The vine's height was approximately fifty meters tall. Beside it, rested a wyvern.
Han Sen had detected a large lifeforce coming from the fruit on the vine, but he had also detected a large lifeforce coming from the wyvern. If he had to estimate, he'd have guessed it was at least a sacred-blood creature.
"My dagger is too short for me to slay a forty-meter-tall wyvern. There's no use trying to stab him, and I'd have better luck trying to tickle it to death." Han Sen observed the fruit and the vine and continued thinking, "But that? Stealing that should be no problem."
The fruit generated a golden mist, and it looked as if it would still take a while for it to mature.
Unfortunately, the shelter would only be around for the day, so Han Sen could not wait for that.
He instead planned on using his black crystal to drain the vine and fruit of their energy. With the waterdrops he'd get from those, he could get any kind of fruit he wanted.
Han Sen ran back to the shelter and had Chu Ming go and look for Qu Lanxi.
Han Sen would need her help, to do what he planned to. He wanted her to mask his scent for when the time came. The wyvern was still asleep, so the sooner the better.
Before long, Qu Lanxi arrived. She used her powers to erase Han Sen's smell.
"You have one minute. I have only opened my first gene lock, so I apologize it cannot be any more effective. In one minute, your scent will return," Qu Lanxi said.
"One minute is enough, thank you. Return to the shelter, just in case things go awry." Han Sen, from the safe proximity of the shelter, took off running towards the wyvern.
Although she would have liked to help Han Sen, there was nothing she could do. So, as instructed, she returned back inside.
Han Sen activated his dongxuan aura and used it to observe both the wyvern and the vine.
He was able to feel the lifeforce clearly, unlike ever before. He could even alter his own lifeforce signature and flow.
The extent of this ability was still fairly short, however. He could not control the lifeforce of the wyvern, either, so there was nothing he could do there.
Han Sen thought, although it wasn't effective, he could erase the signature of his lifeforce so the dragon could not sense him.
Han Sen tried it out and it worked. It didn't hamper or hinder his lifeforce in any way, but it made others unable to detect it.
He was afraid of waking up the wyvern, but now he knew he had nothing to worry about. With both his lifeforce and scent gone, it'd be impossible for the wyvern to detect his presence. The only way it would know Han Sen was around, was if it could see him with its eyes.
"This is perfect for assassination." Han Sen was amazed at his new-found ability, but he had no time to lose. Quickly, he went behind the vine. He was afraid of waking the wyvern, so he didn't take the fruit. If he did, it might have roused the wyvern and it'd be extremely difficult for him to absorb the life of the vine and avoid being its breakfast at the same time.
If Han Sen erased the lifeforce signature of the fruit, the wyvern was sure to recognize it was gone and that something was amiss, too. It'd wake up in a foul mood then, as well.
Activating his black crystal, Han Sen placed his hand on the vine and absorbed its lifeforce like mad.
Without the lifeforce, it aged rapidly.
The wyvern, noticing this, woke up. It opened its eyes and looked at the vine.
The wyvern then stared at Han Sen.
"Oh, hello there. Did you enjoy your nap?" Han Sen's hand remained firmly planted on the vine, as he tried to absorb as much of its lifeforce as he could. His other hand was waving at the wyvern jovially, as if he was trying to say hello to an old friend.
The wyvern was immediately confused by Han Sen's presence there. Two seconds later, it snapped out of its post-sleep daze and roared madly. Like a geyser, lava was fired out of its mouth in Han Sen's direction. It had acknowledged what was going on, and it wasn't keen on letting the meddler who robbed him of his plant the chance to live.
When Han Sen saw the lava head his way, he had no choice but to turn around and run, even though there was much still left to absorb.
The cascade of lava was incredibly frightening, and it made Han Sen wonder how many gene locks the wyvern had opened.
Sacred-blood creatures could unlock up to eight gene locks, though finding such creatures was quite difficult.
Although Han Sen ran fast, the beam of lava was too wide and it managed to just about singe his clothing. Fortunately, he was not dealt damage.
But he felt the heat, and in it, he felt as if he was being roasted alive inside an oven.
Because Han Sen had a sacred-blood iron bug armor, and he had many fire geno points, his resistances were high enough for him not to receive any damage.
As frightening as the blast of lava was, its spread meant the damage it could inflict was weaker.
Han Sen quickly fled the scene and ran back to the shelter.
The wyvern spat out a fireball, forming a deep hole. Not only the ground and grass were melted, but entire trees and rocks were instantly turned into molten lava.
Han Sen was happy that the wyvern did not use the fireball in the very beginning because, if it had, he believed himself to most likely be dead now.
The wyvern continued roaring, but as suspected, it did not dare approach the shelter. Han Sen was extremely grateful for this, and he was much relieved.
Looking into his Sea of Soul, he was delighted. Although he had only absorbed a small amount of the vine's lifeforce, he had managed to obtain eight-hundred waterdrops.
Every drop was worth a whole year of growth and as such, it was a most mighty reward for his endeavour.
"With these waterdrops, I can grow the Dragon-Blood Tree and the Blood Pine!" Han Sen, waving at the wyvern, descended back down into the shelter.