A few breaths later, seeing Blaze Regret's numb expression, the Ghost Face Flower seemed to understand that he had given up resisting. Its laughter changed, and after a joyful shriek, its tendrils extended and wrapped around Blaze Regret, lifting him up. The mouth on the ghostly face suddenly opened wide, emitting a pungent stench.
The tendrils slowly moved toward the mouth. Seeing the terror reappear on Blaze Regret's face made the Ghost Face Flower tremble with excitement. Observing its prey's despair before feeding was an immensely satisfying experience for it.
In just a few breaths, which felt like an eternity to Blaze Regret, he glanced at the Ghost Face Flower's grinning face. Suddenly, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. With a swift turn of his palm, a green fruit appeared.
"Gulp!"
The Ghost Face Flower's tendrils loosened, and Blaze Regret fell straight into its mouth. As the creature licked its lips contentedly, it seemed to savor the moment.
However, in the next instant, a surge of powerful energy exploded in front of it!
"Boom!"
A deafening noise erupted as a violent gust of wind swept out.
Under the onslaught of the fierce wind, the tendrils of the Ghost Face Flower snapped one by one, and its flower petal was quickly shredded by the terrifying energy blast!
The ground within a radius of ten kilometer was stripped away layer by layer by the violent energy, leaving a pitch-black crater that struck awe into those who saw it.
"Thud! Thud!"
The flower petal was thrown into the air and then fell back down. The once smiling face was now twisted in fear, with cracks spreading across it, breaking it into pieces. Wisps of white mist seeped out from the cracks, swaying gently in the wind.
It was fortunate that Blaze Regret had kept the Purple Demon Tree fruit for a long time. If he had thrown the Purple Demon Tree itself, the entire Ghost Face Flower would have instantly turned to dust.
After struggling a bit more, the Ghost Face Flower finally became completely silent, showing no signs of movement. It was clear that, as the direct bearer of the Purple Demon Tree fruit's explosion, it had lost all vitality.
"Cough, cough!"
After a long while, the flower petal stirred again. Blaze Regret, with his clothes tattered and torn, broke through the flower disk and staggered to his feet. Besides the Ghost Face Flower's mucus, his body was also stained with quite a bit of blood.
"Almost got myself killed," Blaze Regret said with a bitter smile, feeling the intense pain all over his body.
"You do realize that!" Master Magi's figure floated up, initially intending to scold him, but upon seeing Blaze Regret's miserable state, he could only let out a cold snort. However, there was a hint of admiration in his eyes.
"When you're not strong enough, you have to risk your life."
Releasing Red, Blaze Regret sat down, completely exhausted. His gaze then swept around, and when he saw a distant, radiant hexagonal object that looked like a red diamond, an expression of ecstatic joy appeared on his face.
"As I expected, a Fire Attribute Spirit Crystal!"
The hexagonal spirit crystal, as dazzling as a red diamond, lay quietly on the ground, shimmering brilliantly.
"Whimper!"
Enduring the pain in its abdomen, Red swiftly darted over, picked up the spirit crystal, and gently tossed it into its mouth.
"Gulp!"
As its throat rolled, a faint red glow instantly emanated from Red's body, and the surrounding temperature gradually began to rise.
"What kind of spirit skill will it be?" Blaze Regret, ignoring the pain in his body, stared unblinkingly at Red.
"From the looks of it, it should be an offensive spirit skill," Master Magi also gazed at Red and said slowly.
The refining process lasted for nearly ten minutes. Only when Red let out a comfortable Cat cry did the emitted firelight finally recede.
"Whimper!"
Sensing Blaze Regret's eager gaze, Red let out a triumphant cry, then slightly raised its neck as a surge of fiery red spirit power quickly gathered.
Fiery red spirit power condensed, and in an instant, it transformed into a fireball resembling the sun, causing the surrounding air to faintly distort.
"Whoosh!"
With a flick of its little head, Red sent the fireball blast straight toward an ancient tree. The fireball struck the tree forcefully, penetrating deep inside before exploding with a loud bang, illuminating the surroundings with a dazzling blaze.
In an instant, wood chips mixed with fiery particles scattered everywhere.
"Crack~"
Losing its base support, the ancient tree crashed to the ground, its massive trunk causing the ground to tremble slightly.
"What incredible destructive power!" Blaze Regret's eyes gleamed. This attack from Red was powerful enough to severely injure even a seventh tier high level novice grade spirit beast!
"Heh, it turns out this is the Fireball skill of the Purple Flame Cat Spirit. This spirit skill has actually reached the Warrior grade. I really wonder how the Ghostface Flower managed to take down the Purple Flame Cat Spirit," Master Magi chuckled.
"Spirit skills have different grades?" Blaze Regret asked, slightly puzzled as he stroked the proud Red.
"Of course. Each spirit beast, at different ranks, can comprehend different spirit skills. For instance, the high level novice grade Scorching Flame Cat comprehends all high level warrior grade skills, while the low level warrior grade Purple Flame Cat Spirit comprehends all low level warrior grade skills," Master Magi explained.
"The warrior grade spirit skill, huh." Blaze Regret smacked his lips. It seemed he had underestimated the power of the Fireball skill. Not only could it severely injure a seventh tier high level novice grade spirit beast, but it might even be capable of killing it!
"Woo!"
Crouched on the ground, Red suddenly let out a stifled Cat cry, then its body trembled as a surging wave of energy burst forth, blowing away the dry branches and fallen leaves on the ground.
"Leveling up?" Blaze Regret exclaimed in pleasant surprise.
It had been nearly ten days since the last level up. During this time, Red had been continuously hunting spirit beasts, refining its own spirit power.