Zhang Wei dug nearly a hundred meters deep, the thick soil layer insulating him from the glacial cold.
Zhang Wei was extra cautious; such places rarely yielded divine martial arts manuals or rare treasures.
Instead, they were rife with undercurrents, silt, and bizarre beasts.
"There are over a dozen岔路口 (chàlù kǒu -岔路口), truly a maze!"
"I must record this place; it will surely be useful later."
Just then, rustling sounds echoed from behind him.
[Usable Ingredient Discovered]
[Demon Great Serpent (Subspecies)]
[Capture Level: 21]
[Description: Possesses sparse ancient bloodlines, immense regenerative abilities, and stomach acid capable of melting gold and iron. It shuns light and fears the sun, preferring to dwell and breed in dark, subterranean caverns.]
Zhang Wei was startled; it was the renowned Demon Great Serpent!
Lion's mane, three eyes, four limbs, and a serpent's body… the entire serpent must weigh tens of tons.
With no time to think, several streams of venom shot towards him.
"Seeking death!"
Dodging the venomous projectiles, Zhang Wei unleashed a flash of blade energy!
The colossal Demon Great Serpent, unable to evade, had a section of its tail severed!
[Collection Complete]
[Demon Great Serpent Meat]
[Replication Time: 180 days]
Zhang Wei blinked. Did defeating beasts also trigger collection?
What about harvesting crops, or planting them?
Or gathering wild fruits and mushrooms?
The Demon Great Serpent wailed, white pus oozing from the severed stump as a new tail regrew in an instant!
"Such potent regeneration, limb regrowth in mere moments!"
The Demon Great Serpent also excelled at physical combat. Its four massive claws could extend and retract at will, reaching dozens of meters.
Another swift cut through the air!
The angle was precisely controlled, severing three of its colossal claws directly.
[Collection Complete]
[Demon Great Serpent Meat]
[Replication Time: 165 days]
"Collection complete again! Just as I suspected!"
"For lifeforms of this size and high capture level, outright killing is unnecessary."
Watching the Demon Great Serpent’s instantly regenerated limbs, Zhang Wei felt he had stumbled upon some kind of... bug!
One slash...
[Collection Complete... Replication Time: 155 days]
Another slash...
[Collection... Time: 146 days]
Another slash...
[Replication Time: 137]
...
[Time: 128]
[Time: 119]
[110 days]
The notification sounds continued to ring in his ears, and Zhang Wei grew more excited with each cut.
The Demon Great Serpent also realized it was no match for the human before it and turned to flee frantically.
Zhang Wei pursued, continuously trimming its flesh...
"The limb regeneration is slowing down, and the serpent's entire body looks two sizes smaller. It seems the power of replication isn't infinite; it's a conversion of flesh and blood."
But Zhang Wei failed to notice that the weight of the severed limbs had long surpassed that of the Demon Great Serpent itself.
This world simply could not be measured by the physical laws of his previous life.
It was even more bizarre than some fantasy worlds!
The Demon Great Serpent finally could not withstand the torment and collapsed onto the ground.
"It fainted, having expended too much stored energy?"
"For my current strength, a capture level of 21 is still too weak."
Based on the combat prowess of the Gallon Tiger and the Demon Great Serpent, Zhang Wei roughly estimated the battle strength corresponding to capture levels.
For instance, the Demon Great Serpent before him could likely kill three Martial Braves without issue.
And Martial Braves, if they were beasts, should have a capture level between 15 and 17.
After dispatching and dismembering the Demon Great Serpent and collecting all the previously severed limbs, Zhang Wei proceeded to its lair.
The Demon Great Serpent had immense self-weight, and its tracks were often seen within caves. The deepest tracks... led directly to its nest!
"So smelly! This Demon Great Serpent is truly a filthy creature."
[Usable Ingredient Discovered]
[Demon Serpent Egg]
[Capture Level: 18]
[Description: The offspring of the Demon Great Serpent, also serving as its backup food. During seasons of abundant food, Demon Great Serpents produce a large number of cloud-bright serpent eggs. These eggs are extremely energy-dense, providing potent recovery effects upon consumption, which is also the source of the Demon Great Serpent's regenerative capabilities.]
"Indeed, it lives up to its 'demon' title; the habits of this serpent are astonishing."
Poison does not consume its own kind, except for cold-blooded animals!
"An eighteen-capture-level serpent egg must contain an incredibly vast amount of energy."
"It also has potent recovery effects; I must cook it properly."
Each serpent egg was over a meter tall, with a single one weighing as much as five hundred kilograms!
Furthermore, there were quite a few serpent eggs in the cave, indicating that the one Zhang Wei had killed was a diligent serpent, highly skilled at hunting.
"What a pity it's a cloud-bright serpent egg, otherwise I could hatch a little serpent to play with..."
He placed his hand on the egg.
And transferred it to his collection storehouse.
[Collection Complete: Demon Serpent Egg]
[Replication Time: 185 days]
As expected, high-quality items had long replication times.
But fortunately, there were enough serpent eggs; Zhang Wei had ample material to shorten the time.
[Collection Complete... Replication Time: 169]
[Collection... Replication: 148]
...
...
There were over thirty serpent eggs in this location, successfully shortening the replication time to 4 days.
Combined with the Demon Great Serpent meat, whose replication time was shortened to 5 days, this trip was indeed incredibly fruitful!
Zhang Wei meticulously explored the serpent's nest, determined not to miss any usable good.
[Usable Ingredient Discovered]
[Deep Salt Wall]
[Capture Level: 25]
Zhang Wei was immediately astonished.
It had a capture level as high as 25, even higher than the Demon Great Serpent that resided here!
[Description: Formed by ancient salt spirits immersing themselves in mineral marrow for tens of thousands of years. It cannot form without mountain caverns and earth veins! Mature Deep Salt Walls are harder than refined steel and extremely difficult to mine!]
"Could it be... this wall is the Deep Salt Wall!"
Before entering the serpent's nest, Zhang Wei had noticed that what appeared to be a cave was actually a fissure in the mountainside!
And this mountainside was not formed by accumulated soil and gravel; it was an incredibly vast, complete, super rock!
Or, one might call it – the mountain's foundation!
Zhang Wei retrieved a sharp knife from his collection storehouse and gently poked it into the mountainside.
*Clang~*
The sound was crisp, and the sharp knife, as expected, snapped.
"This knife is made of refined titanium steel from Blue Star, far harder than ordinary steel. This Deep Salt Wall truly lives up to its reputation."
Zhang Wei, of course, wouldn't pass up such a valuable item. As for the difficulty of mining... that was only for conventional miners.
Zhang Wei straightened his palm and pressed his fingertips into the Deep Salt Wall with force.
The Deep Salt Wall, which had so easily snapped the knife tip, felt like dough under his palm!
"I've inserted about forty centimeters."
"This hardness is already equivalent to refined steel!"
Forty centimeters might not sound like much, but compared to an ordinary person easily poking through dough, it was still impressive.
"An RPG-11 rocket launcher can penetrate 600 millimeters of military-grade steel plate and can destroy a modern tank with one shot."
"The Type 99A main battle tank's armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot round has a maximum penetration of 1100 millimeters."
Zhang Wei chuckled freely, "Let alone mining, this rock wall alone is a great place for post-meal exercise."