Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1227
Chapter 1905: Terror Sower |
The monster that looked like a giant crab seemed to have grasped a certain technique similar to the Soul Igniting Law, which allowed it to burst into a violent ocean of fire from a flickering spark in only one moment.
The dried mud shell around its body cracked and fell off, unleashing such a daunting aura that it was as impressive as any high-level demon beast that Li Yao had ever come across. Before anyone was able to react, the monster lunged at the spectral Cultivator at the front.
Thankfully, Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun, the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators, having been attacked by such monsters before, had already raised their wariness to the maximum since the moment the 'fossil' showed up. Right when the seemingly ossified 'shell' cracked, Li Yao opened his fingers and yanked the spectral Cultivator back by the technique of remote manipulation. He then stood between the monster and the members of the exploration team.
From the gaps on the armor of his right arm, black flames of spiritual energy bounced up and condensed into an apparently-tangible enormous blade right in front of the arm. Deep red electric arcs were circling around it, making it wax and wane.
Having missed the first attack, the giant crab extended more than ten sharp tentacles below the ground and opened dozens of holes that looked like the lips of babies. In ear-splitting sounds, tremendous black mist spurted out and swept across everyone as if the mist was alive.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
The life test devices echoed nonstop, suggesting that abundant microorganisms were hiding inside the black mist. It really was alive!
Thankfully, their crystal suits were sealed very well, and the internal air-circulation system had been activated. Otherwise, the mist rife with weird microorganisms would have caused great trouble for them.
Li Yao did not intend to kill the giant crab directly but hoped to capture it alive for research.
But as it turned out, the giant crab boasted a high resistance against spiritual energy and telepathic thoughts. Even his massive spiritual energy close to the Divinity Transformation Stage was not enough to limit the actions of the giant crab when it suppressed the enemy overwhelmingly like a mountain. The giant crab's limbs all burst out like springs, stretching its body size to almost four meters long, before it lunged at Li Yao!
The abdomen of the creature was filled with dense holes and glands, which shot out bright green acids faster than bullets. They easily pierced through multiple layers of spiritual shields. Some of the acids even splashed onto Li Yao's crystal suit.
Bright green foam immediately popped up on the surface of Li Yao's crystal suit, which became dented and ugly due to the corrosion.
Li Yao was secretly surprised. Although the crystal suit on his body was still named 'Mystic Skeleton', it was merely a brand name. In fact, it was one of the most advanced crystal suits at the edge of the cosmos that had applied the most sophisticated technology in the Star Glory Federation. It was a top-tier crystal suit even according to the standard of the Imperium of True Human Beings.
The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, Ultimate Version adopted four layers of alloys and super-tough porcelain, which granted it a higher defense ability than the plate armor of many light starships. But still, the acid attack from the giant crab corroded three layers in the blink of an eye and almost broke through the defense.
It never occurred to him that the giant crab would be so tricky. They were indeed as expected of the terrible 'seed sowers' left by the Pangu Clan. No wonder even Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun did not survive them in the past.
Li Yao sniffed. His hundreds of telepathic thoughts locked onto the monster tightly before the black blade flashed and slashed a thousand times in a moment. All the attacks landed on the giant crab's long limbs and tail precisely.
The giant crab had just been woken up from a prolonged hibernation. It was already its limit to spurt out some acids. How could it resist Li Yao's thunderous blade auras?
Before it was able to struggle, all the limbs and the tail had been cut off, leaving the torso that was full of wounds writhing on the ground like the dry shell of a grapefruit. Green acids flowed toward everyone on the ground, raising dense smoke and weird noises as they corroded the floor.
Li Yao was about to step forward and impose barriers on the giant crab, but the giant crab was still able to cause trouble despite the loss of its limbs and tail. After a popping sound, the torso of the creature exploded like a fruit that was well ripe. As the juice splashed out, countless bugs resembling screws darted out and flew over while wriggling in midair.
This is truly tricky!
Li Yao secretly clicked his tongue, but his reaction was not delayed at all, and the black blade immediately turned into overwhelming black fire, covering all the screw-like bugs.
Under the surging spiritual energy and the boost of the drugs, the temperature of the fire was more than a thousand degrees. Even so, the bugs still struggled for quite a few seconds in the flames before they were burnt into ashes in miserable screams.
"So vigorous!"
Meng Chixin, Wu Suiyun, Yan Liren, and the Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector who were holding the position in the back were all shocked.
It must be noted that Li Yao's combat ability definitely ranked among the top five at the edge of the cosmos. His expertise in using crystal suits was one of the best, too. But even he had spent so much time and effort dealing with a giant crab. It was indicative enough of the toughness of the monster!
"Be extra careful, everyone. Such a monster should be able to secrete a special mucus that will turn into a dry, solid shell on the surface of their body, allowing them to enter a 'spore state' similar to hibernation. That must be how they survived hundreds of thousands of years."
On one knee, Li Yao examined the shell of the giant crab that had just cracked carefully. Refiners often had to get in touch with all kinds of bizarre materials, especially the pure natural Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Therefore, he was no stranger to the constituents of the shell.
"Although no sign of life was detected in the Pangu laboratory just now, it is possible that a large batch of giant crabs are still hibernating in the 'spore state' and will wake up when they perceive the brainwaves of living creatures.
"Also, their acids are corrosive enough to crack our crystal suits. Neither crystal suits nor mustard-seed combat suits are safe enough!
"Also, even if such a monster is killed, its body can still release dense bugs. Look. The heads of the bugs are extremely tough and sharp and in the helical shape like drills. They also contain the elements of a certain alloy, which prevents them from being melted in a temperature of thousands of degrees. It is not hard to imagine that they can also pierce through the crystal suits should they dart into them!
"How can such a life that is like a terrible machine be born in nature? It is doubtlessly a 'sower' that the Pangu Clan created by combining the features of hundreds of primeval animals!"
Hardly had Li Yao concluded his sentence when the squad on the right side, where Long Yangjun was, sent a message. They had discovered an enormous 'crab factory', in which hundreds of 'fossils' were buried in the collapsed rocks.
"Cr*p!" Li Yao's face blanched. He shouted at the top of his voice in the communication channel, "Don't approach! Prepare to fight! They're all alive!"
At that moment, hasty gunshots were already echoing inside the communication channel.
When Li Yao and the rest of them arrived at the third sub-level where the 'crab factory' was, the entire third floor had been enshrouded in the most intense black mist.
That black mist was all spurted out from the revived crabs, with a strong effect of blocking the vision, telepathic thoughts, and spiritual waves.
Because of the rampant black mist, most of the remote attacks and communication methods were useless. Everybody was caught in the most primitive and cruel melee combat.
Giant crabs jumped up and down in the black mist, tackling the members of the exploration team and corroding them with acids ruthlessly. The situation could not have been more chaotic.
Thankfully…
Most of the members were spectral Cultivators who carried a lot of beast puppets and Grand Illusionary Soldiers.
Even though their artificial bodies might have been riddled with holes by the acid, there was not the slightest flesh and blood that the giant crabs could make use of inside. The remaining souls of the spectral Cultivators hurried to escape from the broken shells.
As for the beast puppets and the Grand Illusionary Soldiers, they were even less of everyone's concern. Under the federation's great industrial system, they were nothing more than consumables.
More and more Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators arrived. The super heavy magical equipment was set up one piece after another, too, as they pushed forward stably.
The bullets cleansed the mysterious space inside the black mist like an iron storm. However intense the black mist was, it was still ripped apart with burning gaps.
The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, on the other hand, were responsible for the giant crabs that jumped out of the black mist making a desperate attempt. In the past two years, they had been running simulations all the time. With the help of crystal suits, beast puppets, Grand Illusionary Soldiers, and spectral warriors, it was more than easy for them to accomplish the task.
Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu!
A hundred spectral Cultivators, who carried glittering, enormous freezing tanks on their backs, spurted tremendous frigid foams into the black mist.
The super low-temperature foam was similar to a different form of liquid helium. With its low temperature, quick consolidation, and high inactiveness, it barely had any chemical reaction with known materials, which made it the best extinguishers and blockage drug.
After the foam was sprayed generously, the 'crab workshop' was turned into an ocean of low-temperature foams. The broken crabs and the crabs that had yet to wake up from the spore state were all frozen into bizarre-shaped, hideous statues.
Ten minutes later, the result of a second test was that there was no sign of life activity inside the 'crab factory' at all. All the giant crabs and the screw-like bugs inside them were either completely killed or sealed!
Li Yao, on the other hand, was not entirely relaxed because he knew that there was a group of seventeen Exos in the squad that had been deployed to the right flank.
"All Exos, mark your position and body status on the tactical crystal processor. Make sure that everyone is safe and sound!" Li Yao ordered in the communication channel.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Very soon, light spots appeared on the light beam. They were all near the crab factory, and they contained heartbeats, breath, brainwaves, hormone secretion, and many other indexes.
However…
There were seventeen members in the Exo group, whereas there were only sixteen light spots.
"One teammate is missing. Where is 'Sha Yue'?"
Li Yao frowned deeply. He checked multiple times but still failed to find the last Exo.
Then, he noticed a more important problem. "Where is Long Yangjun? Why is Long Yangjun missing, too?"
Chapter 1906: Green-Haired Fiend |
Right then, Long Yangjun's angry roars echoed inside the communication channel.
All along, Long Yangjun had always had two faces in Li Yao's mind.
When she showed up as 'Eunuch Wang Xi', she was cunning and sophisticated. When she presented herself as 'Long Yangjun', she was always casual and not bound by any restraints.
But Li Yao had barely heard her shouting so angrily and desperately when she was wearing either of the faces, not even when the two of them had both run out of trump cards on the bridge of the Nuwa warship.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
An intense life wave appeared on Li Yao's light beam and rose like a steep mountain. It was much more intense than when the dozens of giant crabs were woken up.
"Put on the Colossus!"
Without any hesitation, Li Yao activated the highest level with the Soul Igniting Law and summoned the Tartarean Skeleton from his Cosmos Ring. He then shouted aloud in the communication to remind the fellow Cultivators to bring out their best!
Hardly had he sat cross-legged in the spiritual residence of the Tartarean Skeleton when a deafening explosion echoed from the deepest part of the pathway up ahead.
It turned out to be the Yin Yang, Long Yangjun's Colossus, which had crashed through a solid wall and flown out quickly.
On the Colossus, a hideous green-haired monster was grabbing hanging on!
Fragments of the mustard-seed combat suit and the crystal suit could still be found on the monster, but its body was expanding at a visible speed. The damp skin was covered by a layer of bright green mucus. The flesh and blood were torn apart, and vague dragon scales were growing out of the wounds!
Traces of 'Sha Yue', the missing Exo, could still be seen on the uneven face. But with the cracking explosions on his skull, his face was stretched longer and longer, with bone spurs protruding out of the sharp ends. His face became more and more nonchalant, too. The panic and pain that belonged to human beings were fading away quickly, replaced by thoughtfulness that was beyond the description of any words.
"Sha Yue! Sha Yue!" the captain of the Exo group shouted in the communication channel.
Hearing the familiar name, the monster slightly raised his head that was more than half a meter long. A hint of confusion flashed on his deformed face, but it soon vanished into nothingness.
In exactly the same time when he raised his head, it could clearly be seen that the eye sockets of the creature were almost squeezed into nothingness by the crazily proliferating bones. The broken bones pierced the skin and spurted out abundant dark-green mucus. The mucus hardened the moment it met the air and turned into a hard, black shell that covered the upper half part of the skull, including where the eye sockets were previously.
The monster lost its eyes and the last hint of its old human skin.
Long Yangjun's Colossus, Yin Yang, was a high-speed scouting one. It was the smallest Colossus of all the Colossi of the twelve experts of the Ancient Sages Sector, but it was still almost ten meters tall.
However, while the monster that mutated from 'Sha Yue' was only about five meters tall when it crashed out of the pathway together with Long Yangjun, it had grown to almost ten meters tall in the blink of an eye, even bigger than the Yin Yang.
The creature was covered in dark green scales, and sharp green hair grew out of the gaps of the scales. Its head, on the other hand, was narrow, long, and streamlined, like an octopus or a weird lobster. It was almost the legendary sea monster!
Li Yao, Meng Chixin, Wu Suiyun, Yan Liren, and other Colossus users all locked onto the green-haired monster with their most powerful telepathic thoughts. However, considering that Long Yangjun was still too close to the monster, they found it tricky to attack immediately.
"No!" Sensing their overwhelming killing intent, Long Yangjun shouted at the communication channel. "Capture it alive so that we can figure out the whole process of how a human mutates into a member of the Pangu Clan! It is of paramount importance!"
The Yin Yang released a strong light that burned the green hair on the enemy's body so hard that it was curling. Taking advantage of the opportunity, it stabbed two enormous flying swords, one black and the other white, into the abdomen of the monster and out of its back. Like a pair of giant scissors, they clinched the entire spine of the monster!
Long Yangjun truly played all her trump cards other than the special abilities of a Nuwa warrior. Her spiritual energy burnt so furiously that the flames reached almost a thousand meters ahead and behind her. While sparks and electric arcs were spurting out of the joints of the limbs of the Colossus, she kept her body straight and pressed the opponent to the ground.
The two flying swords stabbed to the ground deeply and fixated the green-haired monster on the spot. It waved its limbs and squeaked crazily but was unable to move anymore.
"Mission accomplished!" Long Yangjun exclaimed in excitement in the communication channel.
Indeed, exploring the secrets of the primeval war and figuring out the relations among the Pangu Clan, the Nuwa Clan, and human beings were perhaps more important to her than to other people.
But right then, every scale on the green-haired monster became erect.
Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi!
Before Long Yangjun and Li Yao realized what was going on, thousands of electric arcs had already flooded out of its innumerous scales, transforming the monster into a ball of lightning. A volcano of thunder seemed to have erupted right below Long Yangjun's feet, and the lightning pierced the Yin Yang!
"Damn it!" Li Yao did not anticipate that the 'newborn' member of the Pangu Clan would be as difficult to deal with as the 'original good' that Li Yao had encountered on Kunlun a hundred years ago. Having no time to follow Long Yangjun's request to capture it alive, the Tartarean Skeleton darted over like an arrow, and the saber of black fire slashed out and hit the exceptionally long head of the green-haired monster in the most unstoppable way.
The head felt like a withered tree after the saber reached the target. It was chopped in half and burnt into ashes instantly.
It seemed that transforming itself into a ball of lightning and unleashing electric arcs that were enough to pierce the Colossus were also the last attack of the green-haired monster at the cost of its own life. After the attack, whether the enemy was killed or not, it would definitely be drained and dead.
What a terrifying mutation.
In only a few minutes, a human being no taller than two meters transformed into a member of the Pangu Clan almost ten meters tall who was capable of fighting a Colossus!
Even his mind was altered, too. Not only were all the feelings and emotions of a human removed, he was also endowed with a brand-new target, which made him launch a suicidal attack without any hesitation.
