Chapter 143: A Genuine Encounter, Returning Laden

Roar, die!

While Lu Xun was slaughtering wildly, suddenly, the fourth-realm demon that Lu Xun had pierced let out a loud roar, and a brilliant light shot from its eyes.

His soul turned into a demonic thought, rushing toward Murong Wan.

This guy is a Dark Demon.

Compared to other demons, the Dark Demon's soul is stronger, and it also possesses some troublesome methods.

For example, before death, it can forcibly separate its soul from its body to attack another's soul.

If the other cannot withstand it, their soul is likely to be shattered, allowing the Dark Demon to seize the opportunity to possess them.

Such an action is extremely dangerous; unless absolutely necessary, this Dark Demon would not choose to do it.

Murong Wan reacted quickly, her eyes narrowing, her brows condensing into a curved blade, and her will turning into a sharp edge.

The Dark Demon's demonic thought and Murong Wan's will collided instantly.

Murong Wan's whole person froze instantly.

"Trying to possess me?"

Lu Xun noticed this, his divine sense rushed over instantly, joining the battlefield.

At this moment, Murong Wan's soul was facing the frantic assault of the Dark Demon's demonic thought.

As a martial cultivator, Murong Wan had no divine sense.

But her will was extremely strong.

The Dark Demon's demonic thought surged like a vast river, rushing forward frenziedly.

Murong Wan condensed her will into a single force, like a steadfast rock standing firm amidst raging waves.

The highly refined martial will allowed her to withstand the first wave of the Dark Demon's demonic thought head-on.

However, as a fourth-realm demon, its demonic thought was extraordinarily strong; under repeated assaults, even Murong Wan's will began to waver.

Just then, Lu Xun joined the battlefield.

After binding Aodaili, Lu Xun's mental power received a wild boost, far beyond what an ordinary fourth-realm could match.

Moreover, the Immortal Dao emphasizes the primordial spirit; in soul and spiritual aspects, demons are far inferior to Immortal Cultivators.

Upon joining the battlefield, Lu Xun's divine sense stirred up a heaven-shaking wave, like a giant dragon, charging toward the Dark Demon's demonic thought.

Wherever it passed, the Dark Demon's demonic thought collapsed on contact, being utterly crushed by Lu Xun.

"No!"

In reluctance and despair, this Dark Demon's demonic thought was smashed by Lu Xun into countless fragments, vanishing into nothing.

This soul-level clash, Lu Xun won completely.

"Mmm~"

Murong Wan's body went limp, and she nearly fell.

Lu Xun gently embraced her.

After a long while, Murong Wan finally recovered.

Even the victor in a soul-level clash suffers.

"Are you alright?"

Lu Xun reached out and probed her forehead.

"Mm."

Murong Wan's pretty face flushed slightly, and she softly hummed an "mm".

For some reason, facing Lu Xun, she suddenly became shy.

Like a maiden meeting her lover.

"If you're fine, let's go; we'll look for Youqing."

Lu Xun said softly.

"Okay."

Murong Wan quietly stepped back a step, tidying her appearance.

Between them, a sense of distance quietly arose.

"Alright."

Lu Xun likewise sensed the subtle change.

His relationship with Chu Youqing has always been a great mountain lying between him and Murong Wan.

"Wow, Lu, you're amazing—how did you know there was a cellar space here?"

A few hours later, Aodaili's exaggerated voice rang out.

After finding Murong Wan, Lu Xun led them onward.

He did not go directly to look for Chu Youqing; instead, while hunting, he also took care of some undiscovered cellar spaces.

Between cellar spaces, there are often thick rock layers.

The thickness of the rock layers varies; at least it could be a few dozen meters, at most several hundred or even thousands of meters.

To enter, one must carve a passage through the rock wall oneself.

Even for cultivators of the third or fourth realm, this is a considerable project.

Fortunately, with Aodaili, after Lu Xun pinpointed the exact location, he had Aodaili use spatial magic to directly open a passage, allowing everyone to enter this cellar space smoothly.

This cellar space is not large, only a few kilometers in diameter; inside there are mountains and water, and the air is filled with thin Dark Energy.

"Is this spirit ginseng?"

Soon, in a dense forest, Lu Xun gained a harvest.

"Spirit ginseng!"

The spirit ginseng sensed Lu Xun's aura and actually prepared to burrow into the soil to flee.

If Lu Xun were an ordinary person, he would really have let it escape.

"This medicinal potency is at least several decades old, right!"

Lu Xun dug it out, took a sniff, and a smile appeared on his face.

On Lan Xing nowadays, spirit ginseng that is several decades old is rarely seen, and its price is extraordinarily high.

Even with ample Dark Energy to cultivate such spiritual herbs, they still need time to grow.

Time, you cannot take shortcuts with.

This is also why, for things like medicinal pills, once they reach fifth grade or higher, each increase in grade often multiplies the price by ten, or even dozens or hundreds of times.

Because the higher the grade of the medicinal pill, the longer the required age of the spiritual ingredients.

Fifth grade is still manageable, but for a sixth-grade medicinal pill, the required materials often start at a century of age.

It hasn't been many years since the High Martial Era descended.

Where on Lan Xing would there be so many spiritual herbs with such ancient ages?

They can only be found on the Ancient Starry Road, so naturally the price is high.

"Not a bad harvest."

After spending some time, Lu Xun turned this cellar space upside down.

The main spiritual herb here is spirit ginseng; Lu Xun obtained a total of eighteen stalks, the youngest of which are at least ten years old.

This spirit ginseng is valuable; it can be used to refine medicinal pills that prolong life and restore vitality.

It can also be eaten directly, with similarly good effects.

After settling this cellar space, Lu Xun and his two companions continued on their way.

No sooner had they arrived at a new cellar space than a group of starry void aberrations spotted them and attacked.

"Miss Murong, it's up to you."

Lu Xun glanced over and did not intervene.

His points were already enough; securing first place in the Freshman Group posed no problem, so he prepared to hand these starry void aberrations over to Murong Wan, so she could also win a championship and obtain a Heavenly Dao talisman.

"Boom—!"

Aodaili unleashed bolt after bolt of lightning, cutting down the starry void aberrations.

Murong Wan drew her sword silently, her whole body turning into a flowing light as she joined the battle.

Although she is only at the Third Realm, her combat power is remarkably above standard; each sword strike she makes can kill a starry void aberration.

Furthermore, with the exquisite Thousand Traces Step, Murong Wan's speed in slaughtering the starry void aberrations is also not slow.

Aodaili raised her eyebrows.

Murong Wan's speed in reaping the starry void aberrations is actually not inferior to hers.

"How can even the women around him be monsters."

Aodaili felt somewhat unconvinced.

As a Fourth Realm mage, she is certainly not inferior to Murong Wan.

Rather, she deliberately lowered her own strength to the Third Realm level, wanting to compete with Murong Wan.

Who would have thought that, along the way, she hasn't gained the slightest advantage.

"Let's not compete."

Aodaili waved her magic staff, releasing a vast sheet of lightning that killed a large horde of starry void aberrations.

Lu Xun glanced at her, seeing that Aodaili was slaying the starry void aberrations on her side, and he remained silent.

"It's Lu Xun."

"Brother Xun, you're awesome!"

"Brother Xun V5~"

From time to time, they would encounter some students.

With the Blood Abyss and the dungeon subdued, fourth-realm students began hunting the alien peoples, and the situation in the secret realm was completely reversed.

The fact that Lu Xun, this dark horse, won the ultimate grand prize also spread among the students.

It shocked the students enough to make them outspoken.

Now, even some third- and fourth-year students, upon seeing Lu Xun, will voluntarily shout 'Brother Xun!'

【Chu Youqing breaks through the Condensed Origin Realm, you obtain forty times Chu Youqing's harvest.】

One day later, Chu Youqing broke through to the Third Realm.

This time her harvest was substantial; not only did she break through limits in succession, but she also directly broke through to the Third Realm.

Lu Xun's harvest also came about; he surged upward several levels in succession, and his strength further increased.

Seeing that Chu Youqing's strength had improved, Lu Xun did not rush to look for her.

The fire snake that had been chasing her, instead, served as a spur for Chu Youqing.

He brought Murong Wan along to continue hunting, while also seeking out those undiscovered cellar spaces.

As for Aodaili, she naturally kept following Lu Xun, fearing to miss Barbara's moment of lucidity.

Although they had that encounter, since Aodaili regarded it purely as a transaction, her attitude toward Lu Xun showed no noticeable change.

However, perhaps it was a woman's intuition, combined with Aodaili's habit of gazing at Lu Xun with admiration, that Murong Wan seemed to sense something.

This caused her to usually stay closer to Lu Xun.

【Chu Youqing breaks through the second layer of the Condensed Origin Realm...】

Chu Youqing's strength continues to increase.

The fortuitous encounter she gained in that cellar space has not yet been fully digested by her.

That cellar space was located on the lowest level, larger than the other undiscovered cellar spaces.

The things inside were also more precious.

Several days passed in a flash.

On the last day of the assessment, Lu Xun finally swept clean the undiscovered cellar space, then found the cellar space where Chu Youqing was.

By then, Chu Youqing had already reached the fifth layer of Condensed Origin.

In just a few days, she went from the ninth level of the Second Realm to the fifth level of the Third Realm.

The key is that she also broke through several layers of limits in between, which will greatly help her future growth.

This encounter of hers was no small matter.

"Lu Xun!! How did you find this place!!"

Upon seeing Lu Xun, Chu Youqing felt surprise, joy, and emotion, and lunged at him, tears glistening in her eyes.

These past few days have been extremely hard for her.

Although her cultivation kept breaking through, that fire snake pursued her relentlessly; no matter how much she increased her cultivation, she could do nothing against the fire snake.

After several days, she hardly slept at all.

Staying in one place for more than half an hour meant she had to leave.

She was fed up with being tossed around.

"Is this really her girlfriend?"

Seeing Chu Youqing and Lu Xun so intimate, Aodaili suddenly found it interesting.

Because she discovered that there seemed to be a story between Lu Xun and Murong Wan as well.

"How is this snake so hard?"

A few minutes later, Lu Xun discovered that he couldn't kill that snake either.

This guy is incredibly hard.

No wonder Chu Youqing said this snake could survive in magma.

"Lu, this isn't a snake."

Aodaili suddenly had a realization.

"Not a snake?"

Lu Xun looked upon hearing this and found that, although the creature was worm-like in shape, upon closer inspection it indeed did not look much like a snake.

It looked more like a long worm with a round head, and rather cute.

A worm that can survive in magma... what kind of worm is it?

In the era of high martial arts, there are too many strange and wondrous things; not every kind can be named.

"Lu, this should be a fire worm; if you can capture and tame it, after it pupates and emerges from its cocoon, you will surely reap a surprise."

Aodaili recognized this kind of worm.

Fire worm!

Upon her saying that, Lu Xun suddenly recalled seeing an introduction to fire worms somewhere; it is said that this worm likes high temperatures and flames and possesses multiple evolutionary paths.

Don't look at it as just a worm now; it can continually evolve and then change its form.

In the West, a strong person once raised one, eventually turning it into a phoenix whose whole body was engulfed in flames.

If that is the case, this fire worm is probably the greatest fortune in this cellar space.

"How to tame it?"

Lu Xun asked.

"Feed it fire-type things, such as fire energy stones, fire crystals, or fire-type spirit objects; feeding it enough will tame it."

Aodaili said.

Fire-type things?

Lu Xun doesn't have any fire energy stones.

With his current wealth, buying more fire energy stones is no problem.

However, the first thing to do is to catch it.

This little guy is not only hard, but also violent, making it hard to catch.

"If I make a move, it will be mine, so Lu, this is up to you."

Aodaili was preparing to stand by and watch.

This was intentional.

Her spatial magic is best for trapping the fire worm.

"Want to see me make a fool of myself?"

Lu Xun certainly wouldn't comply with her wishes.

He moved his body and appeared in front of the fire worm.

Upon seeing Lu Xun, the fire worm sped up and charged over.

This little guy bears a grudge; Lu Xun previously struck it with sword qi, hurting it badly.

However, when it was still half a meter away from Lu Xun, the fire worm suddenly stopped.

Because a cluster of fire appeared in front of Lu Xun.

"Want to eat?"

Lu Xun showed a smile.

The fire worm's round head looked for a few seconds, then slowed down, swam to the edge of the fire, and began to gulp it down mouthful by mouthful.

"Indeed it works."

Lu Xun guessed correctly.

What he released was Phoenix True Flame, but it was a Phoenix True Flame whose power he had actively reduced.

Fire worms eat fire-type things, and Phoenix True Flame indeed has an attraction to it.

Soon, the Phoenix True Flame was eaten up by it.

After the fire worm discovered it was gone, it actively swam toward Lu Xun, raising its head high, looking at Lu Xun expectantly.

Lu Xun deliberately stepped back two steps.

The fire worm also waddled after, with no intention to attack, instead sticking out its little head acting cute.

The attraction of Phoenix True Flame to it seems quite large.

"If you want to eat, then follow me from now on, how about that?"

Lu Xun asked.

The fire worm had no reaction.

Lu Xun realized it couldn't understand his words, so he sent out a fluctuation with his divine sense.

Now the fire worm seemed to understand, nodding its little head.

"So smart?"

Lu Xun was somewhat surprised.

Even more surprised than him was Aodaili.

She never expected that Lu Xun would so quickly deal with the fire worm!

"Dealt with."

Lu Xun stored the fire worm in another pocket, preparing to bring it back to the dormitory, then daily feed it with Phoenix True Flame to see what it could become.

"Wow, Lu Xun, you're so awesome; if I knew this could deal with it, I wouldn't have hidden for so long."

Chu Youqing landed down, admiring her boyfriend immensely.

Seeing her exhausted look, Lu Xun couldn't help but feel heartache, tidying her hair.

Exhaustion aside, Chu Youqing's gains these past days are simply huge.

After dealing with the fire worm, Lu Xun didn't rush to leave, but instead brought Chu Youqing to other several cellar spaces located below the eighteenth level.

"Ahhh... How did he find this place!"

The foreign race people hidden here collapsed.

These foreign race students, after turning the tide, hid in these cellar spaces.

In the end, they were still found by Lu Xun.

Lu Xun didn't personally kill them, but after beating them to near death, he gave Chu Youqing some points.

"Let's go."

"Mm!"

After half a day, the secret realm assessment's final time is almost up, we can go out.

Several people left the cellar space through the passage opened by Aodaili, then all the way out of the secret realm.

Outside the secret realm at this time, a sea of people, most students have already come out.

"What, the ultimate grand prize was taken by Lu Xun?"

At the same time, a piece of news, like a whirlwind, spread among the student body, also causing a major earthquake among tens of thousands of students.