Chapter 1 Centipede Nest

At this moment, Zhang Fucheng was draped in a mage's robe, a magic sword in his right hand. This middle-aged man, usually with a peaceful countenance, now had a deeply furrowed brow. Protected at the center by armored guards, he held a formation plate in his left hand. Blue-green spiritual light spun across it, talismans releasing ripples that shielded them from the various illusions and mental intrusions brought on by the highly concentrated spiritual radiation.

Even wraiths possessed mental attack methods like 'spirit sounds,' so naturally, monsters and fiends more advanced than wraiths would as well. This ability, known as 'spiritual pressure' or '威压' (wei ya), could completely shatter the minds of ordinary people even before a battle began.

Well-trained warriors could resist this spiritual pressure, but using such skilled individuals in battles against demons and monsters was too wasteful.

Therefore, this was why the various academies dispatched professors to various locations to assist local armed forces in suppressing demons—only with the aid of transcendent humans possessing extraordinary power could brave guards stand against demons head-on.

Of course, this ability might seem to greatly limit humans, but there was a very simple way to solve this problem.

That was to use a 20mm anti-materiel rifle to blow up the demons from 100 meters away!

Spiritual pressure was not a spiritual force shield, after all; it couldn't stop bullets. Not every demon had the power to deflect projectiles, and the advancements in human weaponry were no joke.

However, if demons appeared in narrow streets or sewer areas, the combination of transcendents and guards was still the best solution.

"This is the demon's lair."

The leading member of the White Emperor Guards stepped forward to check whether there were any other dangers lurking in the black moss. After confirming that there were no other wood centipedes, Zhang Fucheng held the formation plate and magic sword as he cautiously moved forward to observe the centipede eggs at the center of the nest.

And he discovered obvious traces of humans—a few footprints on the moss, faint and rapidly disappearing as the moss regenerated.

"...Just like the demon core of that centipede beast was taken, the congealed essence of this hidden spiritual vein has also been taken."

"Hmm, a few centipede eggs are missing too. But he didn't destroy all the centipede eggs? That's really strange..."

After using spirit vision to check the state of the nest, Zhang Fucheng reached out to touch the centipede eggs. He could feel the abundant life force within these eggs; there was no doubt that if placed in a suitable environment, all of these centipede eggs could hatch, creating a batch of juvenile wood centipedes... This shouldn't be difficult for a powerhouse who could kill a wood centipede.

Even for such a person, a group of wood centipedes could definitely be considered a source of strength. Moreover, who knew if these wood centipedes might become even stronger in the future Era of Great Strife?

"An 'awakened' level transcendent we don't know about."

Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Professor Zhang's expression became serious. He could even reconstruct the process in his mind: the other party slaying the wood centipede, tearing open its carapace to take the demon core, and then arriving unscathed at its lair, taking away the centipede eggs and the congealed essence of the spiritual vein.

Thinking of how easily the other party accomplished this, he couldn't help but murmur, "To be able to kill a mature demon in its breeding period in such a short time... This level of strength is probably not much different from a Celestial Master without full equipment."

Although spiritual energy had not yet fully recovered, and the Sages, even if they cultivated the Heavenly Dao, could only be trapped in their current realms, many of the Sages were simply scholars and managers and had not chosen to cultivate the distracting path of transcendence.

But to be able to take the first step of 'transcendence' with one's own strength in an environment where heaven and earth are severed, such talent can undoubtedly be called a contemporary hero!

"Compared to demons and monsters, this 'hero' who took action to slay the demons is more worthy of our attention!"

"We need to report to the Sages."

And just as the professor from the Zheng Yi Academy respectfully referred to that unknown transcendent as a hero,

Mr. Su Zhou, who wished to remain anonymous, had just finished taking a shower and was now at home, using a large pot to cook centipede egg soup.

[Snake Spirit Yala's Cooking Class]

-First, prepare 1400 grams of two giant centipede eggs, cut off the root system and put them in a basin, and add an appropriate amount of salt water to clean the outer mucus.

-This step is to wash the surface of the egg until it is completely free of greasiness, and finally wipe it with kitchen paper, which can effectively reduce the earthy smell.

-After cleaning, apply blessed holy water mixed with ginger juice (or lemon juice) to the surface, immerse it in 5% concentration of wood spirit liquid water, and then use evil-warding runes to kill the spirituality in the centipede eggs, while the previous mixed holy water and wood spirit liquid will lock in the unowned spirituality so that it does not overflow, which is convenient for subsequent absorption.

-After doing this, change the wood spirit liquid water once (you can put it aside and wait to water the saplings of the Tree of Wisdom), put it in a large pot and boil it. After boiling, sprinkle spices (it is recommended to use bay leaves), apply blessings, and finally add the centipede eggs, boil over high heat for 10 minutes. The purpose of this step is to boil the soup into a cyan color and let the vitality in the centipede eggs overflow into the soup.

-After high heat, turn to medium-low heat, add sliced ginger and red dates during the period, and cook for 30 minutes. The purpose of this step is to boil the soup until it is thick. Finally, add wolfberries 3 minutes before serving, and add other seasonings according to personal taste.

A very delicious wood spirit liquid centipede egg soup can be cooked, plated and served. (1595 calories + 165 units of spiritual power recovery) (1 standard wraith fragment is 10 units)

"Delicious!"

Taking a sip of the soup, Su Zhou, whose body was almost skin and bones from the previous battle, had his eyes light up. Then he took another sip, and a light, refreshing sweetness permeated his heart, turning into a gentle force in his stomach, soothing his hungry intestines.

The wood spirit liquid took effect at this time, and many of the injuries that had not completely healed during the previous battle began to heal slowly at this time. A weak spiritual current swept over, making his whole body feel a refreshing itch.

Then Su Zhou cut a small piece of centipede egg and put it in his mouth. The centipede egg was firm, delicious, and very elastic. After chewing a few times, Su Zhou swallowed it, feeling very solid. The abundant nutrients, under the transformation of the perfect body, made Su Zhou's body visibly recover. The protruding muscle lines began to be smoothed by the newly emerged fat layer, restoring the original smoothness.

"Yala, aren't you eating?"

Su Zhou took another sip of the soup—wood centipede eggs were a peculiar existence between plants and creatures. With the addition of wood spirit liquid, the taste of the soup was really refreshing and not greasy, making you want to drink more!

He now regretted not bringing all the centipede eggs back. But thinking about it, not to mention whether he could bring them back, if he ate all this centipede egg soup, there would be no more in the future. But if the Zheng Country officials could breed wood centipedes, wouldn't he be able to eat it every day in the future?

One must have a long-term view of things.

In response to Su Zhou's question, Yala simply smiled and watched him, gently shaking her head: "Until you become stronger, I can only accept your blood offerings—and I was tired of eating this kind of food in the endlessly distant ancient times."

"Is that so? That's really enviable."

After finishing a whole pot of egg soup along with two centipede eggs, Su Zhou's body returned to a state that could be considered normal, and his spiritual power and physical activity also increased slightly.

"Let's cook the remaining two centipede eggs into soup and give them to Dad, Mom, Aunt Wen, and Qi Ming."

Thinking like this, Su Zhou got up and walked towards the wood spirit liquid water he had used to wash the centipede eggs before. Full and satisfied, his heart was full of excitement: "People are full and satisfied."

"Next, it's time to add water and fertilizer to the tree!"