A God in a Xianxia world

Chapter 56 - The Amoeba (1)

Staring at the qi beast that was in front of him but still quite far away, Tom couldn't help but frown and feel a bit puzzled. This was because what he was looking at was basically just an orange blob, one that had a diameter of 50cm.

He was legitimately surprised when he saw it because he hadn't read about it when he was made to study the Cardinal clan's records on common qi beasts found in the Tainted Forest and because in a way, it resembled a single celled organism, though it was a bit different to what Tom was familiar with, in ways other than just its size.

"What is that?" asked Tom, though even as he did, he began making his own assessment on the creature.

The most noteworthy thing about it of course, was the fact that it was basically just a formless gelatinous mass; however, Tom was able to make some deeper observations upon seeing it. Firstly, he was able to conclude that the beast was slow, its max speed likely topping out at about 3 miles per hour and secondly, he noted that it seemed to be able to freely change its shape, sometimes travelling along in a uniform blob form and sometimes spreading out parts of itself flat against the ground, as though it was seeking something out or feeling its surroundings.

"It's an Amoeba qi beast" replied Adam.

"Though some people give them other names; such as, blobs, slimes, gooeys or gelatons"

"It looks odd" remarked Lance, who had never seen or heard of anything like this before either.

"Well, I suppose it is odd. After all, it's basically just a formless gooey mass" replied Adam, who, realising that Tom and several of the others didn't know anything about this particular qi beast, decided to take the opportunity to inform them about some of its characteristics.

"Interestingly, although they have no eyes and seem to travel aimlessly, tests have confirmed that they can sense the presence of living things and move towards them, it being suspected that they do this through qi sensing abilities. However, this seems to be a bit of a double edged sword to them because they'll move towards something regardless of the danger it poses towards them"

"Is it dangerous?" asked Tom, wanting to hear about what was most important.

"Erm, not really. They move slowly so you can easily keep your distance from them but because of the way they eat, if they get on you, it can be quite bad. Also, since they basically move soundlessly, they're incredibly deadly if they catch you sleeping. Though I suppose any qi beast is deadly if they can get near you when you're asleep"

"And how do they eat?" asked Lance, intrigued, to an Adam who was happy to explain.

"Well, as you can see, Amoeba qi beasts don't have mouths, so, instead of biting and swallowing their prey, as other creatures do, they actually envelop them within their bodies. After they do this, they then start dissolving their prey, digesting the physical body and sucking the qi out of them"

"It might interest you to hear though that this isn't just limited to animals, nor is it limited to living beings. They are known to frequently digest spirit herbs and are also known to move towards cultivating resources, such as qi stones"

"Now, going back to their eating, although their ability to digest prey and suck the qi out of them varies among different types of Amoebas and Amoebas of different sizes and strengths, with some being particularly corrosive and difficult to get off, even the weakest can still be deadly to many creatures. This is because anything that gets enveloped and trapped inside their bodies, unless they know qi techniques or are lucky, are unlikely to survive"