Mortal Cultivator: Lin Tianzun

Chapter 36: The mysterious plants in the secret valley lead to a fight between tigers and monsters, and the dangerous situation is surrounded by monsters.

An incense stick later, Lin Fan emerged into a secret valley. The valley was quiet and deep, its steep cliffs covered in verdant vines, like a draped green curtain. A faint mist drifted through the valley floor, swaying in the breeze like a veil, adding a touch of mystery and haziness to the entire valley.

Lin Fan stepped cautiously into the valley. The grass beneath his feet was soft and moist, and he felt a subtle resistance with every step. He observed his surroundings vigilantly, constantly on guard against unknown dangers. He continued along the winding path until he came upon a spring not far away. The water was crystal clear, and the sunlight shimmered with a myriad of colors, as if imbued with an infinite spiritual charm.

The seven or eight rare spiritual herbs before him delighted Lin Fan, yet also filled him with a sense of caution. After all, rare spiritual herbs often grow in places where demonic beasts guard them. There were many varieties of spiritual herbs here, including the Blue Leaf Ginseng, which emanated a soft blue light and resembled ginseng, but had six leaves. There was also the Flame Heart Flower, whose body was shrouded in fiery patterns, its stamens seemingly pulsing with flames.

Suddenly, a muffled roar echoed from the cave behind the medicinal herb field. Immediately afterwards, a massive demonic beast slowly emerged. It resembled a tiger, but its body was covered in shimmering metallic scales. A sharp horn jutted from its forehead, its tip radiating a chilling coldness. Its eyes, like two dim green lanterns, stared intently at Lin Fan, emitting a deep growl, as if warning this uninvited guest.

This was a top-tier, Level 1 demon beast, the "Scaled Unicorn Tiger." Lin Fan didn't dare slack off. His gaze glared, and he quickly raised his hand and slapped the storage bag at his waist. With a whoosh, a flash of cold light passed, and the Star-Shattering Sword was firmly grasped in his hand. The Star-Shattering Sword had a slender blade, emitting a cold blue light. Intricate runes were engraved on the blade, as if telling of his extraordinary past.

At the same time, he grasped the Hunyuan Shield with his other hand, forming hand seals with his hands like a phantom, muttering something to himself. Instantly, the Star-Shattering Sword, as if sensing its master's fighting spirit, hummed and transformed into a streak of cold light, piercing the monster with the force of thunder. Its speed was so swift that it left a distorted trail of light in the air, like a meteor streaking through the night.

The Hunyuan Shield stood firmly in front of Lin Fan. Runes flickered on the shield, their light intertwining and emitting ripples of defensive spiritual energy, spreading outward from the Hunyuan Shield. Each ripple carried a heavy and steady aura, like an invisible barrier, tightly guarding Lin Fan's entire body.

Seeing the Star-Shattering Sword's menacing force, the monster beast didn't retreat. Instead, its inherent ferocity was unleashed. It opened its mouth and let out an earth-shattering roar, the sound waves colliding with the sword like a physical force. Simultaneously, the monster's scales bristled, like sharp blades, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen in the sunlight. With a fierce kick of its limbs, it charged towards the Star-Shattering Sword like a cannonball, attempting to withhold the devastating blow with its formidable physique.

"Bang!" The Star-Shattering Sword collided with the monster's body, unleashing a resounding explosion that seemed to shake the entire Secret Valley. The powerful impact unleashed a fierce wind, blowing the surrounding plants and trees to and fro. Despite its immense sharpness, the Star-Shattering Sword failed to pierce the monster's body upon impact, only leaving a deep scratch on its scales. A trickle of blood oozed from the wound. The monster roared in pain and fury.

The Scaled Unicorn Tiger charged angrily at Lin Fan, its mountainous form swirling with a fierce gust of wind, as if to crush everything in its path. Lin Fan's gaze fixed, and he stomped his feet onto the ground. With a ghostly flash, he appeared on the other side in an instant. Simultaneously, his hands rapidly transformed into magical spells, and he shouted, "Quick!" The Star-Shattering Sword drew a graceful arc through the air, transforming once again into a piercing, cold light, darting towards the monster.

"Dang, dang, dang!" The clash echoed through the narrow secret valley like the pounding of war drums. Each strike of the Star-Shattering Sword accurately pierced the monster's vital points. However, this top-tier monster had thick skin and tough flesh, and its scales were incredibly tough. Each strike from the Star-Shattering Sword only left a shallow mark on its scales, sending up a shower of sparks.

The monster, completely enraged by Lin Fan's attack, roared to the heavens, its voice shaking the surrounding cliffs and sending rubble cascading down. Soon, the "Scaled Unicorn Tiger" seemed to enter a frenzy, its aura suddenly surging, its already massive frame seemingly expanding even further.

Its eyes turned blood red like flames, a fierce gleam emanating from them. Every hair on its body stood on end, emitting a chilling, violent aura like steel needles. Its strength soared, and its speed and power reached terrifying levels. Every step it took shook the ground, leaving deep hoofprints in its wake.

Lin Fan suddenly felt a surge of pressure, as if an invisible mountain were bearing down on him, making it difficult to breathe. But he knew he couldn't panic at this moment; he had to remain calm. He poured his spiritual energy unreservedly into the Primordial Shield and the Star-Breaking Sword, and the two magical weapons shone brightly.

The monster roared wildly and rushed towards Lin Fan like a black lightning. This time its speed was too fast and Lin Fan could not dodge it. He could only use all his strength to activate the Hunyuan Shield to resist.

"Boom!" The monster slammed into the Hunyuan Shield like a cannonball, and the runes on the shield flickered violently, as if ready to go out at any moment. The immense force of the impact numbed Lin Fan's arm, and his internal organs seemed to shift. A mouthful of blood surged up his throat, but he forced himself to swallow it.

At the same time, Lin Fan manipulated the Star-Breaking Sword into countless sword shadows, striking the monster like a torrential downpour of pear blossoms. However, the monster's defenses had greatly increased after its frenzy, and most of the sword shadows that struck it only produced sparks. Only a few managed to barely scratch its scales, drawing a little blood.

The monster seemed unfazed by this minor injury. It shook its head and attacked again. This time, it opened its bloody maw, and a black beam of light shot out from its mouth, like a destructive meteor, heading straight for Lin Fan. Lin Fan's face was solemn. He used all his spiritual power to construct a spiritual barrier in front of him. The black beam of light collided with the barrier, erupting with a dazzling light. The spiritual barrier was shaken by the powerful impact, and cracks spread rapidly like a spider web.

At the critical moment, Lin Fan had an idea. While struggling to maintain the spiritual barrier, he separated a trace of his spiritual consciousness and controlled the Star-Breaking Sword to quietly circle behind the monster.

While the monster was focused on attacking the spiritual barrier and distracted, Lin Fan suddenly increased his spiritual power output to the Star Shattering Sword. The Star Shattering Sword transformed into a dazzling stream of light and pierced the monster's neck with the force of thunder—a relatively weak defensive area...

With a single, unobstructed "puff," the Star-Shattering Sword sank unimpeded into the monster's body, sinking all the way to the hilt. The monster let out a shrill scream, filled with pain and unwillingness, echoing throughout the Secret Valley. Its massive body trembled violently, and the massive mouth that had been emitting a beam of black light suddenly froze, dissipating the light in an instant.

Lin Fan was delighted upon seeing this, knowing his bet had paid off. However, he didn't let his guard down. After all, the power of the frenzied monster's final struggle couldn't be underestimated. He endured the fatigue and pain, quickly forming seals with his hands, and once again mobilized his spiritual energy, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to the monster.

The monster twisted its body wildly, trying to throw the Star-Breaking Sword out of its body, and at the same time, it kept kicking behind with its hind legs, trying to hit Lin Fan who was attacking it by surprise.

Lin Fan nimbly dodged the monster's attacks, cleverly avoiding them. At the same time, he chanted something and cast a confinement spell. Ropes of spiritual energy appeared out of thin air, quickly wrapping around the monster, attempting to restrict its movements.

However, the frenzied monster was too powerful, and the spiritual energy ropes kept snapping as it struggled. Lin Fan's expression grew increasingly grim, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, but his eyes held a resolute and determined look. He knew that if he couldn't quickly defeat the monster, and once it recovered, his life would be in jeopardy.

At this moment, Lin Fan sensed a slight disturbance in the demon beast's aura. With a sudden thought, he realized this was a sign of exhaustion.

Without hesitation, he seized this final opportunity, channeling all his spiritual energy into the Star-Shattering Sword. The Star-Shattering Sword sensed its master's powerful will and immense spiritual power, its blade ablaze with light, its runes flickering and pulsing, as if attempting to break free from the constraints of space.

Lin Fan shouted, "Break!" The Star-Shattering Sword ripped from the monster's body, drawing a stream of blood. It then arced through the air in a brilliant arc before piercing the monster once more. This time, with devastating force, the Star-Shattering Sword pierced the monster's skull directly.

The monster's body crashed to the ground with a thud, sending up a cloud of dust. Its eyes gradually lost their luster, and its massive body froze. Lin Fan gazed at the monster's corpse before him and breathed a sigh of relief, his tense nerves finally relaxing. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

After this fierce battle, Lin Fan's clothes were tattered, his body was wounded in many places, and his clothes were stained red with blood. But his eyes were filled with unconcealable joy and satisfaction. Not only had he successfully defeated this powerful monster, but he had also harvested this precious elixir.

After a short rest, Lin Fan slowly stood up and began to collect the rare spiritual herbs. He carefully placed each spiritual herb into a specially crafted jade box and then put it into the storage bag. The seedlings of the spiritual herbs were also placed in the jade box.

After collecting the spiritual herbs, Lin Fan disassembled the monster's fur, claws, blood, scales, and other valuable items one by one, storing them all in his storage bag. Afterwards, Lin Fan carefully searched the secret valley for other opportunities. However, apart from some common spiritual herbs and minerals, he found nothing special.

Lin Fan frowned slightly, feeling a sense of disappointment, but he also understood that opportunities weren't always easy to find. He gazed at the scenery, took a deep breath, and thought to himself, "I've already gained a lot on this trip, so I shouldn't be greedy." Then, without further lingering, he turned and walked out of the valley, his figure gradually disappearing into the depths.

(End of this chapter)