Spring arrived in Zeyarila, and all things quietly awakened in its gentle warmth.
When the first ray of morning sunlight fell upon the Swamp Forest, a Moss Monster woke from its slumber, lazily sprawled over a tree root, and began another day of life.
In truth, it had not slept particularly well last night.
The Swamp Forest was always full of restless agitation at the start of spring. Even at night, the suppressed roars of Demonic Beasts rang without end, constantly startling it awake.
Then there was the ever-unbearable hunger, which troubled it greatly as well.
So it continued focusing on the rotten log before it, which seemed as though it could never be finished, wanting only to fill its hungry belly.
It moved slowly, its mossy hide rubbing against the wet surface of the tree roots as its glands secreted Acid that corroded the wood chips.
It had repeated this humble, exhausting labor through who knew how many days and nights.
But as a resident of the lowest rung of the Swamp Forest, this was one of its few means of survival.
What comforted the Moss Monster, however, was that in this cruel yet bountiful woodland marsh, even it had something it could feel superior to.
—Slimes.
A weak type of Demonic Beast that even Moss Monsters dared try to catch.
It seemed that, in the Moss Monster's bloodline memories, they possessed a unique title—"Disgrace of Monsters."
These green, translucent little things quietly sprawled over swamps and moss-covered tree roots every day, absorbing moisture and sunlight as they grew.
They had no hard shells, no sharp claws, and moved as slowly as congealed morning dew. They were almost no threat at all, so weak that predators could swallow them one at a time as snacks.
They were also its favorite food.
No exceptions.
At the thought that it could easily hunt Slimes and feast on that sweet, thick, delicious liquid, even a lowly Moss Monster could not help proudly straightening its back. It gnawed at the rotten wood with even greater effort.
Now, with the sunlight bringing a trace of warmth, its attention was slightly distracted when it suddenly sensed something entering its field of vision.
The faint light-sensitive eye spot on the Moss Monster's forehead struggled in the dim light to catch a blurry green shadow slowly wriggling ahead.
That familiar, enticing outline...
It was a Slime!
A prey had foolishly delivered itself right to its doorstep!
A powerful craving instantly seized it. Its plump body tensed almost imperceptibly, while a great amount of Acid reflexively surged from deep within its mouthparts.
"Hisss!"
The fantasy of a hearty meal made even its simple neural center tremble faintly with excitement.
Facing such a weak Slime, it could not even be bothered to stay on guard. It impatiently opened its vicious mouthparts, just about to spray Acid.
Whoosh!
A faint sound of something piercing the air rang out.
"Hiss—!"
Yet what splashed out first was not the Moss Monster's Acid, but a small wooden arrow shot from the Slime's direction, piercing straight through its body.
Bewilderment flashed through the Moss Monster's mind. Before it could understand what that wooden arrow was, its light-sensitive eye spot dimmed.
It died.
It died at the hands of its prey.
This was the ending it had least expected.
Plop, plop...
Across from it, a seemingly harmless lump of transparent jelly bounced over.
Chen Yu swallowed the Moss Monster's corpse and his homemade "flying sword" into his gelatinous body. Then, with a plop, he sank into the rotten swamp mud to hide, leaving only a pair of eyes blinking in the darkness.
If his jelly-like brain remembered correctly, today should have been the fifteenth day since he was born in the Swamp Forest.
This unlucky Moss Monster had also had the honor of becoming the eighth Demonic Beast he had eaten.
These bugs that looked like land sea cucumbers were rich in gelatin and protein. They were crunchy, tasted like chicken, and had a springier bite than sea cucumbers—though they did have a bit of... muddy fishiness?
In this culinary desert, they counted as a rare delicacy, enough to provide a Slime with the nutrients it needed for an entire day and bring a sense of satisfaction.
Of course, if he could improve the dining conditions here, pitch a comfortable little tent in the Swamp Forest, make a steaming hot pot... then blanch the Moss Monster until it curled up and dip it in sauce...
Unrealistic fantasies bubbled up in Chen Yu's mind. A warm feeling gradually gurgled forth, wrapping around him until the Slime felt so comfortable that he wanted to sleep.
His consciousness gradually grew hazy. Just then, a light screen silently appeared.
[Devour and Digest Lv.1 triggered—Moss Monster traits recorded, Talent incubation in progress (8/10)] -- Race: Gelatinous Slime Level: Black Iron Lv.1 [EXP: 9/10] Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Lv.2 [Spiritual Power: 18/20] Life Status: Healthy [HP: 50/50] Racial Talent: Devour and Digest Lv.1 Other Talents: None (obtain by devouring Demonic Beasts) Skill List: Kaiyuan Scroll Lv.4, Object Manipulation Technique Lv.2 Prestige Title: None (An obscure Slime) --
"..."
Chen Yu stared at the panel as though it were nothing unusual.
At first glance, it looked like some bizarre stitched-together interface he could only see after accidentally swallowing colorful swamp mushrooms and getting poisoned.
But it truly was not an illusion. The abrupt [Cultivation] displayed on it genuinely existed.
It was a long story.
His experience was even stranger than that of most Transmigrators—as though it had been a farce. During his transmigration, his soul had been carelessly torn in half by some existence.
Plop! One half landed in this fantasy world called Zeyarila.
The other half... uh...
Got stuck in the cultivation world called Xuxuantian.
Three Origins Sect.
The morning mist had yet to disperse. The damp, chilly air carried the fresh scent of mountain grass and trees, seeping into an utterly ordinary outer sect thatched hut.
Chen Yu woke up from his bed.
The change in senses did not make him uncomfortable. It seemed he had long grown used to living with two different bodies. Compared to that, the faint burning sensation in his stomach concerned him more.
"Gurgle..."
He was so hungry.
It was time to eat.
Thinking of the Moss Monster's deliciousness, Chen Yu nimbly climbed out of bed. He took rice from the rice jar, washed it, placed it in a clay pot with water, lit firewood, and began simmering it...
Then he took out a scroll and placed it over his knees to read.
Written vertically on the scroll were the words "Object Manipulation Technique Cultivation Guide." Opening it revealed page after page packed with text, enough to make anyone dizzy after a few more glances.
Yet whether because he was used to it or for some other reason, the more he read, the more alert he became.
As his fingers moved along with the contents of the scroll, he inexplicably thought of the Moss Monster whose body had just been pierced by a flying sword driven by the Object Manipulation Technique.
It had died pitifully, but it truly was delicious.
The effective range of the Object Manipulation Technique was basically equivalent to stretching out his arm and then trying his hardest to reach a little farther. Furthermore, it had to be something he had personally touched.
It could only bully Moss Monsters. Against more terrifying predators, it was powerless.
As for its advantages, it was down-to-earth and had an extremely low threshold. He had practiced it to Lv.2 in just half a month.
Only after the rice soup had finished cooking did Chen Yu snap out of the scroll in his hands.
He brought the rice soup to the table and let it cool slightly, then wolfed down both soup and rice until not a drop remained. Only then did the burning stomach acid in his lower abdomen ease somewhat.
Even Chen Yu found it miraculous—his Slime and this body shared the same panel.
It was already strange enough that a Slime could cultivate and use the Object Manipulation Technique, yet this body also possessed the Slime's Monster Talent.
This "Devour and Digest" Talent was truly useful in the Slime's homeland. Swallow a Demonic Beast, crunch it up, analyze the source of its Talent, and incubate the Talent.
Yet in Xuxuantian, it seemed ineffective against the native demon beasts. It could only help him cultivate by extracting the essence from grains and meat.
Still, this had allowed him to faintly touch upon the third layer of Qi Cultivation in only half a month.
"The price, though..."
The price was that his stomach had become a bottomless black hole, eating his money pouch into utter defeat.
If he did not go out and find work soon, he would be drinking northwest wind tomorrow.
"Should I go out to gain experience and make a living, or continue hunting Moss Monsters?"
As far as he was concerned, controlling two bodies at once was like playing a game. Even running two lines at once—gaining experience and hunting—would not be a problem.
But the Slime's reactions were always somewhat slower than usual. In the crisis-ridden Swamp Forest, one careless mistake would see it swallowed whole as a predator's snack.
And if he could fulfill the trigger conditions for Devour and Digest Lv.1, perhaps he might have a chance to incubate a new Talent today.
Of course, it was absolutely not because he craved the Moss Monster's sea cucumber-like crispness and springy bite, along with its chicken-like flavor that was as fresh, sweet, and juicy as steamed chicken...
The more he thought about it, the more he craved it.
Chen Yu casually wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
He made a hasty decision.
Today, he would continue dealing with Moss Monsters.
Chen Yu rubbed his warm belly and found a comfortable position on the creaking wooden bed. His consciousness completely sank into the Slime's body.
Beneath the rotten mud of the Swamp Forest, he blinked his two round eyes.
These tiny eyes had a nearly three-hundred-and-sixty-degree field of vision. He could see the murky rotten mud slowly wriggling before him, and he could also clearly see the inside of his own transparent gelatinous body.
Inside the gel, the Moss Monster had already been completely digested, leaving only the flying sword lying quietly within.
After confirming there was no movement above, he was just about to gurgle his way out of the rotten mud when an unusual disturbance unexpectedly came from the mud pit below. A large Slime pushed aside the mud and swallowed him into its belly.
Chen Yu watched as fluorescent gel wrapped around him and he gradually sank, but he did not struggle.
He merely gurgled out bubbles, as though sighing.
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