86: Chapter 86 You're doomed if I don't stab you!
Just as the sharp fangs were about to make contact, Lin Fan turned abruptly, meeting them once again with the Black Armor Shield on his right arm.
"Crack!"
The Mirage Mist Python's fangs bit into the shield, producing a teeth-grinding sound.
The vibration-repelling stone flared with light, and a wave of recoil force numbed the Mirage Mist Python's jaw, leaving its mouth agape as it retreated, shrieking in pain.
Lin Fan patted the Black Armor Shield on his arm, looking all smiles.
"See how hard I am?"
Although the Mirage Mist Python could not fully understand human speech, the mockery in that tone was clearly palpable.
The skin folds around its neck suddenly flared open as it let out a sharp hiss.
Mental Shock!
An invisible mental wave surged forward like a tidal wave.
Lin Fan's left eye felt slightly warm, and the wave of dizziness was instantly suppressed.
But he didn't show it; instead, he swayed his body, a look of pain appearing on his face, and he even took a step back.
The Mirage Mist Python thought its attack had worked.
It spewed out its phantom mist breath again, simultaneously activating Phantom Scale Tracking, and its entire figure vanished into the purple mist.
Lin Fan continued to pretend, shaking his head and stumbling a couple of steps, even lowering the Black Armor Shield to expose a weakness on his left side.
A fierce glint flashed in the Mirage Mist Python's eyes as it suddenly pounced from the side, opening its bloody maw wide and biting down fiercely at his neck!
Just as the sharp fangs were about to touch his skin.
Lin Fan suddenly looked up, a strange curve forming at the corners of his mouth.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time."
He waved his right hand, shooting out three Shadow Wood Thorns, not at the Mirage Mist Python's body, but at three directions to its sides.
Light flickered, and three figures identical to Lin Fan stepped out from the spots where the Shadow Wood Thorns had landed.
Shadow Wood Clone—three of them!
The three Clones lunged at the Mirage Mist Python simultaneously, one from the left, one from the right, and one from above, sealing off all its escape routes.
The Mirage Mist Python instinctively wanted to retreat, but it was already too late.
The three Clones were already upon it; one of them even grabbed its neck directly, tightly jamming the mouth it was trying to close.
"Now is the time!"
Lin Fan's true body moved.
Wood Shadow Stealth was activated, and he merged into the shadows, vanishing instantly from his spot.
The next second, he appeared directly in front of the Mirage Mist Python, less than a meter away from the bloody maw held open by the Clones.
The Mirage Mist Python tried in terror to shake off the Clones, but they clung to it tightly, giving it no chance at all.
Lin Fan raised his right hand, his palm aimed at that wide-open mouth.
"Taste this."
He waved his right hand repeatedly, the spirit energy inside him surging wildly.
One, two, three, four, five...
Shadow Wood Thorns poured out from his palm like a rainstorm, turning into streaks of dark cyan light that shot straight into the Mirage Mist Python's open mouth!
Without the protection of its hard scales, its soft throat, esophagus, and internal organs were like paper before the sharp Shadow Wood Thorns.
The Mirage Mist Python let out a shrill scream, its massive body writhing frantically.
It wanted to close its mouth, but that Clone was still holding its neck firmly, giving it no chance.
Lin Fan did not stop.
He unleashed the Shadow Wood Thorns as if they were free.
He only stopped when his remaining spirit energy was completely exhausted.
The Mirage Mist Python's screams came to an abrupt halt.
Its body stiffened in place, those deep blue slit pupils gradually losing their luster, and its massive body collapsed with a crash, kicking up a shower of purple flower petals.
The three Clones completed their mission and dissipated into light.
Lin Fan flopped onto the ground, panting heavily.
"Damn it... fighting me? Just watch me poke you until you're done for."
He rested for a good while before catching his breath, then stood up and walked over to the Mirage Mist Python's corpse.
This guy died quite miserably; blood was still oozing from its mouth, and its internal organs had been shredded to a pulp by the Shadow Wood Thorns.
"That's what you get for being greedy and having a loose mouth."
Lin Fan shook his head and crouched down to begin processing the corpse.
The Mirage Mist Python's scales were good stuff, especially from this rare variety that excelled in illusions; the natural patterns on the scales were highly valuable for mental-type Materials.
And those eyes were even rarer illusion-type Materials.
He skillfully peeled off the scales, extracted the eyeballs, and collected some poison glands and blood.
After working for half an hour, he finally finished collecting all the usable Materials.
Lin Fan stood up, looked at the sea of phantom dream flowers, and his mouth curved upward again.
"Now, it's time to collect my reward."
He walked into the sea of flowers and began harvesting the blooming phantom dream flowers, carefully placing piece after piece of phantom spirit stone into jade boxes.
"This trip was a huge profit."
He happily packed everything away, item by item, and looked up at the void above the Mirage Realm.
The exit was still there; that deep blue rift hung silently in mid-air, its edges shimmering with ripple-like light patterns.
Lin Fan was in no hurry to leave.
He calculated the time; he had only been in the Secret Realm for two days, with five more days to go.
Leaving now would not only waste the hundred thousand he had paid but also force him to wander around outside.
Besides, thinking about the three grey-robed men he had encountered earlier... he felt the Secret Realm wasn't safe right now.
Those three guys clearly weren't good news; he couldn't afford to provoke them, but surely he could hide from them?
Lin Fan looked around and nodded with satisfaction.
This Mirage Realm space wasn't large, only a few hundred meters in radius, but it was well-hidden.
The entrance was a randomly appearing rift, and people outside couldn't possibly find this place.
The guarding Armor Beast had been dealt with, so it was now a safe, enclosed space.
It was perfect for doing things that couldn't be interrupted.
He untied the metal box from his waist and opened it carefully.
Tongtong was curled up inside, the nine golden patterns on its milky-white body glowing faintly.
It seemed to sense something, slowly wriggling twice, raising its head, and looking at him with those pale golden compound eyes.
Lin Fan grinned.
"Little thing, your rations have arrived."
He reached out and took Tongtong out of the box, placing it on his palm.
Lin Fan rummaged through his backpack for the prepared Materials.
Three portions of phantom dream flower powder.
Two pieces of Star Glow Stone, which he had asked Xu Ziyan to get through his father's connections.
Two bottles of moonlight dew, also prepared in advance.
And the phantom spirit stone he had just obtained today.
Lin Fan picked up a piece of phantom spirit stone and weighed it in his palm.
The fist-sized purple crystal had mist swirling inside, felt ice-cold to the touch, and one could faintly sense a weak mental fluctuation.
"Good stuff."
He set the phantom spirit stone aside, took out a palm-sized jade mortar from his backpack, poured in the phantom dream flower powder, Star Glow Stone powder, and moonlight dew in proportion, and slowly ground them into a uniform, light purple paste.
He did the whole process very carefully; after all, this was Tongtong's first evolution, and he couldn't afford any sloppiness.
After grinding was complete, Lin Fan took a deep breath and placed Tongtong in the middle of the pile of Materials.
"Tongtong, have a taste."
The little thing seemed to understand, slowly wriggling over to the lump of light purple paste, opening its small mouthparts, and starting to devour it bit by bit.