Chapter 2 (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Wutian had entirely forgotten about the strange glow on his forehead as he stared at the creature before his eyes, utterly astonished.

The Gobbler’s strength was apparent, and it offered some appealing gains. He could use it to unlock his physique and enhance his strength. Once that happened, he could leave the village in search of his parents.

Wutian scratched his head as he tried to think of a way to tame the nasty thing.

A buzzing sound interrupted his deep thoughts, and he looked up to see the milky glow split into countless tadpole-like streams of light. The lights danced in the air for a while before they converged to form a fist-sized pentagram that released faint energy.

The pentagram glinted while it flew toward the Gobbler like a falling star.

The Gobbler kept fighting back, its narrow eyes filled with fear. Bound by the light, the Gobbler could not do a thing. As the pentagram entered the Gobbler’s body, it glowed and stopped fighting. Its eyes turned lifeless, and it shriveled as if life had been sucked out of it.

When everything was over, the milky glow went out like candlelight.

At that moment, Wutian sensed something in his mind. It was as though he held the Gobbler’s life in his hands and he could kill the Gobbler instantly with his willpower. The feeling was amazing and real.

The Gobbler cawed and fought back in a frenzy as Wutian willed the scene with his mind. Soon, its body started to convulse violently followed by its pupils dilating and saliva dripping down uncontrollably. Those were signs of its impending death.

Shocked, Wutian quickly got rid of the thought. The Gobbler stopped struggling and cautiously glanced at Wutian with a grateful look in its eyes instead of anger. It then hopped onto Wutian’s head and twiddled his hair with its tongue as if it was trying to please him.

“You’ve surrendered, haven’t you?”

For a moment, Wutian was struck dumb. He was delighted and puzzled at the same time, wondering what the milky glow was and why it had appeared on his forehead all of a sudden. That had never happened during the past sixteen years. He rubbed his forehead with his hand and found nothing unusual.

“Caw!” Right then, the Gobbler jumped down from his head onto a piece of broken rock. Its body shone as it opened its mouth wide, and a pea-sized, blood-red elixir appeared.

Seeing the strange scene, Wutian’s doubts were finally cleared. “You’re giving it to me?”

“Caw, caw!” The Gobbler nodded, its eyes gemstone-like eyes twinkling spiritedly.

Wutian took the elixir in his hand and instantly felt a stream of pure Essence energy flow up his arm. The energy that spread throughout his body warmed him up as it drove away the cold.

“The Essence…”

The blood elixir was the Essence derived from the blood and qi of the Louse after the Gobbler ate it. It was precious, pure, and concentrated, containing all of the Louse’s marrow. If consumed, it might aid in unlocking his physique or at least strengthening his body for a solid physical foundation.

Without being pretentious, Wutian thanked the Gobbler and tucked the elixir under his arms.

Facing the rising sun and inhaling its vitality was a sure way to boost cultivation effectiveness. Wutian kept the elixir. He planned on waiting for the sun to come out and then consuming the elixir.

Bending down, Wutian put the Gobbler in his hand. The thing felt cold and sticky to the touch. He took a closer look and discovered that its body was covered in a disgusting layer of black fluid.

“You’re beginning to look more and more like a Demon Toad!” said Wutian with a smile. “You’re going to follow me from now on, little thing. Let me give you a name. How about I call you Little Demon Toad?”

Disdain filled the Gobbler’s narrow eyes as it cawed, seemingly not too happy about being equated to a Demon Toad.

“What about Blackie?”

“Caw, caw!”

“You’re cawing all the time. Should I name you “Crow”, then?”

“Caw, caw!”

“Okay, I’ll stop making fun of you. My name is Wutian. I’ll call you Little Tian from now on.”

The Gobbler hopped onto Wutian’s head and toyed with his hair, apparently happy with the name. However, Wutian’s hair was now wet and sticky.

Wutian did not mind it, though. Just as he was about to leave, his eyes locked on to the Black Panther, which had been reduced to a skeleton. There, he caught a glimpse of a faint glimmer.

He lifted the carcass and saw a palm-sized, black emblem. It had a mirror finish without any patterns. Feeling puzzled, Wutian inched closer and picked it up. An icy current hit him as soon as he laid hands on it.

It felt like permafrost, so cold that it could freeze his soul. A layer of frost covered Wutian’s skin at once as the ice quickly condensed. Shocked, Wutian wanted to discard the emblem, but he could not move his hand because his muscles were frozen.

“Caw, Caw!” At that point, the Gobbler jumped down, opened its mouth, and bit Wutian in the arm. Blood oozed out of his wound.

Wutian immediately felt the chilly current leave, and warmth returned to his body. As soon as he sensed a restriction to his movement, he quickly tossed the emblem. Only then did the cold current disappear.

After a while, the Gobbler had completely absorbed the cold from his body. Wutian exercised his muscles and joints, then looked at the emblem in fear. If the Gobbler had not taken away the freezing current from his body, he would have turned into an ice sculpture and died.

“Caw, caw!”

The Gobbler opened its mouth and called out to Wutian. He wondered if the emblem possessed some kind of energy.

Sure enough, as the Gobbler’s body shone, a pea-sized, crystal-clear Essence materialized. It emanated a crisp air and faint luminescence, which gave it the appearance of an icy star.

Wutian carefully touched it with his hand and sensed some chilly air surging within, but it was not as deadly as before. Breathing a sigh of relief, he placed the item in his hand. As he carefully studied it, he discovered a high concentration of Essence in it. He was just not sure if he could absorb and refine it for his own use.

The Samsara Continent had many super-powerful beings, which naturally possessed the Essence. One example would be the fire beings, who could only absorb the Elemental Essence of fire. Meanwhile, another instance would be the Wood Elemental Essence, which fed the fire. Both were complementary to each other.

However, this particular Essence was cold, and it belonged to the water element. Only water and metal beings could absorb it. On the other hand, the Louse’s Essence, which was refined from flesh and blood, was ordinary, so it did not contain any Elemental Essence and could be consumed by anyone.

“Can you absorb the emblem cold energy, Little Tian?” asked Wutian.