Chapter 71: He Really Just Wanted to Feel the Material.
The corpse of the Hōng Lóng that had likely perished began rapidly decomposing.
Before it completely disintegrated, a large portion of its main body started contracting faster than the decomposition process.
In this race against death, a spider larger than half a human dragged itself into the bushes with its remaining limbs and concealed itself beneath protruding tree roots.
“Phew, I almost died there.”
Jié Jié panted slightly, calming his mind for a moment.
“Well then, it’s dead now.”
In the mental space, the totem of the Hōng Lóng was already shattered into black and red cracks…
It seemed he’d need to hunt another Hōng Lóng to repair it.
He didn’t think it was much of an issue.
After all, these Hōng Lóngs were only useful in their berserk phase, rampaging around recently.
Their inherently aggressive nature, coupled with their fast metabolism and massive appetites, made them unsuitable for everyday activities.
These past few days had been exhilarating though.
Now that the excitement was over, Jie Jie needed to deal with his own battered body.
Any injuries inherited from the Hōng Lóng’s terrifying wounds would have caused any other form to collapse instantly, bones shattered and lifeless.
With time running out, Jie Jie could only revert to his original form.
Only two of his eight spider legs remained, his mouthparts were broken, and his internal cavity felt severely injured, though he couldn’t pinpoint the exact damage.
Still, he considered himself lucky to be alive.
And the Golden Thunder King form…
The Golden Thunder King differed from the Thunder Wolf Dragon and Green Swift Dragon. It was the second layer built upon the Thunder Wolf Dragon totem.
Similar to how the Great Thief Dragon relates to the Thief Dragon, possessing the base form of the Thunder Wolf Dragon satisfied half the requirements for the Golden Thunder King.
The battle provided the necessary materials to complete the transformation.
But somehow, it wasn’t just about devouring parts of the Golden Thunder King.
Observing and understanding the Golden Thunder King during the fight must have played a crucial role.
Sigh, he really just wanted to feel the material.
However, these monsters wouldn’t let him touch them easily. Whenever he stripped them of their materials, they’d die on their own.
Why not sneak behind them and pick up leftovers?
Using scraps to transform always felt like creating a weak imitation, trembling in fear, clearly inferior to the real thing…
On the contrary, devouring materials directly from the monsters satisfied his desire for battle, boosted his confidence, filled his stomach quickly, and achieved multiple goals at once.
Though he unlocked it, Jie Jie had no intention of transforming right away. First, he needed to stabilize his injuries.
Unexpectedly, the mighty being later named “Heaven-Earth Brilliant Roaring Dragon” by the Hunter Guild swam past underneath.
Just a ripple as it moved through the earth’s veins caused seismic shifts, scattering dragons far and wide.
At least it didn’t crawl out and interrupt the fight, which might’ve ended badly. Instead, it indirectly saved him.
The oversized spider stayed silent. The earlier battle and earthquake had driven away all nearby creatures. For now, no predators would approach.
But there wouldn’t be any prey either.
He was starving; his body needed nutrients to heal. If he didn’t eat soon, he’d surely perish.
Jie Jie stared at his remaining spider legs, contemplating whether to break one off and eat it.
After staring for a while, he decided against it. Eating it would leave him with only one leg, making movement too dangerous.
So he lay still until he noticed an ant colony moving restlessly outside the tree roots, likely due to the earthquake, preparing to migrate.
The army ants spotted him, mistaking him for dead. A few soldier ants approached, waving their antennae.
Free food delivered.
The spider’s legs trembled slightly, and the remaining half-mouthpart shot out, instantly killing one ant and slurping it up.
Better than nothing.
The other ants retreated cautiously, then circled around his front.
An itch spread across him as the ants bit him, but they couldn’t penetrate his chitinous exoskeleton.
Thanks to several enhancements from dragon pearls, even as a spider, he was no ordinary spider.
Unfortunately, his injuries left gaps in his armor, allowing one ant to find a weak spot.
He used the energy from the previously eaten ant to press his wound tightly against the tree root, denying them access.
Occasionally, he’d exert force to crush a few careless ants for sustenance.
Just minutes ago, he was battling the king of the Thunder Wolf Dragon clan. Now, he was reduced to fighting ants.
At least the army ants tasted good. Though insufficient to regenerate limbs or molt, they were enough to sustain life.
Slurp slurp slurp slurp~
A gust of wind blew, and a red-crested, black-bodied hatred bird landed nearby, slurping ants alongside him.
Its vitality clearly surpassed his near-death state. After eating a few, it scared the ants away and turned its gaze toward Jie Jie.
Slurp.
One of the spider’s eyes was pecked out unexpectedly, but it didn’t matter much; seven remained.
You little pest, again?
All the energy accumulated from eating dozens of ants erupted. His body sprang forward, the remaining half-mouthpart slicing down, pinning the hatred bird and beginning to feed.
Profit!
After devouring the hatred bird, Jie Jie regained some strength.
Flipping through the totems in his dream space, he transformed into a Thunder Light Bug, sucking sap from trees.
…
By dawn, the spider shed the old shell from its newly regenerated legs, healing part of its injuries.
Jie Jie sensed something but chose not to transform into a Large Monster. He waited silently.
The vibrations from the earthquake couldn’t be confined to just this area. Over the next dozen hours, the spider’s silk vibrated multiple times with ground tremors.
Other monsters were moving, but none were heading directly here, leaving Jie Jie somewhat regretful.
As night approached again, a herd of Fairy Deer fleeing in panic collided with Jie Jie’s territory.
There was only one chance.
The next opportunity might take who knows how long.
Jie Jie muttered silently, and the Male Fire Dragon emerged, crashing onto the ground. With its vast wingspan and body, it pinned three Fairy Deer.
Sure enough, waves of hunger signals flooded the Fire Dragon’s brain, nearly driving it mad.
But he had endured a day already; a few more seconds wouldn’t hurt…
The Male Fire Dragon carefully shifted its body, ensuring the struggling Fairy Deer didn’t escape. It raised its head and bit down on the deer trapped under its chest.
“Crack.”
Swallowing the flesh, everything began improving.
The life energy infused into the Fire Dragon totem was repairing cells and filling wounds simultaneously.
