Volume 1 Chapter 17: Breakthrough in Desperate Situation, Eyes of Fear

  "Wooo———"

  In the dark and eerie tree hole, a long, mournful howl echoed out, and the concentric circles of terrifying sound waves began to spread out from near to far, causing people's hearts to tremble with intense fear.

  "Lingmu Tree Spirit, 2nd-tier intermediate variant spirit beast, soul quality: high-grade primary!"

  This is a very rare breed of tree spirit, not born from mammals, but formed after reaching a certain age and absorbing the essence of heaven and earth.

  It has hundreds of vines wrapped around its body, coiling around people's bodies, probing into their internal organs, and sucking out all the essence of blood, leaving them a dry corpse. It loves to suck the fresh blood of young people, for them, it is an excellent way to prolong life and improve cultivation.

  The variant spirit beast often doesn't play by conventional rules. When Zhuo Yifan saw the Lingmu Tree Spirit, he became even more cautious.

  This Lingmu Tree Spirit is actually one of the Ten Most Powerful Fierce Beasts in the Qingyang Mountain Range!

  "I really didn't expect it, but it's actually a Lingmu Tree Spirit! Its body must have a Wood Soul Core, and its soul quality just happens to meet my requirements!"

  After the surprise, Zhuo Yifan did not show any fear, but instead revealed a strong excitement.

  Rumble!

  Seeing himself about to be dragged away, Zhuo Yifan punched the ground with one fist, and his entire iron arm was like a steel nail nailed to the ground. With his other hand, he stretched out with all his might and grabbed the dagger on the ground.

  Crack!

  With one slash downwards, the toughness of the thick tree vines caused the dagger to advance a few centimeters under brute force before coming to a complete stop.

  "What a flexible vine!"

  Zhuo Yifan increased his strength, and the air around the dagger wrapped around it, only then did he manage to snap the vine in two, releasing a thick green liquid.

  "Wooo..."

  This tree spirit seemed to feel pain, letting out a shrill cry that was several degrees more ear-piercing than fingernails on glass. It yanked the green vine back with a jerk, but what followed was anger!

  Whoosh!...

  More than twenty vines suddenly pulled out from behind its sturdy body, like lightning flashing across the sky, so fast that it was hard to believe! Suddenly, they bound Zhuo Yifan's legs and hands again, and violently dragged him away.

  "Damn it!"

  Zhuo Yifan struggled to get up, these troublesome vines were even more flexible than the green vines just now, like a circle of rubber bands, tightly wrapped around his body, difficult to shake off.

  On the terrifying dark brown vine, a number of sharp and small hooks grew, effortlessly piercing through the thin clothing, stabbing into Zhuo Yifan's body, starting to suck his fresh blood bit by bit.

  If the green vines just now were just a test of the waters, then the black vines now are simply razor-sharp!

  Fortunately, the speed at which the Lingmu Tree Spirit absorbed was not fast, allowing Zhuo Yifan to have time to break free from his restraints.

  If the tree spirit's absorption speed were to increase several times, its physical strength would weaken along with the loss of blood, and at that time, Zhuo Yifan could only become a docile sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

  "Break free!"

  Zhuo Yifan exerted himself with all his might, and the two iron arms let out a loud whistle as they rose into the air.

  This ancient tree spirit, despite its age and high cultivation, has not absorbed suitable blood for a long time, resulting in a significant reduction of its own strength, showing signs of decline. Compared to Zhuo Yifan's Two-Phase Force, it can be said that they are evenly matched.

  But if it's allowed to absorb like this, its power may increase again, and by then it will be truly unstoppable!

  "Damn it!! Let me go!"

  Zhuo Yifan turned his power to the maximum, facing this troublesome tree spirit, he shouted loudly, his nose twitching violently with the intense tremble of his facial muscles.

  The aura operates throughout the body, condensing into whirlpools that rapidly spread out in all directions with Zhuo Yifan as the center, like a top spinning.

  Tear it! ——

  He suddenly broke free from the tree vines, his whole body shook, and all the fish hooks stuck to his body fell off.

  Zhuo Yifan, without any regard for the fresh blood flowing out of the small wound, picked up the dagger that had been stuck in the ground with his horse's hoof and suddenly drew it out.

  The rapid exchange of blows left one dizzy, but as the battle progressed, Zhuo Yifan gradually became accustomed to the Lingmu Tree Spirit's speed, and his combat reaction was greatly enhanced.

  Hehehe!

  This time Zhuo Yifan activated his Lianqi, making the dagger even sharper.

  Three vines of trees were cut off one after another.

  A thick green liquid burst out from the fracture, accompanied by a pungent smell like that of a rotting corpse. More importantly, as the green liquid burst out, the fractured part of the tree vine actually began to repair itself, condensing into a brand new hook.

  "It even has a regeneration function! The Variant Spirit Beast really doesn't play by the rules!"

  Zhuo Yifan was shocked, and as soon as the words fell, another twelve tree vines emerged, darker in color and thicker than before.

  Those black tree vines, with those white wavy patterns, are like the annual rings of trees. Each one is like an extremely agile water snake, winding and twisting, with high flexibility.

  It's obvious that this is the finishing move of the Lingmu Tree Spirit to deal with strong enemies. It just didn't expect to use it on a seemingly weak young man.

  Boom boom boom...

  One after another, the dull thuds sounded, and all twelve sturdy tree vines that had struck at Zhuo Yifan were blocked by him, falling empty.

  This time, Zhuo Yifan exerted all his strength but only managed to leave a few scratches on this wave of vines, and was completely unable to cut them off.

  Innumerable tree roots were writhing like octopus tentacles, pressing in on Zhuo Yifan.

  "This spirit of the Lingmu tree is really too troublesome! If we continue to entangle, it would be counterproductive!"

  Zhuo Yifan turned around and was about to leave, silently sighing in regret. This was indeed a top-quality low-grade spiritual beast!

  He didn't understand the weaknesses and habits of this variant creature, nor did he know that he would hit the jackpot. As soon as he entered the mountain range, he encountered such a troublesome enemy. He didn't know how to take the life of this tree spirit or severely injure it. For now, it seemed that leaving was the best option.

  Just a few steps away, the hollow tree started humming again, and waves of invisible sound waves spread through the air.

  Row after row of withered leaves and dust spread out in circles, sweeping up from the ground.

  The surrounding small trees with weak trunks were directly shaken by the sound wave and snapped in two, falling down headfirst.

  "Damn it! That fear wave again!!"

  Zhuo Yifan covered his ears with his hands, his body swaying back and forth, and he fell to the ground with a thud. He rolled around on the ground, his head throbbing with pain.

  Luckily, Zhuo Yifan's temperament was firm and unwavering. If not, he would have definitely become dizzy and disoriented, becoming a big meal for the Lingmu Tree Spirit.

  "Waaaah~~~~~~"

  Lingmu Tree Spirit saw Zhuo Yifan hadn't fainted, but instead became even angrier, his spiritual pressure increasing again. His entire body felt like it was carrying Mount Tai, and even standing up was extremely difficult. Every cell seemed to be crushed by this pressure.

  At this moment, his limbs and skull seemed to be no longer his own, dead, without sensation, but his stubborn spirit remained unbroken, struggling fiercely.

  "Move! Move quickly! My body! Give me movement!"

  Massive masses of air burst out from the body, colliding with the spiritual pressure in a shocking and earth-shaking manner, producing a deafening explosion. Countless spirit beasts and flying creatures were startled awake.

  At this critical moment of life and death, the usual hard training played a crucial role. With strong willpower and majestic aura, under the double effect, Zhuo Yifan gradually gained momentum. He raised his head, and that sharp light shot out from his purple eyes.

  "The Great Expansion Chart!"

  Zhuo's heart skipped a beat, his eyebrows furrowed tightly.

  Bang bang bang bang......

  Eleven loud sounds rang out in succession, eleven strange movements were made by Zhuo Yifan, and the surging meridians of his body actually condensed into a faint crystal under the help of the "Great Expansion Diagram".

  Crack...... another small and clear ring.

  "The Great Expansion Diagram"! It was actually practiced by Zhuo Yifan at the critical moment of crisis, and he reached the 12th form! He officially stepped into the subtle realm of Gongfa.

  As the twelve meridians' hot flow surged through the meridians, the crystalline molecules in the body began to shatter and a faint orange airflow flowed out...

  "Heavenly Spirit Realm! Five Elements Guarding, Divine Power Boundless! Heavenly Earth Spiritual Energy, Bestowed Upon the Body!"

  At this critical moment, Zhuo Yifan actually broke through to the early stage of the Innate Spiritual Realm! Successfully communicated with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!

  The day after tomorrow, when the cultivation of the body is complete and reaches the early stage of the pre-heavenly spiritual realm, the greatest change will be the transformation of the origin.

  During the Refining Body stage, the weak red aura transformed into the strongest pure spiritual energy in the world. With the support and circulation of spiritual energy, speed, strength, and physical abilities would be greatly enhanced.

  The power of the Five Elements! The energy shakes the mountains and rivers!

  Zhuo Yifan's palm emitted a faint orange spiritual energy, its intensity more than twice that of his previous full-body refinement. His current strength was such that a light strike could stir up the winds in the mountains and forests. At the same time, his mental energy surged forth, breaking through fear!

  Buzz buzz buzz......

  In the next moment, the Demon Eye also began to stir with Zhu Yifan's improved realm.

  Rumble!

  A sudden flash of lightning in his mind, and the dark pupils suddenly shone brightly deep within his soul.

  At this moment, a large amount of information from the Demon Eye surged into his mind.

  The second basic eye technique of Demon Eyes has officially started.

  Eyes of Fear!