Challenging

Although he frequently dodged the Silver-Spotted Snake's attacks with the unique flexibility of humans, everyone knew that constant defense would eventually lead to a mistake.

If this went on for too long, these people would likely have to pay a heavy price.

Realizing this, Liu Zhen couldn't worry about anything else and shouted, "You guys hurry and leave, I'll hold off these two beasts!"

"Senior Brother, but what about the medicinal herbs? If we can get them, our mission will be complete, and we might even make a fortune!"

Li Hai's eyes flashed with intense greed, clearly not recognizing the current situation.

Liu Zhen, who had just blocked an attack from a Silver-Spotted Snake, spat blood in frustration. "It's not the opponent that's scary, it's the teammates!"

If they didn't escape now, once his stamina ran out, they would only have death waiting for them. What kind of damn mission would they complete then!

Liu Zhen felt like cursing, more than he ever had before. How had he not realized what an idiot Li Hai was?

Liu Zhen regretted taking in someone like Li Hai and his mind couldn't help but recall a more honest figure.

"If it were Shen Fan, he probably wouldn't have questioned my orders at all!"

In Liu Zhen's memory, Shen Fan was an obedient junior brother. Unlike this Li Hai, who had a sharp tongue but was utterly useless when it mattered!

When they were fighting the other Silver-Spotted Snake, Li Hai was clearly the weakest, nearly dying at the beast's hands several times.

But he was cunning. Whenever there was danger, he would move closer to his teammates, using them to draw fire, which allowed him to survive!

However, his actions undoubtedly angered the others.

"Bastard, I've had enough of you for a long time. You still want the herbs? How can you be so shameless? Go to hell, I'm done playing. Brothers, let's retreat!"

Saying that, this disciple was the first to flee. The others quickly followed suit. Liu Zhen had erupted, temporarily holding off the two Silver-Spotted Snakes, but he was in a precarious situation.

Li Hai had no choice but to run as well, but as he ran, he complained, "This is all money! Why couldn't we just hold on a little longer? If..."

Liu Zhen, who had caught up, heard Li Hai's incessant mumbling. Already slightly injured, his expression was grim. Now, it became even more so.

His tightly furrowed brow could have crushed flies.

Looking at Li Hai, Liu Zhen's disgust grew with every passing second. He finally took a deep breath and secretly resolved that once they returned, he would teach this guy a good lesson and then kick him out. With someone like him in the team, he would be killed sooner or later!

At this moment, the two Silver-Spotted Snakes in the valley did not pursue. They were guarding the Snake Fruits, which were very important to them.

One Silver-Spotted Snake guarded beneath the Snake Fruit tree, while the other roamed around, vigilant against any potential attackers.

Shen Fan, hidden in the shadows, felt his heart stir. The large, red Snake Fruits were truly tempting, and the other medicinal herbs looked quite aged.

With such temptation before him, Shen Fan felt that he, the old cadre, might not be able to resist the test.

Staring intently at the two Silver-Spotted Snakes, Shen Fan decided to take a risk for once.

He wanted those medicinal herbs!

The reason for this decision was twofold: firstly, the herbs were indeed alluring; secondly, after watching Liu Zhen and the others battle the Silver-Spotted Snakes, he had a grasp of the strength of these two mid-level beasts.

Compared to Martial Artists in the Muscle Tempering or Skin Tempering realms, they were naturally powerful. However, they were still the weakest type of mid-level beasts. Not only could they not compare to those in the Blood Condensation realm, but even among those in the Bone Forging realm, they were considered weak.

Shen Fan sensed that the two Silver-Spotted Snakes combined did not pose a threat to him. They were much weaker than the One-Eyed Giant Wolf he had encountered before!

Therefore, Shen Fan felt he would probably need several moves to defeat these two beasts.

However, to be safe, Shen Fan still chose to ambush them.

Seizing the opportunity, Shen Fan suddenly attacked from the shadows, directly targeting the Silver-Spotted Snake that was roaming. Before the creature could even react, he shattered its head with a single punch.

The remaining Silver-Spotted Snake let out a skyward roar, seemingly stimulated by the death of its companion. It opened its massive maw and lunged to bite Shen Fan.

But Shen Fan's reaction speed was no match for the Silver-Spotted Snake. With a slight sidestep, he perfectly dodged the attack.

He then spun around and delivered a heavy punch to the Silver-Spotted Snake's abdomen. It sounded like hitting a hard rock, emitting a "dong" sound, like steel colliding.

Although Silver-Spotted Snakes were beasts with tough hides, Shen Fan's Bone Forging was equally formidable, even stronger than that of ordinary Bone Forging Martial Artists.

This punch created an indentation on the Silver-Spotted Snake's body, clearly indicating that its internal bones had been shattered!

The power of a single punch was terrifying. If Liu Zhen had witnessed this, his eyes would have likely bulged out.

He had fought for a long time without even breaking a single snake scale, yet Shen Fan had severely injured this Silver-Spotted Snake with just one move. It was outrageous.

Such strength was definitely beyond the Bone Forging realm!

The Silver-Spotted Snake seemed to sense Shen Fan's difficulty. The immense pain seemed to sober it up, and it turned to flee. But Shen Fan was faster, directly blocking its escape route and unleashing his perfected Savage Bull Fist.

A peculiar aura suddenly emanated from Shen Fan, suppressing the Silver-Spotted Snake and rendering it immobile. A barrage of punches rained down on the snake's body.

Like heavy hammers striking rock, the rumbling sound echoed through the valley.

A few moments later, Shen Fan leaped back, looking at the Silver-Spotted Snake, which was no longer in its original shape, and nodded with satisfaction.

"Hmm, indeed a powerful opponent. It actually made me unleash the Savage Bull Fist completely. Impressive, impressive!"

Hearing Shen Fan's evaluation, the Silver-Spotted Snake seemed to be enraged to the point of spitting out a mouthful of thick blood before slowly stiffening.

Shen Fan confirmed the Silver-Spotted Snake's death and then happily trotted off to collect the medicinal herbs.

"Golden Three Grass, Seven Steps Return, Bull Cherry Blossom..."

"Good, good, good! I'm going to be rich this time!"

After carefully identifying the types of medicinal herbs, Shen Fan cautiously dug them up and placed them into his backpack.

As each herb went into his backpack, Shen Fan seemed to hear the sound of falling gold coins.

After collecting the last eight Snake Fruits, the backpack on Shen Fan's back was bulging.

In the end, he had collected a total of eighteen low-grade medicinal herbs, plus eight Snake Fruits comparable to mid-grade herbs.

This trip alone had earned him at least two hundred taels of silver!

With this silver, he could even purchase a large number of Cultivation Methods.

First, he absolutely needed to get his hands on a second-rate Cultivation Method, and he could also get a few third-rate Cultivation Methods. After all, third-rate Cultivation Methods were quite useful to him.