12: Five Virtues of the Rooster

Chapter 12: Five Virtues of the Rooster

Having chosen a direction, he began exploring on foot.

Unfortunately, he couldn't spot any insectoid monsters for a long time.

"Didn't they say there were a lot of insectoid dimensional monsters? Where are they?"

Wu Xian couldn't help but start doubting himself.

Just as he was speaking, the roar of engines came from behind him, followed by several cool off-road motorcycles speeding past him, disappearing in a flash.

At this moment, he finally understood why there was a vehicle rental service at the [Firepower Fortress].

Someone had recommended it to him at the time, but he thought it was too expensive and didn't rent one.

"Forget it, it's good to save some money."

But the reality told him that saving this money was proving to be a bit difficult.

After half an hour of trekking, he was already starting to doubt his life choices.

Activating his scroll, he summoned the Chicken King. "Such a big rooster, I should be able to ride it, right?"

If that didn't work, he would temporarily commandeer the God of Wealth's black tiger.

Just as he was about to climb onto the Chicken King's back, another engine roar sounded in his ears. He saw a slightly dilapidated off-road motorcycle speed over, executing a stylish drift and kicking up a large cloud of dust.

"Need a ride, kid?" The person, who looked to be in his forties with dark skin and a toothpick dangling from his mouth, was dressed in a somewhat post-apocalyptic style. "Thirty yuan, non-negotiable."

Wu Xian was stunned, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.

He couldn't help but recall the Brother Mos outside the train station in his hometown in his previous life.

"Twenty," Wu Xian responded after some thought.

"Alright, get on ~!"

Brother Mo grinned, motioning for Wu Xian to get on the back seat and showing him his QR code for payment.

After paying and getting on, the old driver immediately went into a wild off-roading mode, jolting Wu Xian quite a bit. "You're so young, yet you dare to enter a copy alone. Aren't you afraid of death ~!"

"Aren't you alone too?"

"Can you compare yourself to me? I'm an old hand," Brother Mo boasted. "I know these insectoid copies better than my own home. If I hadn't recently bought this second-hand motorcycle and wanted to recoup some money, I wouldn't bother wasting time giving people rides."

"There are monsters in that area ahead, quite suitable for a kid like you to practice on."

Soon after, the motorcycle drifted to a stop.

"There, it's just ahead."

After saying that, Brother Mo dropped Wu Xian off and sped away, without even looking back.

Wu Xian looked at the area ahead where insectoid monsters were active, feeling it was more cost-effective than renting a car. At least the old driver knew where the monsters were.

In the wasteland full of insectoid remains, insectoid monsters were scattered here and there, gnawing on the remains of other insectoids. They were all first-tier insectoid monsters, roughly the size of a medium-sized dog.

The scroll was thrown out, and the Chicken King made a dazzling appearance, its sharp gaze instantly locking onto its prey.

Perhaps sensing danger, the gnawing insectoid monsters became alert, and upon seeing Wu Xian, a living person, they immediately scurried towards him.

However, as they got closer, they were intimidated by the Chicken King's Qi and hesitated, not daring to approach too closely.

"Cluck-cluck—!"

With a cluck from the Chicken King, several insectoid monsters trembled, as if scared out of their wits.

At the same time, the Chicken King flapped its wings and pounced.

A powerful chicken claw casually grabbed, easily tearing off half of an insectoid monster's body. A peck from its beak easily pierced through the hard carapace.

The other insectoid monsters struggled to counterattack, but were so overwhelmed by the agile, flapping Chicken King that they couldn't find their bearings.

In just a moment, several insectoid monsters had been reduced to a pile of dismembered limbs, a gruesome sight.

Having absorbed "experience point energy," the Chicken King was still eager, its sharp eyes scanning around, beginning to search for other prey.

Through the scroll's sensory connection, Wu Xian could clearly feel that some of the Chicken King's attributes had grown to a certain extent. This was the effect of the [Five Virtues of the Rooster] talent.

By killing dimensional monsters, the Five Virtues passive could be strengthened, improving certain attributes and abilities.

Literary Virtue: Reduces Spirit Power consumption.

Martial Virtue: Increases attack power.

Brave Virtue: Feather protection ability.

Benevolent Virtue: Poison resistance ability.

Faithful Virtue: Timing control and agility ability.

And the [Exorcise Evil and Ward Off Evil] talent allowed the Chicken King's crowing to carry a powerful deterrent effect, especially noticeable against snakes, rats, insects, and ants.

It could be said to be a natural insectoid killer.

The subsequent journey was a crushing victory, as if entering a land without insects. The Chicken King grew braver and fiercer with each battle.

All Wu Xian had to do was follow behind the Chicken King and pick up "junk." Unfortunately, first-tier insectoid monster Materials were not valuable, only selling by weight.

Fortunately, the Chicken King seemed to be able to sense the presence of insectoid monsters. After a series of crushing victories, the figures of second-tier insectoid monsters began to appear ahead, and the number and density of insectoid monsters also increased.

"What is the Chicken King going to do?"

Seeing the insectoid monsters gathering in groups, growing more and more numerous, Wu Xian had no choice but to release the God of Wealth to protect him.

With the God of Wealth's current Qi reserves, these mixed first and second-tier insectoid swarms simply couldn't break through the God of Wealth's Qi protection.

Moreover, as the God of Wealth's spirituality increased, the defensive effect of the Qi was also enhanced. Previously, 100 points of Qi could block 100 points of damage, but now 90 points of Qi could block 100 points of damage.

Crucially, the Qi protection only consumed Qi, not Spirit Power, so there was no need to worry about Spirit Power consumption.

"That is...? !"

A moment later, looking at the insectoid hive surrounded and protected by the insectoid swarm ahead, Wu Xian finally understood.

The Chicken King was going straight for the Dragon.

However, facing the "heavily guarded" hive, the Chicken King, who had just reached two stars, was clearly struggling. Its attack power was sufficient, but its health and defense couldn't quite hold up. Its painting spirit body was noticeably dimming under the onslaught and gnawing of the insectoid swarm.

Fortunately, the Chicken King was not fighting alone.

The God of Wealth glanced, and the Qi around him transformed into a stream of light, enveloping the Chicken King's entire body. The black tiger beneath him roared, deterring the insectoid swarm.

The Chicken King, who had been at a disadvantage just a second ago, instantly perked up, as if it had activated "invincibility," and charged towards the hive without any hesitation.

"Tsk tsk, perhaps this is the power of money?"

Wu Xian couldn't help but think of those flashy, pay-to-win players in online games from his previous life.

Meanwhile, on the other side, a handsome young man in a Dengfeng Studio uniform was attempting to break into the hive.

In front of him, a painting spirit of a fire elemental controlled flames, incinerating the insectoid swarm, while another mechanical cannon fiercely bombarded them. However, the number of insectoid swarms was too great.

"As expected, I still can't break through?"

The young man sighed helplessly. He had been eyeing this hive for a long time, but unfortunately, it was still just short of what was needed.

Just as he was about to give up, the number of insectoid swarms ahead suddenly began to decrease, significantly reducing the pressure on him.

"What's going on? The insectoid swarm seems to be gathering towards the hive."

The young man was both surprised and suspicious, and quickly led his two painting spirits closer to the hive... On Wu Xian's side, the Chicken King had already gone straight for the Dragon. With a flick of its claws, it dragged out a plump, large grub from the hive. A peck from its beak struck the mother grub's vital point, killing it.

Once the mother grub died, the insectoid swarm lost its backbone, becoming chaotic and disorderly. Some insectoid monsters even began to fight among themselves, devouring each other, creating a scene of utter chaos.

"A mother grub is a good thing."

Wu Xian excitedly stepped forward to examine the mother grub's corpse.

Although the mother grub was weak, it was a rare material, extremely valuable.

But before he could be happy for a few seconds, he was startled by the sound of intense fighting.

Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a fire elemental and a mechanical butcher clearing insectoid monsters along the way, approaching him.

Behind the two painting spirits followed a handsome young man, who was now staring at him with an incredulous expression.

"Hello, I am Zhou Qi, a second-year student from Dengfeng Studio."

Zhou Qi suppressed the shock in his heart and clasped his hands in greeting, unable to imagine how the person in front of him had managed it.

Was it just relying on the two unfamiliar painting spirits beside him?

"What can I do for you?"

Wu Xian's eyes were vigilant and cautious.

This person had a third-level Spirit Power cultivation, with two painting spirits beside him, one three-star and one two-and-a-half-star. Coupled with his identity as a studio student, he was undoubtedly a talented young man.

"To be honest, in my recent scroll conception, I need to use the unique spiritual characteristics of the mother grub," Zhou Qi said hesitantly. "I wonder if you would be willing to part with it?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Xian relaxed his guard slightly. "What's the price?"

Zhou Qi's heart brightened, and he quickly quoted: "How about thirty thousand?"

For a rare second-tier insectoid material, this price was quite reasonable.

"Three hundred and fifty thousand, non-negotiable," Wu Xian calmly raised the price.

"Alright."

Although Zhou Qi was a bit conflicted, the guy in front of him was simply too curious.

Subsequently, both sides exchanged money and goods, a happy cooperation.

"Can you tell me how you managed to kill your way into the hive?" Zhou Qi couldn't suppress his curiosity.

"I just killed my way in, that's all," Wu Xian had no interest in explaining anything, and instead inquired: "By the way, what exactly is the rare characteristic of this mother grub used for?"

"The rare characteristics of the mother grub contain certain information about the insectoid world, which is a crucial part of perfecting related scroll ideas," Zhou Qi explained. "Of course, this is something only Scroll Masters would deal with, and it's not very meaningful for you Spirit Masters."

"Oh, oh." Wu Xian understood, feigning an appearance of not quite grasping it but being impressed. "So you guys find inspiration and develop ideas through this method?"

"You can understand it that way, but that's only part of it. It mainly depends on Comprehension Ability and talent."

Wu Xian seemed to understand, yet not quite. He thought about getting another mother grub to take back and try to research himself, to see what the so-called "information Veins" was all about.

He then bid farewell to Zhou Qi, and with the Chicken King leading the way, they left, crushing everything in their path.

Watching the Chicken King slaughtering like it was cutting vegetables, Zhou Qi's heart remained unsettled for a long time.

"I haven't heard of such a powerful scroll in the elemental or exotic beast systems? Could it be a niche Legacy from some Family?"

As he pondered, he suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Tsk ~ I forgot to ask for his contact information!"

...