203: I'm a newcomer to the spirit world

Lin Fan lay in a pile of rotting fallen leaves, his bones feeling as if they had fallen apart.

An unprecedented sense of weakness surged from every corner of his limbs and bones.

This was not an injury, but a suppression from a higher level.

It was the world rejecting him.

It was as if an alien virus was being targeted, weakened, and strangled with all its might by the world's immune System.

The power within him that once could shake the Lower Realm was now reduced to a mere trickle, tightly confined to the Transformation Initial Stage level.

"Getting nerfed into a dog right at the start, this welcome gift from the Spirit Realm is truly unique."

Lin Fan twitched the corners of his mouth, wanting to smile, but it only pulled at his sore and weak body.

In the dense forest, rustling footsteps approached from afar.

"Boss, it's over here. The commotion just now was definitely some treasure falling from the sky."

A shrill voice rang out.

Followed immediately by a rough voice.

"Everyone be sharp! This Barren Cloud Wasteland is Black Wind Stronghold territory. Don't lose your lives to a Spirit Beast before we even get the treasure."

Several figures emerged from the shadows of the trees.

Leading them was a one-eyed brute carrying a notched ghost-head broadsword, with a hideous black centipede tattooed on his bare arm.

The lackeys behind him all had fierce looks, their eyes scanning the forest with greed and vigilance.

Soon, they discovered Lin Fan lying motionless in the pile of leaves.

"Boss, it's a person!"

One lackey shouted in surprise.

The one-eyed man's gaze fell on Lin Fan, looking him up and down.

He saw the white robe on Lin Fan, which had become somewhat damaged while traversing the spatial rift, but whose material was still extraordinary.

Greed flared even brighter in the one-eyed man's eyes.

"Looking at his delicate skin and tender flesh, he's probably a Disciple from some Sect who came out for a trial, only to have the bad luck of running into a spatial turbulence and getting tossed here."

Another lackey licked his lips and grinned viciously.

"Boss, what do we do? Just slaughter him, strip him of his belongings, and leave?"

The one-eyed man rubbed the stubble on his chin, a plan flashing through his single eye.

"Don't rush to kill him yet."

"See if he's still breathing. If he's alive, cripple his cultivation. The Black Stone Mine has been short on people lately; a living Soul Transformation Stage slave can sell for a good price."

His voice held no emotion, as if he were discussing livestock waiting to be slaughtered.

"If he's already dead, strip him of everything valuable, especially his storage Magic Treasure—don't miss a single thing!"

The group chuckled and surrounded Lin Fan.

Lin Fan remained lying down, too lazy to even lift his eyelids.

He could clearly perceive the cultivation levels of these people.

The strongest one, the one-eyed man, was only at the Nascent Soul Late Stage.

In the Lower Realm, he might count as a decent hand.

But here...

Too weak.

So weak that Lin Fan couldn't even summon the interest to let them kill him.

If he died at the hands of such trash, what reward could the System give? A pack of healing Medicinal Pills? Or a few Low-Grade Spirit Stones?

The return was too low, completely failing to meet his core philosophy of pursuing high-quality deaths.

One lackey walked up to Lin Fan, stretched out his foot, and was about to kick him in the face to test if he was faking death.

At the very moment his foot was about to land.

Lin Fan's body moved slightly.

A trace of extremely faint, yet incredibly pure Qi flashed and vanished from his body.

That was the charm belonging to the Void Realm Dao Body》.

Even suppressed by the Laws of the world, that essence originating from a higher level was still not something these low-level Cultivators could fathom.

The lackey's foot froze in mid-air.

An indescribable chill, originating from the depths of his Soul, instantly froze his blood.

He felt as if he had seen an ancient Vicious Beast lurking in the abyss open one eye at him.

That was not Killing Intent, nor was it pressure.

It was an absolute crushing superiority on the level of life itself.

"Thump."

His legs went weak, and he collapsed uncontrollably to the ground, a damp, hot stain rapidly spreading at his crotch.

The one-eyed man's expression changed drastically.

Although he hadn't felt that aura, he saw the ghost-seeing reaction of his lackey.

Something was wrong.

This person was very wrong!

A life of licking blood off the blade on the edge of the Barren Cloud Wasteland had given him an animal-like intuition.

The seemingly weak young man in white before him gave him an extremely dangerous feeling.

Just like a prehistoric Vicious Beast wearing sheep's clothing.

"Go!"

The one-eyed man made a prompt decision. Without a moment's hesitation, he shouted in a low voice, turned around, and ran.

The remaining lackeys also reacted from their shock, scrambling to follow their boss, disappearing into the depths of the dense forest without looking back.

Silence returned to the surroundings.

Only then did Lin Fan slowly open his eyes and sit up.

He brushed the fallen leaves off his body, feeling the suppressed power within him and the partially locked System.

"This is troublesome..."

He whispered to himself.

Most of the System's functions needed to be unlocked again under the Laws of the new world.

The SSS-rank achievement rewards were even marked as "Law suppression, temporarily unavailable for collection."

To regain all his power, or even become stronger, he had to adapt to this world, or rather... make this world adapt to him.

And the fastest way was always just one.

Death.

Find a strong expert and have a grand death.

Lin Fan stood up and began to size up this strange land.

The air was filled with the fishy sweetness of vegetation and the dampness of soil.

The Spiritual Qi was so dense it was almost dripping; every breath felt like consuming the purest Medicinal Pill.

However, this Spiritual Qi carried a wild, overbearing attribute; if an ordinary Cultivator were to absorb it directly, their Meridians would likely be burst instantly.

In the distance, roars of beasts that could pierce metal and crack stone came from time to time.

The canopy overhead blocked out the sky, casting mottled shadows, and every ancient tree was thick enough to require a dozen people to embrace.

Everything here exuded an aura of primitiveness and danger.

Lin Fan took a deep breath, not feeling fear, but rather an inexplicable excitement.

He took a step and walked in one direction.

He had no destination.

But he knew that danger would come looking for him.

Or rather, he would actively walk towards danger.

He walked for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, and the surrounding scene began to change.

The vegetation became sparse, and a smell of sulfur was added to the air.

The ground was no longer soft soil, but hard, dark red scorched rock.

The temperature was rising sharply.

Lin Fan stopped.

In front of him was a huge basin.

In the center of the basin, a behemoth was curled up, sleeping soundly.

It was a giant beast over a hundred zhang long.

Its entire body was covered in dark red scales that looked like solidified lava, and between the gaps in the scales, dark gold firelight flowed from time to time.

Its head was hideous, resembling the legendary evil Dragon, with two thick horns spiraling upward, pointing straight to the firmament.

Every breath emitted visible, fiery thick smoke from its two huge nostrils, scorching the surrounding air until it distorted.

Lava Earth Dragon.

A Refining Void Realm Spirit Beast.

A terrifying pressure, like a tangible mountain, enveloped the entire area.

Ordinary Soul Transformation Cultivators, let alone getting close, would likely suffer a mental breakdown just under this pressure and be unable to move.

However, brilliant light burst forth in Lin Fan's eyes.

He saw that above the Lava Earth Dragon's head, there seemed to be a few golden, shining characters floating.

【Spirit Realm Newcomer Gift Pack】

"Finally found it."

He licked his somewhat dry lips, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

This was the one.

He decided to entrust his first time in the Spirit Realm to this seemingly powerful Dragon brother.

The problem now was how to make it willingly, with all its might, send him on his way.

Rush up and attack directly?

Don't joke around.

With his Transformation Initial Stage cultivation, he wouldn't even have enough strength to tickle it.

He had to use some technique.

Lin Fan's gaze began to scan around the Earth Dragon.

Soon, he made a discovery.

Beside the Lava Earth Dragon's nest, a plant, red all over and looking like it was carved from flame glaze, was swaying gently against the heatwave.

At the top of the grass, it bore a fist-sized, crystal-clear fruit.

Inside the fruit, lava seemed to be flowing slowly, emitting a shocking fire-attribute Spiritual Qi fluctuation.

【Red Dragon Fruit】.

The favorite food of the Lava Earth Dragon, and also the supreme treasure it guarded; after consuming it, one could purify their Bloodline and increase their cultivation.

A "plan successful" smile appeared on Lin Fan's face.

He restrained all his Qi, and with the help of the passive skill 《Space Affinity》, his figure moved like a ghost, silently bypassing to a tricky angle, slowly approaching the Red Dragon Fruit.

One step.

Two steps.

Less than ten zhang away from the Red Dragon Fruit.

The temperature in the air was already high enough to melt steel.

Lin Fan's protective Spiritual Qi was consuming rapidly, and his cuffs had already begun to char.

The sleeping Lava Earth Dragon twitched its nostrils.

It seemed to smell a trace of a living being's aura that didn't belong there.

Its tightly closed, mountain-sized eyelids trembled slightly.

Lin Fan's heart skipped a beat.

But he didn't stop.

He continued to move forward.

Five zhang.

Three zhang.

One zhang.

He could already clearly see the fine lines on the Red Dragon Fruit and feel the immense energy contained within it.

He reached out his hand.

At the very moment his fingertips were about to touch the fruit.

Boom!

A destructive aura suddenly awakened!

The Lava Earth Dragon's huge eyes snapped open.

What kind of eyes were those.

No pupils, no whites of the eyes.

Only two burning, golden suns.

Reflecting within them was endless, furious rage at having its sweet dream disturbed!

"ROAR—!"

A roar capable of shattering mountains burst from the depths of the Earth Dragon's throat.

The entire basin shook violently.

Countless gravel was shaken into the air by the sound waves, and then instantly vaporized by the terrifying high temperature.

The Lava Earth Dragon's massive body stood up from the ground with a boom.

Blocking out the sky.

It lowered that hideous head, its golden eyes locked firmly onto the tiny figure below, who was like an ant.

It was this humble creature that had disturbed its sleep.

It was this humble creature that dared to covet its treasure.

Unforgivable!

The Earth Dragon opened its giant mouth.

Deep in its throat, a dazzling red light was gathering at a terrifying speed.

Within a thousand zhang, all Spiritual Qi was drained, forming a huge energy vortex.

A world-destroying strike was brewing.

Facing this scene that would make any creature below the Refining Void Realm feel despair.

Lin Fan not only lacked the slightest bit of fear.

He even actively withdrew the hand reaching for the Red Dragon Fruit, turned around, and calmly tidied his somewhat charred collar.

Then, he looked up, facing that world-destroying Dragon breath.

On his face, a brilliant-to-the-extreme, expectant smile appeared.

Come on.

Let my first death in the Spirit Realm be even more intense.