ASER - Chapter 197
Chapter 197: Deliberate
When the Sun Image Primordial Feast erupted, Qu Xia'er, still in the Orchid Water Abyss, frowned. It had arrived earlier, even earlier than she had anticipated. But its early arrival also meant that the time for Qu Jiangnan's resurrection was compressed.
She looked at the soul and body ahead, still fusing and mutating.
Qu Xia'er's lips pressed down.
If Qu Jiangnan's process wasn't fully completed, she feared she wouldn't be able to fulfill her agreement with that little girl over there.
The plan would be void, wouldn't it.
It was too sudden. A'Diao had thought it would at least have some precursor, like a celestial dog devouring the moon. But no, it was truly like meteors bombarding a planet.
No, it was even more terrifying. Meteors and meteorites have detectable speeds and trajectories; this did not. It appeared out of thin air at one end of the universe, then traversed space-time, finally descending abruptly upon one side of the planet, splattering down obliquely like a torrential rain.
It was irregular, and its density varied.
The surrounding star systems were largely controlled by the three nations and three non-human clans. It hadn't been detected before. Only when the alarms sounded just now were the direction, angle, and even density of the falling rays surveyed. Relevant departments were currently calculating and investigating, while various countries and regions were implementing emergency responses.
However, it indeed followed the unusual disturbances previously sensed by powerhouses of Old Man Yu's level. All parties had made some emergency preparations. Experts at the Lesser Spirit King level were mostly tied down and mobilized, all heading to the areas most severely affected by the Sun Image Primordial Feast.
Blood Abandonment City reacted quickly. They had just been discussing this topic in a meeting. The Commander reported Chen Xun's test calculations to the relevant departments, but they flatly disbelieved it, thinking it needed further verification and surveying. It wasn't escalated to the core of the imperial court to activate the emergency response mechanism.
Well then... they had done their best.
Chen Xun had long known this would be the result. The person in charge of this area happened to be from the Imperial Kinsmen, and a few among them had a habit of overreaching. They had previously meddled with him in the Academy of Sciences, only to be outmaneuvered by him in the end. Now, the animosity ran deep. Coupled with the lack of theoretical basis for such a matter, the other party had reason to disbelieve, hence their dismissive and bureaucratic attitude. Moreover, his superior wasn't the Commander but the Minister of Works, under the Ministry of Works. Even if the Commander held a high position in the military, when acting outside his authority, the Imperial Kinsmen would merely give face by passing it on for processing, and nothing more.
If those common people suffered because of this, his heart felt no ripples.
The responsibility wasn't his, and even less A'Diao's.
People with overly high intellect are actually not suited for too many emotions. His grandmother had said this.
He vividly remembered her sitting and reading in the Buddhist hall, the scent of sandalwood drifting far. She had glanced over briefly, white smoke curling around the wooden fish, and said, "The wise do not fall in love."
Because most of the 'so-called love' in this world is often irrational.
However, even then, he had vaguely sensed that these words were directed at A'Diao, who was behind him, munching on lychees while flipping through a book.
Not at him.
His grandmother didn't like him, but it was hard to say whom she did like.
Like many old ladies in this world, she had an ethereal faith. She was neither vain nor extravagant, neither gentle nor loving. She was harsh, indifferent, and also realistic.
Towards A'Diao, whom she believed wouldn't live long, she later became very cold. This coldness showed little hesitation or wavering.
But how many grandmothers in this world were like that?
Perhaps many.
Chen Xun's thoughts had strayed somewhat, but he suddenly heard a scream. It turned out to be from the image on the screen.
It was a surveillance screen showing the area outside the city. The entire city was now under lockdown, and the border regions had all entered the highest state of combat readiness, mostly within the monitored zones. A few reckless cultivators who hadn't heeded the notice to enter the city earlier were now hit by the rays in the wilderness, turning into charred remains after a scream.
"My heavens!"
"Too terrifying."
"That one seemed to be at the Glimmer level, right?"
"Damn!"
Before the relatively experienced military personnel could exclaim, the entire city had already been notified.
At that moment, A'Diao and the others were still outdoors. The crowd had just been impressed by A'Diao's show of prowess.
The rays passed directly from outer space through the atmosphere.
Before they arrived, people could see the sky turning a purplish haze, densely filled with fine points of light. It looked quite beautiful at first glance, but the pressure it brought was too terrifying. Even before it reached the surface, everyone felt a stinging pain, as if their head nerves were being scorched.
The city-wide announcement let them know what this thing was. Everyone was instantly terrified and rushed indoors. Only a few remained calm because Blood Abandonment City had already activated its giant protective shield.
After all, it was a main border city. Even a Lesser Spirit Lord would have to attack this protective shield for a while.
The three individuals who had just rushed into the city at the last moment now felt a lingering fear. Luo Guang looked up and saw the falling rays of light like plummeting bullets, striking the energy shield with a 'bang bang bang' sound, creating a dense patter like raindrops. However, after these rays fell, they didn't dissipate like ordinary energy attacks when blocked. Instead, they continued to gather outside the shield, active, climbing, and pulsating.
"They aren't leaking energy, nor are they transforming."
Luo Guang and the others, after all, had keen insight and recognized the terror of these Sun Image Rays at a glance.
Yu Chisu said, "I've read records about it before, but there wasn't much information. I didn't know its energy level was this high. Our bodies simply can't withstand it."
"Genes are also a factor. Retreat quickly, there should be a meeting soon."
As Luo Guang spoke, he tried to send a message to Lushan, but found the transmission failed.
"Not good. The energy field and magnetic field must have been disrupted. Signals are completely down."
"Then most of the aerial combat units will be ineffective. Other regions won't be able to send support in time."
The three looked very worried. Yu Chisu voiced the greatest danger, "I'm afraid it will attract those demon spirits. Looking at the density of these rays, our area is very likely to form a Sun Image Primordial Body. If the demon spirits from the various states beyond the border gather here, then I'm afraid..."
Yu Chisu had barely finished speaking when she felt she had jinxed it, because they all saw a dark shadow flying in from the south.
It was avian demon spirits.
But suddenly, with a loud 'boom,' the three were stunned. What was happening? They hadn't even arrived yet, so how could there be such a strong demonic aura and commotion? Unless...
Without a word, the three turned and flew towards the center of Blood Abandonment City, where the commotion originated. Looking in that direction, they were shocked to see demonic energy surging and spreading from the central plaza.
The energy shield was up, the Sun Image Rays couldn't get in. Theoretically, demon spirits shouldn't be able to get in either, unless... there was only one possibility left.
An earth cave? Such a huge commotion?
A minute ago, the crowd in the plaza had also planned to return to the restaurant to await official notice. Jiang Zhou and his two companions wanted to pull A'Diao aside to ask about the specifics. But as soon as Jiang Zhou opened his eyes, he asked, "Why haven't you retracted that spatial technique? The space behind you is crackling."
A'Diao: "?"
She turned her head and saw space tearing.
It was terrifying; she hadn't even noticed it. It was just that Jiang Zhou and the others happened to see it with their naked eyes, while she, with her back turned, hadn't.
The tearing speed was too fast. In an instant, it became a five-meter diameter opening, from which eerie black gas billowed out. Then... boom! A gaping maw suddenly shot out, looking somewhat like an octopus's mouth at first glance, but filled with many sharp serrations. Red flesh writhed within, poised to swallow her whole. Moreover, at the core of this maw was a soft, yet exceptionally sharp and slender tentacle, moving with extreme speed, almost teleporting, as it shot out to pierce the back of A'Diao's head.
A Level 13 demon spirit. Judging by its main body, it should be a special amphibious (sea and air) demon spirit, a Tentacled One, and a demon king at that, adept at sneak attacks... However, A'Diao sidestepped, reached out, and grabbed the tentacle. With a pull and a tug, she dragged its massive body out of the opening and threw it downwards...
BOOM!!!
The Tentacle King, weighing over a hundred tons, slammed heavily onto the ground, creating a deep crater in the plaza. It tried to leap up, but A'Diao waved her hand, and a thunderbolt blasted its head apart.
But at this moment, this Tentacled One was only the first. The opening behind it gaped wide, and a dark mass of demon spirits swarmed out. A'Diao saw that behind these demon spirits, deep within that cave, there seemed to be some terrifying creature releasing a dense black fog. The volume of fog was even greater than that of the demon spirits. After it poured out of the opening, everyone's vision was immediately affected. The nearby area, originally a military base, instantly sounded an alarm—signal locks for modern firearms had failed.
This wasn't an earth cave, but a Demonic Grotto directly connected to the demon spirit world?
Although A'Diao had long guessed that the demon spirits would cause trouble—after all, the Sun Image Primordial Feast was practically a cheat code for the demon spirit race, and large numbers of them would surely rush to the border—her pre-designed plan was also tailored for this. However, she hadn't expected this kind of trouble.
Then the plan would have to change.
Swish! A'Diao decisively teleported, grabbing the corpse and spirit core of the Level 13 demon king below, and distanced herself from the Demonic Grotto.
"It's a Demonic Grotto!"
"Everyone, fall back quickly! Consolidate and seal the four directions, don't leave any openings... This black fog is Wavelength Distorting Demonic Qi. It creates irregular distortions of energy within space, interfering with perception and detection. Our controllable range will be shortened..."
Duanmu Biexue and others like him had experienced too many battles, had seen Sun Image Rays, and even Demonic Grottoes before. They immediately warned everyone.
But too many demon spirits were pouring out, and this was the mouth of the Demonic Grotto. They wanted to flee, but behind them were basically the residences of the remaining civilians in Blood Abandonment City, the restaurant, the logistics department, and some cultivators who had come from various places to provide support. Regardless of their cultivation levels, these were all living areas. If these high-level cultivators fled, the people behind them would lose their defensive line and would surely die.
"Quick, quick, quick!"
"They're coming! You guys over there, quickly escort those people to the teleportation array! Who the hell can activate the teleportation array? Hurry!"
The voices were almost drowned out by the roars of the demon spirits.
Endless.
Too terrifying. Without a Lesser Spirit King, it was impossible to handle.
But where would a Lesser Spirit King come from here?
At this time, A'Diao's Mental Threads still penetrated the Wavelength Distorting Demonic Qi, while she deliberately sent a message to Chen Xun.
"I've located the Demonic Grotto and some high-level demon kings. You fire the Black Shine from your end."
Upon seeing the message, Chen Xun narrowed his eyes. This was different from the original plan. It seemed to be because of the Demonic Grotto's eruption. Was she sending this for him to see?
No, it should be that the Lesser Spirit Kings had arrived early.
The Imperial Clan's Lesser Spirit Kings should have already arrived.
Because even if the Imperial Clan's sensitivity to the Sun Image Rays wasn't as precise as A'Diao's, when it came to Demonic Grottoes—after all, they had been fighting them since the first generation for thousands of years—the Imperial Clan would definitely have determined the opening locations of all Demonic Grottoes at the earliest opportunity.
Therefore, there must be Lesser Spirit Kings here now, but they hadn't made a move... That meant they wanted to eliminate A'Diao first.
Chen Xun immediately replied—Alright.
He acted as if he knew nothing and even specifically informed the Commander.
And at this moment, within the base—that is, the surveillance system of their supreme command conference—had long been controlled by the Imperial Clan with the highest authority. They knew everything.
And the hidden Lesser Spirit King had quietly locked onto A'Diao amidst the chaotic area, but he didn't move. Because his purpose in coming here was—to best eliminate Chen A'Diao covertly, without exposing himself.
For a Demonic Grotto to open in Blood Abandonment City was, of course, not what the Imperial Clan desired. But as long as the main city didn't fall, it was instead a heaven-sent opportunity—they could completely use these demon spirits to eliminate Chen A'Diao.
But it required the right moment.
Just then, from the Demonic Grotto that had already spewed forth tens of thousands of demon spirits, a white bone head suddenly shot out. It was a large skull, but its empty eye sockets burned with two clusters of black flames. Its entire body was composed of white bones, each piece separate and suspended, yet capable of reassembling into any form.
A Level 18 demon king, and a Bone Demon King at that.
Peak Grandmaster level. Compared to human Grandmasters, it was practically invincible.
When it shot out, Jiang Zhou and the others didn't even have time to shout before they saw A'Diao turn tail and flee in fright.
The Bone Demon King also had discernment; it could tell that this human's flesh was more fragrant than others, so it immediately gave chase.
The human and the demon king entered the black fog area one after the other. Others wanted to help but couldn't, because there were too many demon spirits. The energy chaos caused by their mutual attacks alone made it impossible for them to lock onto a target.
On the other side, even with the most advanced current equipment, they couldn't penetrate the black fog to lock onto the situation ahead. The weapons deployed within the base were difficult to activate; they couldn't just blast away and kill the cultivators along with the enemy.
However, Chen Xun still received a message from A'Diao.
Two positioning points.
"I need to calculate; that black fog will alter energy trajectories..."
"Wait a moment."
After a short while, two Black Shine rays were fired. One precisely pierced the black fog and hit the Demonic Grotto's opening, successfully sniping several emerging demon spirits, including high-level demon kings of Level 17 and 16, not to mention other demon spirits.
The destructive power was immense.
But each firing required calculation because the black fog's density was constantly changing, and current equipment could only determine its concentration.
And the other Black Shine ray...
BOOM!!!
The blasted-open black fog exposed the situation above.
It hit!
The massive Bone Demon King was hit. Several of its white bones cracked and broke, and its body, which had been on the verge of catching A'Diao, was sent flying over ten meters away.
On the screen, they could just see A'Diao escaping disaster, but before she could show any relief...
The shattered bones that had been sent flying suddenly reassembled, forming a white bone spear that instantly thrust from diagonally behind.
Clang!!
A'Diao's Shadow Armor was directly pierced and shattered.
With a loud crash, A'Diao was impaled and sent flying into a building a hundred meters away.
Explosion!
Dust and smoke billowed. Everyone wanted to see the situation clearly, but the black fog spread extremely fast, re-enveloping the area. Almost half of Blood Abandonment City was covered by the black fog.
"Fire again! Can you still lock on?" The Commander was decisive.
But Chen Xun frowned, "No, it moved. Without her sending a second set of coordinates, it won't work. Concentrate everything on the Demonic Grotto's opening; we can't let more demon spirits emerge. Also, report and request the dispatch of Lesser Spirit King level experts, otherwise Blood Abandonment City... Not good, they're burrowing into the ground! Quickly activate the main energy field protection..."
A large number of demon spirits howled as they burrowed underground, launching a surprise attack on the base's energy headquarters. On the other side, after being blasted into the building, A'Diao wretchedly spat blood but immediately fled.
She fled in a sorry state.
The Imperial Clan's Lesser Spirit King remained steady, coldly watching her being pressed by the Bone Demon King... and was also collecting her residual blood for analysis.
It was real, not a clone, but her true body.
But the time wasn't right yet. He had to wait until...
Dong!!! A'Diao was struck by the Bone Demon King's tail whip, sent flying across more than ten streets, and slammed into Blood Abandonment City's energy shield. She should have bounced off, but as ill luck would have it, the shield suddenly flickered and thinned.
The energy headquarters was attacked, and the power supply wasn't maintained?
In any case, A'Diao only felt the shield behind her suddenly tear open, causing her to be flung out by the Bone Demon King's tail and simultaneously knocked beyond the city's defensive boundary line.
She directly faced the Sun Image Rays outside.
Damn it!
At this moment, the Bone Demon King, unafraid of the Sun Image Rays, chased her out, wrapped its tail tightly around her, and slammed her hard onto the ground.
Boom!
A deep crater exploded open, and the Sun Image Rays from the sky pierced down like a torrential downpour.
The Lesser Spirit King, hidden in the black fog within the shield, retracted the means he had just used to affect the energy shield. His fingers curled slightly, and a cold smile appeared.
She was doomed.
This cold smile curved his lips.
And then... there was no 'and then.' It froze.
Because when the Sun Image Rays landed on Chen A'Diao, they didn't harm her body. Instead... she absorbed them.
Yes, absorbed.
What!!!
Needless to say, this Lesser Spirit King was so shocked his skull was about to fly off. Even the black flames in the Bone Demon King's eye sockets trembled.
This is impossible! How could a human absorb Sun Image Rays!!
In that instant, it became anxious and lunged down to swallow A'Diao alive.
This human must be a peerless treasure! Eating her would allow it to ascend several cultivation levels!
Tang Sanzang, Tang Sanzang!
However, it was directly crushed by a giant hand of golden light.
The Lesser Spirit King emerged. As one giant hand crushed the Level 18 Bone Demon King, another giant hand reached for A'Diao.
Not to kill, but to capture!
He didn't even ask for instructions from within the Imperial Clan. Firstly, all external signals in the border region were currently blocked. Secondly, he couldn't possibly transmit this absolute secret back.
This Chen A'Diao possessed the secret to absorbing the Sun Image Primordial Feast!
Either her body had mutated, or she knew the secret.
Must capture her alive!
If he also mastered this secret, able to devour Sun Image Rays like demon spirits and achieve genetic evolution, then his breakthrough to Great Spirit King would be just around the corner!
The world would be at his feet; he would be the number one in this world!
Hahaha! This Chen A'Diao is definitely a great treasure!
This Lesser Spirit King no longer cared about Lushan or any Imperial Clan. Greed filled his mind as he reached to grab A'Diao.
However, A'Diao wasn't stupid either and directly activated teleportation...
"You still dare to flee!"
Dantai Yun, one of the Imperial Clan's Lesser Spirit Kings, immediately pursued.
He was a Lesser Spirit King! No matter how formidable she was, how fast could she possibly be be be be...
Roar!! She actually transformed into a dragon!
Dantai Yun watched, stunned, as the terrified Chen A'Diao transformed into a dragon again, and again burned resources, but her speed was even more terrifying than before, far exceeding that of a Grandmaster.
She fled in the direction where the fewest Sun Image Rays were suspended.
This... This is impossible!!
Last time, she was forced to flee by the Cursed Heavenly Might, having to damage her foundation to escape. But this time was different. Were there signs of her foundation being damaged? There were no cracking dragon scales or burning essence blood.
So, she had indeed mastered the benefits of absorbing Sun Image Rays!
And this benefit was too terrifying! It allowed a Star Realm cultivator to possess speed far exceeding a Grandmaster, and even flee from under the noses of Lesser Spirit Kings?
"Her constitution is not right..."
"Damn!"
Dantai Yun grew anxious and unleashed his fastest speed. But in that same instant, he sensed three other auras in the vicinity...
Not good, there were other Lesser Spirit Kings.
Swish, swish, swish!
Four Lesser Spirit Kings appeared from different directions and in different ways from space, all pursuing the dragon-transformed A'Diao.
Why?
Because they had been lying in wait, their initial mentality similar to Dantai Yun's.
They wanted to kill her but didn't want to do it themselves. If they really had to do it personally, it was best if no one knew. Even if someone found out, no evidence could be left.
It was quite bitchy, but who asked her to have Lushan behind her?
Lushan had to have some standing.
But now things were different.
Damn it! Sun Image Rays! This Chen A'Diao was truly badass.
And since they were all Lesser Spirit Kings, they quickly recognized each other's identities.
One from Moluo, one from Nan Jin, and another... Damn it, from the same clan, also from the Dantai Imperial Clan, though perhaps that one was responsible for 'after-sales service'.
Dantai Yun quickly realized that the other party, like himself, was here for Chen A'Diao in this operation. However, the old fogeys above were cunning, deploying one overtly and one covertly. Unfortunately, both these overt and covert individuals were still human and had their own selfish motives.
This Chen A'Diao was a gold ingot; they had to fight for her!
Four streaks of light, the Lesser Spirit Kings, rapidly traversed spatial locations, getting closer and closer to A'Diao...
And here, the points of light from the Sun Image Rays were also diminishing, which was for the best, as it helped them conserve their domain power.
"Come with me, Chen A'Diao!" The fastest black-robed figure suddenly transformed into a three-headed vicious hound, treading on space. It abruptly burst forward, reaching A'Diao's front in the blink of an eye, and slammed a paw down.
How could A'Diao withstand a Lesser Spirit King's methods? She was directly pinned down. This Moluo Lesser Spirit King was also quick-witted; having captured her, he was about to flee, but the other three Lesser Spirit Kings immediately attacked!
While fighting, they dared not injure A'Diao.
They were terrified of killing her.
Avoiding the dog's paws, they aimed specifically for its heads.
"You!" The Suoluo Lesser Spirit King (Moluo LSK) was furious but couldn't withstand the siege of three. He was eventually sent flying, and A'Diao was immediately ensnared by a vine and pulled away...
The one from Nan Jin arrived, and even released poison.
Seeing this, the two from Dantai immediately joined forces.
No matter how discordant they were, they were still from the same family, so to speak.
Fight, fight, fight!!!
A'Diao was carefully kept away from this terrifying Spirit King-level slaughter. Oh, right, four small protective domains had also been placed on her, for fear she would be killed as collateral damage.
How to survive under the hands of the Lesser Spirit King F4 who originally wanted to kill you?
The answer is simple—turn yourself into a peerless treasure.
Toilet: "..."
Although it couldn't understand before, it was now greatly shocked.
This is human nature.
The four Lesser Spirit Kings fought until the sky and earth turned dark, with wails like ghosts and wolves. Their respective domains crackled as they were struck by the Sun Image Rays. A'Diao was snatched back and forth, like Consort Yu.
Such a huge commotion was sensed by everyone within Blood Abandonment City.
Because the energy cluster was so damn large, it also caused the densely packed demon spirits swarming in from all directions outside to flee in terror, not daring to approach that area at all.
"Are those Lesser Spirit Kings?"
"It must be experts from our Tang Song Nation who have arrived."
"The Imperial Court is truly effective, sending so many at once."
"Brothers, hold on! Victory is at hand!"
Whether it was the military or the cultivator groups, most people were extremely excited. Only a few perceptive individuals were speechless.
Forget it, let's not say anything. Moral support is also good.
However...
Rumble!!!
When the energy shield trembled for the second time, the energy headquarters was finally blown up.
The energy shield completely disappeared.
The Sun Image Rays descended directly upon Blood Abandonment City... In their terror, the cultivators had no choice but to hide in buildings. After all, these Sun Image Rays directly targeted living beings; as long as there was no contact... But the demon spirits weren't stupid. Seeing the cultivators hiding, they immediately began to bombard these buildings wildly. The cultivators had to cast spells for passive defense while attacking indirectly.
This battle had become difficult.
And if the energy headquarters couldn't be repaired, they would all die here sooner or later.
But soon, they noticed a change in the Sun Image Rays.
They were active and were gathering.
"Look, they've turned into points of light, gathering into clusters. After they form clusters, the demon spirits have started chasing them."
Perhaps, the demon spirits and the Sun Image light points they were observing now were just like the Lesser Spirit King F4 and A'Diao.
They were all being attracted by greater benefits.
Indeed, everyone had thought they were doomed, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better.
"Do these count as forming Sun Image Primordial Bodies now?"
"It should be. After the light clusters gather, they become Primordial Bodies, and later they will gather into even larger Sun Image Primordial Beasts."
"Sun Image Primordial Beasts are the truly terrifying ones. I've read in books that during the several Primordial Feast descents in the early eras, Sun Image Primordial Beasts could fight Lesser Spirit Kings head-on, and even directly devour them. Moreover, they possess sentience, will actively hide, lie in wait, and even proactively hunt and devour strong human cultivators, because a part of their formation is inherently related to the spiritual nature of our world."
"What!! Is that true?"
The people hiding in the same house as Yu Chisu were shocked, but Duanmu Biexue confirmed it was true.
"In the early eras, such things did happen. So, under normal circumstances, if a Sun Image Primordial Beast appears, even Lesser Spirit Kings are unwilling to enter or leave the Sun Image area, because they could die."
Upon hearing this, everyone's heart sank. If that was the case, they could only rely on themselves to survive this period of descent; otherwise, no one would come to save them.
"But there are Lesser Spirit Kings outside," someone said, still somewhat naively.
Jiang Zhou sneered. Lesser Spirit Kings?
They probably came for Chen A'Diao first.
It wasn't that the Dantai clan was so short-sighted as to ignore the crisis in Blood Abandonment City. It was just that, for them, temporarily eliminating Chen A'Diao was more important than protecting Blood Abandonment City.
After all, the latter would only result in some deaths and damage to the Tang Song Nation's foundation. But if Chen A'Diao survived, she would genuinely threaten the interests of their Dantai Imperial Clan in the future.
If such a matter were placed before any other imperial clan, they would most likely choose the same methods as the Dantai.
Because, this was imperial power.
At this moment, A'Diao was captured by Dantai Yun.
Among the F4, she had been 'captured' by each of them in turn.
No one missed out.
It was a round of 'evenly bestowed favors'.
But the fighting Lesser Spirit King F4 suddenly felt something was wrong.
BOOM!!!
When Dantai Yun was pierced through the body by a tentacle, his pupils dilated, and the other Lesser Spirit Kings felt their scalps tingle.
"Damn it, it's a Sun Image Primordial Beast!!!"
"This is impossible!!"
The Sun Image Rays have only just descended; how could a Sun Image Primordial Beast possibly form?!!!
However, no matter how shocked they felt, it existed, and there was more than one.
When a second Sun Image Primordial Beast shot out to besiege the four, the injured Dantai Yun wanted to flee, but a massive Sun Image Primordial Beast head emerged in front and slapped down with a paw.
With this blow, Dantai Yun was hit and driven directly into the ground. Amidst the flying dust, he still didn't forget to hold onto the person in his hand, but just at this moment.
He suddenly felt a fluctuation—not good!
He tried to directly crush A'Diao's Dantian first, but the body of A'Diao he held had already been swapped.
Main Body-Clone Substitution Technique.
Not learned, but self-created by her.
There were too many Dao Tablets; it would be inexcusable not to make progress.
And because they had been fighting to the death earlier, they couldn't spare any attention for her. Now, with the three Sun Image Primordial Beasts, they could spare even less.
So, she escaped.
No!!
The four Lesser Spirit Kings were not fools. They immediately realized they had been tricked. Furious, they also felt deeply humiliated—they were Spirit Kings, yet they had been schemed against by a Star Realm cultivator!!
Too... too humiliating.
However, not only had she mastered the secret method of absorbing Sun Image Primordial Beasts, but she must have also mastered a way to make these Sun Image Rays transform into Sun Image Primordial Beasts prematurely.
These three beasts were fundamentally created by her, for the purpose of killing them!
No wonder there were so few residual light points from the Sun Image Rays here. They had thought it was because fewer rays had descended in this area. And her running in this direction earlier also seemed normal; after all, one wouldn't choose to run towards a dangerous place. Naturally, they were lured here by her.
Terrifying, too terrifying.
After humiliation came bone-chilling fear.
A truly deep-seated, heart-chilling fear.
Flee!!!
They attempted to flee.
But at this moment...
Within a living space about five hundred meters away from them, A'Diao frowned.
Toilet: "The Sun Image light points and Moon Image Orchid Spirits you've collected can only nurture four Primordial Beasts for now. Trapping them isn't difficult, but I'm afraid you can't kill them. They will join forces when in crisis. Look, they've already joined forces."
After research, A'Diao discovered that when Sun Image light points and Moon Image Orchid Spirits melted into each other, the remaining substance was the true mutated material, akin to refined pure 24K gold. She could absorb it, and in fact, any living being could. However, its melting point was very specific, requiring mastery of an extreme time point and precise coordination of their respective quantities; otherwise, they would neutralize each other and vanish.
After this substance remained, it actually drove the Sun Image light points into a frenzy, making them flock to it and even automatically band together... A'Diao had a flash of inspiration: she could use this to accelerate the formation of Sun Image Primordial Beasts!
And then use them to kill Lesser Spirit Kings.
But the time given to her was too short...
"Unless Qu Xia'er comes."
"But with the Sun Image Primordial Feast arriving so much earlier, it's probably very difficult for her to come."
"But once they escape, your secret regarding the Sun Image Primordial Feast will be exposed. The hidden danger is too great. There are probably many people within Lushan keeping an eye on you."
A'Diao certainly knew the plan had encountered an accident and it was difficult to proceed as originally planned. Logically, she could directly choose the second option now.
But if she didn't kill all four of them, the loss would outweigh the gain for her.
Just as A'Diao was frowning, suddenly, her brow smoothed.
Qu Xia'er had arrived.
She had come to the place they had agreed upon early on. This was also where A'Diao had preemptively placed the mutated substance to nurture the Sun Image Primordial Beasts.
Upon meeting, Qu Xia'er glanced at the arrangements nearby, a faint, unusual glint in her eyes. Without saying anything, she was about to go out and deal with the four Lesser Spirit Kings outside.
With the four trapped, she could ambush and kill them.
"Wait, Auntie, this is for you. With this, they will subconsciously avoid you... This way, you can eat well."
A'Diao handed her a bead of refined Moon Image Primordial Spirit Pure Liquid.
She acted cute and gentle, full of positive energy.
"Auntie, go for it! Diaodiao will always support you! Biubiubiu!"
While speaking, she feigned cuteness, raised a small fist in an encouraging gesture, and then 'shot' little hearts.
Toilet even felt a bit queasy in its stomach—if it had a stomach.
But it had to be said, to be able to nauseate a toilet, this 'peerless great treasure' really had something to her.
Fortunately, the person before her was a corpse.
Qu Xia'er paused for a moment, reached out to take it, then merged into space, formally entering a state of lurking and hunting.
As for A'Diao, she dropped the cute expression, a corner of her mouth hooking up in an "I, your mother, love no one" attitude, and directly tore open space.
The Lesser Spirit King situation was handled. She could go... and formally open her hunting ground.
In Blood Abandonment City, a large number of demon spirits absorbed the Sun Image Primordial Feast, capturing prey everywhere, clearly entering an evolutionary phase. Although the Demonic Grotto was under attack, it still continuously spewed out demon spirits. Moreover, demon spirits from the surrounding areas were also pouring endlessly towards the Blood Abandonment City region.
What teleportation arrays were left? After escorting one wave of civilians out amidst perilous conditions, just as they were about to transport a second wave, that teleportation array was directly destroyed.
"There's still one main teleportation array! There's a defensive array over there; it shouldn't have been destroyed yet..."
"No good! There are three Level 18 demon kings over there, and countless experts."
"What do we do? Are there no Grandmasters left?"
"There are. The ones from the military department are all guarding the base's energy station. If that place can't be held, the Black Shine weapons and such will all be useless. If they're useless, the Demonic Grotto can't be contained, because we don't have the ability to directly destroy or seal this Demonic Grotto. We need at least five Lesser Spirit Kings..."
"But the Tang Song territory must have forces that can help us, right?"
"There are, but... I'm afraid we're not the only ones suffering in the entire nation."
Duanmu Biexue frowned and said softly, "This is a calamity for the human race."
But what she didn't say was—given Blood Abandonment City's border location, it should have been prioritized for aid. It was impossible that the Imperial Clan hadn't made arrangements. If not them, someone from Lushan would also come.
So, what were the Lesser Spirit Kings outside doing?
They came, but it was as if they hadn't come?
Duanmu Biexue frowned, feeling an inexplicable sorrow for this nation.
It was too difficult.
Everyone was almost in despair. Many civilians were crying, among them quite a few who had stayed behind to provide logistical support for the military and cultivators.
"Those demon spirits outside, are they breaking through?"
"It seems so."
"If they break through..."
Blood Abandonment City, was it going to be destroyed?
Devastation everywhere, isolated and helpless, already a desperate situation.
Just at this moment... Jiang Zhou suddenly received a voice transmission from A'Diao.
"Record a video for me, quickly!"
Jiang Zhou: "?"
His eyes flashed. He immediately and silently took out his phone, while shouting, "Everyone, look over there!"
His voice was affected, his gestures childish, but it was very effective.
Indeed... The next second, a dragon's roar pierced the nine heavens!!!
Everyone's ears subconsciously went numb as they looked up.
A seven-clawed Yinglong soared through the vast sky, adorned with the noble silver radiance of its dragon scales. Tearing through the void, treading on thunder, it flew over, directly enduring the assault of the terrifying Sun Image Rays.
As it flew, its dragon scales and flesh fell off due to the damage from the Sun Image Rays.
She came, determined to come even covered in wounds.
Like Joker arriving on seven-colored auspicious clouds to save Zixia Fairy.
And wherever she passed... dark clouds rolled, and thunder followed.
Then she charged into the dark mass of avian demon spirits in the sky.
Wherever she passed, regardless of their level, all those below Level 18 were instantly obliterated by the triple attack of her dragon claws, dragon roar, and thunder.
Piercing through.
An entire flock of avian demon spirits was thus annihilated.
Their corpses were swept clean.
They watched just like that as thousands of massive avian demon spirits directly vanished. Then they saw her coil in the sky, facing their direction—facing that teleportation array.
Suddenly, it released an array from within its body.
A vast array refined with her own body, its core disc prominently featuring her Yin-Yang twin Dans as its foundation. But what the contents of the array disc were, no one knew. They only knew it released a strange gas that expanded to cover the entire Blood Abandonment City. After this gas spread through the city, the demon spirits that were devouring Sun Image light points and were in a state of evolution all subconsciously trembled.
This was... a toxin researched to target the gene chain evolutionary sequence produced by the variant substance.
It was like the deadly Seven Absolutes Powder from wuxia novels. The Seven Absolutes Powder, a toxin made by mixing 81 poisonous herbs in a specific order, could kill. But if made in the reverse order, it wasn't Seven Absolutes Powder, but its antidote.
What A'Diao researched was, of course, not that simple, but also not that complicated, because she didn't need to consider
too much. She merely applied the mutated substance to demon spirit test subjects, observed their evolutionary mutation sequences, then seized upon one node and used some Moon Image Orchid Spirit mixed with other substances to create something—it was enough to disrupt one node of this sequence.
Evolution, huh? She was very familiar with it. Several arrays she had created were related to this—genes, bloodlines, she was a professional.
And so... the great array to snipe evolution had arrived!
Just releasing toxins.
Actually, if not for creating this great array, the mutated substance she produced could theoretically nurture over a dozen Primordial Beasts. But this time, her target wasn't Lesser Spirit Kings, but others.
The priority was still the current matter.
Therefore, the Moon Image Orchid Spirits from beneath the lake were mainly used in this array disc.
These evolving demon spirits indeed couldn't take it. Once their evolutionary process was sniped, it was a damn backlash!
Done for!
This group of demon spirits suffered greatly from the backlash. Some weaklings died instantly. The rest, even if powerful, were busy resisting the effects of the backlash.
At this time, seeing the array was effective, she circled.
If a dragon circles in the firmament, it must have a purpose.
To summon wind and rain?
Or...
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
They saw a storm.
At first, it wasn't that terrifying. After all, no matter how strong Chen A'Diao was, the base amount of energy within her body was limited. But now, as the storm arrived, the energy that had leaked from the destroyed energy station was drawn in.
Because within the storm were more than twenty Dao Tablets, and because her Mental Body was already terrifying enough to permeate energy and control the core of an energy station capable of instantly killing Grandmasters, with a total output comparable to several Lesser Spirit Kings.
Controlling all of it was impossible, but by imbuing it with her spirit, borrowing a portion of the energy was still achievable.
Then... the storm expanded infinitely. Because the expansion speed was too fast, it even emitted a terrifyingly majestic sound akin to the roar of ghosts and gods.
Like wind scattering clouds, even the demonic fog was swept up.
Some people hidden in buildings, like Zongzheng Weiye and others, no longer knew how to react. Uneasy, extremely uneasy, but they didn't know what to do next.
Because they were also trapped here. Outside were Sun Image Rays, and also demon spirits.
The only one who dared to fly in the vast sky was her, that dragon.
And this dragon... whipped up a massive thunder storm. Those demon spirits were all sucked in by a terrifying suction force; none below Level 15 were spared.
Those above Level 15 were terrified, even those at Level 18 were terrified.
Because only now did they feel the aura emanating from that dragon...
They wanted to flee.
But the opening at the very top had already expanded to a diameter of three hundred meters, and then...
It imploded!
Countless dense thunderbolts, like golden threads within certain rare stones, instantly distributed themselves, interweaving and electrocuting. The entire storm released a brilliant halo.
The radiance of a blazing sun, vast and unparalleled for a thousand li.
There were even hundreds of surplus thunderbolts shooting out.
Boom, boom, boom!
They pierced through and killed some demon spirits above Level 15, and also... 'accidentally' blew up some buildings.
When Zongzheng Weiye and the others saw the thunderbolts shooting towards them, their first reaction was—she did it deliberately!
Flee!!
He was a Grandmaster and wanted to flee at that moment, but his head went numb—Mental Threads pierced through.
He had long been targeted.
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