I Can Devour Spirits-Chapter 81: Several Days in the Mountains

Three days later, at noon, Duan Rong sat wearily on a rock beside the stream!

He had just leaned by the stream and drank his fill of the water.

Duan Rong wiped the moisture from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, caught his breath, and then sat up a bit straighter.

On the rock beside him, there was a pile of firewood with two over-a-foot-long plump fish roasting over it, sizzling with oil and exuding a fragrant aroma!

In these three days, Duan Rong devoured nearly forty Tree Spirits!

In fact, Tier One Tree Spirits are not easy to find!

Centenarian wood and one hundred and twenty years old wood, vary little in thickness, and the different species of trees can cause interference.

Duan Rong had to almost feel each tree one by one!

In one day, he could only find about a dozen, and that was from operating almost without rest!

Although after devouring them, there was none of that previous discomfort, which seemed a bit unusual...

But after these three days, there have been no adverse reactions...

Duan Rong, although somewhat puzzled by this, felt it might have been his overthinking, wouldn’t a lack of discomfort be a good thing?

Perhaps before long, his Spiritual Power could break through to level 2!

"Since Tier One Tree Spirits barely boost Spiritual Power, I’ll just use quantity to induce qualitative change!"

"As long as there are no adverse reactions, I’ll keep stacking... until I break through!"

Duan Rong’s gaze was sharp, with quite a bit of determination!

Just then, not far from the stream, a leopard appeared, more than a meter long, with a small head and long tail, its yellow fur adorned with coin-sized black spots!

Upon spotting the beast, Duan Rong leapt from the rock immediately!

The leopard wasn’t as robust as a tiger but made up for it with speed, which sometimes made it even more dangerous!

The leopard placed its front paws on the rock, body slightly crouched, its beastly cold eyes fixed on Duan Rong by the stream, seemingly assessing his strength!

Standing on the rock by the stream, Duan Rong confronted the leopard, calm and composed, without a hint of nervousness in the aura around him!

Duan Rong’s demeanor seemed to give off a faint aura of danger sensed by the leopard, but its intense hunger provoked its primal animal instincts!

The leopard suddenly lunged like lightning, charging straight at Duan Rong!

Renowned for speed, the leopard’s burst of speed during its initial charge was catastrophic!

Moreover, the leopard was only three or four yards away from Duan Rong, the ideal distance for a hunt!

At this distance, it could exploit its speed advantage to the fullest!

In a blink, the leopard had already reached Duan Rong, planting its two feet on the edge of the large rock before him, launching itself at Duan Rong’s throat!

But the moment the leopard leaped, Duan Rong’s figure suddenly flickered... vanished without a trace!

The leopard pounced on empty ground, clearly bewildered, immediately realizing Duan Rong was mysteriously behind it!

The leopard turned tail, leaping and twisting around, finding Duan Rong nearly in front of it. A peculiar odor from the leopard wafted subtly, its whiskers in the sunlight reflecting a faint halo...

Man and beast, so close!

To the beast, such proximity was a form of provocation!

The leopard bared its fangs, leaping at Duan Rong once more!

Duan Rong twisted his waist, his body ghostly elusive, flickering to appear behind the leopard again!

It was then the leopard realized it had encountered the legendary Mountain Demon, sprinting towards the stream, escaping into the trees, eventually diving into the depths of the forest.

Watching the leopard flee, Duan Rong smiled faintly, saying, "It’s just a beast after all..."

Truth be told, killing that leopard would have been easy!

Yet he was too tired, and simply didn’t want to get himself bloody!

Duan Rong walked over, picked up the overturned grilled fish from the rock, blew off the dust, and started eating!

The thoroughly grilled fish was immensely palatable, and Duan Rong savored it, his mouth watering, lips oily!

Having filled his stomach, Duan Rong barely rested a moment before suddenly leaping into the woods, agile like a monkey, skillfully feeling each tree...

Six days later, at noon, Duan Rong looked somewhat fatigued at the data that appeared before him.

Artifact: Old Cypress Wood (Age: 101 years)

Artifact Spirit Tier: Tier One.

Devouring Requirements: Host’s Spiritual Power Level 1 (Satisfied).

Devouring Effect: Primordial Awakening (Can slightly increase Host’s Spiritual Power).

"Finally, found another one!" Duan Rong sighed.

Over the six days, Duan Rong meticulously kept count, having devoured precisely eighty-one Tier One Tree Spirits.

This one before him was the eighty-second.

With a determined gaze, Duan Rong softly proclaimed, "Devour Artifact Spirit!"

Suddenly, at the bottom of Duan Rong’s data panel, a line of glaring flashing red text appeared: Devour Failed! Consciousness Space related area full!

Duan Rong felt a jolt inside. "Indeed there’s trouble!"

This eighty-second Tier One Tree Spirit, shockingly failed to be devoured!

"Consciousness Space... related area... full..."

Duan Rong deciphered this flashing message word by word.

Upon reflection, Duan Rong took two steps back and placed his hand on another tree, saying, "Read Artifact Spirit."

Artifact: Old Pine Wood (Age: 121 years)

Artifact Spirit Tier: Tier Two.

Devouring Requirements: Host’s Spiritual Power Level 2 (Not Satisfied).

Devouring Effect: Initial Intelligence (Can slightly increase Host’s Spiritual Power).

Gazing at the data before him, Duan Rong fixated on the words "Not Satisfied."

Clearly, his Spiritual Power was still Level 1, not yet broken through.

"Spiritual Power hasn’t broken through, yet the devour failed!"

Duan Rong stood there, eyes deeply contemplative, pondering the message that flashed just now.

"Consciousness Space?... related area full...?"

Duan Rong suspected all of this related to the initial absence of discomfort when devouring Tree Spirits!

Something must have caused the lack of usual discomfort when absorbing or digesting Artifact Spirits after devouring Tree Spirits!

It might also lead to the current devour failure!

Duan Rong lingered at Wild Boar Mountain for two more days, wanting to observe for any further changes!

But Tier One Tree Spirits continued to fail upon devouring, with no new information feedback!

Sitting on a fragrant camphor tree, a bright-furred rabbit quivered in his grasp.

Perched on the branch, stroking the rabbit, Duan Rong contemplated...

Suddenly his eyes lit up, entertaining another perspective on the problem at hand.

Previously, when devouring Artifact Spirits, it required a few hours to digest fully.

Yet, during his mountain stay, he continuously devoured eighty-one Tree Spirits!

"Consciousness Space related area full..."

Repeating these words, Duan Rong arrived at a new understanding: perhaps it meant his Divine Soul had overindulged on Tree Spirits!

"Maybe... it just needs... time... to digest..."

Speculating this, Duan Rong dispelled some of his doubts...

Soon, he leapt from the tree like a great bird, landing steadily, placing the rabbit at the tree’s base, then turned and walked away...

"Already been out for eight or nine days, time to head back!"

The matter of failing to devour requires further observation, to see if it aligns with his speculation.

Based on past experiences digesting Artifact Spirits, a Tier One spirit needed three hours for complete digestion.

Calculating by this standard, for an entire eighty-one Tier One Tree Spirits, digestion would take over half a month.

If indeed it needed that much time, idling in the mountains was not an option!