Chapter 741 - 728: What Are You?
Chapter 741: Chapter 728: What Are You?
On the plains, one dragon beast ice sculpture after another stood in their charging posture, stretching from the base of the city walls far into the distance, none able to approach the walls.
Further afield, more dragon beasts wandered, but upon sensing the might of the Frost Elemental Lord, they chose to retreat, turning one after another and disappearing from view.
Amidst the soldiers’ cheers, Inanna retracted Xiaobing, returned to her dwelling, and following her instincts, found Number Four.
"How strange, Little Four." She walked over, bent down to examine the round fungal mass curled in the sunlight, "A rare dragon beast attack, and you didn’t even go to the walls. What’s up?"
Saying so, Inanna picked up Number Four, and immediately noticed that it was vibrating at an extremely small frequency in her embrace, enough to make her palms tingle.
"What’s going on?" She brought Number Four to her eyes, examining it carefully, "Are you... sick?"
Number Four’s thoughts came intermittently, as if disturbed by something, each word jumping out one by one: "It’s not... it’s just... the Mushroom Lord seems... a little excited..."
"Mushroom Lord? Excited?" Inanna tilted her head in puzzlement.
At the same time, Twelve, who was preaching, Number Ten, immersed in exploring the essence of magic, No. 9, crying about the blood pool to Shi Wu, and No. 7, grinding teeth for Little Hai...
Thirteen Mushroom Race members, in the same instant, simultaneously detected that tremor from the root of the soul.
...
Lin Jun’s biggest fear came true.
Someone had breached his defensive tactics and invaded his spiritual space!
The soul is the foundation of everything, and Lin Jun’s vast soul indeed afforded him many conveniences, but the fact that even a random Puki could reach his soul was a huge risk.
The cutting and self-destruct program he designed was to prevent anyone from tampering with his soul quietly.
And now, the defenses had been breached!
Upon recognizing the intruder as the loathsome Slime Demon King, his trepidation peaked, and he nearly considered severing his soul again and casting it out.
Ultimately, Lin Jun did not do so.
The Demon King now had him in sight and locked on, and having intruded once, could certainly do it again.
And with this understanding, next time would only be more severe.
The more you retreat, the more you lose!
"Die, Slime!"
Lin Jun’s will transformed into a piercing explosion, erupting in that boundless spiritual space.
The clear sky darkened, storm clouds rolled in from all sides, and the calm sea began to churn—at first, only fragile ripples, but quickly turning into towering tsunamis, each wave like a boundless wall, crashing down on that small figure.
The Demon King hovered mid-air, countless grains of soul sand spinning rapidly beside him, forming a thick tornado that encased him wholly.
The roar of the vortex was deafening, the grains at the edges slicing through the air with a piercing screech, majestic as a spear thrust into the sky’s dome.
Yet before this boundless ocean, that spear seemed as insignificant as a withered branch about to be swallowed by the waves.
Just this incoming barrage of tsunamis exceeded by at least tenfold the total soul sand he currently controlled.
Faced with tsunamis assaulting from all directions, the Demon King had no room for evasion.
He gathered the soul sand into countless fine blades, splitting the incoming waves, charging through.
However, this was only the beginning.
He could slice through one wave, yet ten more would follow, slice ten, then a hundred would follow.
The sea he cut through did not vanish but closed behind him, trapping him in an ever-shrinking space.
Lin Jun used no skill; he merely gathered his power of soul, recklessly squeezing it towards the silhouette darting above the ocean.
The Demon King’s consciousness maneuvered within the torrent, evading, counterattacking; his spiritual power akin to an indomitable longsword, each slash tearing open a breach, each thrust piercing through several layers of wave walls.
Yet this served no purpose other than to delay.
The Demon King’s voice rang out amid the storm, carrying a tone verging on admiration, unbeknownst to himself:
"’Sea,’ refers to you! You are what they call the Mushroom Lord! I see now, no wonder those Pukis can operate this way, no wonder the fungal mat spread across the continent so quickly!"
The Demon King tore through the oncoming wave, water splashing wildly as his gaze locked onto that deep blue expanse.
"How fascinating, such a vast soul, seemingly whole yet resembling a multitude of aggregates. You are no creation of the gods, they lack the capability! Compared to those incompetents, you are more deserving of the title of ’God’!"
Another colossal wave crashed down, he sidestepped, the soul sand beside him shaped into a thin shield, barely blocking the scattering aftermath.
"Tell me, what are you, exactly?"
Before he could finish, the sea beneath him arose, and a water dragon sprang forth, its massive jaws engulfing the Demon King wholly, propelling him directly into the surging dark clouds above. Lightning exploded within the clouds, with a rumble shaking the sea.
The Demon King’s figure fell from the clouds, regaining his stance with difficulty.
He ignored his already half-depleted soul sand, raising his head to look into the distance.
There, a Mushroom Person emerged slowly from beneath the sea.
It split the waves, treading over the sea, lightning traversing the clouds, striking down one after another, casting its form in light and shadow.
"What am I?" Lin Jun stopped not far from the Demon King, raising an arm composed of countless mycelium, "I’m your uncle!"
The next moment, black clouds pressed down, the sea lifted, and the last crevice between heaven and earth slowly closed under Lin Jun’s fingertips.
"Since you like talking so much, why not stay for a chat, how about it?"
Witnessing the encroaching heavens and earth, the Demon King revealed a wry smile, "This is truly exaggerated, but... almost there."
Outside, at the center of the ritual, the Demon King’s body began to glow.
In the spiritual space, a light gate leading directly to his body opened before him.
"Planning to leave?" Having anticipated this, Lin Jun reacted before the light gate could fully open.
Lightning thundered from above, water dragon surged from below, and even before they arrived, the light gate was already precarious.
The Demon King did not rush in but suddenly spoke: "This escape route is indestructible."
On the panel, [Honesty] lit up.
The previously precarious light gate suddenly stabilized, enduring the onslaught of lightning and water dragon, and under nearly infinite spiritual force impact, lasted for a few seconds before shattering into specks of white light.
The Demon King: "..."
The Demon King had no choice but to speak again: "This part of me will disappear without trace."
In the next moment, heaven and earth closed, lightning struck the sea, etching the Demon King’s form.
Encased in the ocean of spirit, the Demon King was powerless to resist, slowly sinking to the seabed.
However, Lin Jun found that on the Demon King’s panel, only [Envy] was displayed.
"A part? Then the rest is..."
In the distance, where nothing was, the light gate opened once more, closing upon itself before the lightning struck.
"A golden cicada shedding its shell?"
...
Simultaneously, in the external world.
The Blood Guards, serving as sacrifices, were almost all gone, as if in a massacre, with blood splattering the entire ritual site.
Mofulei, shrinking at the edge, had a heartbeat racing uncontrollably.
Though unaware of exactly what the Demon King encountered, it was evidently not pleasant given the situation had deteriorated so drastically within a few minutes.
She couldn’t help but wonder, if the Demon King couldn’t return...
At this moment, the Demon King’s body flickered twice within an extremely short span, and then distinct features appeared on the once smooth face.
"Lord Demon King!" Seeing the Demon King return, Mofulei rejoiced, ready to advance.
But the Demon King’s body suddenly collapsed halfway, inert mucous falling below, spreading widely.
Subsequently, the remaining part of the Demon King wriggled and refilled, regenerating into a human form again.
The Demon King did not speak, turning around, and with a slightly stiff posture, headed towards the castle. (Sorry, just one Chapter today.)