Chapter 280: Injured

"Awoo—"

Somewhere in the mountain forest, a deafening roar rang out.

But soon, it returned to silence.

A burly, two-headed black bear lay beneath a broken tree, its chest shattered, its life extinguished.

Soon, it transformed into a mass of black mist and was scattered by the wind.

Within Luo Zijun's body, a strange and powerful force immediately surged in.

His entire soul felt warm and comfortable.

He continued to walk forward.

After slaying this second demon, the trepidation he had felt when he first arrived here was gone, replaced only by excitement and longing.

He hoped to encounter more demons and absorb more power.

Inside his body, those few soul meridians leading to the Fen Shen Realm had gradually become clear; the acupuncture points and barriers in the distance had also faintly emerged.

The breakthrough to the Fen Shen Realm was already showing initial signs!

Soon, he arrived at a swamp.

It was exceptionally quiet here; there were no sinister winds, no wailing sounds, only mud and bottomless mud pits that blended in with the black soil on the ground.

He slowed his pace and cautiously crossed those mud pits that emitted a foul, rotting stench.

Just then, a dangerous aura suddenly approached!

Luo Zijun paused his steps and looked at the mud pool beside him, only to see the black sludge begin to churn slowly, followed by continuous bubbling.

"Splash!"

Mud splattered!

A black shadow suddenly leaped out from the mud pool, opened its blood-red maw filled with fangs, and lunged at him!

Taking a closer look, it was actually a one-eyed monster covered in spiked armor, resembling a crocodile!

Luo Zijun had been prepared; seeing it lunge fiercely, he immediately dodged to the side.

As this one-eyed monster swept past him, he suddenly reached out, grabbed the creature's tail, and then twisted his waist, spinning rapidly to fling the creature into the air.

After dozens of rotations, he smashed it fiercely against a thick tree nearby.

"Bang!"

A loud crash!

The tree snapped, and the one-eyed monster fell heavily to the ground, looking somewhat dizzy.

Luo Zijun gripped its tail tightly with both hands, spun it around again to fling it into the air, and smashed it into another large tree nearby.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

After smashing through four or five large trees, Luo Zijun discovered that this fellow had thick skin and flesh, and it did not seem to be injured.

Just as he was about to smash it into another tree, the spikes all over the one-eyed monster's body suddenly lit up with cold glints, and then, with a strange noise, those spikes shot out from its body, densely firing at him like sharp arrows!

Luo Zijun was startled; he hurriedly let go of its tail, lightly tapped his toes on the ground, flew backward, and quickly hid behind a large tree.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

In a sudden, torrential barrage of shooting, the tree in front of him was instantly riddled with holes, and before Luo Zijun could dodge, several spikes had already pierced through the trunk and impaled his body!

A sharp, intense pain suddenly struck!

Everything went black before Luo Zijun's eyes, and he nearly fainted.

The tree in front of him was shredded by the piercing, and more spikes came flying; Luo Zijun gritted his teeth and threw a punch.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion.

Those spikes were instantly knocked to the ground.

Luo Zijun's body swayed, and he stumbled back a few steps, his right foot unexpectedly stepping into a mud pit behind him, nearly sinking in.

He was shocked, and enduring the excruciating pain, he quickly pulled out his right foot; just as he was about to take a few steps forward, another one-eyed monster leaped out from the mud pit behind him with a "splash" and bit down on his right foot, which had just been pulled out of the mud and had not yet touched the ground!

It then exerted sudden force, trying to drag him into the mud pit!

Luo Zijun knew that if he were dragged into the mud pit, there would be no possibility of getting out, so he gritted his teeth and pulled with all his might; with a "rip," his right foot was torn off directly by that one-eyed monster.

Luo Zijun was in such pain he nearly fainted, but without any hesitation, he immediately lunged forward, rolled on the ground a few times, and got away from that mud pool.

At the same time.

The one-eyed monster in front, whose spikes had all flown out and whose armor was now bare, had a look of venomous hatred flickering in its scarlet eyes as it opened its maw and lunged straight at him.

Simultaneously, the one-eyed monster in the mud pool behind him, after swallowing his right foot in one gulp, also immediately crawled out of the mud pool and chased after him.

Luo Zijun had been severely wounded; how could he dare to linger? He immediately got up and leaped several times, fleeing back the way he came.

Fortunately, having just slain two demons earlier, his internal power was sufficient and his soul was stronger than ever; before long, he shook off the two one-eyed monsters behind him and escaped the swamp.

He dared not linger, and after fleeing forward for several more kilometers, he finally slowed down.

His lost right foot had already grown back.

However, his entire soul immediately became weak; his originally solid body became somewhat transparent, and the Soul Power within his body was exhausted after regrowing his right foot.

He dared not stay in this mountain forest any longer, so he braced his body and continued to walk forward.

Fortunately, he did not encounter any other demons along the way and safely walked out of this mountain forest; after crossing the barren black land, he arrived in front of the tunnel.

Only then did the exhaustion and pain roll over him like a tide.

He sat down in front of a rock, recovering his strength while remaining vigilant against any potential danger.

Thinking of the perilous situation just now, he still felt a lingering fear.

If he had been dragged into the mud pool by that one-eyed monster, or caught by those two one-eyed monsters, his soul would likely have perished here tonight.

Once the soul dies, the physical body in the Human Realm cannot last for many days either.

It was a pity that he had no Flying Sword, nor any Dharma Artifact, and could only rely on his fists to fight; otherwise, he would not have ended up in such a sorry state.

After waiting for about another half-quarter of an hour, the Moon Palace Fairy walked back from another path.

Seeing his appearance, the Moon Palace Fairy looked him up and down for a moment and said, "Did you encounter a powerful demonic creature?"

Luo Zijun struggled to get up from the ground and said, "Two monsters that looked like crocodiles."

Then, he recounted his encounter just now, word for word.

The Moon Palace Fairy listened quietly until he finished, then said, "Those are Flying Spike Demon Crocodiles. Their defense is very strong, and the spikes on their bodies can easily pierce through a soul. If you only use your fists, it is very difficult to slay them."

She paused, then added, "You were lucky to only encounter two. That swamp hides at least a hundred or more."

Luo Zijun was immediately startled: "A hundred or more?"

Two had almost cost him his life; if a hundred or more appeared together, that scene... just thinking about it was terrifying.

"Let's go, go back and rest for a few days."

The Moon Palace Fairy did not say much more and walked into the tunnel.

Luo Zijun dragged his exhausted and weak body, followed behind her, and couldn't help asking, "Fairy, if I had a Flying Sword, could I deal with them?"

After exiting the tunnel, the Moon Palace Fairy replied, "If it were only two, a Flying Sword could easily pierce through their armor."

Luo Zijun was suddenly full of anticipation: "Fairy, then when will my Flying Sword be finished being forged?"

He had to settle this score!

Moreover, there were so many Demon Crocodiles there; killing one would grant him power and strengthen his soul. If he killed them all, perhaps he could immediately begin to sprint toward the Fen Shen Realm.

The Moon Palace Fairy said indifferently, "Being anxious is useless. Once it is forged, I will naturally give it to you."

Luo Zijun sighed and dared not say anything more.

This kind of thing truly could not be rushed, nor could one be anxious; if the forging failed, wouldn't all the rare materials prepared beforehand be wasted?

The two crossed the stone bridge and arrived at the exit.

The Moon Palace Fairy looked at him and said, "Nurture your soul well at home these few days. If you cannot control your lower body, you won't have a future."

Luo Zijun: "..."

He didn't expect the Fairy to have a little sense of humor.

"Swish!"

A pillar of light appeared, and the two quickly arrived on the ground.

The Moon Palace Fairy did not say anything more; her figure flashed, and she flew into the night sky and disappeared.

As soon as Luo Zijun reached the ground, he felt his entire soul turn abnormally cold, and waves of tearing pain came, as if his soul were about to be torn apart.

He dared not linger, immediately flew back to his room, and dove back into his physical body.

Just as he entered his physical body, he felt an extremely comfortable warmth envelop him, causing his entire soul to tremble a few times, and the tearing pain all over his body was immediately relieved quite a bit.

But when he opened his eyes, he suddenly felt a splitting headache.

He clutched his head and groaned for a while, then exhaustion struck like a tide; he immediately lay down and soon fell into a deep sleep.

He slept this sleep until the evening of the next day.

During this time, he had many nightmares and broke out in a cold sweat.

Xiaohuan and Zhiyuan thought he was sick and had been guarding his side. After he woke up, Xiaohuan cried and told him, "Young Master, we thought you... we thought you wouldn't wake up. Your complexion is so terrible; you slept for a whole day and night."

Luo Zijun felt the pain in his head lessen, and his spirit recovered slightly.

He had Zhiyuan bring a mirror, took a look at himself in the mirror, and was immediately startled by his appearance.

The face in the mirror was pale, his eyes were dark and dull; where was the handsome and energetic look from before?

So when the soul is damaged, the physical body reflects it in this image.

"Young Master, what exactly happened to you?"

Xiaohuan cried very sadly.

Luo Zijun put down the mirror and comforted her: "I'm fine, just exhausted from staying up late; I'll be better after resting for a few days. These few days, don't let anyone in, just say I am studying hard."

"Mm..."

Xiaohuan finally set her heart at ease.

At night, Luo Zijun ate a little meat and soon fell asleep again.

He rested for three consecutive days before he finally recovered.

The damaged soul within his body also began to recover rapidly, and color began to return to his face.

His appetite began to increase.

During the day, after getting up, he would practice in the backyard for an hour, and after a Medicine Bath, he would return to his room to rest.

At night, he would meditate and practice his soul for another hour.

After another three days passed like this, his damaged soul was finally completely recovered.

This night, he was talking with Xiaohuan and Zhiyuan in the room, and just as he couldn't help but want to "bring justice" to the two little girls right there, a familiar feeling suddenly rose in his heart.

A strange feeling of being connected by blood.

"Shoo—"

A cold glint suddenly flew over the roof and disappeared into the pitch-black night.

"Young Master..."

At this moment, Xiaohuan and Zhiyuan were both stirred up by him, one above and one below, preparing to surround him.

(End of this chapter)