Chapter 77

In a daze, Xu Dong felt a warm liquid in his mouth and instinctively swallowed, instinctively consuming it...

When the world was at its darkest, Xu Dong, who had narrowly escaped death, finally regained consciousness and slowly opened his eyes. He felt terrible, with a heavy head and light feet, a feverish body, and a sense of weakness, likely due to an infection from his severe injuries. On the other hand, he had never felt such intense gratitude.

Seeing the sunlight meant his eyes could still see.

Smelling the fragrance proved his nose still worked.

Xu Dong felt these symptoms, which meant he was still alive. He thought he was surely going to die, but after a brush with death, he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

After waking up, Xu Dong found that the wind-up toy was curled up in his arms. Due to the pitch-black surroundings, he couldn't see clearly. He instinctively gripped the triangular bayonet and listened carefully. This survival instinct was a result of his recent experiences.

He didn't know if he had entered the perilous Ghost Forest, but he felt the surroundings were so quiet that even the wind seemed to be cautious, unwilling to rustle the leaves and make any sound. He struggled to move his heavy body, climbed up a tree, and then took out various medicines and bandages from his storage space to bandage his wounds. After completing this, he sprinkled insect repellent and snake deterrent on the nearby branches.

After everything was properly handled, he leaned against the tree, closed his eyes to rest, and waited for sunrise.

When the sun finally broke the horizon, casting a brilliant light, Xu Dong saw the scene below the tree and couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

The ground was littered with the corpses of wolves, snakes, bears, and other animals. Most of the fatal wounds were on the throat. Some of the wild animal corpses were gnawed beyond recognition. As for the bodies of Iron Fist and his subordinates, they had been gnawed by some wild animal, leaving only white bones.

With Xu Dong's keen eyesight, it wasn't hard to determine that the fatal wounds on the wild animal corpses were all dog bite marks. In other words, the dozens of wild animals on the ground were all killed by the wind-up toy!

As for the numerous gnaw marks on some of the wild animal corpses, they were from Xu Dong's mouth.

At this moment, Xu Dong finally understood why he had survived this ordeal. It was thanks to the wind-up toy's protection and the food it provided.

Xu Dong felt a deep sense of gratitude as he picked up the wind-up toy. The little guy, perhaps exhausted from the night before, lazily turned his furry body, snuggled into Xu Dong's arms, and continued to sleep soundly.

Taking out the siphon worm, the little guy finally woke up, looking refreshed and full of energy after a good rest.

"Since you're well-rested, let's get to work!" Xu Dong stuffed it into the tree trunk.

Then, Xu Dong looked at the wild animal corpses below with a greedy gaze.

Engage Devour!

The Devour skill was indeed an excellent skill for survival. As Uncle Big Bear had said, as long as there was something to eat, one wouldn't die. After devouring a bear, Xu Dong suddenly found that his body, from cell activity to muscle strength, had noticeably improved!

What was going on?! Xu Dong was stunned. How could the Devour skill have such an effect?

Upon careful thought, it wasn't that the Devour skill suddenly had this effect, but rather that it had always had the ability to strengthen the body through devouring. It was just that he hadn't clearly noticed it before. Now, with his severe injuries, the change was particularly evident, and he finally realized it.

Xu Dong felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. "If it weren't for Yang Buji, how could I have discovered this hidden ability of the skill?"

He had a sudden realization: everything in the world, every action, has its cause and effect.

After engaging the Devour skill, the digestion ability was extremely strong. The wild animals were full of life, providing ample energy. Without even using the siphon worm, after devouring the wild animals, his body not only recovered but also became stronger.

Hmm? What's this?

Just as Xu Dong was about to leave, he noticed something unusual under the corpses of Iron Fist and his subordinate. Speaking of these two, they died rather unjustly. They were both one-star Awakened, and in a life-or-death struggle, they shouldn't have been killed in one hit.

However, the darkness around them was a factor. Secondly, they were in the open, while Xu Dong was in the dark, giving him an advantage. Lastly, despite his severe injuries, Xu Dong's consciousness was almost in a coma, driven by the instincts honed through multiple brushes with death, making his attacks fierce, simple, and direct.

Xu Dong turned over the corpses and found four unenhanced qualification certificates. At that moment, his expression was incredibly complex.

There was only one day and one night left, and all his support was gone. His original plan and arrangements were completely disrupted.

Xu Dong was a rational person, so he didn't indulge in fantasies. He wouldn't imagine a two-star Awakened, clutching an enhanced qualification certificate, rushing to him on the brink of death, tears streaming down his face, and excitedly handing over the qualification, "Brother, the rest is up to you!"

Because he was a rational person, he clearly understood the current predicament—

Indeed, he had escaped Yang Buji's pursuit and survived a brush with death. However, the bigger problem was that he had lost all the conditions to obtain the third qualification.

First, finding a two-star Awakened was not easy;

Second, defeating a two-star Awakened was even more difficult;

Third, he had no help.

So... Xu Dong realized with a shock that he was in a situation he had never been in before!

His expression changed, and he remained silent for a long time before finally sighing, "It seems there's only one way... the only way to survive!"

Xu Dong gritted his teeth, "To complete the task through this path, with my current abilities, there's no chance of success. I need to become stronger, much stronger. Since the Devour skill can strengthen the body..."

Xu Dong turned resolutely and ran madly toward the Ghost Forest. Before long, he had entered the outer perimeter of the Ghost Forest.

The Ghost Forest was divided into the outer, middle, and inner circles. The precious beasts in the outer circle were generally one-star to three-star Awakened, while those in the middle circle were three-star to five-star. The inner circle was filled with fully awakened precious beasts. Even the powerful Ghost Cat lived in the inner circle.

Xu Dong was now in the outer circle of the Ghost Forest.

What made the Ghost Forest different from ordinary forests was its abundance of life energy. In other words, if one practiced in the Ghost Forest, they could absorb much more life energy and generate more blood armor power. However, most people didn't dare to practice in the Ghost Forest because it was full of dangers.

Indeed, as soon as Xu Dong stepped into the Ghost Forest, a withered branch suddenly shot out from a nearby tree branch. The branch twisted and rotated in mid-air, and as it approached, it suddenly opened a large, blood-red mouth, revealing two white fangs that looked menacing. The stench hit him even before the fangs did!

It was a withered branch venomous snake!

Fortunately, Xu Dong's nerves were always on edge, and his full attention was focused. Any slight movement in his field of vision was immediately noticed. A cold light flashed from his hand, and a snake head fell to the ground. At the same time, he slapped the other half of the snake's body, which had been severed, sending it flying.

The snake head hit a tree, and a drop of venom oozed from the hollow fangs, instantly corroding the tree trunk and emitting a foul smell that made one's head spin. The intensity of the snake venom was evident!

Xu Dong felt a chill and became even more cautious.

Moving forward cautiously, Xu Dong soon saw a wild boar. This wild boar was different from ordinary bristly wild boars; its weight was at least half a ton, and its tusks were like two long, sharp hooks. Its thick skin and robust body made it especially adept at charging, using its momentum to impale enemies with its tusks, then twisting and flinging them, tearing them apart.

Xu Dong used the Insight skill and quickly obtained information about the wild boar.

A one-star Awakened wild boar with tusks! In terms of strength, it was stronger than a one-star strength-type Awakened; in terms of thick skin, it was more resilient than a one-star constitution-type Awakened. Its only weakness was speed. However, if given the chance to accelerate to its maximum speed, it would be like an out-of-control bulldozer, causing fractures with a single touch and, if not careful, death by its tusks.

Perhaps sensing something unusual, the wild boar suddenly stopped, sniffing the air.

Oh no! I forgot, a pig's sense of smell is as good