Grass and Snake

Duke had no experience hunting in the wild, but that didn't stop him from moving through the bushes like a fish in water. The Rainfall Breathing Technique, which he constantly circulated, was his best means of detection.

Through breath resonance with the surrounding plants, he could grasp any anomalies in his environment.

Moving forward, he had already avoided several large wild beasts thanks to the breathing technique's detection, not out of fear of danger, but because he was too lazy to shoot them.

He couldn't bring them back anyway, and he'd have to cover up the bullet holes.

To prevent other hunters from discovering anything suspicious.

Even if they did discover something, it might not reveal much, but it was better to reduce the possibility of exposure. Only by keeping a low profile could he safely develop in the extraordinary world.

"At this position, we must be about five kilometers from Snakehead Town," Duke said, looking back, his view completely blocked by bushes.

However, he wasn't worried about getting lost. Xiao Yi had clearly recorded every place he had been and every path he had walked, allowing him to check at any time.

Suddenly.

Xiao Yi reminded him, "Master, about fifty meters ahead to the left, there's an unusual rhythm. It's not caused by an animal... it's somewhat similar to the rhythm of spiritual plants recorded."

"Spiritual plant!"

Duke immediately moved towards the front left. As he approached, he suddenly stopped, cautiously observing the surrounding environment. "Most wild spiritual plants attract spirit beasts to inhabit them. Xiao Yi, activate auxiliary vision and help me cover any blind spots!"

"Yes, Master."

Step by step, Duke walked slowly, observing carefully.

Soon, surrounded by a cluster of bushes, he found something emitting a different breathing rhythm. It was a small grass that looked like chives, with long, thin leaves that were somewhat yellowed, as if malnourished.

"The aura isn't strong, it should be a 0-Ring Spirit Grass that hasn't evolved yet."

0-Ring spiritual plants were not yet true spiritual plants; they were a transitional stage between ordinary plants and spiritual plants, possessing some of the mystical properties of spiritual plants, but their effects were far inferior to true 1-Ring spiritual plants.

"I can't feel any spiritual energy field. This little grass can't even process spiritual energy..." Duke felt a mix of surprise and slight disappointment.

If a 0-Ring spiritual plant couldn't process spiritual energy and form a spiritual energy field, its value would be greatly diminished, and it could only exist as an economic resource, providing a little value for consumption or medicinal use.

However.

This little grass was still very small, perhaps it hadn't grown yet. Once it grew, bloomed, and fruited, it might be able to process spirituality.

Just as Duke was taking a small shovel out of his backpack, preparing to dig up this 0-Ring grass, Xiao Yi suddenly reminded him, "Master, there's a suspected spirit beast hidden in the thorny bushes to the right."

"Spirit beast?"

Duke picked up his Desert Eagle 1.0 and quickly aimed at the bushes on the right.

He couldn't see anything.

But Xiao Yi's judgment was never wrong. This was an anomaly sensed through the breathing technique; spirituality was far more accurate than human senses.

"Not coming out?" Duke narrowed his eyes.

He directly pulled the trigger of the Desert Eagle. With three soft "poof" sounds, the spirit beast hidden in the bushes was startled and darted out to the side.

It was a snake, entirely black.

"Suspected 0-Ring Spirit Beast, Black Jade Snake. There's a very small chance it could evolve into a 1-Ring Spirit Beast, the Black Jade King Snake, when it matures," Xiao Yi transmitted the information about the black snake instantly through telepathic communication.

Duke didn't care if it was 0-Ring or 1-Ring.

He continuously fired his Desert Eagle at the black snake's movements, emptying all nine rounds.

He then ejected the magazine and reinserted it, completing the reloading process. For a pistol that had already become an Arcane Artifact, this process was superfluous.

However, the Desert Eagle was, after all, mutated from a real firearm and retained many of its modes.

Perhaps only when Xiao Yi continued to develop it in the future would the Desert Eagle completely shed the influence of the real gun and become a handy Arcane Artifact.

The Black Jade Snake, not hit by any bullets, quickly disappeared from Duke's sight. However, with Xiao Yi's tracking, Duke knew very well that the black snake hadn't gone far and had found a place nearby to hide again.

Clearly.

The 0-Ring spiritual plant also held great attraction for the Black Jade Snake.

"Xiao Yi, monitor its movements. I'll bait it!" Duke took out a small shovel from his backpack and began to shovel the soil intermittently, creating the illusion that he was digging up the grass.

He hadn't even dug a few shovelfuls.

The Black Jade Snake couldn't stand it any longer and shot out like an arrow from a pile of dead leaves nearby.

It was met by a prepared Duke, who raised his gun and fired a nine-round burst. Eight of the bullets grazed the black snake, with only one hitting its body.

But that single bullet, striking the wrist-thick black snake, almost broke it in two.

It lay on the ground, unable to move, its body writhing uncontrollably.

"I'm a senior member of the Falcon Shooting Club, after all. Most of the money I made from the factory was spent on guns. Shooting you is a piece of cake!"

Duke smiled triumphantly.

He ejected and reinserted the magazine, completing the reload, and aimed at the writhing black snake on the ground. "This shot will be your end!"

Pfft!

A bullet hole appeared on the ground.

"Uh, mistake, mistake." Duke didn't blush, treating it as target practice.

The fighting spirit circulated within his body, multiplying the strength in his wrist. The Desert Eagle v1.0, held in one hand, was steady as a rock. Maintaining a stable stance, he slightly adjusted the gun's aim, following the Black Jade Snake's struggles.

The moment the crosshairs aligned with the snake's head.

His finger pulled the trigger almost reflexively.

Pfft!

The Black Jade Snake's head exploded. Its body, nearly severed in two, ceased all movement.

"Hoo."

Blowing gently into the muzzle, Duke quickly crouched down and picked up the two-meter-long Black Jade Snake corpse. He coiled it into a ball and stuffed it into his backpack, its weight a solid fifteen pounds.

After confirming there were no other unusual movements around, he continued to dig up the 0-Ring Spiritual Plant, a small grass.

He dug it up with a large clump of soil attached to the roots, wrapped it in a cloth bag, and carefully placed it into his backpack, pressing down on the Black Jade Snake's corpse.

With everything done, Duke didn't linger. He quickly retraced his steps.

He had only come here to try his luck and practice his marksmanship. Now, his luck had exploded. A 0-Ring Spirit Beast, the Black Jade Snake, and a 0-Ring Spiritual Plant—the harvest was immense.

On the way back, he would also seize the opportunity to practice his shooting.

With fighting spirit enhancing his body's strength, he continuously shot at small birds he encountered on the road. For small birds perched on branches, he could hit one in three shots within a hundred meters.

As for flying birds, it was all down to luck.

"Stationary targets are manageable, but moving targets are terrible... Practice, I'll practice hard later! Once my marksmanship is good, it'll be much stronger than cultivating a Knight's fighting spirit martial skills!"

The martial skills a Knight had painstakingly cultivated for many years might not match the power of a single shot from the Desert Eagle.

Duke activated his Blood Sea, but he didn't intend to painstakingly cultivate the Path of the Knight. He lacked the energy and willpower for such arduous training in fighting spirit martial skills. It was merely to strengthen his physique, to leave no regrets.

His Qi Sea was the same.

Only his Spirit Sea was what he would focus on cultivating in the future. The foundation should not be inverted.