by <unknown>
Long Yangjun looked around. Her eyes were hollow, and inhuman nonchalance seemed to be beaming out. However, it only lasted a brief moment before she returned to normal and focused her eyes on Li Yao. Putting on a graceful smile that made it impossible to tell whether she was a man or a woman, she asked, "What's the situation now?"
"The situation is that we are now deeply trapped in the most central layer of the Spiriters' Realm. Those floating in the dark void around are all tiny virtual worlds. Each world has caged the soul of one person, including Meng Chixin, Han Baling, Yan Liren, the rest of them, and you until a moment ago!
"The giant silver ball over there is the real identity of the extraterrestrial devil and the mastermind of the whole scheme. Hurry up and break all the virtual worlds to free Meng Chixin, Yan Liren, and the others so that we can attack together and beat the sh*t out of it!"
"Impossible! It's impossible!" Crazy ripples flowed out of the silver ball from far, far away. It shouted in utmost astonishment, "Nobody can break away from the corruption of the Spiriters' Realm so quickly and even invade this place! Why is your soul power so weird? It is even launching 'anti-corruption' on my world? Lead Eunuch Wang Xi is simply a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. How can you do that?
"You—you—you are not Lead Eunuch Wang Xi. You are no common Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. You are not human. You are not human!"
While it was roaring, the right arm of the Fighting God gradually recovered. There being no time for it to reconstruct the whole arm, it simply threw out almost a hundred tentacles that were waving crazily. The sharp end of every tentacle was a coldly blinking dagger. They whipped the two of them brutally in the most terrifying sound!
"Hehe. Now that your real body has been located, everything will be easier!" Long Yangjun sneered and declared confidently, "You thought that such a lousy virtual world was enough to trap me? I was merely trying to parse your fundamental architecture and trace your core database!"
Highly-dangerous, purple swirls were condensing quickly on the barrel of the crystal cannon. Before the Fighting God jumped at the two of them, another cluster of purple magma spurted out and hit the chest of the iron giant precisely. Then, it spread out quickly like a virus and soon crystalized the torso and the limbs of the entire Fighting God, freezing it into a bizarre-shaped amethystine statue!
"You can't break the virtual worlds now!" Long Yangjun bit her lips hard. "The extraterrestrial devil can totally conceal those virtual worlds and change their state to be unreadable and unmodifiable externally. Even if you do break the crystal balls, what you will get is only a bunch of meaningless, chaotic data.
"Give me… half a minute!"
She leapt backward and suddenly vanished from Li Yao's side. In the blink of an eye, she appeared right behind the silver ball, which was the real entity of the extraterrestrial devil!
Before the extraterrestrial devil realized what was going on, she had stabbed her hands deeply into the silver ball. As her soul power poured out incessantly, a thin amethystine shell was condensed on the surface of the silver ball!
The power of the amethysts was also transmitted through the wires that connected the silver ball and the many virtual worlds, freezing the hundreds of virtual worlds completely in that moment!
"What kind of strength is this? Why is it so eccentric? Who are you exactly? What are you exactly?"
Surging tides were raging on the surface of the silver ball. Countless ugly tentacles grew out. Like a virus that could infect the entire universe, it extended its tentacles deep into Long Yangjun's body, transforming Long Yangjun's transparent, crystalized body into silver, too.
The two parties were engaged in a soul-stirring competition of corruption and anticorruption. Silver stripes were sprawling on Long Yangjun's face.
The shell of the Fighting God, which had been sealed by the amethysts, soon revealed a lot of cracks, indicating that it might break free at any moment!
"Li Yao, now is the time!" The silver threads were even invading Long Yangjun's eyes, but she could not have cared less about it. She simply tried her best to lock onto all the virtual worlds and shouted, "Hurry up and smash all of the illusionary worlds!"
Chapter 1784: Twelve Experts of the Ancient Sages Sector, Arrive! |
The Fighting God, the strongest battle artificial intelligence produced by the extraterrestrial devil, finally broke free from the seal of Long Yangjun's amethysts and charged at Li Yao with thunderous roars. The tentacles that were packed with stings and hooks were about to cover Li Yao overwhelmingly!
However, half a second before the hundred tentacles formed a cage of destruction, Li Yao burnt up the last bit of his soul power and dashed out in dazzling flames of light like a crimson shooting star!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
He collided with a series of crystal worlds brutally like an angry cannonball!
The crystal worlds that had been corrupted and controlled by Long Yangjun were already as fragile as glass. They broke apart at first touch, and the pieces of the crystal worlds that exploded were splashing out, triggering a chain reaction, as if a colorful, shining storm of crystals was sweeping across the entire dark void!
The explosion of every crystal ball was a tiny 'big bang'. Everything in the virtual world—including the mountains, rivers, clouds, stars, pavilions, horses, and various kinds of people—was expelled!
Countless crystal storms interweaved into a turbulence that consumed the entire fundamental level of the Spiriters' Realm. All the virtual worlds fell into chaos after they were torn apart. They were melted and mixed up into a mess!
The previously cruel warring worlds were connected to the peaceful Peach Blossom Paradise. The vintage world of ancient Cultivators, which was a duplication of the real world forty thousand years ago, was melded with the most advanced futuristic world, with a burning space battlefield in the sky where countless starships were exploding and crashing and a prosperous city on the ground where countless 'people', true and false, were stunned by the sky that was falling toward them!
The shouts and screams on the battlefield, the laughter and singing in the Peach Blossom Paradise, and the obstreperous complaints in the modern metropolis… the joy, anger, sadness, excitement, fright, tranquility, and all the other emotions of mankind turned into surging ripples inside the turbulence. Including Li Yao, Long Yangjun, the twelve experts from the Ancient Sages Sector, Heiye Lan, the vegetative patients accepted by Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital in the past few decades, and the staff who worked and lived in District 01 only to be swallowed by the liquid metal in the end—everybody's soul was struggling and floating in the turbulence comprising feelings and soul pieces, sharing and melding with one another!
Li Yao felt that his soul was about to be completely torn apart and transformed into part of the enormous turbulence.
He was unable to resist such an enormous force and could only shout at the top of his voice, "Yan Liren! Han Baling! Ba Xiaoyu! Master Bitter Cicada! Qi Changsheng! Where are you? Wake up now! Hurry!"
Hardly had he concluded his sentence when the most brilliant and unstoppable sword auras that seemed powerful enough to slash apart the universe appeared at the depths of the turbulence that was swallowing the dark void!
Perhaps it was Li Yao's imagination, but the whole turbulence seemed to be revolving at a lower speed after the sword auras showed up!
Accompanying the sword auras, the short Yan Liren jumped out with a head like a wax gourd. He floated above the turbulence, completely melded with the sword auras!
After another clear and firm enchantment, Master Bitter Cicada's handsome face that could make any man jealous enough to punch it slowly surfaced from the depths of the turbulence!
"Sword Maniac! Master!"
Before Li Yao had the chance to be excited, Master Bitter Cicada looked around and dived back into the turbulence.
Very soon, almost ten streaks of brilliance flashed out from the center of the turbulence an
d turned into the magnificent experts of the Ancient Sages Sector!
The twelve experts of the Ancient Sages Sector were gathered at the most fundamental layer of the Spiriters' Realm!
Despite their life experience and their wisdom, they had just been through the most bizarre and stunning dreams, in which their soul and mental power was absorbed by the extraterrestrial devil without them knowing, and they were now faced with the turbulence caused by hundreds of virtual worlds breaking apart and crashing into each other. Looking at each other in bewilderment, they did not know what was going on at all!
When they saw that Li Yao's face was swollen and bleeding and could barely be distinguished, they were even more surprised!
"Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, what is this place? What's going on? Why is the fire of your soul so weak that it may die down any moment?" Master Bitter Cicada asked in a hurry.
"Well…" Li Yao's head was in utter chaos, making it impossible for him to formulate a concise and appropriate explanation.
"Li Yao!"
A deafening roar echoed from the turbulence not far away. Long Yangjun was blown out by the roar, and the crystal armor all over her body almost completely fell apart while she was still flying. She vomited blood and drifted randomly like a kite whose string had been severed. Had it not been for the rest of them stopping her in time, she would have fallen to the other side of the turbulence with her soul entirely torn apart!
She was in no better condition than Li Yao. In order to shatter all the virtual worlds, they had almost burnt up their souls!
Chiliu! Chiliu! Chiliu!
With blood-freezing wriggling and expanding sounds, the enormous body of the extraterrestrial devil slowly emerged from the deepest part of the turbulence.
At this moment, it was no longer as delicate, elegant, and solemn as when it was the 'silver ball' a moment ago.
Sharp thorns had grown out of its surface that had been as smooth as mirror previously. The silver 'flagella' around its body were longer and thicker and being waved in a much crazier way. Ripples were spreading out from the center nonstop, as if it were a weird brain full of wrinkles that was emitting weird yet powerful forces to the outside world!
Virus! It was truly like a virus that had been magnified billions of times under a microscope, a virus that was fatal enough to corrupt the entire universe!
"Li Yao! You sure are bold to destroy my decades of hard work! You sure are bold to destroy the Spiriters, the last hope for mankind! I am going to destroy you! I'm going to destroy all of you. None of you will get away!"
"Li Yao?" The experts from the Ancient Sages Sector did not have the first clue about what was going on, but the highly sensitive name 'Li Yao' made all of them constrict their pupils hard. "Is he referring to Monster Li, the legendary Vulture Li Yao, dominator of three Sectors'?"
"Most likely. It seems that we have indeed been noticed by Monster Li Yao and trapped in a terrible scheme since the moment we appeared in the Star Glory Federation!"
"Damn it. Was Li Yao behind the illusions that we went through just now? This monster's wisdom is truly as profound and immeasurable as ocean!"
"But what is this peculiar, abnormal sea urchin? It seems to hate Monster Li's guts. It is also roaring in our direction. Is—is Monster Li right behind us?"
Everybody was greatly alarmed. They turned around to check, only to find nothing behind except for the people who were struggling in the crystal turbulence.
"Well…" Li Yao raised his hand, somewhat awkwardly. "Fellow Cultivators, in fact…"
"Li Yao! Li Yao! Li Yao!"
The extraterrestrial devil was still roaring ear-splittingly down below. The Fighting God had landed near it at some point and was bound by the thousands of flagella and tentacles. They were melded!
As it was melded with the 'Fighting God', the real body of the extraterrestrial devil experienced yet another shocking change. Its body continued expanding and became even more hideous. The tentacles were thickening, and the front ends of the tentacles broke apart and blossomed like chrysanthemum, turning into bloody mouths with sharp tusks inside!
"Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, we are in the middle of a crisis!" Ba Xiaoyu the Beggar gnashed his teeth. "A tiger is before us, and a wolf is behind. Judging from the intense killing intent spreading out from this crazy devil, its soul intensity is at least above the Divinity Transformation Stage and still on the rise! That mysterious Monster Li must be lurking around us with his unknown ill intentions. Whatever you want to say, you can wait a moment and spit it out later!"
"In fact, that is exactly what I want to say." Li Yao made up his mind. "In fact, Monster Li is not lurking 'around'; he is lurking right among us. Well, the truth is, I am the legendary Vulture Li Yao, dominator of three Sectors!"
"…" Ba Xiaoyu.
"…" Yan Liren.
"…" Master Bitter Cicada.
"…" Heiye Lan and the other experts.
Everybody looked at him with the utmost astonishment, especially his face that was so engorged and deformed that even his mother would not have recognized him.
"Are you really serious?" Ba Xiaoyu asked.
"I am very serious."
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"Because I am a man who likes to keep a low profile and despises fame and fortune. I sincerely hoped to make friends with you, fellow Cultivators. I was afraid that you would keep your distance from me after learning of my high and noble identity. If so, you would definitely restrain yourselves when we were hanging around. Wouldn't that be a bummer?
"Please don't look at me like that, fellow Cultivators. Although I am indeed the legendary hero of the federation, the dominator of three Sectors, the father of 'Civilization', and for some people, the founding father of the New Federation, I am in fact very modest and approachable. Don't feel that there is any gap between you and me. There is no such thing. In my eyes, everybody is the same!"
The experts of the Ancient Sages Sector all struggled to swallow the revelation.
"I am suddenly so disappointed in the Star Glory Federation," Ba Xiaoyu said gloomily.
"Me, too." Han Baling nodded heavily, too.
"The legendary dominator of three Sectors and the founding father of the Star Glory Federation is this guy?" Qi Changsheng looked at Li Yao in disbelief, with intense suspicion and disappointment in his voice.
"There's no time for more explanations. Whatever misunderstandings, disappointment, and dissatisfaction you may have for me or for the Star Glory Federation, let's talk about it later!
"All in all, the thing down below is an extraterrestrial devil. It is the mastermind of the whole scheme! Right now, Long Yangjun has forced it to reveal its true self and locked onto it. It has nowhere to run and no way to conceal itself. As long as we take it down, we will be able to break the entire illusionary world and return to reality!
"Otherwise, we will all be trapped in the Spiriters' Realm forever until our souls and mental power are drained. Then, we will remain its slaves for the rest of our lives!"
Chapter 1785: The Last Strength! |
"You want to kill me? Not so fast!"
In hideous laughter, the extraterrestrial devil exploded like a tumor. The thousands of tentacles were divided into a dozen groups and attacked Li Yao, Long Yangjun, and the other experts from the Ancient Sages Sector simultaneously.
Overwhelming and gapless, the whole upper half of the crystal turbulence was its bloody mouths. There was nowhere to run to at all!
"Hehe!"
Yan Liren sniffed and launched an attack. He did not care whether he was in reality or in a virtual world and whether his enemy was the dominator of three Sectors or an extraterrestrial devil. If anything, the stronger an enemy was, the more intense his fighting will and his sword auras would be!
Shua!
The sword auras flashed and surged in the void like dazzling lightning. Yan Liren's soul and sword auras were perfectly melded, and he slashed almost
a hundred tentacles within a moment!
But every broken tentacle turned into a gigantic boa and lunged at him again. Thick silver blood spurted out of the fractures. Whenever the blood touched his soul, it would immediately begin crazy corruption and try to crawl into his soul like thousands of dense bugs.
Despite Yan Liren's overwhelming sword auras, it was impossible for him to escape from the infinite web of the extraterrestrial devil for the time being!
The other experts of the Ancient Sages Sector were also dragged into fierce fights by the tentacles that were rife with bloody mouths and venomous fangs, unable to free themselves.
They had been lost for more than twelve hours in the virtual world after all. Not only were their souls seriously exhausted and their mental power drained, their moves and techniques had also been seen through by the extraterrestrial devil. They could not help but feel that the enemy could predict their every attack.
There was no need to mention Li Yao and Long Yangjun. They were both too fatigued to do anything. All they could do was keep themselves safe under the entanglement and suppression of the tentacles!
"Hahaha. Absorb the souls of you into my body, and let's create a new world of absolute peace and infinite wonders together!"
The extraterrestrial devil was still laughing crazily in Professor Mo Xuan's voice, but with a completely different tone from Professor Mo Xuan's. It had gone completely mad!
"It—it must've poured everything in!"
Long Yangjun was tied up by almost ten tentacles. Countless tusks in the bloody mouths bit deep into her body and injected tremendous silver materials into her soul, gradually transforming her into a silver statue.
The elite warrior of the Nuwa Civilization grunted and struggled to say, "It must've retreated all the mental power and computational ability that was previously dedicated to the invasion of the Spiritual Nexus in the entire federation. It is too occupied in dealing with us to care about what is happening outside!
"Such strong mental power is not entirely its own but also from the people who are caged in the Spiriters' Realm, including the many ordinary people and Cultivators. The monster has stolen everybody's strength and is using it against us!
