Chapter 54

Xinghe and his three companions were having dinner when they suddenly heard some noise coming from the cave.

Gu Fan, wearing an A-level battle armor, walked out from inside. After not seeing her for ten days, she seemed to have grown a little taller and her temperament became more ethereal.

Fenghuo was the first to jump up: "Fanfan, did it succeed?"

Gu Fan smiled, released the flying sword that had just been sworn in with blood, and soared into the air.

There was no humming sound of the flying boots' engine starting. The more than one-meter-long sword was silently floating under Gu Fan's feet. Fenghuo widened his eyes and found that Gu Fan's feet were still some distance away from the sword, but Gu Fan stood so steadily, as if walking on flat ground, and it seemed that he didn't have to worry about falling at all.

"This doesn't make any scientific sense at all." Fenghuo was envious and surprised.

Gu Fan looked at the four people and asked, "Who among you wants to compete with me in flying speed?"

Qingteng: "I'll do it."

Gu Fan nodded and handed the S-class flying boots that Mr. Lu gave her to Qing Teng: "Change to these, the speed of A-class flying boots is definitely not as good as mine."

Qingteng: ...

Soon, Qing Teng changed into flying boots, and before the sun completely set, the two of them flew towards the pelican's nest at the same time.

It was visible to the naked eye that Qing Teng was far behind Gu Fan. The higher the level of cultivation, the less advantage the Earth's technology had over the cultivators.

The two women were obscured by the mountain peaks. Just when Xinghe was worried that Gu Fan was too excited to encounter a monster, they returned not long after. Gu Fan flew a sword, and Qingteng hugged her waist tightly. When Gu Fan landed on the ground, her hair was not a mess at all, and Qingteng's bangs were flying in the air. Her face was flushed, and she finally revealed the excitement that belonged to her age.

Fenghuo and Meng Lianying were very envious and also wanted Gu Fan to take them flying around.

Xinghe stopped the two from fooling around and asked Gu Fan if there was any change in his strength.

Gu Fan: "The range of spiritual awareness has been expanded to a radius of 500 meters. The attack still needs to be tested."

Xinghe suggested that he and Meng Lianying try fighting with Gu Fan first.

The three of them found an open space. Xinghe's ice arrow and Meng Lianying's golden sword attacked at the same time. Gu Fan instantly cast an earth-type protective shield and actually blocked the attacks of the two.

Xinghe: "Not bad, your defense is at least A-level. Now it's your turn to attack us."

Gu Fan then released fireballs and golden swords at the two people respectively.

The fireball was blocked by the ice layer of the galaxy. When the fireball dissipated, the ice layer melted into water.

The golden sword was blocked by the metal barrier of the galaxy. With a "clang" sound, most of the sword passed through the barrier before disappearing into thin air.

Fenghuo applauded: "Not bad, not bad. Congratulations to Fanfan for becoming a Quasi-A Level expert."

Gu Fan smiled and said to Xinghe and Meng Lianying, "Let's try again."

Xinghe and Meng Lianying looked at each other. When Gu Fan launched the attack, they resisted again in the same way as before. However, just before they released their supernatural powers, an invisible pressure suddenly descended. They had to distract themselves to resist this pressure. However, the five elements around them seemed to have condensed and no longer obeyed their control.

Xinghe is more proficient in using his supernatural powers, but it is still very difficult for him to condense an ice arrow.

After making sure that his pressure from the Foundation Establishment stage was effective against people with special abilities, Gu Fan withdrew his pressure.

Fenghuo looked at Xinghe and Meng Lianying, whose faces changed drastically, and asked anxiously, "Can someone tell me what happened?"

Gu Fan explained, "Pressure can only be released by cultivators who have established their foundation. It has no effect on cultivators of the same level, but can suppress lower-level cultivators. I am currently in the early stages of foundation building. If I release pressure, cultivators below the fifth level of Qi Refining will be unable to resist at all. Only cultivators above the fifth level can barely put up a fight. You are psychics, so I don't know how you would feel under pressure."

Meng Lianying: "It feels like the gravity has increased. Normally, standing is just standing, but now I have to expend energy just to stay standing."

Xinghe: "It's difficult to call upon the surrounding elements, Fanfan, is there a range for your coercion?"

Gu Fan: "Yes, the pressure can be applied within the range of the divine consciousness, but the effect will weaken as the distance increases."

Xinghe's expression had returned to normal, and he was even beaming. "Very good. With the help of coercion, Gu Fan can face hundreds of A-level esperoids alone without any problems. Most monsters also rely on crystal cores to release their abilities, so coercion is effective against them as well. As for S-level monsters, we'll have to fight them to see for sure."

When the S-level was mentioned, Meng Lianying's expression darkened.

Gu Fan said, "Zhang City is a mountainous area with complex terrain and too many high-level monsters. We didn't go looking for Lu Ya before because walking would take too long and be ineffective, and using flying boots would easily attract high-level monsters. Now that I can fly a sword and have a way to restrain the monsters, I want to go find him."

Xinghe frowned: "You want to go alone?"

Gu Fan: "Yes, you guys go to Zhang City and wait for me. I'll be alone. Even if I encounter an S-level monster, I can escape on my sword if I can't defeat it."

This is the safest way.

Xinghe agreed rationally: "Okay, but we'll only feel at ease if you come to Zhang City every five days."

Gu Fan smiled and nodded.

Meng Lianying: "Let's rest first. We can't start looking for people until daybreak."

Gu Fan: "Well, you guys go to sleep, I'll familiarize myself with the Foundation Establishment Stage spells."

Xinghe and the other three entered the cave. Gu Fan sat at the entrance and took out a book of martial arts.

This is the Five Elements Kung Fu that the sect gives to outer disciples, covering the cultivation techniques and spells for the two stages of Qi training and foundation building. Of course, the grade of the Kung Fu is the lowest and least valuable one, but who can blame Gu Fan for his poor aptitude, so he can only get this one?

The skills affect the speed of cultivation, and the spells affect the power and efficiency of attacks. High-level spells consume less spiritual power and have greater attack power, while low-level spells consume more spiritual power and have weaker power.

Now Gu Fan can only continue to practice this low-level technique, but she secretly hopes that there are better techniques waiting for her in the black ring.

Cultivation is a long process. Gu Fan practiced the exercises once and then went to study the spells.

Perhaps the sect did not expect that a disciple with five spiritual roots could really build a foundation, so the number of foundation-building spells recorded in this secret book of martial arts was pitifully small, with only three spells recorded for each of the five spiritual power attributes.

Gu Fan was a little disappointed with the number, but several of the spells were very practical, such as the water avoidance spell and the earth escape spell. At least when used on Earth, they greatly improved her self-protection rate.

Gu Fan practiced these new techniques throughout the entire night.

After dawn, Gu Fan had to separate from his companions.

Meng Lianying became especially nagging: "Fanfan, your safety comes first. It doesn't matter if you can't find my cousin. Don't take any risks. Maybe my cousin went back on his own."

Fenghuo: "Come on, if Master Lu knew Fanfan was going to look for him, he would have to pretend to be injured and find a place to wait."

Meng Lianying kicked him.

Gu Fan smiled and flew away on his sword.

Fenghuo looked at her back and felt deeply envious: "No smoke, no noise, high speed and environmental protection, it's great."

——

There are vast mountains, one after another, and most of the peaks are covered with trees. It is not easy to find someone.

Fortunately, Gu Fan had built his foundation, and the range of his spiritual awareness had expanded, so he could maintain his speed while flying at low altitude and not miss what was happening under the woods.

Gu Fan spent three days searching the entire 100-kilometer radius east of Zhang City, then flanked from the south. Encountering wave after wave of A-level monsters, finding someone was crucial. Gu Fan wasted no time in killing them, mostly dodging them. On the fifth day, he went downtown to greet Xinghe and the other three, then resumed his search.

More than twenty days have passed since Lu Ya disappeared. If Lu Ya was just injured and unable to move, he should be safe hiding in the space. What I am afraid of is that he really died together with the two pelicans.

After meeting with the Galaxy Team for the third time, Gu Fan only had the area north of Zhang City left to search.

Xinghe was very worried because to the north of Zhang City was the famous "Wulingyuan Scenic Area" in the Free Era, with its numerous peaks and lush vegetation. The question was no longer whether there were S-level monsters or not, but how many there were.

Gu Fan: "Hearing what you said, I feel that if Lu Ya is really trapped, he must be here."

Meng Lianying: "Fanfan, you are so kind to my cousin."

If a woman was willing to risk her life to find him, he might be moved to tears.

Gu Fan: "That's when I'm building my foundation. If I don't have the ability to protect myself, even if he told me he was there, I wouldn't go."

Xinghe: "Anyway, you should be more careful."

Gu Fan: "Well, the terrain over there is complicated, so I might be delayed for a while. I'll tentatively come back in ten days."

After the agreement was reached, Gu Fan left again.

She first searched twice outside the scenic area to make sure there was no trace of Lu Ya, and then flew into the scenic area.

Not in the mood to appreciate the scenery, Gu Fan kept flying at a low altitude, paying close attention to the movements below.

She took the beast-avoiding pill in advance to ensure that S-level monsters could not smell her scent, and monsters of other levels could not catch up with her at all.

First explore the periphery, on the fourth day, Gu Fan entered the most central area of ​​the scenic area.

At eleven o'clock in the morning, several silver scale feathers suddenly appeared at the edge of Gu Fan's spiritual detection.

Gu Fan immediately flew towards that direction.

Accompanied by the sound of gurgling water, a rushing stream came into view, and the silver scale feathers fell in the grass beside the stream.

There were traces of fighting among the trees in this area, with broken branches. Gu Fan urged his flying sword to continue forward along the stream. After a few hundred meters, the view in front suddenly opened up. A dangerous peak rose abruptly, and the stream at the foot of the mountain merged into a large lake. On the pebbles by the lake, a huge silver wing suddenly appeared, surrounded by bloodstains.

Gu Fan's heart was pounding.

Lu Ya must have been here before, because the base of the wings showed traces of sharp metal scraping.

However, this wing is also a precious monster material. If Lu Ya still has the energy to spare, he will definitely put it into the space.

Did he leave and go somewhere else, or did he fall into the water?

The lake surface reflected the sunlight faintly. Gu Fan hid behind a tree and released his spiritual sense underwater.

The lake was very deep, but it was also within her detection range. Soon, Gu Fan found the body of the black S-level pelican at the bottom of the lake. It had been torn apart by the monster and all the meat had been eaten up.

There were many low-level fish monsters swimming around the lake, and the spiritual consciousness continued to spread inside.

Two massive, crouching black water monsters suddenly entered Gu Fan's consciousness without warning. Each was as thick as the black snake beneath Fairy Peak, but flatter. Four massive webbed claws peeked from beneath their scale-like skin. Their enormous, long mouths resembled those of a crocodile, and though closed, their sharp teeth still exposed.

Fortunately, they were just mutated monsters. If they were demon beasts, Gu Fan would have been discovered long ago.

There is no doubt that these are two S-level water monsters.

It was impossible for Gu Fan to go into the water. She looked up at the surrounding mountains, hoping that Lu Ya would use the water monster to kill the pelican and escape, instead of being swallowed alive by the water monster.

After being some distance away from the lake, Gu Fancai increased his altitude and continued to search the surrounding area.

There are many strange peaks here, each of which stands abruptly, and the top may be only a few meters thick.

His attention was focused on scanning with his spiritual sense, and Gu Fan's eyes just casually swept across the mountains.

A touch of red suddenly attracted Gu Fan among the yellow-brown mountain walls.

There seems to be a cave there!

Gu Fan flew over at an accelerated speed. When he got closer, he saw a cave with a very low and hidden entrance. But right at the entrance of the cave, there were seven or eight flower pots placed in a scattered manner. In each pot, there were flowers like the ones Lu Ya gave her.

The mountain breeze rises and falls, and the red flowers sway with the wind, so slender that they seem like they may break at any time.

Looking at the flowers, his spiritual consciousness probed into the cave. In a space that was not even as big as a bathroom, Lu Ya seemed to be asleep, lying on the ground.

His exposed right arm was charred black.

His face was covered with traces of burns from the flames, making it look hideous and terrifying, and his eyes...

No wonder I couldn’t find them, it turns out they were invisible.

Gu Fan landed at the entrance of the cave, and his feet touched the ground, making a slight sound.

Lu Ya tilted his head towards this side.

Gu Fan said promptly: "It's me."

Lu Ya was stunned for a moment and immediately turned his head away.

Gu Fan bent down, almost crawling in. Seeing his back to her, she smiled and said, "I have spiritual awareness. I really want to see you. It's useless for you to tilt your head."

Lu Ya still had his back to her, his voice cold: "Have you established your foundation?"

Gu Fan: "Yes, I came to find you as soon as I established my foundation. I searched for you on the ground for a long time, but I didn't expect you to be hiding here."

Lu Ya: "There are two at the bottom of the lake..."

Gu Fan: "I saw them. Fortunately, they didn't notice me. What's wrong with your eyes?"

Lu Ya: "That black pelican was difficult to deal with. I deliberately lured them here, but I didn't expect there were two S-level monsters at the bottom of the lake. Before I could avoid them, one of the water monsters sprayed venom that destroyed my eyes. The poison wasn't strong, and the antidote developed by the base helped me detoxify it, but my eyes are damaged and I can't see anymore."

Blind, Lu Ya could only fly in a straight line based on his last memory and carved out a cave in the mountain to live in.

Gu Fan had already observed his injuries and took out two scar removal pills and placed them in front of his mouth: "Open your mouth and remove the scars on your face and arms first."

Lu Ya opened his mouth silently.

The pill entered the mouth and turned into two warm currents.

After a moment of silence, Lu Ya asked, "Am I ugly now?"

Gu Fan said nonchalantly, "You're not particularly good-looking to begin with. In our area, you're considered ugly."

Lu Ya pursed his lips.

Gu Fan smiled and said, "Open your mouth."

Lu Ya looked unhappy, but still cooperated and did as he was told.

Gu Fan stuffed a black fruit into his mouth. Because the fruit was a little round and a little big, her fingertips pressed against his lips.

Gu Fan saw that Lu Ya's throat rolled before he even bit the fruit.

"What is it?" Lu Ya asked after eating the fruit as if nothing had happened.

Gu Fan: "The Black Dragon Pearl is a spiritual fruit. Carrying it on your body can restrain low-level illusions. Orally taking it can cure all common eye diseases. Probably tomorrow morning, you will be able to return to your original appearance."

Lu Ya: "Thank you."

Gu Fan: "No need to thank me, this is all I have. You have to compensate me later."

Lu Ya: "What do you want?"

Gu Fan: "I don't know. Things are different now. I don't even appreciate the good things you Earthlings can come up with."

Lu Ya: ...