Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

Lin Ran didn't give them a chance to escape back into the water. He chased after them and killed them all on the shore with a single slash.

The pool returned to calm, with a layer of dark green slime and the corpse of a mineral crystal toad floating on the surface.

Lin Ran shook off the blood from the knife, squatted down, and pried open each skull to extract the crystal core.

One after another, dark green crystal cores fell into the backpack, bringing the total number of third-tier crystal cores to more than thirty, including those collected earlier.

Based on his previous conversion rate estimate, this should be enough for him to reach the second level of Qi Refining.

Just as he was about to stop, the water suddenly surged.

As if someone had overturned the center of the pool, a two-meter-high column of water burst forth.

A mineral crystal toad, three times the size of the previous one, burst out of the water.

The crystalline warts on his back were as thick as a bowl, emitting a glaring, eerie green light.

This guy's limbs were thicker than an adult's waist, and the moment his feet landed, four shallow pits were created in the rocky ground.

His scarlet vertical pupils turned and locked onto Lin Ran by the pool.

Zhang Jiafei's voice came from afar, trembling slightly: "A fourth-tier mineral crystal toad!"

"What a coincidence." Lin Ran gripped his training sword tightly, his expression calm.

He was just looking to test whether he could handle a fourth-tier mutated beast when this guy delivered himself right to his doorstep.

The fourth-tier mineral crystal toad is more intelligent than the third-tier mineral crystal toad, and it did not pounce on Lin Ran when it saw him.

"Giggle!"

It lowered its body, let out a low growl from its throat, and then the crystalline warts on its back lit up, spitting out a stream of venom at Lin Ran.

Pfft!

Lin Ran dodged to the side, the venom grazing his side and landing on the ground with a sizzling sound.

Having failed in its first attack, the mineral toad gathered its strength again, intending to strike once more.

Lin Ran couldn't just sit and wait to die, so he immediately exerted force with his feet and rushed towards the mineral crystal toad.

He slashed diagonally with his long sword, aiming it at the head of the mineral crystal toad.

when!

The blade struck the skin of the mineral crystal toad, producing a crisp sound like metal clashing against stone.

In the end, only a white mark was left, without even breaking the skin.

The defense of a fourth-tier mutated beast far exceeds that of a third-tier beast; a training longsword, a weapon not used for combat, cannot harm it at all.

The mineral toad shook its head, and the venom sac in its lower jaw suddenly expanded, spraying a thick, dark green venom straight into Lin Ran's face.

Lin Ran activated the Dust-Avoiding Technique to block the venom, and the mineral crystal toad took the opportunity to rush forward, its huge body crashing into Lin Ran's chest.

Bang!

Lin Ran gripped the knife with both hands and held it horizontally in front of him to block. The huge impact sent Lin Ran back seven or eight steps, and the soles of his shoes plowed two deep grooves in the ground.

Before he could regain his footing, the mineral toad's tongue shot out, lashing at his neck like a barbed whip.

Lin Ran quickly ducked to avoid it, and the tongue swept across his head, the barbs hooking out a few strands of hair.

Taking advantage of the moment before the mineral crystal toad retracted its tongue, he swung his knife at the tongue with a backhand strike. The blade cut through the tongue, but ultimately failed to sever it.

The crystal toad, in pain, suddenly retracted its tongue, dragging the knife and the person forward.

Lin Ran simply abandoned his knife, filled his right palm with spiritual power, and slapped it against the base of the mineral crystal toad's tongue.

Bang!

The tongue snapped off, and blood gushed from the cut.

"Croak!"

The mineral crystal toad let out a deafening roar, and the entire cavern resounded with a buzzing sound.

"It seems that even a fourth-tier mutated creature is nothing special."

Lin Ran picked up the long knife from the ground and charged at the mineral crystal toad again.

Perhaps because its tongue was cut off, the mineral toad stopped attacking and instead slowly moved towards the pool, trying to escape back into the water.

"Trying to run away?"

Lin Ran chased after it and stabbed its hind leg joint with his long knife.

This strike used all of his spiritual power; the tip of the blade barely pierced the skin of the mineral crystal toad and embedded itself in the joint gap.

The mineral toad hissed and swung its leg, sending Lin Ran and his knife flying.

Then, it plunged into the pool, its dark green body quickly sinking and disappearing beneath the dark surface.

Lin Ran got up from the ground and stretched his shoulder, which was numb from the impact.

The defenses of fourth-tier mutated beasts are indeed troublesome; next time, we should use a sharper weapon.

With its tongue and leg severed, that beast shouldn't be able to come out again.

Lin Ran was restricted underwater and couldn't possibly go into the water to chase after him.

So he decided to stop there.

Just as he turned around and took two steps, the Xuanhuang Cauldron in his sea of ​​consciousness suddenly trembled slightly.

Then came a strong commotion, as if a wolf that had been starving for more than ten days had smelled blood.

Lin Ran paused slightly: "Could there be treasure at the bottom of this pool?"

There was no initial sensation, but after the mineral crystal toad escaped, a sensation appeared. Perhaps the clue lies with that fourth-tier mineral crystal toad.

Lin Ran looked hesitant.

Underwater is the domain of the mineral crystal toad. If that fourth-tier mineral crystal toad attacks him underwater, the situation will be very troublesome.

But since the Xuanhuang Cauldron has such a strong reaction, it's possible that the treasure beneath it is extremely powerful and could help him break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Although he has only just reached the first level of Qi Refining, he still needs to plan ahead.

Since there are treasures below, we can't just leave without giving it a try.

At this moment, the mineral crystal toad was still injured, making it the easiest time to deal with.

Once this guy recovers after a while, it will only cause more trouble.

After careful consideration, Lin Ran decided to take the risk and give it a try.

He stuffed his phone into a sealed bag used for collecting materials and put it into his backpack.

"I'll go down and check. You wait upstairs!"

Without waiting for Zhang Jiafei's reply, Lin Ran took a deep breath and jumped straight into the water.

Pfft!

The icy pool water instantly covered my entire body, and it got colder and colder the deeper I went.

The mine was already dark, with only the glow of the surrounding bioluminescent moss providing a little light. Now that we were in the water, visibility was even lower.

Several third-tier mineral crystal toads hiding at the bottom of the water spotted him and swam towards him.

Lin Ran did not linger in the fight. He channeled his spiritual energy into his legs and accelerated his descent.

The Xuanhuang Cauldron's influence grew stronger, like an invisible thread pulling him deeper into its depths.

The mineral toads chased after him for a while before giving up; they seemed hesitant to approach the direction Lin Ran was heading.

After diving for about two minutes, Lin Ran's breath-holding time was nearing its limit.

It felt like a stone was pressing on my lungs, and my chest started to feel tight.

Just as he was about to surface for air, a bright light appeared ahead.

Unlike the faint green glow of fluorescent moss, it emits a dazzling golden light.

The light shone through the pool and remained bright.

Lin Ran thought to himself that there was hope, and quickly swam toward the light.

The light grew stronger and the water pressure decreased. Lin Ran suddenly surfaced, gasping for breath.

After recovering, Lin Ran looked around and saw a natural cave in front of him, about three meters high and ten meters square, with smooth walls.

In the center of the cave is a small puddle, which is connected to the edge of a pool but not to the main water feature.

In the middle of the puddle, a lotus flower grows quietly, and the golden light emanates from it.

The flower has nine petals, and its entire body shimmers with golden light; each petal looks as if it were cast from pure gold.

The cave was filled with the fragrance of flowers. Just one sniff made Lin Ran feel that most of his fatigue had subsided.

"This is... a ninth-grade golden lotus!" Lin Ran was extremely excited.

His cultivation technique, "Ten Thousand Treasures Forging Spirit Technique," required the use of treasures to break through realms, and this ninth-grade golden lotus happened to be an extremely rare treasure.

If he could obtain this golden lotus, once he reached the pinnacle of Qi Refining, he could refine it using the "Myriad Treasures Spirit Forging Technique," and Foundation Establishment would be a natural outcome.

The Xuanhuang Cauldron vibrated wildly in his sea of ​​consciousness, and the seal characters on its body shone brightly, as if they wanted to burst out of his body.

Lin Ran forcibly suppressed his agitation and strode towards Jinlian.

If you don't take what Heaven offers, you will surely suffer the consequences!

This golden lotus belongs to Lin Ran!

However, just as his fingers were about to touch the golden lotus, a jet of water suddenly burst open on the right side of the puddle.

A dark green figure burst out from underwater, bringing with it a stench that rushed straight to Lin Ran's back.