Chapter 40

He absorbed the essence from the crystal core at a steady pace, and soon, three hours had passed.

Outside the cave, it was pitch black, and the heavy rain continued to pour.

Chen Feng's face was tinged with a greenish hue, and the speed at which he absorbed the essence quickened. The color of the crystal core had become lighter, and the intense emerald green had faded somewhat.

The essence inside the crystal core had already been absorbed to about twenty percent.

At this moment, a sudden, fierce, and cruel howl erupted from within the crystal core, startling Chen Feng. He was very familiar with this howl; it belonged to the Black Blood Snake.

Immediately after, a small, three-inch-long shadow appeared on the surface of the crystal core, identical to a miniature Black Blood Snake!

The shadow of the Black Blood Snake flashed and disappeared, entering Chen Feng's body through his palm, traveling along his meridians, and rapidly heading towards his dantian.

Chen Feng's heart tightened.

He used his inner vision to observe his body and found that the shadow of the Black Blood Snake was rapidly darting through his meridians, moving at an incredible speed.

As it moved, it emitted a fierce howl, and the essence that Chen Feng had absorbed from the crystal core began to vibrate in response.

The essence, which Chen Feng had not yet fully assimilated, started to break free from his control, coalescing into small snakes.

These small snakes burst through Chen Feng's meridians, drilling into his body.

Countless small snakes tore through Chen Feng's flesh, and some even created bloody holes on the surface of his body, causing blood to spurt out!

Chen Feng felt as if he were pierced by ten thousand arrows, the intense pain making him almost unable to endure it, and he involuntarily let out a painful groan.

The sound of flesh being torn continued, and dozens of bloody holes appeared on Chen Feng's body, instantly turning him into a blood-soaked figure.

The pain was unbearable, and the situation was dire!

If this continued, he would bleed to death!

Suddenly, the shadow of the Black Blood Snake looked up, its eyes filled with extreme malice and triumph.

It was mocking Chen Feng!

Chen Feng's heart sank.

The Black Blood Snake had left a thread of residual consciousness within the crystal core! And now, this thread of residual consciousness was trying to kill him!

The spiritual energy in his body had already rebelled, rampaging through his body, emitting a series of malicious cheers.

The Black Blood Snake continued to advance towards the dantian.

Finally, the Black Blood Snake reached the dantian.

The thread of residual consciousness left by the Black Blood Snake had no great intelligence; it had only one thought: to destroy, destroy, and destroy again!

It saw the ancient tripod, which exuded a solemn and mysterious aura from the ancient times, with extremely ancient patterns on its surface, like the sacrificial rites of ancient people, simple yet awe-inspiring.

The Black Blood Snake instinctively felt some fear, but its intelligence was too low, and the fear quickly disappeared. It let out a howl and lunged towards the ancient tripod.

Chen Feng, despite the tearing pain all over his body, watched this scene with tension.

The ancient tripod was his last hope.

As the Black Blood Snake lunged forward, the ancient tripod suddenly vibrated, emitting a hum.

The hum was very light, like the cold snort of a supreme being when provoked by an ant, filled with disdain.

Then, a deep and prolonged dragon's roar came from within the ancient tripod.

Although it was a very subtle sound, it was like a massive thunderbolt striking down, with the power to change the entire world.

Chen Feng's body shook, and blood flowed from his seven orifices, his skin splitting open.

The thread of residual consciousness of the Black Blood Snake was almost shattered by the shock, and then a great suction force came from within the ancient tripod. The residual consciousness of the Black Blood Snake let out a miserable wail as it was pulled into the tripod.

Then, everything became calm.

Chen Feng's body, which had been on the verge of collapse, stopped deteriorating, and the absorbed essence returned to a state of calm.

Chen Feng let out a long sigh, feeling a sense of relief at having narrowly escaped death.

Thanks to the ancient tripod, and the drop of dragon blood sealed within it, he had avoided a certain death.

In the past, whenever the ancient tripod consumed something, it would share some with Chen Feng.

But this time, the ancient tripod did not release anything. It seemed that the thread of residual soul of the Black Blood Snake had been completely devoured by the ancient tripod, leaving nothing for Chen Feng.

Chen Feng did not have time to think much about it and quickly increased the speed at which he absorbed the essence from the crystal core.

A vast amount of emerald green spiritual energy surged out from the ancient tripod, repairing Chen Feng's body.

Wood-type spiritual energy, representing growth, was perfect for healing and restoration.

Chen Feng's body rapidly repaired itself, stopping the bleeding, and regenerating muscle...

By the evening of the next day, Chen Feng's body suddenly trembled, and a large amount of black, foul-smelling impurities were expelled through his pores. He gently exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes.

At this moment, his face was somewhat pale, giving him a more scholarly appearance.

Chen Feng felt his body and couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.

He had indeed broken through to the Seventh Level of the Postnatal Realm, but his strength had not increased; it remained at nine thousand pounds.

This advancement had even slightly reduced his strength.