In a bitter battle, four mbers of the Yellow Bear Exploration Team sustained minor injuries, and three had their combat effectiveness impaired.
The only unexpected incident involved the young Flying Bear who sacrificed himself to save others and was "abducted" by a monstrous bird.
Casualties were normal during the exploration of a Sub-legendary level Secret Realm, but no one had anticipated the first "fatality" to occur so swiftly.
The expressions of many turned grave.
Yin Muqing pulled up Lu Yuan’s file, surprised to find that this "self-sacrificing individual" had previously made a certain impression on her. This was mainly due to his remarkably sparse record. Theoretically, he should never have been able to join this "pioneering" team. However, because he was apparently a key contributor to the artifact that unlocked this Secret Realm, coupled with a seemingly special background, he had been forcibly included.
Yin Muqing’s initial impression of him had been exceedingly diocre, but it had now shifted slightly. While she still considered the actions of this young Flying Bear nad Lu Yuan—rushing to save soone without first assessing his own strength—to be incredibly foolish.
But she had to admit, a team truly needed people like him.
"Can anyone contact... this Flying Bear nad Lu Yuan?" Yin Muqing asked the assembled Flying Bear Generals, scanning Lu Yuan’s information.
Most shook their heads; they were unfamiliar with the na. A few felt they might have heard it before, but they were far from any real acquaintance.
"I might be able to find him!" a voice declared as soone stepped forward.
All eyes turned to the speaker, Han Xun. Only then did they recall that Han Xun was indeed quite close to Lu Yuan. They had been partnered for exploration back in the forest.
Yin Muqing pondered for a mont before quickly deciding, "Then take two others and try to locate him. Report back imdiately if you find any clues."
Although, due to the influence of Evil Energy Fluctuation, technological communication thods often failed within the Secret Realm, it was still possible to achieve so level of sensing within a certain range.
"Understood," Han Xun nodded, his expression solemn.
Lu Yuan’s "fate" was entirely unexpected, and Han Xun was now likely the most worried person in the entire team. Although he could now sense that Lu Yuan had likely concealed so of his true strength from him.
But in this perilous environnt, the risks were significant. Unless one’s strength reached Yin Muqing’s level, even a Four-winged Flying Bear like himself faced a considerable chance of death. He could only hope Lu Yuan’s luck would hold.
Han Xun quickly selected two individuals, one of whom was the very person Lu Yuan had saved from the flock of monstrous birds. The three of them then separated from the main force and hurried away.
Barely monts after Han Xun’s trio departed, the Yellow Bear Exploration Team saw them: two figures emanating auras as powerful as Yin Muqing’s, erging from the strange forest they had just exited nearby.
Havel’s Egersis had caught up!
Yin Muqing’s expression turned grim. She imdiately issued orders to clean up the battlefield and continue their advance.
「...」
That’s far enough.
Having "escorted" the monstrous bird a considerable distance, Lu Yuan decided it was ti. He decisively slamd a ferocious punch into the bird’s abdon above him.
His fist, imbued with Platinum Universe Qi and amplified by Grandmaster Force, sank into the monstrous bird’s belly as easily as a knife slicing through tofu.
The terrifying power within erupted a second later.
BANG!
The strange bird’s body swelled grotesquely, then with a final shriek, it exploded into a shower of debris that filled the sky.
Lu Yuan instantly released his Grandmaster Domain, and the surrounding air imdiately distorted and blurred.
He descended step by step from several hundred ters high, as if treading on invisible stairs.
The blood mist from the bird’s explosion coalesced into countless tiny sanguine tornadoes swirling around him. Its Flesh and Blood Essence was absorbed through every pore of his body.
By the ti Lu Yuan’s feet touched the ground, the blood mist had long since vanished.
This is a completely different experience from landing with wings... Lu Yuan mused, exhaling lightly as he surveyed his surroundings.
He figured he must now be deep within the Black Plain.
Lu Yuan squinted into the distance. A small mountain, over a hundred ters high, ca into view.
To call it a mountain wasn’t entirely accurate. More precisely, it was... a Stone Pestle, a massive cairn ford from a large quantity of black stones. Only, this Stone Pestle was rather too large for an ordinary person.
Around this colossal black Stone Pestle, and upon it, figures of Elephantn could be seen moving.
This was the first ti Lu Yuan had encountered Elephantn since entering the Elephant God’s Secret Realm.
An Elephantman tribe, a gathering place? Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered. But why do these Elephantn look... as if they’re dead?
Taking a deep breath, Lu Yuan strode swiftly towards the giant Stone Pestle. The closer he got, the hotter the Elephant God’s curse on his chest burned. He knew full well that danger awaited him, but for him, this crisis was also a rare opportunity.
Lu Yuan reached the foot of the Stone Pestle.
Elephantn surrounded the Stone Pestle, each kneeling on one knee, their single forehead-eye tightly shut.
Nurous huge, pale beast bones were thrust like banners into the crevices between the stones of the Stone Pestle.
At the very summit of the Stone Pestle, an Elephantman with four arms and two heads was also in a kneeling posture.
Lu Yuan looked in the direction the two-headed, four-ard Elephantman was kneeling. The mist ahead was murky, obscuring details, but he could vaguely discern many small hills similar to the Stone Pestle before him; the farther away they were, the taller they appeared.
Lu Yuan circled the Stone Pestle and counted. Including the four-ard Elephantman at the top, there were twenty-three Elephantn in total. He felt no signs of life from these Elephantn, utterly different from the Ancient Elephant God’s creatures he had encountered before.
Suddenly, Lu Yuan noticed a mysterious pattern on a large black stone several ters above his head. His body moved, and he instinctively started to approach it for a closer look.
However, the mont he touched the massive Stone Pestle, the Elephant God’s curse on his chest flared, burning like a brand, as if he had triggered so hidden chanism.
The Elephantn kneeling around the Stone Pestle all opened their eyes in perfect unison!
ROAR!
Dozens of elephantine roars erupted simultaneously by Lu Yuan’s ears. The imnse sound waves converged, causing the entire Stone Pestle to tremble faintly.
Then, in the next instant, the Elephantn awakened from their slumber around the Stone Pestle and launched themselves at Lu Yuan.
In a flash, Lu Yuan was engulfed by a dense shadow, the tsunami-like pressure threatening to completely subrge him in an eyeblink...
Half a second later...
BOOM!
An invisible, terrifying force exploded upon the Stone Pestle. Platinum Universe Qi erupted like thunder, accompanied by the severed limbs of Elephantn!
WHOOSH—
Lu Yuan, enveloped by his Grandmaster Domain, beca a blur of distorted, formless energy. He violently stomped, crushing the stones beneath his feet. Wreathed in Platinum Universe Qi, he moved like a white lightning bolt, weaving through the revived Elephantn.
Each ti the lightning flashed, an Elephantman would explode into pieces.
Within a few breaths, the dense shadow that had enveloped the Stone Pestle was torn to shreds.
These ordinary Walker Level Elephantn, whose combat power was generally only SS-level, stood no chance against Lu Yuan. Unleashing his full Martial Arts Grandmaster strength, he tore them apart as if they were fragile dolls.
The twenty-odd Elephantn dwindled rapidly, their rock-like bodies exploding into fragnts that splattered like rain.
Just as Lu Yuan was indulging in the "slaughter," a colossal figure suddenly plumted from above.
A two-headed, four-ard Elephantman was charging at him, its eyes crimson.
Two golden glints flashed in Lu Yuan’s eyes. His lean body, wreathed in Universe Qi, abruptly swelled—
[Grandmaster: Overload Mode]!
His rapidly vibrating muscles, like countless bowstrings being drawn taut and released in an instant, unleashed terrifying power exceeding a thousand tons.
"Grandmaster God Elephant Sect: Double Swallowing Dragon!"
Lu Yuan punched out with both hands simultaneously. His arms vanished and reappeared in the air.
The ferociously charging two-headed, four-ard Elephantman faltered for an instant...
Then, with a thunderous BOOM, it utterly disintegrated!
WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH—
Lu Yuan moved without pause, leaving several afterimages in the air.
When he returned to his original position, the few remaining Elephantn on the Stone Pestle froze, then exploded one after another.
PHEW—
Amidst the shower of black flesh and blood, Lu Yuan exhaled softly. His enlarged body swiftly shrank, and copious amounts of white steam vented from every pore. His expression was calm, his tousled hair gradually settling, and his flushed skin slowly returning to its original fairness.
A few breaths later, the massive Stone Pestle was restored to its initial tranquility. The only difference was that the Elephantn who had been kneeling around the Stone Pestle had all vanished, leaving behind only piles of rubble resembling shattered stone.
One, two, three, four...
Lu Yuan counted the Elephantman hearts remaining on the ground. There were twenty-three in total: twenty-two of roughly the sa size, and one about three tis larger than the others.
Lu Yuan crushed these stone-like hearts one by one, absorbing the faint light within them. He watched his Elephant God panel’s progress bar shoot up.
17%...
18%...
19%...
Yet, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but frown slightly.
Why does the energy feel so minimal...
After absorbing all twenty-three hearts, Lu Yuan found that his [Elephant God: Ming King Stance (Extraordinary)] experience bar had only just reached 42%.
The heart of an ordinary Elephantman provided him with about 1% progress on his experience bar, while the one from the two-headed, four-ard Elephantman offered a good deal more, around 5%.
This is far worse than the Elephant God Walks I killed outside the Secret Realm. Their quality is only comparable to ordinary Ancient Elephant God’s creatures... Lu Yuan mused. He guessed that the Elephant God Walks that had chased him outside the Secret Realm previously must have been "fully charged." These Elephantn, idling in the Secret Realm, were all in a "low battery" state.
Charging these half-dead Elephantn must be quite an arduous task. Otherwise, if even a few more had appeared during the previous curse attacks, I probably wouldn’t have been able to withstand it...
As for who or what is charging these Elephantn... A three-headed, six-ard figure standing atop Demon Mountain subconsciously surfaced in Lu Yuan’s mind.
Fortunately, there are plenty of Elephantn in the Secret Realm. If the quality isn’t there, quantity will have to suffice. It should be enough to fill my experience bar...
With these thoughts, Lu Yuan turned, his gaze finally settling on the pattern he had noticed etched into the stone earlier.
Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be so kind of pictograph.
As Lu Yuan attempted to decipher the pictograph’s aning, the fusion progress of his [Student] and [Ancient Language Expert] profession panels, which had long been integrating, finally began to tick upwards once more.
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