Chapter 90 - Crystal Salamander, The Netherbloom
The Celestial Magical Cat ate the nutritional dried meat as if it was eating KitKat. It finished a second bag of the dried meat in no time, then looked at Ling Jiu with the same anticipatory expression like before.
How Ling Jiu wished he could shoot a glare at the cat and lecture, 'Greedy p.u.s.s.y, you finished all my food. Are you really going to leave me with nothing?'
But he dared not.
Facing a terrifying Direbeast that could take his life any minute, Ling Jiu was the p.u.s.s.y. But hey, how could he be called a p.u.s.s.y when what he did was to protect wildlife?
That's right. Protecting wildlife was the keyword.
Ling Jiu took out yet another bag of nutritional dried meat, ripped open the packaging, then, on his own initiative, handed over the food. The Celestial Magical Cat dug in after looking at him with what might look like a pleased smile.
One bag after another...
A few moments later, the Celestial Magical Cat had wolfed down seven to eight bags of nutritional dried meat and was finally satisfied. It stretched, then leaped across a dozen meters before landing on the bed not far away.
That was Ling Jiu's bed, with top-of-the-line, back-support silent springs, and the finest white swan velvet blanket. It was a joy to sleep in such a soft and cozy bed.
The Celestial Magical Cat helped itself to the bed. It found the most comfortable position before curling up its body and fell asleep.
Ling Jiu was struck dumb. 'What the hell does that mean? It really makes itself at home, eh? Darn-it!'
Ling Jiu was infuriated.
It ate his dried meat—that was okay. But now what? Taking over his bed?
This thing could not have been greedier. It had gone too far.
"But, it's okay. I am a hardcore wildlife protector! I let you!"
He made sure he was not too immersed himself in his own world, lest he would get killed by the Celestial Magical Cat.
It was a nerve-wracking night. Luckily, the Celestial Magical Cat did not attack. The night had passed with no incident. But early next morning, the cat asked for food again.
Ling Jiu had no choice but to give the cat a few more bags. After the cat had had its fill of dried meat, it stretched, then leaped into a wall and disappeared.
Ling Jiu quickly opened the door and saw the cat was already outside, walking away with elegant steps.
Its steps were small. But each step brought the cat over ten meters away, as if it could shrink the distance. Just like that, it quickly disappeared from his field of vision.
Watching the Celestial Magical Cat go away, Ling Jiu could not help but reach for his neck, happy that his head was still attached. The cat must have shown him mercy last night.
"I can't believe that I shared a room with a Class-Eight Direbeast last night!" Ling Jiu broke out in a cold sweat. "I had better go! Hope it won't come again!"
Ling Jiu put on his clothes and tucked away the maglev airship before leaving the place in a hurry.
...
A 50-meter-long giant python dropped dead to the ground. The diameter of this Direbeast was the size of a water tank. It had a horn on the head, and four claws under the belly, and powerful muscles.
This was not a dragon but the infamous One-horned Monitor Python, a Class-6 Direbeast. It was a mix of python and lizard, possessing the special arcana of Ice Manipulation.
He kept the One-horned Monitor Python's body and moved on. Quickly, he arrived at a cave that looked more like an underground cavern.
It seemed like the flow of the river had carved the cavern. It was subterranean, twisty as it stretched to the deep part of the earth.
"Radar shows there was a Class-Six Direbeast in the deeper part of the cavern!"
Ling Jiu looked at the pitch-dark cavern and hesitated. But he still walked into it after a while. The good thing was, the passage was large enough. It did not take him too long before he came to the deeper part of the cavern.
Appearing before him was a pond. At half the size of a basketball court, the pond was giving out a chilly air.
"Radar shows that a Class-Six Direbeast is right here inside the pond."
"What is that?"
With the help from the torchlight, he could see the leaves, vines, and even roots of the plants were white.
Not pure-white, but cream-white.
"White plants?"
Ling Jiu was amazed.
Black plants and white plants were rare in nature. So when there was one, whether it was black or white, it surely was some famous species.
He rummaged through his memories but could not find any information about these white plants. Just when he was about to use his microcomputer to conduct further searches, there was a sound coming from the pond.
The head of something slowly came out of the water. It looked smooth, cream-white, much like a frog and a salamander with six c.o.c.kscomb-like organs on its neck.
"It is the Crystal Salamander!"
Ling Jiu moved in a flash, came above the Crystal Salamander, and struck its head with a punch. The blow penetrated its skull and killed it instantly.
He kept the Crystal Salamander's body. Using his Gravity Manipulation Arcana, he flew to the wall on the other side of the pond.
"What a beautiful plant, much like a milk ice sculpture!"
Ling Jiu exclaimed in awe as he took out the microcomputer and scanned.
'Crystal Demonic Orchid: A plant which grows up to over 10 cm tall. The stalk is straight without branches. It is creamy white in appearance, grows in cl.u.s.ters in a dark underground environment. So it is also known as the Netherbloom, Deathbloom, and Wraithbloom.'
'Crystal Demonic Orchid can secrete a peculiar substance that attracts animals. It then uses the feces, urine, and even carcass of animals as nutrients.'
'This peculiar substance is substance Y, a natural arcana awakening potion. Any animal or Direbeast that has licked substance Y will acquire special abilities. The specific abilities vary from animal to animal. Awakening rate: 100%.'
'Because of its outstanding arcana awakening effect, the Crystal Demonic Orchid is a wonderful arcana awakening plant, and used as a natural deep arcana awakening potion. The deep awakening rate is 60%.'
"It is a natural deep arcana awakening potion!"
Ling Jiu was wide-eyed, even ecstatic. He could not believe that he was so lucky.
At first, he thought he would have to go through a lot of troubles before finding the Second Awakening potion. Little did he expect he could stumble upon a natural one.
"Let's check out the way to take it."