Roar...

The expression of the Flame Lion seemed extremely furious, its blood-red mouth continually roaring, a moment of deafening roars. It was clear that the Flame Lion was greatly enraged at this moment. Although the Flame Lion, as a Fourth Grade Yuan Beast, did not possess much intelligence, it still had some spiritual awareness. Clearly, it sensed malicious intent from the human brazenly appearing before it, and there was a hint of shock in its roar. It had never seen a human so calm standing before it.

Ding Fan looked at the opponent with a hint of disdain on his face. Just a beast, yet it knows anger; what a pity.

Immediately, Ding Fan swung his hand, and a Wind Blade shot out, crashing onto the Flame Lion's abdomen.

Typically, for this type of Yuan Beast, the abdomen is the most vulnerable spot, and evidently, Ding Fan was well aware of this fact.

Boom...

Just as Ding Fan's Wind Blade was about to strike the opponent's abdomen, a blaze rose around the Flame Lion, surrounding it, reducing the force of Ding Fan's Wind Blade when it eventually landed on the opponent, seemingly causing little to no pain.

Roar...

Angry roars continuously came from the Flame Lion's mouth.

Subsequently, the Flame Lion sprang up and pounced towards Ding Fan with incredible speed. It was evident that an average cultivator would inevitably get hurt encountering this, if not directly killed by the Flame Lion's pounce if their skills were insufficient.

At this moment, witnessing this scene, Ding Fan was somewhat shocked. He did not expect the Yuan Beast could dodge his attack and simultaneously pounce towards him. This was evidently far more powerful than a typical Fourth Grade Yuan Beast. Ding Fan quickly realized that it must be due to the Hundred-Year Ganoderma. The Yuan Beast had cleverly stayed near the Hundred-Year Ganoderma.

Apparently, the Flame Lion had absorbed some of the efficacy of the Hundred-Year Ganoderma, enabling it to possess such combat ability.

This thought suddenly reminded Ding Fan of the Frost Toad, and he realized he needed to gather more Spiritual Materials and Medicine Pills in the future. Even if the Frost Toad did not need these materials, it would still benefit from being cultivated by them, growing even faster.

However, Ding Fan expressed some regret about this opportunity for the Hundred-Year Ganoderma, as his injuries required its healing properties more than ever.

Now, watching the Flame Lion charge towards him, Ding Fan's mouth curled into a cold smile. He then threw a powerful punch towards the Flame Lion's front.

Boom...

A muffled sound echoed as the Flame Lion, shocked, was sent flying. It let out cries of pain repeatedly, realizing the immense strength of this human opponent. To think that its toughest defensive spot, the front of its head, had been so easily struck.

Howl...

In an arc, the Flame Lion landed heavily on the ground, looking extremely pained, then it hung its head low in despair and fled.

Though its intelligence was limited, it understood it was no match for this human. The Flame Lion retreated to a distance, noticing the human did not pursue, wistfully glancing at the Lingzhi in the stone crevice one last time before slipping away dejectedly.

Ding Fan did not chase the Flame Lion, as he had no interest in it. After all, a mere Fourth Grade Yuan Beast held little value for Ding Fan, only being equivalent to an Early Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.

Impatient, Ding Fan approached the Hundred-Year Ganoderma. The moment he neared the Lingzhi, which was burning red like flame, its rich essence filled the air, bringing a refreshing clarity to his mind and body.

"Indeed, it's a Hundred-Year Ganoderma."

Ding Fan observed the Lingzhi and confirmed it was over a hundred years old. He then plucked it and stored it away, feeling very pleased, knowing it was a rare treasure.

Afterward, Ding Fan returned directly. With the Hundred-Year Ganoderma in his possession, he believed it would completely heal his injuries and even enhance his cultivation a little bit.

Thinking of this brought a sense of joy to Ding Fan's heart.

But as Ding Fan neared the old woman's house, he suddenly sensed a bloody scent, causing him to frown. He quickly spread his Divine Sense to observe the surroundings.

Without using his Divine Sense, it was fine, but upon doing so, Ding Fan's body stiffened.

The surrounding dozens of households had been entirely massacred. Many young women were curled up, clothed in tatters and weeping in sorrow, evidently having been violated. Ding Fan's heart trembled at this sight. However, upon sweeping his Divine Sense through Ye Ningbing's dwelling, he found it empty.

Ding Fan's heart tensed, and he swiftly ran towards the old woman's house.

Who on earth could be so cruel as to massacre the entire village, and at this moment, the whereabouts of Ye Ningbing and the others were also unknown. Ding Fan's heart was filled with extreme worry.

After a short while, Ding Fan rushed directly into the room where Ye Ningbing and others were staying, searching around without finding anyone.

Seeing this scene, Ding Fan's face turned pale, and a surge of anger naturally arose in his heart, reaching the extreme.

"No matter who you are, if anything happens to Ye Ningbing and the others, I, Ding Fan, will definitely destroy you completely!"

Subsequently, in his fury, Ding Fan released his Divine Sense again and suddenly discovered the presence of Ye Ningbing and the others in a nearby mountain cave, finally easing his heart.

Ding Fan immediately headed to the cave without hesitation.

"Ding Fan!"

At this moment, seeing Ding Fan's arrival, Ye Ningbing exclaimed and then hugged him tightly.

At this time, holding Ye Ningbing tightly, Ding Fan clearly felt very relieved; he was truly terrified of losing Ye Ningbing again. Now seeing Ye Ningbing safe and sound, Ding Fan's heart finally settled down.

Then, Ding Fan learned from everyone's accounts what had happened; originally, it was the disciples of the Wild Wolf Gang who suddenly stormed into the village, slaughtering all the villagers. It's important to note that the village was just an ordinary place and its residents were ordinary people. Clearly, there were hardly any cultivators, and even if there were, their cultivation was very limited.

The reason Ye Ningbing and others, including the elder, could escape safely was because the two divine warrior little girls discovered the presence of the Wild Wolf Gang disciples at the first moment and quickly led everyone out of the cave.

Hearing this, Ding Fan's face turned angry once again; it was the Wild Wolf Gang again!

However, Ding Fan felt somewhat fortunate since they had not yet been discovered by the people of the Wild Wolf Gang, because if they had been discovered, escaping would not have been as easy.

Then, upon Ding Fan's observation, he confirmed that the cultivators of the Wild Wolf Gang had departed from the village, and he led everyone directly back to the house. Ding Fan wasted no time, returning to the house and directly going into a quiet room, instructing Ye Ningbing to not allow anyone to disturb him, and immediately began to consume the Hundred-Year Ganoderma.

The repeated threats had made Ding Fan fed up. Clearly, he knew how urgent it was to enhance his strength.

Ding Fan slightly processed the Ganoderma and directly consumed it, as the best way to use this kind of Spiritual Material was to consume it directly to preserve more of the medicinal properties and maximize its effect.

However, the process was somewhat painful, given that it was a Hundred-Year Ganoderma, and consuming it clearly didn't feel good. But Ding Fan ignored this and continued consuming the Hundred-Year Ganoderma bite by bite.

From the first bite, Ding Fan felt a burning sensation in the esophagus that caused immense pain, so he immediately summoned True Qi to regulate his body with all his might, in the best and fastest way possible, quickly absorbing the medicinal power of the Hundred-Year Ganoderma.

Then, Ding Fan ate it bite by bite, with each bite feeling like knives slicing through him, clearly very painful. In a short time, Ding Fan's forehead was already covered with sweat. Gritting his teeth, Ding Fan without the slightest pause, chewed the Hundred-Year Ganoderma diligently to avoid wasting any of its medicinal effects. He chose to endure the pain with sheer will.

If it were an ordinary cultivator, they probably wouldn't dare to consume the Hundred-Year Ganoderma directly. It's crucial to realize that even boiling it in water would make it hard for ordinary cultivators to endure, let alone eating it directly. Seeing this would make other cultivators not believe their eyes.

This is impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

Direct consumption of a Hundred-Year Ganoderma would be unbelievable if anyone even heard about it. After all, the medicinal power of that Hundred-Year Ganoderma is extraordinarily strong, and not just because Ding Fan is merely a cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage; even an Emergence Stage cultivator would definitely not dare to consume it directly, although most cultivators know that the most effective way to preserve its medicinal power is through direct consumption, but no one dares to try it.

Outside the room, Ye Ningbing obviously heard some of Ding Fan's painful groans inside, and for a moment, Ye Ningbing felt worried and somewhat pained, but she still dared not disturb Ding Fan. Although she wasn't a cultivator, she knew that the biggest taboo during cultivation is being interrupted.

Helplessly, Ye Ningbing had no choice but to guard diligently outside Ding Fan's door.

After a long time, Ding Fan's condition finally improved significantly, and the large piece of Hundred-Year Ganoderma had been entirely consumed by Ding Fan. Although feeling slightly better, Ding Fan's body still felt scorchingly hot like magma, trying his best to regulate it with True Qi, but it was clear that this didn't ease the pain much.

There was no other way; no matter what, Ding Fan had to endure it, because giving up at this moment would turn all previous efforts into nothing, and the body, instead of being treated, would be left with chronic issues. This absolutely couldn't be allowed.

A long time passed during the intense pain, before Ding Fan slowly digested some of the Hundred-Year Ganoderma, finally feeling the warm currents soften and flow gently throughout his body.

At this moment, Ding Fan sensed that the injuries in his dantian were beginning to improve slowly under the wash of these warm currents.

Clearly, Ding Fan realized that the Hundred-Year Ganoderma had taken effect, and he had finally made it through the most dangerous period.