In the mountain forest, Lin Sheng collapsed onto the ground, countless large and small lacerations covering his entire body, blood flowing like a stream, turning him into a bloody mess.
"Talent: Rapid Healing."
He forced himself to activate the Blood Demon Centipede's talent.
As the talent was activated, the blood and Qi in Lin Sheng's body instantly boiled. Countless granulation tissues formed at the large and small wounds all over his body, intertwining with each other. In just a few breaths, the lacerations on his muscles had completely healed.
Lin Sheng finally recovered some strength. He sat up, panting heavily, his entire body covered in sweat.
Although the lacerations on his body surface had mostly healed, his condition was still not optimistic, because the real trouble lay in his meridians, bones, and internal organs, all of which were severely damaged.
Fortunately, after activating the Rapid Healing talent, all his injuries were brought under control and began to recover. However, compared to external injuries, internal injuries recovered relatively slower. After all, he was too severely injured this time. Without the Rapid Healing talent, even with the Blood Demon Centipede integrated into him, he might not have survived.
It wasn't until the time it takes for an incense stick to burn that Lin Sheng finally stood up from the ground.
Although his injuries were still not completely healed at this time, there were no major issues. It was just the immense exhaustion that left him inevitably weak.
He scanned his surroundings with his gaze, and only after confirming that nothing was amiss did he quickly leave.
Although the portion of the Phantom Demon Beast that chased him was completely dealt with, there was no guarantee that delays wouldn't lead to further complications, so it was best to leave first, even if his current state wasn't good.
Half an hour later.
Following a series of barks, the two carriages leading the way appeared in sight.
Seeing Lin Sheng catch up, Wang Dehai and Lao Zhou quickly stopped the carriages.
"Gongzi!!"
"Don't stop, go to the town ahead first."
Lin Sheng waved his hand. At this time, his body had returned to its normal size.
His original injuries had completely recovered, but a strong sense of hunger was coming from all over his body.
After getting into the carriage, he immediately took out Spirit Beast jerky from his bag and began to eat heartily.
After eating three pieces of Spirit Beast jerky in a row, he finally felt the intense hunger in his body subside, and his originally pale face showed some improvement.
Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.
The effect of the Rapid Healing talent was stronger than he had imagined, but the consumption of blood and Qi was also astonishing.
If it weren't for the integration of two Spirit Beasts into his body, which pushed his physical attributes to a very high level, he might not have been able to meet the consumption this time.
"Phantom Demon Beast... As expected of a demon beast. Just a portion that can't even be considered a Clone was able to push me to this extent..."
Thinking of the desperate struggle with the Phantom Demon Beast just now, his heart was filled with lingering fear. In terms of direct combat strength, the Phantom Demon Beast's Clone was no match for him, but its intrusion into his mental will completely exceeded his imagination. If he hadn't had the thought of mutual destruction at the end, he really might not have been able to wear down its consciousness.
This battle was definitely the most dangerous one he had encountered since coming to this world, and it also made him truly feel the terror of powerful strange beasts like demon beasts.
"But why did this Phantom Demon Beast target me again?"
Picking up another piece of jerky and chewing it carefully, a hint of confusion flashed in Lin Sheng's heart.
One must know that this place was quite far from Yangping Mountain. The other party traveled all the way here, passing through countless towns and villages along the way. Even if it liked human blood and flesh, there was no need to specifically target him.
After all, he truly only looked like a Forging Tendons Realm Martial Artist. Along the way, there were countless powerful Martial Artists, including many Blood Transportation experts. Why would it target him?
As thoughts flashed through his mind, he quickly came up with his own guess.
The only difference between him and other Martial Artists was the mountain and sea scroll in the void space, which gave him the special ability to integrate strange beasts. Apart from that, he was no different from other Martial Artists.
Therefore, since the other party targeted him and tracked him from thousands of miles away, there could only be one reason.
"Is it because it discovered my ability to integrate strange beasts?"
He muttered to himself, basically confirming this reason.
Especially considering that the Phantom Demon Beast could control strange beasts, it must be quite knowledgeable about various strange beasts in the future.
Perhaps when he escaped from Yangping Town, the other party detected the anomaly on his body, which caused it to target him, and it was very interested in him. Otherwise, it wouldn't have traveled thousands of miles, even at a considerable cost, to cross the Blood Demon Grand Formation just to find him.
"Hoo..."
Exhaling heavily, Lin Sheng felt a surge of annoyance in his heart.
After all, his current strength was still far from the terrifying existence of the demon beast Realm. Being targeted by such a powerful demon beast would make it difficult for anyone to remain calm.
But he quickly suppressed his chaotic emotions, because he knew very well that mere speculation couldn't solve any problem.
"Phantom Demon Beast... So what if it's a demon beast? If I can deal with it once, I can definitely deal with it a second time."
A fierce look appeared on his face.
"The pace of improving my strength needs to quicken."
The carriage sped along the official road, and soon the town appeared before their eyes.
At this moment, a breathless voice came from behind.
"Wait for me... Wait for me..."
Hearing this commotion, Lin Sheng immediately knew who had arrived.
He quickly told Wang Dehai and the other to stop the carriage and looked back. Who else could it be but Huang Quan?
At this time, Huang Quan's clothes were tattered, his face looked somewhat pale, and his whole person exuded a weak, listless feeling.
He climbed into the carriage, panting, and first glanced at Lin Sheng, a look of surprise on his face.
"You're actually fine? You didn't run into that Phantom Demon Beast Clone?"
"I did, but I was lucky and survived."
Lin Sheng nodded and asked.
"How are things on your end?"
Hearing Lin Sheng's words, Huang Quan looked Lin Sheng up and down seriously again, and finally shook his head with a bitter expression.
"I heavily injured the Phantom Demon Beast on my side, and only a wisp escaped. But this time I lost a lot. To deal with that damn thing, I used up a lot of my old reserves..."
Speaking of this, a look of wanting to cry but having no tears appeared on his face.
"Damn it, if I had known the Phantom Demon Beast was near the bandit camp, I would have directly reduced that bandit leader to ashes, saving that damn thing from possessing his body and chasing after me..."
"But for this damn thing to appear here, I'm really unlucky... I should have honestly stayed in Tongzhi County... This time I lost a lot!!"
Seeing Huang Quan's appearance, Lin Sheng felt somewhat speechless and said.
"I owe you a lot for this incident. When we get to Linjiang Prefecture, I'll give you some more compensation."
"Oh!? Lin Sheng is indeed generous, cough cough... I knew from the first time I saw you that you are definitely a righteous person..."
Hearing Lin Sheng's words, the bitter expression on Huang Quan's face disappeared, replaced by a smile. He was just waiting for that sentence.
"Let's replenish some vitality first."
Lin Sheng didn't mind Huang Quan's quick change and took out a piece of jerky from the back, tossing it over.
Huang Quan reached out and grabbed it, saying somewhat indifferently.
"To recover vitality with this... Eh... This is... Spirit Beast meat!"
But soon he saw the clue, his eyes widened, looking carefully at the jerky in his hand, but he didn't put it in his mouth immediately. Instead, he turned to look at Lin Sheng and asked a question.
"What you've been feeding the dog along the way is Spirit Beast meat!?"
"Yes."
Huang Quan: "..............."
After a brief silence, Lin Sheng was the first to speak.
"What's the next step? Go into town and spread the news about the Phantom Demon Beast?"
He looked at Huang Quan, after all, Huang Quan undoubtedly knew much more about the situation in Linjiang Prefecture than he did, and had experience in how to handle many things.
Hearing this, a thoughtful look appeared on Huang Quan's face, and he quickly shook his head slightly.
"Although what we encountered this time was indeed a Phantom Demon Beast, it wasn't the real Phantom Demon Beast, but a Magic Seed."
"Magic Seed..."
Hearing this word, Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's right, a Magic Seed. This is a unique ability of the Phantom Demon Beast, allowing it to divide Magic Seeds. A Magic Seed can be understood as a powerful Clone of the Phantom Demon Beast. It possesses most of the Phantom Demon Beast's abilities, but its power is much weaker than the real Phantom Demon Beast. Although it can grow rapidly by absorbing the blood and flesh of living beings, its strength is much lower than that of the Phantom Demon Beast."
Huang Quan said, already putting the Spirit Beast jerky into his mouth and chewing it heartily.
"To give a simple example, if the real Phantom Demon Beast's strength is at the Divine Transformation Realm, then the Magic Seed's strength can at most reach the Bones Transformation stage, and there are also quantity restrictions in controlling strange beasts, far less than the Phantom Demon Beast."
"Now this Magic Seed is also severely injured, maybe it will annihilate itself before long. Even if it survives, it won't be able to cause much trouble in a short time, and those important figures in Linjiang Prefecture City won't pay too much attention to this point. Moreover, they might not believe it just from our words in the town.
So there's no need to rush. We can spread the news through the organization when we get to Linjiang Prefecture. At that time, the government will naturally take it seriously and deal with it."
"Is that so..."
Hearing this, a look of understanding appeared on Lin Sheng's face, and he also felt a little relieved.
But at the same time, he was also a little surprised.
It was just a Magic Seed, and not even a complete one, yet it could cause him such great trouble. How powerful would a real Phantom Demon Beast be?
Although he knew now that the Magic Seed wouldn't pose much of a threat to him, the urgency to improve his strength was still quite high.
This time he had a hidden master like Huang Quan by his side, but next time he might not be so lucky. Compared to entrusting his life to vague luck, he believed more in his own strength.
Before long, the carriage entered the town. Different from the original plan, after a night's rest, the carriage continued on its journey at Lin Sheng's request.
Time flew by like a white steed, and in the blink of an eye, two days had passed.
The carriage traveled on a smooth official road that was several times wider than before. From time to time, one or two carriages or caravans could be seen speeding along the official road.
And a majestic giant city in the distance also appeared in sight.
"We're here, Linjiang Prefecture City. After many years away, this commander is back..."
In the carriage, Huang Quan sat on the back of the horse in front, looking at the giant city in the distance, muttering to himself, a look of emotion and complexity in his eyes.
"Linjiang Prefecture City."
Inside the carriage, looking at the giant city in the distance, he also murmured in a low voice, his eyes filled with shock.
Although there was still some distance to Linjiang Prefecture City at this time, he could already see the full picture with his eyesight.
This was a city much more majestic, vast, and imposing than he had imagined.
It was several times, even more than 10 times larger than Tongzhi County when they arrived.
The dark black city walls, the gigantic red-bottomed, white-lettered Kui flags fluttering on them, and the magnificent buildings within the city that were taller than the city walls, this city located on the ground was more like a colossal beast in hibernation.
Just one glance made people feel a heavy sense of pressure.
After another hour of travel, the carriage finally arrived in front of the city.
"Linjiang Prefecture City... So... so big..."
In the carriage, Xiao Shi opened his mouth wide, looking up at the city wall in front of him, speaking haltingly.
Although Wang Dehai and Lao Zhou beside him were not as exaggerated, they were not much better, their eyes wide open. Lin Hong and Xie Guilan were the same.
Let alone them, even Lin Sheng, standing under the city wall at this moment, could not hide the shock in his heart.
"Linjiang Prefecture City... It lives up to its reputation..."
"Alright, how long are you going to wait here? Don't just stand there foolishly, let's enter the city first. You'll have plenty of time to look later."
Seeing their appearance, Huang Quan pouted and urged.
Since approaching this Fu City, Huang Quan had been quite anxious, as if he had something important to attend to in the city.
At this time, there was a long queue in front of the city gate. The few of them lined up at the back, following the people in front into the city.
Unlike the entry checks at the city gates of Tongzhi and Lin'an, Linjiang Prefecture had no such step at all. The black-armored guards guarding the city merely stood on both sides, their gazes sweeping through the queue, but they had no intention of checking, even for caravans entering the city.
They seemed not to worry about any unexpected events happening.
Although the queue was long, the speed of entering the city was not slow. There were two city gates on this side of the city wall, one on the left and one on the right, one for entry and one for exit. A large number of people entered and exited every moment, the scene of prosperity was far beyond what Tongzhi could compare to.
In just the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Lin Sheng and the others drove the carriage into the city.
The extremely well-maintained and wide avenues extended in all directions, bustling with people coming and going.
From within, one could even see people with appearances and clothing that were clearly not local, from different countries and regions. Many things never seen before were being sold on the streets, dazzling the eyes.
"Alright, now that we're in the city, you can find a place to settle down. I still have things to deal with, so I'll take my leave first. Also, the organization's station in the Fu City is in the Water Field Pavilion in the city."
As soon as he entered the city, Huang Quan threw a sentence to Lin Sheng and hurried away.
Lin Sheng noted down what he said, then took the others to find an inn in the city to settle down first.