Chapter 169 - 97: Taihang Mountain Range Stronghold
The hard mountain rock was as fragile as tofu before its furious power, easily shattered and sent flying!
Dust and smoke billowed, and shards of rock flew everywhere!
The entire foothill echoed with dull thuds and the mournful sound of shattering rock.
However, the Mosquito Avatar, latched tightly onto the snake’s body, now possessed the physique of a First Grade Demon Beast itself!
Its seemingly tiny body was incredibly tough, fortified by Qi and Blood.
Its six appendages, like grappling hooks forged from refined steel, were dug deep into the gaps between the scales. No matter how frantically the demon python struggled, rolled, and slammed against the rocks, the avatar didn’t budge an inch!
[Iron Body Proficiency +1!]
[Iron Body Proficiency +1!]
[Qi and Blood +1!]
[Qi and Blood +1!]
[...]
Cold notifications rapidly flooded Lin Yi’s mind.
「In the living room of a Yang City tenement building.」
Lin Yi sat cross-legged, his body trembling slightly.
After the Mosquito Avatar fed back the Qi and Blood, he immediately began circulating the Bone Tempering Skill with all his might.
With his Spirit highly concentrated, he precisely guided the surging torrent of energy toward the bones of his right ring finger.
HUM!
A faint red glow appeared on the surface of his ring finger. From within the bone came a series of faint but dense CRACKLES, like beans being roasted.
With every wisp of Qi and Blood that fused into it, his ring finger grew denser and harder.
A sense of power quietly grew and swelled within his flesh and bone.
Soon, the struggles and roars at the Taihang Mountain foothill gradually subsided.
The ferocious green-scaled demon python’s surging Qi and Blood had been completely drained by the Mosquito Avatar.
Its massive body shriveled at a rate visible to the naked eye.
It finally collapsed stiffly onto the cold, rubble-strewn ground, becoming a massive, desiccated corpse covered in green scales. Its life force had completely vanished.
A thought crossed Lin Yi’s mind.
He was about to command the Mosquito Avatar to leave the ravaged battlefield and find its next prey.
Suddenly!
The Mosquito Avatar’s compound eyes, formed from countless tiny lenses, keenly caught an unusual glint of light!
It hovered over the desiccated snake corpse, its gaze landing on the area beneath the massive body’s throat.
There, shockingly, was a palm-sized, oddly shaped scale!
It was completely different from the surrounding scales, which had lost their luster and turned a dull gray.
This scale was a deep, profound green, like the finest jade. Even under the bleak winter sun, it still shimmered brightly!
’Strange!’
Lin Yi thought.
He’d controlled the Mosquito Avatar to hunt plenty of Demon Beasts before. Whether it was a thick-skinned boar demon or a swift demon wolf, once their Qi and Blood was drained, they would immediately lose all their Spiritual Energy. Their hide and bones would become decayed and fragile, utterly worthless.
For this green snake to leave behind a scale that remained perfectly intact—its spiritual glow not yet faded—even after its Qi and Blood had been exhausted was an absolute first!
’Could it be Spiritual Essence?’
Lin Yi’s heart skipped a beat, and a hint of anticipation welled up inside him.
But he quickly dismissed the idea.
If it were Spiritual Essence, it would have been absorbed and refined along with everything else when the [Blood Sucking] skill was activated. It was impossible for it to be left behind.
He controlled the Mosquito Avatar to land carefully on the snake’s corpse. Its forelimbs, hard as refined steel, tentatively tapped the green reverse-scale.
DING!
A clear, melodious clang, like the ringing of metal on metal, echoed!
It was exceptionally clear in the silent mountain valley.
’So hard! And so tough!’
Lin Yi immediately understood.
’This is...’
’Demon Beast Exotic Gold!’
This special reverse-scale was the core of the green-scaled demon python, where all its essence had been refined and condensed!
It was its strongest point of defense and the focal point of its life essence!
In a way, it was no longer pure flesh and blood, which was why the Mosquito Avatar’s draining of Qi and Blood hadn’t destroyed it.
Materials like this from Demon Beasts were collectively known as ’Demon Beast Exotic Gold’!
It was an excellent Spiritual Material for refining defensive Inner Armor or for infusing into a Weapon!
The Mosquito Avatar’s two forelimbs immediately went to work. Like the most dextrous pair of tweezers, they precisely inserted themselves into the gap between the scale’s edge and the flesh.
RRRIP!
With a faint tearing sound, the unusually tough green reverse-scale was peeled off whole.
This thing would definitely fetch a handsome price at a weapon shop or an auction house!
The Mosquito Avatar hunted at great risk; naturally, it couldn’t pass up any valuable spoils.
But...
A practical problem presented itself.
He had the item, but where could he put it?
Lin Yi’s true body was still in the tenement building in Yang City, over two hundred li away!
’Am I really going to make my true body take a trip to the perilous Taihang Mountain just for this one scale?’
’If the Mosquito Avatar hunts more Demon Beasts deeper in the mountains, gathers rare Spirit Medicines, or even discovers mineral deposits in the future...’
’...am I going to have my true body travel a thousand li to pick up the goods every time?’
’That’s way too inefficient!’
’And the risk is too high!’
’If only I had a piece of legendary spatial equipment...’
A flicker of longing passed through Lin Yi.
Unfortunately, that sort of thing was far too precious and rare, well beyond what he could hope for at his current level.
The practical problem demanded an immediate solution.
His mind raced, and he soon came up with a pragmatic idea.
’I need to set up a temporary base in Taihang Mountain for the Mosquito Avatar, to use as a warehouse!’
The Mosquito Avatar immediately took flight. Clutching the precious green reverse-scale with its two upper limbs, it began to zip through the mountain range at low altitude like a tiny reconnaissance drone.
Its compound eyes, like high-precision radar, scanned the complex terrain below.
Before long, it discovered a cave entrance, about half the height of a person, on the leeward side of a steep cliff face.
It flew inside to investigate.
The space inside was much larger than expected.
It was over ten square meters, dry, well-ventilated, and had no strange odors. The walls still bore some long-weathered claw marks and patches of fur, evidence that it had once been the lair of a Demon Beast, but was now long abandoned.
’The location is hidden enough, and there’s plenty of space. This is it!’
Lin Yi was very satisfied with this new "home."
’From now on, this cave will be the Mosquito Avatar’s temporary base and secret warehouse!’
’All the Demon Beast materials from hunting, and any Spirit Medicine or Ore found in the mountains, will be gathered and stored here for now.’
’Once a certain amount has been collected, or if I find something especially valuable, I’ll have my true body make time for a trip to clear it all out in one go!’
𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
The Mosquito Avatar carefully placed the green reverse-scale, which shimmered with a faint light, in the driest corner at the very back of the cave.
This precious material became the first item in the secret warehouse’s collection.
After doing all this, the avatar once again flew silently out of the cave.
It merged into the biting mountain wind.
Continuing its hunt.