The fifteen days during which humans could operate in the secret realm had passed.
The slime fished with spirit herbs and spirit fruit in the mudfield.
'It's not bad... but the things I'm catching are disappointing.'
This was the outermost region of the secret realm.
He caught only ordinary monsters and Demon Beasts at the beginning of the Qi Refining Realm.
Occasionally, an unwary 1-Star Demon Beast took the bait.......
But those catches were few and far between.
The slime was at 1-Star of the Qi Refining Realm.
There was a limit to how much he could grow from prey at the entry stage.
CAW— CAW—
'That damned crow!'
Even under those circumstances, the crow Demon Beast continually watched for a chance to steal the spirit herb and fruit.
Keeping watch on it was surprisingly stressful.
'If I go deeper inside, even that thing won't be able to follow me.'
The spiritual energy grew denser the deeper one traveled into the secret realm.
Stronger Demon Beasts than those here would appear.
Most of the Demon Beasts there were at 1-Star of the Qi Refining Realm.
Even 2-Star Demon Beasts occasionally appeared.
It was difficult for a crow Demon Beast at the entry stage to go there.
If this place was a hunting ground for beginners through the low teens.......
That place was a hunting ground for the mid-teens through the low twenties.
When one's level rose, one had to change hunting grounds.
Even so, he had remained here for a while because.......
'Nothing beats reaping easy rewards somewhere safe.'
The higher the level of a hunting ground, the more dangerous it became.
He had wanted to take everything he could from this place before leaving.
Now he had reached its limit.
At last, it was time to leave.
The slime slowly moved the mudfield toward the interior of the secret realm.
The spiritual energy gradually grew denser as he advanced.
Stronger Demon Beasts appeared.
He could obtain better spirit herbs and spirit stones.
The mudfield devoured every spirit herb, Demon Beast, and spirit stone in the land it crossed.
The slime was at its center.
As he advanced, he reached a zone where the concentration of spiritual energy suddenly increased.
Thus ended the beginner hunting ground for the low teens.
'From here on, it's a level-twenty hunting ground.'
This game did not display levels separately.
It expressed everything simply through realms.
Still... converting them into levels made the system easier to understand.
'It's just a fantasy game wearing a xianxia skin anyway.......'
Whether he used levels or realms, whatever was easiest to understand was best.
The slime prepared to fish in the level-twenty hunting ground.
***
'It feels refreshing not to see that crow.'
Without the crow Demon Beast in the sky eyeing the spirit herb and fruit, things became considerably easier.
He made a spirit herb bear spirit fruit in the mudfield and hid at a suitable distance.
Demon Beasts grew more intelligent as their realms rose.
If the slime stayed close, they could notice the trap more easily.
Until now, to stop the crow Demon Beast from plucking the spirit fruit.......
The slime had needed to remain near the bait.
That inevitably reduced his fishing efficiency.
This time, he positioned himself some distance from the bait.
OINK— OINK—OINK—
Drawn by the spirit fruit's fragrance, a One-Horned Boar appeared.
'The fact that the same creature appeared last time makes me think there must be a reason.'
Boars specialized in their sense of smell.
They were especially good at finding things hidden on or beneath the ground.
Their staple foods were acorns on the ground and grubs beneath it.
They were also good at finding mushrooms and underground roots.......
So pigs were often used to find truffles.
It was the first to react to the spirit herb and fruit.
THUD— THUD— THUD—
The One-Horned Boar approached the spirit herb and fruit.
Then it stopped briefly.
Boars were highly intelligent animals.
Last time, it had been careless because there were no Demon Beasts there capable of threatening it.
This place was different.
Even a large One-Horned Boar could become prey here.
The One-Horned Boar carefully checked the surrounding scents and spiritual energy.
It confirmed that there was nothing dangerous nearby.
Only then did it approach to eat the spirit herb and fruit.
SQUEAL—
SQUEAL—?
SQUEAL—!
Mud had a strong earthy smell.
It erased other scents.
The mudfield was packed with Mud Slimes.
That also concealed part of the slime's demonic aura.
Because he kept some distance from the spirit herb and fruit.
He was difficult to detect.
'I don't know about a 2-Star creature, but another 1-Star won't notice me easily.'
The female cultivator at 1-Star had noticed only because the 2-Star man had spoken first.
He could avoid easy detection by those at the same realm.
The One-Horned Boar's body sank into the mudfield.
Startled, it struggled with all its strength to escape.
SQUEAL—!
SQUEAL—!
The One-Horned Boar thrashed in the mudfield.
The mudfield was a mire with no solid footing.
The more force it used, the deeper it sank.
'Go, Mud Slimes!'
When the slime's realm rose to 1-Star of the Qi Refining Realm.
His control over the Mud Slimes strengthened.
They had become a type of subordinate.
Following his order, the Mud Slimes clung to the boar Demon Beast's body.
Unfortunately, the Mud Slimes could not harm the One-Horned Boar.
There was too great a difference in realm.
Even so.......
'They can gather together and pull it down. Ha ha.'
Hundreds clung to it and pulled it into the mudfield.
The One-Horned Boar sank faster.
There was no need to wait as long as before.
Even its head was quickly buried in the mudfield.
WOBBLE—
WOBBLE—
The One-Horned Boar struggled desperately to escape the mudfield.
But its resistance did not last long.
Mud Slimes entered the One-Horned Boar's mouth and nose.
They blocked its airway, suffocating it to death.
'Having subordinates certainly is convenient.'
The easier, shorter hunt was a considerable benefit.
'Thank you for the meal.'
Thanks to his increased size, he could swallow the One-Horned Boar without much difficulty.
It also took less time to digest.
'Since we're both at 1-Star, it definitely gives plenty of experience.'
It did not give as much experience as before.......
But there was no experience reduction from a level difference.
It was appropriate prey for the current slime.
One-Horned Rabbits and One-Horned Rats appeared here as well.
'Hey, isn't the game company being too lazy here? They're trying to coast.......'
Of course, the One-Horned Rabbits and One-Horned Rats had changed slightly in appearance.
They were a little larger.......
And contained more spiritual power and spiritual energy.
In other words, 1-Star One-Horned Rabbits and One-Horned Rats appeared here.
'Well, perhaps this isn't bad.......'
Had they become a little smarter?
But the difference was negligible.
Most importantly, their ecology and behavior patterns had not changed.
He could easily catch them with the same hunting methods as before.
And the experience penalty was gone.
'Isn't this fucking sweet?'
Easy prey was always welcome.
***
'The abundant spiritual energy here really is nice.'
More spiritual energy gathered in the mudfield.
The Mud Slimes, his subordinates, gathered it and handed it to him.
The slime concentrated it in the spirit herb and fruit.
The abundant spiritual energy made them even more tempting.
Drawn by them, other creatures approached the mudfield.
One was a white deer Demon Beast with magnificent branch-like horns.
'People call that a spirit creature, don't they?'
The distinction between a Demon Beast and a spirit creature was vague.
If it harmed humans, it was a Demon Beast.
If it did not, it was a spirit creature.
In truth, the distinction was meaningless.
If a White Deer ate crops, it was a Demon Beast.
If it helped cultivate them, it was a spirit creature.
The White Deer Demon Beast's horns possessed divine power.
It was similar to the mudfield's effect.
It could infuse grass and trees with spiritual energy.
The White Deer Demon Beast cultivated nearby vegetation and grazed upon it.
It was like a farmer growing crops.
It coveted the spirit herb and fruit the slime had planted.
Stealing crops someone else had worked hard to grow was always satisfying.
Moreover, the spirit herb and fruit the slime had cultivated looked better than its own.
The White Deer circled the mudfield, apparently considering how to pick them.
After circling for some time, the White Deer Demon Beast suddenly leaped toward the spirit herb and fruit.
SPLASH—
The White Deer sank up to its shoulders in the mudfield.
Its leap had still brought it very close to the spirit herb and fruit.
It picked and ate them, then turned and began to leave the mudfield.
'You think you can gobble up my spirit herb and fruit and run?!'
Deer could swim.
The White Deer intended to swim out of the mudfield.
'I won't allow that. Go! Mud Slimes!'
Hundreds of Mud Slimes clung to the White Deer's body.
They could not harm it, but.......
They could bind its feet.
Thanks to them, the White Deer's movements slowed.
'Strengthen! Earth attribute!'
It was nothing extraordinary.
The mud lost moisture and became thicker.
It became harder for the White Deer to swim out.
'I'll eat it before it escapes.'
The slime opened his mouth wide and began swallowing the White Deer from its rump.
SPLURT—
'You damned White Deer!'
Startled by the sudden attack from behind, the White Deer released a huge pile of dung.
The slime's mouth filled with White Deer dung.
'Think positively. Didn't this dung come from something that ate spirit herbs and spirit fruit?'
The White Deer ordinarily cultivated and ate spirit herbs and fruit.
It had even eaten the tempting low-grade spirit herb and fruit the slime had grown.
Its dung was brimming with spiritual energy and spiritual power.
'Since when have I ever been picky about shit.......?'
The sediment in the sewers and waterways had ultimately been shit too.
The slime was a monster that ate shit to grow.
It digested such dung to cultivate spirit herbs and fruit.
The slime was both a filter feeder in the ecosystem.
And a creature that produced the fertilizer plants needed to grow.
Perhaps it was only natural that he possessed the power to cultivate vegetation.
'If this is the natural order, I have to accept it.'
In Buddhism, the lotus blooming from mud was regarded as a symbol of attaining Buddhahood.
Immortal cultivation was not so different from Buddhism.
The lotus blooming from mud represented nobility and the realm of immortality.
That was why immortal cultivators tried to advance their realms no matter how many filthy things they did.
'I'm the lotus blooming from the mud. Damn! That's profound. Truly profound.'
The slime Devoured the White Deer's dung.
It was dung produced after eating many excellent spirit herbs and fruits.......
So it overflowed with spiritual power and spiritual energy.
He could feel spiritual energy filling his body.
'Shit is medicine. Medicine.'
The White Deer's undigested dung truly was medicinal.
'What would I have done if I'd spat it out because it was filthy?'
The slime swallowed everything from the White Deer's rump to its horns.
***
'Wait, I should store the horns separately instead of eating them.'
He decided not to eat the White Deer Horns until he had checked them for special abilities.
[White Deer Horns: Have the effect of nurturing vegetation.]
'What is this? It isn't even an ability. Why is it so vague?'
No separate ability designation appeared.
'Well, I'll know once I eat them. Let's go!'
He digested the White Deer Horns as well.
The rich spiritual energy and spiritual power concentrated within the horns were absorbed.
'Whoa. Something feels different.......'
Beyond the feeling of his experience rising as spiritual energy filled him, another change occurred.
'What changed?'
The Mud Slime Demon Beast Horns had changed.
[Mud Demon Beast Horns: Mudfield Creation. Have the effect of nurturing vegetation.]
The nature of the horns themselves had changed.
He carefully touched his own horns.
Both tips of his single horn had split slightly.
Their ends had spread like those of the White Deer Horns.
'Ha ha. This is pretty good.......'
Mudfield Creation and the slime himself had both possessed the power to nurture vegetation and infuse it with spiritual energy.
'This is like a supermarket's buy-one-get-one-free sale. Fucking sweet.'
Absorbing the White Deer's power had strengthened that ability further.
His power to cultivate vegetation had doubled.
The slime took a new spirit herb from inside his body.
He planted it atop the mudfield and infused it with spiritual energy.
The spirit herb grew larger, fresher, and more vibrant.
An extraordinary aura seemed to flow from it.
The spirit fruit it bore became even more tempting.
A rich fragrance spread in every direction.
He could almost sense the surrounding Demon Beasts stirring, unable to resist the scent.
'Now, let the hunt begin again. Ha ha.'
He tempted the surrounding Demon Beasts with better bait.
The slime's hunting season had returned.