Luo Fan immediately activated Enhancement, swinging another Condensed Ice Blade in an attempt to offset part of the Water Source Beast's incoming attack.
Yes... at this moment, Luo Fan no longer believed he was the creature's match.
He didn't even expect to injure it anymore.
All he wanted now was to stay alive.
Crack!
Boom!
Crack!
Three consecutive sounds rang out.
The first was the shattering of the ice blade coating the Ice Mist Blade.
The second was the impact, when the Water Source Beast's fist struck the Ice Mist Blade and slammed it into Luo Fan's body.
The third was the horrifying sound of Luo Fan's arms, ribs, and even his spine fracturing.
With a single punch, the Cosmic-Level, First Rank Water Source Beast had dealt Luo Fan a devastating injury.
As he was sent hurtling backward, Luo Fan caught sight of the Water Source Beast's figure charging after him once again.
However, in the very next instant, a wormhole appeared right behind him.
The moment Luo Fan entered it, the wormhole snapped shut.
The Water Source Beast's second punch struck nothing but empty air.
Seeing the tiny "ant" vanish before its eyes, the beast let out an enraged roar.
"ROAR!"
At that moment, it felt as though Luo Fan had come here just to mock it.
...
After arriving at a desolate area a million kilometers away from the Cosmic-Level, First Rank Water Source Beast, where no other life forms existed, the Spatial Worm clone appeared beside the main body.
Carefully, it sliced away the layer of ice beneath the main body.
Then, it retrieved the spaceship and transported Luo Fan, along with the slab of ice he lay upon, into the ship's medical chamber.
The clone took out a Vitality Fruit and placed it into the main body's mouth.
As soon as the fruit entered, it dissolved into a cool, soothing energy that began circulating through Luo Fan's body.
Next, the clone produced a barrel of Wood Spirit Liquid and gently immersed the main body within it.
Luo Fan's injuries this time were extremely severe.
Even with a tenfold genetic foundation and a cultivation that had reached the Stellar Level, his condition was critical.
That was why the Spatial Worm clone had immediately carried him away to safety.
The bones in Luo Fan's torso and both arms were almost completely shattered.
Not fractured... shattered.
The organs within his torso were also crushed beyond recognition, even his heart had been destroyed.
If it weren't for the tenfold genetic level and the immense vitality granted by his recent breakthrough to the Stellar Level, that single punch would have ended his life instantly.
For a normal Stellar-Level cultivator, injuries of this magnitude would have been fatal.
Luo Fan hadn't expected to be this unlucky this time.
He had actually encountered a Cosmic-Level Water Source Beast that had mastered the Water Domain.
And he had deliberately chosen a First-Rank Cosmic-Level one.
Yet the beast he faced just now had a triple-layered Water Domain.
Compared to the Stellar-Level, Ninth-Rank Water Source Beast he had killed previously, a beast that had only mastered its Realm, this one's combat power was roughly a hundred times greater.
That was why Luo Fan had been instantly defeated.
In a way, this was his own fault.
Having just broken through, Luo Fan had been a bit overconfident.
Now, that arrogance had shrunk back down.
Luckily, he had only planned to test the waters first—to see if he could kill it, before deciding whether to establish a combat or kill mission.
Otherwise, the beast would have completed the kill mission on him.
If he had established the mission earlier, one of his mission slots would have been taken.
Luo Fan assessed the injuries in his body.
He had already recovered significantly.
Even his heart had been restored.
The remaining organs were also beginning to gradually recover.
Even the shattered spine had started to regenerate.
Luckily, Luo Fan had used his blade to block part of the attack.
That single strike of Condensed Ice Blade had weakened a small portion of the Water Source Beast's force.
Otherwise, had he taken the full blow directly, Luo Fan would have needed to recreate a new main body from scratch.
With his current comprehension and cultivation, even a strike from the Spatial Worm clone would not have been enough to defeat that First-Rank Cosmic-Level Water Source Beast.
While he was temporarily immobilized, his whole body aching and itching, Luo Fan decided to open his system panel to distract himself.
He activated the Spatial Worm Clone section with his mind.
At this moment, the Spatial Worm clone had reached Planetary Level, Ninth Rank (56.91%).
In another month, it would be able to break through to Stellar Level.
The reason its progress was so slow was primarily due to the clone's high genetic tier.
To break through, it needed far more energy than the main body could provide.
Moreover, the Spatial Worm clone was not only genetically advanced, but also exceptionally large in size.
Taken together, the energy required for the clone to break through was at least ten thousand times that of the main body.
Even though it could gradually cultivate by consuming Spatial Fragments, digestion still took time.
If other clones helped to consume and digest fragments, then transfer the converted energy to the clone, the breakthrough could happen faster.
However, all those clones had been sent out by Luo Fan to collect Water Source Crystals.
Originally, Luo Fan had considered bringing Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God here for training after some time.
If the six clones he had sent out to explore could continue to locate the Gold Region, Light Region, and Thunder Region, it would have been perfect.
But now, Luo Fan abandoned that idea.
This place was far too dangerous for them at the moment.
Luo Fan himself was fine, after all, he had his clones.
But Thunder God and Hong only had one life each.
It was better to wait until they reached Stellar Level, Ninth Rank, or had mastered their Domains.
Besides, he only had one detector.
Barbata did have a detector, but its range was limited to just 20,000 meters.
At that distance, even Stellar-Level mystical creatures could detect them first.
Detectors were expensive, so Luo Fan had no intention of buying more.
The ones he could afford now were barely useful.
Feeling the state of his body, Luo Fan noted that even with the Vitality Fruit and Wood Spirit Liquid, two divine healing items, recovery was still slow.
Although he had regained some strength and was accelerating healing with the Water Domain, he felt it wasn't fast enough.
With a thought, another Vitality Fruit appeared in midair.
In the next moment, the Vitality Fruit automatically flew into the main body's mouth.
After consuming it, Luo Fan's recovery accelerated even further.
An hour later, he had finally fully restored himself.
He was determined to be cautious this time.
This time, he was going to seek out another First-Rank Cosmic-Level Water Source Beast for a test!
If the beast had a Domain, he would run immediately.
If not, he would stay and test his own strength.
The boost from a Domain was far too significant.
At the same cultivation level, the presence or absence of a Domain could mean a tenfold difference in combat power.
Luo Fan carefully scanned with his detector.
At the same time, he highlighted the previous First-Rank Cosmic-Level Water Source Beast that had a triple-layered Water Domain.
Once his Spatial Worm clone breaks through to Stellar Level and his comprehension of the Water Origin Law reaches the threshold of the Laws, he would return for revenge.
Soon, Luo Fan detected just one First-Rank Cosmic-Level Water Source Beast within tens of millions of kilometers.
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