Chapter 606 - 604: Parasol Tree Monster

After Lin Xuan stepped inside, he found it wasn’t much different from the outside, except the heat was far more intense. Bingxin had already told him before he came that a different trial lay behind each door. She wasn’t sure what kind of trials they would be, only that the difficulty was determined by one’s Cultivation.

In other words, the lower one’s Cultivation, the lower the difficulty; the higher one’s Cultivation, the higher the difficulty! For the Phoenix Race, one of the foremost Divine Beasts, to possess such miraculous creations was perfectly normal.

Once he was inside, the clamor from the outside world vanished completely. However, as his group entered, the Fire Phoenix King’s party went in as well. Since they were all members of the Phoenix Race, they could enter with ease, and the same was true for the Mutated Phoenixes on Lin Xuan’s side.

The spots had originally been reserved for the Void Spirit Stage experts, but they were now given to the other Mutated Phoenixes. With their Core Formation Stage Cultivation, they held a significant advantage in this place.

As for those at the Elder Level, they could also enter, but they would not interfere in these affairs. The struggle for the Heart of the Fire Phoenix was a matter for Bingxin and the Fire Phoenix King to resolve themselves. Besides, there were never many keys to begin with. It was difficult for them to enter even if they wanted to, and at most, only a few could get in.

The vast majority of the keys were in Bingxin’s possession. She had the Storage Ring left behind by the former Clan Leader, which contained all of them; otherwise, the Fire Phoenix King would have had no reason to pressure her.

’I wonder what the trial ahead will be?’

Lin Xuan advanced cautiously. He didn’t dare move too quickly—heaven only knew what dangers lay ahead.

After walking for some distance, his vision suddenly blurred. A deep crimson scene materialized before him, and when his sight cleared, he found himself in a forest of Parasol Trees! Dense Parasol Trees surrounded him, with no path in sight. The air here, however, was saturated with thick Fire Elemental Power. For someone with a corresponding Attribute, cultivating here would undoubtedly yield twice the results with half the effort.

He hadn’t come here to cultivate, but to find treasure—and to test himself.

’What’s going on? A forest of Parasol Trees? It doesn’t seem to be an Illusion; it feels real. What kind of trial is this? How strange...’

There were no hints. Bingxin had only warned him to be careful. Even after searching the Phoenix Soul, he couldn’t find a single memory about this place.

Just as he prepared to venture deeper, a tree branch suddenly shot out to pierce him. An instinctual sense of danger made him dodge swiftly to the side.

He then discovered that the Parasol Tree was twisting, lunging at him as it tried to riddle him with holes using its sharp, thin branches. The attacking branches were clearly razor-sharp and could have easily been used as weapons.

’A moving Parasol Tree!?’

As surprise flickered through him, Lin Xuan pointed forward, unleashing his Yulan Finger. BOOM! An extreme frost completely froze the Parasol Tree. Then, with a loud CRACK, it shattered like broken ice, its fragments covering the ground.

Immediately after, a stream of Red Energy drifted out of the shattered tree and burrowed into the Stone Slab he was carrying.

Lin Xuan took it out for a look. The slab from Bingxin had originally been an ordinary Jade Stone Plate, but now, after absorbing that Red Energy, it had taken on a faint red hue.

’It can absorb Red Energy...’ Lin Xuan searched his memories and finally understood what was happening.

The Phoenix Soul within his Soul Pearl had been through this before. She, too, had entered one of the doors, but the trial’s content was completely different from what Lin Xuan was facing. However, the goal was the same: collect this Red Energy. Only by turning the Stone Slab completely red could one leave this place.

’It seems the trials are different, but the goal is the same. I just have to fill this Stone Slab with Red Energy...’

Lin Xuan’s eyes brightened. Now that he knew what to do, he charged deeper into the forest, expanding his Spiritual Sense to detect any sudden developments.

Sure enough, he had barely taken a few steps before numerous Parasol Trees began thrusting their branches at him. The Sharp Spikes were wreathed in Phoenix Fire, powerful enough to incinerate anything!

With quick eyes and even quicker hands, Lin Xuan casually waved his Dark Blue Palm. A wave of extreme frost surged forward, instantly enveloping the Parasol Trees and blasting them into shards of ice. Following this, more Red Energy burrowed into the Stone Slab, making it a little redder.

Water counters fire. By using his Yulan Sacred Fire, Lin Xuan could easily one-shot these Parasol Tree Monsters. He didn’t even have to absorb it himself; the Energy from the slain monsters would automatically burrow into the Stone Slab.

Once he got the hang of it, he pushed deeper. Whenever he sensed a Parasol Tree Monster, he would toss a ball of Yulan Sacred Fire without even looking, and a direct hit would reduce it to ice shards. It was a perfect counter. The Yulan Sacred Fire completely overpowered this Phoenix Fire, especially against these lower-Level monsters. He only needed a tiny amount of Yulan Sacred Fire to destroy them with ease.

Lin Xuan flung out a ball of Yulan Sacred Fire. But when it struck a newly-emerged Parasol Tree Monster, the previously infallible Sacred Fire was snuffed out.

The Parasol Tree Monster lunged, stabbing viciously toward him at a speed several times faster than before.

SWOOSH!

The sound of it slicing through the air shattered the forest’s silence as the spike shot viciously toward his chest, wreathed in an even more terrifying Phoenix Fire!

A cold glint flashed in Lin Xuan’s eyes. He activated the Cyan Cloud Step and dodged swiftly to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow.

THUNK! As the thick branch plunged into the ground, a great FWOOSH of Phoenix Fire erupted, violently pouring into the earth and scorching a large patch black! This tyrannical Phoenix Fire was much stronger than before.

"Die!" With an even greater burst of power, Lin Xuan hurled a ball of Yulan Sacred Fire. It struck the Parasol Tree Monster and instantly froze the entire tree solid.

CRASH! The Parasol Tree shattered into ice fragments, and a much larger stream of Red Energy burrowed into the Stone Slab—far more than before.

’These Parasol Tree Monsters have gotten a little stronger...’ Lin Xuan frowned. If he had to assign a level, the monsters he’d been one-shotting so easily before had a Cultivation equivalent to the Spirit Refining Stage Level at most, which was why he could steamroll them.

The one that just appeared was at the Essence Pill Stage Level. It was a step up in rank, and the Energy he obtained was slightly greater.

Based on this, he deduced that if he continued deeper, he might encounter Parasol Tree Monsters at the Spirit Pill Stage Layer. The Energy gained from them would be even greater, allowing him to fill the Stone Slab much faster.

’This is a decent trial, I suppose, but it’s not very difficult. I hope I can find some sort of lucky break here...’ A glint flashed in Lin Xuan’s eyes as he wondered what he might gain if he kept going.

He was desperate to become stronger. Otherwise, he would only be a burden!