Chapter 247: Chapter 244 [Annihilation and Rebirth]
Chapter 244: Annihilation and Rebirth
The Son of the Sun raised his palm and, with a single chop, a fiery blade swept across the Seed’s neck.
Amidst the red glow, in silence, the neck broke, and the Seed’s head rolled to the ground!
The Empress behind him simultaneously shot a bolt of lightning that entered the Seed’s body.
In an instant, blue light flared brilliantly!
The Seed’s body, amidst the bursting electric light, developed cracks in its skin inch by inch, then suddenly collapsed into pieces!
On the ground, the Seed’s head still had its eyes open, as if still looking at the three adversaries before it. The corners of its mouth twitched slightly into a smile, almost as if its lips moved, about to say something...
CRACK!
The Son of the Sun leaped forward, stepping on the head and shattering the Seed’s skull!
The flames raged, reducing the broken head and pieces of the corpse to ash!
Having done all this, the Son of the Sun withdrew the flames, suddenly staggered back two steps, and sat down on the ground, gasping for air, occasionally vomiting mouthfuls of blood.
The Star Sky Empress also swayed, retreating several steps, but Chen Nuo caught her and pulled her into his arms, preventing her from falling.
Lu Xixi’s complexion was pale, the light in her eyes dimmed a bit; she had evidently suffered a severe blow to her vitality.
Stretching out her delicate palm to support herself on Chen Nuo’s shoulder, Lu Xixi finally stood firm. She panted for a while before shaking her head and whispering, "That guy... so strong!"
As she spoke, her expression changed, and blood flowed from the corner of her mouth.
Chen Nuo quickly cradled Lu Xixi’s face, wiping away the blood, then helped her sit down to one side.
"Don’t worry, I won’t die." Lu Xixi shook her head. "It’s just that I’ve been seriously injured this time. I’ve never encountered such a powerful opponent."
Indeed, the Seed’s strength was something neither Lu Xixi nor the Son of the Sun had ever encountered. Chen Nuo hadn’t either, if he didn’t count the Mother from RB.
Chen Yanluo had lived two lifetimes, and in his previous life, he had fought against several of the Underground World’s top figures.
It could be said that this Seed’s strength definitely ranked first among them!
Today, three Controller level giants had joined forces to besiege and finally eradicate him, but all three had sustained serious injuries.
After panting for a while, Lu Xixi looked at Chen Nuo with some confusion. "What’s wrong with your face?"
Chen Nuo’s expression was grave. He frowned as he looked toward the spot where the Seed had been killed—under the scorching flames, not even the corpse’s ashes remained.
Yet Chen Nuo still felt his heart pounding wildly, the feeling of unease growing stronger.
Clearly, the adversary was supposed to be dead... and I used my spiritual power to confirm that the Seed was indeed dead! Even the Seed’s spiritual power fluctuations have completely ceased to exist! But...
"Something’s not right." Chen Nuo shook his head. "I just feel something’s off."
"What’s wrong?" the Son of the Sun asked weakly from the ground.
Chen Nuo just shook his head. "This Seed... his strength was too weak."
"Weak?" The Son of the Sun laughed bitterly. "The three of us together could kill an ordinary Controller within a few encounters! It took our combined efforts, struggling with all our might to the point of severe injuries and vomiting blood, just to kill him. An opponent like that, and you say he was too weak?"
Chen Nuo frowned.
The Son of the Sun, although he knows some things, has never actually seen the true Mother! Among everyone here, only I have seen the Mother! How immensely powerful the Mother was! If this Seed had truly been slumbering here for years, gradually absorbing the Mother’s power... then the strength he just demonstrated wasn’t strong at all, but excessively weak! The Seed, while surprisingly powerful in battle, ultimately showed strength that remained at the Controller level! He hadn’t even reached Lord Level! He had absorbed a Mother! If the Mother here was approximately equal in strength to the one I saw in RB... No, even if he only absorbed one-tenth of its power... then this Seed, facing the three of us, far from being killed, could have effortlessly wiped us all out!
Just at that moment, thunderous noises suddenly came from the sky.
They all looked up simultaneously.
They saw that in mid-air, ripples were gently undulating in the air.
All three giants’ expressions changed, but the Son of the Sun said, "It should be... the Seed is dead, and the energy of the spatial barrier he set up here is starting to dissipate. Once the barrier collapses, we can leave this place."
The old man’s tone was still relatively relaxed.
Chen Nuo frowned, looking at the sky, but the uneasy feeling in his heart was now boiling like water. It felt like a butcher’s knife at my neck, like standing on the edge of The Abyss! My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would leap out of my throat!
Chen Nuo’s face was grim. Lu Xixi, in his arms, looked up and saw it, whispering, "You?"
But Chen Nuo stared intently at the sky and suddenly roared, "Something’s wrong! Old Man! Davarishi! Get over here, all of you!!"
***
The invisible barrier in the sky began to distort! Then, instead of weakening, the energy began to press down lower and lower!
The barrier and space here started to shrink rapidly!
The edges of the Relic World began to shrink!
The sudden contraction of space had reached the edge of the city ruins. Some of the buildings on the periphery, upon touching the inward-shrinking barrier, were instantly crushed to dust!
What was more terrifying was that after the debris turned into powder, it was completely absorbed by the barrier, not even leaving behind any residue!
The collapsing mountains also started to disintegrate!
The trees and vegetation remaining on the mountainsides, under the crushing force of the contracting barrier, instantly turned into fragments, and all the green plants suddenly began to wither and decay!
From lush green, they turned into a horrific ashen gray!
In the air, an omnipresent, strong suction force suddenly appeared from all directions!
Chen Nuo felt the spiritual power within his body become disorderly. Then, uncontrollably, bit by bit, it seeped out of his body and scattered outside crazily! It was then instantaneously absorbed!
Not only Chen Nuo, but Lu Xixi in his arms and the Son of the Sun also felt it first!
In the distance, Bonfrey let out a shriek!
Being a Mentality Series Ability User, his sensing power was the sharpest apart from the three giants present, and he too felt the dissipation and devouring of his spiritual power!
After his exclamation, Bonfrey frantically shouted toward Chen Nuo, "Our powers are being absorbed!!"
Vanel had already tumbled and crawled his way over.
The bear-like man was carrying the unconscious Selena on his back, with the Gray Cat perched on his head, sprinting all the way, but his steps were staggered, as if drunk. After running for several dozen steps, his body swayed and he almost fell, then he finally made it near Chen Nuo with a mix of rolling and crawling.
Chen Nuo’s face was ashen. He frantically stimulated his spiritual power, first trying to forcibly suppress its collapse and scattering, but soon found he was simply unable to contain the spiritual power that was spreading everywhere!
Then, Chen Nuo did the opposite and simply triggered the release of spiritual power, creating barriers and a Mentality Cocoon around his body.
This action had a temporary effect; the Mentality Cocoon was rapidly dissolving and being absorbed, but the Consciousness Space within his body was temporarily calmed.
The Son of the Sun was also struggling to resist, yelling at the same time, "Something is very wrong with this place! We need to figure out a way to get out quickly! Otherwise, we will all be drained dry!"
Chen Nuo roared, "Come over here!"
Lu Xixi, in his arms, was more seriously injured than Chen Nuo. At this moment, she too bit her lip, struggling to muster her spiritual power for suppression.
Chen Nuo clenched his teeth, divided a thread of Spiritual Force Tentacles, and created a Mentality Cocoon for Lu Xixi.
Supporting two Mentality Cocoons by himself, he immediately felt the strain. His face turned pale, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead, dropping onto Lu Xixi’s face.
Lu Xixi felt the wetness on her face and suddenly looked up to see Chen Nuo’s contorted expression.
"Chen Nuo?"
Lu Xixi weakly tried to raise her hand, but it only lifted halfway before limply falling.
"Don’t move, don’t waste your strength and spirit," Chen Nuo said through gritted teeth, desperately squeezing out his spiritual power. Then he yelled at the Son of the Sun, "Come over here! Old Man!"
The first to rush to Chen Nuo’s side was actually the Gray Cat.
"MEOW!!"
The Gray Cat let out a wail, jumped from Vanel’s head, and landed on Chen Nuo’s shoulder. Its paws lacked strength, and it nearly failed to grasp hold, then stumbled several times before finally climbing up, scratching Chen Nuo’s neck in the process.
Chen Nuo reached out and pulled Vanel to his side as well.
The Son of the Sun had already risen and was walking unsteadily towards them.
The old man walked very slowly, each step seemingly taken with great effort.
Visibly, the Son of the Sun’s face had turned so pale it was almost transparent, his eyes dull and lusterless...
Just as he reached them, the old man’s legs gave out, and he knelt on the ground.
Chen Nuo took a deep breath, stretched out his foot forcefully, and hooked the old man closer.
At that moment, Bonfrey, in the distance, started screaming, "Me too! Me too! Harvey! Save me!"
Bonfrey was ashen-faced; he couldn’t even stand up!
The spiritual power from Bonfrey’s body was being sucked out like a tidal wave, gushing into the air, and then swiftly devoured!
Bonfrey felt terrified as his power quickly drained away, his body growing weaker and weaker...
Suddenly, his eyes flashed with a ruthless light!
Bonfrey dragged over the Sea Monster that had been lying comatose beside him!
This core member of the Cultivator Association, a fellow Wizard, suddenly reached out and plunged his hand fiercely into the Sea Monster’s chest!
The comatose Sea Monster let out a ghastly scream. Its eyes suddenly flew open, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out, even onto Bonfrey’s face. "You... you..."
"Sorry about this!" Bonfrey’s face twisted ferociously.
A tiny golden rune suddenly appeared between his brows!
As the rune spun wildly, the Sea Monster’s spiritual power gushed into Bonfrey’s body like water from a punctured ball.
Although his own spiritual power was rapidly depleting, by absorbing the Sea Monster’s power, Bonfrey finally managed to take a breath.
His spirits rallied. He forcefully picked up the dying Sea Monster and turned, striding towards Chen Nuo.
"You... you... let me go..."
"...Please, I beg you... don’t, don’t kill me..."
The Sea Monster’s voice grew weaker and weaker.
Finally, the being known as the strongest below the Controllers closed his eyes once more.
This time, there was no breath left.
The Sea Monster, its body almost drained to a husk, was casually thrown to the ground by Bonfrey. Like wood dried out for hundreds of years, it immediately shattered into several pieces!
Bonfrey bit down hard on his lip, stepping towards Chen Nuo.
"Save, save me! Save me!"
***
Chen Nuo finally gathered the few people around him. He held Lu Xixi in his arms, the Gray Cat perched on his head, carried the Son of the Sun on his back, and grabbed Vanel by the ankle, while Selena hung onto Vanel...
By this time, Bonfrey was less than a hundred meters away from Chen Nuo.
The power he had absorbed from the Sea Monster’s body was finally exhausted again! Bonfrey screamed in agony as his spiritual power dissipated wildly. He eventually fell to the ground, his legs giving out, but his body kept twitching, forcibly inching forward.
"Save... save me..."
Chen Nuo had already seen Bonfrey, but he hadn’t witnessed Bonfrey killing and absorbing the Sea Monster.
He yelled at Bonfrey, "Hurry up, come here!"
Bonfrey lay on the ground, scraping his hands forward forcefully, but his body could only move bit by bit.
Chen Nuo felt the Mentality Cocoon sustained by his spiritual power finally collapse.
I’m utterly unable to keep this up alone... He could only take one last look at Bonfrey in the distance.
Chen Nuo closed his eyes, forcefully wringing out every bit of spiritual power from his Consciousness Space, frantically scouring and gathering it together.
"Chen Nuo... are we going to die here?" Lu Xixi suddenly asked in a weak voice from his arms.
"...No, we won’t." Chen Nuo managed to squeeze out a faint smile. "I won’t let you die."
"Are... you really afraid of me dying?" Lu Xixi asked in a low voice.
"In this lifetime, you won’t die." Chen Nuo shook his head. "Because... I forbid it!"
As he said this, the spiritual power in his Consciousness Space finally converged. Chen Nuo struggled to open his eyes wide and took a deep breath.
"Teleport!"
***
BOOM!!!
A flash of light passed, and Chen Nuo, along with the few people beside him, vanished instantaneously!
Bonfrey, a mere tens of meters away, tried hard to raise his head. Seeing this, he immediately screamed madly.
"Don’t go! Don’t go! Wait for me! Wait..."
His voice grew fainter and fainter, until finally, after the last trickle of his spiritual power dried up, Bonfrey’s voice stopped abruptly, the spark of his life completely extinguished.
Space began to fracture, then suddenly contracted.
Everything in the Relic World started to distort, twist... then twist even more!
When everything compressed to the extreme, it silently turned into a dot of light, then completely vanished into oblivion.
***
「In the chaos of the Consciousness Space.」
Chen Nuo felt himself standing upon the void.
Faintly, a low sobbing reached him.
Chen Nuo frowned and looked around.
It seemed that through the hazy blur, he could faintly discern a figure kneeling there, crying softly.
Chen Nuo frowned and subconsciously walked a few steps forward, trying to get a closer look.
Finally, he reached the figure and stretched out his hand, about to touch the other’s shoulder...
BOOM!!!
***
「In the rainforest, by a tributary of the Amazon River.」
The riverbank was soft, yielding mud.
Suddenly, a distortion rippled through the air!
Monkeys squatting in the trees, as if startled, instantly scattered, screaming.
A crocodile lying under a pile of rotting leaves also seemed to sense danger; its log-like body darted forward into the water, and it swiftly swam away.
Suddenly, out of thin air, several figures flashed into existence!
With several THUDS, they simultaneously rolled onto the ground.
The first was the Gray Cat, which, after tumbling on the ground, was promptly pinned down by Vanel.
Then came the Son of the Sun, who crashed headfirst into a tree trunk as he fell.
Next was Selena, falling directly onto Vanel, then rolling off to one side.
Lastly, Chen Nuo fell from midair, holding Lu Xixi, plunging together into the river.
A few seconds later, the water churned.
Chen Nuo frantically emerged from the water. Holding Lu Xixi, he struggled to the riverbank and laid her on the ground, before collapsing himself!
Biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, Chen Nuo forced himself to stay conscious.
From his Consciousness Space, parched like a desert, he wrung out a sliver of strength.
Chen Nuo extended his finger and pressed hard between Lu Xixi’s brows. After that sliver of spiritual power seeped in like a drop of water, Chen Nuo finally felt a sense of relief and closed his eyes.
***
In the water, the crocodile slowly surfaced, its body silently approaching the shore, then inching onto land.
Its eyes seemed to fix on Chen Nuo lying on the riverbank.
At that moment, Lu Xixi’s eyelids fluttered, and then she opened her eyes.
The Star Sky Empress sat up abruptly, and her gaze met the crocodile’s.
A second later, the crocodile decisively retreated back into the water, diving down swiftly, then fled in disarray.
Lu Xixi narrowed her eyes as if coming out of a daze, then turned her head and saw Chen Nuo lying on the ground, along with the others.
Lu Xixi was momentarily stunned. Then her expression changed, and she quickly crawled to Chen Nuo’s side, lifting him into her arms.
"...Chen Nuo? Chen Nuo?"
***
「In the stifling, humid rainforest.」
「Somewhere.」
A robust American Jaguar agilely leapt down from the treetops.
Upon landing, its body paused for a moment before naturally lowering itself to the ground. It turned its head and gently licked its hind limb.
The spot it licked bore a small, recently healed scar, possibly causing the jaguar some discomfort.
After a few licks, the American Jaguar suddenly twisted its body!
After writhing on the ground a few times, rolling back and forth...
Suddenly, the jaguar lifted its head and let out a low howl akin to a scream, before lying stiffly on the ground.
In the swamp, a Forest Python over four meters long was disturbed. Slowly revealing itself, RUSTLING through the bushes and rotting leaves, its massive body slid beside the motionless American Jaguar.
After observing for a while, the Forest Python adjusted its position and angle, then opened its mouth toward the jaguar...
***
「An hour later.」
The body of the American Jaguar was swallowed bit by bit into the belly of the Forest Python.
The already four-meter-long python now had a massive, bucket-sized bulge on its body.
After finishing its meal, the python gradually moved away, found the edge of a nearby swamp, and was about to curl up to rest.
A devoured jaguar was enough to sustain it for many days.
But just at that moment, the python suddenly curled up sharply, twisted frantically a few times, then quickly crawled out of the mire and silently slipped into a river.
Its massive body moved swiftly underwater...
***
「After an unknown amount of time.」
A net underwater firmly wrapped around the Forest Python’s body!
After that, several sticks with iron barbs were thrust into the water!
Following a series of shouts and exclamations in a native language...
Iron hooks pierced the python’s body, and the massive creature was forcibly pulled from the water.
When the Forest Python’s body was thrown onto the ground, several heavy, pronged tools were thrust out, pinning its head, tail, and several parts of its body firmly to the ground.
The surrounding crowd surged, with several natives jumping up and down, cheering.
Soon, a machete fell...
The python’s head was chopped off, and its massive body was swiftly cut into several sections.
The American Jaguar’s remains inside the snake’s belly, already digested beyond recognition, were also pulled out by the natives.
The native hunters cheered for the enormous catch of the day.
Meanwhile, behind the adults, several children from the village squeezed through the crowd, excitedly watching.
Among them was a scrawny young boy with messy hair, bare-chested, wearing shorts that revealed a bony chest.
He seemed to be no more than seven or eight years old.
Suddenly, his body shuddered!
His companions, too busy pushing forward, did not notice anything unusual and inadvertently pushed the boy out of the crowd.
The little boy slowly stepped back, one step, two steps, three steps...
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, forming a faint smile.
***
The hunters returned home loaded with their catch.
In the group, some carried sections of the Forest Python, while others carried the excavated remains of the American Jaguar.
Several children were laughing and running at the back of the line.
The seven or eight-year-old boy walked quietly at the end of the group.
His dark eyes curiously scanned his surroundings.
Suddenly, a parrot landing on a nearby branch caught his attention.
Glancing at the group ahead, which was moving further and further away, the young boy slowed his pace.
He raised his hand and pointed lightly toward the branch. The parrot fell silently from the tree, landing in the bushes.
The boy crouched down and slipped into the bushes.
A moment later, he emerged, took a couple of steps, and frowned.
Opening his mouth, he spat out a feather.
Smacking his lips, the boy softly murmured to himself.
"The sweet taste of life..."