Chapter 252: Core Coin

A flash of bright light streaked through a pitch-black void, a translucent light sphere hovered in midair, its radiance dispelling the surrounding shadows.

The desire aggregate originally located underground revealed itself, and a mummy lay on the uneven ground of the hollow.

A person stood before the mummy, the light illuminating his figure brightly.

It also illuminated Anku's current bodily form.

A free bird's wings were tightly bound by bandages like chains, trapping it in this lightless underground.

Crimson feathers covered most of its body, and after removing the bandages wrapped around it, the entire body exuded a breathtaking beauty.

The only flaw was a patch of purple that marred this alluring body, the purple spreading from the right hand to the skull, like a bird stripped of its feathers, revealing bald skin.

800 years ago, the king of that time sought the power to dominate the world, summoning all alchemists to develop the desire-filled Core Coin,

By combining the powers of various animals, Greed (the Gluttonous) was born.

Simultaneously, the pinnacle of Alchemical Art was developed, the OOO Driver, which can freely wield the power of all Core Coins.

Greed (the Gluttonous) is divided into five categories according to animal type: bird, insect, aquatic, feline, and gravity.

In the end, the original king, overly greedy, attempted to devour all Core Coins at once.

But his own desire vessel was not vast enough, causing him to fall into a berserk state the instant he absorbed them.

All Greed except the bird-type were sealed, but the bird-type Greed sought to reclaim the Core Coins taken by the king, voluntarily severing its right hand and consciousness, and was sealed together with the berserk king; its remaining body turned into a mummy, which Jiang Xia discovered to this day.

Besides the Core Coin, there is also an ordinary coin.

The Core Coin is their source of consciousness and power, while the Ordinary Coin constitutes the elements of their bodies.

Just as soul and body are analogous, the soul is the Core Coin, the body is the Ordinary Coin, also called the Cellular Coin.

Jiang Xia gazed at the mutilated body, his pupils reflecting flames like lapis lazuli.

Crimson light burst forth, cracking the sturdy rock walls.

A large number of Ordinary Coins converged, and in an instant the mutilated bird-type Greed's body transformed into a coalescence of coins.

The crimson flame made Jiang Xia's face starkly contrasted in light and dark, his body surface covered by countless flowing Cellular Coins.

The surrounding rock walls began to tremble, as flames and thick smoke filled every cavity.

Within the thick smoke, a ferocious shadow appeared, but then it shrank back.

Fiery feathers scattered from within, a radiant flame-wing extended from the smoke, and a gust of wind instantly blew the smoke away.

He resembled a great bird engulfed in flames, yet also a deity commanding fire, with vast desire flowing within him.

Jiang Xia looked at the exposed purple skin and the gap, and a glint of light flashed across the Core Coin within him.

The surfaces of six bird-type Core Coins instantly began to shift, five-colored splendid light illuminated the entire cavern, as if a rainbow rose from here, the underground awash with dazzling color! The ground trembled, a lofty cry rang out like a song, as if a chant descending upon the world.

The original bird-type Core Coin had completely transformed, its wings fully unfurled, like a phoenix reborn from fire.

The exposed right hand's core was gradually covered by Cellular Coins, and the defect on the forehead was completely mended.

The bird-type Greed's body, originally half red and half black, is now entirely replaced by a vivid, eye‑catching color.

A pair of wings unfurled behind him; a light flap sent scarlet‑gold flames soaring skyward, bursting forth a crimson wave against the night sky.

As he fell, he spread his five‑colored wings, freely soaring in the tranquil night sky.

The impact wave boomed, tearing open the air, and blazing flames surged from the night sky.

"Oh God."

Everyone in the region was awakened by this sufficiently dazzling light.

Many stepped out of their rooms, gaping at the aurora veiling the sky, chattering incessantly; countless gazes gathered in the heavens, and some even dropped to their knees, beginning to pray.

Jiang Xia hovered above the cloud layer, with cloud surges churning beneath his feet.

The silver‑white waves produced by reflecting moonlight were all replaced by crimson.

The bird‑type Core Coin, existing only for a moment inside Jiang Xia's body, completed a world‑shaking transformation.

The power it contained far exceeded the limits of the Core Coin.

"Still three short of a complete form, huh?"

Jiang Xia folded his wings, descended from the high sky, looked at the bird‑type Core Coin in his hand that had greatly changed, and made a judgment.

Each type of Core Coin totals ten pieces; after alchemists removed one, the yearning for wholeness gave the Core Coin self‑awareness, so a complete Greed possesses nine Core Coins.

He knew where to go to find the missing Core Coins.

……

Inside the spacious mall, screams from the crowd kept erupting near the glass.

There was a monster completely wrapped in bandages, staggering as it walked, continually devouring the valuable jewelry stored in the cabinet.

After swallowing all those precious jewels, the mummy monster's body suddenly ignited with green flames, and the Cellular Coins inside it reached their limit at that moment.

The mummy's body, accompanied by the green flame, began to swell incessantly from within outward, as if something were about to burst out of its shell.

With a crack, the black‑white shell began to shatter, revealing bright‑green skin covered in carapace, while he still gripped two short blades resembling a mantis's.

Insect‑type Greed gazed at the newly born Yummy (Glutton Monster) and coldly said:

"Go find my Core Coins and take them back for me."

Mantis Yummy nodded, gave a light leap, and its powerful impact blasted a large hole in the mall's railing.

Just a few jumps already exceeded humanity's speed limit.

Yummy is a monster formed of pure desire, created by Greed using Ordinary Coins to awaken the latent desire deep within humans,

taking physical form, then, according to the desire born from deep within humanity, it begins to act in various ways.

If you like money, the Yummy born from you also likes money; if you like to eat, the Yummy also likes to eat.

They, in continual action, transmute satisfied desire into Ordinary Coins, supplying Greed with the energy it must have to survive, while also serving as enforcers to accomplish various goals.

"This is how Yummy is born—if I inject Ordinary Coins into a human body, what kind of Yummy would arise?"

Beside a vending machine, Jiang Xia gazed at Mantis Yummy and let out a sigh.

He had already found his target; only a right-hand Anku remained, and the man whose neck he was pinching, Huo Ye Yingsi.

One person had a bird-type Core Coin on them, and there was another bird-type Core Coin at the Hongshang Foundation.

"Give it back, that's my body." Anku said.

It, with only one Core Coin left, is really too weak; the Core Coin on this person's hand must be taken back.

"Hurry up and give it back; I can kill you anytime."

This person has enormous desires; if it weren't for this current body, he might also make use of this person.

"Wait, I picked this up at the art museum." Huo Ye Yingsi said, looking at the strange hand floating before him.

(End of chapter)