The morning swamp was shrouded in a layer of green mist, roiling with the rotten stench rising from the sludge and spreading upward along the wildly growing vines.
In such soft earth, carrion-eating demonic beasts could turn up decayed leaves and stones buried in old mud, find the remains of all manner of demonic beasts, and sometimes even spot a Slime quietly poking its head out to peer at the world of mire and giant trees.
The Twisted Oaks growing in the swamp were too numerous to count at a glance. Deep within the mist, oaks contested by Stinger Bees and Digger Beetles were not uncommon in Swamp Forest, though these ones had grown even taller.
In the swamp beneath one such oak, a black shell surfaced from the water. Chen Yu, as usual, was patrolling the Stinger Bees' territory.
His gaze swept the surroundings before finally settling on the clear tracks in a patch of fallen leaves.
Two rows of footprints, with dog-like paw prints shaped like plum blossoms.
That group of Demihumans again?
"What were they doing so deep in Swamp Forest?"
Confusion bubbled up in Chen Yu's jelly-like head.
Though the demonic beasts in Swamp Forest looked small and harmless, they possessed very real means of killing.
Not to mention the Stinger Bees' venomous stingers—even the Acid sprayed by Moss Monsters was difficult for ordinary creatures to guard against.
And that was without mentioning the even more terrifying demonic beasts lurking deep within Swamp Forest.
Had the Demihumans eaten their fill and come to stroll through Swamp Forest with nothing better to do?
Surely they were not that stupid.
Chen Yu guessed that either the Demihumans were short on food after winter and had come out hunting and foraging with the arrival of spring, or they were searching for something in the forest.
Moreover, they often appeared at dawn. They might possess "Dark Vision," which happened to be the opposite of his own schedule, explaining why he had yet to see the true faces of the Demihumans entering the forest.
"Whatever."
Now that he had confirmed that the Demihumans appeared at dawn, if he lay in wait in the swamp, he should have a chance to see them.
As for now, he intended to test the power of the newly learned Lesser Arrow Technique.
-- Race: Acid Slime Level: Black Iron Lv.2 [EXP: 13/20] Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Lv.3 [Spiritual Power: 5/30] Life Status: Healthy [HP: 80/80] Racial Talent: Devour and Digest Lv.2 Other Talent: Acid Secretion Lv.2 Skill List: Kaiyuan Scroll Lv.4, Object Manipulation Technique Lv.3, Lesser Arrow Technique Lv.1, Sound Transmission Technique Lv.1 Prestige Title: Slime Warrior (A Slime just starting out) --
Whether it was because his comprehension was good or because the Lesser Arrow Technique was easy to learn, he had spent four days reaching the entry level, while also picking up a rough grasp of the gifted Sound Transmission Technique.
Perhaps the attribute panel had played a part as well.
It was simply that the further he went, the harder it would become to upgrade either skills or talents.
Though advancing from Black Iron Lv.2 to Lv.3 only required 20 EXP—merely twice that of Lv.1 to Lv.2—the difficulty of obtaining that experience was on an entirely different level.
The same went for skills and talents; they required more feeding and practice.
Overall, however, he still improved faster than ordinary cultivators and demonic beasts.
For a lazy dog like Chen Yu, that was both a blessing and a torment.
He probably wanted to slack off, but when he practiced Dao techniques, the clear progress made it impossible for him to stop.
More often than not, he would sit before the thatched hut for an entire day. Even when Shao Qingsong came, he had to walk close before he could wake him.
His eyes searched for a target on the shore and soon locked onto a Moss Monster leisurely chewing moss.
You it was, then.
Chen Yu gathered his focus, silently recited the method, and began seeking the opportunity hidden in the unseen.
There were many ways to cast Dao techniques, the most typical being decrees, hand seals, and True Words.
Of these, "decrees" were the most convenient and swift, as well as the easiest casting method to expose. Put simply, one directly shouted the name of the Dao technique.
When grand and righteous cultivators of the Righteous Path cast techniques by decree, it often had the added effect of intimidating petty evildoers.
But the young cultivators of Xuxuantian, often called the fallen generation, unanimously believed that casting by decree was not only embarrassingly childish, but also utterly shameful—unsuitable for cultivators with thin skin.
Chen Yu had wanted to shout "Lesser Arrow Technique" coolly, then take a Stinger Bee's head within ten steps. After all, no cultivators from Xuxuantian could see him here.
Unfortunately, Slimes had no vocal organs. It was not that he did not want to; he simply had not come with that factory setting.
The other casting method, "hand seals," required hands to form all kinds of mysterious Daoist signs.
Did a Slime have hands?
If it did.
He could spend half a day forcing his gelatinous body into the shape of hands, but asking him to form hand seals was simply too much.
That left him with only the slowest casting method: "True Words."
"True Words" required the caster to silently recite the method and seek an opportunity for the Dao technique before casting it. No matter how practiced one was, it still took at least three or four seconds.
It was also a casting method rarely used by cultivators.
At Lv.1, the Lesser Arrow Technique took roughly six to eight seconds to cast. Only at Lv.2 did it have a chance of dropping to four seconds.
Cultivators of Xuxuantian divided Dao techniques into five realms: First Glimpse, Enter the Hall, Pure Fire, Subtle Application, and Mind Control.
They sounded troublesome to remember, but they corresponded exactly to Lv.1 through Lv.5 in the skill list.
Once a Dao technique reached Pure Fire, meaning Lv.3, a cultivator could attempt a higher-tier casting method—"Heart Move."
In other words, the technique followed the heart; when the heart moved, the technique emerged.
A Lv.3 Dao technique could compress casting time to two or three seconds, Lv.4 required one or two seconds, and only Lv.5 Mind Control truly moved as the heart wished, achieving instant casting.
Of course, the myriad Dao techniques differed, and not all followed these rules strictly. Different levels often also meant differences in casting range and power.
In short, the higher a Dao technique's level, the better.
It was Chen Yu's first time using a Slime body to cast the Lesser Arrow Technique, and he was still unfamiliar with it. Before he finished silently reciting the method, the swamp beside him burbled up a bubble. His focus slipped, and the water sphere forming before him burst along with the bubble.
All he got was a sound.
Uh...
An accident. Just an accident.
Again.
Chen Yu aimed at the Moss Monster three meters away on the shore and silently recited the method to cast the technique.
A mass of clear water the size of an infant's fist gradually gathered and stretched before him, taking the shape of an arrow.
The moment he finished reciting, the water arrow shot forth, reaching the Moss Monster in an instant.
Bang... Moss and earth flew everywhere. The Moss Monster three meters away was blasted straight into the air, and when it landed, nothing remained but a layer of skin.
"What terrifying power." Chen Yu was astonished.
If even the Lesser Arrow Technique possessed such power, it was hard to imagine what the more terrifying and difficult Water Arrow Technique would be like.
"Buzz..."
The vibrating wings of the Stinger Bees drew Chen Yu's attention. The disturbance caused by the water arrow had startled the Stinger Bees and Digger Beetles beneath the tree. The two sides exchanged a look, each believing the other had used some trick, and promptly began fighting again so early in the morning.
For a time, a rain of venomous stingers fell around the oak. The black beetles had only just wobbled their way up the tree when the stingers knocked them back down. They flipped over, climbed right back up, and stubbornly squared off against them.
Chen Yu hid beneath the swamp water and secretly watched the show, planning to fish in troubled waters and circle around to ambush the Digger Beetles from behind.
At the thought of that delicious beetle meat, the Acid in his gel bubbled away.
He admitted it—he was craving food.
But no foodie could refuse such a delicacy. No exceptions.
It also happened to be a good chance to test the Lesser Arrow Technique's power.
He was swimming to the side when, before he could approach the beetles, he seemed to hear some clamor coming from deep within the forest.
Chaotic, hurried footsteps, the sounds of clubs swinging, and cries he could not understand...
"Those Demihumans?"
They had turned back and were chasing something.
Prey?
Chen Yu abandoned the idea of ambushing the beetles. He stopped behind a stone and poked his head out furtively to observe the commotion in the distance.
Several blurry black silhouettes silently appeared in the thick morning fog, followed closely by the hoarse, urgent sounds of beasts chasing and biting, abruptly tearing the silence apart!
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