Picking Up Attributes From Today
chapter-224

Chapter 224: The Divine Netherworld Phoenix, The Primordial Humans

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Despite a few months of absence, there was practically no change in Little Gold. It was still the same size, though its aura had vaguely become that of an Eighth-Grade Magical Beast now, having undergone astonishing improvement.

“Boss!”

At the sight of Meng Lei, Little Gold pounced forward in surprise and joy, rubbing its head against Meng Lei intimately.

“It’s been a while, Little Gold!”

Meng Lei stroked Little Gold on the head, a joyful smile coming over his face too.

“Bubbles, let me introduce my friend to you. This is Little Gold!

“Little Gold, this is Bubbles!”

“Hello!”

“Hello!”

The Titan and the ant greeted each other, both somewhat astonished at the other’s identity.

A Golden Gods-Slaying Ant?

A Fallen Titan?

Why would Master/Boss have a friend like that?

A smiling Meng Lei asked, “Little Gold, you should know where the Dark Fairies are, right?”

“The Dark Fairies?”

Little Gold nodded and replied, “Of course I do. They’re a juggernaut of the underground world. They reign over the underground world’s most fertile and vastest region and are the overlord of the underground world!”

“It’s great that you know of them. Bring me to the Dark Fairies!” replied a cheerful Meng Lei.

“What are you going to the Dark Fairies for, Boss? If it’s possible, it’s better that you don’t!”

Little Gold hastily said, “The Dark Fairies are exceptionally wicked and are extremely hostile to outsiders. Any creature that dares approach them will be killed, so you’d better…”

“Don’t worry, Little Gold. I, your Boss, am very strong now, y’know!”

A smiling Meng Lei comforted Little Gold and said, “The Dark Fairies are nothing to me. Don’t worry, and just bring me there!”

“This… Alright, but do be careful, Boss!”

With Little Gold leading the way, Meng Lei and Bubbles made their way there extraordinarily quick.

An hour later, they had successfully left the Bloodthirsty Iron-Crystal Ants’ territory and come to the Doghead Kobolds’ territory.

“Boss, up ahead is a Doghead Kobold tribe’s territory. Let’s move with care!”

“Aren’t the Doghead Kobolds Beast People? Why are they here in the underground world?”

“Master, Doghead Kobolds have a frighteningly high reproduction rate. Not only do they usually give birth to quite a few pups in a single litter, but they can even produce a few litters a year. This has caused overwhelming numbers among the Doghead Kobolds.

“In truth, this situation isn’t limited to just the Doghead Kobolds. Many clans in the Beast People Empire face the same situation. For example, the Pighead Kobolds, the Rabbithead Kobolds, the Cat People, and the Goat People—all of them are races with astonishingly high reproduction rates.

“Yet the Beast People Empire just had to be located at the far northern wastelands where resources are scarce, and there’s a shortage of food. For the sake of survival, many of the Beast People clans would seek a way out.

“Some head to the northernmost ice fields, some choose to venture into the ocean, some enter the deep mountains and old forests, and some burrow right into the underground world.

“After so many years, there are now tracks of Beast People all over Heaven’s Vault Continent. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that they’d appear underground!”

“I see, so that’s how it is…”

They engaged in idle chat along the way, following which Meng Lei subsequently saw the legendary Doghead Kobolds. Indeed, they were just like what their name implied—they had a dog head but a human’s body, which was covered in thick fur.

On top of that, they didn’t live in houses but caves instead!

“What an amazing race!”

Meng Lei released his divine cognition into the surroundings and enveloped the Doghead Kobolds within.

Since he was here, he couldn’t possibly return empty-handed. He had to bring a little something back with him after all!

However, what gave Meng Lei a mental breakdown was that this particular Doghead Kobold tribe was actually stone broke. They didn’t even have a decent treasury!

After much difficulty, he finally found a cave that was used to store treasures—only to discover that the inside was actually filled with all sorts of animal bones, jerky, and magic cores…

…There were no gold coins or Laws of Nature Origin Crystals at all!

“These Doghead Kobolds are poorer than even me!”

Meng Lei couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

Upon hearing what he’d said, Bubbles remarked with a laugh, “There’s more to it than meets the eye, Master. This particular Doghead Kobold tribe, as well as several other races in the vicinity, are worshipers of a Black Dragon.

“Dragons are avaricious in nature, and that Black Dragon is no exception. In fact, it goes a step even further—it has plundered most of its worshipers’ clans’ treasures!”

Meng Lei’s eyes lit up at the sound of that. “In other words, that Black Dragon must be extremely wealthy?”

“Is there anyone among the Dragons that’s poor?”

Bubbles replied affirmatively, “I’ve interacted with that Black Dragon before. That fellow’s the most avaricious Colossal Dragon that I’ve ever met. It solicits toll fees even for mere passage through its territory. It practically can’t get any greedier!”

“Avarice is great, avarice is fantastic! It’s only when one is avaricious that they would gain ample assets!” Meng Lei licked his lips as he said, “Let’s go! We’ll look for that greedy Black Dragon now!”

Under Bubbles’ lead, they arrived at the Black Dragon’s den in no time. Even from a great distance off, they could already hear a series of thunderous snores.

“Go get him, Bubbles!”

“Yes, Master!”

Bubbles nodded lightly and released a bit of his aura.

The snoring in the den came to a sudden stop, and then, a lazy voice rang out. “Passage through here will cost you 100 Laws of Nature Origin Crystals!”

“100 Laws of Nature Origin Crystals? That’s really greedy!” Meng Lei shook his head lightly.

Bubbles replied with a smile, “It wouldn’t have become known as the most avaricious half-deity of the underground world otherwise!”

Then, he said, “Is that how you should be treating an old friend, Baxter?”

“Eh?”

A soft sound of surprise later, a huge Dragon head poked out of the den. “So it’s you, the rapist. You’ll have to leave behind 1,000 Laws of Nature Origin Crystals as a toll before you can pass!”

Black lines filled Bubbles’ forehead as he retorted, “Do you believe me when I say that I’ll beat you up again if you malign me any further, Baxter?”

“Have you forgotten where you are again, Bubbles?”

Baxter, the Black Dragon, let out a dull, heavy snort as he scoffed, “This is the underground world, not your Fallen Sea. It’s no place for you to act so impudently!”

“Oh, he’s pretty arrogant!”

Meng Lei couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“It can’t be helped! Although these wicked underground deities are all fierce and perverse in nature, they form an extremely united front when facing outsiders.”

A resigned Bubbles said, “I’ve fought that Black Dragon a few times before. Although it’s no match for me, that guy would always summon his friends as helping hands, so…”

“So, you’ve suffered at his hands a few times before? That’s great, then. We can avenge both new and old grudges at the same time!”

Meng Lei snickered as he rubbed his fists against each other in anticipation. “I don’t believe we can’t take down those despicable underground half-deities if we join hands! If we can subdue them and empty out their dens at the same time, then that would be even better!”

“Isn’t that a little too risky, Master?”

Bubbles was somewhat weak-kneed at the sound of that. “The vastness of the underground world is something that’s beyond your imagination. There are so many evil deities here that you can’t even count them on both hands!”

“The more, the better! Only then would things be interesting!”

Meng Lei licked his lips and flew straight out. “This is a robbery! This is a robbery! Gold coins, Laws of Nature Origin Crystals, divine cores, and treasures—hand them all over!”

“Roar! Where did that little bug come from!”

The Black Dragon opened its jaws and sprayed out a wave of dragon breath to melt and corrode Meng Lei, but with a flash, Meng Lei had arrived right in front of it!

“Baxter, right?”

Meng Lei gave him a slight smile and said, “I’ve taken a fancy to your den. Please scram immediately, and I’ll spare your little life, albeit reluctantly!”

“I’m going to eat you, you worm!”

Utterly enraged, the Black Dragon opened its cavernous jaws and bit right at him!

“Behave!”

Meng Lei gave a light snort as the Hammer of Destruction appeared in his grip. Aiming it right at the Black Dragon’s nose bridge, he swung it down forcefully!

With the power of a half-deity’s high-grade divine body, and coupled with the Hammer of Destruction’s fearsome destructiveness, a hole was smashed right into the Black Dragon’s nose bridge with a snap! Intense, severe pain assaulted his nerves, and the Black Dragon cried out in pain.

“C’mon out!”

Meng Lei grabbed the Black Dragon by the horns. Violent, raging power erupted, and he dragged the Black Dragon right out of its den before hurling it into the far distance!

“Is Master’s physical strength that terrifying?”

Bubbles was dumbfounded.

The Black Dragon, Baxter, was 6,000-feet-long and astonishingly heavy, yet Meng Lei could pick it up in one go. Just how physically strong must he be in order to do that?

As for Little Gold, it had long since been scared witless. In the instant it saw the Black Dragon, it was so frightened that it was shaking like a leaf and could barely suppress its fear.

After all, that was a half-deity!

However, what it found even more shocking and horrifying was that its Boss had actually thrown the Black Dragon out! How could that be?

“Kakaka, the den is mine now!”

Meng Lei let out a few strange cackles before diving into the den like a gust of wind.

“What the f*ck! So many gold coins! So many Laws of Nature Origin Crystals! I’ve struck gold! I’ve struck gold this time!

“Collect! Collect! Collect…”

After a period of frenzied collection, his Wealth spiked to 1.74 million Laws of Nature Origin Crystals. It had gone through a big round of fattening again!

“That Black Dragon’s assets are indeed ample!”

Only then did Meng Lei, who was in a fantastic mood, begin to collect the other treasures there leisurely.

The remaining treasures were mostly magic cores, magic crystals, and glittering jewels. If not, then they were various grand, lavish ornaments and art pieces from the human world. It was evident that this was one Black Dragon that knew how to enjoy life.

“Hmm? What’s this?”

Meng Lei spied a stone the color of blackish blood lying in an inconspicuous corner of the den. It was pitch-black in color, yet it shone with a blood-red glow.

The system’s icy voice suddenly rang out at this point.

“Ding! Dropped item discovered. Will you pick it up?”

“Yes, pick it up!”

“Ding! Assimilation successful. You have obtained the Divine Netherworld Phoenix bloodline. Will you assimilate it?”

“The… Divine Netherworld Phoenix bloodline?”

Meng Lei immediately contacted Dodola and asked, “Dodola, do you know of the Divine Netherworld Phoenix?”

“It’s a dark-elemental divine beast which hails from Hell. It possesses the Innate Special Ability ‘Rise From The Ashes’ and can be said to be immortal. The Netherworld Divine Fire unique to it is fairly terrifying and can even burn a higher deity dead!

“The Divine Netherworld Phoenix is also an extremely fearsome race in Hell, and the status they hold there is similar to that of the Fallen Angels of the Demon Realm.

“It’s just that it’s extremely difficult for a Divine Netherworld Phoenix to ascend, so it needs to rise from the ashes nine times in its lifetime before it can mature into the adult stage.”

“I see! Take a look at this!” said Meng Lei as he brought out the black stone.

“Eh?”

Dodola inspected the blackish-red stone closely. After a long while, it finally said, “If I’m not mistaken, this should be a Divine Netherworld Phoenix’s phoenix marrow.”

“A phoenix marrow?”

Startled, Meng Lei asked, “What the heck is that?”

“When a Divine Netherworld Phoenix fails in its rebirth, it leaves behind something known as a phoenix marrow, within which contains its blood essence and leftover life essence post-burning.”

Dodola explained, “This thing is a great source of nourishment for the Divine Netherworld Phoenixes, but it’s absolutely useless to you. You can just toss it!”

“Got it!”

After exiting the Tower of Time, Meng Lei promptly instructed, “System, assimilate the Divine Netherworld Phoenix bloodline!”

“Ding! Assimilating the Divine Netherworld Phoenix bloodline now!”

“Ding! Assimilation unsuccessful.”

“Ding! Primeval Bloodline activation condition has been triggered. Will you activate your Primeval Bloodline?”

“Primeval Bloodline? What’s that?

“Never mind, I’ll just activate it first!”

Whoosh!

His Wealth instantly shrank by 100 Laws of Nature Origin Crystals.

“Ding! Primeval Bloodline activation successful.”

Host: Meng Lei

Race: Human (Primeval Bloodline: Primordial Human <10%>, Assimilated Bloodline: Gods-Slaying Rat <100%>)

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