85: Chapter 85: A Ruthless Blood-Grinding Build! Standing still and beating a Divine Might warrior, his health bar surpasses three million!

The wind and snow were like knives, slicing through this dead land shrouded in Divine Might.

The black ancient book in Qin Ji's hand—the materialized "book of life and death" from [Death Gaze]—was currently floating by his side, emitting a heart-palpitating eerie light. However, he didn't directly bring down "Death Judgment" to insta-kill his opponent like before; instead, he was in an extremely strange combat rhythm.

"Healed back? Good."

Qin Ji looked at the massive Ice and Snow Demon Snake before him, the corners of his mouth curling into a cruel arc, like a capitalist seeing cheap labor.

Just now, he had discovered a "loophole" even more profitable than a direct insta-kill.

The Ice and Snow Demon Snakes here possessed an extremely abnormal "Snow Regeneration" Physique, naturally recovering 100,000 health points per second. For ordinary players, this was an insurmountable nightmare, but for Qin Ji, who possessed [Greedy Grasp], it was simply a perpetual motion machine.

[Greedy Grasp · Advanced Trigger]: When dealing effective damage to high-tier divine creatures, each attack plunders 1 point of maximum health!

"Since killing the goose for the golden egg is too wasteful, then... let's keep the stream flowing."

Qin Ji reached into his backpack and pulled out a pendant emitting a soft blue light—[tear of the goddess of life]. This was originally a piece of support gear, with the effect: "Reduces own damage dealt by 20%, but increases attack frequency and mana regeneration speed by 30%."

In "Divine Realm," where ultimate burst damage was pursued, this thing was usually considered trash.

But now, it was a Divine Artifact.

"Click."

The pendant snapped around his neck, and the tyrannical Killing Intent around Qin Ji instantly withdrew a bit. He raised his hand, and what shot from his fingertips was no longer destructive thunder, but dense Shadow Missiles.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Nine shots per second!

Although he deliberately suppressed the single-hit damage, he still dealt over 120,000 mixed damage per second. Subtracting the snake's 100,000 health regeneration, the actual health reduction was only 20,000 per second.

The demon snake hissed in pain, its massive body rolling frantically in the snow, crushing countless frozen earth and rocks as it tried to offset the damage through health regeneration. But that tiny human was like a precise instrument, always controlling its health bar within an ambiguous "not quite dead" range.

"9 points of max health per second, that's 540 points in a minute."

While maneuvering to dodge the snake's tail sweeps, Qin Ji rapidly calculated in his mind, "If I kill it right at the thirty-minute refresh point, this single snake can provide me with 16,200 points of maximum health!"

How was this monster hunting? This was clearly "saving money"!

Time passed amidst the wind and snow.

Qin Ji was like an untiring machine, mechanically and precisely executing the cycle of "basic attack - positioning - basic attack."

The eighth... the ninth...

As the stacks of [Greedy Grasp] accumulated, Qin Ji's base attack power also skyrocketed. To prevent accidentally killing the "pig" he was raising, he even had to more carefully control his attack frequency, even deliberately hitting the thickest, non-weak point scales of the demon snake.

"Roar—!!"

When the ninth demon snake dissipated into points of light, the snowy ground ahead suddenly vibrated violently.

Two massive shadows burst out from the ground simultaneously!

"A double spawn?"

Qin Ji's purple-gold pupils constricted slightly. He slid across the snow, narrowly avoiding two intersecting blasts of Frigid Breath. The giant rock that had been standing behind him was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture, then shattered into a cloud of ice crystals.

"Just as well, saves me the trouble of luring them one by one."

Qin Ji didn't panic at all. He held his left hand out, and the phantom of a pitch-black codex flipped rapidly in his palm.

[Multicast: Shadow Arrow Rain!]

Although it was a mage skill, under his insane attack speed, it produced the visual effect of a Gatling gun. The black energy arrows poured down like a rainstorm, precisely switching aggro between the two demon snakes and keeping their health suppressed at the same level.

This kind of "dual-line micromanagement" was extremely taxing on Heart Force.

After persisting for only fifteen minutes, fine beads of sweat broke out on Qin Ji's forehead.

"Whew..."

He took a deep breath of the biting cold air, forcing down the fatigue in his brain. For those tempting attribute points, what did this bit of exhaustion matter?

Another three hours of frenzied slaughter.

When the last Ice and Snow Demon Snake fell at Qin Ji's feet, the surrounding snowy plains had completely changed terrain. The once-flat snow was blasted with deep meteorite-like craters, and the charred frozen earth was exposed, emitting a pungent smell of sulfur.

Qin Ji put away his staff and opened his attribute panel.

In that moment, even though he was mentally prepared, his breath couldn't help but stall for a second.

[Health]: 3,052,400 / 3,052,400

Three million!

A health bar of exactly three million!

One must know that at this stage, the first-tier tank warriors in the entire server had health that barely broke through 150,000 under full-buff status. Yet Qin Ji, a supposedly squishy magic-class profession, now had twenty times their health!

This wasn't just a "health cow" anymore; this was a world BOSS in human skin!

"Although this dungeon is disgusting, the benefits... are truly sweet."

Qin Ji clenched his fist, feeling the vast, ocean-like life force within him. Now, even if he stood still and let those top-tier assassins out there hack at him, they probably wouldn't even be able to shave off a layer of his health before their hands broke.

"At this rate, by the time I clear this Divine Might area, breaking ten million health won't be a dream."

Qin Ji looked longingly at the depths of the snowy plain, which was no longer spawning monsters, and turned to walk toward the village.

Just as he expected, as long as he returned to the safe zone after killing a wave of monsters, the flow of time would not reset.

He pushed open the rickety door of the wooden hut.

Warm candlelight spilled over him, dispelling some of the cold. Dr. Liu was still sitting behind that shabby table, tinkering with some jars and bottles.

When he saw Qin Ji walk in unharmed, his Aura even more terrifying and profound than before, the pestle in his hand dropped onto the table with a "clack."

"You... you actually killed them all?"

Dr. Liu's voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling. As an NPC who lived on the edge of Divine Might all year round, he knew the terror of those Ice and Snow Demon Snakes better than anyone. They were existences that even the strongest hunters in the village didn't dare provoke lightly, yet this outsider had, in such a short time...

"I have fortunately fulfilled the mission."

Qin Ji casually tossed a still-throbbing ice-blue snake gall onto the table, making a dull thud. "Where's the reward?"

Dr. Liu's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty. He quickly took out a heavy wooden box from under the counter and pushed it toward Qin Ji.

"Brave adventurer, this is the... highest-spec reward I have prepared for you."

Qin Ji opened the box.

Exactly twenty-seven bottles of potions emitting a dark red luster were neatly arranged.

[Grievous Wounds Potion (Special)]

Quality: Special/Unique

Effect: Apply to weapons or through skills. Within 5 seconds of dealing damage to an enemy unit, reduces the target's health recovery speed by 50%.

Duration: 1 hour

Description: The crystallization of Dr. Liu's life's work, specifically developed for high-recovery creatures.

*Hiss...*

A glint flashed in Qin Ji's eyes.

This thing is powerful!

At this stage, the Grievous Wounds equipment or skills on the market generally had a healing reduction effect between 15% and 20%, and the duration was extremely short. But this thing not only had a healing reduction as high as 50%, it lasted for a full hour!

What did this mean?

It meant that in the future, when encountering those BOSSes that nauseated people with their health regeneration, or those PVP teams with healers, Qin Ji's single strike would cut the opponent's healing in half, instantly turning them into cripples.

"Good stuff."

Qin Ji unceremoniously swept all the potions into his backpack, but he didn't rush to leave. Instead, he leaned forward, his purple-gold pupils staring intently at Dr. Liu.

"I'll take the potions. But I want more than just these."

Qin Ji's voice was low and full of pressure. "For example... a way to completely counter 'Divine Might.' You should know that relying solely on potions treats the symptoms, not the cause."

Dr. Liu's expression changed, and he subconsciously tried to avoid Qin Ji's gaze.

"This... this..."

"Tell him, Old Liu."

Just then, an old but vigorous voice came from outside the door.

The wooden door was pushed open, and wind and snow poured in.

A middle-aged man wearing a worn sheepskin coat and a face full of weathering stepped in. Although his clothes were simple, the mountain-like steady Aura in his stride made Qin Ji's eyes narrow slightly.

The ID above this man's head was golden—[Village Chief · Li Xuan].

Village Chief Li looked at Qin Ji with burning eyes, as if looking at a piece of unpolished jade, filled with excitement and anticipation.

"Brave adventurer, your strength has surpassed my imagination. To be able to sweep through the demon snake swarm without using Grievous Wounds Potions... even your life Aura seems several times more vigorous than before you set out."

Village Chief Li walked to the table, leaning forward with both hands on the tabletop. In his cloudy old eyes, a blazing fire was now burning.

"In you, I see the hope of saving this village, and even breaking this cage of 'Divine Might'."

Qin Ji raised an eyebrow.

Hidden plot triggered.

"The Village Chief overpraises me." Qin Ji withdrew the Killing Intent from his body and revealed a signature belly-black smile. "As long as the reward is sufficient, let alone breaking a cage, I'd be happy to poke a hole in the heavens."

Hearing this, Village Chief Li didn't get angry; instead, he threw his head back and laughed.

"Good! Arrogant enough! I like this personality of yours that respects neither heaven nor earth!"

The laughter stopped abruptly, and the expression on Village Chief Li's face instantly became incredibly serious, even carrying a hint of solemnity.

"However, young man, don't get happy too soon. Those demon snakes outside are nothing more than watchdogs."

He pointed a finger toward the pitch-black depths outside the window, his voice low as if coming from the nine layers of Hell:

"The true horror lies at the core of that magnificent Divine Might... the thing slumbering there, once it awakens, even gods will tremble!"

The wind and snow outside seemed to freeze at this moment.

Qin Ji followed the Village Chief's finger. In the endless darkness, a pair of crimson giant eyes slowly opened. Just the aftereffect of a single glance caused the surrounding space to crack inch by inch, revealing the pitch-black turbulent flows of the Void Realm. Qin Ji, however, merely straightened his cuffs indifferently, the crazy smile on his lips growing more intense—just like a primeval Vicious Beast that had just finished a full meal, coldly watching the even grander hunting feast that was about to arrive.