Chapter 44 Action Plan
Afterwards, Qin Yuan began searching for Abyss Spiders once more, preparing to test the new abilities of Feathers.
Although Feathers had learned several new skills, its only offensive skill remained the Blade of Souls.
Everything else fell under the category of support abilities.
Aside from Soul Devouring, which could not be tested due to its one-week cooldown, all other aspects had been tested.
The Blade of Souls could be understood as an evolved version of the Wind Blade.
Upon hitting an enemy, it not only dealt damage but also inflicted a brief moment of stasis.
This would create a better offensive opening for himself.
Ghost Vision could be understood as an evolved version of Hawk Eye. According to Feathers, it not only provided much more detailed observation but even allowed it to directly see certain ghost-like entities that were difficult to spot with the naked eye.
As for the information-sharing ability, it could transmit the scene Feathers was currently seeing directly to him, though the energy consumption was very high.
In Qin Yuan's view, this skill was primarily meant to be used in conjunction with Soul Devouring to retrieve certain memories from others and relay them to someone else.
Under normal circumstances, it should be used sparingly, unless spying on particularly crucial and urgent intelligence.
The main reason was the heavy energy cost required to transmit information.
Unless in an extremely urgent situation, the owl could simply land and speak slowly as usual.
Finally, once the preparations were complete, they readied themselves to carry out the elimination of the Abyss Pustule.
The specific method had also been discussed and agreed upon.
The purification powder was divided into two portions, with one portion handed over to Feathers.
Under ideal conditions, Feathers would fly through the air, infiltrate within a certain range of the Abyss Pustule, and then suddenly dive down, getting close enough to scatter the purification powder directly onto it, thus finishing the task.
Even if the plan encountered a setback, such as the powder not being scattered accurately, a second chance remained.
At the same time, considering the whistle's distance restriction—meaning the owl could not stray more than two hundred meters away from him—Qin Yuan himself had to enter the contaminated area.
Since that region contained numerous monsters, Qin Yuan needed to drink an invisibility potion.
In the initial planning stages, they had actually considered exploiting a bug by continuously using teleportation crystals to move forward—shifting a short distance each time, then teleporting away, and finally closing in on the Abyss Pustule to strike.
However, such an approach carried extremely high risks. Although they had the experience of a previous successful execution, even the Whispering Grimoire dared not guarantee whether monsters would be lying in wait at their teleportation destination once they approached within a certain radius of the Abyss Pustule.
After all, teleportation crystals also had a cooldown of several seconds. Once ambushed at a teleportation point and cornered in close quarters by monsters, the situation would become extremely perilous.
"By the way, can Feathers drink an invisibility potion?"
Qin Yuan suddenly thought of this question.
The Whispering Grimoire hesitated for a moment. "As a creature summoned via a special item... it probably won't work, but you can give it a try."
After testing it out, he found that it indeed had no effect, and could only let the matter rest...
Next, after a discussion among the trio, the combat plan was finalized.
They were ready to begin execution!
...
Shortly after, Feathers flew through the air, while Qin Yuan drank the invisibility potion and infiltrated the contaminated area.
He advanced rapidly toward the location of the Abyss Pustule.
Along the way, he frequently spotted various abyss creatures. Aside from the Abyss Worms and Abyss Spider Mothers he had seen last time, he also encountered a creature called the Abyss Giant Rat.
Prompted by a warning from Feathers, he maintained his distance and skirted far around them, without actively provoking them.
About half an hour later, he reached the central location.
For the first time, he laid eyes upon the so-called Abyss Pustule.
To the naked eye, it resembled a gigantic tumor rooted in the ground.
Standing a meter tall, it sank deep into the earth.
Surrounding it were several Abyss Spider Mothers, patrolling back and forth like sentinels.
"I say... is that purification powder really going to be fine..."
Such a massive disparity in size made even Qin Yuan begin to have doubts.
Although he had used purification powder to clear the pollution on the Saint-Vein Fruit, the two were simply not in the same league in terms of scale.
"Rest assured, it's definitely enough. The old man used to clean up similar things before. When abyss creatures touch this stuff, it triggers a direct chain reaction leading to large-scale necrosis. The 100 grams of powder the owl is carrying is more than enough."
The Whispering Grimoire spoke with absolute confidence.
Qin Yuan nodded, signaling Feathers in mid-air to begin its operation.
The owl hovered high above, quietly closing in.
Feeling that the distance was about right, Feathers suddenly tucked its wings and plunged downward in a rapid dive.
The pouch held in its talons was kept in a ready state at all times.
However, to ensure success, it had to get extremely close to the Abyss Pustule.
Otherwise, opening the pouch directly in mid-air would likely result in the wind scattering the powder everywhere.
Unexpectedly, the reaction speed of the monsters on the ground was astonishingly fast.
The moment Feathers appeared, those abyss spiders reacted as if stimulated, instantly entering a state of high alert.
Following that, ball after ball of spider silk began to spit from their mouths, targeting the exact spot where Feathers was descending.
The owl banked sharply in mid-air, narrowly dodging an incoming web, and intended to continue its dive.
The next moment, a flurry of dense footsteps echoed in Qin Yuan's ears.
He saw a large number of Abyss Spider Mothers rapidly converging on this direction.
It was highly likely a warning signal issued by the Abyss Pustule.
Moreover, some of the closer ones had already begun spitting webs from their mouths, launching them toward Feathers in mid-air.
Faced with a sudden barrage of attacks, the owl was forced to temporarily halt its advance and begin dodging.
"Damn it!"
The scene before him gave Qin Yuan a violent shock.
The reaction speed of these creatures far exceeded his expectations.
After quickly assessing the battlefield situation, he realized that it would be extremely difficult for Feathers to successfully scatter the purification powder onto the Abyss Pustule amidst so much interference.
Theoretically, as long as Feathers completed the action successfully, he could forcibly recall it using the whistle. However, under the obstruction of so many webs, simply getting the owl close had now become a major problem.
Gritting his teeth, Qin Yuan began sprinting rapidly toward the Abyss Pustule.
The fact that these creatures had currently focused all their attention on Feathers actually presented him with a favorable opportunity.
He chose not to use the Bear Spirit Summoning technique because doing so would immediately expose him to the monsters' line of sight.
Although theoretically, he would be perceived by the Abyss Pustule once he closed within a range of a little over a hundred meters, he had no other choice left.
At the same time, he pulled out a teleportation crystal, preparing to beat a hasty retreat at the first sign of trouble.
Under his fast running, the distance closed rapidly.
When Qin Yuan reached a certain proximity to the Abyss Pustule, at a certain moment, a significant portion of the monsters seemed to receive some kind of signal, abruptly stopping their actions and charging straight toward his position.
Even with the concealment of the invisibility potion, they moved along a direct path as if they could precisely pinpoint his location.