Chapter 86 - 56: Baboon Assassin

Chapter 86: Chapter 56: Baboon AssassinJi Xinghuo took only three and a half days to return to Peak Valley. Acting alone is definitely much faster than moving with a team. In what corresponds to a week on Earth, or three and a half Star Realm Days, he covered nearly fourteen hundred kilometers, deliberately avoiding the Forest Patrol Clan’s tribe on his way. Along the way, all the monsters Ji Xinghuo encountered died under his arrows. His Spiritual Origin Ability reached 48 points. Searᴄh the Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. That was already quite considerable. In order to recover his Star Power more quickly, he had poured all his Spiritual Origin Ability into "Ether Sensitivity," which was now at (Third Level 49/433). Gazing at the majestic and boundless mountains, Ji Xinghuo took a deep breath. "Baboons, I’m coming for you!" With a loud shout, he plunged into Peak Valley. The Waxing Moon was already half over, and the weather was getting hotter. The valley was even more humid and sultry than it had been two months earlier, with lush vegetation growing and countless poisonous snakes and insects breeding. Walking inside, his magnetic field sensor detected the presence of numerous large and small creatures. Not long after entering, Ji Xinghuo was already soaked through with sweat, hot and sticky, but he had to wrap himself up tightly to avoid being bitten by various poisonous insects. Fortunately, there was no shortage of water in Peak Valley. Many mountains had waterfalls flowing down, numerous rivers meandered, and there were deep pools and small lakes everywhere. He could replenish his water supply at any time. After searching for several hours, Ji Xinghuo did not encounter any Stone Scythe Demons but instead killed two other monsters. Finally, as the day was nearing its end, he found them. He stopped in his tracks and peered at a rocky peak over two thousand meters away. Among the trees on the mountainside, he could see familiar figures—a group of Stone Scythe Demons. "One, two, three..." Ji Xinghuo patiently counted. This group of Stone Scythe Demons was moderately sized, with over thirty members including four that had awakened into Strange monsters, and their leader was an Elite. They were scattered in the woods foraging, some picking tender leaves and fruits, some digging up grass roots, and occasionally looking around with great vigilance. On a high ground and in the trees, there were also two Stone Scythe Demons assigned to keep watch. Whenever wild animals approached or other movements occurred, they would emit a sharp warning cry. However, the Stone Scythe Demons’ vision wasn’t particularly keen; they could only see targets clearly within four or five hundred meters. Ji Xinghuo surveyed the terrain and began his move. Using the cover of the tree shadows to approach within about six hundred meters, he entered a Stealth State, then climbed the same mountain where the Stone Scythe Demon group was located, positioning himself above them. Eventually, he climbed a hundred-meter-tall tree and stood on one of its thick, horizontal branches. His view from here was very open, high above, and encompassed the entire area where the Stone Scythe Demons were located—only about two hundred meters away. Ji Xinghuo activated the Gale Battle Boots, and "Balance" kept him firmly standing on the tree. He lifted the Dragon Falcon Eagle Bow and aimed at the Elite Stone Scythe Demon. Then, the arrow flew! Soundlessly, the arrow flew forth. While in Stealth State, the Eagle Bow Ji Xinghuo held was considered part of his body. The vibration from the bowstring was absorbed by the "Silence" of the Stealth Ring, and only when the arrow flew outside the "Refraction" range did the external light and shadows flicker for a moment before returning to normal. The arrow was as fast as lightning. In less than a second, the Titanium Aluminum Alloy Arrow hit the Elite Stone Scythe Demon squarely in the eye, penetrating its brain and lodging into the rock behind its corpse, scattering large chunks of stone. From beginning to end, it never sensed the danger, dying instantly. The nearby Stone Scythe Demons didn’t even react. Then the second arrow struck. This arrow killed the Stone Scythe Demon that was on lookout in the tree, bursting its head in the same way, causing the corpse to fall straight down. "Wuu wuu wuu..." It wasn’t until then that the group of Stone Scythe Demons realized the danger, boiling over like a pot exploding. They called out frantically, looking around in all directions, trying to find the source of the danger, but their vision was simply too weak to spot Ji Xinghuo, who was in Stealth. He steadily released another arrow, killing a Strange Stone Scythe Demon. Thump! Thump! One by one, the heads of several awakened monsters, the Stone Scythe Demons, burst open. The remaining Stone Scythe Demons, driven by their instinct to survive and with their leader already dead, scattered chaotically, running madly in every direction into the woods, with some even leaping off the cliffs, falling to their deaths. In the blink of an eye, only a few monster corpses remained on the mountainside. "That was a bit too easy." Ji Xinghuo was quite surprised himself. The combination of the Dragon Falcon Eagle Bow and the Stealth Ring worked wonderfully well, allowing him to hunt down several monsters effortlessly. This hardly counted as a battle but rather a one-sided massacre. However, it wasn’t as though just any archer given these two pieces of Superpower Equipment could have done the same. Shooting at such a long-distance target demanded a high level of archery skills, especially after the first arrow was released and the entire group of Stone Scythe Demons was alerted. To accurately kill them as they ran about in panic, even an Advanced Ranger might not be able to hit with one out of ten arrows. Only with the aid of the Wanxiang Star Pupil could every shot find its mark. Ji Xinghuo opened the interface to check it and saw that his Spiritual Origin Ability had increased by 8 points. He immediately invested it into Ether Sensitivity, changing the progress to (Third Level 57/433). He slid down from the tree, came out of Stealth State, and approached the corpse of the Elite Stone Scythe Demon, touching it lightly. [Monster: Stone Scythe Demon] [Level: Elite] [Alien Species: Rock Skin, Stone Scythe Claw, Toughness] "Three Alien Species." Ji Xinghuo was surprised, the first two Alien Species had the most common abilities of the Stone Scythe Demon, while the third "Tough" was an unexpected bonus. Tough is a Basic Ability. It allows the body to obtain a formidable resistance to blows, toughens the skin, and enhances strength, physical fitness, recovery power, and immunity. Although the enhancement is not too significant, it is comprehensive enough to be compatible with almost any Professional Template and has a high Fusion Success Rate. The Professional Templates of the Giant General, Flying Steps, and White Knight all include Tough. Therefore, even though Tough is just a Basic Ability, it has a decent market and fetches a good price. Ji Xinghuo started to collect the Alien Species. The Tough Alien Species was a section of blood vessel near the heart, while the Rock Skin was a piece of hard skin; the fusion method for both Alien Species was surgical implantation. As for the Stone Scythe Claw, no one wanted this Alien Species, so he simply gave up on it. Moments later. Ji Xinghuo collected a total of six Alien Species, one Tough and five Rock Skin, and casually retrieved his arrows. He quickly left and continued searching for the next group of Stone Scythe Demons. However, until the end of that day, Ji Xinghuo did not find another group of Stone Scythe Demons, so before the night fell, he found a stone cave on a cliff ledge and set up camp inside. The next day. Ji Xinghuo continued to search for Stone Scythe Demons and other monsters, delving deeper into Peak Valley. There were still many Hunting Teams in Peak Valley, all aiming for the Stone Scythe Giant Demon. Ji Xinghuo did not know if others had encountered that particular Stone Scythe Giant Demon, but he hadn’t heard any news about it in Olympia, so it was probably still a secret. However, compared to the bustle two months ago, the number of teams in Peak Valley has decreased a lot. Ji Xinghuo avoided them as much as possible, without any encounters. That day, he hunted two groups of Stone Scythe Demons and a Poison Blood Demon Bird, yielding eight Alien Species and 15 points of Spiritual Origin Ability. The third day, Spiritual Origin Ability +18. The fourth day, Spiritual Origin Ability +22. For seven or eight consecutive days, Ji Xinghuo’s gains of Spiritual Origin Ability were gradually increasing. One reason was that he was going deeper into Peak Valley, where the number of Stone Scythe Demons and other monsters was increasing; the other was that he was getting more skilled at hunting, gradually understanding the habits and migration patterns of the Stone Scythe Demons and thus able to find them by following their tracks. The Alien Species in his backpack were gradually accumulating. The most were Rock Skin, followed by Tough. In addition to the three common Abilities, the Stone Scythe Demons occasionally awakened other Abilities like "Balance," "Violent Jump," and "Fast Metabolism." Violent Jump allowed them to burst forth the power in their legs and leap high into the air like a catapult. Fast Metabolism was the expulsion of toxins and harmful substances from their bodies. What surprised Ji Xinghuo the most was the "Thousand Spirit Skillful Hand" he collected from the corpse of an Elite Stone Scythe Demon. Just that one Superior Level Ability was worth 1.6 million! But the biggest gain was still the Spiritual Origin Ability. Ji Xinghuo stood on a hundred-meter-tall stone pillar with an Eagle Bow in hand, ready to shoot. This stone pillar was naturally formed, roughly cubic, four to five meters wide, and covered in weeds and vines. It protruded at the edge of a giant rock mountain peak, and apart from birds, few monsters could climb up to it. He had set up camp on the top of the pillar the previous day, covering the tent with branches, and it was quite concealed. A large grey bird flew over from the sky. Ji Xinghuo casually shot an arrow at it, piercing through the bird. A nano-rope was tied to the tail of the arrow, dragging the corpse of the bird back. He plucked feathers, sliced open the belly, and removed the innards. In a few minutes, the bird was roasting over the fire, fats bubbling and sizzling, and a delicious aroma soon wafted through the air. As he roasted the bird, Ji Xinghuo opened the interface of the Wanxiang Star Pupil. Ether Sensitivity (Third Level 295/433) "Progress is fast." Ji Xinghuo calculated in his mind, today was the tenth day of entering Peak Valley. Yesterday, he hunted four groups of Stone Scythe Demons and obtained 35 points of Spiritual Origin Ability. This was about the upper limit of the Spiritual Origin Ability he could get each day. There was competition among the Stone Scythe Demon groups as they divided their territories; generally, they did not infringe on each other. After hunting one group, finding the next one would take two to three hours just to travel, and if he was unlucky, the time spent could double or triple. Being able to find four groups of Stone Scythe Demons in one day was already high efficiency; it was difficult to get more. Unless he happened upon a large group with a count over a hundred. "If I can get 30 points of Spiritual Origin Ability every day, in at most five days, Ether Sensitivity could level up to Level Four." Ji Xinghuo was looking forward to it. Even without leveling up, he could feel the benefits of having Level Three Ether Sensitivity; the recovery of Star Power was noticeably faster. After these days without dedicated cultivation, his Star Power had also increased by 2 points! If Ether Sensitivity reached Level Four, perhaps he wouldn’t have to do anything; just by lying down, his Star Power could naturally grow until his next life evolution. "Let’s get to work! Let’s get to work!" "After eating the roasted bird, I’ll get to work and try if I can hunt five groups of Stone Scythe Demons today." Ji Xinghuo was full of zeal as he slowly turned the stick skewered with the bird, sprinkling on the seasonings he’d brought along; its aroma drifted out, and the bird was almost ready. Suddenly, a streak of green light flashed before his eyes. His hand felt lighter, and the fully cooked bird vanished in an instant, as if it had flown away. "What the hell was that?" Ji Xinghuo was stunned before he realized what happened. The Wanxiang Star Pupil had captured the fleeting moment. He quickly walked to the edge of the pillar and looked down, spotting the green shadow.