Chapter 216: Mysterious Ability
Chapter 216: Mysterious Ability
Ji Xinghuo returned to the middle section of the canyon, where a few Stone Sickle Ao remained, desperately crawling away with their severely wounded bodies upon seeing him back.
He shook his head and casually shot arrows at them, putting them out of their misery.
Among them, several Stone Sickle Ao were feigning death, but they couldn't escape Ji Xinghuo's perception, and his arrows turned their pretend deaths into reality.
His spiritual source energy increased by several dozen points.
With the last Stone Sickle Ao's mournful cry, the canyon fell completely silent.
"What a harvest!"
Ji Xinghuo rubbed his hands together in glee.
However, looking at the corpses of over a thousand monsters, he couldn't help but feel a bit daunted by the task of collecting their exotic species.
But this was a happy problem to have.
He didn't waste any time and asked Qinghong to climb up the cliff to keep watch for him, then immediately began the collection process.
First were the two Stone Sickle Giant Ao of the Hong level.
Ji Xinghuo walked up to the older-looking one and gently touched it, causing the creature's exotic species information to unfold in his vision.
Monster: Stone Sickle Giant Ao
Level: Doomsday - Hong
Exotic Species: Stone Sickle Claws, Gigantification, High-Level Toughness, Basalt Body, Earth Pulse, Thousand Spirit Dexterity, Wild Leap, Shockwave, Trampling
A total of nine exotic species, with two being super-limit.
Ji Xinghuo carefully read through the information, thinking that this number was more in line with what he expected. The Nile Giant Lizard, with its sixteen exotic species, was definitely a rare exception.
After all, monsters weren't intelligent beings, and the vast majority could only rely on their own awakened abilities.
They didn't have the means to find expansion curios, nor did they understand what they were. They acted purely on instinct.
Ji Xinghuo then proceeded to touch the other Stone Sickle Giant Ao.
It had fewer exotic species, only eight, but surprisingly, three of them were super-limit. Two of them were Basalt Body and Earth Pulse, and the third was "Blood Burning," a well-known advanced ability of "Blood Boil."
As the name suggested, Blood Burning used the blood within the body as fuel, igniting it to unleash tremendous energy in a short period, resulting in a massive boost in strength and speed.
However, it came at a great cost, with a shorter duration and significant side effects, making it unsuitable for casual use.
Its effects were slightly inferior to "Bloody Rampage."
Blood Burning could be understood as another version of Bloody Rampage.
While Bloody Rampage had no side effects, Blood Burning did, and they were severe; Bloody Rampage couldn't be upgraded, but Blood Burning could.
Additionally, Blood Burning had higher consumption.
The two abilities couldn't be activated simultaneously.
Generally, Blood Burning, like Bloody Rampage, needed to be used in conjunction with an ability that replenished blood, such as "Blood Drinker" or "Life Syphon," to increase its duration and mitigate its side effects.
Blood Burning was highly valuable, sought after by many close-range professionals, especially the "Flame Maniacs."
The Flame Maniacs were already a high-burst profession, and integrating Blood Burning with their core ability, "Internal Combustion," which ignited star power, would result in a double burst, granting them explosive power for a short time.
"This one's for Er Ge (second brother)."
Ji Xinghuo immediately thought of Zhong Ming.
Although Blood Burning was incredibly valuable, with a price ranging from 70 million to 100 million yuan, he knew that family came first.
He used the Lei Chi Battle Blade to begin slicing the exotic species out of the Stone Sickle Giant Ao's bodies.
With the aid of his Thousand Illusion Star Pupils, Ji Xinghuo's efficiency was high, and the Stone Sickle Giant Ao's bodies were no longer as tough as they had been in life.
In less than ten minutes, he had collected the exotic species from both Hong-level monsters.
Two Earth Pulses, two Basalt Bodies, one Blood Burning, and several other exceptional exotic species—the value of these dozen or so exotic species was close to 200 million yuan.
He held them in his hands and observed them for a moment.
He had seen the Basalt Body before; its exotic species form was a hard stone, and the success rate of fusion was still 82%.
The Earth Pulse, on the other hand, took the form of a rubber-like organ.
It was about the size of an olive and had been cut from the Stone Sickle Giant Ao's heart chamber. Its texture was supple, and at first glance, it looked like it had been molded from clay.
Information popped up in his vision.
Exotic Species: Earth Pulse
Grade: Super-Limit
Fusion Success Rate: 87%
Upgradable: Yes
Ji Xinghuo felt a bit disappointed seeing the 87% success rate, as it was much lower than he had expected.
Previously, he had thought that if the success rate were 90% or higher, he might attempt the fusion himself, as this ability was incredibly powerful. Simply stepping on the ground would grant him strength enhancement and wound recovery, but the most frightening aspect was the near-infinite stamina it provided, giving him a massive advantage in combat.
With Earth Pulse, it would be nearly impossible for an enemy to wear him down, and facing numerous foes would be a breeze, allowing him to take on a hundred or even a thousand enemies alone!
Now it seemed that his compatibility with the ability fell just short of that mark.
"What a shame."
Ji Xinghuo sighed regretfully.
He called Qinghong over and placed his hand on its body to check the information again. The compatibility between Earth Pulse and Qinghong was even lower, at only 43%, less than half of his own.
"Never mind, it's not meant to be."
Ji Xinghuo then picked up the "Blood Burning" exotic species, which had a high fusion success rate of 91%.
However, he had never liked these abilities that inflicted heavy damage on both the enemy and himself. While it was true that the short burst of immense power could sometimes save his life, overuse would lead to dependency, and this tightrope-walking style would eventually lead to a disastrous downfall.
When an enemy went crazy and unleashed their power, he only needed to exert a little more force to crush them head-on!
"I'll give this to Second Brother next time I see him; he'll probably like it."
Ji Xinghuo placed each of the five super-limit exotic species into separate containers and then stored them away in his Dimensional Stomach Pouch.
After examining the super-limit exotic species, he carefully inspected the others as well.
However, none of them had a high fusion rate.
He wasn't interested in those either.
Next, he began collecting exotic species from the other monsters. There were a total of nine elite Stone Sickle Ao, and their exotic species were quite similar. Among them, four possessed Basalt Bodies, which would fetch a high price.
Then, it was time for the Elite Stone Sickle Ao.
Ji Xinghuo brandished his Lei Chi Battle Blade like a skilled butcher, swiftly slicing through the corpses of the Stone Sickle Ao. One by one, their exotic species were extracted.
With practice came proficiency, and with his Thousand Spirit Dexterity, he had already slain countless Stone Sickle Ao in the past, making him extremely familiar with their anatomy. He had long since reached the level of a master butcher, effortlessly slicing with his blade and piercing with its tip to extract the exotic species.
"Hmm?"
After collecting exotic species from over twenty Elite Stone Sickle Ao, Ji Xinghuo touched the next one, and an interface with information popped up, revealing something slightly different.
This elite monster had four exotic species, three of which were quite ordinary.
But one of them was unfamiliar.
"Petrifying Gaze?"
Ji Xinghuo's eyes lit up with delight as he discovered the ability's function: to turn any living being his eyes landed on into stone, with the duration determining the extent of petrification. It was a mysterious ability!
Mysterious abilities were those that defied conventional understanding, transcending physical explanations and even seeming abstruse and metaphysical within the realm of supernatural powers. They were classified as a type of enigmatic superpower.
Not all mysterious abilities were exceptionally powerful, though. In fact, most of them were quite weak.
For example, there was a mysterious ability called "Perfect Regurgitation."
Its effect allowed the user to expel anything they had consumed within a certain timeframe, regardless of whether it had been digested, as long as it remained in their body and hadn't been expelled yet.
The principle behind this ability was unclear, but it worked. However, its usefulness was questionable.
Perfect Regurgitation was rated as a basic ability.
In practice, though, its power paled in comparison to other basic abilities. Yet, in certain specific environments or conditions, it could potentially rival the effects of a Starfall ability.
In summary, mysterious abilities had a high upper limit and a low lower limit, and their true power couldn't be solely determined by their assigned grade.
Petrifying Gaze was rated as Outstanding.
It possessed strong control and was difficult to guard against, making it a valuable ability, possibly even more so than super-limit exotic species.
Ji Xinghuo dug out an eyeball, which was the exotic species for Petrifying Gaze.
[Exotic Species: Petrifying Gaze]
[Grade: Outstanding]
[Fusion Success Rate: 65%]
[Upgradable: Yes]
"Tsk!"
Ji Xinghuo clicked his tongue in dismay at the low fusion success rate. Ever since obtaining the Myriad Manifestations Star Pupils, he rarely came across exotic species with a fusion success rate below 70%. It seemed that Petrifying Gaze wasn't a good fit for him; otherwise, having another control ability would've been nice.
He put the eyeball away and continued collecting.
Even with Ji Xinghuo's efficiency, it took him from nightfall to daybreak to extract all the exotic species from the over a thousand Stone Sickle Ao corpses.
In the middle of the canyon, there was a waterproof tarp laid out on the ground, piled high with blood-soaked exotic species.
In total, there were over two thousand exotic species!
These were all relatively common and moderately valued, such as "Rockskin," "Toughness," and "Rapid Recovery."
The high-value Outstanding and super-limit exotic species were kept separate and stored in his Dimensional Stomach Pouch.
Aside from "Petrifying Gaze," there were two other pleasant surprises.
One was "Burrow," which allowed the user to temporarily merge with the ground, hiding underground or passing through walls of dirt and stone—an excellent ability for escaping tight spots.
The other was "Fossil to Sand," which turned any touched stone into sand.
Both were rare and unique abilities.
Additionally, there were quite a few other exotic species like "Earth Spikes," "Quicksand Trap," "Stoneslinger," "Stonewall," "Shockwave," and "Trampling." With just a portion of these, along with "Great Artery Pulse" and "Basalt Body," one could create a complete "Earthwalker" profession template.
Earthwalker was a formidable profession, but Ji Xinghuo wasn't interested, as it wasn't compatible with his Magnetic Maniac profession and wouldn't allow for advancement.
Ji Xinghuo stood before the mountain of exotic species, a pleased expression on his face.
With all these exotic species, he could make at least two to three hundred million yuan if he sold them all. Additionally, by giving Chi Zhonglin a "Pulse of the Earth," he would have fulfilled one of his five promises.
"My detour to the Absolute Peak Canyon was so worth it!"
Ji Xinghuo had originally planned to go to the Bloody Highlands but only made a stop at the Absolute Peak Canyon. He never expected to make such a substantial unexpected profit just a few days after setting out.
He rolled up the waterproof tarp and had Qinghong swallow it into the Dimensional Stomach Pouch.
"Let's go."
Ji Xinghuo rode Qinghong and circled the canyon to ensure he hadn't missed anything before leaving this blood-drenched place.
(End of Chapter)
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