Chapter 825: Divine Stubborn Fruit
Zhang Ruochen had long experienced the terror of Death Evil Qi. Once it invaded the body, even a Half-Saint would find it difficult to dispel. If the Death Qi was thick enough, it could even threaten the life of a Saint.
At the first moment, Zhang Ruochen mobilized the Sacred Dragon Qi within the Dragon Pearl, channeling it into the Yang Qiao Sacred Meridian and Yin Qiao Sacred Meridian in his legs. It transformed into hundreds of golden flood dragons, shaking off all the blood insects wrapped around his legs.
The bodies of the blood insects were extremely tough, and they were not shaken to death.
Falling to the ground, they immediately emitted a rustling sound, burrowed into the earth, and quickly vanished without a trace.
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit was extremely fast. Opening its mouth, it bit downward, catching a blood insect by the tail and dragging it out from the soil.
The blood insect was about a foot long, resembling a centipede, covered in fine, dense scales. It had dozens of legs underneath, each with hooked barbs, appearing incredibly sharp.
"Chi chi."
The blood insect let out a strange cry, coiling its body like a snake, opening its small mouth to reveal four sharp teeth, and biting toward the Devouring Elephant Rabbit's eye.
In the blink of an eye, Zhang Ruochen extended two fingers and clamped down on the blood insect's head.
With a cracking sound, the blood insect's head shattered, releasing droplets of blood.
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit's eyes lit up. It immediately rushed forward and swallowed the blood insect whole. Before Zhang Ruochen could even stop it, the insect had already entered its stomach.
"What, you eat everything?"
Zhang Ruochen glared at it.
"Mas... Master..."
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit let out a strange cry, clutching its stomach and rolling on the ground.
When it got back up, it was making guttural sounds, becoming extremely agitated. Dense bloodshot veins appeared in its eyes, filled with killing intent, desire, and evil light, as it gnashed its teeth incessantly.
Zhang Ruochen immediately struck out with a palm, hitting the top of the Devouring Elephant Rabbit's head, dispersing the Death Evil Qi inside its body, which it spat out from its mouth.
"Too terrifying, too terrifying. I need to calm down."
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit lay on the ground, panting heavily. Then, it pulled a bowl-sized silver ginseng from its Space Bracelet and began gnawing on it frantically.
Only after finishing the silver ginseng did the Devouring Elephant Rabbit let out a long breath and fully recover.
Zhang Ruochen warned, "Be careful. Those blood insects contain Death Evil Qi in their bodies. Once it enters your body, it's very difficult to dispel with Sacred Qi alone."
"Huh!"
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit suddenly widened its eyes, its two ears standing straight up on its head. "Master, I found that by using the 'Heaven Devouring Art,' I can refine the blood insects, and my cultivation has increased quite a bit. How about... I try eating another one?"
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit showed its two white teeth, staring intently at Zhang Ruochen, seeking his approval.
"Give it a try. If using the blood insects can really help you quickly improve your cultivation, then it's indeed a good thing for you."
He was standing by to protect it, so he wasn't too worried about accidents.
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit's cultivation had reached the Half-Saint realm, so it naturally had some powerful techniques. It quickly grabbed another blood insect from the soil.
Its teeth were even sharper than the blood insect's.
It bit the blood insect to death, swallowed it, and then began circulating the "Heaven Devouring Art."
The "Heaven Devouring Art" was the supreme technique of the Devouring Demon Dragon clan, so it was naturally extraordinary. It quickly refined the blood insect completely. This time, the Devouring Elephant Rabbit was much more careful. While refining the blood insect, it also expelled a wisp of Death Evil Qi from its mouth, remaining unaffected.
Zhang Ruochen nodded to himself, thinking, "Although Death Evil Qi is formidable, the amount in a single blood insect is still too thin. As long as one is careful, a Half-Saint-level existence can dispel it."
Over the next three days, Zhang Ruochen kept searching for the exit of the stone forest, while the Devouring Elephant Rabbit continuously hunted blood insects, having already consumed over a hundred, as if it could never be full.
Zhang Ruochen also secretly observed the changes in the Devouring Elephant Rabbit. In just three days, its cultivation had increased by about double, roughly equivalent to a human cultivator at the peak of the First-Order Half-Saint realm.
"It was a very wise decision for Xiao Hei to pass the 'Heaven Devouring Art' to it," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
In the past three days, some Half-Saint-level humans or Sixth-Order Barbarian Beasts had flown over the stone forest. However, without exception, they were all cleaved in half by a blood-red giant axe, turning into corpses.
The corpses fell to the ground and were immediately devoured clean by the blood insects.
Because of this, Zhang Ruochen dared not fly. He could only suppress his aura and move forward cautiously.
Zhang Ruochen and the Devouring Elephant Rabbit were also attacked by groups of blood insects, but those blood insects were not very powerful and were quickly driven back.
The stone forest was filled with dense stone pillars, making it impossible to find a way out. In the end, Zhang Ruochen even began to suspect that he might have lost his sense of direction.
It wasn't until the fifth day that Zhang Ruochen finally encountered another human cultivator in the stone forest.
This person was a Half-Saint from the Undying Blood Clan camp. Zhang Ruochen had seen his figure behind Feng Han.
He was fighting a three-zhang-long blood insect, his hair disheveled, with over twenty wounds all over his body. It was unclear how long he had been fighting, and his eyes showed signs of exhaustion.
At the edge of the battle, hundreds of blood insects raised their heads, making hissing sounds, waiting for the Undying Blood Clan Half-Saint to die so they could swarm in and devour him.
This was the first time Zhang Ruochen had seen such a massive blood insect, and he was naturally quite shocked.
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit, however, widened its eyes, drool flowing from the corner of its mouth. "So fat, so much meat... it must be delicious..."
Zhang Ruochen had no goodwill toward the Undying Blood Clan, so he had no intention of helping. Moreover, the aura emanating from that blood insect was terrifying, comparable to a Third-Order Half-Saint.
Coupled with the powerful Death Evil Qi and astonishing speed radiating from its body, even Zhang Ruochen was unwilling to provoke it.
"Master, look over there! What is that?"
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit extended a claw, pointing behind the blood insect.
Zhang Ruochen looked in that direction. In that part of the stone forest, the ground rose slightly, forming a small hill dozens of meters high. At the top of the hill grew a black withered tree, bare with not a single green leaf. Only a single black fruit hung from it, emitting a very strong, unusual fragrance.
"In the Ghost God Valley, a tree is actually growing, and it bears a fruit. Could it be that the giant blood insect is guarding it?"
Taking advantage of the blood insect's battle with the Undying Blood Clan Half-Saint, Zhang Ruochen activated his fastest speed, turning into a streak of light, and rushed toward the top of the hill.
At the same time, another extremely fast figure shot out from a different direction.
The two of them arrived at the top of the hill almost simultaneously, both reaching out to pick the black fruit, trying to claim it for themselves.
Zhang Ruochen arrived first and was about to pluck the fruit.
But the other person struck out with a hand seal, forming the shape of a precious bottle, aimed at Zhang Ruochen's abdomen.
Zhang Ruochen didn't slow down. He reached out and grabbed the black fruit, plucking it. At the same time, the Abyssal Ancient Sword automatically flew out of its sheath, dragging a long sword aura, and clashed head-on with the opponent's hand seal.
"Boom!"
Both of them were pushed backward.
The black withered tree let out a cracking sound and, in an instant, turned into wood powder, burning to ashes. Even the hill beneath their feet split apart and was leveled to the ground.
"This Divine Stubborn Fruit was discovered by me first. You'd better hand it over, lest you bring disaster upon yourself."
The man standing opposite Zhang Ruochen was wrapped entirely in white cloth, even his head and face covered, leaving only a pair of cyan eyes visible, like a living mummy.
Hanging from the mummy man's waist were three golden bells, clashing against each other with a jingling sound.
The opponent had managed to block Zhang Ruochen's full-powered sword strike and fight to a standstill, clearly a very powerful expert.
Zhang Ruochen unhurriedly put away the black fruit, storing it in his Space Ring, and said, "Isn't that a bit too domineering? No one can say for sure who saw the fruit first. But I was the one who picked it, so naturally, the ownership belongs to me."
The mummy man stared at the Space Ring on Zhang Ruochen's finger, a strange glint flashing in his cyan eyes. He sneered, "In that case, I'll have a go at you and see what ability you have to keep the Divine Stubborn Fruit."
Just then, a rustling sound came from the distance.
The three-zhang-long blood insect had already devoured the Undying Blood Clan Half-Saint, and its body had stretched another half zhang, reaching three and a half zhang.
The aura it emitted also surged sharply, reaching the peak of the Third-Order Half-Saint realm.
Now, the giant blood insect, leading hundreds of smaller blood insects and carrying a large cloud of Death Evil Qi, charged toward Zhang Ruochen and the mummy man.
Both Zhang Ruochen and the mummy man's expressions changed. They stopped their confrontation and immediately fled in two different directions.
"Master."
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit, holding a blood insect in each of its two claws, munched as it desperately pumped its short legs, chasing after Zhang Ruochen.
The speed of the Devouring Elephant Rabbit clan was indeed extraordinary. Even though Zhang Ruochen was wearing the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, he was only slightly faster.
"Follow me. I've found the direction out of the stone forest," Zhang Ruochen said.
From the top of the hill earlier, Zhang Ruochen had used his Divine Mark Eye to see through the thick ghost mist and spotted the boundary of the stone forest.
However, the giant blood insect was also extremely fast, chasing closely behind Zhang Ruochen and the Devouring Elephant Rabbit, emitting low roars.
With each roar, a swarm of blood insects would emerge from the ground, surrounding them from all directions.
"Master, why is that big guy chasing us?"
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit tucked its tail between its legs, running swiftly.
It must be related to that black fruit. Zhang Ruochen had probably taken its treasure.