Loud crashing sounds rose from behind the door of the Inheritance Hall. From the small cracks, fire smoke seeped out, carrying with it the stench of burnt wood and foul animal grease.
Fang Tian hurriedly retreated to avoid choking on the smoke and any unexpected accidents. He let out a sigh and thought:
"I really seem overly cautious… though for the people of this world, these are nothing more than basic survival methods."
As he exited the second hall and the first hall, a thunderous sound of collapsing rock echoed loudly—so loud that it reached the fissure leading to the inheritance ground. The sound only increased Fang Tian's tension.
"This is most likely the reaction of the Hundred-Beast King to the flames burning it… damn it! This is terrifying!"
The pounding sounds were extremely intense, blending with the sizzling of fire. The scene was truly nerve-wracking for Fang Tian, who had not yet fully adapted to this world.
After several hours, the loud crashing sounds gradually subsided until they became faint and barely audible. Only then did Fang Tian decide to investigate what had happened inside.
With every bit of caution he possessed, he moved slowly, placing all his focus on his surroundings. As he approached the four-meter-tall door that served as a barrier between him and the second Inheritance Hall
Smoke was still seeping out from behind the door, along with faint pounding sounds from the other side. After confirming the situation, Fang Tian decided to move forward and risk entering.
He clenched his fists and firmly grasped the hot door, pulling it open. A screeching sound rang out as a small, hardened fragment of the door fell off.
The scene behind the door was revealed: vines burned into charcoal, and weak flames still flickering, illuminating the entire Inheritance Hall.
Fang Tian could not help but hold his breath in shock and excitement at the sheer size of the hall. The hall was as large as a small human village—the same size as the village Fang Tian had lived in before his family abandoned him.
But the most shocking sight was the pillar of light standing at the center of the hall.
In the middle of the hall stood a tree—or at least, what used to be a tree.
It stood about sixteen feet tall, with no branches, or rather, its branches had burned away. Only the leaves at its top—forming a crown and canopy—remained completely intact.
The tree continued to burn, but from Fang Tian's perspective, the flames could not penetrate its bark at all. They burned only the outside, while the interior remained unharmed.
Fang Tian approached the center of the hall, increasingly mesmerized. As he drew closer, the crown of the tree trembled slightly.
The crown atop the tree began to shrink. Fang Tian stood stunned, staring at the tree.
The crown gradually took the shape of a dragon's head, crowned with chains of vines, until it reached a length of four feet. It then lunged rapidly toward the stunned human, opening its mouth wide, ready to swallow Fang Tian whole!
Fang Tian's body trembled as fear of death overwhelmed him. Barely managing in time, he activated coiling Vines Gu to surround his body.
However, he could not activate the coiling Vines Gu fast enough. The head slammed into him and failed to clamp down completely only because some of the vines became entangled in its fangs.
Even so, it did not prevent Fang Tian's right arm from being crushed with terrifying force—the bone shattered and began to protrude outward!
Fang Tian let out a howl of pain. With a terrified expression, he began retreating rapidly from this mad beast.
The thick vine-formed dragon head slammed into Fang Tian's back, sending him flying several meters.
Fang Tian's pupils dilated as he quickly adjusted his posture, landing on his back. Upon hitting the ground, he continued sliding until he reached the hall door—beyond which the mad dragon could not reach due to its connection to the tree.
"Hahaha—damn this madness! I almost died!"
Fang Tian sobbed in pain and laughed like a madman as he activated Little Bud Gu to alleviate his injuries.
The small wounds on his arm disappeared, while the larger wounds became half-healed. The bleeding from his arm and head was stopped. As for the bones—those were the truly painful part.
Fang Tian pressed on the protruding bones, slowly pushing them back in while biting down on his lips. By the time he finished resetting all the bones in his right arm, his lips were bleeding from the pressure.
He let out an exhausted, painful sigh and activated Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus Gu, refilling his aperture completely.
He activated Little Bud Gu once more, reconnecting the bones together. This was all a Rank Two Gu could do—if he wanted full recovery, he would need to wait an entire week.
"But it's not like I'll do that!"
Fang Tian spoke fiercely to the tree from which the dragon head extended—its vine chains as thick as trees, stretching dozens of meters. In response, the dragon head stared back at him as if issuing a challenge.
With difficulty, Fang Tian stood up, supporting himself with his uninjured arm. He brushed dust, ash, and mud off his torn clothes.
A flash of inspiration struck his mind—his eyes cleared, then shone with excitement.
Inside his aperture, which was ninety-nine percent full, Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus trembled. It was followed by vibrations from Wood Origin Gu and coiling Vines Gu.
A wave of green light formed inside and around Fang Tian.
The surface of Fang Tian's primeval sea surged violently. He then coughed up blood due to the intense backlash.
He staggered and fell to his knees, one hand covering his mouth as he tried to suppress the blood.
His face had already been pale, but after the backlash, it grew even paler.
"I'm truly an idiot… why am I forcing myself into such reckless actions? Do I really think I'm qualified to do this?"
These were his inner thoughts.
Although he could retreat now and return after healing and becoming stronger, the Dragon Vine before him would not be as weak as it was now—meaning he would have to face an even stronger opponent.
This time, he attempted to activate coiling Vines Gu, followed by Wood Origin Gu, then Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus Gu, which served as the foundation.
Green light extended like a thick rope and slammed into the hall wall. Cracks formed upon impact, rocks collapsed, and debris fell.
Fang Tian smiled, wiping the blood from his lips. His blood had turned green, and it seemed as though tiny thorns were mixed within it.
The vine-crowned dragon head lunged madly toward Fang Tian, but it could not reach him because its main body was immobile.
Fang Tian's primeval sea level rose rapidly until his aperture was nearly full. He once again activated Coiling Vines Gu, followed by Wood Path Origin Gu, then Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus Gu.
Fang Tian spat out green blood filled with thorns while silently sobbing. A thick rope-like green light formed and shot toward the dragon's head.
The vine-crowned dragon tried to dodge, but the light wrapped around the vines connecting it to the main body and began crushing them, causing them to corrode.
The tree at the center shook violently—so violently that it extinguished the flames burning on it, plunging the hall into darkness.
The only remaining light source was the dragon's head, struggling desperately to escape.
Its struggle did not last long. Once all the vines corroded and their connection to the main body was severed, it fell to the ground—dead.
Fang Tian did not head to the center of the hall to claim his reward. Instead, he limped back toward the door, eager to leave this mad hall.
A victorious smile, stained with green blood, appeared on his lips.