Forge a path to success.

Chapter 76 The Best Hunter in the Village
Hypnosis is a common element in artistic creation, and its extent varies depending on the type of work. The yellow-skinned monster wielding a pendulum in the grass can at most put its opponent to sleep for 1-3 rounds, while the bald old man with a metal helmet can mind control an entire army with the help of his equipment.

Chu Hengkong had always thought that such convenient and quick abilities only existed in virtual works, but today he was once again taught a lesson by the all-encompassing world of Shen Dong.

The eyeball monster, Vande, sat atop the hypnotized giant spider, smugly intertwining his short tentacles: "Have you seen the true power of yours, Vande the Great?"

"Quite practical." Chu Hengkong carefully examined the spider's condition. "It needs the help of mucus to activate?"

“Strictly speaking, it requires ‘contact,’ physical contact or eye contact will do. But that’s too dangerous, so I usually use mucus to indirectly hypnotize people,” Vande explained cheerfully, then hesitated, “It’s not that I’m intentionally hiding it, but you know, this thing is after all…”

"I understand," Chu Hengkong nodded.

Among numerous dangerous abilities, hypnosis ranks among the top. Its very existence can erode trust between people; the mere fact that someone knows how to use hypnosis will inevitably breed endless suspicion. Who knows if your actions have been influenced by the other person? Who can guarantee that your current thoughts are of your own free will?

Van der was a perceptive person and naturally understood these concerns, so he quickly began to ramble on: "This ability isn't actually that convenient. It doesn't take effect for long, and it can only be applied to one object at most within a short period of time. The more complex the command, the worse the effect... In short, what I'm trying to say is..."

"It's alright, I believe you," Chu Heng said without looking up. "This ability is useful; we'll find an opportunity to develop it properly later."

"Oh." Vande twirled his tentacles back and forth. "You're a pretty nice guy."

It was somewhat moved; in this perilous and eerie place, receiving a word of "belief" was a rare comfort. Little did it know that Chu Hengkong hadn't thought that far ahead. He genuinely believed this eyeball was a coward, and wouldn't dare use hypnosis to launch a sneak attack even if given a thousand lives…

Besides, how could a seasoned assassin like him, with intelligence already in hand, possibly be hypnotized?

He drew his rock sword and tested it against the spider's carapace. The ordinary strike was immediately deflected, the recoil causing a slight numbness in his hand. Chu Hengkong flicked his wrist, channeling his inner energy into the blade, and slashed again.

This time, the blade penetrated nearly halfway into the armor, but still hadn't completely destroyed the spider's armor. The mechanical spider's six legs began to twitch erratically, as if trying to awaken from its hypnosis. Chu Hengkong released the blade and thrust out his palm. As his palm touched the outer armor, his entire body suddenly sank, and the concentrated energy he had gathered entered the spider's body with this single strike, then exploded with a deafening roar!

Sparks flew across the mechanical spider's surface, and after a few flashes, its compound eyes went out completely, ceasing all movement. Van der clapped his hands with his short tentacles: "Well done!"

Chu Hengkong traced the slash marks on the spider's exoskeleton inch by inch with his fingertips, simulating the action in his mind. This spider's shell was incredibly hard; ordinary attacks were ineffective, and at close range, at least a single, relentless strike would be needed to break it. The ideal method to break this kind of shell would be to use the internal explosive power of the Chaotic Star technique, but unfortunately, the fallen leaves had only just returned to their roots yesterday, making it unavailable for the time being…

Without Vande, it would have been quite a struggle to defeat this spider.

“You just gave me that ‘this guy is surprisingly useful’ look, didn’t you!” Vand said.

"You're quite useful." Chu Hengkong chopped off a spider leg with his knife and placed it on the silver-eyed book, but no words appeared. He put away the book and quickly dismantled the mechanical spider. Chu Hengkong was pondering how to move this behemoth back when he looked down and found that the smaller spiders were still alive and kicking, just running around like headless flies because their main body was dead.

"Vande," Chu Hengkong said thoughtfully, "can your hypnosis be used on multiple targets?"

"If they're all small fry, it's fine. What's wrong?"

·
Two hours later, in Yingshi Town.

Qi Su sat on the edge of the Cherry Blossom Dragon statue, tapping the stone steps with her short cane, her small face filled with visible anxiety. Xiang Fuzi stood beside her, offering words of comfort: "Qi Su, I see that Brother Chu's skills are superb; he must have received the true teachings of the Dragon Village. There's no need to worry so much..."

"Even if he's just a point mass, what's the use of mastering the technique?" Qi Su gritted his teeth in frustration. "Which architect can beat those... things! Besides, he's just a skilled craftsman! These idiots have no self-awareness at all, daring to put a spider hunting manual on the board. From now on, any new commissions must be reviewed by me first; such outrageous requests are not allowed again!"

Xiang Fuzi outwardly agreed, but inwardly thought, "Who told you to run away this morning because you were so concerned about saving face? Now you're blaming me." Just then, a townsman floated over, his face a picture of extraordinary surprise: "The outsider is back."

"Oh... I'm glad you're alright..."

Qi Su breathed a sigh of relief, patting her flat chest repeatedly. She jumped down from the statue, straightened her outer garment, and instantly reverted to her arrogant and self-important demeanor. Xiang Fuzi chuckled behind her. Qi Su didn't notice that she slung her short cane over her shoulder and walked towards the town's exit like a leader inspecting his achievements.

"Hmph, you took almost a whole day to complete such a simple task. You outsiders are really something—what have you two been doing?!"

Qi Su let out a trembling scream, and many of the townspeople watching followed suit. Dust billowed from the west side of the town, and a large swarm of spiders marched in with perfectly synchronized steps. A small portion of the swarm consisted of magically manipulated spider puppets resembling small steel balls, while the majority were native, mechanical spiders. They carried stones, mushrooms, and grass stalks on their backs, and a dozen or so in the middle worked together to carry the remains of a large spider.

Chu Hengkong and Fan De sat on the spider's corpse and waved to the crowd: "Mission complete."

"What on earth did you do to turn this hunting mission into this?!" Qi Su cried out in an even louder wail.

"Hehehe, Mountain Eye has a brilliant plan~" Vande jumped out of his pocket and waved his tentacles at the group of spiders: "Thank you all for your hard work. Now that you've put down the goods, you can go home."

The spiders sorted and placed the various odds and ends down, the hypnotized ones running far away, while the original puppets returned to Chu Hengkong's box. The townspeople, overjoyed, rushed forward, picking up the various items before turning and running away without a word, as if afraid someone would steal their mushrooms. Qi Su stood silently in place, like a sapling drifting in the wind.

Chu Hengkong didn't mind and lowered his head to say, "I have completed what I promised. May I ask who crafted the equipment you promised?"

"I'll do it..." Qi Su looked like he was about to collapse, "You can just leave it to me..."

Chu Hengkong looked at the corpse that resembled an abandoned tank, then at the little girl in front of him who was not even as tall as a spider's leg, and felt deep skepticism about the so-called equipment manufacturing.

·
Half an hour later, at Qi Su's studio.

"Big squid, give me that head. Chop the front claws into smaller pieces; their current size is too inconvenient."

Chu Hengkong handed over the spider's head, curiously observing Qi Su's actions. The little girl was tapping a piece of spider carapace with a short staff, and with each tap, tiny characters flashed from the staff tip and disappeared into the carapace, looking like some kind of mysterious magic.

Fan De watched with great interest, nodding occasionally. Chu Hengkong picked it up and asked, "You can understand it?"

“It uses the inscription technique of ‘secret script,’ which is similar to the talismans of Longquan Township but the principle is different,” Fan De explained. “Talismans use the qi and blood of martial arts practitioners, while secret script is used to draw upon the power of materials, environment, or religious totems. One focuses on internal cultivation, while the other draws upon external forces.”

Qi Su didn't even look up: "It's no use talking to him about this. After all, he's just a stupid brute who only knows how to fight."

"Indeed, the Path of Unity is full of muscle-headed idiots... Pfft!"

Vande shook his head, exuding an air of intellectual superiority. Chu Hengkong casually pressed him flat on the table: "I don't understand what this has to do with 'bitter staffs.' Can you bitter staffs all project words onto the staff?"

"Sigh, you barbarian squid," Qi Su sighed. "What do you think is the difference between 'stone' and 'staff'?"

Chu Hengkong thought for a while: "One is round, and the other is long."

“Okay, zero points, failing grade.” Qi Su tossed over a piece of scrap material. “The correct answer is that one is ‘material’ and the other is ‘tool’. This is the essential difference between point mass 1 and point mass 2.”

Materials and tools... to polish a stone into a walking stick? Well...

"The condition for transforming the Foundation Stone into the Staff of Suffering is to forge the extraordinary item from your transformation into a relic specifically for your use?"

“Now you understand, you silly squid.” Qi Su removed the spider’s eyes. “So all of us with the Bitter Staff have the ability to create extraordinary items—in other words, relics. My expertise in runes is just one method; other Bitter Staffs naturally have their own methods, just like you barbarians have different ways of boxing.”

Chu Hengkong pondered for a moment, then frowned and asked, "If someone uses a high-level relic to upgrade their foundation stone, how would they transform it into a staff of bitterness?" "If you're that stupid, you're doomed~" Vande said sarcastically. "The path to upgrade is about surpassing yourself time and time again. You have to exceed the limits of your current particle to be qualified to move on to the next particle. You overestimated yourself at particle one and set an extremely high difficulty level; if you can't get past that in your entire life, you're just wasting your life!"

Chu Hengkong slammed the fist flat on the table, and Qi Su glanced at him: "You have this kind of friend?"

"Yes. The situation is special."

"In special circumstances, don't think about the future; it's good enough to keep the present."

She opened the drawer and took out a bead containing flowing water—the very same flowing bead Chu Hengkong had given her yesterday. With a light tap of her short staff, the bead shattered, releasing a torrent of swirling water that swept over several pieces of processed material, bringing with it a golden ray resembling sunlight.

The color quickly dissipated, and Qi Su picked up the material and examined it for a moment before nodding in satisfaction: "As expected of Lord Huilong's invention, the purity of the divine power is truly high."

"...Divine power?" Chu Hengkong frowned.

"Only your City of Trends can wield divine power so easily. In the past, when we borrowed Lord Sakura Dragon's divine power, the ritual alone would take half a day to prepare, it was quite troublesome," Qi Su explained cheerfully. "In the field of divine power development, Lord Huilong is undoubtedly a genius... Ah, please excuse my presumption, you should know more about this than I do. How do you usually use the Flowing Pearl?"

The assassin, observing the way the man was examining the treasure, found himself unusually embarrassed. He coughed and said, "I usually use this to buy hamburgers."

"Oh, I see, it's used to buy... What did you say?!"

Qi Su's voice rose several octaves, and she nearly dropped the materials in her hands. Chu Hengkong explained helplessly, "I have a lot of saliva on my hands..."

"Do you even know what this is?!" Qi Su jumped onto the chair and grabbed his collar. "This is a divine power crystal! One of the few universal energy sources that can be safely used without worrying about pollution! It's used to create relics and hold ceremonies, including the teleportation array you'll use to get out later! You're using something so precious to buy hamburgers?!"

"It's also used to buy fried dough sticks in the cafeteria..." Chu Hengkong sensed the murderous intent in the other person's eyes, and felt even less confident. He quickly added, "This is our local currency. As a senior detective, my salary is very high..."

"How could that stupid dragon use divine power crystals as currency?!" Qi Su cried out, clutching his head in anguish.

Vande shook his head repeatedly: "The great genius of the Ancient Dragon Clan turned into a stupid dragon in half a minute! Where is the respect? The gods will be angry, won't they?"

"Ugh, my head hurts so much... Everyone in Trendy City, from top to bottom, is completely clueless. Don't talk to me..."

The little girl turned her head angrily and pounded on the spider's steel plate as if venting her anger. Chu Hengkong couldn't help but worry about his mission reward. He reached into his pocket and touched the handful of beads he carried with him, which were originally intended to cover the cost of having barbecue with Ji Huaisu.

No wonder all the tourists visiting Huilong City are fixated on the Flowing Pearl; it seems the city is quite developed. Judging from Qi Su's tone, the teleportation array also relies on it; this thing needs to be kept safe for now…

Just then, Qi Su slammed the glove down with a "thud," seemingly indicating that she was done. She tossed it at her impatiently: "Try it on, here's your payment!"

She crafted a gauntlet from a single piece of spider exoskeleton, inlaid with three pairs of miniature spider legs, each made from a portion of the six legs of a mechanical spider. Two recessed "grooves" were pre-drilled between the knuckles, one of which held a spider's eyeball, emitting a faint green glow.

Chu Hengkong tried on the retractable fingers and found they fit perfectly. Qi Su rested his chin on his hand with satisfaction: "You already have a decent set of light armor, so I made you a few little things. These gloves are imbued with the spider's thoughts, which can enhance the damage dealt to 'bound enemies.' For a slimy squid, that's a pretty good reward, isn't it?"

"The weight is just right, quite good." Chu Hengkong nodded in satisfaction. "Is there one more groove left?"

“Once you hunt other strange beasts, I’ll make them into beads and inlay them on you, so you don’t have to wear a bunch of inconvenient things all over your body.” Qi Su sat back down in the chair. “Now let’s go back to the church! It’s getting dark, and I need to rest too.”

Chu Hengkong thanked him, stuffed Fan De into his pocket, and walked out happily. Once Fan De was out of sight, he whispered, "That girl's pretty sharp."

"how?"

“A normal staff can only be used with one or two secret inscriptions if it’s not bad, but this girl can use secret inscriptions in sections, which is very remarkable.” Vande said seriously, “To give you an analogy that you can understand, it’s as remarkable as learning a thousand sets of Dragon Township Boxing in one go.”

"I learned three thousand sets in one go."

"Why don't you just say you're the Ethereal Fate Master?" Vande scoffed. "How could such a genius be holed up in this wretched little place... It's really strange..."

Chu Hengkong wasn't particularly surprised; this ghost world was vast, and geniuses were as plentiful as birds in the forest. When he returned to the church, he smelled a fragrance. Brother Bernfar told him the townspeople had brought him some gifts. He went back to his hut and found a whole row of decorations on the table: a donkey and a horse woven from grass, small statues carved from pebbles, and a delicious-smelling pie stuffed with mushrooms and fruit.

Vande cheered and grabbed a piece of pie, slurping it down with his tentacles. Chu Heng took a bite and found the seasoning a bit bland, but the ingredients blended perfectly. He then cut some eel from yesterday and enjoyed a decent meal with the mushroom pie.

“These people from the Kingdom of Gods are really strange,” Vande exclaimed sincerely. “Have you ever seen such awkward fellows before? They make us pick things up, and then turn around and make them up for us. They don’t eat anything themselves, but they still know how to put on airs.”

"They're a bunch of eccentric people," Chu Hengkong said thoughtfully.

He removed his gauntlet and placed the first relic he had acquired locally on the Silver-Eyed Book. The writing appeared rapidly, but this time the longing was incomprehensible:

Iron Spider Gauntlets

Rating: 2

【Origin: Mysterious Realm of the Underworld - Netherworld Divine Kingdom】

[Effect: Gauntlets crafted using rune techniques possess different abilities depending on the rune beads embedded within them.]
Currently used Secret Slot: 1/2, Current Effect: Slightly increases damage dealt to bound enemies.

[Longing: Overnight, a huge hole appeared in the sea]
Separated from the ocean like an insurmountable chasm, will it be impossible to catch fish in the future?

As I was thinking this, the demon emerged from the sea.

Chu Hengkong and Fan De stared at the appraisal document together, neither of them understanding what it meant.

"Is this longing Qi Su's or the spider's?"

"The relic's power comes from the spider, so the longing should be its..." Vande was also a little confused. "I guess this spider used to live by the sea, but it ran to the plains because it couldn't get fish... right?"

Chu Hengkong vaguely felt that it wouldn't be that simple, but he couldn't think of any other ideas for the time being. Seeing that it was already night, he put away the large book, practiced his boxing outside the church for a while, and then rested quietly.

It was the dead of night, and the darkness was oppressive.

A deep tremor came from afar, the shockwaves spreading across the land until they reached the heart of the town. Inside the church, the brass chandeliers swayed, and the candles flickered.

Chu Hengkong sat up alertly, picked up his rock knife, and put on his clothes. He saw the firelight illuminating the dark stone chamber, and a monk holding a torch stood at the door, half of his face hidden in shadow.

“The Shadow Giants are attacking the town,” Brother Bernfar said.

(End of this chapter)