What Kind of Spirit Beast Is This?

"You're really lucky," the merchant accompanying Zhou Lu said, looking at the sky full of Ghost Face Nightmare Butterflies. "You managed to catch the new batch just as they're about to molt."

There was a reason why Ghost Face Nightmare Butterflies commanded such high prices.

What was displayed before Zhou Lu now was their first-stage molted form. The appearance of their larvae remained a mystery to the academic world.

Without knowing what the larvae looked like, it was impossible to monitor or predict the appearance of the Ghost Face Nightmare Butterflies, let alone breed them in a targeted manner.

"Huh? Lucky?" Zhou Lu asked, a little surprised. "I thought they were always like this."

The merchant chuckled. "If only Ghost Face Nightmare Butterflies were as common as chipmunks on the plains. Then we wouldn't have to buy them for over a hundred thousand each."

"That expensive?"

"They aren't consumables," the merchant explained. "To put it figuratively, they're like spirit beasts that function as production equipment. Coupled with their rarity, their prices naturally remain high. But this is the first time I've seen so many Nightmare Butterflies."

The molting of the Ghost Face Nightmare Butterflies had no seasonal pattern. It seemed to be somewhat related to the environment of the Linxi Secret Realm, but overall, they appeared randomly throughout the year.

"If you had come a week later, these Nightmare Butterflies might have already been completely captured," the merchant added.

As they were speaking, several more Beast Tamers arrived with merchants.

Zhou Lu wasn't surprised by this. This was a well-known habitat for Ghost Face Nightmare Butterflies, and with the high added value of the Nightmare Butterflies, it had become a top choice for many Beast Tamers.

However, Nightmare Butterflies weren't that easy to capture.

As a Fantasy Species, their racial skill, [Lilliput], while unable to affect items with a significant size difference, was still a very powerful skill.

Many beginners, upon seeing so many Ghost Face Nightmare Butterflies, lost their composure and ordered their spirit pets to rush in and catch the butterflies.

However, in a short period, these beginners suffered greatly.

The Nightmare Butterflies' shrinking skill actually affected their own skills and those of their spirit beasts.

Zhou Lu personally witnessed a Mud Monster throw mud at a Nightmare Butterfly, attempting to knock it down. However, as the mud entered the Nightmare Butterfly's illumination range, it began to shrink continuously. It went from the size of a lead ball to the size of a soybean and flew past the Nightmare Butterfly.

The experienced butterfly catchers were much more adept.

They used specialized nets themselves, while their spirit pets were responsible for restricting the Nightmare Butterflies' movement.

Due to the significant size difference, the Nightmare Butterflies couldn't shrink humans. And this net was a specialized insect-catching net produced by Qimeng Beast Taming Technology Company.

The outer coating of the net was made from the mucus of a Curse Toad, which could resist the effects of most skills.

It was a pity that Curse Toads, being rare spirit beasts at the third-tier mature stage, were few in number worldwide. Such insect-catching nets were simply unaffordable for ordinary people.

Zhou Lu didn't know what special properties this insect-catching net had, but he found the fact that it could be immune to the [Lilliput] skill quite magical.

But the Beast Tamers holding these specialized nets were not happy at the moment.

They frowned as they looked at the strange snails scurrying around on the ground.

Huohuo happily held five vine-woven insect-catching nets and ran joyfully among the Nightmare Butterfly swarm.

In a short while, many Nightmare Butterflies were stuck to her nets.

Little Grass didn't understand what [Lilliput] was.

It only knew that these butterflies seemed to shrink its vines.

But it didn't matter!

If they shrink, I'll just grow again.

Huohuo wrapped several more layers of vines around the outside of the net. To prevent the butterflies from shrinking themselves and escaping through the gaps in the vines, it wove the net even more tightly.

Under the mutual struggle, Huohuo's insect-catching net became a deadly trap specifically for the Ghost Face Nightmare Butterflies.

Combined with the sticky mucus from Sticky Baby, with one scoop of Huohuo's net, a small patch of butterflies in the sky would disappear.

The gazes of those around them immediately turned unfriendly.

Everyone had come for the Ghost Face Nightmare Butterflies. Was it too much for you to do this?

Unlike the Jade Snails, which had several populations distributed in the safe zone, the Nightmare Butterflies' habitat was only here. If Zhou Lu cleared them all out, their trip would have been in vain.

But despite their displeasure, no one dared to make a move.

It wasn't because they feared the safety teachers; as long as no lives were lost, the safety teachers wouldn't intervene.

They looked at Huohuo, who was actively moving in the arena, with shock and uncertainty.

What kind of spirit beast is this?

It seems to have the shell of a Jade Snail on its back, but its movements look like that of a Plant Spirit Beast.

Such agile movement would at least indicate a second-tier Plant Spirit Beast that had completed its earth transformation, right?

It also appears unaffected by the [Lilliput] skill.

Could this be a third-tier spirit beast?

Those with keen interest took out their electronic encyclopedias. However, Huohuo's current appearance was too bizarre. A plant with a snail shell running around on the ground – even the most high-tech electronic encyclopedia couldn't imagine such a scene.

As expected, the electronic encyclopedia couldn't find Huohuo's species.

A rare species?

The onlookers became even more hesitant to make a move.

Another third-tier Plant Spirit Beast, and a rare species that had never appeared before.

Damn it, could this be some big shot coming to a C-Class Secret Realm just to catch some easy prey?

While the onlookers were busy overthinking things, Zhou Lu was under immense pressure.

He knew very well that Huohuo's actions had touched upon everyone present's interests, but he couldn't let the five minutes of Body Feed go to waste. Even if he didn't gain any attribute boosts, if he couldn't snag the Lilliput skill, wouldn't he be taking a huge loss?

No matter what! Today, he had to take a risk!

Zhou Lu forced himself to remain calm, to quiet his mind and feel the changes in skill attributes brought about by Body Feed, preparing himself for the subsequent practice of Body Feed.

He hadn't considered putting on an act, after all, he didn't know if these people would mistake Huohuo for a rare third-tier spirit beast.

Zhou Lu's thoughts were simple:

I'm just going to stay here. If you have a problem, come and fight me.

Anyway, I have the safety teacher behind me. At worst, I'll get beaten half to death and Lu Rang will save me.

I'm determined to get the Lilliput skill today!

With the mindset of "what's the worst that could happen," all the pressure on Zhou Lu vanished.

He stood there calmly, closing his eyes to feel the workings of the Body Feed skill.

Perhaps it was the mental resonance from escaping the Enlarged Delicious Mushroom together earlier, but Zhou Lu seemed to grasp a hint of the essence of Body Feed.

With Zhou Lu completely relaxed, his leisurely demeanor only solidified everyone's belief that his identity was extraordinary.

But… would such a big shot bring along a mere merchant? Would he even care about this small amount of money?

As people were filled with doubt and uncertainty, Zhou Lu suddenly opened his eyes.

Here it comes!

He could feel it.

He took out Huohuo's Beast Taming Card, and the Lilliput skill was clearly displayed on it.