80: Chapter 80 Swamp Giant Lizard!
Lin Fan looked at the Earth Spirit Potato in his hand, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
He recognized this thing.
The Earth Spirit Potato is a type of low-Rank Spirit Medicine. Consuming it over a long period can slightly increase the defense of Earth-attribute Armor Spirits, and it is also one of the auxiliary materials for the evolution of Earth-attribute Armor Spirits.
Furthermore, it is a very interesting type of spiritual plant. Its intrinsic value is not high, but it has one characteristic—its yield is extremely high.
As long as one is discovered underground, it means there are at least dozens more within a radius of a few meters.
Because Earth Spirit Potatoes grow in clusters, a single mother tuber can produce over a dozen child tubers.
Lin Fan's eyes brightened.
This was truly an unexpected joy.
Although a single Earth Spirit Potato is not worth much, adding up a few dozen of them, he could sell them for at least one or two hundred thousand.
He put away the one in his hand, took out a small shovel from his backpack, and began to dig deeper along the previous spot.
Sure enough, having dug less than half a meter, the tip of the shovel hit another hard object.
Another one.
Lin Fan sped up, and Earth Spirit Potato after Earth Spirit Potato was dug out of the soil by him; some were big and some small, with the smallest being only the size of an egg, and the largest being twice the size of a fist.
As he dug, he stuffed them into his backpack, the smile on his face growing wider.
On this trip to the Secret Realm, even if he couldn't find the phantom spirit stone, these Earth Spirit Potatoes alone made it worth it.
...
About fifty meters away from Lin Fan, behind a dense cluster of bushes.
Three figures were hidden in the mist, motionless.
The tall man crouched at the very front, his right eye having completely changed appearance at this moment.
His originally normal pupil had vanished, replaced by a layer of pale gold crystal.
That layer of crystal covered his entire eye socket, with several thin golden veins extending from the edges and spreading all the way to the vicinity of his temple.
Through this layer of crystal, his vision pierced through the heavy mist, clearly seeing the young man crouching on the ground fifty meters away digging a hole.
"What is that kid digging?" he said in a low voice.
The Bald Strongman narrowed his eyes.
"Digging what?"
The tall man observed carefully for a while.
"Earth Spirit Potatoes. He's dug out quite a few; he's filled more than half his bag."
The Tall Thin Man behind him grinned.
"Earth Spirit Potatoes? That stuff isn't worth much, right?"
The tall man shook his head.
"It's not worth much, but there's a lot of it. That kid's luck is actually pretty good."
The Bald Strongman was silent for a few seconds, a cruel smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
"Let him dig. Once he's finished, the items will be ours."
"Keep watching. Once he's done, we'll follow him. Remember, don't get too close; this kid has a snake-type Armor Spirit, his perception should be decent."
The tall man nodded, the golden crystal in his right eye flickering slightly as he continued to lock onto every move Lin Fan made.
The three of them remained hidden in the mist, like three venomous snakes waiting for their prey.
...
Lin Fan was completely unaware of all this.
He was crouching by the edge of the pit, digging up Earth Spirit Potatoes, drenched in sweat.
The pit had already been dug half a meter deep, its diameter expanded to about one meter, and surrounded by mounds of yellowish tubers of all sizes.
"Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen..."
He counted while stuffing them into his space ring.
Finally, when he dug up the twenty-third one, no more new Earth Spirit Potatoes could be dug from the pit.
Lin Fan stood up, patted the dirt off his hands, and couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear.
"Twenty-three Earth Spirit Potatoes, that should sell for at least one hundred thousand. This trip, the travel expenses have been earned back."
He shouldered his backpack, stretched his slightly sore waist, and continued to move in the northeast direction.
...
After walking for about an hour, the mist in front suddenly became a little thinner.
Lin Fan vaguely saw an open area; the ground was no longer low-lying bushes, but large stretches of puddles and swamps.
The Mist Swamp, he had arrived.
Lin Fan stopped and carefully observed his surroundings.
The swamp was filled with even thicker mist, but it was slightly thinner than the previous forest, allowing his line of sight to extend beyond twenty meters.
Some strange-looking aquatic plants grew in the puddles, and occasionally one could see small bubbles emerging from the mud, making a gurgling sound.
Xiao Zhuang slid down from his shoulder, coiled at his feet, and stared vigilantly into the depths of the swamp with vertical pupils.
Lin Fan took out the map to compare, and the place where the phantom dream flower might grow was on a small island in the center of the swamp.
But to reach there, he had to cross this swamp.
He took a deep breath, took out a long stick for pathfinding from his backpack, and carefully stepped into the swamp.
The muddy ground under his feet was soft and slippery, and every step had to be tested repeatedly.
Lin Fan used the long stick to probe the path, avoiding the mud pits that looked solid but were actually traps, and slowly moved forward into the depths of the swamp.
After walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Lin Fan suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet vibrate slightly.
He stopped abruptly.
His left eye heated up instantly.
In his field of vision, under the mud pit ahead, a huge dark shadow was slowly moving.
That thing was lurking deep in the mud pit, with a massive body, fully three or four meters long, covered from head to toe in dark green scales.
It lay motionless in the silt, exposing only two eyes glowing with a faint light, staring fixedly in Lin Fan's direction.
What shocked Lin Fan even more was that around that huge dark shadow, there were four or five slightly smaller figures, also lurking in the mud, distributed in a fan shape, faintly forming an encirclement.
Information flashed frantically in Lin Fan's left eye.
【Race】: Swamp Giant Lizard
【Rank】: 23 (Lower Profound Spirit)
【Attribute】: Earth
【Status】: Lurking and hunting, extremely aggressive
【Armor Skill】: Venom Spit, Tail Whip Sweep, Giant Force Bite
【Evaluation】: Predator of the Mist Swamp. Extremely strong territorial awareness, skilled at lurking and sneak attacks. A stubborn type of Armor Beast; once it locks onto prey, it will not stop until death.
The remaining five were also Swamp Giant Lizards, only their Rank was a bit lower, ranging from 15 to 18.
Lin Fan's pupils constricted slightly.
Damn it, he had stumbled into their lair.
He held his breath and slowly retreated.
Attempting to withdraw from their territory without alerting this group of guys.
But having retreated less than two steps, the mud pit beneath his feet suddenly surged violently!
That huge dark shadow suddenly lunged out from the mud, opening its bloody maw, and bit down towards Lin Fan's head!
"Xiao Zhuang!"
Lin Fan roared, exerted force with his feet, and threw himself to the side.
Xiao Zhuang simultaneously ejected from his shoulder, three Shadow Wood Thorns shooting towards the Swamp Giant Lizard's eyes.
The Swamp Giant Lizard tilted its head, and the Shadow Wood Thorns struck its scales, leaving only three shallow white marks.
"Bang!"
The Swamp Giant Lizard's massive body slammed into the spot where Lin Fan had just been standing, mud and water splashing everywhere.
A huge pit was left on the ground.
Before Lin Fan had steadied himself, five slightly smaller figures erupted from the surrounding mud!
Five Swamp Giant Lizards pounced from all directions, opening their mouths filled with sharp teeth, and bit down towards Lin Fan!
Lin Fan's expression changed, his left hand instantly Armorized, and the Spiked Poison Fang stabbed fiercely towards the first Swamp Giant Lizard that pounced over.
"Pfft!"
The sharp claw pierced into the creature's soft belly, and the poison was injected instantly.
That Swamp Giant Lizard let out a miserable shriek, its body twitching as it fell into the mud.
But the other four had already reached right in front of him.
Lin Fan had no time to dodge, so he could only use all his might to turn sideways, while simultaneously activating Wood Shadow Stealth, his entire body instantly merging into the shadows.
"Snap!"
A Swamp Giant Lizard's big mouth bit into the spot where he had just been standing, biting empty air.
Lin Fan appeared from the shadows three meters away, panting heavily.