1526 Infiltrating the Divine Mountain and Consuming Mysterious Crystals
They moved along deeper into the valley. After traveling thousands of kilometers, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha both spotted a mountain peak in front of them.
The mountain was majestic, and the terrain was open. It reached into the clouds, almost like a dragon lying on its back. The moment they approached, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha could both sense an energy fluctuation pass through into their bodies. It left them feeling a lot lighter, gaining a greater clarity of thought.
Shock was written all over Traveling Buddha’s face. Was this a Divine Mountain?
At the peak, a beautiful waterfall thundered down, with fragrant flowers and plants around. It gave off a hallowed and extraordinary atmosphere.
There seemed to be a shimmering barrier surrounding that magnificent and strange mountain. A white light radiated all around the body of the mountain, giving off a soft glow.
!!
There were groups of beasts gathered down by the foot of the mountain. Among them, a small portion were able to pass straight through the barrier, and looked like creatures that were neither beasts nor men. There were lions, tigers, and even a sika deer.
In any case, the sight was quite fantastic, making them wonder if they had been transported into a scene in a movie. The wild beasts on the mountain had gained a humanoid form over the course of one night, even learning speech! At the same time, their combat strength was great, and some even had special abilities!
Xia Fan counted all he could see, and noted that there were dozens in this bunch of sapient beasts. Though Traveling Buddha and he were not particularly threatened by them, the risk of going against so many sapient beasts of unknown strength still existed.
Traveling Buddha rolled up his sleeves and said, “Nice, a group of beasts that makes them appear like peerless powerhouses; not only did they learn to walk upright, they even command a large group of underlings! Let’s go and kill them all!”
Xia Fan hurriedly stopped Traveling Buddha. “Don’t be in such a rush. Let’s observe them a bit first.”
Drawing back some, Xia Fan activated his Law of Gold. Golden lights covered his eyes, giving him an amazing power to see much further and in greater detail.
He could see a mysterious energy swirling around the mountain, like blood vessels in a human body. Ultimately, they all gathered at the peak, where stood a single pomegranate tree. With the aid of the Law of Gold’s amazing power, Xia Fan could clearly observe everything.
That was when Pearl suddenly said, ‘I have a way to break the barrier.’
Xia Fan was surprised. ‘How?’
Pearl answered, “It’s very simple. Use my frost power and freeze the barrier. Then you can shatter it with a punch, just like breaking glass.”
Xia Fan nodded. Pearl was a Dragon, a daughter of the Frostseal Megadragons. Her freezing technique was nothing to scoff at; the so-called Frost special ability could not even compare to it!
“There are plenty of beasts patrolling the perimeter, so you might cause a chaotic battle to break out if the barrier suddenly breaks. Find somewhere without anyone around and I’ll dig a hole. We can enter from beneath!” Xia Fan suggested.
…
Out of every martial art, only speed was king!
Xia Fan was not just fast in terms of his movement rate, he was also faster than anyone else when it came to anything he did. A secret underground shaft would only take him ten or so minutes for him to dig out.
Circling around the gigantic mountain to a more secluded area, Xia Fan took out his tools and very quickly dug out a shaft until he reached a blockage. It was just like striking some very elastic rubber, the white barrier easily bounced his tools right off.
At that point, Xia Fan could sense that Traveling Buddha had probably already learned of Pearl’s presence. As such, he allowed Pearl to transform into her little girl form and introduce herself to Traveling Buddha.
He saw Traveling Buddha’s mouth hang agape, his entire person dumbfounded at the revelation. After all, a pretty and fair little girl suddenly popping out from Xia Fan’s bosom, then learning that this little girl claimed to be of the Dragon race… Well, every single aspect of this revelation had been far too sensational, and outstripped what Traveling Buddha could understand.
“Don’t be so bothered by it so much. At the end of the day, Pearl is a friend, and can be trusted,” Xia Fan said to Traveling Buddha. At the same time, he reached out his hand to close Traveling Buddha’s mouth for him, to prevent it from perhaps falling off in incredulity.
Traveling Buddha had always trusted Xia Fan, and while he kept his mouth shut, he still could not help but keep his eyes trained on Pearl. After all, this was a legendary dragon! Traveling Buddha felt as if his brain was being overloaded with information: he had just encountered his first sapient beast creature today, then even a dragon had appeared? Just how much of a mess would this situation become?
“Begin,” Xia Fan told Pearl.
The two of them saw Pearl nod and part her lips, blowing gently against the barrier.
A powerful and extraordinary power gradually covered this portion of the barrier, a thin layer of frost gradually forming over it. The drop in temperature in the underground shaft was frightening, but fortunately for Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, they were no longer at the state where they were afraid of a little cold, so neither thought anything about it.
Xia Fan thrust out a fist and punched the barrier.
He heard a cracking sound as the frozen barrier shattered. The pieces all fell to the ground, just like broken glass.
Xia Fan took the opportunity to continue digging ahead, lengthening the shaft by several more meters. The three of them successfully forged ahead in the dirt, while behind them the frozen barrier shards melted and it returned to normal in just a handful of seconds, glowing with that white light as if nothing had happened.
After passing by the barrier, Xia Fan dug upward, and soon broke out from underground.
This mountain was majestic to the point of being breathtaking. They were now somewhere at the waist of the mountain, where there were cliffs and waterfalls were flowing off of them, as well as a layer of mist that hung all about the place. The energy they felt in the area beyond the barrier felt stronger than before, to the point their hearts could not help but beat vigorously inside them!
Xia Fan pointed at the peak of the mountain and said, “The legendary mysterious crystal should be on the mountain peak, near that pomegranate tree.”
“Then what are we waiting for!” Traveling Buddha enthusiastically gushed. “Hidden Wind said the mysterious crystal would be able to allow a human to surpass their physical limits, and there were no side effects to it. We need to acquire such a treasure immediately!”
Xia Fan nodded, and the three began to ascend the mountain. With a speed demon like Xia Fan around, he simply carried Pearl along, grabbing Traveling Buddha by his hand and reaching the peak of the mountain in the blink of an eye.
The mountain peak was flat and covered in soft green grass. In the middle of the grassy plain stood a mysterious pomegranate tree. It was not particularly tall, only reaching about two meters in height, but its branches were thick, near the size of an adult man’s waistline. It was apparent that it had existed for many years.
There were over a hundred pomegranates growing on the tree, all of them vibrantly red in color, giving off a strong fragrance that made people salivate just by being exposed to it.
“I can sense a powerful energy pulsing in these pomegranates. They should be edible!” Pearl sang out. This little dragon looked fierce on the outside, like some sinister sprite. But for some reason today, she was actually revealing a cute side of hers, most likely because she did not want to leave a bad impression on Traveling Buddha.
“Are you for real?” Traveling Buddha immediately plucked one off and applied a bit of strength, breaking the fruit into two halves.
Countless pink gem-like crystals scattered, falling down to the ground immediately. They looked very alluring, and the aroma they gave off was even more captivating to the senses.
Xia Fan carefully examined the fruit. Sure enough, the pomegranate was actually a crystal, much different from what one would expect from a normal pomegranate, which would have had many pomegranate seeds inside.
“You try one,” Traveling Buddha said.
“Why me?”
“You’re someone that even dares to inject Yggdragon blood straight into your body, so you possess an unparalleled bodily resistance. You won’t die even if it’s poisoned, which makes you the best candidate to try it,” Traveling Buddha reasoned.
Xia Fan thought about that a little and felt it made sense. His body had been conditioned to its current state thanks to the diet of Grade Nine energy crystals that the Disasters had fed him as a child. His physique was well beyond the average human, so there was nothing to fear even if he ingested lethal poison.
‘Might as well!’
Xia Fan picked up a pomegranate crystal seed and tossed it into his mouth. Before he could even chew it, the crystal actually melted in his mouth and gave off a faint sweetness. At the same time, he felt a warmth spread throughout his body that made him feel extremely cozy, granting him a clear mind and unobstructing his meridians.
“Indeed, these are edible!” Xia Fan declared excitedly.
The moment the words left his lips, both Traveling Buddha and Pearl went pouncing for the other fruits, plucking them off the branches and starting to wolf them down.
Normally someone like Traveling Buddha, with a high status in life, would be very picky with his food, at least requiring a pot of brewed tea as accompaniment,slowly savoring the food. But these were mysterious crystals, rumored to be something capable of letting humans transcend beyond into Venerates. There was no reason for him to care about all that!
Pearl was also no longer a demure girl, clutching onto a pomegranate as she hungrily devoured the fruit, skin and all.
“What the Hell!”
Xia Fan was at first stunned, but soon joined in the frenzy. He was a Speedster,so there was no one that could compete against him when it came to speed. He was instantly able to harvest each and every pomegranate from the tree. This displeased Traveling Buddha and Pearl, who both insisted that he share. Seeing that he shared a good relationship with both of them, he readily split a portion with them, but he still made sure he got the most in the end.
Their feast promptly began, and the three crazily devoured their haul, allowing the amazing energy to surge and accumulate in their bodies. In the end, it was like the flooding of a river embankment, surging in volume all over their bodies the moment it hit a critical mass.
