Chapter 522 - 518: Success

Chapter 522: Chapter 518: Success

SWOOSH!

Having made his decision, Fang Han no longer hesitated.

With a flicker of his thoughts, the pitch-black ring on his left index finger flashed with a barely perceptible glimmer of light.

The Cloud Splitting Sword vanished from his palm, replaced by the pale cyan Sword Scabbard of the Wind Shocking Sword.

HUMMM—

The Returning Ruins Hidden Essence Skill operated with unprecedented intensity, suppressing the aura around his body until it was nearly nonexistent.

His heartbeat grew slow and drawn-out, his skin temperature merged with the environment, and the sound of his breathing became almost inaudible.

Like a piece of dead wood, he slid out from behind the bushes, inching step by step toward the giant crocodile sprawled at the edge of the muddy islet.

The stench of the swamp mixed with the exotic fragrance of the Secret Technique Fruit, completely masking his scent.

The crocodile Demon’s half-open, dark yellow vertical pupils remained still. Its long, thick tail rested lazily in the muddy water, occasionally flicking and splashing a few drops of mud.

It clearly hadn’t noticed that a human, no bigger than an ant in its eyes, was gradually approaching its territory.

Sixty zhang. Fifty zhang. Forty zhang.

Fang Han’s steps grew slower and steadier.

Each step landed precisely on a patch of mud that would make no sound, his figure always hidden behind the withered reeds at the swamp’s edge.

Thirty zhang. Twenty zhang. Ten zhang.

’I can’t get any closer.’

Any closer, and even with his Breath Concealment Secret Technique at the Realm of Perfection, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t be detected by this First-Grade Demon.

Fang Han stopped behind a clump of withered yellow reeds, his right hand slowly gripping the hilt of the Wind Shocking Sword.

He took a deep breath.

Then, he moved.

CLANG—!

The Wind Shocking Sword left its scabbard. Before the clear ring of the blade could even spread, a cyan-blue sword light had already torn through the air.

He unreservedly activated the Sky-Splitting Sword Technique at the Mastery Realm. His Wind Sword Intent solidified, and all his Late Stage of Third Grade Inner Qi and 100,000 jin of physical strength were poured into this single strike.

The sword light, like a cyan-blue rainbow, slashed directly at the crocodile Demon’s midsection, which was covered in dark green scales.

In that instant, the crocodile Demon’s half-open, dark yellow vertical pupils suddenly flew wide open.

It sensed danger. Its four short, thick legs pushed off violently as it tried to twist its body to dodge.

But Fang Han’s strike was too fast, too sudden. It only had time to slightly turn its body before the Wind Shocking Sword slammed viciously into its midsection.

CLANG—!!!

The sound of metal striking metal exploded over the dead-silent swamp, startling the birds resting in the distant dense forest.

Sparks flew. Fragments of dark green scales shattered and flew off. The Wind Shocking Sword sliced into the gaps between the scales, broke through them, and cut into flesh and blood.

Dark red blood gushed out, splattering across the muddy ground in wide blooms.

The crocodile Demon’s massive, three-zhang-long body was sent sliding backward by the force of the blow. Its four short, thick legs plowed four deep furrows into the muddy swamp ground.

Mud and filth churned violently.

It slid back for more than ten zhang before it finally managed to stabilize itself.

The crocodile Demon let out a deafening roar, a sound mixed with shock, fury, and excruciating pain.

’Now is the time.’

SWOOSH!

Fang Han didn’t even have time to retract the Wind Shocking Sword. He had already fully activated the Wind God Step.

He shot past the Demon’s side like a bolt of pale cyan lightning the moment before it could steady itself, lunging straight for the entirely black Secret Technique Fruit in the center of the muddy islet.

His figure came to an abrupt halt in front of the Secret Technique Fruit. He reached out his left hand, his five fingers closing around it.

With a gentle tug, the Secret Technique Fruit was picked.

With a flicker of his thoughts, the Secret Technique Fruit vanished into thin air, stored away in his Storage Ring.

SWOOSH!

Without the slightest pause, Fang Han’s figure shot away from the swamp like a streak of pale cyan light.

From launching the attack to picking the Secret Technique Fruit and then escaping, the entire sequence took no more than a breath or two.

Behind him, the crocodile Demon finally recovered from the impact of his sword strike.

Its dark yellow vertical pupils snapped toward the center of the muddy islet. The plant that had once borne the Secret Technique Fruit was now bare.

In that instant, its pupils contracted into two extremely thin vertical slits.

ROAR—!!!

The crocodile Demon let out an earth-shattering bellow.

The roar was no longer just of shock and anger, but of the savage madness of being utterly enraged.

Its four short, thick legs kicked off the ground violently. Its enormous body, like a moving, dark-green hill, gave chase in the direction of Fang Han’s escape at a speed that completely defied its size.

The swamp mud churned violently from its powerful limbs, and large swathes of reeds were snapped and trampled.

BOOM—!

It crashed into an ancient tree so thick it would take a person’s full embrace to circle it. The trunk exploded on impact, and amid flying splinters, the broken section spun and smashed into the distance.

BOOM—!

A half-man-high boulder was struck by its tail, shattering the entire rock into pieces. Shards of stone shot out like rain.

BOOM—! BOOM—! BOOM—!

Wherever it passed, trees fell in droves, the earth was plowed into deep furrows, and the ground trembled violently.

It was as if a small-scale earthquake was ravaging this ancient forest.

A straight, brutal scar of destruction appeared in the forest, extending from the edge of the swamp deep into the dense woods.

However, the crocodile Demon’s speed was ultimately no match for Fang Han’s.

As a First-Grade Demon specializing in strength and defense, its straight-line charge was undeniably fast, but compared to Fang Han, who had cultivated a Grandmaster-level Body Technique, the gap was still plain to see.

Moreover, it was hindered by trees and rocks.

SWOOSH!

Fang Han’s cyan-blue figure shuttled silently through the dense forest, the distance between him and the massive, mountain-like, dark-green figure behind him steadily increasing.

Fifty zhang, eighty zhang, one hundred zhang, two hundred zhang... Fang Han vanished from the crocodile Demon’s sight.

As for his scent, the Returning Ruins Hidden Essence Skill at the Realm of Perfection had long since suppressed his aura to the point of near non-existence. The crocodile Demon couldn’t even catch a trace of his lingering scent.

ROAR—!!!

Having completely lost track of Fang Han, the crocodile Demon stopped in its tracks.

It raised its massive head and let out a furious and savage roar.

Its long, thick tail swept out, snapping more than a dozen of the thick ancient trees in the vicinity at their trunks.

A terrified deer bolted from the bushes. The demon swiped a claw, and before the deer could even cry out, it exploded into a mist of blood in mid-air.

Several small birds shrieked as they shot up from the canopy. The demon tilted its head back and roared. The sound wave became a tangible shockwave, and the birds all exploded in mid-air, showering down feathers and a rain of blood.

A few Demon Wolves tucked their tails and fled into the distance, while a Demon Bear stumbled through the bushes, escaping in another direction.

All the birds and beasts of the forest were scattering in a frenzy.

A long time later, the crocodile Demon’s roars finally subsided.

Far from the swamp, the crocodile Demon’s roars now completely swallowed by the forest’s silence, Fang Han slowed his pace.

He landed on a sideways-growing branch of an ancient tree, panting slightly.

That whole sequence of seizing the treasure and escaping, while it might have seemed effortless, had in fact pushed his vigilance and reflexes to their absolute limit.

The slightest hesitation, and he would have been dragged into the swampy mire by that crocodile Demon. Even with the Wind Shocking Sword in hand, the outcome would have been uncertain.

He focused his mind and retrieved the Secret Technique Fruit from his Storage Ring.

The rich, exotic fragrance once again filled the air, mingling with the damp, woodsy scent of the forest, invigorating his spirits.

He then took out a Cold Jade Box from his Storage Ring and quickly placed the Secret Technique Fruit inside to slow the loss of its Medicinal Power.

SWOOSH.

Fang Han didn’t linger on it, returning the Cold Jade Box containing the Secret Technique Fruit to his Storage Ring.

’I’m still in the Secret Realm. Dangers lurk everywhere. This is definitely not the right place to consume the Secret Technique Fruit and refine its Medicinal Power.’

’Everything will have to wait until I’m back in the outside world.’

He floated down from the branch, the soles of his boots sinking silently into the thick layer of decaying leaves as he continued forward.

The sun slowly moved west across the sky, then gradually sank behind the distant mountains.

Dusk and dawn alternated. More than a day passed quietly in tireless searching and harvesting.

He had found a piece of Star Iron the size of a human head, a precious ore sufficient to forge a High-Grade Magical Soldier, which brought him a wealth increase of a full 150,000 gold.

He had dug up a 500-year-old Red Essence Lingzhi. Its cap was as crimson as blood, but its stem was as white as jade. Although not quite a Heavenly Material or Earthly Treasure, it still increased his wealth by 30,000 gold.

He also found a fist-sized piece of Obsidian Profound Iron under the skeleton of a dead, unknown Demon.

This was an extremely precious metal ore, even more valuable than Star Iron. Just that small, fist-sized piece brought him a wealth increase of a full 40,000 gold.

...

When the noon sun of the third day once again pierced through the dense layers of leaves, casting dappled shadows on the leaf-strewn ground, Fang Han stopped his exploration at the edge of a cliff.

The cliff face was sheer as if cut by a knife. Below was a churning sea of clouds, and in the distance, mountain peaks stretched like dark brushstrokes to the edge of his vision.

The three-day period, seventy-two hours, was about to end.

He was waiting. Waiting for the three-day limit to arrive, waiting for that irresistible repulsive force to expel him from this Secret Realm, a place filled with both treasures and deadly perils.

"Panel."

With a flicker of his thoughts, Fang Han called up the system panel.

[Host: Fang Han]

[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 256x (Ninth Level Amplification requires 10,000,000 gold)]

[Swordsmanship Talent Amplification: 256x (Ninth Level Amplification requires 10,000,000 gold)]

[Stepping Talent Amplification: 128x (Level 8 Amplification requires 1,000,000 gold)]

[Secret Technique Talent Amplification: 128x (Level 8 Amplification requires 1,000,000 gold)]

[Body Hardening Talent Amplification: 128x (Level 8 Amplification requires 1,000,000 gold)]

[Wealth: 2,720,000 gold]

’2,720,000 gold.’

Fang Han’s gaze fell on the wealth column, lingering on the number for a long time.

Two million, seven hundred and twenty thousand gold.

Before entering the Secret Realm, this number was five hundred and twenty thousand gold.

In other words, in just three short days, he had acquired a wealth of two million, two hundred thousand gold from this perilous ancient forest.

’And that’s not all.’

Fang Han’s consciousness delved into the pitch-black Storage Ring on his left index finger.

Inside the space, several Cold Jade Boxes floated quietly. Each one contained a Heavenly Material or Earthly Treasure that was useful to him, things he couldn’t bear to convert into wealth—Spirit-Nurturing Flower, Star Orchid, Secret Technique Fruit... any single one of them, if taken to the outside world, would be enough to cause a considerable stir.

The gains from this trip to the Secret Realm had truly exceeded his wildest expectations.

Just then—

HUMM.

A golden light emerged from all around him without any warning.

The light was warm and gentle, not glaring, yet it carried an irresistible, immense power.

It was as if countless invisible threads were descending from the void, gently enveloping his entire body.