Second-tier Clear Spirit Tree

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

The dull sounds of fists striking flesh rang out constantly in the Martial Arts Space.

"Huff... huff..."

Tang Zhixue panted heavily, his gaze somewhat unfocused as he watched the Martial Arts Clone keep swinging its fists.

Nearly an hour had passed since he used the Martial Arts Fruit.

At first, he had been able to trade blows with the Martial Arts Clone, sometimes even picking up techniques that made his attacks sharper.

But after twenty-odd minutes, once Tang Zhixue's stamina had declined to a certain point, things changed.

The Martial Arts Clone seemed to expend no stamina at all, pinning Tang Zhixue down with a relentless beating.

After taking enough hits, he could even tell how to dodge them, but his depleted stamina often kept him from dodging in time.

Simply put, his mind reacted, but his body could not keep up.

Fortunately, Tang Zhixue's persistence had not been wasted.

Just as he was about to dodge again, the Martial Arts Clone suddenly vanished.

"It disappeared?"

Tang Zhixue froze for a moment, then quickly realized what had happened. "The Martial Arts Fruit's duration ran out?"

Once he relaxed, he could no longer hold himself up and slumped straight onto the ground. "Huff... fucking hell... huff... I'm never using... huff... this... huff... Martial Arts Fruit again!"

Never in his life had he been this exhausted.

After catching his breath a little, Tang Zhixue struggled to his feet, unable to stop himself from swearing. "It's only because I didn't have any plant vitality. Otherwise, would I have taken that beating? Next time, I have to do this outside! Right, and bring my bow and arrows!"

"Motherfucker! That bullshit Martial Arts Clone started shooting from the shadows whenever it couldn't beat me! Once it could, it went straight to punching and kicking!"

Had he said he would never use a Martial Arts Fruit again?

What a joke. Exhaustion was exhaustion, and pain was pain, but his improvement did not lie.

[Name: Tang Zhixue]

[Level: First tier]

[Talents: Vitality Absorption, Diligence Makes Up for Lack of Talent]

[Crafts: Bow and Arrow Crafting · Uninitiated (0/1), Prey Processing · Proficient (53/200), Blazing Fire Sect Basic Forging · Beginner (15/100)]

[Skills: Blazing Tiger Fist · Expert (117/500), Linked Pearl Archery · Master (11/1000), Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra · Expert (254/500), Big Dipper Ghost-Slaying Incantation · Beginner (8/100)]

The improvement in Blazing Tiger Fist did not look like much on his personal panel, but Tang Zhixue could clearly tell that his combat experience had increased significantly.

Staggering out of the Shelter, Tang Zhixue only then noticed how dim the sky outside had become, as though it might plunge into darkness at any moment.

"Whew..."

Tang Zhixue let out a long breath, then began chanting softly. "By the natural order of heaven and earth, let foul qi disperse. Within the cavern lies the profound void, illuminating the primordial origin... swiftly, in accordance with the decree!"

With the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra, any lurking strange entities would normally have difficulty approaching him.

He could also use the light from the divine mantra to see the path.

Of course, the most important thing was still the divine mantra's own effect.

Fortunately, nothing happened, and Tang Zhixue smoothly absorbed plant vitality to recover from his exhaustion.

Before returning to the Shelter, Tang Zhixue planted four or five Clear Spirit Tree branches outside the main entrance and absorbed a large mass of plant vitality from two or three Thorned Strange Black Trees.

Standing just inside the Shelter's entrance, he nourished the five branches outside with the plant vitality he had prepared.

"Whoosh..."

Shrouded in blue-green plant vitality, the five Clear Spirit Tree branches grew at a terrifying speed, reaching four or five meters tall in the blink of an eye.

Perhaps because they were too close together, the five Clear Spirit Trees fused as they grew, becoming indistinguishable from one another.

Just like that, this special Clear Spirit Tree completely blocked the Shelter's entrance.

Honestly, had he not seen its information, Tang Zhixue would never have believed those five Clear Spirit Tree branches could grow into a single Clear Spirit Tree.

[Mutated plant: Clear Spirit Tree]

[Level: Second tier]

[Description: Formed by multiple first-tier Clear Spirit Trees growing together. It underwent a remarkable mutation under the influence of the Purification Land and can resist the encroachment of strange entities and evil beings of the second tier and below.]

As Tang Zhixue looked at the joined Clear Spirit Tree trunks outside the entrance, delight suddenly surged within him.

If I used this method to plant a ring of Clear Spirit Trees around the Shelter...

That way, his Blazing Sun Shelter would have sturdy walls, greatly expanding the space available for development.

"No rush, no rush." Tang Zhixue returned to the fireplace to prepare dinner. "Right now, eating is more..."

At that point, he suddenly stopped and whipped his head toward the entrance. "Did I forget something? Biting Spring Granny?"

In an instant, the relevant information appeared before his eyes.

[As the saying goes: misfortune is where fortune rests; fortune is where misfortune lurks.]

[Starting today, a Biting Spring Granny will knock on your door late every night until the event ends.]

[Never attempt to capture or harm her-anyone who harms her will be abandoned by all solar term benevolent spirits.]

[Friendly reminder: leave some food by the entrance. If Biting Spring Granny accepts it, she will leave something in return. The key is that you must cook the food yourself and have eaten it that day. Both portions must also have been cooked in the same cooking vessel.]

"Biting Spring Granny..."

Tang Zhixue looked at the entrance, which was completely blocked by the Clear Spirit Tree. "Knock on the door? Leave food?"

"Sigh..."

Tang Zhixue sighed and shook his head helplessly. "Looks like I won't be able to take part in the event tonight."

He could not possibly destroy the second-tier Clear Spirit Tree serving as his gate just for this event.

In the end, however, Tang Zhixue still placed the bamboo tube with two mouthfuls of rice left in it between the door and the Clear Spirit Tree.

Although the Clear Spirit Tree had grown flush against the door, there were still some gaps. Tang Zhixue did not know whether it would actually work; he could only do what he could and leave the rest to fate.

Along with the white rice, he left several skewers of grilled meat and grilled White Melon. The meat included both tiger meat and pork, with some pieces intact and others missing a few bites.

There was no helping it. He had yet to figure out the rules of this nighttime event, so he could only explore them as best he could, trying every rule he could think of.

Whether Biting Spring Granny could see the food was another question altogether.

After walking a few laps around the hall to help his digestion, he casually used a Plant Vitality Crystal to replenish the Dream Space with fifty energy points.

His fight with the Martial Arts Clone had made Tang Zhixue understand the importance of his own strength. If his physical capabilities had been strong enough, he would not have spent the last thirty or forty minutes taking a beating.

Tang Zhixue thought it over carefully. It seemed he had nothing left to do now.