A moment later, the Burning Wood Chapter within Chen Fan's body began circulating at high speed, accelerating the cycle of his life force. Yet it still could not keep pace with the wounds splitting open across his body; there was scarcely a patch of unbroken skin left to be found.
Yet he gritted his teeth and endured it, covering more than half the distance. Only the final several dozen meters remained between him and the lingzhi.
But those few dozen meters were utterly impossible to approach. Chen Fan's speed slowed drastically. He summoned every ounce of strength in his body and finally took one small step—only for his shinbone to crack sharply and break clean through.
The pain was like having his bone forcibly snapped by brute strength, so agonizing he wished he were dead!
"Kid, forget it!" Bald Bird shook his head as well. This was simply more than anyone could endure.
"Come back and take it once you've formed a Golden Core," Bald Bird continued to persuade him.
"It's fine!" Chen Fan gritted his teeth and forced out the words with difficulty. His face was twisted in pain, cold sweat beading across his forehead.
He took out another piece of Pure Wood Essence from his Storage Ring and swallowed it, slowly recovering from his injuries. His bones and flesh began to heal at an exceedingly slow pace.
Half an hour later, Chen Fan was finally able to take another step. This step was even harder; both his legs broke at once, and he could only swallow another piece of Pure Wood Essence...
Thus the cycle continued. Nearly every step required him to consume a piece of Pure Wood Essence and spend a great deal of time recovering from his injuries.
But when he reached the final three steps,