Chapter 262

The scarlet mother nest indeed possesses such great power only because it is influenced by scarlet divine power.

But inside it, there is no scarlet divine power contained.

If he hadn't noticed this, upon seeing the scarlet mother nest approach, Su Hao would surely have turned and fled.

As for scarlet divine power, it's better to stay far away from it.

Since the scarlet mother nest's body contains no scarlet divine power, the heart refined from its corpse is likewise the same.

And the appraisal result also clearly indicates this.

Perhaps after his body changed, the scarlet divine power inside the scarlet source bead was exhausted, or maybe the scarlet source bead remains at the bottom of the blood lake, still containing some divine power.

But Su Hao can be certain that this heart contains no scarlet divine power; strictly speaking, it is merely a Supernatural Fourth Rank item.

Su Hao's physique and mental strength have both reached Supernatural Fourth Rank; even after consuming the heart, any adverse effects that arise he can withstand.

At worst he might suffer some injuries, a consequence he can fully bear.

Immediately he hesitated no more, seized the heart and swallowed it whole.

The next moment.

A surging energy burst from the heart, turning into thick blood qi that enveloped Su Hao's body.

Under the erosion of this blood qi, Su Hao's flesh-and-blood cells showed signs of swelling and proliferation; if continued, his body would likely become a disgusting mass of flesh like Suolu.

But soon, the thick blood qi enveloping Su Hao's body, as if sensing something, became less violent and gradually calmed, and his flesh-and-blood cells no longer showed signs of continued swelling and proliferation.

Immediately after.

That thick blood qi transformed into surging energy, merging into Su Hao's blood throughout his body.

Su Hao could clearly feel his physique further strengthened, and the boost to his recovery ability became even more apparent.

He felt that even if he cut himself, the wound would be completely healed the moment it appeared.

At the same time, part of this energy flowed into Su Hao's brain, entered his soul, and formed a special rune deep within his soul.

This rune appears as a deep blood-red; outwardly it looks like a pool of fresh blood, but more solid and profound, as if containing endless vitality and mysterious power.

Immediately Su Hao's mind stirred, and he opened the detailed panel of this skill rune.

【Blood Control】

Supernatural Grade: Fourth Rank

Effect: By consuming a certain amount of mental power, one can precisely manipulate the blood in the surrounding environment, changing its shape according to one's will.

Furthermore, the blood's hardness, flexibility, and other traits can also change accordingly based on one's will, mental strength, and the blood's supernatural grade.

……

"Too bad, I didn't gain the ability of Blood Resurrection..."

Looking at the content displayed on the skill details interface, Su Hao shook his head somewhat dejectedly.

Relative to that, the scarlet mother nest's ability to regenerate using blood is what Su Hao most desires.

If he could obtain this ability, combined with the blood inside the Blood Sea Robe, Su Hao's survivability would instantly increase severalfold.

But now that it's come to this, no matter how disappointed he feels, it's of no use.

Now Su Hao can only hope that upon reaching Third Rank in the Supernatural Sequence, he will gain the corresponding ability.

Although he did not gain the ability to resurrect via blood, Su Hao feels somewhat disappointed.

But this does not mean that the Blood Control skill is inadequate.

On the contrary, Blood Control is likewise a powerful skill.

Initially, the scarlet mother nest used the blood of the blood lake to create that blood giant, and the blades formed from the giant's hands, were all made possible by the Blood Control skill.

Know that after Su Hao transformed into a Titan Giant, his physique was greatly enhanced, his strength increased severalfold.

The increase in his defense is extraordinary; an ordinary Supernatural Fourth Rank would find it extremely difficult to break through the defense after he becomes a Titan Giant.

Yet the scarlet mother nest, using the Blood Control skill, merely controlled the blood giant, diluted the scarlet blood to barely reach Supernatural First Rank blood, forged it into a blade, and easily pierced Su Hao's Titan Giant defense.

Although this is partly due to Su Hao feigning weakness and not defending wholeheartedly.

But it cannot be denied that, under the scarlet mother nest's fourth-rank mental power, after applying Blood Control, even blood that barely reaches Supernatural First Rank can produce terrifying lethality.

The sharpness of that blade is in no way inferior to some Supernatural Third Rank weapons.

If one were to use Supernatural Fourth Rank scarlet essence blood as material and then apply Blood Control to shape it into a blade, its sharpness could likely reach Supernatural Fourth Rank.

More importantly, in Su Hao's view, turning blood into a blade is merely a very basic application, yielding not the highest return.

If one could turn spilled blood into countless flying needles, then combine with a gravity domain to increase their speed, the lethality would be far greater than this.

If one could harden the summoned scarlet tentacles via Blood Control, maintaining flexibility while attaining hardness not inferior to Supernatural Third or even Fourth Rank, the power would be much greater.

Furthermore, if on this basis one could grow countless spines on the surface of the scarlet tentacles, then the tentacles' power would increase manifold! Moreover, the Blood Control skill's effect states that via mental power one can manipulate surrounding blood into any desired shape.

And its hardness, flexibility, and other traits will also change accordingly.

Here there is no requirement for the blood; it can be Supernatural First Rank, or Fourth Rank, or even Fifth Rank.

It can be one's own blood, or nearby blood, or likewise...

the enemy's blood! If one could turn the opponent's internal blood into blades or spines and attack their organs from within.

Even if the opponent's blood is of too low a supernatural grade, the resulting blades or spines may only have First or Second Rank power, yet they can still inflict massive damage.

Even if Blood Control cannot manipulate blood that has an owner, as long as Su Hao uses blood weapons to break the opponent's defense and cut an opening on their body surface,

he can still control the blood of that blood weapon, letting it flow from that opening into the opponent's body, then transform it into blade after blade to destroy them from within.

In short, this is a super-enhanced version of blood control technique.

Not only can it control blood, it can also strengthen blood into special supernatural weapons, and via a tiny wound inflict severe damage inside the enemy's body.

Moreover, combined with units wholly composed of blood such as scarlet tentacles and bloody octopuses, it can further strengthen them, yielding a result greater than the sum of its parts.

If speaking purely of combat ability, after learning Blood Control, Su Hao's increase in combat power would be even greater than gaining the ability to resurrect via blood.

Afterward, Su Hao glanced at the time, then slipped into the hidden gauze cover and fell into a deep sleep. Although his stamina has now fully recovered, he still feels extremely fatigued; this aftereffect can only be alleviated by sleep.

Moreover, there's nothing particularly important to do right now, and no abnormal situation has come from the blood lake; taking advantage of the present to rest well is the correct choice.

……

Giant Stone Mountain Range.

This is a massive mountain range located to the northwest of the Dark Forest; here, giant stones stand tall, majestic and spectacular, even the smallest stones are as tall as seven- or eight-story buildings, resembling the ancient, resilient spine of the earth.

It is precisely because these giant stones are overly dense that the mountain range's soil is extremely barren, hardly able to sustain life.

In this vast and desolate expanse, green vegetation is scarce, giving the entire mountain range a bleak and mysterious aura.

Under the erosion of time, the giant stones take on unique forms—some sharp as if cut by knives and axes, others weathered into strange shapes.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, these giant stones cast long shadows.

That day.

A technologically advanced spaceship flew in from the distant sky.

In this valley, a group of people dressed in strange attire watched the spaceship flying in the sky, their eyes flashing with greed.

"Big brother, a spaceship! I guarantee it's definitely a spaceship, absolutely not any aircraft from Earth!"

"If we can seize this spaceship, from now on, wherever we want to go, we can come and go as we please!"

A short-statured man, holding a weapon resembling a flamethrower, spoke excitedly.

The man he called big brother was a burly fellow with half his face burned by fire, his eyes likewise filled with greed.

"What if?"

He glanced at that underling, the corner of his mouth curling into a savage smile.

"There's no 'what if'; as long as he dares to land, he won't be leaving—that spaceship will be ours!"

"Today I'll give him a proper lesson, making him understand just how important it is to keep one's wealth hidden in the apocalypse."

"But I'm afraid he won't get the chance to correct this mistake!"

That man's face broke into a confident smile; he was certain the spaceship in the sky would land.

Although he didn't know why Su Hao had spent a fortune to buy that piece of information, he could be certain that, since Su Hao had gone to such great expense and trouble, he wanted to find information related to seeking and stitching together the aggregation monster.

So, by claiming to have such news, once that spaceship in the sky arrives here, it will definitely land.

"The spaceship is about to land—get ready, don't rush to attack; wait until they all come out, then open fire together and kill them all, leaving none alive!"

Watching the spaceship in the sky begin to descend to the agreed-upon spot, the man waved his hand, leading his lackeys to ambush around the boulders, raising their weapons and standing ready to attack.

Buzz! After the spaceship landed, accompanied by the sound of hydraulics turning, the hatch slowly opened to both sides.

An intelligent bronze robot, protected by ten first-rank skeleton monsters, slowly walked out of the hatch, standing beside the mechanical transport warship, as if waiting for something.

The man hiding in the boulder pile, after waiting a few minutes, silently nodded.

"Looks like these are the only ones..."

After waiting a moment longer, he flashed a murderous glare and roared as he burst out from the rubble pile.

"Fire! Don't leave a single one—don't let them get back into the ship!!"

The remaining lackeys hiding around also sprang out from the rubble, and, just like the man, simultaneously pulled the triggers of their weapons, launching a fierce attack at the ten first-rank skeleton soldiers and the intelligent bronze robot.

Flames gushed out, instantly covering an area of over ten meters before the hatch in scorching fire.

Under the flames' scorching, the stones on the ground gradually turned a glowing red, as if about to melt.

"It's over—even if you're wearing mechanical armor, you'll die under our concentrated fire!"

The man had full confidence in this strike; these flamethrower-like weapons are mostly first-tier supernatural items, and the one in his hand is even a second-tier supernatural item.

These energy weapons were all obtained by him from a laboratory.

Whether it's a first-rank or second-rank flamethrower, as long as an energy crystal is inserted, ordinary people can use them normally.

Moreover, these flamethrowers have almost no wind‑up; pulling the trigger fires scorching flames instantly, with an enormous spray range that leaves virtually no room to dodge.

Under the flames' roasting, the ten skeleton monsters' leg bones melted first, collapsing to the ground, leaving only the intelligent bronze robot unable to stand in the fire.

"Once you're dead, this set of mechanical armor will be mine."

The man licked his lips, his eyes growing ever more greedy.

In his view, the intelligent bronze robot was a piece of mechanical armor worn outside the body, a powerful armor that could remain intact even after prolonged exposure to fire.

If he could get his hands on that armor, his defense would skyrocket; then, wearing mechanical armor and wielding a second-rank flamethrower, who would dare fight him? As for the person hidden inside the armor, whether they could withstand the fire's scorching, he had not the slightest worry.

Even if the armor didn't melt at high temperature, the heat would still conduct inward—such heat is something an ordinary person couldn't withstand, not even a first-rank supernatural being.

"Today's take is really a huge profit……"

"Huh?"

The man felt triumphant, but just then he saw the intelligent bronze robot in the flames suddenly flash blue light in its eyes.

"Confirmed the enemy has hostile intent—begin counterattack!"

As the intelligent bronze robot's words rang out, waves of powerful aura.

From the hatch of the rear mechanical transport warship came out, more than a dozen pale skeleton warriors with massive bones, four arms each, wielding bone swords; they stepped out of the hatch, ignoring the flames before them, and marched boldly toward the attackers.

"Damn it, these guys are off—quick, retreat!"

The man whose face had been burned by fire instantly changed complexion; as he spoke, he sprinted toward an underground nest behind him.

After that powerful aura appeared, he felt something was wrong—even the second-rank monsters he'd seen before didn't have such a strong aura.

And when he saw those pale skeleton warriors ignoring the flames' burn, he regretted it to the point of his intestines turning green.

He clearly understood that he was merely a pale skeleton warrior—no match for such foes, let alone more than a dozen of them.

Now, if he wants to survive, his only option is to go underground, using the complex subterranean terrain to shake off those pale skeleton warriors.

(End of Chapter)