Practical Talents

This morning, the sunlight was especially bright, filtering through the treetops and falling in mottled patches upon the fire pit that held nothing but ashes.

After that bonfire feast, Chen Yu had slept comfortably until the next day.

His slime senses gradually returned from a pleasant dream, and the first thing he felt was that he was a little cramped.

If he had to describe it, it felt like his forehead had been caught between two door panels.

His slime body rebounded into shape. Chen Yu opened his eyes and saw that there were still some undigested scraps in his gelatinous stomach.

He was lying on the leaf bed in Seja's Shelter. After jumping to the ground, he realized that his body had expanded by another size.

He was now about as large as Slime Mother. His Beetle Helmet no longer fit so snugly, and that cramped feeling had come from the helmet.

Besides that, he discovered that his gelatinous surface seemed to be covered in a flexible, thin membrane.

[Devour and Digest Lv.2 activated—Stinger Bee traits fully recorded. Talent acquired: Toxin Resistance Lv.1]

[Devour and Digest Lv.2 activated—Digger Beetle traits fully recorded. Talent acquired: Tough Carapace Lv.1]

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Race: Antivenom Slime

Level: Black Iron Lv.3 [EXP: 3/30]

Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Lv.3 [Spiritual Power: 14/30]

Life Status: Healthy [HP: 105/105]

Racial Talent: Devour and Digest Lv.2

Other Talents: Acid Secretion Lv.2, Toxin Resistance Lv.1, Tough Carapace Lv.1

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 fledgling slime)

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Hm?

In other words, this flexible membrane was a new talent he had gained from digesting the beetle.

But it didn't look especially reliable.

Chen Yu took off the Beetle Helmet, and the cramped feeling vanished.

He shook his body, and the slime membrane swayed along with it without hindering his movements.

It seemed that even the same talent took different forms on different Demonic Beasts.

What the beetle condensed was a thick Chitinous Shell, while what the slime condensed was a reinforced layer of slime gel. Its defense should be somewhat weaker, but it would not affect his agility.

There were pros and cons.

Chen Yu felt that the carapace talent actually had quite a lot of potential.

As for the other talent, Toxin Resistance... he had actually gained it by digesting Stinger Bees.

Chen Yu had thought he would gain some ability to fire poisonous stingers.

He had a flying sword and Lesser Arrow Technique. Firing poisonous stingers would have been a trash skill to him. Toxin Resistance, on the other hand, was far more of a pleasant surprise.

This Swamp Forest was shrouded in poisonous mist all year round, and most of the Demonic Beasts living here were venomous. The deeper one went into the swamp, the denser the toxic mist became. Without Toxin Resistance, there was no way to endure it.

Without another word, Chen Yu placed this talent second on his potential rankings.

As for who was first.

Of course it was Devour and Digest, Toxin Resistance's mother.

Chen Yu looked around but did not see Seja. He guessed she had gone hunting.

He returned beneath the tree where the battle had taken place yesterday. Without treating it with acid, he directly took a poisonous stinger into his gel.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"

The instant the stinger entered his body, it immediately reacted with the gel. Steam rose from it like boiling water, before it settled back into calm.

Nothing happened.

But nothing happening was the greatest surprise.

Chen Yu bubbled with delight.

This Toxin Resistance could actually withstand the corrosion of the poisonous stinger. It was as though he had stumbled upon a treasure.

He picked up several more stingers to test. He found that what seemed to neutralize the toxins was a special slime liquid secreted from his Magic Organ.

Once that slime liquid was used up, although the gel itself still possessed resistance to toxins, it could no longer process them and could only expel them.

Magic truly was wondrous.

The Magic Organ could not only secrete acid, but also an antivenom liquid.

And compared to before, it seemed that only the magic patterns had become more profound, with no other changes.

"Gurgle..."

A hungry growl pulled his thoughts back. Only then did he remember—the slime was full, but his body in Xuxuantian had been hungry for half a day.

His consciousness returned to the thatched hut. He hurriedly got up to light the fire and cook, and after bustling about for quite a while, finally filled his clamoring stomach.

The door stood open, and just then, he saw someone returning from beyond the bamboo grove.

It was not the Junior Brother Shao Qingsong had sent to collect the Slime Acid, but Shao Qingsong himself.

He had returned from Ten Thousand Poisons Cave.

But compared to when he had left, he now looked far more bedraggled. Half his face was swollen so badly he could not open one eye, as if he had been punched several times. He looked as ridiculous as could be.

His left hand seemed injured as well; beneath the bandages, red, swollen skin could faintly be seen.

"Hiss—drip, got... got hit..."

Chen Yu tried hard to keep his expression normal.

"Senior Brother, weren't you going to Ten Thousand Poisons Cave for training? How did you end up like this?"

Shao Qingsong wiped away the drool trickling from the swollen corner of his mouth and barely managed to speak clearly.

"Th-that's right. The poisonous creatures in Ten Thousand Poisons Cave are just that poisonous."

"Senior Sister Gong said that in my, my condition... without antidote pills, it'll take another three or four days to heal."

"Then why don't you take antidote pills?"

Chen Yu suspected he was forcing himself to suffer for no reason.

Shao Qingsong fell silent for a long while before squeezing out a sentence.

"Act... actually, I'm poor."

Chen Yu's heart stirred, and an idea suddenly came to him.

"Wait here for me. I happen to have prepared a new Detoxifying Spirit Liquid."

He turned and entered the thatched hut, took out a Celadon Ceramic Bottle, and condensed drop after drop of poison-resistant liquid from his Mana patterns until he filled the bottle.

"One bottle is the limit?"

Chen Yu muttered, then went outside and handed the ceramic bottle to Shao Qingsong.

"F-Fourth Brother, is this free?"

"I won't charge you Spirit Stones."

"Try putting it on your face."

"O-okay... hiss..."

Enduring the pain, the man carefully poured out a little of the liquid and smeared it over his face.

"Hm? It's a little itchy..."

At first, he felt nothing much. Then a wave of coolness washed over him; the burning sensation on his face vanished, and the swelling visibly began to subside.

Delight appeared on Shao Qingsong's face. He repeatedly touched his cheek, and even his speech became much clearer.

"Junior Brother, your Detoxifying Spirit Liquid is truly miraculous."

"The effect is almost on par with the Hundred Herb Pills refined by the alchemists of the Pill Hall."

"How many Spirit Stones do you think it could sell for?"

At those words, Shao Qingsong swiftly began calculating.

"If something that saves lives like this is sold within the sect, it could probably fetch over a hundred Spirit Shards per bottle. If sold before the forests of Ten Thousand Poisons Cave, it could sell for as much as two Spirit Stones."

"Junior Brother, you mean?"

"From now on, we won't sell corrosive liquid anymore. We'll sell Detoxifying Spirit Liquid instead."

Once the two had settled the details of the deal, the smile on Shao Qingsong's face was practically overflowing.

Two Spirit Stones per bottle was a little expensive, but there was still profit to be made. As long as he ventured deeper into Ten Thousand Poisons Cave, there would always be people who needed it.

"Senior Brother, do you have Dao Vouchers?"

Chen Yu's sudden question brought him back to himself.

"What do you mean?"

"I've recently wanted to learn some Talisman-making Skills."

Ever since discovering the Gray Grit Crystal, Chen Yu's thoughts had become much more active. Of the four arts—formations, talismans, pills, and artifacts—Talisman-making placed greater emphasis on a Talisman Master's technique and was not overly dependent on materials. Perhaps he could find substitutes for talisman paper and Talisman Ink in Zeyarila.

For now, he would practice first. At critical moments, talismans could save his life.

Shao Qingsong said cheerfully, "There's no need to go through the trouble of Dao Vouchers. If you want to learn, Junior Brother, I'll bring you a book in a few days."

"But there might not be many talisman diagrams in it."

"That will be enough. Thank you, Senior Brother."

"Junior Brother, I still need to visit Senior Sister Gong and ask her to check whether I have any hidden injuries left."

"I won't stay here any longer. Farewell."

After watching Shao Qingsong leave, Chen Yu returned to the hut and opened the Maze Formation Diagram he had bought earlier to study it.

It was not until noon that he saw Seja's figure emerge from the poisonous mist in a panic.