NOVEL NEXT Chapter 156: The Collapsing Ox
"You, you, you—"
"It's, it's, it's not dead, is it?"
The little wild boar next to him was dumbfounded for a moment before finally reacting. The supposedly mighty Seventh-Grade Bull Demon was taken down with just one encounter without even having the strength to fight back?
"Calm down, it's not dead. If it were you, you might have died instantly."
Wang Wu shook his head and said confidently. It's not that he's certain Old Niu's Life Value exceeds 1000, but because the Seventh-Grade Spirit Vine in its body would surely help absorb a significant portion of the poison damage.
Still, Wang Wu approached for a closer inspection. With Level 15 Danger Perception, he could accurately and clearly capture Old Niu's life aura and the changes in the Seventh-Grade Spirit Vine inside, thus getting an approximate data.
"Hmm, as I expected!"
"Old Niu's defense value is about 40 points, which is why my Companion Demon Vine could easily pierce it."
"Its Companion Spirit Vine actively absorbed about half of the paralyzing poison damage. Now it's half-dead and, barring any special circumstances, will need at least six months of slumber to recover."
"As for Old Niu's life aura, it's quite rich, suggesting that if converted into data, its total Life Value would be about 1200 points. But nearly 700 points of that are provided by its Acupoint Opening Demon Pill. In other words, before condensing the Acupoint Opening Demon Pill, Old Niu's Life Value was only around 500 points."
"As for the little wild boar, having even 300 Life Value is already a blessing. Surviving to now is a miracle. No wonder it's breaking down. Seeing the harsh truth of the world unfold before its eyes, who wouldn't break down?"
Wang Wu sighed internally, then tossed Old Niu aside, as it would take at least 100 seconds to wake up. Its body might remain paralyzed for three to five days.
There's no helping it. Wang Wu's Companion Demon Vine is no longer an ordinary Demon Vine. It has undergone refining by a Demon King Level poison, equivalent to a Demon King Level paralyzing poison.
Forget Old Niu, even if its sister came, it would be laid flat just the same.
At this moment, Wang Wu looked at the little wild boar, which immediately got frightened.
"Third Brother, Third Brother, let's talk this over. I know you're troubled. I'll quit this bet, alright? I don't want to die! My little arms and legs can't take it!"
"What are you thinking, Second Brother Pig? I won't do anything to you. Come, just a little bit." Wang Wu coaxed gently, like a nurse giving a child an injection.
"No, I don't believe you. You little bear, you're too ruthless! You black-hearted and rotten-lunged Black Bear Spirit, ah ah ah, help, someone stop the pig slaughter! Ah ah ah! I don't want to die, scentless dog bear, get away from me!"
The little wild boar was so scared it scurried away, oinking and screaming, running around in circles, all while Wang Wu hadn't even moved a muscle.
Really, speechless.
Do you really think you can escape!
Wang Wu raised his bear paw, Companion Demon Vine shot out like lightning, unmatched in speed.
Swoosh, in less than 0.1 seconds, 10 points of paralyzing poison were injected successfully.
He dared not inject more, or the little wild boar might die on the spot.
However, what surprised Wang Wu was that the little wild boar's basic defense was slightly higher than Old Niu's, roughly 45 points when converted. That's a strength to exploit, worth developing.
"Thud!"
The little wild boar didn't even manage a word before it fell unconscious, paralyzed, frothing at the mouth, limbs twitching—a marvelous sight.
"Hey, problem solved."
Wang Wu went over to check, finding the little wild boar had about 200 Life Value left, life signs stable. Then he left it alone, focusing on maximizing bloodline growth potential through acquired stimulation aside from heredity.
For example, even without an Acupoint Opening Demon Pill, Wang Wu had achieved a 41.2% Bloodline Evolution Level, all thanks to acquired stimulation.
Of course, Spirit Root cultivation is also crucial, not relying solely on bloodlines.
For now, he ignored both Ox and Pig, starting his Ice and Fire Dual Spirit Root cultivation alone.
Indeed, from now on, he can't cultivate just one alone. Once that subtle balance is reached, it's difficult to break, and breaking it would yield poor results. The best solution is synchronized cultivation.
This requires long periods of time, quietness, and a stable mindset. Hoping to see results in a few months? That's dreaming.
So, Old Niu's previous stance on Spirit Roots being useless was completely misleading.
At this moment, as Wang Wu's Inner Breathing Technique operated, Qi Blood surged, Ice and Fire Dual Spirit Roots ran in sync, harmoniously merging Ice Spiritual Qi and Red Flame Spiritual Qi into Qi Blood, achieving a resonant harmony with the Inner Breathing Technique, much like the strings of a zither and harp in concord.
Vitality flowed slowly, Qi Blood thriving yet not volatile, Cold Ice and Red Flame complementing each other, seemingly made in heaven.
Seemingly, Wang Wu captured something akin to the truth of the Great Dao.
But it was still too fuzzy, that feeling vanishing in an instant.
When he awoke from this meditation, he heard Sister Niu outside, angrily and anxiously cursing, searching for them all around the mountain.
About three days had passed, as Old Niu had awakened, yet remained partially paralyzed, sobbing quietly.
Well, directly collapsed.
Wang Wu chuckled internally, unbothered, while relishing and pondering his three days of meditative cultivation, finding great benefit.
Though in reality, he had no concrete gains.
Even the attribute bar only provided an assessment of more proficient control.
It appears that genuine results require long-term cultivation.
Next, Wang Wu checked on the little wild boar, which had actually awakened but remained fully paralyzed, likely needing another ten days to recover.
As for Old Niu, at most another day, he'll definitely be bouncing around.
"Third Brother, what kind of divine power secret technique is this? Could it be the unspoken secret of your Ancient Bear Race? It's too amazing, I bow to your superiority!"
Seeing Wang Wu finish his meditation, Old Niu finally started to make a fuss. Although he was frustrated and crumbling, he knew better than to disturb Wang Wu.
"This isn't some secret technique, it's a Companion Demon Vine, much like your Companion Spirit Vine."
"What do you mean by 'much like'? You call this 'much like'? Third Brother, if you want to shame me, go ahead, I have thick skin, I don't mind, but you don't need to be so humble, you know? I'm a Seventh-Grade Bull Demon, I got knocked down just like that, gee, all our Cow Race ancestors must feel disgraced."
"So, you're here, damn it, damn you to a thousand cuts!"
Old Niu's elder sister suddenly barged into the Vine Secret Realm, looking murderous. Instinctively, Wang Wu flicked his bear claw, and with a whoosh, the Companion Demon Vine flew out, injecting paralyzing poison with a swish.
The next second, Old Niu's sister's eyes widened, unsteady on her hooves, she even considered killing Wang Wu, but in the end, she just spat out a sentence.
"Damn you to hell, wait for me! Watch if I don't smash your... paw..."
"Bang!"
She was downed too, too weak!
Wang Wu reluctantly bared his teeth, I was just too scared, my claw slipped!
And Old Niu on the ground was already dumbfounded, stunned, and crumbling.
He couldn't even speak properly.
"Third Brother, Old Third, Big Brother Bear, you are my big brother, you know? My sister is a Sixth-Grade Bull Demon, not much weaker in Ancient Blood Purity than me, you you you..."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to do this."
Wang Wu reluctantly spread his claws and stepped forward to take a look.
Hmm, not bad, Old Niu's sister is worthy of being a Sixth-Grade Bull Demon, this 1000 point paralyzing poison damage can only keep her down for about three hours.
Additionally, her life signs are so strong, it calculates to at least 2000 Life Value.
Basic Defense isn't bad either, about 60 points.
As for Basic Power, it's unmeasurable, but also probably not less than 80 points, plus some various Bloodline Secret Techniques, and cultivation of Cyan Wood Spirit Root and Ice Spirit Root.
Altogether, she's indeed a strong middle-aged hero of the Demon Race.
"Old Niu, your sister will wake up soon, but she won't let me go, so I plan to hide for a while. Remember, a month later, you and Little Pig should come here again. Only by continuously getting poisoned will you increase Toxin Resistance, and thereby slowly increase your bloodline growth limit. This is the unspoken secret of our Ancient Bear Race, believe it or not, I'm leaving!"
Having said this, Wang Wu ignored Old Niu's pleas, and walked straight away. The fear of Old Niu's sister's revenge was just an excuse, lack of security was the real reason.
Especially now that his identity was exposed, more than a hundred demons knew his identity. Although everyone was from the Ancient Blood Demon Race, such things needed careful guarding.
So Wang Wu preferred to go it alone, relying on his Passive Concealment to survive timidly.
A moment later, he completely disappeared from Old Niu's Perception.
Of course, he hadn't gone far, but went into Passive Concealment in the grass a few hundred meters away, he still needed to be prepared just in case, what if other demons showed up now and hurt Old Niu and Little Wild Boar?
Even if they weren't harmed, it would be unpleasant if it ultimately caused regret for the Cow Knight.
Although this is rather a mix-bag.
But regarding the aesthetic judgments of demons, Wang Wu has always harbored the direst suspicions.
Fortunately, three hours passed, nothing happened, and the Cow Knight didn't come.
"Damn you! Xiong Wu! You little bear, get out here for your old lady, get out! Old lady will slice you alive, smash your eggs, chop you into pieces, and make bear meat soup, turn you into bear meat pies!"
Truly a fierce Mother Demon.
Wang Wu watched in awe, silently sneaking away, sigh, only by staying away from Mother Demons can one find broad horizons for great achievements.
The curses gradually became inaudible, and Wang Wu stopped, quietly looking at this strange yet grand world.
The mountains rose and fell, the great rivers roared, the forest dense, the vitality abundant, a scene of tranquility.
But how long can such peace last?
A loose sandpit of Demon Race.
An Academy with tendencies to surrender.
Ancient Blood Demon Race looks down on Common Blood Demon Race.
Learning Human Race's knowledge, ending up a mishmash.
Unable to ally well with the Ancient Tree Race, or is there any dirt involved?
The land is full of Spirit Beasts and Demon Traitors, Hunting Cultivator squads from the Human Race enter the West Wilderness like it's their backyard.
Such West Wilderness is truly a wasteland.
(Another year's end, Old Bird here wishes everyone an early new year, may we have health, good fortune, and family harmony in the coming year! Happy New Year!)