The Strongest Talent Tree

Seeing that she couldn’t escape into the ground, the Earth Spirit Woman could only frantically tear at the dark green chains binding her.

Unfortunately, while the physical bodies of the Earth Spirit Race could easily crush all sorts of metals and rocks, they were useless against energy constructs formed from magic.

No matter how she tore and struggled, all she did was force Feng Hao to expend a little more Magic Power.

The tearing strength of the Earth Spirit Race was undeniably impressive. In just two or three seconds, Feng Hao had consumed over four hundred points of Magic Power. Fortunately, he had more mana potions than he could ever use. He casually downed a few Qi Recovery Pills, and his Magic Power was instantly restored.

"Damn it!" the Earth Spirit Woman cursed under her breath as the Magic Power within her surged wildly.

The next moment, the ground trembled violently. As the Earth Spirit Woman threw a punch, a gigantic fist formed of earth and rock hurtled toward Feng Hao.

Staring at the massive fist that blotted out the sky, Feng Hao couldn’t help but swear, "Holy crap!"

Faced with the crushing blow, Feng Hao didn’t dare be careless. He hastily made the [Poisonous Chain] retract, using the pulling force to launch himself in front of the Earth Spirit Woman.

BOOM!

The giant stone fist slammed into the ground, making it tremble. Dirt and debris flew everywhere with the shockwave, leaving a massive crater.

Feng Hao had no time to admire the aftermath. He seized the opportunity to land a Secret Technique on the Earth Spirit Woman, carefully controlling its force to avoid killing her and forcing her out of the Secret Realm.

By the time the Earth Spirit Woman realized what had happened, her Qi Blood was nearly depleted, and a cold dagger was pressed against her neck.

"Mole babe, I’d advise you to hand over the crystals. Otherwise, one slip of my knife, and you’ll drop a level," Feng Hao said with a smirk.

"Ganging up on me... shameless!" the Earth Spirit Woman seethed, gritting her teeth.

Just then, Sirlius and Xi Yueyao arrived to back him up. Sirlius looked on in surprise, marveling at Feng Hao’s strength.

Xi Yueyao, however, was not nearly as composed. With her hands on her hips, she said fiercely, "Why waste your breath on her? Just give her a good whipping first."

"Damn you! Fight me one-on-one if you have any guts!" the Earth Spirit Woman roared, glaring at Xi Yueyao.

"Hmph. This young lady isn’t stupid," Xi Yueyao scoffed, then sneeringly pulled out her whip. "I’ll give you two choices. Either you obediently hand over all your crystals, or I’ll give you a whipping and then kill you out of the Secret Realm. It’s your call."

Sirlius, standing to the side, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was at this moment that he truly understood Yao Girl’s... "unique talents."

Feng Hao pressed the dagger down a little harder. "Don’t play dumb," he smirked. "My girl is talking to you."

"You people..." The Earth Spirit Woman was on the verge of tears. Watching the long whip swinging menacingly before her, she gave a helpless, bitter smile. "I don’t have any crystals on me."

"Who do you think you’re kidding?" Feng Hao snorted angrily. "You dug out the entire vein, and you’re damn well telling me you have nothing?"

"I think she’s just asking for a beating," Xi Yueyao huffed, raising her whip to strike.

As the whip flew toward her, the Earth Spirit Woman instinctively squeezed her eyes shut, her voice trembling on the verge of tears. "I really don’t have any crystals on me!"

Seeing that she’d scared the other woman to tears, Xi Yueyao pulled back her whip. What could she do? As ruthless as she was, she still had a soft spot for other women—with the exception of those who actively opposed her, like Beixing Ran and Xie Xiaoyu, of course.

"On account of you being a girl, I’ll give you one more chance. So, spill it. Where are the crystals hidden?" Xi Yueyao asked with a huff.

The Earth Spirit Woman breathed a sigh of relief. She lowered her head, her cheeks flushed, and said in a voice that was barely a whisper, "I... I already ate them."

"What?!" Feng Hao and Xi Yueyao exclaimed in unison.

Fortunately, Sirlius was more knowledgeable on the subject. "The Earth Spirit Race is different from us," he explained with a dry laugh. "They can strengthen themselves by devouring minerals. And from the look of it, I don’t think she’s lying."

"Then what do we do? Are all those Tri-color Crystals just... gone?" Feng Hao asked, completely dumbfounded.

"At this point, I’m afraid we just have to accept it," Sirlius sighed helplessly.

But Feng Hao wasn’t ready to give up. He grunted and asked, "Can you spit them back up?"

"..." The Earth Spirit Woman stared back, utterly baffled.

"..." Sirlius facepalmed, speechless. "Brother Feng, don’t be ridiculous," he said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "She’s already eaten them. How could she possibly spit them back up?"

"Oh, my precious Tri-color Crystals!" Feng Hao howled at the sky. He then looked down at the Earth Spirit Woman under his knife, his expression flickering. "Since the crystals are gone, what should we do with this mole?"

Xi Yueyao was clearly just as heartbroken over the Tri-color Crystals. "Just kill her and be done with it," she said viciously.

"We don’t really have a deep grudge against her. Let’s just let her go," Sirlius mused with a sigh.

"You’re right. Moles are humanity’s best friends, after all. It would be a shame to kill her," Feng Hao said resentfully. With a thought, he released the Poisonous Chain.

Just as he was about to withdraw his dagger, the Earth Spirit Woman glared at him and roared, "You bastard! You’re the mole! Your whole family is moles!"

"Oh?" Feng Hao’s temper flared. He pressed the dagger tightly against her neck again. "Feeling feisty now, are we?"

Feeling the cold blade at her throat, the Earth Spirit Woman reluctantly backed down. "I am from the Earth Spirit Race, not a mole," she corrected emphatically.

"Got it, mole," Feng Hao retorted with a smirk.

"You!" The Earth Spirit Woman was speechless with anger. She turned her head away and refused to say another word.

Feng Hao chuckled to himself as he finally put away the dagger. "Hey," he asked, "what’s your name? Where are you from?"

"Andoras Jinli, from the Fourth Ring Star Realm," the Earth Spirit Woman replied, rubbing her neck. After confirming she wasn’t cut, she pouted.

"Your name is too long and complicated. I’ll just call you Mole Babe," Feng Hao said lazily. "Interested in joining our party?"

Mole Babe froze, her beautiful eyes widening in surprise as she looked at Feng Hao.

Sirlius and Xi Yueyao were equally stunned. ’Brother Feng wants to invite her to the party?’

"What? Is there a problem?" Feng Hao asked with a chuckle.

Sirlius was at a loss for words. It wasn’t the idea of adding someone to the party that was the problem; it was that one moment they were ready to kill each other, and the next they were teaming up. The whole thing was a bit awkward.

Meanwhile, the moment Yao Girl heard Feng Hao’s offer, she was not pleased. "You damn apothecary, what do you think you’re doing?"

"I’m just forming a party. What’s the big deal?" Feng Hao asked, completely lost.

"Be honest, have you taken a liking to her?" Xi Yueyao demanded, puffing out her cheeks.

Feng Hao broke out in a cold sweat internally. "You silly girl, what are you thinking?" he said, exasperated.

"Then why invite her to the party?" the young woman huffed indignantly.

"What are moles good for? Finding treasure, of course," Feng Hao said with a chuckle, patting her head as he told her the truth.

He didn’t know much about the Earth Spirit Race, but judging from Mole Babe’s previous performance, she was clearly an expert at finding ore. With her in the party, they were sure to find plenty of mineral deposits. If nothing else, he had to at least make up for the loss of the Tri-color Crystals.

After hearing Feng Hao’s explanation, Xi Yueyao’s face immediately lit up. She threw herself into his arms and started acting all cute and clingy.

But the mole-girl, Jin Li, was left speechless. She had been wondering why Feng Hao wanted her to join them, but to think it was just to use her as an ore detector... she was so angry she could have died.

As for Sirlius, he was completely in awe of Feng Hao’s determination to never come out on the losing end.

’No wonder they’re a couple. They’re both cut from the same cloth, never willing to take a loss,’ he thought, recalling Xi Yueyao’s actions back in the Golden Light Basin as she collected the Magic Crystals. The memory made him unsure whether to laugh or cry.