Chapter 90: 88 Exchange

88 Exchange

What other method could make He Jia'an put down the book?

Having once been an experienced forensic doctor, Yu Lianyun was incomparably clear on the structure of the human body; she knew which muscle to strike and which joint to hit to make He Jia'an unable to help but put down the Forbidden Book in his hands.

She first struck the artery on the biceps of He Jia'an's right arm; the momentary blockage of blood caused the muscles in He Jia'an's arm to ache, and his grip on the book loosened slightly. However, the Book of Sand remained in He Jia'an's hand; with a tenacity and strength from who knows where, he still refused to retract his fingers even an inch, continuing to pinch the book and refusing to let go.

Seeing this, Yu Lianyun gritted her teeth; her heart struggled for a moment, but she still made a difficult decision.

Pulling a thin, sharp knife from a gap in her tactical vest, Yu Lianyun gripped it as if she were holding a surgical scalpel; she held the knife in a reverse grip and stabbed it fiercely into He Jia'an's arm.

In an instant, the arm He Jia'an used to hold the book suddenly lost its strength, and the Book of Sand slipped from his hand. Just as He Jia'an was staring with wide eyes, wanting to pick the book back up, Yu Lianyun hugged He Jia'an's waist and abdomen, pushing him away with force.

He Jia'an, failing to catch the Book of Sand, fell heavily to the ground. Even though his occiput hit the floor with a dull thud, he struggled to get up, his eyes rolling back, wanting to retrieve the book.

"Sorry, Team Leader He." Yu Lianyun straddled He Jia'an, pinning his arms down with her knees, and began punching He Jia'an's already injured face frantically.

After a flurry of punches that felt almost like venting a personal grudge, He Jia'an finally regained his senses.

"Stop hitting, stop hitting... it hurts, it hurts." He Jia'an waved his hands repeatedly, stopping the fists Yu Lianyun was about to rain down again, his voice tinged with fear.

"You're awake?" Yu Lianyun let out a sigh of relief, then got off He Jia'an with some embarrassment. "Sorry, this was a last resort."

"I know, I don't blame you." He Jia'an felt like his face was completely ruined. He said, while sporting two eyes swollen like lightbulbs, "But these punches weren't taken in vain. The good news is that at least we know the weakness of the Daughter of Gluttony... Hiss... This Book of Sand is worthy of the name 'Omniscient'; I never expected it to even have records of the origins and weaknesses of an Alien God."

Yu Lianyun showed a look of joy and squatted down to listen carefully.

"The true form of the Daughter of Gluttony actually comes from a type of primordial life essence. After these essences were modified by an alien race, they gave birth to life by a stroke of luck. At first, they had almost no intelligence, but they possessed the instinct to devour and evolve. During the long years of being enslaved, they gradually evolved significant intelligence through devouring."

Once they had intelligence, they slowly developed desires. These essence-based creatures gradually gained the consciousness to strive for freedom and resist their masters. They fought against the alien race that created them, and in the end, both sides suffered heavy losses.

At that time, it just so happened that the natural enemies of that alien race descended. That unlucky alien race inevitably headed toward the fate of extinction, while the essence-based creatures found an opportunity to escape, fleeing the control of the alien race and finally gaining their freedom.

However, the battle between the two powerful races on primordial Earth also caused drastic changes to Earth's environment, directly leading to the environment suddenly becoming terrifyingly harsh—so harsh that even essence-based creatures, which had absorbed a large amount of the high-quality genetic traits of the creatures of that time, could not withstand it. In the end, only a small portion of the most outstanding and powerful essence-based creatures survived, and the Daughter of Gluttony was one of the most excellent individuals among those survivors.

After experiencing the vicissitudes of time and the changes of the ages, the Daughter of Gluttony finally reached today after long, drawn-out devouring and evolution." He Jia'an recalled the content of the book he had seen, as if his addiction were flaring up again. He gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to pick the book back up, and said, "According to the history of the battles between the race that created the Daughter of Gluttony and the essence-based creatures, the weakness of the essence-based creatures is the life essence creations that the alien race originally used to manufacture them. Only items made from those things can cause significant damage to the Daughter of Gluttony."

He Jia'an knelt on the ground, gripping his fists tightly, doing his utmost to restrain his desires as he rolled back and forth on the floor.

"Then where can those essence weapons be found? Are there any here?" Yu Lianyun hurriedly pressed.

"In... in the Nan Ji Zhi Di. There are none here."

Hearing the answer, Yu Lianyun froze on the spot, then shouted, "Doesn't that mean we are doomed to die?"

He Jia'an, covered in sweat, leaned against the Stone Wall, struggling to regulate his breathing. After persisting for a while, he slowly adapted to the addiction to flipping through the book and felt his desire decreasing. He looked weakly at Yu Lianyun and said, "The Book of Sand also recorded other methods that could help us. It's him."

He Jia'an raised his arm, which could barely muster any strength, and pointed at Xin Junmao, who had fainted to the side: "Don't forget, he still has a Forbidden Object on him. If that nun still has any abilities she hasn't shown, perhaps she can turn the tide."

"That nun actually has such powerful strength?" Yu Lianyun was slightly startled; this was something she had never expected.

Gurgle, gurgle...

Suddenly, Yu Lianyun and He Jia'an both heard the sound of spring water welling up. Scarlet, viscous liquid bubbled out from every crack in the underground cavity where the altar was located, carrying strong corrosive properties and high temperatures. The moment the red viscous liquid appeared, the ambient temperature rose, and the Stone Wall carved from natural stone was eroded into dense, pockmarked holes.

"The Daughter of Gluttony has caught up after all," He Jia'an said nervously, and both he and Yu Lianyun surrounded Xin Junmao.

Yu Lianyun gritted her teeth. Facing such a crisis, she could only pray in her heart that the nun was an expert who had cultivated great Buddhist Dharma, hoping she could help them overcome this difficulty.

Watching the scarlet liquid gather together and gradually aggregate into a behemoth, the heartbeats of He Jia'an and Yu Lianyun accelerated wildly.

"Zhao... Miss Zhao, let's... let's talk this over properly." Just then, Xin Junmao, who had been in a deep sleep, suddenly opened his eyes. As soon as he got up, he shook his head, which was still muddled, and stood up unsteadily to speak to the Daughter of Gluttony.

The Daughter of Gluttony split off a human female with skin whiter than snow. The woman opened her eyes, and suddenly there was a spiritual radiance in them.

It was the appearance of Miss Zhao in the cheongsam, only she was stark naked at this moment. The other party spoke in human language: "Are you finally willing to agree to become my executioner?"

"If I am willing, can you stop and not attack anyone else?" Xin Junmao negotiated terms with the Daughter of Gluttony.

Hearing this, Miss Zhao narrowed her eyes and said, "No, they must die." She pointed angrily at Yu Lianyun and He Jia'an, "It is because of the existence of these two guys that my palace was destroyed, causing me to have no subordinates left now. They are all either dead or have fled..."

He Jia'an and Yu Lianyun looked at the suddenly awake and suddenly brave Xin Junmao, their eyes full of surprise.

Xin Junmao stepped forward again, blocking Yu Lianyun and He Jia'an with his body, and said in a firm tone: "Those can all be started over. As long as you can spare them, I can be your executioner again, help you, and work with you to rebuild the damaged palace."

"You will become my executioner, and they must also die." Miss Zhao did not agree to Xin Junmao's deal. As she spoke, she extended her right hand, and the giant tumor-like unknown object behind her suddenly split open. A giant palm formed from red blood reached out from the split opening, intending to crush He Jia'an and Yu Lianyun to death in its grip.

Xin Junmao gritted his teeth and jumped into the attack range of the giant hand. In an instant, the Comb in his hand erupted with a flash of light again. Immediately following, the kind-faced Bhikkhuni appeared once more, bathed in Buddha-light. While chanting scriptures, she supported an invisible barrier gathered from brilliant radiance, striking the giant hand back.

"You lied to me!" Seeing Xin Junmao's actions, Miss Zhao screamed in uncontrollable rage.

"I am serious; I am willing to be your executioner," Xin Junmao said in a deep voice, "but I just don't want to see anyone else die, so please stop."

Miss Zhao let out a sharp shriek and leaped, jumping onto the meat-mountain monster behind her. Her body slowly merged into the body of the meat-mountain monster, her beautiful eyes filled with malice.

Seeing that the negotiation had failed, Xin Junmao's eyes turned slightly red, and he choked up a bit pathetically: "Is this still the only way..."

Watching the giant meat-mountain roar at the world, the white, fleshy human limbs on the meat-mountain overlapped and intertwined, moving wantonly in the air, all exuding a disgusting and filthy aura.

"What do you want to do, Xin Junmao?" Yu Lianyun sensed that Xin Junmao's attitude was strange, as if it were the feeling of unwillingness when one is forced to make a huge sacrifice.

Xin Junmao turned his head back and smiled with a bitter expression: "I might not be able to go back. Please tell my parents for me, just say... I can't think of anything, please help me make it up."

As he spoke, he raised the glowing Comb and combed it tremblingly through his hair, murmuring: "Please help me stop her."

When Xin Junmao's new wish landed, the half-closed eyes of the Bhikkhuni suddenly opened. She turned to look at Xin Junmao, who had closed his eyes, flew silently toward him, and cupped his face with both hands.

Xin Junmao only felt that the palms of the hands touching his face were so warm and moist, as warm as the sun and as soft as clouds. He couldn't help but be intoxicated by such a touch; his fear seemed to melt away like ice and snow, so he slowly opened his eyes and met the pair of beautiful eyes in front of him.

He blinked, feeling his skin cracking, his flesh and blood peeling away, and his life force slipping away bit by bit. He just watched as everything detaching from him was slowly gathering, restoring itself one-to-one according to the appearance of the Bhikkhuni.

Regarding this, Xin Junmao chuckled and murmured with a sense of relief: "It doesn't matter; this life was given by you anyway, and now I am just returning it."

As he spoke, his form drifted toward the dissipating phantom, his figure slowly flowing into the Comb.

The living had completed the exchange. Just as Lin Ling said, it seemed that as long as the Bhikkhuni wanted to come out of the sealed Comb alive, others would inevitably offer their lives for her.