Chapter 79: Unconscious from Mental Exhaustion

Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Unconscious from Mental Exhaustion

To Chu Fan’s surprise, the middle head of the Three-headed Profound Leopard actually spoke.

"If the two of you defeat us, we will retreat. You may stay on Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain for one month. During that month, you can move freely within a three-hundred-li radius, and no Profound Beast will attack you. You may also gather any Spirit Medicine in the forest as you please."

"And if we can’t defeat you?" Chu Fan asked, hiding the shock he felt at hearing a Profound Beast speak.

The Profound Leopard let out a sound like a human laugh. "Can’t defeat us? We were just about to have breakfast! With your delicate skin and tender flesh, you must taste delicious. Because of our pact with the Human Race, we’ve never tasted human flesh before!"

"Is this one-on-one? Or all at once?" Chu Fan asked.

"The choice is yours. If you cannot defeat the three of us within one hour, you will lose. And you will become our food."

Only then did it dawn on Chu Fan. ’I thought these Profound Leopards were giving us a chance because I mentioned the King of Ten Thousand Beasts!’

’But now I see they’re just like cats toying with mice before eating them.’

"So, just to be clear, if we defeat you, you’ll allow us to move freely within a three-hundred-li radius?" Chu Fan asked, his mind already made up.

"We Profound Beasts are not faithless like you humans!" the Profound Leopard scoffed.

"Alright then. I’ll take on the three of you by myself. Come at me all at once!"

The moment Chu Fan finished speaking, Yun Xi stepped in front of him. She spread her arms, her back to him, and said, "Don’t. I’ll challenge them."

Chu Fan placed a hand on her shoulder. "You might have a chance against one of them," he said, "but against three... if you were to get hurt, how could I ever be at ease?"

"But you’re still so weak!" Tears streamed silently down Yun Xi’s cheeks.

’A part of her hated herself. Her Cultivation was just too low. It had always been Chu Fan protecting her, and that was still true even now, as weak as he was.’

"A month of rest will be enough time to recover completely," Chu Fan said. "After I make my move, I’ll probably fall into an even longer period of weakness. I’ll be counting on you to take care of me then."

After saying this, he guided Yun Xi to stand behind him, but he did not draw his Sword.

His Spiritual Power had been so heavily drained the day before. He should have used the Scroll to restore it, but this was a restricted area for Profound Beasts, and he didn’t dare take out the Scroll rashly.

’If the current King of Ten Thousand Beasts turned out to be unreasonable and stole the Scroll, it would be too late for regrets.’

After a night’s rest, his Spiritual Power was still far from fully recovered, but he figured he could just barely manage to use the Lion Seal Divine Techniques once.

However, using it this time would mean truly overdrawing on his Spiritual Power. It would likely cause more than just dizziness; he might even fall into a deep sleep.

’Of course, Chu Fan had considered the possibility that the Profound Beasts would go back on their word. If they did, he and Yun Xi would be in grave danger.’

But he had no other choice. He could only hope that these Profound Beasts would actually keep their word.

’Could he and Yun Xi really defeat them otherwise? Even if they won, this was Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain. An endless stream of Profound Beasts would just keep coming.’

’Entrusting his life to others... the feeling was maddening, leaving a bitter taste of helplessness.’

’I guess I can only blame my own lack of strength.’

"Come on!" Chu Fan said to the Three-headed Profound Leopard, his hands simultaneously forming seals.

His lips moved slightly as he silently recited an incantation, waiting for the Profound Leopards to pounce before he uttered the final word of the seal.

The Three-headed Profound Leopard sprang into action, its speed like lightning. Chu Fan felt it might even be as fast as his Dream-Breaking Meteor Sword.

There was no denying the immense explosive power of leopard-like creatures.

"Seal!"

Just as the Profound Leopards were upon him, Chu Fan let out a thunderous shout.

A Lion Shadow burst forth. The moment it appeared, it let out a roar that shook the entire valley.

Caught off guard, the Three-headed Profound Leopard was sent flying, smashing hard against a tree trunk dozens of yards away.

This time, the Lion Seal was less than half as strong as when he had used it against the Nascent Soul Realm experts at the boundary line the day before.

At that moment, Chu Fan’s vision went dark. He couldn’t see a thing, only a swarm of golden stars dancing before his eyes.

He felt top-heavy and unsteady, swaying on the verge of collapse. His mind was a complete blank.

He bit the tip of his tongue hard, struggling to hold on to a shred of consciousness. He forced himself to stay standing, waiting for the Profound Leopards to admit defeat.

It was only because he had been through a life-and-death ordeal before that his willpower was strong enough to endure. Anyone else would have already collapsed to the ground, unconscious from the dizzying spell.

Chu Fan’s back was to Yun Xi, so she didn’t notice his condition.

It wasn’t until the Three-headed Profound Leopard struggled to its feet and came before them that it spoke. "We have lost. You have earned one month of freedom. Leave Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain after the month is up, or more powerful Profound Beasts will come to challenge you."

With that said, the Three-headed Profound Leopard departed.

In case they decided to return, Chu Fan struggled to remain standing for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Finally, he couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Chu Fan!" Yun Xi dared not shout; her voice was a soft whisper, but it was overflowing with worry and concern.

She rushed to his side and saw that his face was as pale as a sheet. He wouldn’t wake up, no matter how many times she called his name.

She propped Chu Fan into a sitting position and sat cross-legged behind him, pressing her palms against his back to continuously transfer her True Qi into his body.

She kept this up for the entire day, only stopping when her own True Qi was completely depleted.

She rested Chu Fan’s head in her lap, holding him tightly, and passed the night like that.

The next day at dawn, Yun Xi gently laid Chu Fan on the ground. She gathered some herbs from nearby and arranged them in a circle around him to ward off snakes and other vermin.

Then she began to search the vicinity for herbs and something to eat.

To her delight, she found a stalk of ginseng. Judging by its appearance, it had to be at least a thousand years old. Out in the world, this ginseng would be worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver at the very least.

She knew Chu Fan was in a coma because he had completely exhausted his reserves, and ginseng was the perfect medicine for replenishing one’s life force.

For a Cultivator, swallowing a whole ginseng root was the most effective method, as it preserved all the Power of Heaven and Earth contained within.

But in his current state, Chu Fan was completely unable to swallow. Her only choice was to brew the ginseng into a soup, pry open his mouth, and pour it down his throat.

After doing all this, she gathered a few wild fruits for herself to eat, barely filling her own stomach.

After that, she began felling trees in the surrounding area to build a wooden house.

Although she looked somewhat frail, she was a Heartbeat Realm Cultivator. Besides, having grown up running wild with Chu Fan, she was quite capable with her hands.

It took her three days, but she managed to build a treehouse in a thick, sturdy tree. She even decorated it with wildflowers before moving the still-unconscious Chu Fan inside.

After that, her days became even busier.

She had once studied pharmacology with Chu Fan’s eldest martial brother, the former Ninth Elder of the Lingyun Sect, so she could identify many kinds of Spirit Medicine.

Chu Fan was unconscious because his body was completely depleted. She needed to find Spirit Medicines to brew into medicinal broths to help him recover his strength, hoping it would allow him to wake up sooner.