85: Chapter 85 Mirage
The small island in the center of the swamp was much smaller than Lin Fan had imagined.
It was no more than a hundred meters in circumference, with slightly higher terrain, barely qualifying as a dry patch of land in the swamp.
The island was overgrown with low shrubs and thick moss.
Lin Fan stood in the center of the island, looked around, and the corners of his mouth twitched.
"Is this the growth site of the phantom dream flower marked on the map?"
He crouched down and pushed aside a cluster of shrubs, revealing a few sparse, pale blue flowers underneath.
phantom dream flower.
It was indeed a phantom dream flower.
But the problem was... there were too few.
Lin Fan counted them; the total number visible within his line of sight did not exceed ten, and most were still in the bud state, not having bloomed at all.
He rummaged through the shrubbery to search again and found a few more scattered ones, barely scraping together fifteen or sixteen in total.
As for the phantom spirit stone... he searched the entire island but didn't even see a shadow of one.
"It's not the flowering season..."
Lin Fan sat down on the ground and let out a long sigh.
Although he had anticipated this, he had still held onto a sliver of hope.
Facts proved that he was just daydreaming.
"Fine, these phantom dream flower specimens count as a harvest; at least it saves the cost of phantom dream flower powder."
He carefully harvested the dozen or so phantom dream flower specimens.
Although it wasn't much, even a mosquito's leg is meat; it was better than returning empty-handed.
He stood up, preparing to leave. Just as he turned around.
An extremely slight fluctuation came from behind him.
Lin Fan paused, turned his head, and looked back.
In his field of vision, the air in the clearing at the center of the island was slowly twisting.
A tiny crack appeared out of thin air, its edges glowing with a deep blue light, like an open eye.
"This is..." Lin Fan's pupils constricted slightly, "Mirage Realm?!"
A Mirage Realm is a special spatial rift that occasionally appears in a Secret Realm, connecting to a dimensional interlayer attached to the main space.
Such places often conceal Heaven And Earth Treasure because the environment is enclosed and the spiritual energy is dense, making it easy to nurture rare spiritual plants that are uncommon outside.
But precisely because the spiritual energy is dense, it attracts powerful Armor Beast creatures to wander in by mistake, so nine times out of ten, a guardian Armor Beast will be entrenched within a Mirage Realm.
The time and location of a Mirage Realm's appearance are random, but the opening duration is extremely short—ranging from a few minutes to half an hour—and if missed, it cannot be entered again.
Being able to encounter one was pure luck. Whether this luck was good or bad, however, depended on the situation inside.
Lin Fan hesitated for less than a second. "Go for it!"
He took a deep breath and rushed toward the crack.
The moment his body submerged into the deep blue light, a slight sense of weightlessness washed over him, and the scene before his eyes changed abruptly.
When Lin Fan opened his eyes again, he was stunned.
Before him was a sea of pale blue flowers. Vast patches of phantom dream flower covered his entire field of vision, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Those flowers were already in full bloom, their light purple petals swaying gently in the breeze, emitting a faint, sweet fragrance.
In the center of the sea of flowers, several fist-sized purple crystals lay quietly, emitting a cold, dim light. phantom spirit stone. At least ten of them.
The corners of Lin Fan's mouth curled up wildly. "I'm rich!"
But the next second, his smile froze on his face.
Deep within the sea of flowers, a massive figure slowly stood up.
It was a huge Armor Beast, fully three meters tall, its body covered in pale blue scales. The surface of the scales had fine patterns, resembling countless eyes.
Its head resembled that of a giant python, but it had a pair of backward-curving horns, and a circle of raised skin folds around its neck, like an unfolded fan.
The most eerie part was its eyes... they were a pair of deep blue vertical pupils, and within the depths of the pupils, it seemed as if whirlpools were rotating; just one look was enough to make someone feel drowsy.
It stared at Lin Fan, slowly opened its mouth to reveal two rows of sharp teeth, and let out a low hiss from its throat.
Lin Fan's left eye grew slightly hot, and information appeared.
【Race】: Mirage Mist Python
【Rank】: Rank 26
【Aptitude】: Profound Spirit High Grade
【Attribute】: Illusion Type
【Status】: Guarding territory, highly aggressive.
【Skills】: Mental Shock: Releases mental waves to attack enemies, causing a stun effect. Mist Breath: Exhales mist containing hallucinogenic factors, causing the enemy to fall into hallucinations. Phantom Scale Camouflage: The python's scales can refract light according to the environment and emotions to achieve an invisibility effect, thereby interfering with vision and perception.
【Evaluation】: An Armor Beast that wandered into the Mirage Realm by mistake, now a guardian beast, feeding on the spiritual energy of the phantom dream flower. Skilled in illusion attacks, and its melee ability is not weak either.
Lin Fan's mouth twitched. "I knew it, there's no such thing as a free lunch."
Profound Spirit High Grade, Rank 26; this strength cannot be underestimated, especially since he hasn't contracted a second Armor Spirit yet.
Lin Fan cautiously looked around the surrounding environment. "Thank goodness, thank goodness, there's only this one."
In fact, there is basically only one guardian Armor Beast in a Mirage Realm. As the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers, unless one is male and one is female.
Lin Fan loosened his wrists, the blue-black scales on his left hand shimmered, and with a flip of his right hand, the Black Armor Shield instantly latched onto his left forearm.
"Xiao Zhuang, time to work."
Before his voice had even faded, the Mirage Mist Python struck first.
The circle of skin folds around its neck suddenly opened like an unfolded fan, and a pale purple mist gushed out from its mouth—Mist Breath!
The mist spread at an astonishing speed, instantly shrouding the surrounding dozens of meters.
Lin Fan only felt the scene before his eyes begin to twist; those pale purple phantom dream flower specimens seemed to come alive, their petals turning into countless eyes, all staring at him in unison.
At the same time, an eerie mental fluctuation stabbed into his mind—Mental Shock!
A sense of dizziness struck, Lin Fan's vision went black, and he nearly lost his footing.
But his left eye instantly grew hot; that burning sensation dispelled the dizziness, and the illusions before him receded like a tide.
"Is that all?"
The corners of Lin Fan's mouth curled up slightly, his left eye clearly capturing the position of the Mirage Mist Python—that guy was using the cover of the mist to silently circle around to his flank.
He pretended to still be dizzy, swaying his body, even taking a step back and deliberately stumbling.
A trace of viciousness flashed in the eyes of the Mirage Mist Python, and it lunged forward!
Just at the moment it was about to bite, Lin Fan moved. Wood Shadow Stealth!
He merged into the shadows and disappeared from the spot.
The Mirage Mist Python pounced on empty air, and confusion appeared in its vertical pupils.
The next second, Lin Fan appeared three meters behind it, and three Shadow Wood Thorn attacks shot out simultaneously!
"Puff, puff, puff!" The Shadow Wood Thorn attacks accurately hit the scales on the back of the Mirage Mist Python, but only left three shallow bloodstains.
This guy's defense was stronger than he had imagined.
Feeling the pain, the Mirage Mist Python let out an angry roar, and its thick tail swept across!
Lin Fan's left eye predicted the trajectory, he raised the Black Armor Shield, and took it head-on. "Bang!"
A massive force came, and Lin Fan was knocked back two steps, but the Black Armor Shield remained motionless, and the rebound stone grew slightly hot.
The rebound effect triggered, and part of the force bounced back, shaking the Mirage Mist Python's tail until it went numb.
A trace of annoyance flashed in its eyes.
Lin Fan steadied his stance, and instead of retreating, he advanced, charging toward the Mirage Mist Python.
The Mirage Mist Python sprayed the mist breath again, and simultaneously activated Phantom Scale Camouflage, its entire figure instantly disappearing into the mist.
But Lin Fan's left eye grew slightly hot, and the invisible outline was clearly visible in his field of vision—it was circling to his left, preparing to sneak attack.
Lin Fan pretended to look around, appearing confused, and even leaned slightly to the right.
The Mirage Mist Python silently circled to his left, opened its bloody maw, and bit down hard.