"Boom!!"
"Whoooosh~~!!!"
While Mo Fan was escaping with Mu Ningxue, the fierce battle between Zhan Kong and Lu Nian had to come to an abrupt halt. The reason? The Commander rank Lizard Skull Giant tribe leader had detected their presence and was now flying toward them.
The Demon cared little about the two humans or their situation. It only knew one thing: this was its territory, and these two audacious humans were fighting here without a shred of respect for its sovereignty as the lizard overlord!
With the appearance of the Demon, Zhan Kong and Lu Nian had no choice but to cease their fight and quickly dodge its attack. Unfortunately, Zhan Kong was the one it locked onto first.
"Damn it!" Zhan Kong cursed loudly, utterly frustrated.
"Why the hell is this stupid Demon chasing me instead of Lu Nian?? What did I ever do to you?!"
Lu Nian, seeing the Lizard Skull Demon focusing on Zhan Kong, took the opportunity to head toward the deserted city.
In a secluded forest...
"Move further away from me!" Mu Ningxue demanded, barely able to hide her frustration.
Mo Fan, however, didn't seem to care about her angry expression. Instead, he casually replied, "That powerful ice attack of yours earlier almost froze you solid. I'm just giving you some warmth."
"You..."
Mu Ningxue was both furious and embarrassed. He was clearly taking advantage of the situation while shamelessly justifying it. She was so angry she could almost grind her teeth to dust.
"Mo Fan, there's no way things can work between us. My family has already arranged my engagement," Mu Ningxue said weakly, trying to hold back her frustration.
"Oh," Mo Fan responded nonchalantly, as though it was no big deal. Yet, his arms tightened around her waist.
"Well, when you eventually have my child, I'll take you back to meet Mu Zhuoyun."
"..."
Mu Ningxue was speechless. She felt utterly defeated, wondering how she could deal with someone this shameless, especially when she was too weak to fight back.
When she turned around to say something, Mo Fan's face was suddenly much closer to hers.
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
Startled, Mu Ningxue quickly pulled her head back.
"What are you doing?!" she snapped.
Mo Fan let go of her, shrugged, and said, "You can't blame me for that. You're the one who turned your head so suddenly."
It was as if he hadn't just intentionally moved closer to her.
Mu Ningxue was left speechless again. She had a feeling that Mo Fan had done it on purpose, but her mind was too confused to argue. On the other hand, Mo Fan was in a great mood.
Later that night, Mo Fan found a cave for them to rest in. As he dismounted from the Fire Wolf, he also carried Mu Ningxue down with him. Mu Ningxue wanted to protest, but before she could say anything, Mo Fan had already brought her into the cave.
"Can you recover through meditation?" Mo Fan asked after setting her down.
Mu Ningxue had already tried, but the cold backlash from her earlier ice attack still lingered in her body. "Not yet." she shook her head.
"Then rest for now." Mo Fan replied.
Mu Ningxue gave him a wary look, skeptical of his intentions.
Seeing her doubt, Mo Fan frowned and said, "We've known each other since we were kids. Do you really think I'm that kind of person?"
"You haven't exactly been behaving." Mu Ningxue replied coldly.
"That was while we were running for our lives," Mo Fan explained. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."
With that, Mo Fan began meditating, focusing on his own recovery. Though he wasn't the most sensitive to his surroundings, he would still be able to sense if anyone approached the cave.
Seeing him settle into meditation, Mu Ningxue also laid down on a fur blanket he had prepared for her. Despite the day's frustrations, she still believed Mo Fan wouldn't harm her. Although they hadn't spoken much in recent years, she trusted him. Exhausted and weak, she soon fell into a deep sleep.
Other than the crackling of the fire, the cave was eerily silent.
Not long into Mo Fan's meditation, he suddenly felt a strange fluctuation coming from the Bloodseed he carried.
Confused, he took it out. The Bloodseed resembled a droplet of blood that had solidified mid-fall, but its surface felt like glass, fragile enough to break with the slightest pressure. Yet Mo Fan had no intention of crushing it—he didn't want to lose his powers for no reason.
But then, something unexpected happened.
The Bloodseed began to float in the air by itself, transforming into a red mist in front of Mo Fan's eyes. The mist seemed to follow an unknown force, rushing into Mo Fan's body without warning. He barely had time to react before his entire body went rigid.
His pupils began to change—first a deep black, then shifting to a mysterious moon-silver, a fiery crimson, and finally a chaotic purple.
Within his spiritual world...
In addition to his four existing star systems, Mo Fan saw something new. It was a strange, ominous light, radiating a mix of blood red and deep purple, interspersed with mysterious moonlight and eerie black.
The color it formed could only be described as blood ink.
It wasn't the pure blackness of his Shadow Element. Instead, it was a blend of black and moonlight, while the red was a mixture of crimson and purple—this was a Blood Ink Star Dust!
"Thump!"
"Thump!"
The sight alone made Mo Fan's heart race, a powerful and primal rhythm pounding in his chest.
It was a feeling of immense strength!
As the blood-ink star dust solidified in his spiritual world, Mo Fan felt a surge of power unlike anything he had experienced before. It was wild, chaotic, and overwhelming.
"Huff..."
Suddenly, Mo Fan opened his eyes, exhaling deeply. Just a moment ago, he had nearly lost control, tempted to unleash this newfound power. He hadn't expected the Bloodseed to merge with his body so willingly!
Not only had it integrated, but it had also created a fifth elemental system within his spiritual world: the Demon Element. He had thought he'd have to wait until the ancient city to unlock its full potential, but now it had solved itself on its own!
"Hiss..."
Before Mo Fan could process everything, a wave of searing pain shot through his body. The energy from the Bloodseed was coursing through his veins like molten lava, tearing through his muscles and bones.
Every inch of his body felt like it was burning from the inside out, and the agony was almost unbearable. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, cold sweat pouring down his face as his complexion turned ghostly pale.
Mo Fan gritted his teeth, fighting to maintain his consciousness. He could feel his muscles being torn apart and reformed, his bones undergoing subtle yet significant changes. The pain was excruciating, but he knew this was part of the process of assimilating the Demon Element's power.
As time passed, Mo Fan's body gradually adjusted to the intense pain. His muscles grew stronger, and his bones became tougher. He realized he was undergoing a transformation—an internal rebirth, one that would make him even more powerful.
Finally, when the pain subsided, Mo Fan felt as though his entire body had been reforged from the ground up. He had successfully integrated the Bloodseed's power, and his body had emerged stronger than ever before.
(End of Chapter)