parentshiftbook Chapter 31: Demons and Monsters of the Mountains and Swamps, the Divine Power to Control Water!
Chapter 31: Demons and Monsters of the Mountains and Swamps, the Divine Power to Control Water!
The panel displays information.
[Demon - Water Ghost] [Soft]
[Water Ghost Soft: Skin is supple and has a sensitive touch.]
[Required materials...]
Zhang Ping's breath hitched, and he almost cried out in surprise!
The Demon Stone... is actually part of some kind of demon?!
He took a deep breath of the cold air, which smelled of decaying leaves and earth, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart. His expression instantly returned to normal, and he stared calmly at the information on the panel.
A water ghost? The name of some kind of demon?
Is this ghost stone a material from the water ghost's body? Or is it closely related to the water ghost?
But is "softness" the only characteristic that can be obtained?
He knew nothing about water ghosts and could only passively try other attributes. Strength, speed... the panel showed no reaction.
"I found one too!" Lu Feng's voice came from not far away, with a hint of joy. He held up a piece of gray stone of the same texture and walked quickly closer.
Zhang Ping looked up and saw that it was exactly the same as the one in his hand. His eyes flickered: "Let me see it."
Upon closer inspection, the mark still exhibited the characteristic of being soft like a water ghost.
He stroked his chin, realizing something: "It seems that this so-called ghost stone is some kind of material from the water ghost's body, or rather, part of its limbs."
As his gaze swept across the mountain range shrouded in an eerie black mist, a thought quietly began to form.
With the stealth ability granted by the spirit fox beast markings, I am not afraid of the demons' perception here. Perhaps... I can try to find the limbs of other demons? Special places like Ghost Cloud Mountain are rare and hard to come by.
Seeing the confusion on Lu Feng's face, it was clear that he knew nothing about the truth about the Ghost Stone.
"It's nothing, hurry up and look for it." Zhang Ping shook his head and tossed the stone back to Lu Feng.
This area was near the depths of Ghost Cloud Mountain, and Ghost Stones were not scarce. In just a short while, the two had found about ten stones. Based on the task of five stones per person, they had already exceeded their quota.
Considering the severe manpower losses suffered by his family this time, Lu Feng wanted to find a few more to be on the safe side.
"Brother Feng, since that's the case, you continue searching here, and I'll explore deeper." Zhang Ping's thought grew stronger.
"Are you crazy?!" Lu Feng exclaimed in shock, grabbing his arm.
"The difference between the outer perimeter and the depths is like night and day! It's incredibly dangerous inside!"
Zhang Ping gently broke free: "It's alright, wait for me here, I will be back before sunset." Qin Hu had given strict orders before setting off, that he must be down the mountain no later than sunset.
Seeing that he had made up his mind, Lu Feng did not try to persuade him further, but just frowned, full of confusion.
Why is this kid acting crazy?
He stared at Zhang Ping with a solemn expression: "Be extremely careful! If the demons discover you, do not engage in battle, run towards me immediately!"
"good!"
After bidding farewell to Lufeng, Zhang Ping ventured alone into the depths of Guiyun Mountain.
The further in you go, the thicker the fog becomes, so viscous it's almost tangible, nearly obscuring your vision. The temperature drops sharply, and fine frost quickly condenses on the low, withered branches at your feet.
Zhang Ping frowned deeply. The temperature had dropped strangely, probably to minus ten degrees Celsius. Deep in the thick fog, several blurry shadows silently swept past, leaving behind faint hissing sounds, like venomous snakes flicking their tongues.
"Could there really be ghosts?" The dread he felt when watching horror movies in his past life suddenly resurfaced, making him tremble with fear with every step he took.
After walking for a long time, a huge tree shadow appeared in the thick fog ahead.
The branches and leaves were as black as ink, swaying in the deathly silence, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding bare ground.
Several distorted humanoid and beast-like figures were kneeling and bowing in front of the tree shadows!
He stared wide-eyed at the bizarre scene.
"Bang...bang..."
The dull sound drilled into his mind like a spell, and an irresistible temptation compelled him to lift his foot and join the eerie worship procession.
At that moment, the owl-shaped beast pattern on his forehead suddenly became scorching hot, like a red-hot branding iron!
Zhang Ping snapped to his senses and, without a word, turned around and sprinted back the way he came!
Only when the death-inducing demonic sound completely disappeared from his ears did he dare to stop, leaning against a cold, black tree, panting heavily, his face extremely pale.
"Damn! This is so weird!" he cursed under his breath, still shaken.
I absolutely dare not go in that direction again.
He changed his approach and continued to explore deeper.
Along the way, he encountered all sorts of bizarre and strange events. Finally, as he used a seemingly ordinary black stone to orient himself, the stone beneath his feet suddenly trembled, and within two or three breaths, it expanded and twisted, transforming into a gigantic stone figure!
The stone man was incredibly strong. Zhang Ping activated his divine power and took the punch head-on, but his arm was still slightly painful and numb.
"call--"
After shaking off the stone golem, Zhang Ping, panting heavily, gazed at the even deeper and darker mist ahead.
"We can't go any further in."
He stopped and cautiously looked around. He found himself standing on a jutting ridge, with a deep cave entrance about three meters high just ten steps ahead.
"Let's see if there's anything in this cave." He cautiously approached.
The makeshift cloth bundle on his back was half full, filled with items he had collected along the way that he thought were valuable, including a few dark pebbles he had knocked off the stone man.
The cave wasn't deep, and we soon reached its end.
However, the sight before him made him suddenly stop in his tracks, his pupils shrinking slightly.
"There's... an altar here?!"
The space at the bottom of the cave was much more open than the passage, and in the center of the ground stood a strange altar with black and white colors.
The altar is a perfect circle, covered with mysterious grooves, in which viscous black gas flows, converging in wisps towards a fist-sized, pure black stone fixed in the center.
The stone was nailed to the altar by an ancient longsword, like some kind of seal.
Zhang Ping tentatively reached out to approach the airflow, only to feel a cold, slippery sensation, which he couldn't understand. His gaze finally settled on the black stone at the core.
His eyelids kept twitching, hesitating whether or not to touch the thing.
After all, no matter how you look at it, this thing looks like it was sealed on by a long sword. Considering the situation at Ghost Cloud Mountain, it might be some great demon.
However, having seen the ghost stone before, he greedily guessed: it might not be a demon, but could be a demon's limb!
"How about... we try using the panel?" He risked extending his finger and gently touching the surface of the black stone.
The longsword that had pierced through remained motionless.
The next instant, the panel information suddenly appeared:
[Demons - Mountains and Swamps] [Water God's Power]
[Water Power: The ability to control and manipulate water flow]
[Required materials: Mountain and Marsh Heart, Water Spirit Root, Conch, River Crab, Ancient Lake Bottom Silt]
???
The power of water?!
Zhang Ping stared blankly, completely bewildered by the sudden information.