415: Chapter 414 Want it? Come and get it yourself.

After a brief adjustment, Chu Xuan consumed the second, third, and fourth barbarian soul fruits in succession.

An indescribable, intense pain washed over his entire body. Chu Xuan couldn't help but tremble slightly, hunching his waist and supporting himself against the stone steps with one hand. Even his breathing became much more rapid.

With three consecutive blue-red fruits entering his stomach, Chu Xuan clearly felt violent heat currents racing through his body. Under the pressure of gravity, they were rapidly absorbed by his Physique.

This time, his strength increased by 3 points, while his agility increased by 13 points.

At this moment, Chu Xuan's strength attribute had reached 184 and his agility had reached 173 points, which could be described as a meteoric rise.

However, when he consumed the fifth fruit, his strength attribute no longer increased, and his agility only rose by 2 points.

"The effect has been significantly weakened..." Chu Xuan murmured softly, but he didn't panic; there were still plenty of barbarian soul fruits in his Exclusive Space.

However, when the sixth fruit entered his stomach, his strength attribute still didn't budge, and his agility only increased by 1 point.

After Chu Xuan ate the seventh fruit, he gained nothing in either strength or agility.

This remained the case even up until the tenth barbarian soul fruit.

"The effect wore off this quickly?"

Chu Xuan frowned slightly. Along with the increasingly intense pain, he clearly felt a strange force surging through his limbs and bones, but it quickly settled down, and his physical attributes didn't grow in the slightest.

Did he already need to use that special barbarian soul holy fruit so soon?

Suddenly, a faint sense of trepidation surged in his heart. Chu Xuan felt an inexplicable sense of urgency. Turning his head sharply, he saw that the ink-like darkness below had already approached his back.

Visibility was down to only about two or three meters.

"Is it here..." Chu Xuan's eyes flickered, but he didn't leave. He only began to climb upward when the darkness was about to touch him.

With one step forward, the pressure increased sharply.

To his surprise, Chu Xuan found that the strange force that had settled in his body had become active once again.

Chu Xuan's eyes lit up. Bracing against the crushing gravity, he continued to step upward.

The strange force within his body became even more active.

[Your agility +4]

[Your Strength +2]

Subtle cracking sounds echoed throughout his entire body.

Every inch of muscle felt as if it were being hammered, and his fascia and bones seemed to be kneaded by a giant force. Beyond that, there was a refreshing sense of satisfaction from the expansion of flesh and the stretching of sinews and bones.

Chu Xuan panted heavily, his stamina depleting rapidly, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

"So that's how it is, I understand now..."

"The reason there were no improvements just now, besides the weakening of the effect itself, was because I consumed too many in a short period. The body couldn't absorb them all at once, so they accumulated within me."

"If not handled in time, it could become a substance similar to medicinal poison, causing harm to the body and potentially even affecting future attribute increases..."

"But during the climb, as the gravitational pressure surges, this force is mobilized once again."

"In this way, the gravitational pressure of this mountain can be seen as a form of tempering, while the barbarian soul fruits are the corresponding nutrients!"

Chu Xuan's eyes shone brightly, and the corners of his mouth lifted. With the darkness closing in from behind, he continued to climb upward, while his agility and strength attributes steadily increased.

By the time the strange force in his body completely dissipated, he had reached 188 points in strength and 181 points in agility.

"Only... after agility reached 180 points, I didn't receive a System reward like I did with the strength attribute..."

Chu Xuan frowned slightly.

After his strength attribute reached 180 points, he had gained the [Unconstrained] trait. Chu Xuan had originally expected the other attributes to yield rewards as well.

But now it seemed things weren't as he had imagined.

He didn't dwell on it too much. At this moment, the darkness behind him had drawn a bit closer, and Chu Xuan felt a strong sense of hunger and exhaustion.

As he climbed further, it actually became somewhat difficult. Thus, he stopped consuming barbarian soul fruits and switched to drinking high-grade life essence.

[Your stamina +1]

[Your spirit +1]

[Your maximum health points have increased by an additional 45 points.]

As he gulped it down, Chu Xuan drank over half a kilogram in one go, and a sense of satisfaction immediately flooded his heart.

"Hmm? No sign of intoxication! And the slight tipsiness is even weaker than before. Is it because of the Physique-improving effects of the barbarian soul fruits..."

Chu Xuan felt quite refreshed.

This method of using external pressure supplemented by Heaven And Earth Treasures to strengthen oneself wasn't as direct as the System's attribute points, but it gave him a unique sense of fulfillment.

"Hey, you Mummy over there!"

Suddenly, a coarse voice rang out from not far above.

Chu Xuan looked up.

He saw that all seven members of the Longshan Squad were currently drenched in sweat. Although they were enveloped in a faint grayish-white light that seemed to link them together, two of them were already covered in blood.

At this moment, Longshan looked down at Chu Xuan with a grim face and said through gritted teeth:

"Mummy, that liquor you're drinking from the tank should be helpful for passing this Mountain Road, right? We all saw it just now; those Night Watchers were about to give up, but after drinking the liquor you poured, they were like they'd been injected with chicken blood..."

Longshan panted twice and said in a deep voice, "Hurry up... give us some of your liquor!"

Chu Xuan gave the man a flat glance. He saw that all seven of them, including Longshan, were looking over with extremely greedy eyes.

"I only need... a little bit!" Longshan was practically half-lying on the steps, staring intently at the greed tank in Chu Xuan's hand as he wheezed, "Help us pass this stage, and for the next two stages, I'll guarantee your life!"

Chu Xuan didn't respond. He continued his slow pace, waiting for the darkness behind to approach before stepping up another stair.

"I told you to hurry over here, didn't you hear me?" Longshan's eyes were filled with bloodshot light. "With a treasure like that, you shouldn't be such a weakling, right? I can buy it..."

Chu Xuan's expression remained unchanged as he took a leisurely sip.

Seeing that Chu Xuan was unmoved, Longshan resorted to threats: "Do you believe that even in my current state, I could easily choke you to death with one hand?"

Chu Xuan's gaze was indifferent, but a flash of killing intent crossed his mind.

[Prompt: In the first stage, the Mountain Road, all participants are forbidden from fighting each other. Violators will be forcibly obliterated.]

Seeing this System prompt, Chu Xuan's killing intent dissipated instantly, and the doubt in his heart was resolved.

When Lin Liguo and the others had passed these people earlier, Longshan clearly wanted to make a move to snatch their things, but he had stopped before getting close.

It seemed he had also received a System prompt.

Right now, Longshan was clearly trying to use his presence to intimidate Chu Xuan into submission. He said with a cruel grin, "To be honest, I don't want to bully a weakling, but if you keep dawdling, I don't mind coming down right now to skin you alive!"

"You want it?" The corner of Chu Xuan's mouth curled slightly. He lifted the tank in his hand and tilted it slightly. Instantly, a stream of emerald-green liquid fell, splashing against the stone steps.

"You can come and get it yourself."

Seeing this, the seven members of the Longshan Squad were instantly enraged, their lungs nearly bursting with fury as they began to shout curses.

Chu Xuan didn't bother to retort.

They were nothing more than a group of people waiting for death.

Chu Xuan knew that even if he didn't act, it would be difficult for these people to make it out of this stage alive.

"You're good, kid. I'll remember you!" Longshan's gaze toward Chu Xuan was full of killing intent. Then, he suddenly looked at his other six teammates and said sinisterly:

"I originally wanted to keep you around for a few more days, but there's no other way now..."

As he spoke, Longshan reached out his hand. The grayish-white light enveloping the group retracted and flowed entirely into his body.

Not only that, but a phantom figure was extracted from each person's body along with the grayish-white light.

Longshan's previously withered aura surged instantly. In the blink of an eye, his back straightened, and he became radiant with energy.

In contrast, the others all turned pale, looking as if they had been completely drained.

"Brother Long, what did you do to us?!"

The six people's expressions changed drastically as they cried out in alarm, "Why have all my physical attribute points been halved..."

"Don't blame me. Even if I didn't act, you would have died here. It's better to fulfill my needs instead!" Longshan licked his lips. "As your boss, I'll walk the rest of the path for you."