Chapter 82: Hunting the Deer King, Obtaining the Antlers

"Boom!" The nearly ten-foot-long Deer King was slammed violently onto the ground. The ground within the Grey Mist was incredibly solid and showed no change; this strike only disturbed the flow of countless mists.

"Yo..." the Deer King hissed, its voice much rougher than that of the fawns or the does.

It twisted its body, adjusting its footing to try and stand up from the ground, but Chen Mo gripped its pair of antlers tightly, relentlessly swinging it up and slamming it back onto the ground again.

After this round of shedding the mortal coil and changing one's bones, his strength was far greater than this Deer King's.

Originally, he could not withstand the opponent's power, but now it had become the opponent who could not withstand his!

The momentum of offense and defense had reversed.

"Ying..." the Deer King whimpered. Even though its neck had already been twisted two or three times, it still had not died and could even produce sound quite smoothly.

Its physical body began to dissolve at this moment, but it was not a collapse; rather, it differentiated into countless tentacles.

Each tentacle was like a solid, heavy chain, wanting to completely entangle Chen Mo.

The other three Plum Blossom Strange Deer that had originally been watching from the side also rushed up one after another, wanting to launch a siege on Chen Mo.

He shifted his figure, exerted force with both hands, and took the opportunity to fling the Deer King away.

Immediately following this, he exploded with full speed. In the span of a breath, he made three consecutive turns, and the three Plum Blossom Strange Deer that wanted to surround him were shattered into a mass of minced meat by his Inner Qi in the blink of an eye.

Chen Mo had long anticipated that he might fall into a siege, so he had reserved a portion of Inner Qi in advance to quickly deal with the other three weaker Strange Deer.

As for the Deer King, he did not use Inner Qi because even if he used it, he might not be able to resolve it quickly.

If he killed the Deer King then, the other Strange Deer would inevitably scatter and flee once they reacted, and if he were to chase them one by one, not only would it waste too much time, but he might not be able to catch them all.

Therefore, only by finding an opportunity to deal with the other weaker Strange Deer first and then dealing with the Deer King last could he maximize the gains from this entry into the Grey Mist.

Seeing that all its companions had been killed, the Deer King flashed a trace of terror in its eyes. Countless tentacles differentiated from beneath its four hooves, and it wanted to flee like a millipede.

How could Chen Mo give it a chance? He leaped up to sit on the deer's back and smashed his elbow straight down onto the Deer King's spine.

Following that were fists like raindrops, landing incessantly on the Deer King's body.

The Deer King, wanting to flee, had not yet managed to move its legs before it was hammered down by Chen Mo again. Its entire body differentiated into countless tentacles, wanting to block Chen Mo's fists.

It even attempted to assimilate Chen Mo's physical body, turning him into a part of itself.

However, the power of Qi and Blood within Chen Mo surged like a river, completely unaffected by it.

After several hundred punches, the Deer King, like the previous few Plum Blossom Strange Deer, had turned into a puddle of meat paste that was still constantly writhing.

Only then did Chen Mo heave a sigh of relief. Although his current strength far exceeded this Deer King, killing the opponent was still not an easy task.

Not to mention that he had also killed the other few Strange Deer; the consumption of Qi and Blood within his body was not much, but mainly, there was no Inner Qi left at all.

It was fortunate that this Deer King ran slowly; otherwise, if it had really escaped, it would be difficult to kill it next time.

The Deer King's flesh and blood writhed, but it did not gather into a piece of Living Meat like the other Strange Deer.

All the flesh and blood eventually gathered on the two antlers. The antlers, which already looked incredibly sharp and tough, were now stained with a faint luster of Gold Jade.

The Deer King's two antlers were not small; each one exceeded a foot in length, and many small tines branched out in all directions on the main stem.

The most critical point was that this pair of antlers was extremely heavy. Each one, while appearing to be only a foot long, weighed ten or twenty catties when held in the hand.

It seems this Strange Deer King was indeed extraordinary. Although it did not condense into Living Meat, the pair of antlers it condensed likely had effects even better than Living Meat.

Chen Mo took out a wrapping skin, wrapped the antlers, and held his breath to collect the other three pieces of Living Meat, as well as the long spear he had just placed to the side, before gently striking the Gong and Drum on his chest.

Although he was not sure how much time he had spent after entering the Grey Mist, it definitely had not exceeded two hours.

Because even if the area he was in was rarely patrolled, someone would inevitably walk through it when changing shifts after two hours.

At that time, when the Copper Gong was struck, the Grey Mist around him would be dispersed whether he wanted it to or not.

And since it was he who struck the Gong and Drum now, he could be certain that he had definitely not stayed in the Grey Mist for two full hours.

As the Grey Mist before his eyes gradually dissipated, Chen Mo quietly returned to his barracks with all his gains from this trip.

He took the fire-starter from the table and lit two candles; the dim firelight did not make the whole room very bright.

There was no help for it; the candle's flame was only this big, and it could only emit this much light.

Chen Mo first took out the five pieces of Living Meat. These five pieces of Living Meat varied in size, but their texture and color were the same as the Living Meat obtained last time.

They were like a dark red colloid, possessing a certain toughness, yet not too solid.

Chen Mo picked up a Dagger and skillfully cut off the Living Meat to swallow it. Group after group of Qi and Blood power was dissolved by him into the Transformation Pearl.

However, the four pieces of Living Meat only replenished about twenty percent of his Qi and Blood power.

This was within Chen Mo's expectations; after all, the process of shedding the mortal coil and changing one's bones was inherently more difficult the further one went.

Improving from ninety to one hundred was far more difficult than from one to sixty.

Moreover, if he had to accumulate this two-tenths of Qi and Blood power himself, it would probably take half a year of effort.

Chen Mo did not eat the last remaining piece of Living Meat for the time being, preparing to keep it first.

He had to find his foster father to have a showdown later. Aside from the Qi and Blood stone obtained from the Dutian Dao Sect members that day, it would be best to have some other things on hand to prove that he had entered the Grey Mist.

Putting away the Living Meat, Chen Mo looked at that pair of rather heavy antlers.

The antlers were solid. Even though they had left the Grey Mist, they did not undergo any changes like the Living Meat, but instead maintained their Gold Jade luster.

Picking up a water basin and a towel from the side, Chen Mo took one antler and wiped it carefully.

The antler was quite clean and had not been stained with much dust.

Looking at the washed and dried antler, Chen Mo pondered where it would be appropriate to take a bite.

He did not intend to process or cook this antler, because there was no need at all. With the strength of his internal organs now, even if he ate it directly, it would not cause the Blood Qi within it to be lost.

Picking up an antler and choosing a spot that was easier to bite, Chen Mo bit down hard.

The antler was tough; although it was not as good as refined steel, it did not lose to bluestone.

But Chen Mo had undergone many rounds of shedding the mortal coil and changing his bones, so his teeth were naturally far better than an ordinary person's.

Even though this antler was quite tough, a piece was still bitten off by him and chewed in his mouth.

The antler had no obvious taste; it was just quite hard, and it shattered upon biting, appearing particularly crisp.

"Crunch, crunch..."

A piece of antler was soon chewed into countless fragments in Chen Mo's mouth, and he swallowed it whole.

Only then did Chen Mo discover that the antler was not only hard, but also scratched his throat as he swallowed it.

He took the tea from the side and drank two mouthfuls to clear his throat.

As the antler was swallowed into his belly, wisps of Qi and Blood power were continuously being converted and absorbed, surging into the Transformation Pearl.

The antler was somewhat different from the Living Meat; when Living Meat entered the body, it was converted into Qi and Blood power and absorbed by the Transformation Pearl almost instantly.

However, the antler seemed somewhat difficult to digest and required more time to be converted into Qi and Blood power to be absorbed by the Transformation Pearl.

This was not a big problem; he had plenty of time, so he would just eat it slowly.

Biting off two more mouthfuls of the antler, Chen Mo chewed and swallowed slowly, turning it into Qi and Blood for the Transformation Pearl.

The effect of a mouthful of antler was not as good as the Living Meat, but it could withstand the large quantity.

Chen Mo estimated that the Qi and Blood power contained within this pair of antlers absolutely exceeded three pieces of Living Meat.

The next day, Chen Mo delegated the affairs in the military camp and called for He Luoyun to give him careful instructions.

Finally, he entrusted Zhao Yu, telling her he was leaving home for a period of time and that she should rest securely at home without worrying about him.

Only then did he order people to prepare a carriage and horses, intending to return to the Xiaopao Town military camp.

The things he needed to get had already been obtained, and it was time for him to set off and have a showdown with his foster father.

(End of chapter)