Chapter 156

Mu Yi wielded thunder, sweeping outward, then grabbed Chu Yi and fled from the inn.

"You ruined my plans! Die!"

The controlled puppets shouted in unison, all rushing at Mu Yi.

The parasitized puppets seemed to have their bodily limits unleashed, gaining limitless strength, their faces grotesque as they chased Mu Yi, their bodies exuding white, hair-like filaments.

Though they looked eerie, they were still only at ordinary human level, unable to approach Mu Yi; he swept his battle blade outward, quickly cutting down the few who had pursued him.

"Kill!"

Mu Yi's eyes were icy; he slaughtered everyone before him, young or old, male or female, his blade flashing as he cut them down like grass.

Yet these controlled puppets felt no fear, wave after wave lunging at Mu Yi, whom he slew one by one.

Before he could catch his breath, the corpses on the ground underwent a sudden transformation.

"Pfft!"

The next instant, a beam of light descended from heaven, accompanied by a anguished scream, flattening the inn; the towering plants were reduced to ashes in that earth-shattering blow.

Apparently, quantitative change had produced qualitative change; the giant formed from many parasites possessed immense strength, punching a huge crater into the ground with a single blow.

Mu Yi retreated instead of advancing, throwing out the red-haired zombie possessed by an Asura warrior.

Lin Xuan's furious roar echoed throughout the city.

"Brother Lin, do you have a countermeasure?" Mu Yi asked anxiously, not knowing how long the demons had lurked in the city, unable to imagine how many people in Dongdao Prefecture had already been parasitized.

"Search! Leave no clue unchecked!"

Lin Xuan clasped his fists in thanks; this time it was mere courtesy—he truly felt grateful to Mu Yi from the bottom of his heart.

"There are several detection secret arts within Dongdao Prefecture that can distinguish the demons."

Upon the towering plants, countless filaments wound toward Mu Yi; he dared not delay, his blade flashing to sever all the threads before him.

A massive clear radiance split forth from Mu Yi's side, instantly relieving his siege.

He also knew the city was laid with military formations; activating them would raise the Ultimate Profound Harmony Formation.

"Boom!"

The giant's grotesque face twisted further; his heavy frame stomped twice on the ground, then he leapt up, bringing his fists together with a vicious aura as he smashed down.

"Brother Mu, rest easy; this demon has tried every means to lure me out of the city, fearing Dongdao Prefecture's army—by pulling it out, you have already averted a disaster for Dongdao!"

Mu Yi flickered to appear behind the giant; the giant tried to pull away, but the red-haired zombie seized him, and in an instant his neck flashed—Mu Yi had already severed his head.

Though this monster had not reached Legendary level, it was certainly not weak, yet a single strike from Lin Xuan, backed by the might of his army, left not even scraps.

"Good timing!"

This simple yet effective detection secret art opened Mu Yi's eyes; he also sensed that, as long as it had energy support, it could be used over a vast range.

In an instant, Lin Xuan linked all the clues together, integrating the city's various irrational phenomena; the truth fully surfaced.

"Ha!" the giant roared, shooting countless needle-like filaments from his body.

The two monster-like beasts collided, and obviously the red-haired zombie had the edge, flipping the giant over under the Asura warrior's control.

Flesh split apart; clusters of parasites infesting the puppets burst from the corpses, drawing together to form a giant over two meters tall, muscular all over, with a ferocious countenance.

Mu Yi tried to ignite the towering plants with Blazing Ash Fire, but before he could see the effect, the plants retaliated as if reflexively.

"All of Dongdao Prefecture thanks you, Brother Mu!"

But this was his first time witnessing a Cloud Energy Grand Formation activated on a city-wide scale.

"That powerful?" Mu Yi clicked his tongue, although he knew the city stored Cloud Energy, and the garrison could mobilize it for suppression and attack.

Seeing the corpses extending filaments and still trying to coalesce, Mu Yi snorted coldly, and Blazing Ash Fire instantly ignited the sturdy corpses.

Lin Xuan fumed as he gazed at the crater-blasted ground; he had never imagined that a demon could hide right under his nose.

Mu Yi hurriedly reported his findings to Lin Xuan, who stared, his face growing even colder; compared to ordinary demons sneaking into the city to cause mischief, this special demon could inflict far greater destruction.

Although the giant appeared to have the size advantage, its strength was not as great as that of the red-haired zombie.

"Don't even think of escaping—become my nourishment!"

"A mere demon officer! You dare come to Dongdao Prefecture—you're asking for death!"

"Clang clang clang clang clang!"

A series of booms accompanied by sparks exploded on the red-haired zombie's body; the filamentous spikes could not pierce its indestructible diamond-like form.

Flames seemed to have a restraining effect on these parasitic organisms; the struggling parasites instantly fell still.

"Officer Lin, be careful; this demon excels at hiding, seemingly able to parasitize humans via filaments, devouring their will and replacing their existence—there may still be slip-throughs in the city!"

"Afraid of fire? It must be some kind of parasitic spore, then."

Lin Xuan spoke, casting a beam of spiritual light that sent several detection methods to Mu Yi.

Within a hundred meters outside the inn, unbeknownst when, hundreds had gathered, torches forming a sea of light, weapons glinting.

But Mu Yi was not panicked; he was far from alone.

Flying shrapnel struck Mu Yi, shattering his shield to pieces.

Yet the next moment, those filaments seemed to come alive, continuing to wind toward Mu Yi, a sky-covering net of threads enveloping every direction he could dodge.

After a night of busyness, Lin Xuan's face turned ashen; judging by the scale of parasitism, it seemed the demon had infiltrated Dongdao Prefecture around the time the prefecture's elite forces marched out en masse to hunt demons in the northern borders.

This was only within the city; beyond, in the countless villages, the number of parasitized was unknown.

"Seal the city gates, inspect everyone, arrest all parasitized regardless of status."

"I never expected so many to be parasitized!"

Lin Xuan felt a headache; those with light parasitism could still be treated here with secret arts to restore normality.

These parasites absorb the host's flesh and soul, unknowingly taking over the host.

For those with deeper parasitism, after removal the host falls gravely ill; if luck is bad, they die on the spot.

As for those whose hosts were completely replaced, they appear human on the surface but inside are wholly demons, their souls having been devoured; they retain all the host's memories and can mimic every aspect of the host's behavior.

Honestly, if we hadn't caught it early and it had infiltrated the entire Eastern Host, who knows what kind of tragedy it could have brewed.

Fortunately, under the suppression of Cloud Energy these parasitic organisms' activity drops to the lowest, though it's unclear whether that's because their link to the distant side was cut or because it's an inherent weakness of the parasites.

Precisely because of that, Lin Xuan almost in a single night dealt with the entire Eastern Host, and also captured a few traitors colluding with the demon barbarians.

However, among those fully parasitized, some have special statuses, making their handling troublesome; most crucially, the parasitism must not be broadcast widely.

Just as Lin Xuan was fretting, the Northern Frontier War also declared its end.

The demon barbarian army was never a match for the Eastern Host; they used lives as bait, luring the entire Eastern Host army out in droves.

"Relay my order: kill all captives, and redeploy at maximum speed!" The Host of the Eastern Host crushed the message Lin Xuan handed him and issued the cold command, not daring to imagine the consequences if the demon barbarians succeeded.

"Send a reply to Lin Xuan, give the Colonel Token to Mu Yi; from now on Mu Yi will be an official officer of our Eastern Host, and have him take Mu Yi to the Treasure Vault to select a treasure as thanks—no delays. The rest we'll discuss when I return."

"Agreed!"

When Mu Yi stood at the entrance of the Eastern Host Treasure Vault, he still felt a bit unreal; the Host's grandeur far exceeded his expectations.

The vault was vast, its contents stretching beyond sight, giving Mu Yi the feeling of having returned to the Silver Moon Treasure Vault.

"Chu Yi, it's up to you!"

Mu Yi patted Chu Yi; before he had to rely on intuition to guess one, but with Chu Yi's dog‑form companion, he even saved the effort of choosing.

Chu Yi did not disappoint Mu Yi's expectations, diving into the vault for a moment and stopping Mu Yi in front of a thick staff.

【Wilderness】

Item Level: 20

Quality: Gold Legend

Weight: 100 kg

Special Effects:

1. Barbarian God's Power: This is a staff forged from Barbarian God remnants, bearing the deity's protective force.

Against non‑divine power attacks, the item grants an additional +15 exemption and is immune to item fatigue spell effects.

2. Wilderness Aura: After a standard action, the character activates the Barbarian God's power within the equipment, releasing a Wilderness aura.

All allies within 100 meters of the user gain the Wilderness aura, receiving an extra 20% damage bonus on attacks.

In this state, any attacked unit suffers a brief tremor effect (based on the enemy's constitution).

3. Barbarian God Possession: After a standard action, the user summons the Barbarian God's lingering soul from the gear, binding its will to themselves.

While the Barbarian God's will is possessed, all attributes increase by 200%, any spell below divine power cannot harm the user, and they are immune to negative spell effects.

PS: This state cannot be dispelled, devoured, or purified by spells below divine power.

4. Barbarian Tribe Restriction: This gear requires Barbarian Tribe bloodline and Barbarian God's will approval; forced use incurs will‑shock damage.

PS: Heavenly Deity Descends!! — Barbarian Tribe Guardian·War Machine·Wu Liege Ri

"Brother Mu, perhaps we should swap it. Though this item is wondrous, it retains Barbarian God's lingering resentment; without Barbarian Tribe bloodline it can't be used, and the Host can only toss it into the vault to gather dust!"

Seeing Mu Yi holding the staff, Lin Xuan couldn't help but advise.

"Don't worry, I have another clever use for this!" Mu Yi said, eyes on the staff, a hint of excitement on his face.

Barbarian God is great, exactly what I need; without such divinity, I'd go fetch divinity myself.

As for how to produce divinity, that's not Mu Yi's concern; just toss it into the Nine Tripod later, and a method will appear.

Even the relic fragment sky‑offering ceremony can be handled; a tiny Legend weapon can still challenge the main world's cosmic consciousness.

Seeing Mu Yi seem confident, Lin Xuan stopped his admonition; after all, Mu Yi possesses many wonders, so his choice must have his own reasoning.

"Brother Mu, this is the Host's wish; from now on the Eastern Host is your home, and whenever you come, you are a Colonel of my Eastern Host!"

Lin Xuan solemnly handed the Colonel Token to Mu Yi; unlike the temporary token before, this one bears a large Mu character, clearly a token exclusive to Mu Yi.

"Please thank the Host for me; I gladly accept the token. Since this matter is settled, I take my leave!" Mu Yi said to Lin Xuan.

"Brother Mu, take care!"

Lin Xuan made no attempt to retain him; he knew Mu Yi didn't belong to this world and surely had his own affairs.

Besides, he still had many things to attend to!

If Mu Yi weren't special, he probably couldn't spare time to host personally.

"Do you wish to leave the current world!"

"Yes."

"Transferring character out..."

"Zongwang Prompt: Current Great Travel World - Yan Yun State - Eastern Host, unrestricted for you; you may spend 500 Zongwang Disaster Coins to teleport, fixed destination Eastern Host - Mu Yi Residence."

"Sect mission completed; Eastern Host mission rating is A‑Superior, high mission rating will grant you more task commissions."

"Current rank level increased to Tier 2; more sect missions are now available to you."

Mu Yi glanced at the refreshed retinal prompt, dismissed it casually; perhaps he'll have another chance to visit the Eastern Host later.

This trip's gains were excellent; even just the red‑haired zombie alone made the journey worthwhile, its combat power surpasses Cao Ming by a whole tier.

However, before he continues grinding sect missions, he still needs to complete a preparatory task.

"Getting too excited about the sect made me forget about the Elite Talent!" Mu Yi couldn't help to rub his forehead and sigh.

The Six‑Directions army formation and sect secrets overwhelmed him, even causing him to forget the matter of drawing a new talent.

But now it's still in time.

"You have obtained Elite Talent: Fivefold Sacrifice"

Fivefold Sacrifice (LV1)

Talent Effect:

First Sacrifice: Sacrifice the enemy's strength to yourself or an ally; current sacrifice effect is 20%.

Mu Yi seemed to witness a grand ceremony, all things immersed within it, with a single person at its core, accompanied by the ceremony's completion.

All things vanished, leaving only the presence of the sacrificial center; yet now that presence seemed to occupy the entire world.

Although they were separated by an unknown distance, Mu Yi could still see the other's figure clearly.

As the perspective drew near, Mu Yi was astonished to find that the figure appeared to be himself.

「Sacrifice the entire world to oneself, to gain eternal power? 」

Unlike before, it was no longer a matter of reverent awe; moreover, Mu Yi's sacrificial experience allowed him to somewhat grasp the inheritance picture of the Elite Talent.