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

One seventh-order crystal core is equivalent to at least ten thousand third-order crystal cores.

Based on the daily consumption of one hundred third-tier crystal cores, one seventh-tier crystal core would be enough for Lin Ran to use for more than three months.

Of course, the consumption rate will be faster after advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage, so you won't need to hunt for one or two months.

Moreover, if this succeeds, he can specifically select such high-level mutated creatures in the future and have the Lord of Xuan Chen deal with them, so he can directly reap the benefits.

If that could be achieved, wouldn't that be incredibly awesome?

However, the Lord of Xuan Chen immediately poured cold water on his enthusiasm: "No."

"What are you talking about if you don't have one?" Lin Ran said irritably.

Lord Xuan Chen quickly explained, "But I can create an illusion that prevents it from locking onto the master. In that case, the master can attack it within the illusion."

"You think I can kill it?" Lin Ran glanced back.

The tentacles, tens of meters long, were approaching at an alarming speed; each tentacle was thicker than his entire body.

A seventh-tier mutated beast is equivalent to a martial artist at the Martial Venerable realm.

Even if these mutated creatures lack human intelligence and cannot utilize their advantages, the immense force exerted by their tentacles is still beyond what Lin Ran can withstand.

He's only at the ninth level of Qi Refining; rushing in would be suicide.

Moreover, this octopus doesn't seem to be that unintelligent.

The Lord of Xuan Chen reminded him, "Doesn't Master possess thunder magic?"

"I've got it, but I haven't fully grasped it."

Lin Ran was also helpless about this.

Although his cultivation technique includes the Five Thunder Orthodox Method, he is currently only at the Qi Refining stage, which means he can only use one Palm Thunder.

I can't even use a powerful lightning storm spell, let alone deal with such a huge creature.

A palm strike is almost as effective as a needle prick on an elephant.

"How will you know if you don't try?" Master Xuanzhen said dismissively, and continued, "I set up an illusion for it, and the master used palm lightning to blind both of its eyes."

"Even if we can't kill it, next time it comes, it'll be blind, and the owner will finally have some peace and quiet."

After hearing what he said, Lin Ran also felt that there was some truth to it.

If you can't kill it, you can cripple it.

It won't be so easy for the blind giant octopus to track him anymore.

"That makes sense, let's do it that way!"

"Just watch!" Lord Xuan Chen activated the Mirage Pearl.

A very faint layer of mirage emanated from Lin Ran's body, spreading silently through the water.

The giant octopus that was in pursuit suddenly slowed down, and the rhythm of its eight tentacles became chaotic.

It circled around in place, then lunged at a rock, its tentacles wrapping around it and twisting it into pieces.

Clearly, in its perception, that reef was Lin Ran.

Seeing that the illusion was taking effect, Lin Ran bypassed it from the side.

The giant octopus continued its frenzied attack on the broken reef, its tentacles pounding the seabed, churning up the mud and sand, and causing the surrounding small mutated beasts to scatter and flee.

To be on the safe side, Lin Ran first cast a golden light spell on himself to protect himself.

Then, he activated the Water Release technique and arrived in front of the giant octopus, finding its left eye, which was larger than a millstone.

His heart raced as he looked at the octopus's enormous size.

"This is kind of exciting!"

As he spoke, a thunderbolt condensed in his palm.

He increased his spiritual energy output, compressing it repeatedly.

Just as he felt the lightning power in his hand was about to get out of control, he suddenly rushed forward and slapped the giant octopus's eyeball.

"Bang!"

The electric arc instantly pierced through the octopus's left eye, blasting the eyeball open.

Blood and colloid from the eyeballs splattered, mixing with the electric current and spreading through the water.

The giant octopus let out a low hiss and its entire body twitched suddenly.

Although it couldn't see, it knew that something must have attacked its eyes.

The eight tentacles lashed out at Lin Ran simultaneously, so fast that they tore open a vacuum in the water.

Seeing this, Lin Ran quickly retreated.

Bang!

One of the tendrils lashed out at Lin Ran's chest, and the golden light shield of the spell collided with the tendril.

Click!

Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the light shield, and the huge impact sent him flying. His back slammed into a reef, smashing it into pieces.

He tumbled several times in the water before barely managing to steady himself, a metallic taste rising in his throat.

"puff!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, which seeped into the seawater, forming a pale red mist.

Even though the Golden Light Mantra blocked most of the force, the enormous impact still damaged his internal organs.

The seventh-tier mutated beast was indeed beyond his current capabilities.

Even a random, unprovoked attack is far superior to any Transcendent Realm martial artist I've seen before.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glanced at the giant octopus in the distance.

The creature was spinning wildly in place, its eight tentacles turning the surrounding seabed into a turmoil, and anything that got close to it would be indiscriminately whipped away.

"It seems there's no way to get any closer." Lin Ran said with a hint of regret, "I'll spare your life for now, but next time we meet, I'll show no mercy."

After uttering a harsh threat, he immediately cast an earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows one to escape into the seabed) and his body sank into the mud and sand, disappearing into the sand.

The giant octopus continued to frantically pound the seabed, its only remaining right eye searching around in the darkness, but ultimately unable to catch any trace of Lin Ran.

Lin Ran surfaced not far from the coastline.

The moonlight shone on his face, highlighting the bloodstains that hadn't been wiped clean from the corner of his mouth.

He took a deep breath and activated the Rejuvenation Technique. A warm current surged from his dantian and flowed along his meridians across his chest.

After several weeks, the injury had mostly healed.

"Look at your brilliant idea, you almost sent me to my death!" Lin Ran said indignantly. "Did you want me to die so you could inherit my Xuanhuang Cauldron?"

Lord Xuan Chen quickly protested his innocence: "This isn't my fault! I knew you wanted to use this technique at close range!"

"Are you stupid or am I stupid?" Lin Ran said indignantly, "Don't you know that lightning spreads in water? If I don't cast spells at close range, how can they be lethal?"

Lord Xuan Chen looked bewildered: "What diffusion? I don't know?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Ran paused slightly: "I have nothing to say to an illiterate like you!"

I almost forgot, this black dragon has been asleep for thousands of years. There was no mathematics, physics, or chemistry in that era.

"I am not illiterate!" said the Lord of Xuan Chen. "I have traveled among humans and read extensively. How could I be illiterate?"

Lin Ran took a deep breath: "You'll still need to brush up on your modern knowledge after you get out!"

After saying that, he once again made a hand seal and disappeared into the ground, returning to the Lin family villa.

As dawn approached, Lin Ran returned to his room and used several more Rejuvenation Techniques on himself.

He then set up the spirit-gathering array and sat down cross-legged.

Even if you are injured, you cannot stop your cultivation.

The morning sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains.

Lin Ran got up from the formation and stretched his limbs.

The crystal cores in the formation were exhausted, and his cultivation level remained steadily at the late stage of the ninth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from the perfection of Qi Refining.

If I go to sea again tonight and collect enough crystal cores, I can attempt to reach the Qi Refining Perfection stage tomorrow.

After continuous treatment with the Rejuvenation Technique, the internal injuries that were pulled out by the octopus last night have almost healed.

He got up, took a shower, changed into his clean school uniform, and went downstairs.

When I arrived at the school, Chu Xining was already sitting by the window.

She wore her hair in a high ponytail today, with a light blue bead on the hair tie, giving her a playful look.

Lin Ran had just put down his schoolbag when she saw her leaning over.

"Brother Lin Ran, my dad has given in." She lowered her voice, her tone filled with barely concealed smugness.

Hearing this, Lin Ran turned his head and asked in confusion, "What do you mean by 'loose'?"

"My dad said that as long as the Lin family can withstand the pressure from the Sun family, he will allow me to marry you." Chu Xining's smile became even brighter.