Shen Heng and the other two did not make a sound, for fear of disturbing Le Gu Nan.
During this time, strands of matter, accompanied by silvery-gray threads, emerged from the corpse of the Firmament Breath Beast and gathered in Le Gu Nan's left hand.
These substances are so tiny that they are invisible to the naked eye.
If it weren't for the threads emerging from the Firmament Breath Beast's body and converging on Le Gu Nan's left hand, Shen Heng and the others wouldn't even be sure if there was anything there.
Gradually, as more and more threads converged, a crystal block that was visible to the naked eye appeared.
The crystal is growing bigger and bigger...
Time passed slowly.
Finally, when the crystal in his palm had reached the size of his hand, Le Gu Nan lifted his hand from the corpse of the Firmament Breath Beast.
She was breathing heavily, her face covered in a fine layer of sweat.
Is it okay now?
Shen Heng glanced at the woman who had asked the question, then turned his gaze to the crystal in Le Gu Nan's hand.
The crystal was only the size of a palm, and its overall color was not as bright white as the Firmament Breath Beast Lung Crystal in Shen Heng's hand, but rather had a grayish tinge.
"Not yet, just one more step!" Le Gu Nan said in a low, panting voice.
As she spoke, she roused herself, and the silver-gray thread once again rose from her hand and burrowed into the crystal.
As time went by, the crystal gradually began to brighten.
At a certain moment.
The silver-gray silk thread suddenly dissipated in Le Gu Nan's hand.
She slumped back onto the ground, her hand holding the crystal falling limply to the floor.
"How are you?" Tao Man asked with some concern.
Le Gu Nan gasped for breath, and it took her a while to catch her breath before she lifted the crystal in her hand.
It was a palm-sized crystal that was much whiter than before, but still not as good as the Firmament Breath Beast Lung Crystal.
"I'm sorry, that's all I can do... Hah... Hah... This is all I can do. This crystal should help extend the time by three months," Le Gu Nan said, panting.
Three months... Tao Man's eyes widened involuntarily, a hint of barely suppressed joy flashing in them.
Just as she was about to speak, she saw the boy who was with the other girl walk over.
Shen Heng walked to the side of Le Gu Nan, picked up the crystal from her hand, and then threw it at Tao Man.
Tao Man took the crystal and felt its hardness in her palm; tears welled up in her eyes again.
She kept speaking in a low voice:
"Thank you, thank you..."
Shen Heng ignored her and squatted down beside Le Gu Nan, looking at her face.
Pale and weak, her hair disheveled and stuck to her sweat-dampened forehead, her thin shoulders trembling slightly with her rapid breathing.
"How about it?"
Le Gu Nan's lips twitched, as if he wanted to force a smile, but he immediately coughed twice.
"I'm sorry, I can't move for the time being. You might need to carry me for now." Le Gu Nan looked at Shen Heng apologetically and wearily.
Shen Heng looked at Le Gu Nan's listless face and slowly shook his head.
He switched the position of his bag and then carried Le Gu Nan on his back.
The girl's body, light and limp, draped over his back, her head resting on his shoulder.
"If there's nothing else, we'll be leaving now." Shen Heng looked at the two of them.
"Thank you, but given your current situation, encountering the Calamity Beast would be very dangerous. Why don't you come with us?" Hu Yang said, looking at Shen Heng who was carrying Le Gu Nan on his back.
"No need, we have our own methods for dealing with the Calamity Beast." Shen Heng shook his head.
He immediately ignored the other person, determined the direction from which he had gotten off the bus, and walked straight there.
Behind him, the man's voice came.
"Then at least tell us your names! We are Hu Yang and Tao Man from Linqiang."
" Linhai, Shen Heng, Le Gu Nan."
Along the mountain path.
Shen Heng carried Le Gu Nan forward.
"Actually, that crystal could have been used the first time, right? Why did we need to do it a second time?" Shen Heng asked.
A weak, soft voice came from his shoulder.
You should know that, right?
Shen Heng paused for a moment, then said, "Because of time?"
"Mmm." Le Gu Nan closed her eyes, leaned on Shen Heng's shoulder, and whispered, "The first time, it can only last for ten days or so. The time is too short, too short..."
"So when you were telling me this, you were already planning to carry out a second purification?" Shen Heng asked.
"Well, I just don't know to what extent it can be enhanced."
"And what about your current physical condition?"
"It's a side effect of overusing my abilities," Le Gu Nan muttered to herself.
"I get like this after overusing my abilities."
"You will experience temporary weakness and be unable to move."
"The ability will also be unusable for about ten days."
"However, I've only experienced this once, when my abilities had just awakened and I was still undergoing systematic training."
"Is that all?" Shen Heng asked.
"Mmm..." A soft, sweet voice sounded beside his shoulder, "And then I feel extremely tired, want to sleep, and also a little bit..."
"Uh-huh..."
Feeling a soft, muffled groan of pain coming from his shoulder, Shen Heng sighed and said:
Is it worth it?
"Although we didn't directly save anyone, it gave them more time, a chance to look for the next hope. Regardless of whether that person's child was ultimately saved, I believe this is..."
A soft laugh filled with genuine joy rang in Shen Heng's ears.
"It's worth it..."
The rays of the setting sun shone on the treetops, on the woods, and on the figure carrying someone with its back to them.
Night, in a cave somewhere in the Qi Mountains.
The sound of conversation rang out, but it was mainly a man speaking.
"... Based on the current pattern, we shouldn't be unable to find the Firmament Breath Beast like before."
Hu Yang paused after speaking, glancing at the corner of the wall.
There, Tao Man sat quietly, his gaze fixed on the Firmament Breath Beast's Lung Crystal in his hand.
Looking at the grayish crystal, Hu Yang couldn't help but feel a little relieved and said:
"Luckily, it was Shen Heng and his group this time; otherwise, we might not have gotten anything at all."
Tao Man paused upon hearing this, then nodded slightly.
"Oh, right..."
Hu Yang paused, his gaze lingering on Tao Man. After a moment's hesitation, he continued:
"You know perfectly well that others also want the Lung Crystal of the Firmament Breath Beast, so why...?"
He didn't finish his sentence, but Tao Man knew what Hu Yang wanted to say.
She raised her head, looked at Hu Yang, and gave a bitter smile.
"What if I don't beg on my knees? Should I just give up? Or should I drag you into this and try to snatch it from them?"
Hu Yang fell silent upon hearing this.
He suddenly remembered that Tao Man had glanced at him before kneeling down to beg the other person earlier that day.
However, at that time, I realized what kind of outcome that glance might lead to, so I subconsciously avoided it.
If I hadn't avoided it back then, then...
silence...
After a long while, a soft sigh echoed from inside the cave:
"Feel sorry!"