Chapter 61: Chapter 58: Mutated Blood Armor Lizard (Asking for Follow-up Reading)_1
The Ironclad Lizard let out a sharp cry, lunging at the two of them. Its mouth, reminiscent of a crocodile, was filled with sharp teeth and oozed saliva.
Lu Yan launched a kick, landing squarely on the Ironclad Lizard’s jaw. The overweighed creature was knocked backward, slamming into the ground and rolling several times before it came to a halt.
The Ironclad Lizard struggled to its feet, shaking its dazed head. Its bloodshot eyes filled with fear, and then it turned and ran.
Neither Lu Yan nor the girl on his back pursued it.
For now, there was no need to kill the Ironclad Lizard.
The meat of Alien Beasts contained blood poison, and its stench was overwhelmingly strong. Without the proper culinary procedure by a Martial Chef, it couldn’t be eaten directly.
"That’s roughly the strength of the Third Breakthrough."
Lu Yan murmured.
"Normally, a first-level Alien Beast has the strength corresponding to the Third Breakthrough. This Ironclad Lizard benefits from living on a second-level Blood Land Vein and being wild, hence its unusual strength. But this also signifies superior meat quality," responded the girl and she moved on.
After a while, they spotted another lizard.
This one was about the same size as the previous one, but its whole body was crimson, fully equipped with blood-red scales.
"A second-level Alien Beast, Blood Armor Lizard. This indeed is a second-level Blood Land Vein. I’m absolutely sure of it."
The girl made a victorious fist pump, seemingly celebrating her correct judgement.
Hiss...
The Blood Armor Lizard spat out a long, forked tongue, opening its wide mouth and charged at Lu Yan and the girl.
The mouth took aim at the girl, while the long tail, like a Steel Whip, aimed for Lu Yan.
Lu Yan and the girl retreated almost simultaneously, narrowly avoiding the attack.
With a loud crash, the Blood Armor Lizard’s tail struck a large rock, causing it to explode into fragments which sprayed everywhere.
"Not bad, about the same as the Fourth Breakthrough."
Lu Yan judged internally and told the girl, "You handle this one."
"What a cautious man."
The girl gave Lu Yan a look, the corner of her mouth curling up in slight contempt.
But Lu Yan said nothing.
What was wrong with being cautious?
This was a second-level Blood Land Vein, nurturing who knew how many Alien Beasts, extremely valuable—who wouldn’t be eager for it? Who could guarantee that they didn’t want it all for themselves?
If he depleted too much of his Qi-blood, and the girl decided to turn on him, what then?
He had to stay on guard.
The girl jumped up lightly and rushed towards the Blood Armor Lizard, striking its head with her palm, causing the Blood Armor Lizard to somersault away.
Apparently recognizing it could not win against the girl, the Blood Armor Lizard dived headfirst, disappearing into the ground.
It was only when the pair approached that they discovered a deep, dark hole in the ground where the lizard had disappeared.
They continued their journey—since this was a second-level Blood Land Vein, they naturally wanted to have a clear idea of how many Alien Beasts there were and of its total value.
In the next half hour, they encountered over a dozen Alien Beasts.
Most of these were first-level Ironclad Lizards, but they also came across four second-level Blood Armor Lizards.
One was particularly powerful, possessing the strength equivalent to a Fifth Breakthrough Martial Artist. Moreover, its thick skin and robust physique gave it extreme defense. Despite Lu Yan pounding it with more than a dozen punches, the Blood Armor Lizard was unscathed.
In the end, it was the girl who stabbed the Blood Armor Lizard’s eye with a small knife, forcing it to retreat.
The Alien Beasts here shared one characteristic—they were incredibly ferocious and wild, with an aggressive nature.
Lu Yan had heard that the Alien Beasts raised by the Feudal Lords had lost their wild instincts and were quite docile, usually not attacking people on their own initiative.
After a while, they were more than ten miles away from the ancient ruins.
As they crossed over a hill, they saw an exceptionally gigantic Blood Armor Lizard.
While the others were around four meters long, this one was at least eight meters, standing at a height of one and a half meters. Standing on the side of the hill, it opened its mouth, inhaling and exhaling. As it breathed in, vast quantities of the Energy of Earth Blood converged toward its mouth and disappeared inside.
This Blood Armor Lizard was actually voluntarily swallowing the Energy of Earth Blood.
Hiss...
The moment they noticed the Blood Armor Lizard, the lizard noticed them too. It let out a piercing shriek, twisted its enormous body, and charged at Lu Yan.
Wherever it passed, rocks were blasted apart and vegetation was torn apart.
"Bad news, it’s a Blood Armor Lizard King, a Bone-strength-level creature."
The girl’s face changed and she turned to run.
Lu Yan had started running earlier than the girl. One look at the massive creature and he knew it was anything but average. With its blood surging and the terrible sensation it gave off similar to a Martial Marquis, he had to run.
He had witnessed Martial Marquis squabbling before.
Although he was no longer weak, having mastered the Vajra Body to the highest level, if a Martial Marquis-level creature hit him even once, he would, at the very least, suffer a broken bone or torn muscle, or worse, be killed instantly.
If he didn’t run now, when would he?
But the Blood Armor Lizard King was unrelenting in its pursuit. Despite its massive size, it was surprisingly fast, barely slower than Lu Yan, though it couldn’t match the girl.
The Black Pot girl’s movements were faster than Lu Yan’s, even though she was carrying a large pot. In no time at all, she placed herself ahead of him, much to his chagrin.
At this rate, he’d be the first one to be caught by the Blood Armor Lizard king.
"Perhaps we should stop and fight the Blood Armor Lizard together," Lu Yan suggested.
"If you want to fight, go ahead. I have no intention of going head-to-head with this big guy," the girl retorted without looking back.
Lu Yan gritted his teeth. Despite the girl’s apparent innocence, she was clever and not easily fooled.
He had no choice but to stimulate his Qi-blood into his legs, pushing his Antelope Kick technique to its limits to just barely match the lizard king’s speed. This barely widened the gap between them.
However, sustaining such a burst of energy would be draining him.
Hiss... Hiss... Hiss...
Unable to catch up, the Blood Armor Lizard king let out a loud roar, which echoed in the distance.
Several Ironclad Lizards not far from them responded to the roar and began their pursuit of Lu Yan and the Black Pot girl.
Soon, more and more giant lizards joined the pursuit, both Ironclad and Blood Armor lizards.
The two barely dodged the giant lizards but were soon chased by a group of more than twenty. Their thunderous approach sounded like the charge of an overwhelming army.
The situation was dire; if they were cornered, they would be pulled apart.
"Back to the ruins," they thought at the same time, changing direction and rushing towards the ancient ruins.
But they were unsure if they could make it to the ruins safely, especially Lu Yan.
Suddenly, a small flower field appeared in front of them. These peculiar flowers were crimson-colored, but their buds carried a hue of purple.
When they approached the flower field, the giant lizards behind them grew restless, letting out frantic roars.
"Into the flower field!" the girl exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as she dashed into the field.
Without spending too much time considering, Lu Yan followed her closely.
Mysteriously, the giant lizards stopped a distance from the flower field and were too afraid to get closer, their eyes filled with fear.
Even the Blood Armor Lizard king stopped at a distance, pacing restlessly but refrained from getting any closer.
It was clear that these giant lizards were afraid of these flowers.
"Just as I thought, there are counteracting relationships among everything in nature. It’s the same in the Blood Land Vein. Where there are Alien Beasts, there are also elements that suppress them. This flower can limit the lizards’ strengths," the girl smugly explained.
"These flowers should be called Bloodthirsty Flowers. They produce a type of pollen. If the giant lizards inhale this pollen, their Energy of Earth-Blood will be absorbed by the pollen. Without the Energy of Earth-Blood, Alien Beasts will weaken, even die."
"Thus, these flowers could be used as an ingredient when cooking giant lizard meat. Along with other Spiritual Medicines, it can remove the poisoned blood in the meat."
"You really know a lot," Lu Yan commented.
"There’s a lot you can learn from books," the girl proudly glanced at Lu Yan.
Lu Yan: "..."
The Blood Armor Lizard king was still roaring, apparently commanding the other giant lizards to charge at them, but they remained still. One of the colossal lizards even turned around and left completely, ignoring the king’s command.
The two were drawn to this magnificent creature that went its own way.
This remarkable giant lizard was almost as large as the Blood Armor Lizard king. It had a distinct appearance with a dark red body and seven or eight sharp dorsal spikes protruding from its back.
Lu Yan had a sudden realization. Could this lizard have mutated?
He had heard in Qingyang City that once Alien Beasts mutate, they would look vastly different.
If that were true, this lizard would yield Mutated Heart Meat.
How much Mutated Heart Meat would a second-rate Alien Beast yield?
Lu Yan’s breath hitched at the thought. He looked at the girl and indeed found her eyes full of bright excitement, intensely focused on the lizard.
"You’ve figured it out, haven’t you?" Lu Yan asked.
Given the girl’s broad knowledge, it would be hard to believe she hadn’t.
"You’re not completely ignorant. That’s right, this is a mutated beast. The Hidden Blood Land Vein here has never been exploited, and the Energy of Earth-Blood is abundant. It’s normal for a Mutated Beast to be born here, especially since this is a second-grade Blood Land Vein," the girl admitted and nodded.
"There might be even more than one," she added.
