The apocalypse struck, and I became a druid.

Page 204

A nearly three-meter-tall metal giant appeared in everyone's sight.

His head was encased in a gray-black metal helmet, with only his eyes visible.

Two axe-blade-shaped bone armors with gleaming edges grew from the outside of the forearm, seamlessly integrated with the giant axe tightly gripped in the palm.

Zhao Kai slightly bent and stretched his five fingers, then suddenly clenched his fist.

boom!

A visible ring of air exploded outwards from him, with scorching airflow scattering and impacting in all directions.

The charred ground beneath our feet had collapsed with spiderweb-like cracks.

"Hah..." A deep, resonant exhale came from under the mask.

Zhao Kai raised his arm, and the giant axe seemed much lighter in his hand at this moment.

He simply tapped the end of the axe handle against the molten rock wall beside him.

thump~

A dull, loud noise echoed through the cave.

The rock wall shook, and large pieces of rock shattered and peeled off, revealing a clear crater on the surface.

The metal giant slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on Han Ning: "Boss, thank you for your help."

Chapter 237 Natural Harmony

Han Ning waved his hand and smiled:

"We're all comrades, so let's not talk about this. You all should rest first."

"Okay." Zhao Kai bowed slightly respectfully, reverting to his normal appearance. He walked to the side and earnestly performed some fitness exercises, seemingly familiarizing himself with his body.

Han Ning continued to extract the remaining surging energy from the two black iron-grade crystals.

A torrent of energy with vastly different properties surged, collided, and merged in his meridians, eventually flowing into his limbs and bones.

The black iron-grade monster crystals contained far more energy than the black stone-grade crystals they had absorbed before.

He greedily absorbed it.

Just as he was frantically absorbing the energy, a wisp of cold, violent, and destructive chaotic thought suddenly rushed into his mind in the opposite direction of the energy flow.

"This is……"

"Hehehe~ Hehehe, kill, kill, kill!"

Han Ning's mind went blank, as if countless hateful roars were echoing within him.

Alarm bells rang in his mind, and without any hesitation, he concentrated his mental energy and fiercely attacked that wisp of foreign intent.

snort~

Fortunately, although the destructive intent was of high quality, it was not numerous.

Under Han Ning's highly concentrated mental attack, they quickly dissipated and disintegrated.

Only after feeling the evil intent vanish without a trace did Han Ning exhale a breath of stale air.

"That was close..." he said, still shaken.

He was familiar with this aura; it shared the same origin as the wisp of destructive black energy that had been expelled from the brain of the crocodile lizard cub, and was filled with the unique destructive scent of the Black Tide.

However, the black tide aura contained within this black iron-grade crystal is far greater than that of the black stone-grade crystal. If his mental strength is not bad, he might really fall into a trap.

[Druid growth progress +1900, current Lv11 (4264/40000)]

[Druid growth progress +1950, current Lv11 (5214/40000)]

...

[Druid growth progress +2000, current Lv12 (1/60000)]

Druid level increased to Lv12 (1/60000)

boom!

Suddenly, a surge of natural power erupted from his body, causing the air to vibrate and distort slightly.

Deep within the pupils, golden light and natural emerald green swirled rapidly, eventually settling into a deep, peaceful, and gentle green light.

[Unlock New Skill: Natural Harmony]

A wealth of knowledge about the new skill flooded my mind instantly.

【Natural Harmony】: Druids further comprehend the will of nature and become a part of nature. Under the influence of natural harmony, Druids can "borrow" the skills of their animal companions for a short period of time.

At the same time, druids can actively "learn" from animals that are close to nature, understand their innate abilities, and greatly increase their affinity with natural creatures.

"This skill... comes at just the right time." Han Ning's mind stirred slightly, and he tried to "borrow" the talent for manipulating gravity from Xuebing, who was lying nearby.

hum~

An invisible wisp of green light swept across Han Ning's skin.

At the same time, a faint light of the same color shone on the snow cake.

"Huh?" Xuebing, who was resting, was a little confused and didn't know what had happened.

The next second, Han Ning felt his affinity for the earth element increase several levels.

Some inexplicable insights have arisen in my mind.

He raised his hand and lightly pressed it against a scattered rock not far away.

hum!

The air around the rock visibly distorted, and the rock surface creaked under the strain, suddenly sinking half an inch.

The effect was in no way weaker than when the snow cake used it itself!

"Tsk... Is there no weakened version of borrowing it..." Han Ning was still taken aback when he saw the destructive power of gravity released under the natural harmonization effect.

Not only was it not weakened at all, it was even... a little stronger.

Moreover, Han Ning felt that he had not used his full strength.

Snowcake tilted its huge head in confusion, making a gurgling sound in its throat, and felt a familiar aura flash by from Han Ning.

Master, you also have the skill of making rice cakes?

Even as Xuebing grew increasingly intelligent, it still couldn't figure out the underlying principle.

Han Ning dispersed his powers, feeling a surge of joy.

This is just a preliminary "borrowing". If one becomes skilled in the future, one may even be able to borrow the abilities of multiple animal partners at the same time, and its strategic value will be immeasurable.

The fact that his "learning" ability has not yet been explored means that he is no longer limited to the Druid's inherent skill system.

He suppressed his inner turmoil and glanced at the others.

Feilong, Chen Hu, Deputy Leader Qian, and the others were also absorbing the monster crystals they had just received. Their energy fluctuations were noticeably stronger than before.

Both Feilong and Chen Hu were stuck at a certain limit, unable to break through that invisible barrier.

Both of them wore expressions of barely concealed regret.

After absorbing the last bit of energy, Feilong slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, stood up, clutching his still slightly aching lower back, and said with a wry smile:

"Still a little short... I still haven't figured out how to break through this barrier."

As he spoke, his gaze would occasionally drift towards Han Ning, the meaning in his eyes being self-evident.

Han Ning pretended not to see Feilong's pleading look.

Helping you with treatment is out of humanitarianism; helping you break through a barrier... how can we do it without paying a price?

This is what Han Ning was thinking.

The deputy leader's silver armor was repaired, its luster shimmering. He inspected the armor expressionlessly and said calmly:

“I have visited at least a dozen human settlements, including the five major settlements, and none of them have the ability to help others break through like Chief Han.”

His words are meaningful.

"We'll discuss this after we get out of here."

Han Ning didn't want to argue with them about this anymore. He knew that if these people discovered his abilities, it would probably cause some unnecessary trouble, so he quickly changed the subject.

"Shimizu, how is the temple?"

Li Qingshui was only slightly injured and was still in good spirits. He carefully sensed his surroundings and pointed behind the completely shattered statue of a staff-wielding figure:

"The energy barrier there has disappeared, and there's a passage beneath the pool. It should lead to the true core treasure trove. Leaders, shall we continue?"

Everyone perked up and stood up to look.

The once deep and still pool was now rippling slightly, and a spiral stone staircase leading downwards into the darkness was faintly visible. Pearls emitting a faint white light were inlaid on both sides of the staircase, illuminating the entrance.

"Let's go, let's hurry." Han Ning said, and took the lead towards the pool.

He'd only reached the entrance, and he'd already reaped such a huge harvest. He couldn't even imagine what treasures lay inside the temple!

Moreover, having just broken through, he is now very confident.

"Walk."

Feilong and Deputy Leader Qian also expressed no objection.

The battle was fierce, but the gains were equally substantial, so there was no reason to retreat.

After a brief adjustment, the group formed a line and quickly made their way to the temple entrance.

The charred jellyfish carcass lay motionless beside the pool.

The statue was shattered into pieces, with rocks scattered all over the ground.

Han Ning picked up a few stones and threw them into his backpack.

The stone steps were damp and cold, covered with a layer of black water. They extended downwards for several tens of meters, pitch black, making it impossible to tell what was inside.

Chapter 238 Treasure Hidden Place