My God, Life Drain

What was most people's first reaction when they encountered a small animal?

Of course, feeding it.

Chen Yu saw how skinny Little Crocodile was, bullied by the other crocodiles every day, so he had the Stinger Bees prepare a Moss Monster dinner for it.

Who knew the little fellow would be so frightened by the Stinger Bees that it crouched in the corner of the city wall and refused to come out?

What should you do if a child refused to eat?

It seemed he could only employ his own "Make Little Brats Behave Method."

"Hehe... I love eating those skinny, scrawny little crocodiles the most. They must be delicious."

Little Card, crouching in the corner, jolted in fright.

"Clack clack... strong... muscles..."

As it spoke, it swished its crocodile tail as though showing off its strength.

But that skinny little tail had no persuasive power whatsoever—not even enough to convince itself.

"Come out and eat, or I'll be having a feast tonight."

"Clack clack... listen to King..."

Dejectedly drooping its head, it crawled out, glancing warily from time to time at the Stinger Bees circling above the Moss Monster farm.

It seemed that the moment the Stinger Bees made any strange move, it would immediately flee back to the corner and bury its head in hiding.

Timid to the extreme.

But when it sat beside the camp firepit and bit into a Moss Monster, juice bursting out in that instant, its eyes sparkled brightly, and even its worries over the unfamiliar surroundings were tossed aside.

"Clack clack... tasty..."

Chen Yu narrowed his eyes.

"Tasty, right? Eat more."

"Clack clack... get stronger... King won't eat..."

Chen Yu hopped as he turned away. "Then you'd better eat plenty. I hate skinny crocodiles most of all."

"Clack clack... eat..."

After Chen Yu left, Little Card the crocodile entered eating mode. One Moss Monster per bite—it ate five before finally becoming full.

With its belly round and swollen, it found a corner in the castle and squatted there. Feeling the fullness and warmth spreading from its stomach, it felt happier than ever before...

"Clack clack... follow King... food to eat..."

Little Card lay in the corner with its eyes half-closed, growing drowsy.

But then several mischievous Slime Little Ones discovered it. They bounced over and gathered around it, inspecting it curiously.

"Clack clack..."

Little Card curled up and did not dare move.

Once the Little Ones realized it posed no danger, they grew bolder, hopping around it. Some even jumped onto its head.

Little Card's nerves were stretched taut, and it did not even dare blink. But after everything it had gone through today, it was exhausted in the end.

Its eyelids drummed shut, and finally it fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, a light rain pattered down. Even from inside the treehouse, it was difficult to see the distant Swamp.

The torrential rainstorm would arrive in a few days. Chen Yu did not idle about either, temporarily casting [Wood Growth Shaping] to reinforce the castle from top to bottom, including the Stinger Bee Hives, ensuring the hives would not be blown down by strong winds.

After descending from the treehouse, he saw Little Card hiding in the Swamp, blowing "glub glub" bubbles, still not daring to show its head.

Only then did Chen Yu realize that the little fellow seemed not to have a nest yet, and he had no idea where it had slept last night.

But he still had to continue expanding into the forest today, so the matter of a nest could wait.

In any case, Demonic Beasts did not mind sleeping on the ground.

He called over the timid Little Card and climbed onto its back.

"Let's go. Return to the crocodile nest."

Little Card shrank its head back.

"Clack clack... traitor... crocodiles angry..."

"Dummy, I'm your boss now. With me here, what are you afraid of?"

"Clack clack..."

Little Card thought about it with its not-so-bright brain and decided that made sense. In the end, it still started walking, cautiously making its way out.

"Hey, wrong direction. Go a little to the left."

"Clack clack... what is left..."

"Left is... uh..."

Chen Yu spent some time getting Little Crocodile accustomed to him before it could barely understand his commands and head toward the depths of the swamp.

Sure enough, a crocodile moved quite quickly through a swamp—far faster than his slow, clumsy hopping.

Before long, they had entered the depths of the swamp.

But the little fellow was terribly timid. The slightest sound in the swamp would make it tremble in fright.

If Chen Yu had not been there, it would have dearly loved to find an oak tree and bury its head beneath it at once.

Chen Yu was busy hunting and paid it no mind.

After gulping down two Magic Organs from Giant Leeches, he had finally met the requirements for talent incubation.

When he looked back, Little Card had long since hidden behind a tree in fright.

Chen Yu found it and digested the organs where he was for a while.

[Devour and Digest Lv.3 activated—Giant Leech traits fully recorded. Talent acquired: Life Drain Lv.1]

Chen Yu's round eyes lit up.

This talent sounded anything but ordinary.

Bloodsucking was far more prestigious in Zeyarila than poison damage. Only the flying attribute could compare in terms of sheer value.

But how was he supposed to suck it? Did he just grab a Demonic Beast and start draining it?

Chen Yu's gaze swept across the swamp. When it settled on Little Card, the excitement in his eyes made it feel inexplicably afraid, and it instinctively shrank back.

In the end, he found a poison frog to serve as his drain target.

He discovered that he could drain any Demonic Beast his Slime shell could touch, though the effect was mediocre. It was probably because the skill level was too low.

The drained life energy flowed through the Slime gel in liquid form, making him... more delicious?

All right, Chen Yu had discovered a problem.

Life Drain did not seem to be as useful for a Slime as he had imagined.

After all, Slimes had no real concept of injury—or rather, the cost of being injured was not severe.

Being hurt merely meant shrinking. Afterward, he could replenish himself by chugging water and basking in the sun.

At most, Life Drain gave him another way to replenish fluids during battle.

At the same time, however, those life fluids made him more delicious and appetizing, brimming with the fragrance of life... and more appealing to other Demonic Beasts.

Ahem. And that kind of appeal... was the kind that stirred their appetite.

Fortunately, those life fluids had other uses as well.

As long as he expelled them from his body and collected them, perhaps they could be used as Life Potions.

Life Potions did not sell cheaply at the alchemy workshop.

The price of something that could save your life started at Gold Coins, at the very least.

It was much the same in Xuxuantian. Not every cultivator could bear to buy Pills for treating injuries.

"Looks like I'll have to let Shao Qingsong know there's new stock again."

Riding Little Card back to the ruins where the crocodiles had previously stayed, Chen Yu found that they had already fled deeper into the swamp.

With those crocodiles driven away, he no longer had to worry about someone raiding his home while he went to join the excitement in Death Swamp.

Seeing that he was only a little progress away from leveling up, Chen Yu decided to continue exploring deeper inside.

"Charge, Little Card!"

Half a day later.

[Devour and Digest Lv.3 → Devour and Digest Lv.4]

[Acid Secretion Lv.3 → Acid Secretion Lv.4]

[Object Manipulation Technique Lv.3 → Object Manipulation Technique Lv.4]

Even after leveling up, the range of the Object Manipulation Technique had not changed at all. The objects it controlled could only move half a meter away from his body.

In combat, it could no longer keep up with his pace. It was still passable for assisting with drawing talismans and reading in daily life, but its usefulness was better than nothing.

Chen Yu had also discovered the limitations of the Lesser Arrow Technique.

As a single-target spell, its power was astonishing, but it was not much good against groups of Demonic Beasts.

What he lacked now was a spell for dealing with groups.

Thus, when Shao Qingsong arrived that afternoon, Chen Yu handed him the life potion extracted from absorbed demon flesh and brought up his idea.

"Rest assured, Junior Brother. Since Spirit Stones are no object, finding such a spell will not be difficult. Just give me a few days."

After seeing Shao Qingsong off, Chen Yu's consciousness sank back into Zeyarila once more.

He was resting beneath an oak tree, while Little Card beside him was still hugging the Moss Monster he had hunted and taking bite after bite.

Judging from its blissful little expression, the Moss Monster suited its taste quite well.

Once Little Card had rested enough, Chen Yu set off for the depths of the swamp again.

He had a feeling that when he advanced to Bronze Tier, the Slime racial talents might change.