The swamp at dawn was shrouded in a green mist, churning with the foul stench rising from the muck, creeping upward along wildly growing vines.
In this soft soil, scavenging magical creatures could unearth decaying leaves and stones from aged sediment deposits, find skeletons of various magical creatures, and occasionally even slimes would quietly poke their heads out, peering at the entire world of mud and giant trees.
Looking out at the twisted oaks growing in the swamp, they were too numerous to count. Deep within the mist, oaks contested by poison-stinger wasps and burrowing beetles weren't uncommon in the swamp forest, just somewhat taller.
And in the swamp beneath an oak, dark carapace surfaced as Chen Yu patrolled the poison-stinger wasp territory as usual.
His gaze swept around, finally settling on clear footprints in the leaf-covered ground.
Two sets of tracks, canine paw-print shaped marks.
Those demi-humans again?
"What are they doing venturing so deep into the swamp forest?"
Chen Yu's jelly brain bubbled with confusion.
Not to mention the poison-stinger wasps' toxic stingers, even the acid splashed by moss monsters was difficult for ordinary creatures to defend against.
Let alone the even more terrifying magical creatures deep in the swamp forest.
Were the demi-humans so bored they came to the swamp forest for casual strolls?
They probably weren't that foolish.
Chen Yu guessed they were either hunting and foraging after winter food shortages with spring's arrival, or searching for something in the forest.
Moreover, they often appeared around dawn, possibly possessing "darkvision," which happened to conflict with his schedule, explaining why he hadn't yet seen the demi-humans entering the forest.
"Never mind."
Since he'd confirmed the demi-humans appeared at dawn, if he waited in ambush in the swamp, he should have a chance to see them.
As for now, he planned to test the power of his newly acquired Little Arrow Technique.
——
Race: Acidic Slime
Level: Black Iron Lv.2 [EXP: 13/20]
Cultivation: Qi Training Lv.3 [Spiritual Energy: 5/30]
Health Status: Healthy [HP: 80/80]
Racial Talent: Devour Digestion Lv.2
Other Talents: Acid Secretion Lv.2
Skill List: Open Yuan Treasure Scroll Lv.4, Object Manipulation Lv.3, Little Arrow Technique Lv.1, Sound Transmission Technique Lv.1
Reputation Title: Slime Warrior (Novice Slime)
——
Whether to attribute it to his good comprehension or the Little Arrow Technique being easy to learn, he'd mastered the basics in just four days, even roughly learning the complimentary Sound Transmission Technique along the way.
Perhaps the attribute panel had played a role too.
But moving forward, whether for skills or talents, the difficulty of leveling up would only increase.
Don't be fooled by the mere 20 EXP points needed to advance from Black Iron Lv.2 to Lv.3—only double from Lv.1 to Lv.2—the difficulty of gaining experience was completely different.
The same principle applied to skills and talents, requiring more feeding and practice.
But overall, it was still faster improvement than ordinary cultivators and magical creatures.
For a lazy dog like Chen Yu, this was both a blessing and torture.
He probably wanted to slack off, but when practicing Dao techniques, the clear progress kept him addicted.
He'd often sit outside his thatched hut all day, and even when Shao Qingsong came, he had to approach closely to wake him.
His eyes searched for a target on the shore, quickly settling on a moss monster leisurely chewing on moss.
You're the one.
Chen Yu focused his mind, silently recited the method, and began seeking that elusive opportunity.
Dao techniques had multiple casting methods, the most typical being command seals, hand seals, and true words.
Among these, "command seals" were the most convenient and fastest, but also the easiest casting method to detect—simply shouting the technique's name aloud.
If righteous, majestic orthodox cultivators used command seals for casting, it often had an intimidating effect on petty villains.
But the younger generation of Xu Xuan Heaven, often called the "lost generation," unanimously considered command seal casting not only cringey but also quite embarrassing, unsuitable for thin-skinned cultivators.
Chen Yu would have loved to shout "Little Arrow Technique" stylishly and take a poison-stinger wasp's head within ten paces, since no Xu Xuan Heaven cultivators could see him here anyway.
Unfortunately, slimes lacked vocal organs—it wasn't that he didn't want to, but he didn't have that factory setting.
Another casting method, "hand seals," required hands to form various mysterious seals.
Did slimes have hands?
As if.
He could spend half a day barely shaping his gel body into hand forms, but expecting to perform hand seals was asking too much.
Thus, for him, only the slowest casting method remained: "true words."
"True words" required the caster to silently recite the method, seeking the Dao technique opportunity to cast—even with proficiency, it took at least three to four seconds.
This was rarely used by cultivators.
And Little Arrow Technique Lv.1's casting time was roughly 6-8 seconds, only expected to reduce to 4 seconds at Lv.2.
Xu Xuan Heaven cultivators divided Dao techniques into five realms: initial glimpse, entering the hall, consummate skill, subtle application, and heart-guided transformation.
Remembering them was quite troublesome, but they actually corresponded exactly to skill list levels Lv.1 to Lv.5.
When a Dao technique reached consummate skill, achieving Lv.3, cultivators could attempt the higher-level casting method—"heart impulse."
Meaning following the heart's movement, where technique emerges with thought.
Lv.3 Dao techniques could compress casting time to 2-3 seconds, Lv.4 to 1-2 seconds, and only Lv.5's heart-guided transformation achieved complete freedom of movement, enabling instant casting.
Of course, with the vast diversity of Dao techniques, not all strictly followed this pattern, and different levels often had differences in casting range and power.
Overall, higher Dao technique levels were better.
Chen Yu's first time using his slime body to perform Little Arrow Technique wasn't very smooth—before finishing the silent recitation, the swamp burbled with bubbles beside him, distracting him until the water ball forming before him burst along with the bubbles.
Making only a popping sound.
Uh...
An accident, just an accident.
Again.
Chen Yu aimed at the moss monster three meters away on the shore, silently reciting the method to cast.
A lump of clear water the size of an infant's fist gradually condensed before him, stretching and forming into an arrow shape.
As soon as he finished the silent recitation, the water arrow shot out, instantly arriving before that moss monster.
Boom... Moss and soil splattered everywhere as the moss monster three meters away was actually blasted backward, landing with only a layer of skin remaining.
"Such terrifying power." Chen Yu was astonished.
If Little Arrow Technique had this kind of power, it was hard to imagine how much more fearsome the more powerful, harder-to-learn Water Arrow Technique would be.
"Buzz..."
The vibration of poison-stinger wasp wings caught Chen Yu's attention. He saw the commotion caused by the water arrow had disturbed the wasps and burrowing beetles around the tree. The two sides made eye contact, each thinking the other had launched the attack, resulting in another early morning fight.
Suddenly, a rain of poisonous stingers fell around the oak. Dark beetles wobbled as they climbed the tree, only to be knocked down by stingers, then flipped over and continued climbing stubbornly.
Chen Yu lurked in the swamp secretly watching the spectacle, planning to fish in troubled waters by circling behind the burrowing beetles to ambush them.
Just thinking about that delicious insect meat made acid bubbles gurgle within his gel.
He admitted it—he was craving it.
But any foodie would be unable to resist such delicacies, without exception.
This also happened to be a good opportunity to test Little Arrow Technique's power.
As he swam toward the edge, before even approaching the beetle group, he seemed to hear some chaotic noises coming from deeper in the forest.
Frantic, disorderly footsteps, the sounds of clubs swinging, some shouting he couldn't understand...
"Those demi-humans?"
They were turning back, chasing something.
Prey?
Chen Yu abandoned his plan to ambush the beetles, stopped behind a rock, and sneakily poked his head out to observe the distant activity.
Several vaguely outlined dark shapes quietly appeared in the thick morning fog, followed by the hoarse, urgent sounds of beasts chasing and biting, abruptly tearing through the silence!