Chapter 422 – Who Devours Whom

The gigantic mass of black, viscous liquid kept contracting and pulsating.

Upon reaching a certain point of contraction, the activity within suddenly ceased.

A fraction of a millisecond later, the still mass of liquid abruptly expanded, growing to more than ten times its original size.

Then, a massive bulge quickly rose, reaching its limit…

“Boom!”

The black liquid exploded with a thunderous roar, spilling forth a terrifying aura like tidal waves.

A monstrous figure with a pointed horn on its forehead, covered in a purplish-red hue, with eight arms and a long tail, tore through the mass of black liquid, struggling to break free piece by piece.

It was clearly Lu Yuan in his asura form.

Lu Yuan expressionlessly extended a hand to peel off the residual black liquid clinging to his body.

This strange black liquid, an inexplicable life form, managed to seep into his skin, and even now, in his asura form, some bizarre slime had infiltrated his flesh, burrowing desperately into his body as if it were alive.

They were devouring his cell tissue with open mouths, although, due to Lu Yuan’s extraordinary control over himself, this devouring process was exceedingly slow.

Yet this process of devouring even included an encroachment upon the consciousness level, an eerie and domineering force that was truly unheard of, enough to send chills down one’s spine.

“Whoosh-“

The black liquid, momentarily shattered and pulled apart by Lu Yuan, surged back with renewed vigor.

Lu Yuan’s eight arms danced in unison.

Thick, exaggerated monstrous arms emanated blood-red ripples along their edges, interwoven with delicate, web-like black cracks.

Faced with an opponent invulnerable to direct force, leveraging the power of high-speed muscle vibrations and the application of some shatter power of the ultimate skill was undoubtedly the best choice.

The Effect was remarkable.

The encroaching black liquid couldn’t get near Lu Yuan’s body, easily dispersed and obliterated by the combined two types of Strength within a certain range.

Lu Yuan even had the opportunity to glance toward the battle group between Yuwen Tong and Anders and noticed that their fight had also reached a fever pitch, seemingly exchanging massive attacks.

The dazzling, rapidly spinning Moon Wheel, transformed into a massive light sphere, collided heavily with the eerie black vortex.

Silently and without a sound, the aftermath of the explosion forced Lu Yuan to muster some of his Strength just to keep his body from being blown away.

His eyes flickered with disturbance as he clearly sensed two distinct fluctuations belonging to the power of the ultimate skill in this collision.

The ultimate skill was not his exclusive domain.

Both Yuwen Tong and Anders had also comprehended the power of the ultimate skill.

With the support of the Mech, the terrifying nature of these two powers was magnified to a degree Lu Yuan could scarcely imagine.

It was like the difference between a bomb and a nuclear bomb.

At the core of their energy explosion, where the two skills intertwined, without Star Lord Level strength, anyone attempting to get close was at risk of being torn to shreds.

A hint of concealed worry passed through Lu Yuan’s gaze.

Unable to offer any assistance, all he could do now was silently pray that Yuwen Tong would turn the tide.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Yuan refocused his attention on what lay ahead.

The black liquid, continually dispersed and repelled by Lu Yuan, could no longer approach his body; yet, he seemed unable to inflict genuine harm on them.

Pure physical attacks didn’t appear to significantly impact this form of life.

Lu Yuan tried to “grasp” a large mass of slime, using the shatter power of the ultimate skill to punch it into a mist-like form.

However, after dispersing, the mist soon gathered again, seemingly unchanged in volume.

“Lv2 of the shatter power is still too low.

If the level were higher, allowing the shatter effect to reach deeper layers, it might truly annihilate them…”

Lu Yuan’s eyes glittered as ripples radiated from his massive form, stacking to create a wavelike pattern in the void.

Each wave sent forth caused the surrounding viscous black liquid to shatter and dissolve.

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, a small greenish figure suddenly darted from under his second right arm.

“Whoosh!”

The cuckoo bird, which had been hiding under Lu Yuan’s armpit, unexpectedly dashed out.

The appearance of the cuckoo bird instantly ignited the excitement of the black slime creatures in front of Lu Yuan.

The mass of black slime immediately abandoned their relentless “siege” on Lu Yuan and transformed into a thick, nauseating water column, aggressively swirling towards the cuckoo bird.

The intensity of their desire to “devour” the cuckoo bird was several dozen times stronger than what they had displayed when targeting Lu Yuan!

“Their true target is the cuckoo bird?!”

Lu Yuan was suddenly struck by this realization.

However, before he could process this further, the scene that unfolded before him left him utterly dumbfounded.

“Cuckoo-“

The cuckoo bird let out a joyful call and then flapped its wings, vanishing from Lu Yuan’s view in an instant.

At the same time, the black slime creatures, having transformed into a column aiming to engulf the cuckoo bird, were hit severely.

The entire black, viscous column inexplicably shattered and dispersed.

“Cuckoo!”

The cuckoo bird, with its emerald green feather, reappeared.

Lu Yuan saw that it now had something white and squirming clutched in its beak, which it promptly gulped down after a brief struggle.

“Ah!”

Lu Yuan caught a horrific scream.

Then, a wave of consciousness full of shock and terror spread through the void.

He noticed that part of the black slime shattered by the cuckoo bird failed to reconsolidate, instead crumbling like burnt ash in mid-air and vanishing.

The remaining portion of the black slime began to retreat quickly, recoiling with fear and shock.

“It’s dead?!”

Lu Yuan watched in disbelief as the cuckoo bird chirped contentedly, unable to fathom how these creatures, which even his power of the ultimate skill could not defeat, were so easily “devoured” by this little bird.

“Truly, the bold are afraid of the reckless, and the reckless fear the unreasonable…”

Lu Yuan murmured with a peculiar expression.

At that moment, a sudden, inexplicable sense of foreboding gripped his heart.

It was as if he had once again encountered that overwhelming feeling of life-and-death crisis, wrapping around his heart with intense urgency.

Lu Yuan had no time to think. A surge of Strength erupted from within him, and his form instantly transformed into a streak of blood-red light, vanishing from his original spot.

Almost at the same moment his figure disappeared, a silver light silently emerged from the void where he had been standing. It quickly shattered the blood-red afterimage he left behind, then shot without pause toward the nearby cuckoo bird.

The cuckoo bird remained unperturbed, calmly flapping its wings at an unbelievable speed. The attacking silver light repeatedly failed to catch up with the cuckoo bird’s agile movements.

Transformed into a dazzling emerald light, the cuckoo bird finally landed gracefully on Lu Yuan’s shoulder.

In that instant, Lu Yuan felt a cold consciousness locking tightly onto him. The intense killing intent contained in this consciousness was so strong it seemed to nearly freeze the blood flowing in his veins.

Following this consciousness back, Lu Yuan saw-

A silver vine Mech, its head pressed against a brilliant light wheel and its face entirely turned into a bizarre vortex, was coldly staring at him.

Or rather…

It was staring at the cuckoo bird on his shoulder.

At this moment, Lu Yuan had a sudden realization.

Since their appearance, Anders, maintaining a composed and superior demeanor as if orchestrating everything, was showing such a significant emotional fluctuation for the first time.

“It seems these creatures are all in cahoots… I wasn’t wrong after all, did this guy really change hosts?!”

Lu Yuan reflected on the unknown creature’s black slime nature with its devouring characteristics, initially disguised as both Chen Wu Hao and another, able to almost flawlessly mimic appearances.

In a flash, he connected all the dots.

“I bet the silver vine man’s body was devoured by these monsters during his escape, and now they’ve turned back to try and devour us…”

“Where on earth did these creatures come from? After devouring someone, not only can they perfectly inherit everything from the victim, but they can also wield more power than the devoured individual originally had?!

What kind of monstrous species is this?”

Lu Yuan was shaken to his core, unable to fathom the existence of such creatures in the universe, and there was more than one of them. Thinking of Chen Wu Hao and his group, who were likely in grave danger while waiting for the secret realm exit to open, his mood darkened further.

“Thankfully, these creatures, as formidable as they are, aren’t without their nemesis…”

Lu Yuan grabbed the cuckoo bird perched on his shoulder and, with gritted teeth, shouted at the silver vine Mech engaged in battle with Yuwen Tong, the Spirit Sovereign, “It’s up to you, cuckoo bird! Go get ’em!”

Judging by how the cuckoo bird had just instantly devoured one of them earlier, it shouldn’t have much trouble dealing with the unknown creature parasitizing in the silver vine Mech, known as Anders.

However, after Lu Yuan tossed the cuckoo bird forcefully, he was surprised to find it had somehow returned to his shoulder, round and plump as ever. No matter how many times he tried, the same thing happened.

The bird, after consuming that mysterious white substance earlier, seemed to have become lethargic, as if it had overeaten and was now sleepy. Its wings drooped, and it incessantly yawned, its head nodding back and forth like a dozing chicken pecking at grains. Lu Yuan feared it might topple over at any moment.

“You rush for the spoils, but at the critical moment, you let me down!”

Lu Yuan, frustrated, held the cuckoo bird in his hand and gently squeezed, trying to rouse it from its laziness. Yet, the bird remained sluggish, showing no desire to resist.

Finally, Lu Yuan abandoned the idea of relying on the cuckoo bird to break the stalemate, and with a cold expression, he moved to intercept the black slime creature, now terrified and attempting to flee.

“[Heart Fire Return to Origin]!

[Super Killer Move-Emerald. Fruits of Flame!]”

Lu Yuan spread his eight arms, his scarlet eyes suddenly gleaming with a verdant hue. Emerald flame erupted from between his arms.

Under the core of his second profession, [Martial Arts Grandmaster (Extraordinary)], and the enhancement of [Five Qi. Heart Fire Return to Origin], the emerald flame, imbued with traces of the Ultimate Skill Fire, enveloped the escaping black slime entirely.

A vividly veined, full jade fruit quickly coalesced amidst the flames.

The terrifying heat made the black slime emit shrieks of rage and panic, continuously contracting inward.

“You won’t help… then I’ll do it myself!”

A fierce glint flashed in Lu Yuan’s eyes, and he forcefully clasped his eight arms together. The vast phantom of the jade flame fruit, along with the black slime trapped within it, was grasped in his hands and unceremoniously shoved into his mouth!

“You wanted to devour me, didn’t you? Go ahead and try! I want to see exactly how you plan to transform everything that belongs to me!”

A ruthless and determined light flickered across Lu Yuan’s sinister and alluring face.

He had thought it through.

To deal with the most formidable unknown life form that had already parasitized Anders, he needed to understand its weaknesses. And there was no more thorough way to learn this than by being “devoured” by the entity himself.

This action wasn’t entirely reckless.

At least, the creature in his hands was much weaker than the one battling Yuwen Tong. Lu Yuan had more than one way to restrain it, and he had the cuckoo bird as a last resort. Though the cuckoo bird appeared lethargic now, it wouldn’t stand idly by in a life-or-death situation.

Most importantly-

“Given the cuckoo bird’s nature of not moving without profit, since it went for these things on its own, they must be beneficial.

If it can gain something from eating these, then surely, there might be something in it for me too…”

The yellow crystallized form he obtained from the first stage trial was the best evidence of this.

No matter what it was, if it was something the cuckoo bird would dare to consume… chances are high it was a good thing.

Might as well take a bite first and figure it out later!

Lu Yuan opened his mouth wide, his saw-like teeth clamping down ferociously on the jade-hued, plump “fruit.”

Its black “juices” splattered out, which he chewed and swallowed in large, greedy gulps.

The black slime inside seemed to go berserk as well, actively burrowing into Lu Yuan’s mouth with a relentless determination.

A few seconds later, every bit of the black slime was devoured entirely by Lu Yuan, leaving nothing behind.

The aura around Lu Yuan immediately withdrew, and a sinister, frightening grin spread across his face as he murmured, “Come on, let’s see… who can devour whom!”

With those words, a vast and malevolent consciousness erupted from within him, aggressively invading his mind.

At the same time, black slime surged from every part of Lu Yuan’s asura form, from the inside out, enveloping him completely and transforming into a massive black cocoon.

The scene seemed to revert to their initial encounter, except this time, the danger was exponentially greater.

…

“Boom-“

High above the water region, a massive, sticky transparent shockwave violently radiated outward. The area around it twisted and distorted, with the massive water region forming a deep pit beneath, while black aura and bloody water surged, creating colossal black and red waves stretching thousands of meters high, undulating furiously.

“Buzz-“

The one-armed Spirit Sovereign Mech descended steadily from the sky, her face expressionless as she looked at the silver vine Mech below. A semicircular Moon Wheel hovered above her head, slowly rotating, its glow much dimmer than before.

Below, the silver vine Mech, hit by the ultimate skill of the Spirit Sovereign Mech, seemed unaffected. The eerie and malevolent aura enveloping it only grew more intense. The black vortex on its face gradually faded away, revealing its original features.

“You have indeed surprised me greatly…”

Anders’ voice slowly emanated from within the silver vine Mech. Around him, an invisible vortex persisted, constantly drawing in a significant portion of the cosmic energy within the vicinity.

At this moment, the Spirit Sovereign Mech, from every perspective, was at an absolute disadvantage. It was as if they were a warrior cornered, with only a small space left for a final, desperate struggle.