Chapter 101: Pillaging Everywhere

Nan Jue felt a bit uneasy under Mo Fan's gaze, but out of respect for him saving them, she didn't lash out. Still, what was this guy thinking, staring at her like that?

Just as Nan Jue was about to get upset, Mo Fan finally spoke, "No need to thank me."

Helping Nan Jue and her team wasn't his primary goal; it was simply a side task while cleaning up the mess for Jiang Feng. Plus, he had just acquired a high-level soul essence, making him feel incredibly satisfied!

After those words, Mo Fan walked over to the body of the three-headed serpent. Although he had already collected its soul essence, there were still valuable materials on its body that he couldn't let go to waste. After a thorough inspection, while he didn't find any rare bones, the materials he did gather could easily be sold for a million.

Seeing Mo Fan skillfully harvesting materials from the serpent's corpse, Nan Jue asked, "Are you a hunter mage?"

"Yes."

Mo Fan didn't deny it. After all, besides being a student, he was indeed a certified hunter mage.

"Are you also here for the Fire Calamity Fruit?"

Mo Fan, finished with the corpse, replied, "The Fire Calamity Fruit is already gone, and with your level of strength, going there would likely be fatal."

While Nan Jue felt slightly underestimated, the dead three-headed serpent lying nearby made it hard to argue.

When she heard that the Fire Calamity Fruit had already been taken, Nan Jue instinctively asked, "Did you take it?"

Mo Fan glanced at her but said nothing. However, his look was enough for Nan Jue to understand.

She realized how foolish her question was. Why would he tell her the truth?

Still, she guessed that Mo Fan had indeed taken the Fire Calamity Fruit.

"Well, thanks again. Since the fruit is gone, we'll be heading back. Will you come with us? The Sha Wnag River is in turmoil right now, and without special means, it'll be hard to leave safely." Nan Jue offered.

"I'm not planning to leave just yet. I still need to train here for a while," Mo Fan responded.

"Do you have a way to get back?" she asked again.

"I'll fight my way out if I have to."

Nan Jue almost rolled her eyes. Was this guy serious?

"Even though you're strong, the Sha Wang River is long, and there's a commander-level creature there." she reminded him.

"We'll see when the time comes."

Seeing that Mo Fan wasn't fazed, Nan Jue pulled out a special device and handed it to him. "You saved us, so here's a communicator we use in the wild in the West. If you decide you need to leave, contact me through this, and I'll come to get you."

No matter what, Mo Fan had saved her and her team. Nan Jue believed in repaying kindness. If he didn't have a way to leave, she could at least help him out. It would balance the scales.

As for whether Mo Fan would actually use it, that was up to him. After all, he clearly had his own methods, but this was the best she could offer.

"Alright, I'll call you if I need help. Thanks," Mo Fan said, not being overly polite.

If he could avoid wasting magical energy and insurance by getting a ride out, that would be ideal.

After descending the mountain together, they went their separate ways.

A Month Later

In the northwestern part of the Scorched Plains, within a large mountain range, Mo Fan looked down at a field of fire element monsters, exhaling in relief.

Since parting from Nan Jue, he'd used his element detector to find that this mountain range contained five fire-elemental spiritual seeds!

However, the area was controlled by a small tribe of fire element monsters. After a month of guerrilla attacks and ambushes, Mo Fan had finally wiped them all out today.

Although the monsters weren't weak, there were no commander-level creatures among them. The spiritual seeds had likely emerged after the Fire Tribulation but hadn't yet been refined by the monsters, which allowed Mo Fan to swoop in.

These five natural spiritual seeds weren't particularly high in potency, most ranging between two and three times the norm. Mo Fan began absorbing them one by one.

Meanwhile, Little Flame Belle, who had been observing Mo Fan's fights like a curious little squirrel, gnawed on fragments of the spiritual seeds. She could technically consume spiritual seeds as well, but she was still in her infancy and too small to fully digest them. So Mo Fan had to take care of it himself. Fortunately, he had accumulated a fair amount of seed fragments over the month.

As the five fire-element spiritual seeds were absorbed into Mo Fan's Fire Star River, his Nihility Flame grew stronger, with black streaks subtly appearing within his cyan flames.

The power of his cyan flame had now approached nearly five times its original strength.

Fusing fire elements wasn't what he had initially imagined. It wasn't simply an additive process where three times plus two times equals five times. Instead, even after absorbing four spiritual seeds, his flame was still just shy of a full five-fold increase. It felt like he was filling a bottomless pit. One more seed might not even be enough!

Despite not reaching five times the strength, Mo Fan had gained something equally important: he had unlocked the Fire Domain. When he activated it, he could quickly summon a cyan fire lotus using the surrounding fire elements.

This cyan fire lotus had destruction power far beyond any of Mo Fan's high-tier or derivative skills, and it would continue to grow stronger as his cultivation advanced.

For the past month, it had been an endless cycle of battle. Little Flame Belle hadn't grown stronger yet, but she had developed a mischievous habit of throwing fireballs everywhere after watching Mo Fan fight.

After discovering this, Mo Fan had Flame Wolf accompany her for practice sessions when he was unavailable. This had made the old wolf quite miserable. Not only did he have to protect the little princess from harm, but her fireballs actually hurt, even though she was so small!

Despite being an advanced warrior-level monster, the Flame Wolf found itself wincing from Little Flame Belle's attacks. But this only reinforced to the wolf how terrifyingly powerful the little flame spirit would become in the future.

After thoroughly searching the mountain range for any more treasures, Mo Fan mounted the Flame Wolf, ready to move on. Even though most treasures on the Scorched Plains had been claimed by monsters, that didn't bother Mo Fan. If they couldn't consume them, he would just take them for himself!

Four Months Later

"Rumble rumble!"

"Awooo!"

"Stupid wolf, stop howling and run faster!"

On a flat plain, Mo Fan and the Flame Wolf were running for their lives, with a pack of Slaughter Armor Beasts hot on their tail.

The reason for this chase? Mo Fan's habit of pillaging wherever he went. This time, he had stolen a fire-element diamond from the beasts' territory.

At first, Mo Fan had planned to avoid a fight, but when Little Flame Belle took a liking to the diamond, he had no choice but to grab it for her. He wasn't even sure what it was, but as a doting father, he couldn't resist her pleading eyes, even if the diamond didn't seem all that powerful.

After evading the beasts for some time, Mo Fan and the Flame Wolf finally managed to shake them off by entering a vast mountain range. The distant roars of the beasts still echoed, proving how furious they were.

In the forested mountain range, Mo Fan stopped running. He stashed the Flame Wolf away and instructed Little Flame Belle to remain quiet.

This area was too dangerous. Either commander-level creatures roamed or large groups of warrior-level beasts lived here. He couldn't afford to be careless. Thankfully, though Little Flame Belle had a playful streak, she listened when it mattered. Plus, she was entirely focused on the fire-element diamond, too engrossed to cause trouble.

(End of Chapter)