Chapter 254: Chapter 253: Solo Hunting Plan!
Translator: 549690339
“Transform!”
With a low grunt, Du Gang, in an instant, shrunk his size from a height of 1.8 meters to a 1-meter tall dwarf.
“Have I become a midget?”
Du Gang was stunned for a moment, pulled out a mirror, and carefully examined his current face, feeling rather uncomfortable.
A 1 meter tall figure with an adult’s face looked bizarre, no matter how you looked at it. Although he was not yet a fully-grown man and his face was still rather youthful as compared to those rugged big men, placed on a 1-meter tall figure, it seemed oddly out of place.
“So ugly…”
Du Gang was even repulsed by his own appearance, “No, not necessarily ugly. At most it can be considered eerie. A child-like body with a face like this…”
“Awkward!”
He felt helpless, “It seems, from now on, I better not transform in front of other people…”
“Even if I have to transform, I have to make sure that anyone who sees me in this state is silenced!”
After pondering for quite some time, he finally accepted his current appearance, feeling somewhat speechless.
“Forget it, it’s just an appearance after all. At least I still look handsome when in normal mode!”
He shook his head, not bothering to dwell on the issue of whether he was ugly or not, and started pondering whether there was any usefulness to his current transformation.
“It’s too big!”
Du Gang sighed.
Even though he has shrunk now, he still had a height of 1 meter. This height, neither tall nor short, was not small enough that people could not see him, nor could he pass off as a child unless he covered his face.
“I really miss being in the universe where I could transform into dust…”
He felt somewhat melancholic, reminiscing the state he was in after he transformed into dust, then he looked at himself now…
“But, once I power up, will my transform ability also enhance again?”
“Very likely. Even though the spatial density of the Primordial Continent is high, the level of transformation must be related to my cultivation. Perhaps, in the future, I might be able to transform into dust on the Primordial Continent!”
Thinking that so, he didn’t feel too upset anymore.
“For now, although the transformation to become smaller doesn’t serve a big purpose, at least I can utilize this ability to dodge attacks…”
Thinking about when others mobilize their Divine Power, striking at his head, his transformation ability had almost no delay and could be achieved in an instant. This means that he could shrink down to about a meter in an instant, meaning he could easily evade enemy attacks.
“It’s not entirely useless!”
Du Gang chuckled, then reverted back to his human form.
“What to do now?”
He pondered for a while but still refrained from impulsively going to the Abyss Tavern.
“There’s no need to frighten the snake in the grass. All five men were from small families. If they die in the Abyss, no one would probably know, so people from the Demon Clan won’t know either…”
“If the people from the Demon Clan knew that these five men had already died, then they would reassess my strength and send out even more powerful people. By then…”
After considering the options, he shook his head, “I can’t go back now. Going back now would be like delivering myself on a plate. Apart from letting the enemy know about my strength, there’s no use!”
His enemies were not the five-man squad who wanted to kill him for the bounty, nor a lesser demon from the Demon Clan.
Those who could stay at the Abyss Tavern to find the five-man squad would not be very powerful either, as being too powerful would surely attract the attention of the Demon Suppression Army. Therefore, the person designated as the contact would most likely be at the God Spirit Level, and not the God Spirit Level Eight or Nine Tribulation either.
“A Four or Five Tribulation God Spirit is most probable. This level of cultivation wouldn’t attract attention…”
“So, even if I went back now, even with the Jie-Character Secret, I might not be able to hold my own against that person…”
A Five Tribulation God Spirit, according to the presently available information, can display up to Five Hundred Naer Divine Power Techniques. This means that, even if he utilized the Jie-Character Secret, it would still be quite tough.
Du Gang deliberated for a moment before eventually deciding to head for the river.
“There are wild monsters near the river, and I don’t have to limit myself to hunting the Demon Clan. Both parties near the river, although there are frictions among them, basically most were set to kill two-level wild monsters…”
“The wilderness near the river is mostly filled with Controllers, their strength is not much different from mine. If I consider that one two-level wild monster drops five Divine Crystals, each containing one-tenth of the Divine Power energy, then a two-level monster will allow me to attain half of the Divine Power if I eat it alone. This means that if I kill two river monsters, I could increase my Divine Power by one Naer!”
“Do I just need to kill sixty river monsters to reach the Controller Level?”
Suddenly Du Gang became somewhat excited.
He was not an ordinary Destroyer. Under the condition of having Jie-Character Secret, he had enough strength to single-handedly kill the river monsters!
Du Gang hid himself in a clean clump of grass, took out a notebook, and began to think things through.
“Firstly, I am one man, I need to perform reconnaissance tasks effectively, avoiding encounters with the Demon Clan if possible…”
The Jie-Character Secret was his trump card. Using it to kill the Demon Clan was inefficient, the risk of exposure was too high, and it was not very cost-effective.
Even if he was killing Controller Demon Clan members, five of them are only worth a thousand Divine Crystal, even if there were high bloodline existences within the Demon Clan, it would at most add a few hundred Divine Crystal. It was still not worth it.
After all, ten thousand Divine Crystals could only exchange for a gram of origin. This meant ten thousand Divine Crystals increased one Naer Divine Power. But if he hunted wild monsters, a single river monster was equivalent to five squads of twenty-five demons.
“Reconnaissance…”
Du Gang frowned.
The Little Hawk King and Long Aotian had left, even Niu Dazhuang, who had a good vision, was not here. His vision now was comparable to that of ordinary people.
“If I don’t have the ability, can I make a reconnaissance device through physical means?”
Suddenly, Du Gang thought of some interesting things.
In the Primordial Continent, although technological items could not be used, some basic physical knowledge still applied.
For example, a telescope!
“The principle is very simple, it just uses a lens to magnify the angle of a distant object. This doesn’t count as high-tech and shouldn’t be an issue!”
Du Gang thought about it, pulled out two crystals from his internal world, and randomly selected a short knife he had previously kept.
“Tap! Tap! Tap!”
Holding a crystal, he skillfully whittled it with the short knife. Soon, a circular convex lens appeared.
“Let’s make another one!”
Du Gang quickly got to work again, processing the other crystal in the same manner. Soon enough, two lenses appeared in his hand.
“However, there doesn’t seem to be any material to fix them…”
Du Gang frowned, his consciousness immersed in his internal world as he started searching.
To make a telescope, there must be something to fix the two lenses, right?!
After some searching, he couldn’t find anything suitable to use as a substitute.
“Forget it, let’s just give this a try!”
He stopped searching, picked up the lenses in each hand – one closer to his eyeball and the other a bit further away.
Next, squinting one eye, he peered through the nearest lens and then through the second one.
“It could work!”
Du Gang laughed out loud. At this moment, his gaze could easily see parts that were previously invisible through the two lenses.
“How far is that?”
He put down the lenses and realized that he could not ascertain the specific location anymore. Thinking for a moment, he picked up the lenses again, found the furthest point he could see as a reference, and then started counting his steps towards it.
Just like a moment ago, he intentionally controlled his pace and the distance between his steps.’
“Normally, the human eye can see a flame 20 kilometers away in pure air, and on mountaintops, it can even see a landscape 200 kilometers away. When looking up at the starry sky, it can see even further…”
“The distance the human eye can see is related to the size and color of the object…”
“Generally speaking, the farthest visible distance of the human eye is two hundred times the height of the object (in meters). If it’s on the river, from the water’s surface, I estimate that one could see people one or two kilometers away. Under the water, refraction comes into play…”
Du Gang furrowed his brows, “So, I should also make a periscope?”
After all, both humans and demons usually travel underwater when they are on the river, and few walk on the water.
Because the distance seen by both parties on the water is far, it is easy to become a target, while under the water it is different. With the principle of refraction, 200 plus meters is basically the limit of an ordinary person’s vision. Therefore, everyone is more or less like blind people, which is relatively safer.
“The river is basically governed by a dark forest law, anyone who exposes themselves is susceptible to sniper attacks…”
He pondered, “If it’s a periscope, it could work…”
Du Gang quickly took out two pieces of crystal and quickly polished them into two lenses.
Then, he took out the Ancient Divine Spear, found a strong thin cord, connected a piece of crystal to the spearhead position, and then connected another piece of crystal to the spear end position.
Once done, he tried to look through the crystal piece tied to the spear end.
“The angle is wrong…”
Soon, he shortened the spear to thirty centimeters and began to slightly adjust the two lenses tied to the spear.
“It’s not just the problem of the angle. The position I look at can use a plane mirror, but the spearhead position can’t…”
Thinking this, he quickly took out another piece of crystal, began to modify it with a small knife. This time, he did not make it into a flat mirror, but turned it into a triangular mirror, inclined at forty-five degrees.
After finishing, he quickly tied it back to the spearhead position. This time, looking through the mirror at the tail of the spear.
“There’s no problem now!”
Du Gang laughed, at this moment, he could see the situations on the left and right through the two lenses which meant his periscope was ready!
Although it’s very rough, as long as it can be used, it’s good enough!
“Moreover, my Ancient Divine Spear can extend!”
He could completely control the Ancient Divine Spear to become thinner or remain the same size, then adjust the length to spy around!
“Telescope, periscope, I made them both. When it’s time to go to the river, it’s obviously best to dive into the water!”
Du Gang laughed, packed up his things, “Now that the reconnaissance is done, what do I need to do next?”
“First of all, I am alone, hunting a team of Demon Clan is not a good idea, let the others do it…”
“So, my main goal is to keep myself from being discovered and then solo hunt for second-level river monsters!”
“It’s not just the Demon Clan, even the squads of our kind, I should try to avoid meeting them as much as possible!”
After this incident, Du Gang had become cautious.
Since the people from the demonic domain could bribe this five-person squad, they could also bribe many more five-person squads!
Although he hadn’t fought with the demonic domain, it’s likely that such a huge assassin organization would not just send one person to kill him.
You wouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket, so it was highly likely that these people would look for other squads to assassinate him as well!
“Not possible, it’s certain, if they think that just one squad could kill me, it would be too easy. So, most likely these guys have hired other squads too…”
Du Gang pondered secretly, “At least there should be three squads, at most, there could be five or even more…”
He sighed, “Anyway, keep as far away from the crowd as possible, don’t interact or meet them!”
It’s better to be safe than sorry. Although the possibility of three to five bribed squads is much less compared to the human squads currently in the river wild zone, better safe than sorry, he still wanted to be more cautious.
After finalizing his strategic planning, Du Gang began to consider other details again.
“The second-level river monsters in the river course, according to the data, are all solitary, much like the ones in the wilderness, capable of respawning…”
“The only difference is that level one monsters in both the wilderness respawn at the same place after a set amount of time, or reset…”
“But the second-level river monsters in the river course are different. Not only are they numerous, but after their death, they respawn at random locations, so constant movement is required…”
Du Gang furrowed his brow once again. His current power was limited, and applying the Jie-Character Secret was necessary if he wanted to hunt the river monsters.
“The Jie-Character Secret’s power is immense, yet can only be used for short periods of time each day. I have already pushed my body to its limit today so I’ll likely have to wait until tomorrow to use it…”
“Considering my current power, I could approximately kill a river monster and collect its essence every three seconds. Thus, I can hunt a maximum of three river monsters a day, right?!”
“Three river monsters would equate to one and a half Naer of divine power, which isn’t too bad…”
Du Gang nodded quietly. This meant that in no more than twenty days, he could become a Controller in terms of single-attack power.
“Apart from this, two issues lie before me. One is the usage of the Jie-Character Secret—I can only hunt three river monsters a day at most and have to leave a gap, in case of unexpected circumstances…”
“Also, the replenishment of divine power is another issue. I need God Power Pills—a large quantity of them!”
The Jie-Character Secret allows for explosive growth in combat power, yet it is contingent upon his current strength base. This means if he was left with only 1 Naer of divine power, even with a tenfold increase, he would only have 10 Naer of divine power, thus sabotage is not feasible.
“Fortunately, I’ve saved up a fair amount of God Power Pills…”
When they were hunting as a team in the lower half of the wilderness river course before, they mainly bought God Power Pills for replenishing their divine power. Hence, they still have a decent amount stored. This time, when the four of them left, they essentially emptied out their belongings.
Therefore, most of the God Power Pills from that time are now with Du Gang—there’s over a thousand of them. This means he could restore over a thousand Naer of divine power in a short amount of time.
“That should be enough for now. After using these over a thousand God Power Pills, I reckon I would have reached the Controller level. I can then go purchase new God Power Pills…”
He now has over ten thousand divine crystals demanded from the captain who previously attempted to assassinated him, combined with the leftover twenty thousand of his own making, a total of nearly forty thousand divine crystals.
Each God Power Pill costs one divine crystal, so with my forty thousand divine crystals, I can buy all of them and convert them into God Power Pills…”
He had carefully calculated that buying sources to increase divine power with divine crystals isn’t efficient and it’s resource-intensive. Therefore, it’s still better to hang around in the abyss, where he can earn more divine power!
“Besides, I need to find a safe place to restore my divine power…”
He furrowed his brow. Previously, there were five of them, and they could have someone keeping watch while everyone else recuperated. Now he was all alone, this meant he had to find a safe place.
“Where would be safe?”
Du Gang’s eyes suddenly lit up, “I can choose to hunt near the upper and middle routes, and then directly find a bush to stay in near the upper and middle routes…”
Though there is still some risk, it’s significantly less.
“Moreover, in the upper half of the wilderness, the location of Big Dragon leans more towards the upper route. As there are many powerful beings in these parts, I should ideally choose to hunt near the middle course of the river…”
Indeed, the upper half of the wilderness and the river course here have essentially been divided into two halves. The controllers, both the humans and members of the Demon Clan, reside in the river course near the Big Dragon pit – the upper half.
These Controllers have practically drained the essence limits from both the first-level wild monsters and second-level river monsters, so they now target the essence of the third-level Big Dragon. That’s why their battle with the Demon Clan is the fiercest.
Since the small squads of the Demon Clan are the main forces competing for the essence dropped by the third-level Big Dragon, having more of the Demon Clan squads dying gives them more opportunities.
After all, death is not counted as true death unless your divine body dies. However, resurrecting and restoring the physical body takes a day’s time.
And just so, the respawn rate of the Big Dragon is also one day. This means that both the humans and the Demon Clan maintain some equilibrium—if I gain the upper hand today and manage to kill more of them, I would gain more essence. The situation would be reversed the next day.
“So, I have to find a place near the middle path river course, preferably a secret base where others cannot intrude, with the bare minimum allowing me to hide and restore my divine power!”
Apart from the need to restore his divine power, he also needs to recover his physical strength.
The divine power is the easy part, he has God Power Pills and wouldn’t take too much time to recover it fast.
However, physical strength is not the same. In the absence of strong medicine, the only way to restore it is through rest—which means he needs to find a safe place to sleep.
“That’s odd. Despite having become a god, one still has to rely on sleep to restore physical strength…”
Du Gang shook his head, not dwelling on it. After confirming that his plan was foolproof, he started making his way towards the river course. This time, he was going on a hunt all alone!