Chapter 213: Chapter 190: Forced Breakthrough, Danger, Danger...

He wouldn’t know if he didn’t look. But one glance sent a jolt through him.

Below Fang Tangtang...

There really was liquid!

Gao Neng stared, his eyes wide.

A golden liquid was slowly spurting out from beneath Fang Tangtang, not in a huge quantity, but it was definitely authentic "liquid." It looked just like a small fountain.

"It’s a tree root! Fang Tangtang, are you sure this golden liquid spraying from the root is the Spring of Life?" Gao Neng quickly found the true culprit behind the fountain—a root extending from somewhere, continuously spraying the golden liquid.

"Of course I’m sure," Fang Tangtang said with certainty.

"So, this is a tree root that can spray the Spring of Life..."

"That’s right!"

"Then what kind of tree is this?" A bad premonition suddenly surfaced in Gao Neng’s mind.

"Duh, a tree that can spray the Spring of Life has to be the Elf..." Fang Tangtang trailed off, suddenly clamping her mouth shut.

"The Ancient Elf Tree!"

"We found the Ancient Elf Tree, and it’s right under her?"

"So, we’re in the Dark Night Elf City right now..."

The two of them exchanged a sharp glance. The initial pleasant surprise instantly morphed into sheer horror.

Had the two of them actually dug their way beneath the Ancient Elf Tree?

Gao Neng was genuinely terrified.

But he soon figured it out. ’The mission the melon rind system gave me was to find the largest ore deposit.’

And the largest ore deposit within the Dark Night Elf Clan’s territory...

Where would it be?

Naturally, right under the Elf City!

RUMBLE!

Just then, the tree root trembled.

Then, a terrifying scene unfolded. The root, as if alive, shot toward Fang Tangtang and instantly coiled around her right leg.

"Ah, help! Gao Neng, save me!" Fang Tangtang screamed.

"Don’t shout! Calm down! This is the Dark Night Elf City! If you keep shouting, you’ll attract the elven guards!" Gao Neng tried to silence her as he lunged forward.

He grabbed the root, trying to pull it away.

But he couldn’t budge it at all.

The root clung tightly to Fang Tangtang, continuously winding its way up from her calf to her thigh, and then to her waist.

"Let me go! Let me go, you stupid tree... I’ll fight you to the death!" Fang Tangtang struggled frantically, but her voice was noticeably quieter than before.

But the more she struggled, the tighter the root coiled.

The golden liquid sprayed out continuously from the root, splashing onto Fang Tangtang’s body, onto Gao Neng’s face, and onto Gao Xiaomeng’s fur.

Gao Neng subconsciously licked it off.

A little sweet.

The taste was pretty good.

Moreover, just from that tiny lick, he felt his exhaustion completely vanish, replaced by an unusually pleasant sensation.

However, now was obviously not the time to be thinking about the taste...

Because after that root had entangled Fang Tangtang, another one burst out from the crystal ore and instantly wrapped around her other leg.

Soon, Fang Tangtang’s two legs were being pried apart?!

The Ancient Elf Tree...

It was going to tear Fang Tangtang in half!

Fang Tangtang thrashed her hips in a panic, trying to break free. She pulled with all her might, but the roots were just too strong.

She couldn’t break free at all.

Gao Neng also grabbed a root and pulled with all his might, but it was still useless.

Seeing another root emerge, Gao Neng could no longer worry about anything else. He swiftly drew the Horse-Cutting Saber from his back.

’Draw blade, sever root...’

THUD!

The root didn’t break?!

With Gao Neng’s current strength, combined with his Sword Drawing Technique, a single slash could kill a Tier Three Late Stage expert. Yet, when his blade struck the root, it only left a gash.

Golden liquid sprayed out again.

Splashing him right in the face.

He took another lick. It really was sweet.

This was Gao Neng’s instinctive reaction. After all, this was the Spring of Life. Although saving her was urgent, the virtue of not being wasteful could not be abandoned.

Gao Neng frantically licked up the liquid while continuing his frenzied attack.

"Half-Step Kill!"

"Sword Drawing Technique plus Half-Step Kill!"

"Another Half-Step Kill!"

"..."

After a flurry of wild slashes.

The two roots had at least a dozen gashes on them, and the golden liquid rained down, but the roots showed no signs of letting go.

Fang Tangtang’s legs were horizontal in the air, already forced into the splits.

"Save me, Gao Neng... I can’t... can’t take it anymore!" Fang Tangtang tried to draw her weapon, but by then two more roots had already wrapped around her hands.

Her arms were stretched out as well.

Her entire body was completely immobilized.

"Meow!" Just then, Gao Xiaomeng let out a cry, then pounced onto the root, opened her mouth, and took a bite.

GULP GULP GULP!

Gao Xiaomeng actually began to madly suck up the Spring of Life.

RUMBLE!

RUMBLE!

The root trembled violently.

This was clearly a much more intense reaction than when Gao Neng had hacked at it.

"Bite it! No, suck it! Suck its Spring of Life!" Gao Neng immediately understood. Gao Xiaomeng was forcibly siphoning the Spring of Life.

Seeing this, Fang Tangtang also realized what was happening.

"You want to kill me, Death God Fang Tangtang?! I’ll suck you dry first! AWOO!" Fang Tangtang turned into a "little beast," twisting her head to bite down on the root wrapped around her hand.

Gao Neng didn’t hold back either.

He lunged forward, grabbed onto the spot spraying most violently, and started sucking.

’It’s so sweet!’

A large mouthful of the Spring of Life flooded his mouth, like the sweetest honey.

Gao Neng sucked frantically. As the Spring of Life entered his mouth, it transformed into a thick, warm current, continuously nourishing his body.

The Ancient Elf Tree seemed unable to bear being sucked like this.

It trembled madly.

But Gao Neng, Fang Tangtang, and Gao Xiaomeng held on with their teeth, refusing to let go.

RUMBLE! 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Some of the crystal ore was smashed to pieces.

Gao Neng sucked more and more, and more and more...

He had only one sensation: his whole body felt like it was being roasted over a fire. The energy in his two magnetic cores was instantly filled to the brim, and even their colors began to change.

The first magnetic core, originally blood-red, was now slowly turning purple.

And the silver second magnetic core was also expanding continuously. Its volume swelled, growing by a third in just a few breaths.

What potent Spring of Life!

Gao Neng suddenly had a bold idea...

’If I keep sucking like this, can I absorb my way to a high tier, or even... become one of the super Strongest?!’

The answer should be yes.

He could at least absorb his way to a high tier, provided his body could withstand it.

Because right now, he felt like his whole body was about to explode. This was no longer like being roasted on a fire; it was as if his internal organs were being incinerated.

It wasn’t just him...

Fang Tangtang’s face was also flushed as red as blood.

Her once-clear eyes were now turning crimson.

As for Gao Xiaomeng,

her whole body was swelling, and her silver fur flowed with a shimmering light, faintly looking like it was about to turn transparent.

’I can’t suck anymore! If I keep going, I’ll definitely explode!’ Gao Neng thought, but he didn’t loosen his mouth.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to stop.

It was that he was now tangled up too.

Two other roots had wrapped around his body, lifting him into the air, and even his legs were being pried apart.

At a time like this, he couldn’t stop at all. He could only grit his teeth and keep sucking!

If they didn’t suck the Ancient Elf Tree into submission, neither he nor Fang Tangtang would survive.

A battle of wills!

The commotion underground grew louder and louder.

"Ding! Detected an excessive accumulation of energy in the host’s body. Unable to accumulate further. Host is about to explode and die. Force a breakthrough to Tier Three?" a mechanical voice rang out.

"Wait, can I ask a question first? What does ’force a breakthrough’ mean? Does it mean I won’t explode?"

"Initiating breakthrough!"

"???"

BZZZZ!

Before Gao Neng could even react, an electric current shot through his body.

This current was completely different from normal body magnetization.

If normal cultivation was a gradual process, this breakthrough was like forcibly remodeling his torso with electromagnetism.

That kind of transformation, starting from the bone marrow and moving to the muscles...

It really hurt!

"AHH!!! Fuck you, you useless melon rind! I was just asking a question..." Gao Neng gritted his teeth in pain, his peerlessly handsome face twisting in agony.

But curses were just curses. The speed of the system’s forced breakthrough and transformation was ridiculously fast.

In just a moment...

He felt that the magnetization of his torso was almost complete.

And the feeling of being about to explode had eased just a tiny bit, but only a tiny bit. There was no major improvement.

Gao Neng glanced at Fang Tangtang again.

He remembered that Fang Tangtang, like him, had also reached Tier Two Late Stage. He could rely on the system to force a breakthrough and relieve some of the pressure, but what about Fang Tangtang?

’Is Fang Tangtang going to die here?’

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Fang Tangtang release her bite.

"Gao Neng, suck faster! You suck a little more, I’m full!" Golden liquid was still overflowing from Fang Tangtang’s mouth, her eyes filled with anxiety.

Moreover, like a qualified merchant...

She was actually still catching it with her mouth!

Catching the Spring of Life with her mouth, but not swallowing it.

"I’ll... fuck you!" Gao Neng really wanted to curse.

He had been worried that Fang Tangtang would burst from the Spring of Life. But it turned out she was thinking, ’You suck a little more, I’ll suck a little less. That way I won’t explode, and only you will... What a great idea.’

Of course, there was likely another reason Fang Tangtang hadn’t exploded yet. She had bitten the root open with her teeth, while Gao Neng was sucking from the largest gash, the one he had cut open with his saber.

Comparing the two...

Gao Neng was sucking down at least ten times more Spring of Life than Fang Tangtang.

"I’ll risk it all! I can force a breakthrough! I’ll suck, and suck, and suck some more..." Gao Neng could no longer worry about Fang Tangtang and continued to suck for dear life.

"Ding! Detected excessive energy accumulation in host... Host has not yet broken through to Tier Three Late Stage. Unable to initiate another forced breakthrough at this time!" said the mechanical voice.

"Ding! Foundation is unstable. System cannot initiate another forced breakthrough."

"Ding! Foundation is unstable. System cannot initiate another forced breakthrough."

"Ding..."

"Danger!"

"Danger!"