—Of course, if anyone had witnessed Nan Zhi’s fighting style firsthand, they would surely have been struck dumb with astonishment.
Did she not need to conserve spiritual energy at all with this approach?
To put it bluntly, was she even human?
Magic Frogs didn't yield many points, but as the name “Ma Jiu” climbed steadily upward, more and more people began to take notice.
“Ma Jiu? Isn't that the one from before on the Wuwang Sea—”
“Quite a character. Only at Foundation Establishment Level 3, yet she possesses such clarity of mind, facing demons without retreating or dodging.”
“Where did she go? How is her Demon Slaying Merit constantly rising? Has she charged straight into a Sky Demon nest?”
“She’s just a rogue cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage, not a Golden Core cultivator. Nothing to fear.”
While some questioned it, others naturally committed the name to memory.
...
Grinding points required strategy.
Nan Zhi had slain Magic Frogs for nearly half a month, finally deciding to move on to other Sky Demon species only after unlocking a new achievement.
【Congratulations to the cultivator for achieving the achievement: “Natural Enemy of Magic Frogs.” Obtained Heavenly Treasure Tree Lottery Ticket × 5, Intimidation against frog-type Sky Demon species +5】
“If the Four Directions Assembly didn't have a time limit, grinding achievements and Sky Demon Spirits wouldn't be a bad deal at all.”
Pinching a Magic Frog Spirit, Nan Zhi fed it to the Witch Corpse in her backpack and muttered to herself:
“Even with a formation laid down by a Deity Transformation expert, as long as the black mist of the Wuwang Sea remains, these things will make a comeback in ten or a hundred years, even if the perimeter around the twelve nations of the four directions is cleared.”
The Deity Transformation might looming overhead had yet to disperse. At least, within the killing formation laid down by Gu Yini, no Deity Transformation High-level Sky Demons would appear.
Upon the Wuwang Sea, Sky Demons were the hunters.
Now, the tables had turned. In this artificially created hunting ground, the cultivators were the hunters encircling the Sky Demons.
Relying on the Spirit Swallowing Grass blanket in her possession and backed by an inexhaustible supply of pills, Nan Zhi had truly managed to hide right in this Sky Demon nest, farming experience points for half a month under the very nose of a Nascent Soul Sky Demon.
Her heart was now as cold as if she had gutted fish at RT-Mart for ten years.
In the real world, she might have felt restrained when testing spells, but with such a magnificent testing ground, Nan Zhi let herself run completely wild.
Using the Thunder Curse together with the Water Shield Art produced an electrified cage with vastly amplified power.
Releasing a water curse simultaneously with an earth technique instantly altered the terrain, making it ideal for luring enemies in deep.
The Fire Curse possessed immense destructive power, but if she could master the efficiency of her spiritual energy output, she could achieve micro-control, granting a one percent chance to evade enemy divine sense sneak attacks.
Theory and practical combat truly could not be mentioned in the same breath.
In just a few short days, Nan Zhi accumulated a wealth of combat experience, employing her Five Elements Techniques and Green Beetle Needles with increasing finesse.
Were it not for the Deity Transformation cultivator watching from above at all times and the Sky Demons eyeing the area greedily from beyond the domain, Nan Zhi would have been tempted to pull out the Corpse of Old Nan and go on an absolute rampage.
—Though it was also possible that the moment she pulled that thing out, heavenly lightning would chase her down to strike her.
...
The terrain of the Nine Bends and Eighteen Gorges was complex. Half of the gorges were submerged in the black mist of the Wuwang Sea, from which Sky Demons continually fled.
This made it convenient for Nan Zhi to pick her “prey.”
When a lynx-like Foundation Establishment Sky Demon escaped from the black mist, Nan Zhi shadowed it discreetly, trailing far behind.
The moment she saw it treading across the seawater and rushing straight toward a densely populated area, she struck decisively with her blade!
The tip of the Fish-Dragon Guillotine flicked upward, scattering snowy radiance. With a ruthless horizontal slash imbued with earth-shattering force, she cleaved right through half of the Lynx Demon's armor-like hide!
“Roar!!”
The Lynx Demon shrieked in a brief, furious howl. Endless rage flashed in its pale, cloudy pupils as it opened its maw, spitting out countless flying snakes straight toward Nan Zhi—
Having long grown accustomed to combat, Nan Zhi neither dodged nor evaded when her initial strike failed to kill. Chanting an incantation, countless aquatic vines surged from the sea, transforming into a sky full of wooden spikes that wrapped around the demon, followed by descending lightning and roaring flames!
Under the lightning's barrage, the thoroughly cooked strange snakes plunged into the seawater one after another, diffusing a faint, savory charred aroma into the air.
Having taken over a dozen pinpoint spells head-on, the Lynx Demon had long lost its breath of life, its curled corpse sinking to the seabed.
【Congratulations to the cultivator for slaying the Level 27 red-named monster “Lynx Demon.” Obtained Lynx Demon Spirit × 1, Origin-Restoring Pill Recipe × 1】
Yet Nan Zhi did not lower her guard. Instead, she stood on high alert, glaring toward a stretch of deep, dark seawater and barking sharply:
“Who’s there?! Come out!”
Following her shout, the seawater stirred.
Beneath the surface, the deep blue water churned, and from the whirlpool emerged a bare-chested male Jiao person with a pale red fish tail.
The Jiao person had translucent, cat-like slit pupils. On either side of his cheeks were gill-like breathing slits, from which water droplets faintly trickled as he surfaced.
He parted his lips slightly, but the sound that emerged was not like normal speech. Instead, it was a sharp whistle, akin to a high-frequency pipe:
[You are a human cultivator. Why are you here?]
The red-tailed mermaid looked at the dead Lynx Demon, then glanced at Hongluo on Nan Zhi’s shoulder, a look of realization dawning in his eyes:
[You, come with me.]
With that, the Jiao person dove beneath the waves, leading the way forward to guide her along.
Seeing that Nan Zhi didn't move, the Jiao person grew somewhat anxious, exposing only half of his head. His seaweed-like long black hair drifted across the water's surface, his cat-like eyes fixed on her without blinking:
[Come, good child, come with me, come with me.]
【Cultivator “Nan Zhi” is under attack by the Jiao person Innate Divine Ability “Charm.” Combat Power -100, Sanity -50】
【Cultivator “Nan Zhi” possesses the “Savior” bonus. Debuff neutralized, dodged Charm.】
Nan Zhi's eyes flickered, a gleam of red light flashing across her pupils before she instantly regained clarity.
Yet she did not show it, simply following the Jiao person as she flew deeper into the eighteen gorges.
This was originally the territory of the Jiao people. Nan Zhi wanted to see what this Jiao person was up to.
...
...
A cup of tea’s time later, Nan Zhi was holding a dark, spiky sea urchin in her hands, sitting beside a volcanic vent spewing earth fire.
This was an exceptionally concealed mud cave.
The cave entrance had been sealed with bat guano. The seawater inside only covered half the ground, and an opening had been fashioned directly at the top so sunlight from outside could filter in.
—Whoever had cast the concealment spell had done so masterfully, for countless Sky Demons flew past outside, entirely blind to this place.
Crawling in a circle around Nan Zhi were little Jiao children who could not yet control their tails properly. Each was about half a meter long, slick and slippery, sporting tails of diverse colors.
However, every single one of these little Jiao children was impaired in some way.
Some were completely blind, some were as scrawny as kittens, and others had damaged or missing tails.
“Chomp, chomp!”
“Gurgle, gurgle...”
A little Jiao child was ferociously munching on a large sea urchin, its sharp teeth crushing the shell along with the meat before swallowing it down.
Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be a baby girl Jiao. After finishing her sea urchin, she did not forget to gaze curiously at Hongluo on Nan Zhi’s shoulder.
Hongluo trembled in terror, burrowing deeper into Nan Zhi’s hair.
Nan Zhi had also been handed half an opened sea urchin.
Looking at the male Jiao person floating on the water, entirely absorbed in feeding sea urchins to the little merfolk, she was utterly dumbfounded.
—It turned out that this fellow had mistaken Hongluo for a sea urchin, assumed Nan Zhi was a lost human cub who couldn't find food, and simply picked her up to bring her back.
Yes, a human cub.
[Eat. Open your mouth, eat.]
Seeming to think he had picked up a dull-witted child, the male Jiao person parted his lips, mimicking an eating motion, and nudged the opened half of the sea urchin toward Nan Zhi:
[Going hungry, no good.]
Nan Zhi took a deadpan bite of the sea urchin in her hand to prove she wasn't brain-damaged.
The next instant, however, her brows raised slightly.
The golden-orange, plump roe of the sea urchin was luscious and rich, offering a fresh sweetness when eaten raw—it truly had a distinctive, exquisite flavor.
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