Chapter 346: Desolate God? An Earth Immortal Strikes!

Run!

Run!!

I have to escape back!!!

Within the tangled forest, the Desolate King Disaster, wretched beyond measure with one hind hoof already crippled, fled frantically under Gu Ying's control. A closer look revealed that Disaster's originally smooth, indestructible body now bore several claw marks cut deep into it, along with dents!

As if torn open across the body by some unimaginably terrifying creature, and struck by a tremendous force.

Wh-what kind of monster was that!

Gu Ying, his face full of terror, muttered to himself.

Half an hour ago, that terrifying giant bird needed only a single strike—a diving plunge from the sky—to instantly strip him of all ability to resist. Had he not dodged at the very last moment, even while mounted on Disaster, Gu Ying felt he might have died on the spot!

Even so, Disaster was torn apart by two or three follow-up strikes, reduced to something like a rag doll in pieces.

Throughout it all, the Disaster he was mounted on had almost no capacity to resist. Even with his reflexes enhanced by Disaster and further strengthened by the potion Lord Bi'an had bestowed, he still could not see those whistling, swift claws clearly—only catching a few afterimages and hearing a few piercingly sharp explosions before searing agony surged into his heart, robbing him of nearly all will to fight.

This is supposed to be the hardest metal in the world!

In Gu Ying's understanding, the hard outer shell that made up a Desolate Beast's body had never sustained such massive damage before. Even in fights between Desolate Beasts, more often than not they used their hardest parts to strike at an enemy's vital weak points, or pressed forward with tremendous force to shatter the fragile flesh beneath that incomparably hard shell.

But now, the Desolate King, already nearly devoid of flesh, had nearly been clawed into several pieces.

Perhaps only a Desolate God could be this powerful?

At this critical moment, Gu Ying recalled the legends that had circulated in this world since his childhood. According to the tales, on this vast, boundless continent there existed seven mysterious and incomparably powerful Desolate Beasts. Unlike ordinary Desolate Beasts, even the terrifying Desolate Kings paled before them. They stood above all things in the world, their power capable of shaking heaven and earth at the slightest move—hence the name: God!

Gods among the Desolate!

Desolate Gods!

Now this incomparably powerful Desolate Beast made him think of the Desolate Gods!

Only a Desolate God, standing above all else, could so easily strip a powerful Desolate King like Disaster of every ounce of resistance, right?

But why would such a powerful and mysterious Desolate God have set its sights on them? Even in that brief encounter, Gu Ying knew the other party had not attacked on a whim. From the targeting before, it was clear the other had marked them—or Lord Bi'an—for some reason!

Because Lord Bi'an's appearance had been just as mysterious and powerful!

Perhaps this was a struggle between Desolate Gods?

Thinking this, Gu Ying forced himself to rally his spirits once more, speeding up his flight, dodging the howling overhead that drew ever closer like the wail of a soul-reaping specter!

He had to shake off the other party and escape back, to deliver this news to Lord Bi'an!

He could die, but he could not let Lord Bi'an, who had shown him such great kindness, be caught utterly unprepared by a Desolate God's attack!

With his mind racing at top speed, Gu Ying had already mapped out a clear route.

……

Seven days later, just as Baichuan was beginning to wonder if something had happened to the Gu Ying he'd sent out on the caravan matter, Gu Ying finally appeared before him—his clothes torn to shreds, his whole body covered in layered wounds, looking like a wild man.

Seeing the other in such a state, Baichuan frowned. Sure enough, if nothing unexpected had happened, then something unexpected had happened.

As expected, listening to Gu Ying's halting report, Baichuan instinctively deployed his Scanning Radar, while the power within him began to flow slowly, gathering strength.

Instantly, a wave far more powerful and subtle than the ultrasonic waves once emitted by bats radiated outward in all directions. The flow of air, the drifting paths of dust, the moisture changes high in the sky, the surging of clouds, the calls and movements of various creatures… a vast amount of data poured in, slowly assembling in Baichuan's mind into a three-dimensional map.

Yet he found not a single anomaly.

The other party hadn't followed? Or possessed some means of concealment? Or was simply outside his scanning range?

If it was the last one, that would be troublesome.

Because that would mean his perception wasn't as powerful as the other's, and if the other possessed long-range attack methods, he'd be forced to take hits passively.

Thoughts flashing through his mind, Baichuan tossed Gu Ying a potion that accelerated physical recovery and sent him away.

Regardless, since no enemy's arrival had been detected, things would continue as before. With the vast area he had now eroded, unless an Earth Immortal like his true self arrived—one whose single strike could destroy an entire region—there was simply no way to threaten him.

What a pity, though, about the death and disappearance of the puppet Disaster.

Still, at least he'd finally found a direction for the birth of his Radiation Absorption ability.

The reason it hadn't worked before was that this was his first encounter with a metal life-form, a special life structure completely unlike the flesh-and-blood life-forms he'd always dealt with. Radiation Absorption was an ability born on the basis of biological flesh—its general principle being the generation on the body surface of a kind of melanin capable of absorbing high-energy substances, supplemented by energy-transport channels.

But now that he'd become a metal life-form, with no flesh at all on his surface, how could he generate that special melanin? Even if he could produce it briefly, those flesh tissues transporting energy would be directly eroded and destroyed by Desolate Gold, so he'd been completely stuck.

But now he'd finally realized: since he couldn't generate this melanin himself, why not let other small lives generate it? Flesh life-forms had the path of flesh; metal life-forms had the path of metal. He could simply Symbiose with these small lives, modifying his smooth metal surface into a layer of structure similar to solar panels for charging conversion—just like charging up.

That way, he only needed to Symbiose with these small lives, and leave the energy matters to those little fellows.

And Symbiosis was precisely his specialty!

Along his journey, the things he'd Symbiosed with were more than one or two.

Having made up his mind, Baichuan temporarily set aside all other matters and began focusing on cultivating this special small life. He needed an extremely tiny life-form capable of mass reproduction—in short, microbes like bacteria, fungi, or viruses.

Days passed one after another, and Baichuan became thoroughly immersed in this step-by-step cultivation. During this period, Jin Yun'er did come by a few more times, and Baichuan was happy to step out for a breather, taking the chance to learn about the progress of those outsiders from beyond in their search.

It was just that group of Desolate Kings who were somewhat displeased with his attitude. After all, he had been the one to first proclaim his arrival to them, and they had accepted his joining and invited him several times—yet he had turned around and arrogantly ignored them, which did carry the air of looking down his nose at people.

Baichuan couldn't be bothered to care about that. He was far too busy in this world.

And so, in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

Now it was Zi Da's turn, far away in Dongguo, who could no longer sit still.

He had thought that with the force he'd used to destroy that little Laoshu, the little Laoshu would surely be unable to bear it and strike back. That way he could lure the Laoshu into acting repeatedly, constantly exposing its soul aura and the true nature of its power. Then, while the other was unprepared, he could use the Satellite Locking Device to completely lock down the location of its true body and take it down in one fell swoop.

He hadn't expected this little Laoshu to be so patient. It seemed he could only have those Dongguo good-for-nothings push forward to force it to act, using life-and-death crises to constantly pressure it into action, while the Satellite Locking Device high in orbit operated simultaneously, aided by Fleets 0267 and 0288 in the Xingkong to swoop in with thunderous speed for a forced capture. Otherwise, if they alarmed the big fish, it would likely get away.

Thinking this, Zi Da's gaze turned cold, and he summoned the Emperor of Dongguo, giving him his orders.

Seven days later, a massive army surged forth from Dongguo like a tide, heading toward Ji Xi.

At the forefront was a colossal mechanical bird wrapped entirely in cyan gale-force winds—a Tier 5 Forbidden Species Desolate Beast, the Storm Bird! It was also the Mechanical War Beast the Spirit Energy Clan had bestowed upon the Emperor of Dongguo.

Although it didn't carry the various technological Super Weapons like those of the Spirit Energy Clan, the power inherent to the Desolate Beast alone was more than enough!

A dense Grey Mist slowly emanated from the Storm Bird's body, spreading like a light veil over the entire army. The Grey Mist, which would normally inflict fatal harm on ordinary creatures, now became incomparably gentle, lifting each stalwart, vigorous soldier and their mounts as tenderly as a lover's hands.

The various illusory mist spirits flickering in and out of sight seemed to possess intelligence of their own, attaching various effects to all manner of equipment.

This was the power of a Tier 5 Forbidden Species. At this stage, a Desolate Beast could already be considered an embodiment of part of the Grey Mist. The Grey Mist, once harmful, was no longer a danger to them—rather, it was a boon!

Bolstered by the Grey Mist, this army began advancing due west at an unimaginable speed.

At the same time, tens of thousands of meters high in the southeastern sky, a creature entirely silver in color, trailing a long ochre tail-flame like a comet, streaked across the heavens, carrying a terrifying sonic boom all the way toward the Extreme West — whether it was friend or foe to Baichuan, it remained unknown.

It looked every bit like a storm about to break.

……

Half a month later, at noon, warm and gentle sunlight slowly shone upon this thriving great city; the sounds of people coming and going and children playing rang out without end — a scene of flourishing prosperity.

Suddenly, Baichuan slowly raised his head, his enormous eyes gazing toward the east.

His vast perception and keen sensitivity told Baichuan that the distant ground was trembling with continuous, extremely faint vibrations.

He focused his gaze, and his extraordinary eyesight allowed him to see a hazy grey phenomenon in the distance, along with human figures appearing intermittently within that haze — it was the Grey Mist he had once encountered!

But why had the Grey Mist come early? Under normal circumstances, didn't it appear only once every several years?

Before Baichuan could figure it out, within mere seconds, the incomparably dense Grey Mist fully appeared before Baichuan's eyes; it appeared so swiftly that fleeing birds were constantly plummeting from the sky like dumplings, losing their vitality.

Then, he understood completely.

This Grey Mist was no natural disaster! It was caused by a beast!

Looking at the foremost of the Grey Mist — that powerful creature wrapped in violent gale winds, scattering dense Grey Mist — a flash of realization crossed Baichuan's mind.

This was a creature far more powerful than the Calamity Beasts or even the Wilderness Kings he had encountered before! A Wilderness Beast far stronger than Tier 4 — what else could it be? Naturally, there was no need to say.

A formidable enemy!

Tier 5!!

An enemy on par with him in the Earthly Immortal Realm had finally appeared; at this moment, Baichuan straightened his body.

"Woo—!!!"

The resounding horn blast, carrying a vast and desolate air, had already sounded throughout this great city without him needing to give any signal.

Immediately, the people — long since well-drilled for all manner of attacks — under the command of well-trained soldiers, one after another withdrew into the safe underground; that place was part of Baichuan's erosion, in other words, part of Baichuan's body — the body of an Earth Immortal!

Under the present circumstances, there was probably no place safer than this.

Meanwhile, those stronger individuals mounted their own mounts, preparing to assemble and fight alongside their lord Bi'an.

However, they were stopped by Baichuan. In the current battlefield, it was not that he looked down on these humans — they truly could not be put to use. Moreover, his Radiation Symbiosis ability was nearing its end, so naturally he no longer needed to remain confined to one corner like an imprisoned thing. Let him see what power his Environment Assimilation could achieve after fully awakening from a bout of devouring!

Muttering this in his heart, just as Baichuan was about to act, a roar that pierced the clouds erupted!

"Ao~ Roar—!!!"

Before the terrifying roar had even ceased, a startling scene appeared — the Grey Mist, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws as it spread arrogantly and wantonly, had actually come to a halt!

As if possessing Spirit, it stopped its spreading advance; no matter how that Storm Bird drove it on, it would not move an inch!

At the same moment, a terrifying sonic boom suddenly erupted, as if about to shatter everyone's eardrums; then, carrying an incomparably violent impact, an ochre comet plummeted from the sky and crashed into the Grey Mist!

"Boom boom boom…"

Thunderous sounds rang out; the earth suddenly underwent a tremendous change. Amidst rolling dust, the Grey Mist instantly dispersed, as if erased by something — extremely abrupt and conspicuous.

"W-Wilderness God?!!"

In the great city, Gu Ying, who had once again seated himself atop a Flight-type Wilderness Species, cried out in horror. Staring at the scene of the Grey Mist being erased, he muttered to himself with an exceedingly complex expression: "Legend has it that there exist seven Wilderness Beasts in this world that stand above any other Wilderness Beast. They are incomparably powerful, and possess intelligence even higher than that of humans; they are the great enemies of the world's Grey Mist. Whenever They appear, the Grey Mist that plagues the world will be dispelled by Their divine power!"

It seemed this "comet" that had suddenly arrived was a friend, not a foe.

Casting a glance at Gu Ying, who was both horrified and seemingly delighted and sighing, Baichuan murmured inwardly.

As the saying goes, the enemy of one's enemy is, for now, a friend.

……

(End of this chapter)