Chapter 28 "Fishing" Upgrade

With the waves crashing onto the beach, an Abyss Tide Worm that was two meters long and one meter wide crawled onto the sand.

This Abyss Tide Worm's body was covered in a shell, dark brown with dark purple patterns across it, adorned with over a dozen pairs of insect legs and a fearsome set of mandibles on its head, looking incredibly frightening.

The shell of the Abyss Tide Worm was extremely hard, resistant to swords and knives, and could be considered one of the highest defensive creatures among the low-rank Abyss Demons.

Following the scent of blood, the Abyss Tide Worm crawled ashore and swallowed a beach rat whole, slowly chewing it in its stomach.

Upon seeing this creature, Su Muyu instantly tensed up and subconsciously gripped Lu Heng's wrist tightly.

Lu Heng pulled her up, took out a crossbow, and placed it in her hands, "Come! Aim at it and try shooting an arrow."

This crossbow, bought in preparation, was quite powerful; it could pierce through 3-centimeter thick wooden boards within 20 meters.

Holding the crossbow, Su Muyu aimed at the Abyss Tide Worm, but having never used such a weapon, she was a bit shaky.

"Don't be nervous, aim for its eyes and shoot one arrow," Lu Heng said, supporting her arm, teaching her how to aim.

While aiming, Su Muyu asked, "After I hit it, will it run away? We finally lured it ashore."

The two had waited under the tree shade for almost an hour before they managed to lure an Abyss Tide Worm ashore; it would be a pity if it escaped.

"It won't, these things are bloodthirsty; they won't run away from food," Lu Heng well understood the nature of Abyss Tide Worms.

"Food?" Su Muyu was puzzled, looking around; apart from a few bags of bread in their backpacks, they hadn't brought any other food.

Soon, she realized something, looked at herself, then at Lu Heng.

Lu Heng nodded with a smile, "Yes, us."

While Su Muyu aimed, she controlled a scouting eagle to get closer and observe, "The demon energy on this Abyss Tide Worm seems very strong. What level is it?"

Lu Heng observed its size and answered, "Around level 8."

In most cases, the level of Abyss Demons corresponds with their size. Experienced superpower users can estimate the level of Abyss Demons based on their size.

"I'll shoot now."

"Okay." Lu Heng nodded.

Su Muyu took a deep breath, held her breath and concentrated, and pulled the trigger.

Bang! Whoosh!

The crossbow bolt shot out and "ding" lodged into a crevice in the shell at the side of the Abyss Tide Worm's head.

Hiss!

Noticing its prey, the Abyss Tide Worm emitted a sharp hiss and charged with its dozens of legs.

"You retreat first."

Lu Heng ordered Su Muyu to back away, then grabbed a glass bottle filled with gasoline and threw it.

Clang!

The glass bottle smashed on the Abyss Tide Worm, shattering and spilling gasoline over half its body.

Following that, Lu Heng sparked a flame to ignite the gasoline, then backed off to maintain a five-meter distance, leading the Abyss Tide Worm on a 'walk' around the beach.

Flames engulfed the Abyss Tide Worm, causing its shell to sizzle.

It hissed angrily chasing Lu Heng, but no matter how it chased, Lu Heng always kept a five-meter distance, akin to kite-flying, leading it in circles on the beach.

After chasing for a few hundred meters, the shell of the Abyss Tide Worm was glowing red-hot, the high temperature beginning to damage the flesh beneath it.

It opened its mouth in fury, spitting a glob of mucus at Lu Heng.

This type of mucus was corrosive and hard to wash off once stuck.

If a superpower user were hit, they would be severely injured, if not dead.

Lu Heng, familiar with the Abyss Tide Worm's attack pattern, kept a five-meter distance, precisely waiting for this moment.

The attacking range of the Abyss Tide Worm's mucus spit was exactly 5 meters.

Lu Heng, moving just at the edge of the mucus's range and prepared, smoothly sidestepped and dodged.

The Abyss Tide Worm's mucus spit missed, while the flames continued to burn its shell red-hot.

It screeched in anger, no longer chasing Lu Heng, and turned to flee towards the sea.

Lu Heng saw it fleeing towards the sea, but didn't intercept it; instead, he waited for it to plunge into the seawater.

A wave crashed over and hissed upon striking the red-hot shell.

Due to the sudden cooling and contraction, the shell of the Abyss Tide Worm cracked.

Lu Heng quickly followed, drew his sword, and executed the "Chasing Moon Style", stabbing into its life core through the cracked shell.

Howl!

The Abyss Tide Worm emitted a mournful cry and collapsed in the surf.

"Hunting the Abyss Tide Worm, absorbed 40 points of Demon Energy."

Lu Heng turned his head towards the shore, and asked, "Did you absorb the Demon Energy?"

Su Muyu emerged from her invisibility state and nodded happily, "Yes, and I leveled up, I'm already Level 7."

When the level is low, leveling up is faster, so her level gradually caught up.

Lu Heng used his sword to pry open the head shell of the Abyss Tide Worm and extracted a Demon Crystal Core.

"Corrosive Mucus Crystal Core"

"Corrosive Mucus: Use skill to secrete corrosive mucus, which has a corrosive effect on metals, organics, and various other materials. Skill Consumption: 30 points of Demon Energy per kilogram. Skill Level: D."

Lu Heng handed over the Skill Crystal Core to Su Muyu, asking with a grin, "Want to learn it?"

After reading the skill effect, Su Muyu made a face of disgust and shook her head like a rattle drum, "No thanks."

The skill effect was actually not bad, but secreting corrosive mucus was indeed off-putting for many.

Of course, there were always some oddballs who liked such quirky skills.

Lu Heng's face broke into a mischievous smile as he handed over the crystal core, chuckling, "We agreed that you would unconditionally obey me."

Su Muyu's eyes widened in an instant, and she turned and ran, "I don't want it, you can't do this."

"Just kidding, stop running," Lu Heng waved, calling her back.

Next.

The two continued to sit under the trees "fishing," waiting for the "fish" to bite.

"I never knew hunting Abyss Tide Worms could be this easy. Next time, we should bring a mat, lay out some snacks, and have a picnic while we wait," Su Muyu said, propping up her cheek and looking at the azure sea and clear sky.

Who would have thought that beneath such beautiful scenery lay a huge crisis.

Lu Heng shook his head and chuckled, "Wait until a few thousand Abyss Tide Worms crawl ashore. See if you can still be as comfortable then."

Su Muyu's eyes widened, "When that happens, I'll definitely just turn and run. The Abyss Tide Worms can't detect invisibility, right?"

"They can't, but they can track by scent," Lu Heng spread his hands.

"That's a bit troublesome, the 'Invisibility Veil' only has optical invisibility capabilities, which is a pity," Su Muyu began to notice the downsides of the skill.

"Don't worry, wait till the skill levels up, new functions will appear," Lu Heng explained briefly.

"Then I need to quickly train the skill proficiency," Su Muyu nodded seriously.

Next.

The pace of the Abyss Tide Worms chasing the scent of blood and coming ashore quickened, some taking as little as a few minutes to an hour.

Once, even two came up at the same time.

However, dealing with them was the same.

First, burn them with a burning bottle, then Lu Heng would kite two Abyss Tide Worms around on the beach.

Once their shells turned red-hot and they fled into the sea, he swiftly slew them with a double strike of his sword.

After two days of "fishing," they hunted 20 Abyss Tide Worms and obtained 3 crystal cores.

A 15% drop rate, their luck was very good.

Normally, hunting twenty to thirty demons to get one Demon Crystal Core was considered fairly lucky.

Over those days, Lu Heng leveled up to 9, and Su Muyu also reached Level 8.

After reaching Level 9, Lu Heng checked his attributes.

"Name: Lu Heng"

"Species: Human"

"Level: 9"

"Qi-Blood: 160/170"

"Source Energy: 150/190"

"Attributes: Strength 17, Agility 22, Constitution 17, Spirit 19, Perception 18"

"Talent: Agile as a Dragon, Divine Evolution"

"Skill Slot Number: 3"

"Skills: Thunder Weapon, Shadow Clone, Gale Step"

"Martial Arts: Swordsmanship (Meticulous), Movement Technique (Beginner), Fighting (Beginner)"

Among them, the training level of "Gale Step" reached (960/1000)—it would soon be maxed out.

The training level of the movement technique also reached beginner level (810/1000), advancing quickly.

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