Chapter 79: Mechanical Sovereign (Third Update, Request Subscription and Monthly Votes)

The evil moon hung high, willow-fluff-like ashes rained down like snowflakes from the sky, corroding the earth.

Countless xie sui lifeforms converged into a towering tidal wave, ravaging the Emperor's Tomb Mountain region.

North of the ancient battlefield lies the Earth-Crack Furnace region.

Qi Sheng's gaze looked down from above, seeing numerous players gathered here, engaged in desperate combat against the black tide of xie cui surging forward, with fresh waves of players continuously reinforcing the front lines to replace fallen comrades.

Twenty-five hours ago, a squad of players discovered something strange while exploring the Earth-Crack Furnace region.

The rampaging xie cui were systematically digging up subterranean spirit stones and transporting them in bulk northward.

The players did not understand the xie cui's purpose, but they were highly interested in seizing the spirit ore being transported.

After fierce battle, this player squad seized a batch of xie cui-transported spirit ore, and after sacrifice and tallying, reaped substantial rewards.

After this news was posted on the forum, it drew attention from major guilds, all of whom organized teams to join the seizure operations.

Today, a joint operation launched by multiple guilds was underway.

During this time, Qi Sheng's consciousness followed the xie cui carrying the spirit ore and discovered that the final destination of this ore was precisely the Gao Ta where the Earth-Nourishing Xie Ling resided.

The transported spirit ore was fed into the furnace at the center of the Gao Ta, burned, and converted into energy required for the black tide's growth.

But there was one problem that puzzled Qi Sheng.

The black tide possesses the trait of devouring all energy—why go through the laborious process of transporting spirit ore to extract its energy, when it could simply devour the ore on the spot and integrate its internal energy directly into the black tide?

The guidance provided the answer: under low-tide conditions, the black tide's devouring and conversion efficiency is low; when it consumes stable substances like spirit ore, energy loss is extremely high—but when sent to the Xie Yan Gao Ta for incineration, conversion efficiency is maximized.

This is the very purpose of the Xie Yan Gao Ta.

A powerful black tide requires no auxiliary tools—it itself is the strongest energy-devouring and conversion device.

After learning the reason, Qi Sheng began observing the players' efforts to seize spirit ore.

After twenty-five hours of continuous seizure, the Earth-Nourishing Xie Ling had noticed the players' actions and deployed more black tide forces to escort the spirit ore.

The difficulty of seizing spirit ore thus escalated, which is why the major guilds chose to coordinate their efforts.

On the ground beneath the volcano, dozens of pits of varying sizes had appeared—recently dug by xie cui lifeforms, all aimed at the subterranean spirit ore resources.

Whenever a xie cui lifeform extracted a batch of spirit ore from a pit, players would launch a fierce advance toward that direction, attempting to seize some of the ore.

As more black mist clusters gathered, the player army's pressure intensified, and casualties mounted continuously.

During this time, the regional voice channel was abuzz:

"Brothers, I can't hold on anymore—I'm going to the black room for an hour of solitude. See you after I'm done."

"Anyone nearby have a healing potion? I can still fight—I'm just one step away from leveling up, and not leveling up is driving me crazy."

"The clone fireball build is insane! Aside from high mana consumption and needing constant potion refills for mental energy, it's absolutely the strongest team-fight build in the current meta—I'm loving it! If only your frontliners could hold, I could keep fighting—I'm being held back by you!"

"This is almost over—we've seized tons of spirit ore, just waiting to split the loot after our solitude ends. Hehe."

"Everyone nearby, fall back—I'm about to detonate and take out another wave of xie cui before I die."

……

Just as this round of seizure operations was about to fizzle out and Qi Sheng prepared to shift his gaze to other players' perspectives, an anomaly erupted.

A massive black vortex suddenly appeared in the sky, its edges bristling with countless fine black cracks; the churning clouds instantly shattered under invisible force, and the surrounding space twisted in response.

Countless dark-gold, humanoid-shaped shadows rained down from the spatial vortex.

Qi Sheng zoomed in and discovered these dark-gold figures were all mechanical lifeforms.

Upon landing, the mechanical warriors launched a devastating sweep across the vicinity—players were among their targets.

These mechanical warriors wielded both close-range beam swords and long-range energy cannons; their arms could reconfigure into different weapon forms. Neither players nor xie cui lifeforms stood a chance against this group of mechanical beings.

The sudden arrival of the mechanical warriors shattered the already collapsing player army's remaining resistance.

Throughout the chaos, the regional voice channel erupted with curses—players used elegant language to express their fury toward the mechanical warriors, while others demanded to know what these sudden arrivals were.

The battle lasted less than one minute—the once chaotic battlefield was completely cleared, all players and xie cui vanished.

This scene clearly terrified the Earth-Nourishing Xie Ling, who controlled the black tide's movements; the distant black mist clusters halted their advance and began retreating.

The sudden appearance of the mechanical warriors also piqued Qi Sheng's curiosity.

"Guidance, analyze!"

【Understood.】

Instantly, vast amounts of information surfaced in Qi Sheng's mind.

【Iron Soul】:

Hunting Rank: 83

Target Description: Living metal warriors, the pinnacle of technology and bioengineering. The Mechanical Sovereign perfectly fused cold mechanical constructs with the resilience of life, creating a new warrior form possessing flesh yet surpassing machines—named Iron Soul. All Iron Soul warriors can grow stronger by devouring iron ore.

……

As the guidance's analysis unfolded, a 3D model of the Iron Soul materialized before Qi Sheng.

The Iron Soul stood 2.5 meters tall, its dark-gold shell covered in transparent glowing lines that shimmered with cold light; every inch of its body appeared meticulously crafted, blending mechanical precision with the fluidity of life.

Its head design was especially unique, shaped like a coiled leopard ready to pounce; two red-glowing electronic eyes were embedded where the eyes should be, and a slightly protruding sensor rested at its forehead center.

As the 3D model rotated, the hovering Iron Soul phantom moved—blade-like shards extended from its fingertips, and a low "hummm" echoed from its energy core.

Zooming in, under Qi Sheng's microscopic view, biological tissue and metal structure interfaced seamlessly—its bodily construction was flawless.

"Guidance, can you hack and control this thing?"

I've tried. No. These mechanical lifeforms differ from the Star Net; they appear to have no external connection channels, likely using an internal network control system... Or, another possibility: these mechanical warriors are protected by the laws of the universe, making neural network infiltration impossible.

Qi Sheng nodded and switched his gaze back to the former battlefield.

After clearing the players and black tide xie cui, the Iron Soul warriors dispersed, standing in alert postures. Suddenly, dark red energy ripples appeared in the black hole above, expanding in concentric waves as if gathering power.

Soon after, a dark red beam shot from the black hole and pierced the earth.

Under Qi Sheng's perception view, countless spirit ores beneath the ground dissolved rapidly upon contact with the beam, shattered, and their released energy was sealed within the beam and drawn upward into the black hole.

The beam acted like a straw plunged into the earth, siphoning spirit ore energy from deep below and continuously transporting it to the other side of the spatial vortex.

This sight made Qi Sheng curse inwardly.

In his eyes, the resources of the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range were already within his grasp; even if swallowed by the Black Tide controlled by the Earth-Will Evil Spirit, they could ultimately be converted into his own Shou Shou Jili benefits through the players, at most merely temporarily held by the Earth-Will Evil Spirit.

But this pillar of light had drained all the underground spirit mines of the Ground-Cracking Furnace region.

Robbery!

The process of extracting the Great Earth Spirit Mine energy lasted half an hour; when the dark red pillar of light dissipated, countless Iron Soul Warriors flew toward the rotating spatial black hole in the sky.

"Guide, follow and take a look." Curious in his heart, Qi Sheng immediately commanded.

Upon hearing this, the Guide carried his consciousness toward the black hole.

Following the Iron Soul Warriors through a colorful spatial tunnel, the scene presented before his eyes left Qi Sheng stunned.

His consciousness rapidly retreated and zoomed out; he saw a mechanical construct comparable in size to the moon floating above the earth. Its shape resembled a planet, its structure made entirely of metal. Around it, spatial vortices constantly tore open, sending groups of Iron Soul Warriors to areas beyond the black hole.

Then it emitted collection beams, passing through the spatial black hole to extract the spirit mine resources on the other side.

The Guide's analysis information subsequently floated into Qi Sheng's mind:

【Mechanical Sovereign】:

Hunting Rank: Demigod Level

Target Introduction: The ultimate weapon of the Starry Illusion Sea World, a mechanical shell integrating a World Rule, possessing Demigod-level comprehensive combat power.

World Rule Characteristic: Divine Metal

Rule Characteristic Introduction: Transforms metallic substances into living metal capable of growth and healing. Once solidified, all damage can be self-repaired and regenerated by consuming metallic substances to return to the form set at solidification, retaining the functions created at the time of setting (the strength of the living metal can be enhanced by consuming other metals; the more metallic substances consumed, the higher the living metal's strength and the faster its self-healing speed).

……

"Hiss, Demigod Level!"

Seeing the two characters "Demigod" in the Mechanical Sovereign's Hunting Rank evaluation, Qi Sheng could not hide his shock in his eyes.

He had originally wanted to see which faction with no sense of self-preservation came to the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range region to plunder spirit mine resources, but he never expected the opponent to be a Demigod-level powerhouse, and moreover, a mechanical life form from another world.

As for Demigod-level combat power, he had only seen one such instance in the Monster World so far.

It was Ice Blade, which remained only as a shell.

In other words, the Mechanical Sovereign's strength had reached a level comparable to Ice Blade.

But compared to Ice Blade, this ultimate weapon possessed one huge advantage.

It mastered a World Rule, possessing the support of Rule power.

As for why the Guide could analyze information beyond the Monster World, even the Rule characteristic information of other worlds, Qi Sheng did not find it strange.

The Guide is one of the four rulers of the strongest Rules in the Monster World; all matter entering the Monster World is registered in the World Information Repository, and the Guide can read the analysis information.

It can be understood that the Monster World in operation has a database storing all information; as long as a new life is born, its information is recorded within the World Information Repository, including lives from other worlds.

As long as one enters the Monster World system, they will be analyzed and registered.

As one of the Four Gods controlling the operation of the Monster World, one of the Guide's abilities is to consult the World Information Repository.

This Rule characteristic remains effective even when used in other worlds; however, the analysis effect will be somewhat affected, requiring violent force to break open the World Information Repository for consultation.

"Go in and take a look."

Under the Guide's escort, his consciousness entered the interior of the Mechanical Sovereign, constantly delving deeper.

The metal structures along the way were complex and precise; every layer was equipped with an energy defense system, wrapping the internal core layer upon layer.

Weapon factories, energy converters, mechanical research rooms... Qi Sheng was surprised to discover that there were absolutely no signs of life within this super weapon.

Engineering Iron Souls, Combat Iron Souls, Medical Iron Souls... Within the vast mechanical fortress, only countless Iron Soul machines were operating, as if stepping into a mechanical empire woven from metal and circuits.

"Go to the deepest part and take a look."

The Guide's movement speed suddenly accelerated, breaking through Po Chong Chong metal barriers, arriving at the very deepest part of the Mechanical Sovereign.

Presented before Qi Sheng's eyes was a room that looked extremely crude, completely different from the mechanical technology feel outside.

In the corner of the room, beside a metal workbench, lay a humanoid skeleton draped in a black robe. It appeared to have been dead for some time; flesh and blood had already melted away, leaving only a skeleton emitting faint light.

After Qi Sheng's consciousness form wandered around the room once, he arrived before the corpse and looked at the Guide, asking curiously:

"Guide, can you read any useful information from this skeleton?"

【Yes, by expending Shou Shou Jili, I can piece together the fragments of the information image it left in this world before death.】

"How much Shou Shou Jili is required?"

【Its life strength is not high; one hundred thousand Shou Shou Jili is sufficient.】

"Use it."

Upon hearing this, the Guide's water sphere nodded; the analysis ability was activated, and countless illusory fragments were extracted from the World Information Repository to reshape illusory flesh and blood for this skeleton.

After completely piecing together the illusory flesh and blood body for the deceased humanoid life, a large number of fragmented memory scenes entered Qi Sheng's mind.

Looking around, the scenes in the memory images had not changed significantly.

Gazing at the floating light screen on the wall, he saw the world wrapped in countless black, corrupt tentacles displayed before his eyes.

This was a projected image of the external scene.

In the image, where the invisible force passed, the contours of the stars were no longer clear; originally brilliant and dazzling stars quickly dimmed, like candle flames burning out, gradually extinguishing in the endless darkness. The once-shining nebulae, like watercolor paintings polluted, were in chaotic disarray.

This scene was extremely familiar to Qi Sheng.

When he had previously followed Yan Ming to search for life worlds, he had seen similar scenes countless times.

This was precisely the sight that would appear when a world was completely eroded by the terrifying Black Tide.

Looking up toward the distance, the Black Tide rifts resembled abyssal giant mouths, swallowing everything around them, including light and matter; the number of rifts constantly increased during this period.

During this process, the world's colors vanished, leaving only a colorless black.

Turning to look behind, Qi Sheng saw a face nearly twisted into madness. It possessed a humanoid life structure; the greatest difference from humans was a slender single horn growing on its forehead, with a dark red bead hanging from its tip.

"We have lost, but the war is not over."

Speaking thus, the humanoid figure turned around to look at the dark golden light screen behind it and roared with a hoarse voice:

"Mechanical Overlord, you were created by our race after exhausting all our resources. We have been defeated, but your journey is not yet over. The final rule of this world has already merged into your body. Follow the Black Tide to their world—a higher-order realm teeming with countless materials and energies to seize. There, you will have greater room for growth. Go devour, go create endless Iron Soul warriors, destroy everything in that world, until the Black Tide is utterly annihilated."

Accompanying the humanoid figure's hysterical roar, the massive Mechanical Overlord slowly steered toward the spatial vortex at the end of the darkness.

"Slaughter, grow, destroy... Mechanical Overlord, take our race's final rage and destroy everything there, avenging us."

Amidst the designer's hysterical roars, the Mechanical Overlord pierced through the black fog and slowly merged into the Black Tide vortex.

The fragmented images kept jumping.

Qi Sheng saw the Mechanical Overlord pass through the black curtain and descend upon the Earth-Resonance Continent of the Monster World.

At that time, the Mechanical Overlord was only the size of two football fields, far from reaching a volume comparable to the moon, but the Mechanical Overlord's frenzied growth had thus begun.

Countless Iron Soul engineers fell like raindrops; wherever they passed, all spirit ore resources were crushed and devoured, then sent to the Mechanical Overlord to become its growth nutrients.

At that time, the hunting level of the Iron Souls was not yet high, but their growth speed was terrifying.

Under the Mechanical Overlord's control, the Iron Souls seized resources from the Monster World and developed rapidly.

During this process, the Mechanical Overlord's body constantly expanded and updated; in the early stages, technological iterations even reached once every three days. Except for the core room where the designer resided, the Mechanical Overlord's evolution could be described as changing with each passing day, until it became the scale it is now.

During this period, countless living beings on the Earth-Resonance Continent were slaughtered, including the Black Tide forces that had spread to the Earth-Resonance Continent.

In the Mechanical Overlord's eyes, there were no allies; all energy and matter were enemies.

Because its ultimate goal was to utterly destroy the entire world.

At the end of the memory projection, the Mechanical Overlord had already become one of the strongest forces on the Earth-Resonance Continent. Having developed to this point, countless small and large wars had occurred; though there were setbacks, it had never truly failed, not even when facing the powerful Black Tide legions.

The image cut off here. Qi Sheng lowered his head to look at the figure that had already turned into bones, his expression helpless.

Through the memory projection, he had figured out the Mechanical Overlord's origins.

This was a peak work created before a race's extinction, attempting to use this ultimate weapon to complete revenge and utterly destroy the Black Tide.

But the situation did not develop according to the designer's script.

Because... they went to the wrong place.

The development trend envisioned by the designer was for the Mechanical Overlord to enter the Black Tide world and rapidly devour and grow there.

But the problem was that after the Mechanical Overlord passed through the Black Tide vortex, it did not descend into the Black Tide world; instead, it arrived in the Monster World created by Beneath Di Zhao.

Therefore, the final command left by the designer, "utterly destroy everything in that world," became "utterly destroy the Monster World."

At this stage, the Black Tide is also part of the Monster World, but only a part.

The Mechanical Overlord possesses the ultimate goal of destroying everything; Qi Sheng has already classified it as an hostile force.

【This opponent must not be underestimated. A rule from the Star Illusion Sea World has merged into its body; theoretically, it already possesses the potential to become a god... Of course, compared to us Four Gods, it is still far inferior. After all, what we command are the rule powers of the Monster World, far beyond what rules from small worlds like the Star Illusion Sea can compare to. The world's strength is not on the same level at all.】

Hearing this, Qi Sheng let out a silent laugh, then nodded and said:

"Alright, let's go home."

【Got it, heading home.】

The view quickly pulled back from the designer's room; intricate mechanical structures swept from behind forward, shrinking continuously in Qi Sheng's sight.

When the body of the Mechanical Overlord, comparable in size to the moon, reappeared before his eyes, a smile surfaced on Qi Sheng's lips:

"Guide, it seems the situation in the Monster World is far more complex than we anticipated. Besides the terrifying Black Tide as the ultimate target, clearly other potential challenges await us, including revenge forces descending from other worlds similar to the Mechanical Overlord... With myriad powerful races gathering together, the future will be very interesting."

【Boss, how can they compare to you? Lead the player legions and blow them up!】

Today's three chapters totaling 15,000 words are finished; adding one extra update in advance.

Also thanks to friends Dogdan and He Zu for bestowing the Alliance Master title.

Thanks to Fiery Red Duck for bestowing 5,000 Qidian Coins, thanks to Sponge Cake for bestowing 1,700 Qidian Coins, thanks to Tie Zhu who traveled ten thousand worlds for bestowing 1,100 Qidian Coins... Thank you all for supporting the new book.

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(End of this chapter)