Xu Kun had suffered a hidden loss at the start, but he had no intention of being polite to the Blue Silver Grass carpeting the mountains and plains before him!
Movement speed: 0?
It could only rely on offshoots to use Blue Silver Entanglement?
Try tangling me up? Go on, wrap around me and see?
Watch me cut you down, roots and all!
Blue Silver Grass's greatest advantage was its concealment and sudden attacks. Once it lost the initiative, even a level 1 Cavern Giant Rat could handle it!
Worst case, he just wouldn't enter this pile of lousy grass!
But Xu Kun clearly could not choose the coward's way out. This concerned 6% completion progress—no matter how hard they were to kill, he had to kill them!
Besides, the vast plain before him was covered everywhere in swaying Blue Silver Grass. Even if he wanted to go around, it was impossible!
He could not go deep inside, and cutting their offshoots from outside would not hurt the main bodies. What could he do?
Simple. Set them on fire!
Blue Silver Grass was absolutely a boon for ranged magic attacks. As long as he stayed far enough away, they would understand what it meant to be beyond reach!
Xu Kun stopped dealing with those annoying offshoots and retreated to a safe distance. The densely packed Blue Silver Grass offshoots danced like a chaotic mass of silver snakes, but they remained several steps short of Xu Kun and could not advance another inch!
"Wildfire Scorches the Plains!"
Xu Kun pointed past the offshoots and weeds before him, toward the densely packed main bodies of Blue Silver Grass across the plain.
Any animal that saw a rain of fire falling could at least try to run. Unfortunately, these Blue Silver Grass had no legs. Upon sensing danger, they stupidly split into numerous offshoots and raised them overhead, trying to block the fire rain!
Not only did that fail to stop the fire rain, but reducing their main bodies' health only hastened their deaths!
Wildfire Scorches the Plains did not cover a large area. Given the thick roots of these Blue Silver Grass main bodies, it could cover at most three plants. Yet ten seconds later, Xu Kun heard seven notification chimes in total!
Ding, you have killed one Blue Silver Grass. Experience +0.4%!
Ding...
There were seven chimes altogether. After confirming it, Xu Kun looked up and saw that the four nearest Blue Silver Grass outside the fire rain's area of effect had also withered and decayed at the same time.
Rubbing his chin, Xu Kun guessed, "The textbook said Blue Silver Grass has extensive root systems. The roots of nearby Blue Silver Grass must have spread into the area covered by Wildfire Scorches the Plains, so even if the main bodies weren't burned, destroying their roots could still kill them!"
With that in mind, his efficiency in clearing the Blue Silver Grass blocking his way could rise considerably!
Wildfire Scorches the Plains had a five-minute cooldown. During that five-minute gap, Xu Kun did not idle around. He used Explosive Fireball, which had only a five-second cooldown, for single-target kills!
Watching fireballs explode against the main stalks of Blue Silver Grass, Xu Kun grinned and continued blasting them one by one!
But after casting nine Explosive Fireballs in a row, Xu Kun was horrified to discover that his energy had run dry!
"Damn, I'm out of mana!"
Ever since entering the Haotian Pagoda, Xu Kun had never worried about mana. Skills were ultimately just support. Against low-level monsters, relying on his high attack power and the Flame Spirit Sword's splash effect had always been the fastest way to kill monsters. On top of that, Wrath of the Fire Dragon's battlefield-clearing ability was unrivaled!
He searched through all the materials he had collected and found none that could restore mana!
He hurriedly retreated a few more steps and waited five seconds to leave combat. Following what the textbooks taught, Xu Kun sat cross-legged and began meditating to restore his energy.
Xu Kun currently had 40 Focus. After leaving combat, he could restore 8 energy per second. Sitting cross-legged to meditate doubled that to 16 per second. He had 700 energy in total, so it would take less than 44 seconds to fully recover!
But he could not fight at all during that time. Once he attacked or was attacked, he would enter combat again, and leaving combat required five seconds!
Forty-four seconds quickly passed. Wildfire Scorches the Plains still had more than half its cooldown remaining, so Xu Kun continued picking off targets with Explosive Fireball!
After fourteen Explosive Fireballs, his mana was depleted again. He retreated, left combat, restored his mana, and fought again!
The cycle repeated. After three more rounds of mana recovery, Wildfire Scorches the Plains was nearly off cooldown!
He cast twelve Explosive Fireballs, followed by one Wildfire Scorches the Plains, killing another eighteen Blue Silver Grass!
Including the seven Blue Silver Grass killed by Wildfire Scorches the Plains at the beginning, Xu Kun had killed seventy-six Blue Silver Grass in total by the time he left combat again to meditate and restore mana.
He had gained 30.4% experience in total, bringing his experience pool to 67.4%!
Under such intense skill use, leaving combat, meditating, and restoring mana, Xu Kun was exhausted too!
"Damn, killing monsters like this is way too tiring!"
Although the Blue Silver Grass did not fight back, and Xu Kun had cleared more than one-third of them in just five minutes, he was used to lavish feasts. This killing efficiency made him miserable. Even raising his hand to lock onto targets had tired out his arm!
"Wrath of the Fire Dragon isn't ready yet. Is there some way to get this done once and for all?"
Xu Kun pondered as he meditated.
After thinking it over from every angle, Xu Kun really did come up with a crooked idea.
His mana filled up again. Xu Kun patted his backside and stood up. Instead of immediately using a skill, he took something out of his backpack.
Viper Snake Gland
Grade: E
Description: The venom source of an E-grade Viper. Can be used to make poison or snake antivenom!
Effect: One drop can poison creatures of races below E grade, dealing 50 poison damage per second for 1 hour!
"Will this thing work?" Xu Kun held it gently, not daring to be careless in the slightest.
Looking at the wildly dancing offshoots nearby, Xu Kun cautiously tossed the Viper Snake Gland out. Before it could even hit the ground, those offshoots pounced like they had been waiting by a tree stump for a rabbit, turning into tentacled monsters that tightly wrapped around the tiny gland and then... crushed it!
With a muffled splat, Xu Kun saw the offshoots tremble. Then, their originally emerald-green stalks and leaves rapidly began to blacken. The leaves that had first touched the snake gland instantly withered...
But it was not over yet. The offshoots continued to wither and die. The tubes at their centers that carried nutrients became channels for delivering snake venom. Those had originally been used by Blue Silver Grass to consume its prey's Life Force!
The none-too-intelligent Blue Silver Grass main bodies paid no attention to their offshoots' condition. As long as energy was supplied, they absorbed it!
The offshoots that had once blanketed the area all turned to powder in an extremely short time, drifting through the air and greatly opening up Xu Kun's field of vision!
Xu Kun did not stop moving his hands. He fired Explosive Fireballs at the Blue Silver Grass farther away on either side, while his eyes remained fixed on the Blue Silver Grass main bodies closest to him!
A Blue Silver Grass main body had nearly nine hundred health. At full health, the Viper Snake Gland's 50 damage per second would need eighteen seconds to kill it!
But the Blue Silver Grass main bodies that had absorbed the snake venom had certainly split apart, so their health could not be full!
As Xu Kun cast skills, he silently counted.
"7... 8... 9... 10... 12!"
When he counted to twelve, Xu Kun heard the first notification.
Ding, you have killed one Blue Silver Grass. Experience +0.4%!
Immediately afterward, dense notification chimes rose and fell one after another, reporting kill after kill!
Xu Kun stopped what he was doing and carefully counted the chimes. Within just four seconds, he stared in surprise at the thirteen notifications that had just appeared. This proved that the Viper Snake Gland had killed thirteen Blue Silver Grass, and with the two he had just killed himself, the entire Blue Silver Grass colony had lost ninety-one members!
"So convenient!" Xu Kun was overjoyed. He immediately took out several more snake glands and strode forward!
The Blue Silver Grass was not as intelligent as he had imagined. Even after Xu Kun had poisoned thirteen of their main bodies, when he stepped into their territory, rustling sounds still came from the ground!
This time, Xu Kun was prepared. The moment he saw the offshoots on the ground, he threw out a Viper Snake Gland!
The Blue Silver Grass offshoots pounced like vicious dogs lunging for food, forming clumps of grass as they scrambled to absorb the energy from the poison gland...
Not a single Blue Silver Grass offshoot came close to Xu Kun himself. Though they had originally come at him viciously, as soon as Xu Kun tossed out a poison gland, they became like little dogs rewarded with bones by their master, obediently avoiding any interruption to his work!
Xu Kun kept feeding them. Before his very eyes, swath after swath of Blue Silver Grass main bodies withered, decayed, and collapsed into the dust!
On average, one poison gland could kill around ten Blue Silver Grass main bodies.
More than ten seconds after Xu Kun threw out his seventh poison gland, he had completed the kill of 158 Blue Silver Grass and reached level 6!
Ding, you have killed 158 Blue Silver Grass and gained 63% experience. Level increased to 6. Current experience pool: Level 6, 0%!
Ding, the God of Strength's pity...
Ding, your beginner trial completion progress +6%. Current: 36%!
Ding, congratulations on killing 100 F-grade race monsters, Blue Silver Grass. The Myriad Races Bestiary has taken effect. Congratulations, you have obtained the F-grade skill Blue Silver Entanglement!
Blue Silver Entanglement
Grade: F-grade single-target control skill
Effect: Activates Blue Silver Grass around the target to entangle and restrain it. Control lasts until the Blue Silver Grass is destroyed, depending on the number of plants.
Energy Cost: 20 per plant
Maximum Blue Silver Grass Controlled: 5
Cooldown: 10S
"This trash skill can't even be used without Blue Silver Grass?" Xu Kun's eyes widened.
Just as the Blue Silver Grass poisoned by the Viper Snake Glands had all died, the remaining few dozen plants continued tirelessly attacking him.
With a casual gesture, Xu Kun controlled the five Blue Silver Grass nearest each other and had them entangle another one. Watching them wrap around each other and refuse to let go, Xu Kun fired an Explosive Fireball. He had somehow turned a single-target skill into an area attack!
The six inseparable Blue Silver Grass were reduced to ashes at once!
He then threw four Viper Snake Glands in four directions. Since there were far fewer Blue Silver Grass left, the four glands killed only twenty-eight Blue Silver Grass this time!
Looking at the few lonely Blue Silver Grass that remained, Xu Kun did not hold back. Charge + Rapid Attack + Explosive Fireball, then he finished with Wildfire Scorches the Plains, burning the final four Blue Silver Grass to death. The entire plain was now a complete mess, and no Blue Silver Grass remained to covet Xu Kun!
Ding, you have killed 42 Blue Silver Grass and gained 2.1% experience. Current experience pool: Level 6, 2.1%!
Xu Kun scratched his head. After all that effort, he had finally uprooted this lousy grass. Restricted by the Haotian Pagoda's rules, these extremely fast-breeding Blue Silver Grass numbered only two hundred across this vast plain!
Without those restrictions, Xu Kun had no doubt that all of Mist Island would become the domain of Blue Silver Grass!
To quickly kill these Blue Silver Grass, he had even wasted eleven Viper Snake Glands. Yet the experience he gained had barely been enough to raise him to level 6!
Out of habit, he reached down to touch the corpses of the fallen Blue Silver Grass main bodies.
Ding, you have picked up F-grade material—Blue Silver Spores x80. Heavenly Blessing: Child of Fortune has taken effect, upgrading them into E-grade material—Blue Silver Parasites!
Blue Silver Parasite
Grade: E
Description: An upgraded version of Blue Silver Spores. After absorbing nutrients, it quickly grows into an F-grade Blue Silver Grass with self-awareness.
Effect: After absorbing sufficient energy, it can take root and sprout within 5S!
"What the hell is this!"
Xu Kun nearly threw away the handful of Tang... cough, cough, seeds in his hand!
Blue Silver Grass had tremendous reproductive power. Once it reached maturity, a casual shake could scatter countless F-grade spores into the wind. As spring turned to autumn, like ordinary plants, they had to undergo a growth cycle before becoming F-grade monsters like the Blue Silver Grass Xu Kun had just killed!
But before fully maturing, Blue Silver Grass was merely a pile of weeds. Like humans who had not awakened their talents, it was frail beyond belief!
Yet these evolved Blue Silver Spores Xu Kun had collected, these Blue Silver Parasites, needed only sufficient energy to grow into F-grade race creatures in just five seconds!
How was this any different from experts breeding cold-resistant mosquitoes to fill the void of having no mosquitoes in winter?!
If the handful of Blue Silver Parasites in Xu Kun's hand left the Haotian Pagoda and was discovered by someone with ulterior motives, they would chop him into pieces!
Because once these Blue Silver Parasites spread uncontrollably, the already difficult-to-manage Blue Silver Grass would become an even greater disaster. Mature in five seconds... It was highly possible that right after a Blue Silver Grass habitat was cleared, parasites stimulated by energy would directly mature...
At that point, Blue Silver Grass truly would be impossible to kill or burn away!
"This thing can't be kept. I really messed up this time!"
Just as Xu Kun was about to throw away the handful of Blue Silver Parasites, something suddenly occurred to him.
"Wait, these parasites grow so quickly... If I scatter a handful on an enemy during battle and wait five seconds, wouldn't I be able to use Blue Silver Entanglement?"
Xu Kun's eyes lit up. The originally useless Blue Silver Entanglement skill seemed to have found a purpose again!
One useless skill and one disastrous material—perhaps putting two pieces of trash together could produce miraculous results!
After hesitating again and again, Xu Kun still put away the Blue Silver Parasites.
He absolutely could not sell these things. He would only use them against enemies. As long as he killed all the Blue Silver Grass they spawned each time, that would be enough!
Having realized the benefits of Blue Silver Parasites, Xu Kun did not hesitate to scour the Blue Silver Grass remains across the plain!
The number of parasites he obtained varied. The most from a single plant was 150 seeds, while the least was only 30.
After searching all two hundred Blue Silver Grass, Xu Kun collected more than sixteen thousand seeds in one go. Fortunately, these seeds stacked differently from other materials. Two hundred seeds occupied only one backpack slot. Xu Kun used more than eighty slots before collecting them all!
Rubbing his chin, Xu Kun said wickedly, "In the future, I could find a way to provide these seeds to the human higher-ups. Let them see which race is hostile to humanity, then scatter these seeds throughout that race's territory. In just a few years, that race would probably have two heads from all the trouble caused by rapidly growing Blue Silver Grass!"
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