"Careful, careful—be even more careful. Those big villains always grow careless right when they're about to succeed and end up seeing all their efforts go to waste at the very last moment. I can't be like them." Er Dongsheng stared at the cave entrance and silently warned himself. Though all he was doing was catching a rabbit.
"Chirp chirp."
There was movement. Er Dongsheng tensed his body, ready to strike at any moment.
A moment later, a round, plump, gray-black tail poked out of the cave entrance. It swept around in every direction, then withdrew.
Er Dongsheng became even more cautious. He did his best to hold his breath, waiting for this fat prize that was almost in his grasp.
After a while, the Tutu Beast's round tail poked out again. This time, it stayed out longer, lying motionless on the ground.
The Abyss Tutu Beast had a particular habit: whenever it left its cave, it came out backward. It first used its highly sensitive tail to sense whether there was any danger outside. Only after probing several times and confirming there was no danger would it reverse out. Presumably, coming out this way made it easier to flee back into the cave if it encountered danger.
After probing again and again, this Abyss Tutu Beast finally confirmed that there was no danger outside the cave. It slowly rolled backward out of the cave.
"Good grief. Such a tiny cave, yet it's hiding such a huge fellow. This thing must weigh thirty or forty pounds, right? Has it practiced the Bone-Shrinking Art?" Er Dongsheng looked at the small cave, then at the Tutu Beast, which was huge by comparison, and marveled inwardly.
By then, the Abyss Tutu Beast had almost completely backed out of the cave. Only half its head remained inside.
Er Dongsheng continued waiting for the perfect opportunity.
A while later...
"Now."
He moved as fast as a startled rabbit, his form as swift as a gale. Er Dongsheng's entire body shot forward in an instant, and his tail, which had long been poised like a drawn sword, stabbed out at the same time.
"Pfft!"
The agile Tutu Beast had no chance to react. His tail pierced its body with pinpoint accuracy, while Er Dongsheng's lunging body instantly closed in. His claws, already prepared, clamped fiercely around the Tutu Beast's neck.
"Crack!"
The Tutu Beast had only just begun to struggle when its neck was twisted and snapped. It didn't even complete a single proper struggle. Truly pitiful, truly lamentable.
The whole series of movements took only a second or two from beginning to end—simple, direct, and even faster, without the slightest trace of wasted flourish. Before the Tutu Beast's thoughts could catch up, everything was already over. It deserved a single word of praise: perfect.
"Tsk, tsk. The Life Energy from the Abyss Tree Heart really is powerful." Er Dongsheng lifted the Tutu Beast and recalled what he had just done—the explosive burst of speed, strength, agility, and flexibility. He was immensely satisfied.
In the past, erupting with such speed and strength from a standstill in an instant might have severely damaged the muscles and bones of this demon body. But now, after consuming the Abyss Tree Heart several times in succession, the cells in his body had undergone powerful reinforcement, while his muscles and bones had grown vastly stronger. If his former body had been rated as one, his current body was at least three—an entire threefold increase. His cellular resilience and the activity of his muscles and bones had both improved tremendously.
"It's just that I still haven't reached the First-Level Demon stage. I wonder how powerful the body of a First-Level Demon is." Er Dongsheng shook his head, somewhat speechless. His own strength was still increasing without limit and growing ever more formidable, yet he still hadn't reached the First-Level Demon stage. He couldn't obtain the Great Cosmic Will's reward, much less the attention of the Abyssal Will.
"I wonder how those Abyssal Species become First-Level Demons. What a headache! Could it be unrelated to the body?"
Carrying the Tutu Beast, Er Dongsheng cautiously watched the slightest stirrings in the surroundings while considering how to become an Abyss Demon.
In theory, no one knew how vast the endless Abyss truly was—not even the Demon Lords. The boundless expanse of the Abyss had also given rise to creatures as numerous as mortal dust. Yet even with so many Abyssal Creatures, they still seemed insignificant against the vast Abyss. Countless Abyssal Species were scattered throughout it, with not even one in ten thousand miles.
It could be said that the Abyss Snake Er Dongsheng had encountered last time was truly rare. In three years, he had barely come across one a few times. And the fact that he had killed it made the encounter even rarer.
Over the past few days, Er Dongsheng had constantly adjusted his body, preparing to consume that essence and charge toward the First-Level Demon stage when he reached his absolute peak.
However, somewhere in his subconscious, Er Dongsheng always felt that he couldn't rush his breakthrough. He didn't know why or what the reason was. It was the intuition of someone who practiced martial arts, and martial artists like Er Dongsheng placed great faith in such sixth senses and instincts.
Still, pushing his muscles, bones, and cells to their limits could never be a mistake.
Walking a while, stopping a while, and turning this way and that several times, Er Dongsheng cautiously stopped behind a large tree.
"What the hell is this?"
"..."
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