Forty millenniums of cul.., p.264
Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 264
Li Yao didn't just stop there. He twisted his saber brutally, as if he was trying to churn the brain of the kraken into a mess.
It was not until the fourth tentacle of the kraken, which was the closest one to him, was freed from the ice and slashed at him with a blowing wind that he pulled his saber out and leaped three meters away.
Then he immediately summoned four Floating Vulcan Machine Guns from his Cosmos Ring, aimed at the giant blood hole more than one meter in diameter, and opened fire!
Frost bullets, flames bullets, corrosive bullets, explosive bullets… All kinds of bullets that had been carved with powerful attack rune arrays and cleansed by a Blood Baptism rained upon the kraken, which was shaking under the attack nonstop.
Translucent, white liquid was flowing out of the holes in its body.
This was its real blood. The red liquid inside the crimson eye previously was only a medium to trigger the mental attack.
The kraken finally set itself free from the ice, but its head had already been blown to smithereens by Li Yao.
The soft body of the kraken turned rigid. The tentacles which had been waving crazily lost their momentum.
The kraken was on the brink of death, but a weird flame was burning brighter and brighter in the core part of the giant body.
"Swoosh!"
One of the wrinkles on the head of the kraken suddenly split, from which a grey figure spurted out and floated in the air, while it eyed Li Yao with utmost odium.
This figure was more than two meters tall, with four limbs and one head. The facial features, although warped, were still distinguishable. There was no hair whatsoever around its body, only a layer of scarce scales.
"Beep! Beep!"
The crystal processor of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit immediately retrieved information about the demon.
"Sang Hai, the 2722nd on the Deadly Demons List!"
He was good at mental attacks and possessed remarkable skills to escape through water. More importantly, he was good at breeding biochemical beasts based on all kinds of strong sea animals.
To breed the so-called biochemical beasts, the fetus of strong demons, and sometimes even demon kings, would be chosen and modified through all kinds of secret arts.
After the biochemical beasts grew up, they would possess enormous physical strength as well as a powerful brain, but with little self-awareness. The only thing that they were born with were the natural instincts to hunt and survive that were no different than ordinary animals'.
For the intelligent silver-blood demons, they could enter the biochemical beasts and connect their brains together so that the biochemical beasts would become their weapons in a battle, and their capability would be greatly enhanced.
Such a method would not only endow them with tremendous physical strength, but it entailed no risk of the backlash when the demon beasts were tamed by mental attacks.
Biochemical beasts were to silver-blood demons what crystal suits were to Cultivators.
It was much more difficult to breed a biochemical beast. But once it succeeded, the product was often much more powerful than common crystal suits.
Sang Hang was an expert in breeding sea biochemical beasts whose name was on the Deadly Demons List. Naturally, he was wise enough to look for information on his opponent with the two information bugs which were wriggling beside his earholes.
Sang Hai's three round pupils suddenly constricted, as he gasped, "Vulture Li Yao, the 2833rd on the Stars to Destroy List!"
Sang Hai turned around and jumped at the ocean without any hesitation.
Although both of them were on each other's must-kill list and ranked in similar places, he had remained in the position for quite a long time, since his capability had more or less reached its limit.
On the other hand, Vulture Li Yao was a brutal guy who had just entered the list a few months ago. He had slain quite a few renowned experts of the Blood Demon Sector in the competitions in Occult Orbs.
Besides, most of his capability hinged on his biochemical beast. Right now, his sharpest weapon had been broken off. The battle would not be in his favor if it were to continue.
Within a moment, Sang Hai was only ten meters away from the ocean.
As long as he entered the ocean, with his brilliant skills of water escaping, he was confident that even a Core Formation Stage Cultivator wouldn't be able to catch him.
But right at this moment, he suddenly felt that his body was lighter, and that he was about to lose balance.
All kinds of hallucinations were appearing in front of his eyes. He seemed to have become a small octopus which had been pinned to a chopping board and exposed to the scorching sun. The acute pain was beyond the description of any words.
Before he was able to get rid of the hallucinations, his body felt 72 dull pains caused by 72 deadly bullets which were rushing close from unpredictable angles.
Sang Hai deserved his name as a respected demon on the Deadly Demons List. Explosive sound waves were uttered from his mouth, which set all the bullets away off course momentarily.
His eyes suddenly blinked with intimidating brilliance. The illusions were torn to pieces immediately. 'Dummy' Ba Weiqi, who was hiding in the bottom of the ocean, vomited blood because of the intense mental counterforce.
In the meantime, his body twisted weirdly as if it was swimming in the sea even though it was in the midair. Then, he turned around and fled out of the area in which gravity had been changed by Hong Tong.
In only several seconds, the fatal attacks from three enemies had been resolved by him easily.
Yet, before he was able to feel proud of himself, he fainted and almost fell off from the sky.
"What's going on? I am… bleeding!"
Sang Hai was greatly shocked.
He had been lurking in the center of the brain of the kraken. Although Li Yao's saber was too short to reach him, the blood aura had swept over his body.
Sang Hai had been complacent about his defenses. He wouldn't be bothered by it even if a real saber cut his body. Therefore, he didn't care about the sweeping blood aura at all.
But he didn't know that the blood aura of the Boiled Blood Wind Slashing Saber could trigger internal bleeding. Any living creature with a blood circulation system, be they human beings or demons, would be its victim!
He didn't feel anything wrong just now. But the dodging movements in order to avoid the three formidable enemies' attacks had almost exhausted his physical strength and mental power. The consequences of the previous injury were finally revealed!
0.1 seconds later, Sang Hai held back the bleeding by force and suppressed his dizziness.
But what he saw when his eyes were clear again were three dragon flames endowed with primitive, barbarian, and aggressive scents as if they'd crossed time and space from billions of years ago!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Running out of his strength, Sang Hai was hit by Ding Lingdang's 'Nona-colored Fire' precisely.
After appreciating the dragon fossil day and night and training in the extreme battles through the Demon Slaughterhouse, Ding Lingdang had decorated her 'Nona-colored Fire' with an intense prehistoric scent that was nothing like how it had been several months ago.
After the attack hit its enemy, the spiritual energy raged out unstoppably like a torrent.
"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"
The 72 bullets that had been affected by Sang Hai's sound waves detoured and hit their target under the control of 'Shell' Leng Ziming's telepathic thoughts.
These bullets had been refined by Li Yao whom he had made the request of after buying a large batch of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. With his proficient gunfighting skills, the bullets were ten times powerful more than previously.
"Gold Dissection!" 'Shell' Leng Ziming bellowed. Gold electric arcs were spluttering among the bullets, before they were suddenly lengthened and pierced into Sang Hai's body like hundreds of sharp swords.
Sang Hai's struggling body suddenly turned stiff.
There was no time for him to take any preventative actions. The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit had blinked behind his back. Exhaust flames as intimidating as tsunamis were gushing out from the power rune arrays. His speed and strength at maximum, the Boiled Blood Wind Slashing Saber drew an almost perfect red arc, passing by Sang Hai's neck in the blink of an eye!
The movement was so fast that the head stayed on the neck even though it had been cut off, which stopped the blood from spurting out. The brutality in the three eyes was completely gone.
The renowned demon Sang Hai on the Deadly Demons List had been killed by Li Yao and his teammates!
Chapter 387: Temple of Fallen Stars |
"Huala!"
'Dummy' Ba Weiqi jumped out of the ocean. Nine antennas covered in rings stood out from the disproportionately large head of his crystal suit, which projected his mental power that had been enhanced by dozens of times to the sky where it formed an impregnable dragnet.
A moment later, a translucent shadow appeared in the sky, dancing and dashing, only to be blocked by the vast, invisible net, before returning to Sang Hai's head helplessly.
"Sang Hai's soul has been pressed back to his dead body!" Ba Weiqi yelled.
Yan Yangtian, who had been hiding nearby all this time, leaped forward and slapped Sang Hai's head, which was immediately frozen with flourishing frost flowers.
Emotionlessly, Yan Yangtian picked up the frozen head, put it into a container, and placed it in her Cosmos Ring.
Since Sang Hai was one of the three thousand deadly demons, he must've been aware of much confidential information about the Blood Demon Sector. The secret arts that he employed to breed biochemical beasts would also be a great help to the study of life science in the Heaven's Origin Sector.
He had been executed neatly. His brain cells were all intact; his demon soul failed to run away. After the team returned to the Heaven's Origin Sector, many research-type Cultivators would be able to make him confess every secret buried inside his brain.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
At this moment, more than ten earthshaking explosions took place deep down the ocean in the far ahead. The fireball soared to the sky and dyed the gloom into redness.
The sea biochemical beasts breeding base that the Blood Demon Sector had established deep under the ocean had been detonated by four Star Teams.
Letting out a long sigh of relief, Li Yao watched the kraken's dead body floating up and down in the dark swirls moving toward the depths of the ocean, knowing that a potential hazard had been removed successfully.
Had the Occult Orbs Fellowship not discovered the secret base in time, the demon clan would've been able to throw the eggs of the biochemical beasts into the sea of the Heaven's Origin Sector where they would have grown up over ten to twenty years without anybody noticing anything wrong. At the right timing, a demon squad could've snuck into the Heaven's Origin Sector and appeared in the seashore of the Star Glory Federation reining those biochemical beasts, locking the ports and cutting off transportation… The consequences would've been calamitous.
"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"
More than ten streaks of brightness dashed toward them, which were the other Orb Patrollers taking part in this collaborative mission.
Seeing the twitching dead body in the air which was still surrounded by intense demonic energy even though it had lost it head, all the Orb Patrollers were dumbfounded, and it was not until five seconds later that they finally gasped in disbelief.
They might have demolished the breeding base of the demon clan, but Team Blue Bronze had slain a well-known expert on the Deadly Demons List!
It seemed that Team Blue Bronze would receive the most contribution points again!
But no one had any complaints.
They were a hundred percent sure that they could destroy the breeding base of sea biochemical beasts, but they had no faith whatsoever that they could kill Sang Hai and were not even willing to give it a try.
Team Blue Bronze had become the best team of the outside-world Orb Patrollers!
…
"Chi!"
Four seriously damaged star shuttles stopped at the end of the star rails.
Members of Team Blue Bronze walked out of their star shuttle with their heads held high, surrounded by staff that were almost five times as many as before.
Many research-type Cultivators had learnt of the news in advance. They were waiting outside to get the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures retrieved from the Occult Orb and the head of the deadly demon, so that they could begin their study sooner.
Right now, Team Blue Bronze had been well acknowledged as a first-tier team.
Other than Li Yao, Ding Lingdang and Captain Hong Tong had appeared on the Stars To Destroy List too, which meant that they were considered by the demon clan to belong to the three thousand most dangerous people of the Star Glory Federation's population of almost ten billion.
Captain Hong Tong ranked the 2321st, while Ding Lingdang ranked the 2904th.
Three members of a team were on the Stars to Destroy List. It indicated that the personnel of the team were neatly organized. There was no significant drawback. Even if the team suffered great damage in a battle, in which one or two main members perished, the capability of the team wouldn't be entirely lost.
After handing in the trophies obtained from the mission in Ghost Ocean and submitting the mission videos, they asked the mainframe crystal processor to reevaluate the capability of the team.
According to the accomplishments and the personal strength of the team members, the system soon calculated their rank.
11th on the Rank of Stars!
Seeing their new rank, all the members of Team Blue Bronze had complicated feelings, especially the four old members including Captain Hong Tong.
"After Captain Yin perished, we never expected that we could return to the top 20 of the Rank of Stars within a year after the pillar of the team had died. Our comprehensive score is only one step away from 10th!"
Staring at the light beam, Hong Tong's eyes turned reddish while tears were brewing. He remarked, "Li Yao, Lingdang, thanks to you, Team Blue Bronze has been revived!"
"Captain, we've been through life and death together enough times to drop the civilities."
Li Yao smiled and said, "Ding Lingdang and I always feel lucky that we chose Team Blue Bronze too, because this is the place where we can bring out the best of what we are! It's needless to say anything else. There are ten days to go before the candidate teams eligible for the secret operation are to be announced by the Occult Orbs Fellowship. We must reach the top ten by then!"
"Correct!"
Hong Tong calmed himself down. His eyes regained sharpness, while he said in a low voice, "Everything is in vain if we cannot arrive in the top ten of the Rank of Stars. We've been pushing ourselves for three months. There are only ten days to go. We must overcome the barrier in front of us, no matter how hard it seems!
"Only after we enter the top ten of the Rank of Stars will we qualify to receive the enlightenment of the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and accept their spiritual seeds.
"Of the six of us, Li Yao and Ding Lingdang are still young and full of potentials, while the rest of us are almost fixed, our potential running dry, although we are at the middle level and high level of the Building Foundation Stage.
"Without undergoing fortuitous events and just by training normally, Li Yao and Ding Lingdang may need dozens of years in order to break into the Core Formation Stage, if they are unbelievably lucky.
"As for the four of us, we don't stand a chance at all.
"But, spiritual seeds! With the help of the spiritual seeds of the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, we will be bestowed an opportunity to experience the higher level and form our cores! Li Yao and Ding Lingdang's training time will be greatly saved. It will take less than ten years for them to form their cores!
"Not to mention that exploring the unseen Ultimacy is the highest honor for us Cultivators. If we set off on the expedition, our names will be left in the history books of the Star Glory Federation!
"Even if I have to die, I will stab my bones deeply into the earth of Ultimacy!"
Hong Tong's speech triggered countless thoughts in everyone's hearts.
From the ancient time to nowadays, millions of Cultivators had been seeking the path to immortality, but none of them had ever succeeded.
For some of them, not only were their bodies rotten, the innocent also fell victim to their attempts. Even the world had once been on the verge of dilapidation. They and their descendants were doomed and cursed for all eternity.
However, although bodies may cease to exist, spirits could live forever. The names of all the Cultivators would be indelible in the magnificent history of the Star Glory Federation.
As long as the Star Glory Federation lived on, these Cultivators would be immortal!
When the Star Glory Federation expanded into the universe, their names would be spread to every corner of the sea of stars!
As modern Cultivators, this was the supreme immortality that they were pursuing and willing to die for!
"I suggest that we take a three-day rest, and that 80% of the contribution points be allocated to Li Yao, who then will purchase secret treasures for all of us, so that our magical equipment can be fully upgraded again. After that, we will carry out the most risky and difficult mission in order to reach the top ten of the Rank of Stars!"
Captain Hong Tong waved his hand fervently.
Yet, his teammates didn't answer to his declaration as enthusiastically as he'd expected, because they were gazing at the light beam behind him in bewilderment.
Hong Tong was surprised and turned back, only to notice that the Rank of Stars was changing violently while Team Blue Bronze jumped upward to…
10th of the Rank of Stars!
Then, they heard shocking exclamations from the chitchatting Orb Patrollers nearby.
