The Rot-Bone Jade Phosphorus Flower

Chapter 8: The Rot-Bone Jade Phosphorus Flower

Late Houtian stage!

As Chen Lin sensed his own strength, he suddenly shuddered, shock rising in his heart.

He had never imagined that a single bottle of Gene Optimization Serum could completely transform him and send his strength soaring!

If he had a few more bottles of this serum, perhaps he could break through the Houtian stage and reach the Xiantian Realm in less than two months, completing his main quest!

At the thought, Chen Lin grew excited. He hurriedly opened the Item Exchange System and searched for Gene Optimization Serum.

Sure enough, Gene Optimization Serum appeared in the exchange list, divided into four grades: low, middle, high, and supreme. However, when he saw that even the cheapest low-grade serum cost 500 Death Energy points, he gloomily closed the exchange system.

It seemed there was no way to complete the quest by taking shortcuts. From now on, he had to figure out how to increase his strength as quickly as possible.

His cultivation of Dao Heaven had already hit a bottleneck. Chen Lin had opened the Yin-Yang Meridians, and of the five meridian wheels, the Yin Meridian and Yang Meridian were the easiest to open. All he needed was to draw in the essence of the sun and moon, circulate the yin and yang energies throughout his body, and balance hardness with softness. Then he could open them successfully. The Void Meridian alone, vast as the stars and spread throughout the body, was the hardest to open!

Yet once he successfully opened the Void Meridian, he would immediately step into the Xiantian stage!

"Guide, tell me: how can I open the Void Meridian quickly?"

With no leads, Chen Lin could only ask the Main God Coffin.

"Dao Heaven is the oldest mysterious scripture, one of the most perfect Sea Opening cultivation techniques in the world. The Void Meridian spreads throughout the body. You must continually temper and cleanse it with Essence of Li Fire and Mystic Yin Essence; then, in time, you will open it naturally."

Chen Lin was speechless. That was as good as saying nothing. All it took was time and arduous cultivation, but time was exactly what he lacked.

Opening the Void Meridian and breaking into the Xiantian Realm within three months—how easy did that sound?

With no shortcuts available, Chen Lin could only keep fighting ferocious beasts and gathering Death Energy.

The forest sprawled over an immense area, seeming to stretch on without end. Most of the ferocious beasts within it lingered around the Houtian stage. They were dangerous, but they all lived by instinct and lacked any intelligence. Chen Lin managed to survive without too much trouble.

After all, beings like the Silver Giant Sable and Blood Python that had undergone tribulation rarely came out.

Those beasts had cultivated for years and reached the Xiantian stage. They possessed a measure of intelligence and knew how to use the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cultivate. They usually hid away, cultivating day and night, and rarely roamed the forest.

After questioning the Main God Coffin, Chen Lin also learned that once a ferocious beast broke through to the Xiantian Realm, survived its tribulation, and reached the Sea-Opening Realm, its intelligence became no different from a human's. At that point, it was called a demon!

At dusk one day, in a gloomy wasteland deep in the forest, Chen Lin faced off against a poisonous frog covered in strange phosphorus patterns. The frog was a good ten feet tall, with two pairs of bulging, corpse-white eyes fixed on him, a sight that sent chills down the spine. A huge gash had been torn across its throat, which kept pulsing as strange black blood poured from the wound. The weeds nearby withered as soon as the blood touched them.

Chen Lin was in a bit of a bind. His abdomen had also been slashed open. He really didn't want to fight a ferocious beast as poisonous as this one. If even a drop of poison touched his wound, his blood would go numb and his strength would plummet. One careless move could cost him his life.

As they faced off, the frog's throat suddenly stopped pulsing, and its whole body stiffened. Chen Lin tensed at once, holding both sickles in front of his chest as he watched its every move. But the frog seemed not to care about him. Its corpse-white eyes rolled back and forth, its nostrils twitched, and then it abandoned Chen Lin entirely and leapt away, vanishing from sight.

Chen Lin froze, baffled, but didn't pursue it.

"What is that? It smells so good..."

Before he could think further, a strange scent drifted over. Chen Lin's gaze grew hazy, a look of rapture and intoxication coming over him. He swayed from side to side like a drunkard and, without realizing it, followed the scent.

A muddy swamp stretched before him.

Gray mist coiled around the swamp, as though the sun had never shone there, giving the place a gloomy, eerie air.

Rotting leaves and dead branches covered the ground. Countless poisonous creatures and crawlers scuttled in and out, packed so densely that the sight made one's scalp crawl.

At the very center of the swamp, a plant glowing with a strange, dim light swayed slowly in the breeze. Wisps of gray vapor drifted from it, carried away on the wind.

The plant was rooted in the swamp and stood only a few feet tall. It had four leaves, each glowing with the eerie green light of corpse phosphorus. Between them lay a flower bud that had yet to bloom.

Drawn by the plant's scent, ferocious beasts began appearing all around it. They had lost their usual savagery. Their eyes were vacant, and amid their bewilderment flickered a fervent, intoxicated yearning. They moved slowly, like bewitched walking corpses.

Plop!

A gray giant ape, several yards tall, was the first to enter the swamp. The mud slowly swallowed its body, but it made no attempt to struggle, even as the filthy mire covered it completely.

Plop, plop, plop!

Several more powerful ferocious beasts entered the swamp. Two great birds beat their wings, raising a gale, and plunged into the mire without hesitation.

Even as they died, their expressions were filled with bewilderment and yearning.

Chen Lin's eyes were vacant. He was one of the many ferocious beasts, and by now, he had lost all awareness.

Whenever a beast beside him died, wisps of black vapor seeped into his body.

Just as one of Chen Lin's feet was about to step into the swamp, an intense sense of danger erupted in his heart!

Advanced Perception!

A life-or-death crisis!

Chen Lin's eyes cleared in an instant. He saw a wolf as large as a millstone being swallowed by the swamp right in front of him. Thoughts flashed through his mind. In terror, he stopped himself halfway through his step, then retreated at speed, warily eyeing the strange plant in the swamp.

"Rotten Bone Corpse Phosphorus Flower discovered."

"Side quest: Pick the Rotten Bone Corpse Phosphorus Flower."

"Quest rewards: 1. Three Foundation Strengthening Pills. 2. One randomly selected advanced martial arts manual. Quest failure penalty: None."

The Guide's cold voice rang out. Chen Lin was startled, and as he looked toward the strange plant in the middle of the swamp, he realized it was the Rotten Bone Corpse Phosphorus Flower the Main God Coffin had identified.

Hearing the rewards, Chen Lin couldn't help feeling his heart skip a beat.

The Foundation Strengthening Pill was a medicinal pill that enhanced spiritual energy. One pill could equal two months of arduous cultivation and also make one's bones denser and tougher.

When Chen Lin had checked its price, he'd found that a single pill cost a staggering 125 Death Energy points. He couldn't bring himself to exchange for one. As for the advanced martial arts manual, he could take it or leave it. After all, he was already cultivating the Mysterious Ancient Scripture, Dao Heaven. He understood that too many things at once would only leave him mastering none of them.

But Chen Lin didn't rush in to pick it. He had a vague feeling that something about this place was strange. Besides, the Main God Coffin offering such a generous reward only made it more obvious that the quest would be dangerous.

After thinking it over, Chen Lin checked again.

"Rotten Bone Corpse Phosphorus Flower, a middle-grade spirit herb, generally grows in places where bones are buried. It is highly poisonous and feeds on corpses and venomous insects. It is extremely rare. Properties: Fueled by poison, it can continue to grow and advance into the high-grade spirit herb Rot-Bone Jade Phosphorus Flower. It is one of the main ingredients for the 'Crossing Tribulation Heavenly Palace Pill.'"

The Main God Coffin offered no further information about the flower. Perhaps Chen Lin lacked the necessary access. Even so, its use was clearly extremely valuable.

Chen Lin pondered for a moment, then suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked toward the center of the swamp.

By now, every ferocious beast had sunk beneath the mire. The strange plant seemed to have received enough nourishment, and its bud was blooming at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its petals were pure white as brocade, dotted with round red spots the size of longan fruit. They rolled and danced over the petals like drops of fresh blood, creating a strangely beautiful sight.

"Gulp!"

Even from far away, Chen Lin couldn't help swallowing. The plant's scent had grown even stronger, making him want to devour it in a single bite. An indescribable mix of feelings swirled inside him. It was simply irresistible.

He fought down the urge and moved forward, hoping to find a way to pick it. But just then, a spot in the swamp shifted slightly.

"Splash!"

A sharp head covered in mud emerged from the swamp. It was enormous and terrifying, its rows of sharp teeth glinting with a cold light as it looked ready to devour anything in its path.

It was a giant crocodile. Its two eyes, set on either side of its head, gleamed with a fierce light. Its dark green back resembled the wrinkled bark of an old tree, clinging to its body like armor.

"Late Houtian peak!"

Chen Lin used Advanced Perception as he looked at it, and his heart sank.

As expected, how could such a generous reward come without any risk?