder, even concealing itself from the Divine Soul Perception of an Innate Powerhouse, could not be an ordinary animal, not even a common Demon Beast could achieve such a feat.
This kind of special Demon Beast must not be unknown.
However, the Jade Scrolls given by his master documenting Demon Beasts in the Flame Dynasty didn’t list one matching this creature.
"Little fellow, can you understand what I’m saying?"
"Aowu, aowu..."
Seeing its lively, dark eyes, Lin Chen believed it understood him, though it couldn’t speak human words yet.
"Why are you hiding here?"
Upon hearing Lin Chen’s words, the little beast pointed its short front limb at the Dragon Blood Bodhi tree beside them.
"You want to eat the Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruit?"
Lin Chen guessed, but his brow furrowed. While Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruit could enhance a Martial Artist’s Qi Blood, it had no effect on Demon Beasts.
If a Demon Beast consumed the Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruit, there was a high chance it could die from its body exploding.
This was why Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruits were found in certain mountains; to Demon Beasts, they were poison, not a bit of interest shown.
Is this little beast not going to explode and die?
As Lin Chen wondered, the little beast fiddled with its fur on its belly, revealing a Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruit, then, under Lin Chen’s gaze, directly popped it into its mouth.
With the Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruit ingested, the little beast’s belly swelled at a visible pace. Just as Lin Chen figured the little beast would be overwhelmed by the fruit’s energy, its neck drooped, falling asleep.
Lin Chen deduced the little beast was asleep from the faint snoring it emitted.
As the little beast slept, its belly stopped expanding.
"This little beast is magical indeed."
Lin Chen shook it a few times, finding it motionless, confirming it had entered a deep sleep, and placed it aside, beginning to harvest the Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruits.
Once matured, if not picked within ten years, the fruits’ energy would be slowly absorbed by the Dragon Blood Bodhi tree itself and eventually turn into shriveled peels falling to the ground. But the ones on this tree were vibrantly red, immensely ripe; they must have just reached their peak.
In terms of quality, they surpassed the one that Chu Shishuang gave him.
One, two...
After picking all the fruits of the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree and placing them into the Hundred Objects Box, a smile appeared on Lin Chen’s face.
This time, he picked a total of one hundred and eighteen Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruits. Together with the ten fruits picked by Chu Shishuang, it means that this Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree produced a total of one hundred and twenty-eight fruits this time.
In the jade scroll that his master gave him, which introduced the heavenly materials and earthly treasures of the Flame Dynasty, it was clearly mentioned that the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree typically bears around thirty fruits on average, with some only producing a few, and at most more than fifty. If there are over a hundred... it can only mean that this place is nurtured by Dragon Vein Qi.
The Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree will only bear fruit if it absorbs enough essence of heaven and earth, and to produce a hundred fruits, this essence of heaven and earth must be exceptionally abundant, which the martial artists of the Flame Dynasty call Dragon Vein Qi.
Dragon Vein Qi is also a precious thing.
However, after searching around the valley, Lin Chen grew more puzzled. The energy of heaven and earth here was not abundant, not even enough to nurture a Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree, so how could it cause such an increase in production?
"It’s indeed strange."
A quarter of an hour later, Lin Chen gave up and returned to the mouth of the valley. He glanced at the little beast still asleep. He initially thought of leaving it alone, but in the end, he still picked it up.
A demon beast that can swallow Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruits without exploding and dying is definitely extraordinary, not to mention the disguise abilities it demonstrated earlier.
Just as Lin Chen left the valley with the little beast, the leaves of the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree began to rustle again. This time, not only did the leaves sway, but they continued to fall.
Within a few breaths, the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree was left with bare branches, which soon cracked and began breaking piece by piece.
Finally, the entire Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree turned into wood powder and scattered on the ground.
"Awoo!"
The little beast in Lin Chen’s hand suddenly trembled and let out a murmuring sound, curling its body even tighter.
...
...
Giant Stone City.
Thousand Mechanism Tavern.
"I want a private courtyard."
"Sir, a private courtyard starts at one hundred Flame Coins."
The tavern’s shopkeeper, upon hearing Lin Chen’s request, glanced at Lin Chen but didn’t become overly ingratiating just because Lin Chen was an Innate Martial Artist.
The Thousand Mechanism Tavern is extremely famous throughout the Flame Dynasty. Backed by the Thousand Mechanism Sect, those who stay there are all Innate Realm powerhouses.
The biggest difference between the Thousand Mechanism Tavern and other taverns lies in the arrays set up by the Thousand Mechanism Sect, which can block others’ divine soul perception. For Innate Realm martial artists, besides requiring a certain living environment, privacy is also what they value the most.
In this world, there are always people who like to pry into others’ secrets, but at the Thousand Mechanism Tavern, even a Myriad Phenomena Realm powerhouse’s divine soul cannot discern the situation in other courtyards.
"Prepare one for me."
Lin Chen nodded. The price of one hundred Flame Coins was indeed high, but you get what you pay for.
Staying here prevents one’s divine soul from being spied upon by powerhouses.
"Alright, sir, this way please."
Following the shopkeeper, Lin Chen selected a courtyard and waited for the waiter to deliver the food. He then instructed the waiter not to disturb him unless necessary.
After dining and bathing, Lin Chen tossed the still sleeping little beast onto the bed and then sat cross-legged on the floor, taking out a Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruit from the Hundred Objects Box.
Having experience in swallowing Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruits, Lin Chen was now clear and skillful. After swallowing the fruit, he operated the Azure Wave Technique, constantly absorbing and transforming the fruit’s energy, turning it into pure qi blood to nourish his internal organs and broaden his meridians.
One, two...
After swallowing two in a row, the surging qi blood could be felt throughout the entire room.
"Panel!"
Lin Chen softly spoke, looking at his panel.
[Host: Lin Chen]
[Realm: Innate First Realm]
[Innate Technique: Azure Wave Technique] (Undamaged Level 5)
[Qi Blood: Level 4]
[Divine Soul: Level 5]
[Willpower: Level 5]
[Speed: Level 4]
[Defense: Level 4]
[Comprehension: Level 5]
...
His qi blood had effortlessly risen from Level 3 to Level 4.
[Racing Against Time: Can still absorb the energy of Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruits to further enhance qi blood without wastage.]
Just as Lin Chen finished examining the numbers on his panel, [Racing Against Time] issued another reminder.
"No wastage? It seems I can enhance my qi blood to Level 5."
Lin Chen made a decision in his heart to enhance his qi blood to Level 5 in one go, catching up with his divine soul.
One, two, three...
As Lin Chen continued consuming Dragon Blood Bodhi Fruits, the entire bedroom was enveloped by overwhelming qi blood. Waves of qi blood surged from Lin Chen’s body like tides, and with the next moment, Lin Chen’s body sucked them back in fiercely like a whale.
This cycle repeated without pause.