Night.
On a small path in Salt Mountain Valley, Zhang Ping followed Liu Sishan forward with difficulty.
Both sides of the path were covered in a salt-tolerant plant known as Hydrochloric Acid Grass. Its fruit was rich in hydrochloric acid and extremely corrosive. Once mature, the fruit would burst into the air before exploding overhead and scattering seeds in every direction.
Once the fruit reached maturity, the area within a hundred miles of Hydrochloric Acid Grass became extremely dangerous, often facing sudden hydrochloric acid rain.
Besides its fruit, Hydrochloric Acid Grass also had extremely sharp leaves that secreted a special sap. If someone was cut by its leaves and the wound came into contact with the sap, the pain would be magnified hundreds of times, potentially even causing a creature to go into shock and die.
This Hydrochloric Acid Grass sap was both a medicinal ingredient and a poison in Mingzhu City.
After appraising the Hydrochloric Acid Grass, Zhang Ping proceeded very carefully. Liu Sishan, who was walking ahead of him, remained calm and unhurried, completely unconcerned by the Hydrochloric Acid Grass around them.
"That's your opponent. Get ready and go."
Liu Sishan stopped halfway down the path, pointed at a white rabbit eating Hydrochloric Acid Grass in the distance, and spoke quietly.
Although this rabbit was a Mutated Beast, its size had not changed. It was still as large as an ordinary rabbit.
Zhang Ping looked at the rabbit and immediately appraised it without another word.
[Appraisal Successful] [Mutated Beast: Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit] [Species: Mutated Rabbit] [Potential: ???] [Lifespan: 30] [Rank: Basic Mutated Beast] [Level: 9] [Talents] [Corrosive Water Bullet: Can fire intensely corrosive water from hidden sweat glands in its ears] [Water-Storing Fur: Its fur can store liquid and release the stored liquid when necessary] [Rapid Reproduction: Reproduces offspring faster than normal creatures]
Corrosive water?
Zhang Ping carefully examined the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit's ears, but he could not find anything unusual.
He could not imagine how this rabbit fought. Besides, the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit was eating Hydrochloric Acid Grass, and the surrounding grass provided it with excellent protection. He could not even get close.
"How should I deal with it?"
Zhang Ping frowned in thought. He truly had no means to deal with a distant target right now.
The flames provided by Fire Eater could at most attack close-range and mid-range targets. Beyond two meters, they could not reach.
Since Liu Sishan had chosen the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit as his opponent, she surely had not done so without reason. Perhaps he really had some method that could counter it.
"I don't have any long-range methods, and getting close will be restricted by the Hydrochloric Acid Grass. Then the key must be the Hydrochloric Acid Grass."
Zhang Ping simply crouched down and carefully observed the Hydrochloric Acid Grass first.
The edges of the Hydrochloric Acid Grass leaves were serrated, and they were far tougher than ordinary leaves. Zhang Ping glanced at the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit grazing nearby, then released a tiny flicker of flame from his fingertip. The Hydrochloric Acid Grass leaf immediately softened upon encountering the fire, and its texture changed completely.
"So that's it!"
Zhang Ping suddenly understood.
Hydrochloric Acid Grass feared fire. Once it encountered flames, it softened.
He roughly knew how to clear this challenge.
He then stood up, took off his shoes, cut his long pants into shorts with his dagger, and finally removed his shirt as well.
After putting his clothes away, he gripped his dagger and charged at the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit.
The moment he stepped into the Hydrochloric Acid Grass, flames surged from the soles of his feet just before they touched the grass. The grass immediately softened, making it feel excellent beneath his feet.
Next, flashes of fire continuously flickered across his body.
Whenever he was about to touch the Hydrochloric Acid Grass, flames would erupt from the corresponding part of his body.
Although the Nightwalker talent weakened his presence, the constant flashes of fire around Zhang Ping still alerted the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit. Its long ears flicked, and drops of black liquid sprayed from their tips.
The black liquid was like buckshot, and it flew extremely fast. Zhang Ping had no way to dodge. The instant it came into contact with him, flames ignited across every part of his body, instantly evaporating the liquid.
However, the black liquid struck the dagger in his hand, leaving behind dense clusters of tiny holes.
He could not afford to feel sorry for it now. He pushed off the ground and closed in on the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit, then fiercely thrust down with his dagger. Unexpectedly, the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit curled into a ball, while a large amount of green liquid seeped from its fur.
Hydrochloric Acid Grass sap!
But it was too late.
When the dagger stabbed down and was pulled back up, it had been completely corroded away, leaving only the handle in his hand.
"Damn it!"
Zhang Ping could not help cursing. He simply threw away the handle, ignited flames around both hands, and punched directly at the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit.
But the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit was not stupid.
Before Zhang Ping's fist could strike, it kicked off with both hind legs and swiftly evaded the attack.
It even twisted its body rapidly after dodging. Its ears swayed in the wind, and drops of black liquid shot toward Zhang Ping again.
Boom!
Zhang Ping swept out his left arm, and flames surged forth, instantly forming a wall of fire that blocked every drop of black liquid.
When the firelight faded, Zhang Ping looked around, only to find that the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit had vanished.
He was dumbfounded.
That rabbit had actually run away?
But he quickly came to his senses. Rabbits naturally ran when facing predators.
At most, the Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit had gained some defensive and offensive methods, but fundamentally, it was still a grass-eating rabbit.
Since it did not need to eat Zhang Ping, why would it risk its life fighting him? Of course it would run the moment it had the chance.
Zhang Ping looked at Liu Sishan helplessly. "Sisi, what do we do now? The rabbit ran away."
"It ran away, so chase it," Liu Sishan said calmly.
She picked up Zhang Ping's clothes and walked directly toward him. Every Hydrochloric Acid Grass plant she passed instantly froze before being crushed beneath her feet.
"Find it? Where am I supposed to find it?" Zhang Ping asked bitterly.
Liu Sishan did not answer. Instead, she walked past Zhang Ping and continued onward. Zhang Ping had no choice but to follow. After walking for a while, they reached the edge of the Hydrochloric Acid Grass field. Ahead lay a stretch of Drylands, with even a thin layer of white frost on the ground—it was salt.
The two continued onward, and Zhang Ping gradually caught the scent of rotting corpses.
[Squeak, squeak!]
[Hiss, hiss!]
[Crunch, crunch!]
Through Wind Whisperer, Zhang Ping began hearing strange sounds.
He frowned. "Sisi, something's wrong. I can hear the sounds of many creatures."
"At the deepest part of Salt Mountain Valley stands a mutated plant called the Salt Frost Tree. Every year, when it bears fruit, large numbers of mutated creatures gather and fight. In the end, the victor obtains the Salt Frost Fruit.
"Although the Salt Frost Fruit is especially salty and requires a large amount of fresh water to consume, eating one for the first time can increase the potential of an Awakened or a Mutated Beast. That is why many Mutated Beasts and Awakened fight over them every year," Liu Sishan said slowly.
Zhang Ping's eyes widened. "Don't tell me it's tonight?"
"Judging by the time, barring any surprises, it should be tonight," Liu Sishan said calmly.
Zhang Ping stopped walking and frowned. "It's too dangerous. With my current strength, Sisi, do you think I can get involved in something like this?"
This time, his refusal was extremely firm.
He possessed the Contract Gem and did not lack potential at all. What he lacked was time to turn that potential into strength. Therefore, he truly had no interest in the Salt Frost Fruit.
"If I'm not mistaken, your Wind Whisperer ability awakened after you came into contact with the Wind Gem, right?" Liu Sishan suddenly asked.
Zhang Ping's eyes widened at once. He looked at Liu Sishan in surprise. "Sisi, how do you know about my ability?"
"You don't seriously think you're the only person in the world with an Appraisal Technique, do you? We actually learned of your ability long ago. You simply seemed especially determined to keep it secret, so I never exposed it," Liu Sishan said with a faint smile.
In fact, after Zhang Ping displayed Fire Eater's ability, she realized that his ability was unusual. That was why she had asked an appraiser within the organization to appraise his attributes.
Zhang Ping was left speechless.
He could appraise others, so why had he assumed that others could not appraise him?
This was perfectly normal. No wonder most Awakened in Mingzhu City did not care if others knew their abilities.
"We studied your ability, especially how you suddenly gained Wind Whisperer. We can be certain of one thing: your ability likely still contains some mechanism that can trigger other abilities, such as coming into contact with rare natural treasures or encountering unusual environments. So perhaps the Salt Frost Fruit can allow you to awaken other abilities," Liu Sishan said.
Zhang Ping was not truly a teenager. Although he was somewhat embarrassed that Liu Sishan had seen through his thoughts, he quickly calmed himself and frowned. "Sisi, since you know about my ability, you should understand that as long as I stay alive, I'll become very strong sooner or later. So why should I take risks?"
"There have actually been many cases like yours in the past. For example, there was an Awakened whose ability was Supernatural Adaptation. In different environments, he could awaken different abilities to adapt to them. But as he grew older, the intensity of his ability declined rapidly. After the age of seventy, he never awakened another new ability. In the end, when he was ninety, he decided to take one final risk and died in the Magma Layer, leaving no corpse behind," Liu Sishan said as she looked at Zhang Ping.
Seeing that Zhang Ping had taken her words to heart, Liu Sishan continued, "Awakened are not gods. In the end, they are only human. Although some Awakened can live for hundreds of years or even remain at their physical peak indefinitely, most Awakened, once they pass their prime with age, not only stop growing stronger—their strength declines rapidly.
"Not all potential can be turned into strength. You should seize every opportunity to become stronger instead of constantly thinking about how strong you will become in the future. There will always be another future. How long do you intend to wait?"
"..."
Zhang Ping fell silent. This was the first time he had learned about such things.
He had known that an Awakened's strength would decline somewhat with age, but he had not expected even their supernatural abilities to weaken.
In fact, he had once entertained many unrealistic thoughts, such as awakening abilities like "immortality" or "Undying Immortality," then living freely and happily forever, becoming an immortal ancestor.
But Liu Sishan had just poured cold water over him, and he finally realized that he had been imagining things too beautifully.
"Sisi, have you come here before?" he asked Liu Sishan.
Liu Sishan looked into the distance. Only after a long while did she answer, "I came here when I was still a member of the Investigation Team. Back then, I could only use my ability for defense. I nearly died."
"Then let's go," Zhang Ping said, nodding.
Liu Sishan smiled faintly and immediately followed Zhang Ping.