Facing the Abyss as a Demon Cultivator

Looking at the options before him, Chu Xiu fell into deep thought. Each of the three enchantments was highly useful: Precision would increase his attack accuracy, Optimization would enhance the overall attributes of the bone spear, and Bleeding would inflict more damage.

After careful consideration, he chose Bleeding. He made this decision with the still-unseen monster in mind as his hypothetical enemy. Based on the previous traces, this monster seemed to be large, making the wind pressure effect of Precision likely ineffective.

The bone spear, now upgraded, had physical strength comparable to a well-crafted wooden iron-tipped spear, more than enough to deal with carbon-based creatures. Unless the monster's skin was as tough as iron, further upgrades would be unnecessary.

Thus, Bleeding was undoubtedly the most suitable choice for now.

With this decision, Chu Xiu chose Bleeding without hesitation. Immediately, his Perfect Refinement talent activated, and a mysterious enchantment formed at the tip of the bone spear. Externally, the once pure white bone spear now had a faint crimson hue.

Gripping the bone spear, Chu Xiu felt a surge of confidence. But it was still far from enough. Weapons were only part of the equation; his own attributes were more crucial.

With insufficient basic attributes, the margin for error was too low! Ordinary people could hunt lions and tigers with iron spears, but one mistake could lead to immediate death.

Chu Xiu did not want to take such risks.

He glanced at his panel; the bone spear, after inscribing the first layer of enchantment, had granted him a whopping 47 points of profession experience! Including his previous accumulation, Chu Xiu now needed only 24 more points to level up, which meant absorbing about 12 more dried corpses, possibly fewer if they were of high quality.

With this in mind, he turned to Yun Lu. "Let's continue."

For the next while, the two of them carefully searched the apartment building.

There were plenty of dried corpses inside the building, each more tragic than the last. Despite the many years that had passed, Chu Xiu could still faintly sense the despair and helplessness these ordinary people felt when the apocalypse struck.

"I must level up quickly and gain the power to protect myself!"

Chu Xiu gripped the bone spear tightly, remaining fully alert to the surroundings.

At that moment, Yun Lu, who was walking ahead, whispered, "I smell food, not those monsters."

"Mushrooms?" Chu Xiu asked.

Yun Lu shook her head. "No, it seems to be a herbivorous animal. It doesn't have the strong smell of carnivores, and it should be small in size."

"Actually, I noticed similar scents before, but they were either in locked rooms or near the monsters' scent, so I didn't mention them."

"I see." Chu Xiu's expression changed slightly.

He wasn't too surprised. Although everything in the Abyss was datafied, it still needed to conform to natural physical laws.

There was no such thing as "zombies with infinite clean energy."

The monsters also needed to follow the law of conservation of energy and obtain energy from the outside world.

Chu Xiu was more inclined to believe that there was a complete food chain here. The surviving creatures had effective survival methods, making them hard to detect.

Yun Lu's words somewhat confirmed his hypothesis.

Compared to the meager experience provided by dried corpses, killing live creatures was far more rewarding.

So after a brief consideration, Chu Xiu said, "Let's go check it out."

"But don't rush into action. It's better to abandon it than make too much noise during a fight."

He had already figured out that the apartment's soundproofing was decent. Normal walking and even low conversations wouldn't attract monsters.

Even the creaking of doors wouldn't usually draw attention unless they were on the same floor as the monsters.

The previous trial participant who met a tragic end likely made too much noise while hunting, attracting the monsters.

Following Yun Lu into a vacant room, Chu Xiu scanned the area but found nothing except dust.

He looked at Yun Lu, who nervously pointed at the bedroom wardrobe.

It was a large wardrobe, about two meters high, and partially open. Focusing on it, Chu Xiu heard faint rustling sounds, as if something inside was flapping its wings or chewing on something.

Both of them tensed up.

Suddenly, the noise stopped.

The next moment, a large gray shadow darted out, heading straight for Yun Lu's face!

Yun Lu almost screamed in fright, but a large hand reached from behind and covered her mouth as a flash of cold light shot out, the sharp bone spear hitting the gray shadow directly! "Shhh!"

The entire left side of the shadow was torn open, and it fell to the ground, brushing past Yun Lu.

Yun Lu's eyes widened in fear, her heart racing.

"Be careful. If you make noise and attract those monsters, it'll be troublesome," Chu Xiu said calmly.

"Yes, sorry," Yun Lu apologized, lowering her head in guilt.

Ignoring the girl, Chu Xiu turned to the creature that had emerged. It was a gray moth, the size of an infant, covered in grayish-yellow fur. Its wings looked like old, yellowed paper windows, one of which had been pierced by Chu Xiu's spear, causing a huge gash in its abdomen.

Despite its injuries, it tried to flap its remaining wing to fly, its mutated mouthparts opening and closing like a meat grinder, making a horrifying hissing sound.

But after a few flaps, the giant moth fell back to the ground. Under the influence of some strange power, its wound expanded and tore further!

Special Trait: Bleeding.

Within seconds, the gash on its abdomen had split the moth almost in half.

Thick, foul-smelling internal organs spilled out, and the creature could no longer move, lying in place and breathing weakly.

Yun Lu watched in shock as Chu Xiu, without any pity, stepped forward and thrust the spear through its head.

The entire process was clean and efficient. Perhaps influenced by his demonic profession, Chu Xiu remained exceptionally calm.

As he killed the moth, Chu Xiu felt his Boundless Reincarnation Technique activate automatically, seemingly absorbing an invisible essence from the moth into his body.

[Slaughter a living creature, profession experience +18]

[Level Up!]

[Current Rank: F-rank Level 1]

As the prompt sounded in his mind, Chu Xiu felt a surge of heat spread throughout his body. Under its influence, he could clearly feel his body strengthening. His muscles seemed to undergo a fundamental transformation, becoming tougher and stronger! With a casual swing, the once heavy bone spear now felt as light as a branch.

His mind cleared, and the world before him was sharper than ever. He could even faintly see the dust particles floating in the air.

His sensory abilities and reaction speed had significantly improved!

But the greatest enhancement was in his energy level! Chu Xiu could clearly feel a tremendous power now residing in his dantian! Feeling the unprecedented muscle strength in his arms, he experienced a profound sense of security.

Taking a deep breath, Chu Xiu opened his character panel.

[Name] Chu Xiu

[Rank] F-rank Level 1 (2/200)

[Physique] 2.14
[Spirit] 3.07
[Energy Level] 3.81

[Equipment] Worn Cotton Clothing, Unremarkable Bone Spear +4

[Profession] Heir of the Demonic Path

[Talent] Perfect Refinement

His physique had more than doubled! The increase in spirit was less significant, but his energy level had skyrocketed by 3 points! A physique over 2 points was generally at the level of professional athletes.

"I've heard that different professions add different attribute points with each level up. Close-combat types typically gain more physique, while magic and ranged professions focus more on spirit and energy level.

"My demonic path profession seems to be balanced, with a slight bias towards energy level. I read online that the A-rank profession Heavy Shield Knight gains as much as 3 points of physique on the first level up!"

Thinking this, Chu Xiu had a clear understanding. It seemed his MAX-grade profession, despite its rank, didn't provide as many attribute points as some S-rank and A-rank professions.

The key likely lay in the term inheritance.

Chu Xiu's gaze shifted downward to the newly appeared text at the bottom of the panel.

[New inheritance unlocked]