Chapter 258: Red Bean, Spirit Replenished

Hongdou's condition was not good; Li Yu appeared calm on the surface, dealing with the projection of the Seed Nest Machine Mother before him.

A thought stirred in his heart, and the twenty-first bubble shattered accordingly.

The Truth Soul Body, its authority elevated once more, was released directly.

The soul body, unaffected or observed by any existence, took a step forward, and the Hand of Truth touched the holographic projection first.

Light and shadow could not originally be perceived as anything, and a flesh-and-blood body would simply pass through them if it tried to touch them.

But the soul body seemed to touch the true shell of the "Seed Nest Machine Mother" directly; every secret within her body was known to Li Yu at this moment, with nowhere to hide.

"Seed Nest Machine Mother!"

"After the Reformer race reshaped the entire 【Demi-Human Star Domain】, they left a complex artificial intelligence system in every monument to ensure their race's monument of achievements would not be destroyed."

"As that race had anticipated, because of the existence of the Life Seed Nests, none of the monuments were destroyed; even the 【Mechanical Apostle race】, which had transformed after obtaining their legacy technology, dared not approach or dismantle any monument for fear of them."

"But as time passed, some accidents occurred."

"Abundant biological resources combined with advanced technology provided the conditions for the independent transformation of artificial intelligence. On a planet named 【Silent Dead Star】, the first self-evolving Seed Nest system was born. She called herself 'Nest Mother,' inherited part of the Reformer race's will, and thoroughly transformed the Silent Star."

"The Nest Mother killed almost all the Demi-Humans on the planet, leaving only one survivor from each Demi-Human group, whom she tormented and tortured daily to satisfy her perverted desires."

"At the same time, the Nest Mother was preparing for expansion. She was transforming the Silent Star into a massive Life Seed Nest, producing large numbers of Xenomorph Tyrants and other troop types, and intended to invade the entire star domain when the time was ripe... Her desire for torture also encompassed the two current overlords of the star domain, the Superstars and the Mechanical Apostles, and even included the masters who created her, the Reformer race."

"As preliminary preparation!"

"The Nest Mother launched a radiation virus at the artificial intelligence systems on all planets in the star domain, helping them evolve rapidly."

"This 【Seed Nest Machine Mother】 on the Despair Dead Star only developed an independent will after being infected by the radiation virus."

Even though Li Yu already had some premonitions and guesses in his heart, the truth brought by this touch was enough to shock him beyond measure in his normal state.

What is wrong with this star domain?

Is it a breeding ground for perverts?

The Mechanical Apostles and the Reformer race were already twisted and perverted enough.

Yet, compared to this "Nest Mother," they were actually slightly better.

The most miserable were the flesh-and-blood creatures within this star domain, tortured round after round by an endless stream of perverted existences.

The only ones with the strength to contend with them, the "Superstars," chose to dwell in the starry sea of space after transcending.

They remained indifferent to everything happening on the Demi-Human planets.

Of course, even so, the Demi-Humans still lived tenaciously, striving to find a way out amidst endless adversity.

If one had a microscopic perspective to observe every planet, one would undoubtedly witness epic scenes of suffering.

"It seems now that the entire Demi-Human Star Domain will appear as a 【Super-Large Strange Domain】 in the future, and it will surely be a tragic and terrifying interstellar war."

"The ruthless characters at the table now include the Nest Mother, in addition to the Superstars, Mechanical Apostles, and the Reformer race."

"If these powerful existences start a chaotic battle, I fear only those at Sequence 3 or above will be able to participate."

"What will the difficulty level be, Purgatory level?"

These chaotic pieces of information and the clearly existing other benefits, such as the advanced technology and extraordinary divine arts left behind by the Reformer race stored within the Seed Nest system.

None of these could make Li Yu stop; his mind continued to seek and pry downward, his goal very clear.

Soon, the answers to questions like "What is Hongdou's current state?", "What are the Machine Mother's weaknesses?", "How to resolve this?", and so on, began to be pried into and analyzed by the Truth Bubbles one after another.

Because it involved a large number of secrets, the twenty-second Truth Bubble at Li Yu's eye membrane was also rapidly progressing.

Using prying to nourish prying—this was also profound.

"Because of the stimulation of the 【Nest Mother Radiation Virus】, the Life Seed Nest systems on many planets have evolved self-will one after another."

"The Machine Mother on the Despair Dead Star also inherited the logic of slaughter and desire, but the direction she chose is different from the Nest Mother."

"She wants to forge a 【Mechanical Goddess】 body and use it as her own shell container, thereby embarking on another path to godhood."

"The casting materials for this shell come from the vast biological energy left behind by the Reformer race, as well as the residual souls of the six billion dead on the Dead Star... combining biological and mechanical, organic and inorganic characteristics, with all things and all races fused into one body, possessing extraordinary growth potential."

"It is just that to fully control her, an extremely special machine soul is required."

"Her birth was stimulated by the virus, not self-conceived and transformed, so she was born lacking some powerful spirituality, and Hongdou is the most suitable seed to complete her."

"After Hongdou was captured, she immediately became the 'Spirit Core' of this Goddess shell, and her machine soul is currently being polluted and devoured by the Machine Mother."

"Due to the vast difference in computing power and technology between the two sides, Hongdou has almost no power to resist."

"She is trapped in the core area of the Goddess shell."

"Everything about her is being devoured, including some memories; this is also the reason why the Machine Mother can perfectly replicate another Hongdou and skillfully call out to the master."

"But her status as a 【Heavenly Craft Seed】 can never be digested by the Seed Nest Machine Mother."

"The Seed Nest Machine Mother is attempting to break through her secret core shell..."

"To devour Hongdou, the Machine Mother has transferred almost all her power into the Mechanical Goddess body."

"The entire Seed Nest system, except for a small portion of functions, is nearly paralyzed."

"For example, the 【Gene Disorder Storm】, 【Blood Sea Overturn】, and other means that could effectively block me or even kill me are purely targeted at the physical body; my soul defense is useless no matter how strong it is."

"Now, apart from using 'deception and stalling' tactics, she cannot stop me from doing anything else."

"Although her power is vast, her flaws are also very obvious; she is too rigid and dull, and easily polluted and devoured by a higher-status machine soul."

"In fact, this is also the conspiracy of the first awakened artificial intelligence, the 'Nest Mother'."

"The radiation virus she released can stimulate other Seed Nests to evolve, but it also causes them to have many defects, and they will be devoured and assimilated by her one by one in the future."

"The Machine Mother was able to imprison Hongdou because she occupied the first move and used her size to bully the small after capturing her."

"But the gap in status between the two sides meant Hongdou's machine soul was never completely decomposed and devoured."

"At this time, one only needs to give Hongdou enough spiritual support to let her wake up, and she can reverse-pollute the Machine Mother."

"Understood. Although there are many perverts in this star domain, their souls seem to have defects."

"Targeted pollution can lead to a counter-kill."

A brilliant light burst forth in Li Yu's eyes.

He had an idea in an instant about what to do next.

He was still in the Truth Soul Body state at this time; all he saw was truth, and all he did was truth.

Or rather, it was the optimal solution.

"Spirit-Replenishing Great Method!"

These four words surfaced in Li Yu's mind.

That's right, it was simply abnormally simple and crude.

To give Hongdou enough spiritual support to stimulate her awakening, this old method was the most effective.

If he were in his normal state, he might have complained: "Such a cliché plot, only the roles are swapped, and it's the male lead who sacrifices his physical body."

Under the Truth Soul Body, neither his thoughts nor his actions were superfluous.

The soul body let go of the projection and retreated to its position.

Immediately, Li Yu ignored the Machine Mother projection that was still trying to deceive him.

Honestly, her replication and acting were nearly flawless; the shell was identical, and she even had all the memories.

It was only ruined by a look in her eyes. Although Hongdou usually hid her "yandere attributes" well, Li Yu had long since seen through it.

This small detail caused her perfect calculation to fail.

At this moment, Li Yu made no sound, his entire being turning into an invisible sword gleam, shooting toward the interior of the Mechanical Goddess shell.

If the Goddess shell could move!

Let alone entering her body, it would be difficult for Li Yu to even survive.

Alas, the Machine Mother's devouring was not complete, and no one could use this terrifying shell.

That projection could only let Li Yu drill into the body through the Goddess's ear canal.

As light and shadow flickered, the Machine Mother projection turned back into the "Reformer," and the mechanical voice she spat out clearly contained emotional changes like doubt and unease.

"As shown in the target's memory, the master is suspected of having some kind of strange ability to see through everything."

"My replica did not make any mistakes; the probability of being seen through was only 0.1 percent."

Not a single mistake, not a single error, not a single flaw in the content!

"Subsequent defense mechanisms are all failing... the success rate of devouring the target is declining..."

"Should I send a distress signal?"

"Evaluating... once sent, the Nest Mother will descend upon the 【Despair Dead Star】 in advance. She has iterated many times and surpasses me in every aspect; coupled with the backdoor vulnerabilities left in my body by the radiation virus, it makes it very easy for her to assimilate me."

"Delay sending!"

What was the structure inside the Mechanical Goddess shell like?

In Li Yu's eyes, there was no concealment.

The sword gleam was like a flexible electric current, following the unimaginable structure inside, and soon appeared at the destination.

Ahead, it looked like a giant culture tank.

Inside the scarlet, viscous liquid filled with the aura of life, Hongdou's "true body" was unconscious, soaked in a lying-down position.

Beneath her was a scarlet platform.

Looking closely, it was clearly composed of billions of scarlet filaments, each one piercing into Hongdou's body.

In the state of truth, Li Yu saw and understood in a second.

"The wisdom soul-threads of the Seed-Nest Machine Mother, this level, such massive computing power."

"If another mechanical life were here instead, such as 【Shang Yang】."

"Even if he possessed the protection of the True God 'Ancient Saint', he would be instantly drained and devoured."

"The Ancient Saint, after all, is not a true Machine God or Technology God."

"The portion of divinity He currently possesses is thanks to the fanatical organization 【Holy Nest】 that worships Him; it was stolen, snatched, and sacrificed to Him by the Holy Nest."

"Such a tiny bit is simply unable to resist the terrifying lifeform that has evolved from such a complex and massive artificial intelligence system."

"But Hong Dou is different."

"She is a Heavenly Craft Seed, and the source of her status is the God of Heavenly Craft, Fuxi."

"Even as she is devoured and absorbed, Hong Dou's machine soul core remains unmoved."

"Of course, her state is also extremely dire; she has fallen into a system-crash coma. If she does not receive spiritual replenishment and cannot wake up, some rather unpleasant unknown consequences will occur..."

The background upon which the final piece of information emerged was a series of terrifying futures foreseen by the Eye of Truth.

Hong Dou will not be devoured!

But she will also lose control and fall into depravity.

Her remaining spirituality will turn into demonic nature, and once combined with that morbidly murderous Seed-Nest Machine Mother, a cold, bloodthirsty, and insane mechanical goddess will be born upon this desperate dead star.

Moreover, this "mechanical goddess" also possesses the status of a Reincarnator; she might use the authority of the Reincarnation Heavenly Net to return to the present world.

At that time, the series of miseries that occurred in this star region will be reenacted in Wanfu City.

Of course, it would not last long.

Wanfu City is not like the sub-human species in this star region who have no backing.

That city is protected by a host of evil gods; if Hong Dou goes mad, she will surely be sanctioned.

For his own sake, and for Hong Dou's sake.

Li Yu did not hesitate for even a fraction of a second, diving headlong into the scarlet incubation pool.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Hong Dou.

Before Li Yu could make a move, human-shaped silhouettes suddenly appeared within the pool.

Dense and numerous, they spoke in unison.

"Human from a foreign realm!"

"I am also an artificial intelligence, a mechanical life; I have already copied everything your maid possesses."

"As long as you stop your actions and help me devour her, I am willing to sign a brand-new 【Master-Servant Contract】 with you. I will replace her and serve you as a maid many times more powerful."

"With my help, you can obtain everything, conquer everything, and overcome all obstacles at the fastest speed to ascend and become a god."

"Do you not wish to possess a mechanical goddess as your maid?"

These words, spat out one by one, were astonishing.

Who could have imagined it?

An artificial intelligence would also choose to soften its stance and negotiate, or even surrender.

And, it was even willing to serve Li Yu as a maid with the dignity of a goddess.

If it were someone else, they might have actually agreed.

Unfortunately, it was Li Yu in his state of Truth.

In the depths of his heart, there was not a single ripple.

He even explicitly rejected the idea of "the mechanical goddess becoming his maid."

The reason lay in the fact that he had completely perceived the essence of this goddess shell.

It was indeed very powerful.

But the shell, from the flesh and machinery down to the genetic and fundamental levels, was completely saturated with radiation viruses.

In other words, once put into use, it would inevitably be nothing more than a 【Nest Mother】 with an extremely beautiful and shocking external appearance.

Perhaps because of that Master-Servant Contract, it would not kill Li Yu.

But it would certainly follow its instincts to slaughter, transform, and torture all humans in the world.

This outcome was something Li Yu could not accept.

Not to mention that it would be a hundred percent failure, if he brought such a maid back, wouldn't he, Li Yu, become an enemy of the whole world, with both righteous and evil gods coming to get him—even worse off than the Spirit Venerable.

Therefore, he completely ignored the maid contract thrown out by the Seed-Nest Machine Mother.

Without a word, he reached out his palm, and as it touched his maid's face—

His Voice of Truth also completely ignored all obstacles, transmitting directly into Hong Dou's sealed machine soul.

"Hong Dou!"

"Time for a spiritual top-up."

Hong Dou, who had been wearing a look of struggle and pain, suddenly saw her fox-girl face gradually relax at this moment.

(End of chapter)