Destiny: Monster Knower

"Add points first!"

He opened his Basic Destiny and immediately tapped to upgrade the Luck attribute.

[You consumed 1 Destiny Point to attempt to upgrade Luck. Failed.]

[You consumed 1 Destiny Point to attempt to upgrade Luck. Failed.]

[You consumed 1 Destiny Point to attempt to upgrade Luck. Failed.]

[You consumed 1 Destiny Point to attempt to upgrade Luck. Failed.]

Four times in a row, all failures.

"The success rate for upgrading is a bit low." Shen Mo looked at the stream of notifications, feeling slightly disappointed. "I'll use the last Destiny Point to draw a Special Destiny; I don't want to spend all five points and end up with absolutely nothing to show for it."

With that thought, he tossed his final Destiny Point into the Destiny Vault.

"Whoosh!"

The Destiny Point dissipated, and after a series of lights flickered across the Destiny Vault, the glow slowly dispersed.

A Special Destiny stone, wreathed in a pale blue fluorescent light, materialized before his eyes.

[Monster Knower (Blue): You have gained the ability to perceive the weaknesses of monsters in the world. By consuming an equivalent amount of Spirit Stones, you can deduce the weaknesses of a selected monster.]

"A blue-tier Destiny!"

Seeing the color of the Destiny, Shen Mo's face lit up with joy.

Although blue was only mid-tier among the seven Destiny ranks—gray, white, green, blue, purple, orange, and gold—for Shen Mo at this moment, drawing a blue-tier Destiny was undoubtedly a stroke of incredible luck.

After all, this was the first blue-tier Destiny he had ever possessed!

"What kind of ability does this Destiny have?"

After his initial excitement settled, he began to focus on its function: "Monster Knower—consume Spirit Stones to obtain monster information and deduce their weaknesses?"

"Is this a guide specifically for dealing with monsters?"

This function seemed quite useful!

Equipping [Monster Knower], Shen Mo began to explore its capabilities.

The moment he slotted the [Monster Knower] Destiny into his Destiny slot, a wordless book abruptly appeared before his eyes.

On it, only two types of monsters were recorded.

Silver-Ringed Demon Snake.

Two-Headed Silver-Ringed Python.

"The monsters whose weaknesses I can deduce must be ones I have encountered or come into contact with."

Shen Mo secretly guessed to himself as he tried to turn to the next page.

At the same time, a message appeared.

[You are attempting to peer into the information of the peak First-Order monster, Two-Headed Silver-Ringed Python. This requires the consumption of two low-grade Spirit Stones.]

"Two Spirit Stones."

He did not hesitate. From his Qiankun Pouch, he took two from his already meager supply of Spirit Stones and held them against his chest.

"Zzzzt!"

A devouring force suddenly swept out from the illusory Monster Knower book before him.

The two Spirit Stones Shen Mo held were instantly drained of all their spiritual energy.

They turned into dust and dissipated, scattering onto the ground.

[Monster: Two-Headed Silver-Ringed Python.]

[Realm: Peak First-Order.]

[Brief Description: This monster was born by the river at She Mountain in Yongan Town. Ninety years ago, it consumed a Qianyuan Fruit by mistake, awakening its intelligence and transcending the ranks of mere beasts to become a monster.

Through ninety years of wind and rain, winter and summer, it shed its skin every ten years. Through long and arduous effort, it finally had the chance to grow a second head three months ago.

However, its accumulation was insufficient, and the second head did not fully develop, preventing it from completely stepping into the ranks of Second-Order monsters.]

[Weakness: This monster is cold-natured and fears fire. If a cultivator practices fire-attribute techniques or immortal arts, they will find dealing with this monster twice as effective. Beyond that, fire-attribute talismans can also be effective. Its second, underdeveloped head is its most vulnerable spot; if it can be severed, it can be easily killed.]

"This is... the information and weaknesses of the Two-Headed Silver-Ringed Python deduced by Monster Knower!"

"How detailed."

Shen Mo carefully reviewed the information before him, secretly astonished: "So, that head that never fully grew is actually its most vulnerable point."

He recalled the moment he saw that two-headed python; he had been so intimidated by its aura and focused entirely on fleeing that he hadn't noticed such details.

"If I hadn't run back then, but had instead attacked the head of that Two-Headed Silver-Ringed Python with my sword, would I have had a chance?"

"Most likely, there would still be no chance." He thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Back in the day, I hadn't yet broken through to the Eighth Heaven; even if I had known its weaknesses, the gap between me and that demonic beast was still too vast."

"However."

"This demonic beast fears fire. Learning fire-attribute cultivation techniques or immortal arts is impossible in such a short time, but I could acquire some fire-attribute talismans."

"If I am fully prepared, perhaps there really is a chance to kill it!"

After seeing the weakness of the Two-Headed Silver-Ringed Python, Shen Mo felt tempted.

He still remembered that fleeting glimpse in the spirit field.

"The spiritual energy of that purple Vermilion Fruit—even from far away, I could still feel how incredibly abundant it was!"

"Its value is definitely not low; if sold at the market, it would certainly not be less than seventy Spirit Stones."

The more Shen Mo thought about it, the more tempted he became.

To encounter such a top-grade Vermilion Fruit and give it up simply because he feared the strength of the demonic beast would be a real pity.

"I'll see after I return to the sect. If I can successfully obtain fire-attribute talismans within a month, I will come back and attempt to kill this two-headed python."

According to the Zhao family, the Vermilion Fruit in the spirit field still had more than two months before it fully ripened.

The fact that the two-headed python was coiled there, guarding it without immediately devouring the fruit, clearly meant it was also waiting for the Vermilion Fruit to reach full maturity.

He could return to the sect to prepare first; as long as he returned to Yongan Town before the fruit ripened, there would be plenty of time!

The next day, early morning.

After practicing for the night, Shen Mo pushed the door open and stepped out.

The entire Zhao household was shrouded in gloom.

Every clansman was feeling incredibly heavy-hearted at this moment.

They had originally thought that with the arrival of an immortal master from the superior sect, the disaster in their spirit field could be resolved.

Who would have expected that there would be a near-second-rank great demonic beast in that spirit field, one that even the immortal master could not handle.

Although the Zhao family had some surplus wealth, most of their family fortune was tied up in the Vermilion Fruit trees in those spirit fields.

Now that the spirit field was occupied, no one dared to enter.

Those Vermilion Fruits would clearly be stolen and eaten clean by the demonic snakes, and the Zhao family's harvest this year would be a total loss.

The reward previously given to Shen Mo was already the last of the Zhao family's liquid assets.

Now, even if they wanted to spend a large sum to hire a high-level cultivator to exterminate the demons, they could not afford it.

"Sigh, we can only pray that these beasts will leave soon after swallowing the Vermilion Fruit."

Zhao Jiachang sighed, "The loss of the harvest is already irreversible; what I fear most is that these beasts will linger and refuse to leave. By then, if our family cannot enter the spirit field and it goes for months without the replenishment of spirit water, it will be completely ruined and the yield will drop."

If one wanted to maintain high yields in a spirit field over the long term, it required specific monthly replenishment of spirit water to irrigate it and increase the spirituality of the soil.

If it did not receive maintenance for a long time, even a superior spirit field would eventually turn into ordinary land.

The Zhao family relied on the thirty acres of spirit fields left behind by their ancestor, who had once joined the River-Facing Sect, to achieve the family's wealth and prosperity.

The ancestor had entered a life-or-death seclusion five years ago with no news since; it was highly likely he had met with misfortune, and the family had already lost its backing.

If the spirit fields, their only remaining foundation, were to become desolate because the demonic snakes refused to leave, the very roots of the Zhao family's livelihood would essentially be dug up.

And since the family had not produced anyone with cultivation aptitude in these past few decades, it was foreseeable that the family would decline from its peak from this point on.