C9 The Second Spiritual Pet, the Chinchilla!

The first thing to change was the grass mud horse's fur.

The previously smooth-skinned creature rapidly sprouted soft, snow-white hair, which shimmered with a faint pearlescent glow, reminiscent of a spirit cat enveloped in a white light shield. Then, a small bulge swiftly rose on the grass mud horse's forehead.

"The grass mud horse has completed its evolution and acquired the lock-on skill, Body Lock!" announced the Demonic Pet System's voice in Han Feng's mind, leaving him utterly astonished.

The protuberance on the grass mud horse's forehead now stood six or seven centimeters tall. Coupled with its fresh coat, the creature now resembled a dashing unicorn! If not for the still-bleeding wounds inflicted by the spirit cat, one could argue that the grass mud horse was strikingly majestic.

The spirit cat, puzzled by the grass mud horse's transformation, nonetheless sensed a shift in its aura.

It was evident to the spirit cat that the alpaca, once easily overpowered, had grown stronger!

Demonic Beasts are highly sensitive to danger. Noticing the grass mud horse's newfound strength, the spirit cat's eyes narrowed with intensified resolve, its ears perked up, and the white light shield around it blazed brighter, tinged with a hint of red.

The spirit cat had entered a berserk state!

In combat, Demonic Beasts can exhibit ordinary, berserk, or bloodthirsty states, with berserk increasing their attributes by 10% and bloodthirsty by 20% or more. However, the subsequent weakness they experience is proportionate to their exertion.

Spiritual pets, though inherently Demonic Beasts, lose the ability to willingly enter berserk or bloodthirsty states due to their symbiotic bond with Beastmasters. These states can only be triggered when the Beastmaster's and the spiritual pet's emotions align.

Feeling the pressure from the evolved grass mud horse, the spirit cat decisively switched to berserk mode, intent on swiftly eliminating its opponent.

"Grass mud horse, try out your new skill now!" Han Feng urged.

Though not adept at combat, Han Feng was quick-witted. He knew that despite the grass mud horse's evolution, it couldn't possibly overlook the spirit cat's prowess, given the vast seven-tier gap between them—a disparity not even the Demonic Pet System could fully negate.

Prompted by Han Feng, the grass mud horse unleashed its new ability, Body Locking Light.

A fist-sized orb of goose-yellow light gathered on the newly formed bump. Once fully charged, the orb transformed into a beam that targeted the spirit cat and shot forth with a swift whoosh.

The berserk spirit cat, agile and swift, left trails of afterimages as it sprinted at full speed, attempting to evade the Body Locking Light.

But could it escape?

Body Locking Light was a lock-on skill, after all.

What is a lock-on skill? By definition, it's an ability that guarantees a hit on the target with 100% accuracy. Such skills may lack direct destructive power but boast formidable effects, such as stunning or charming. The true potency of a lock-on skill lies in its unerring precision.

When the Body Locking Light struck the spirit cat, its rapidly moving body came to an abrupt halt, dropping to the ground as if suspended in time, its eyes fixed and unblinking, as if caught in a temporal freeze.

The Light of Body Freeze's effect was to immobilize the target for two full seconds, rendering it completely motionless!

Once the spirit cat was immobilized, Grass Mud Horse wasted no time and unleashed its deadliest skill to date, the High-pressure Rasengan.

The spirit cat had previously landed a few scratches on Grass Mud Horse, a slight not easily forgotten. Now presented with an opening, it showed no mercy.

As the High-pressure Rasengan took shape, the immobilizing effect wore off, and the orb plunged into the smaller body of the spirit cat.

The moment the immobilization ended, and the spirit cat attempted to move, a ferocious power erupted within, blasting it into bits of flesh. Thanks to the protective white light barrier, the gory remnants didn't scatter but instead were contained within the barrier, falling to the ground.

Grass Mud Horse, observing the flesh encased in the white light, spat out a jet of water, shattering the remains further and causing them to splatter. Han Feng quickly dodged to avoid the grisly shower, but the Zhou sisters and Yao Jie weren't as fortunate.

"Tsk tsk, that's quite the pungent aroma," Han Feng remarked, fanning his nose with a look of distaste as the thick scent of blood filled the air.

The Zhou sisters could only offer wry smiles as they surveyed their hair, now speckled with blood and flesh.

"Why on earth did you get into a scrap with this creature?" Han Feng inquired, pocketing the spirit cat's core.

They had struggled with a level 20 Human-face Lizard; naturally, a level 22 spirit cat was out of their league. Yao Jie wouldn't have foolishly instigated a confrontation.

"We stumbled upon some Ironbone Grass in the cave. Just as we were about to harvest it, this spirit cat ambushed us from outside," they explained.

Ironbone Grass was a first-tier beast spirit material that could toughen a spiritual pet's skin to iron-like strength, enhancing its defense. It could fetch at least a thousand gold coins on the market.

Upon hearing about the Ironbone Grass, Han Feng's excitement was palpable. "Such a treasure? I've got to see this for myself."

With that, he dashed into the cave in search of the Ironbone Grass.

The cave was modest, barely ten square meters. Inside, Han Feng immediately spotted a grayish-white spiritual grass, thirty to forty centimeters tall, nestled in a corner. That was the Ironbone Grass! Next to it, in a grassy nest, lay a palm-sized, fuzzy creature.

Han Feng approached and carefully excavated the entire Ironbone Grass, wrapping it securely.

Only after securing the Ironbone Grass did he turn his attention to the nearby nest.

"Hmm? What's this?" Han Feng gently turned the fuzzy creature over, discovering it was a newborn spirit cat, its eyes not yet open. This little one differed from the previous spirit cat; its fur was gray with an oval-shaped white patch on its belly, and two golden stripes adorned its forehead.

Demonic Beast Name: Chinchilla

Quality: Excellent

Level: 0

Status: Normal

Skills: None

Capturable

The Demonic Pet System had already presented all its parameters to Han Feng upon acquiring the little creature. Seeing the data, Han Feng's eyes sparkled with anticipation.

"A top-notch Chinchilla! Nice find!"

"Would you like to capture the current Demonic Beast?"

"Capture!"

After Han Feng made his selection, a blood-red light emanated from him and merged into the forehead of the little chinchilla, leaving behind a faint bloodline mark. Han Feng then felt a subtle connection forming with the creature.

"Having the system sure has its perks; it even saves me the trouble of buying spiritual pet treasures. But carrying it around all the time can be a bit of a hassle."

The Demonic Pet System granted Han Feng more than just the ability to rapidly level up and evolve his spiritual pets—it also gave him the power to capture them directly, allowing him to save a considerable amount of money that would otherwise be spent on spiritual pet treasures.