Earth Profound Fruit

In the dense forest, Lin Yiqing stood atop a towering tree, his expression cold and stern as he surveyed the endless sea of trees ahead.

This location sat on the outskirts of Qingyang Town, serving as the gateway to the external mountain ranges. Because of its unique shape, which resembled a rhinoceros horn winding out from the endless mountains, it was known as the Rhino Horn Mountain Range.

Compared to the depths of the mountains, this area was relatively safe, leading many low-level martial artists and mercenaries to gather medicinal herbs and hunt valuable beasts here.

Of course, nothing was absolute; occasionally, fierce beasts from the depths of the mountains would appear, bringing bloodshed and chaos to the area.

There was a world of difference between a mere wild beast and a fierce beast!

Even a powerhouse in the Heaven Origin Realm would not dare claim they could escape unscathed if they encountered a fierce beast in these mountains.

However, driven by profit, the vast majority of people were still willing to take the risk.

After all, higher risks were always accompanied by greater rewards.

During his training over the past few days, Lin Yiqing had clearly felt his own rapid growth.

But flowers in a greenhouse could never transform into eagles that soared through the nine heavens!

Only by experiencing slaughter could he transform himself and rise above the rest in this chaotic world.

Furthermore, although there were some medicinal herbs within the back mountains of the Lin Family, they had become increasingly scarce due to over-harvesting.

Herbs of sufficient age were almost impossible to find, and the benefits they could provide him were becoming increasingly negligible.

Glancing around to ensure the area was safe, Lin Yiqing leaped down and began to head toward the depths of the mountains.

Along the way, he avoided low-level wild beasts; meaningless slaughter would only attract all the beasts in the vicinity.

That would only bring trouble, and his goal was higher-grade medicinal herbs!

"Swish, swish!"

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the low bushes, appearing extremely abrupt in the dark, dense forest.

Lin Yiqing immediately leaped onto a tree branch, his entire body tensing as he slowed his breathing.

At the same time, a Refined Iron Dagger slid from his sleeve, which he raised and held horizontally in front of him, staring guardedly at the bushes ahead.

"Huff, huff!"

A massive black wild boar with three pairs of ferocious tusks slowly emerged from the bushes.

Most peculiar of all was the dense, black, block-like growth covering its entire body, which looked much like scale armor.

"Armor Boar!"

Lin Yiqing could not help but frown; this was going to be difficult.

This type of beast was not only highly aggressive, but its dense, horny exterior also provided formidable defense, making it a very powerful species among wild beasts.

"Wait, is that a Earth Profound Fruit?!"

Just as Lin Yiqing intended to retreat, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of a dark green fruit faintly visible within the bushes.

Immediately, he felt an uncontrollable surge of excitement.

The Earth Profound Fruit was a second-grade medicinal herb; he had once seen one from afar in the Lin Family, held in the hands of the Second Master, Lin Mang.

Through his observations, he knew this fruit contained earth-attribute origin power and had mild medicinal properties, making it perfect for refining pills to nourish the body and bones.

The next stages of the Body Tempering Realm—the fifth stage, Bone Refining, and the sixth stage, Marrow Refining—were both concerned with the skeletal structure.

If he could obtain this Earth Profound Fruit, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous help to him.

It might even directly help him successfully give birth to an Origin Power Seed!

"Hoo!"

Suppressing his leaping heart, Lin Yiqing locked his gaze onto the behemoth before him.

Since he wanted to seize the medicinal herb, he had to take down this notorious Armor Boar.

Gripping the hilt of his dagger with an underhand hold, Lin Yiqing waited for the right moment. He crouched to gather strength, then suddenly leaped high into the air, diving toward the back of the Armor Boar's neck like a falcon.

"Shing!"

As the dagger pierced flesh, Lin Yiqing instantly twisted the blade, slashing sideways through the meat before kicking off the boar's back with both feet to leap back onto a tree branch.

The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, completed in one breath. This first hunt made his blood boil.

However, while his spirit surged, his mind remained increasingly calm. It had to be said that he was a natural-born martial artist with an extraordinary keenness for combat.

"Roar, roar, roar!"

Scarlet blood splattered everywhere. The pain from its neck instantly enraged the massive Armor Boar, which turned and charged violently at the tree where Lin Yiqing was perched.

"Boom!"

The tree toppled and mud flew as the immense force smashed the tree Lin Yiqing had landed on.

In that instant, Lin Yiqing had no choice but to leap onto a neighboring tree.

"With brute force like this, if I were hit head-on, I'd be dead or severely injured!"

Lin Yiqing looked at the fallen tree, his pupils constricting.

To defeat such a beast, head-on confrontation was absolutely inadvisable; only by using agility and skill could he hope to succeed.

"The Armor Boar is massive, but it lacks agility. I can create opportunities to wound it and wear it down!"

Thinking this, Lin Yiqing instantly changed direction, leaping toward the surrounding trees and launching thunderous strikes from time to time.

No matter how powerful a beast is, it is still just a beast. Once its weakness is found, the balance will shift, and it will inevitably be slain.

"A short sword is truly too weak against a beast like this!"

Lin Yiqing sighed inwardly as he looked at the short sword in his hand.

Although he possessed Body Tempering Pills, he was currently shackled by his own strength. He had no way to safely trade them for other resources in the short term, and high-quality weapons were even further out of reach.

He had even had to rummage through his entire home just to find this short sword!

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been stabbing at it for so long.

Gradually, the Armor Boar seemed to reach its limit, its massive body beginning to sway.

Only then did Lin Yiqing drop from the treetops, preparing to finish it off for good.

Perhaps sensing that his enemy was finally engaging head-on, the Armor Boar suddenly accelerated, charging toward Lin Yiqing with three pairs of tusks that seemed to condense an infinite amount of baleful energy.

"First-grade martial art, Roaming Body Steps."

The moment the Armor Boar collided, Lin Yiqing used a strange, agile footwork to shift sideways, evading the onslaught.

At the same time, he thrust his short sword into the Armor Boar's eye without a moment's hesitation.

"Roar!"

A shrill, miserable cry erupted. With its eye blinded, the Armor Boar seemed to experience a final burst of frenzied strength, thrashing its head as its three pairs of tusks swung like blades.

"First-grade martial art, Through-Back Fist!"

"Pop! Pop! Pop!"

Seven consecutive cracks echoed from his sleeves. Lin Yiqing's right fist, carrying peerless force, slammed heavily into the side of the Armor Boar's head.

"Bang!"

With a loud thud, the entire Armor Boar was knocked flat onto the ground.

"Let's end this here."

Looking at the fallen beast, Lin Yiqing pulled the short sword from its eye and drove it deep into the Armor Boar's skull!

Blood slowly soaked into the earth, and the Armor Boar finally stopped moving altogether.

"Whew, it's finally dead!"

Seeing the beast collapse, Lin Yiqing couldn't help but pant heavily.

He was only at the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm; slaying such a powerful beast was a massive test for him.

After glancing at the fallen Armor Boar, Lin Yiqing walked toward the bushes with burning eyes.

Pushing aside the foliage, he finally saw the situation clearly. The Earth Profound Fruit Tree stood about half a foot tall, its entire form lush and verdant. Its whitish trunk was extremely slender yet highly resilient, and at the very top hung a fist-sized, dark green fruit.

Growing hidden within the brush, it was very inconspicuous. If not for his vivid memory, Lin Yiqing likely would never have discovered the Earth Profound Fruit.

He activated his innate vision, seeing earthy-yellow essence energy densely swirling around the fruit, with a small earthy-yellow cyclone rotating slowly at its center.

Lin Yiqing finally felt at ease; with this fruit, at least this trip hadn't been in vain.

Moreover, the practical combat experience provided by the Armor Boar was also a significant harvest!

He took out his cloth bag, carefully placed the Earth Profound Fruit inside, and tucked it against his chest. He then uprooted the Earth Profound Fruit Tree and slowly turned to walk back toward the Armor Boar's carcass.

The Armor Boar was far too large for him to carry, and he was currently deep within the Rhino Horn Mountain Range, a place occupied by countless beasts. The scent of blood would soon attract others.

Furthermore, the mountain range was a chaotic place. If other martial artists discovered the details of this encounter, it would likely lead to a scenario of murder and robbery.

An innocent man is not guilty, but his treasure makes him so. A small fry at the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm carrying a fourth-grade spirit herb was a very tempting target.

Thinking of this, he pulled a thumb-sized porcelain bottle from his robes and poured all of the pink liquid inside onto the Armor Boar's wounds.

Immediately, he turned and bolted toward the exit of the mountain range without looking back.

This was a concoction he had developed early on, capable of magnifying the scent of blood in a short amount of time.

As long as it attracted those ferocious carnivorous beasts, the flesh and blood of this Armor Boar would be consumed in no time.

As for the Earth Profound Fruit Tree, he had uprooted it entirely, confident that no one else would ever discover the secret of this place.

Even if someone did find it, they would never be able to track him down!

A moment later.

Pairs of green, glowing beast eyes lit up in the darkness, and a chaotic battle broke out once more.

However, none of this had anything to do with Lin Yiqing anymore.