The Killer in the Blue Silver Grass

Gui Mei turned to Wu Ling in confusion. He had only brought him here to take a look and prepare him mentally for the next day. Why did he suddenly want to go in?

"Wu Ling, it's nighttime. I'll be following you, but the Pope gave orders: unless your life is in danger, I can't help you. Are you still sure?"

Wu Ling nodded and insisted, "Of course. I've already decided on my target Spirit Beast. Given its habits, nighttime is when it is most active, so I want to go in now."

Seeing how certain Wu Ling was, Gui Mei had no choice but to relent and agree to let him enter the Star Dou Great Forest at night.

"Fine. Just be careful."

After saying that, Gui Mei vanished. Wu Ling turned and scanned the area, unable to spot any trace of Gui Mei, but he knew the man was actually nearby.

With that reassurance, Wu Ling hoisted his longsword onto his shoulder and entered the Star Dou Great Forest alone in the darkness.

From afar, it looked as though Wu Ling's small figure had been swallowed by the pitch-black forest. The sight was practically hell for anyone afraid of the dark.

Yet Wu Ling, entering the Star Dou Great Forest for the first time, felt no fear at all. Instead, he was curious about everything in the forest. However, the towering trees blocked the moonlight and further reduced visibility, so he had no choice but to slow down.

As Wu Ling walked through the dark forest, rustling sounds constantly poured into his ears. Distant wolf howls and the roars of unknown animals formed a chaotic melody. Combined with the gloomy atmosphere, it made one's mind grow increasingly restless.

It was nothing at first, but over time, even Wu Ling, with his Transparency skill, felt a trace of irritation rising within him.

Nighttime predators were especially skilled at moving silently. With his nerves constantly taut, Wu Ling's mind began to feel exhausted under that oppressive atmosphere.

"Just one night has left my mind and emotions in this state. If I lived here for a long time, my Mind's Eye and Transparency skill would definitely improve rapidly.

No wonder the martial artists in those stories were always running into forests. So that was one of the reasons."

After walking for an hour, Wu Ling finally saw a faint light ahead.

Though he had intentionally kept his pace under control, even he had not realized that he was actually moving a little faster than when he had first entered the forest.

With one step forward, moonlight fell upon Wu Ling's handsome face.

Before him lay a small river, quietly flowing along. Moonlight reflected off its surface, shimmering in rippling waves.

There were no trees around the river, only a lush field of Blue Silver Grass. Above the grass, fireflies glowing faintly added a touch of warmth to the tranquil surroundings.

"It's beautiful."

Whoosh!

Just as Wu Ling immersed himself in the scenery and relaxed slightly, a sharp blue-green scale suddenly appeared and shot toward his neck at incredible speed.

An ordinary One-Ring Soul Master would have been doomed, but Wu Ling was no ordinary Soul Master.

The moment Wu Ling's ears caught the sound, his body instinctively began to evade. The movement was slight, but it was enough for him to narrowly avoid it.

Wu Ling had dodged it, but not entirely. A faint bloody mark appeared on his neck, the wound so small it might heal in the next second.

Wu Ling glanced at the tree behind him from the corner of his eye. The scale had sunk three inches into the trunk.

Wu Ling raised his sword before him, his body ready to move at any moment.

A faint crawling sound reached Wu Ling's ears. Remaining vigilant, he began considering the true identity of the enemy he had yet to see.

"There's a crawling sound, so it's some kind of reptile. That attack just now was like a blade, but a Spirit Beast couldn't possibly have blades, so it could only have been scales.

A scaled reptile hiding among Blue Silver Grass near a river... could it be that thing...?"

As Wu Ling pondered, three scales identical to the previous one shot toward him from another direction at high speed.

But Wu Ling was prepared this time. He dodged two of the three scales and blocked the last one with his sword.

After defending himself, Wu Ling sprinted toward the source of the attack. Yet before he could even see what the attacker looked like, all that remained was a crawling trail.

"Judging by this wide but shallow trail, this Spirit Beast must have a flat body, and it has scales.

As expected... it's a Sharp-Scaled Snake."

Wu Ling had read about Sharp-Scaled Snakes in books. They were snake-type Spirit Beasts about a meter long with flat bodies. Their defining trait was that they were covered in scales. Unlike ordinary scales that grew along the body, all of their scales grew in the opposite direction. They could launch their scales at prey, and with their incredible speed and body color similar to Blue Silver Grass, they were unquestionably among the deadliest killers in the grass.

Once he understood who his opponent was, the battle became much simpler. Wu Ling blocked the Sharp-Scaled Snake's scale attacks while searching everywhere for its trail.

"Sharp-Scaled Snake scales are sharp and hard, but as a snake, it isn't venomous, so I can safely make contact with the scales.

As for its weaknesses, there are two. One is the seven-inch point common to all snakes. That is the only place where its scales grow normally, and it is extremely soft.

The second is the number of its scales. Unless a Sharp-Scaled Snake reaches ten thousand years, it needs at least a full day to regrow all the scales on its body. This one is at most around nine hundred years old, not even a thousand.

In other words, as long as I can hold out until it runs out of ammunition, I'll win.

But the problem is that if an ordinary Sharp-Scaled Snake has launched around two-thirds of its scales without killing its prey, it will automatically retreat. That doesn't suit my purpose at all.

Since you chose to attack me and failed to kill me, you'll have to pay the price for losing."

Having worked out his plan, Wu Ling grinned. He had been counting the scales, and the number was almost right.

In the breeze, another three scales shot toward Wu Ling. But now that he was used to them, Wu Ling did not even bother dodging and charged straight ahead.

Wu Ling blocked the attack with superb swordsmanship. He stopped when he was still three meters from where the attack had come from.

With a flick of his right hand, a bottle of strong liquor appeared in his grasp.

It was Bibi Dong's gift upon accepting him as her disciple: the essential item for every transmigrator, a Storage Ring with a full thirty cubic meters of space.

The next second, Wu Ling knocked open the bottle and splashed the high-proof liquor over the patch of grass ahead.

"Before reaching ten thousand years, the scales are not only the Sharp-Scaled Snake's advantage, but also its weakness. Aside from their limited number, once the scales are launched, those spots are left without protection, with only tender flesh exposed.

And snakes are cold-blooded. When strong liquor is poured onto exposed flesh..."

Hiss!

Just as Wu Ling expected, the Sharp-Scaled Snake let out a pained cry after being irritated by the liquor. When Wu Ling approached it, it was still writhing in agony, completely unable to fight back.

Without another glance, Wu Ling ended its life with a single slash.

"Looks like I'll have a midnight snack tonight."