6: Chapter 6 Green Snake and Elixir
The evolved Xu Qing did not head out immediately.
He wanted to test the upgrade mechanism of his skills.
The System did not display the Proficiency required to level up skills.
Perhaps it was because skill Proficiency was a more Subjective concept that couldn't be represented by numerical values.
However, using a skill multiple times to meet the Proficiency requirement could increase the skill's level.
Using skills in battle increased Proficiency more than using them normally.
As expected, danger could stimulate a creature's potential.
There was also a chance to increase certain skill levels during evolution.
Xu Qing speculated that evolution should increase skill Proficiency.
Some skills that had accumulated a lot of Proficiency normally would level up with the additional Proficiency provided during evolution.
Meanwhile, some skills with low base Proficiency wouldn't level up even with the evolution pointss rewarded during evolution.
“Let's try leveling up the Spatial Pupil first.”
“After all, what man could refuse a cool pupil technique?”
Xu Qing aimed his left eye at the rocks and dirt on the ground.
“Storage!”
The space distorted for a moment, and the rocks and dirt vanished.
“What a god-tier skill for cleaning up!”
Looking at the clean ground, Xu Qing's eyes sparkled.
Indeed, there were no useless skills, only useless users.
“Storage, Storage, Storage!”
Xu Qing used the Spatial Pupil repeatedly, consuming only a small amount of Demonic Power.
Spatial Pupil Lv1 didn't consume much mana.
While using the Spatial Pupil, Xu Qing condensed a ball of Demonic Fire and let it float around his body.
He was testing if he could level up Demonic Fire Lv1 this way.
Though the Demonic Fire flickered in and out at first, Xu Qing gradually got the hang of it as time passed.
Whenever his Demonic Power was depleted, he would practice the Breathing Technique, and once his Demonic Power recovered, he would continue his tinkering.
He kept at it until the next morning when the System's pleasant voice finally rang out.
[Ding, Proficiency requirement met]
[Spatial Pupil Lv1 has upgraded to Spatial Pupil Lv2]
[Spatial Pupil Lv2] 1. Spatial Storage. 2. Space Barrier (Deploys a layer of spatial barrier)
[Ding, Proficiency requirement met]
[Demonic Fire Lv1 has upgraded to Demonic Fire Lv2]
[Demonic Fire Lv2] High-heat fire orb, condensation time greatly reduced
“A spatial defense skill!”
Xu Qing tried to condense a layer of transparent barrier in front of himself.
Then he opened his mouth, and a fist-sized fireball was instantly spat out, shooting into the air in front of him.
In mid-air, the fireball seemed to hit an invisible wall, bursting into clumps of flowing flames before vanishing.
“So cool!”
“But it consumes too much mana.”
After all, Xu Qing's Dao Cultivation was still very low, and his Demonic Power was quite weak.
He needed to work hard to raise his Realm.
First, set a small goal: becoming a Foundation Establishment Great Demon with a hundred years of Dao Cultivation.
The green snake emerged from its cave.
During evolution, the skill Detection Lv1 had also upgraded to Detection Lv2.
The range of Detection had increased from a hundred-meter radius to a three-hundred-meter radius, and its clarity had also improved.
However, the Demonic Power consumption had also increased significantly, so he could only toggle it on and off.
A green snake that didn't dare to flick its tongue casually...
He was now like a robotic snake equipped with all sorts of epoch-making components, but the power source was just three Nanfu batteries—the kind without a Power Ring.
The little snake's body just couldn't handle it.
“I need to level up!”
Xu Qing estimated he would need at least fifty years of Dao Cultivation to support the consumption of these components.
During this period, his skill levels couldn't be raised again.
After receiving this epic buff, Xu Qing bolstered his courage, expanded his range of activity, and visited many places he hadn't been to before.
He also added many future targets for conquest to his map.
He left the Demonic Qi of a Qi Refining minor demon near his cave to mark his territory.
The territory wasn't large, but he was very happy.
While passing through a canyon to the west, a peculiar, fresh fragrance wafted over.
Xu Qing immediately activated Detection with all his might.
On the Detection map, the source of the fragrance was a vine clinging to a stone wall deep within the canyon.
Hanging from the vine was a Vermilion Fruit that was half-green and half-red.
It looked like it was about to ripen.
Just smelling it made Xu Qing unable to stop himself from drooling.
It was even more enticing than the smell of a Frog.
“I want to eat it!”
Xu Qing kept Detection active at all times as he approached the fruit.
As he drew closer, the rich fragrance stimulated his entire body with pleasure.
Coiling up beneath the vine, Xu Qing decided to stand guard until the Spirit Medicine ripened.
“Wait a minute...”
“Is this the legendary birth of a medicine-guarding Spirit Beast?!”
Xu Qing's snake body shuddered. He glanced at the Spirit Medicine; in novels, medicine-guarding Spirit Beasts never came to a good end.
Usually, the protagonist would snatch the medicine and kill them in the process, skinning them and pulling out their tendons.
In the past, when he identified with the protagonist's perspective, it felt great.
Now, identifying with the medicine-guarding Spirit Beast's perspective, it was infuriating.
Guarding the Spirit Medicine and singing a song, only to be suddenly robbed by bandits.
Just thinking about it made the snake slap its tail in anger.
Xu Qing looked around warily.
The scent of the Spirit Medicine above his head grew stronger and stronger.
Xu Qing estimated it would ripen in less than a day.
But the increasingly intense scent would definitely attract other Yao Beasts.
Sure enough, within Xu Qing's Detection, an entirely gray Demon Wolf stepped into the canyon.
It was at the Spirit Awakening Yao Beast Realm, with less than ten years of Dao Cultivation.
Xu Qing withdrew his body, hiding in the grass to ambush the Demon Wolf.
The Demon Wolf stared at the fruit, drool almost leaking onto the ground. It didn't notice the green snake pressed against the ground and hidden in the grass nearby at all.
After all, not every Yao Beast could obtain the Detection ability.
“Wind Blade!”
The Wind Blade was launched almost the instant his tail lifted, shooting straight toward the Demon Wolf.
The Demon Wolf was startled and tried to turn and dodge.
However, it slammed headfirst into the air, as if an invisible wall was blocking it.
It was the Space Barrier Xu Qing had condensed.
The Wind Blade arrived in a flash. Before the Demon Wolf could react, its neck was cleanly severed.
[Ding, killed Demon Wolf]
[Dao Cultivation +0.5, evolution pointss +1]
[Obtained Item: Demon Wolf Fang ×2]
“...The rewards for killing a Spirit Awakening Yao Beast have decreased significantly.”
Xu Qing was somewhat prepared for this mentally.
He now had to kill Yao Beasts at the Qi Refining minor demon level or above to obtain a decent amount of evolution pointss.
Using his tail to drag the Demon Wolf's corpse to a hidden spot, Xu Qing continued to hide in the grass, waiting for the next fated demon.
Wolf meat wasn't a food he was interested in, so he didn't eat it.
The smell of blood would likely make the next demon wary, and Xu Qing didn't expect to succeed in a sneak attack again.
Aside from his lack of stamina, his combat strength was definitely not low, and he wasn't afraid of a direct confrontation.
Perhaps because the fragrance hadn't spread too far yet, no Yao Beasts approached for a long time.
This allowed Xu Qing to lower his guard slightly and relax a bit.
But the Spirit Medicine perhaps didn't think that way.
‘I am a dignified Spirit Medicine; how could my noble body be less enticing than a stinky snake?’
The Vermilion Fruit glowed with a brilliant red light, and its fragrance almost condensed into a physical mist.
In an instant, Xu Qing figured that probably all the demons on half the mountainside had smelled it.
Although this mountainside wasn't large, there were nearly ten Qi Refining minor demons.
Their Dao Cultivation was definitely higher than his, as he was at the bottom of the Qi Refining Rank.
“That damn fruit failed me!”
Xu Qing looked at the fruit; the green part only accounted for one-tenth, and it was about to ripen.
If he turned and left now, or directly ate the unripe fruit, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
Thinking of this, Xu Qing flicked his tongue anxiously.
“Just wait a bit longer, just a bit longer.”
Xu Qing coiled in the grass, his eyes fixed on the fruit, while his Detection skill remained focused on the area outside the canyon.