novelraw Chapter 84: Thousand-Faced Wild Power Ants, Base Stolen!
Chapter 84: Thousand-Faced Wild Power Ants, Base Stolen!
Lu Yu didn't rush in. He had to first verify his guess before he could execute the final step of his plan.
Silver Void Vines intertwined within his pupils. The Eye of Truth activated, and with the consumption of one-tenth of his spirituality, the relevant information appeared.
【Thousand-Faced Demon Womb (Desolate Strength Ant): Desolate Strength Ants are a rare monogamous Primordial Variant Species. The bond between mates is extremely deep.
When their lifespans near their end, they choose to be buried deep underground together.
The male Desolate Strength Ant failed to advance to the Overlord Rank.
Its spirituality scattered by half before it perished. The pregnant female Desolate Strength Ant chose to seal its corpse in amber within an underground tomb, preserving the bones for a thousand years without decay.
After being excavated, it was parasitized by the Thousand-Faced Great Demon Heart Core, which devoured its flesh and blood to transform into its current form.
It is currently in a Deep-Red Defiled Blood Demon-Subduing Ritual centered on the "Egg of Causality," using sufficient causal power to gestate the Rebirth Womb, which will give birth to the Thousand-Faced Desolate Strength Ant, a transformation of the Thousand-Faced Great Demon.
】
'The Thousand-Faced Great Demon, the Desolate Strength Ant… It's exactly as I guessed…'Lu Yu murmured softly. All the information corresponded with his previous thoughts, with only a few minor discrepancies in the details.
From the moment he first saw the video of the Desolate Strength Ant, he had felt a strange, discordant feeling, as if he were looking at a fusion of life and death…
A living corpse!
Moreover, according to the data from the top research institutes in the Imperial Capital, the Strength Ring essentially enhanced physical power. Like most strength-type skills, it was condensed within the bones of the body.
Great Power Belongs to the Self.
To extend one's own bones out of one's back, aside from looking cool, was a completely meaningless move that only added weaknesses, not aligning with the characteristics of a creature in the wild.
But because Primordial Variant Species like the Desolate Strength Ant were extremely rare, and the only published image was of its bones, they would rather believe the video they saw with their own eyes.
They thought the research institute's data was wrong.
Even Lu Yu had thought so at first, until he saw the material information for the Stitched Demon and learned about the Thousand-Faced Great Demon Heart Core with its flesh-and-blood transformation ability.
By devouring flesh and blood, it could transform into the target creature, inheriting a portion of its power and abilities.
Then, from the memories of the Crab Claw Stitched Demon, he extracted the information that this was all spread by the Stitched Demon Leader, and the so-called video was directed and acted out by him.
Connecting these pieces of information completely enlightened Lu Yu and allowed him to sort out the entire sequence of events.
In the original Desolate Ant Mound Mystic Realm, there were indeed two Desolate Strength Ants, and they were a couple. However, one of them died after failing to advance to the Overlord Rank.
Normally, according to their habits, they would be buried underground together. But because the female Desolate Strength Ant was pregnant, her maternal instincts drove her to first give birth and raise her child before joining her mate in the earth.
But somewhere along the way, something happened, and the female Desolate Strength Ant perished before she could return underground.
After long years of erosion, only a pile of dry bones remained.
They were then excavated by people from the research institute, identified as female, which cemented the legend of the Desolate Strength Ant egg's authenticity.
'As for their offspring…'
Lu Yu shook his head.
He hadn't found any traces of ant eggs or young Desolate Strength Ants in the cavern. The research institute only had the female's skeleton, and the desert had been searched countless times.
It made sense. If even an Overlord Rank Desolate Strength Ant could perish due to irresistible factors, the fate of a young one probably wouldn't be any better.
Perhaps the Desolate Strength Ant species had already gone extinct.
After all, countless Primordial Variant Species had gone extinct from ancient times to the present.
No one was the chosen one. Even an Ancient Dragon, a Disaster Incarnation, would be buried by the endless river of time.
A mere Desolate Strength Ant was insignificant in the vast expanse of time, just a drop in the ocean.
Then, the timeline moved to the present.
The Stitched Demon Leader, through some unknown means, discovered and excavated the body of the male Desolate Strength Ant buried deep underground. He then used the Thousand-Faced Great Demon to parasitize it, devouring its flesh and blood to transform it.
The reason the video appeared so uncoordinated was likely because the Thousand-Faced Great Demon Heart Core had just begun to parasitize a corpse that had been dead for a very long time. Because it had been dead for so long, it showed obvious incoordination and…
Fragility!
Even though it was sealed in amber, the spirituality in its body would still dissipate, causing it to stiffen, or even become brittle.
If it used the Strength Ring skill within its body, the intense vibrations would likely shatter the corpse. That's why it pushed the bones out of its back to form a wing-like shape, which also allowed it to more directly showcase the power of the Desolate Strength Ant's skill.
This was to attract more Beast Tamers to increase the number of sacrifices.
And the Desolate Strength Ant's instantaneous disappearance at the end of the video was probably because it had burrowed directly into the ground, hence why it vanished without a trace.
However…
This was the sequence of events, but it was not the Stitched Demon Leader's true goal.
Lu Yu looked towards the Rebirth Womb in the center.
The true goal was to sacrifice the Desolate Strength Ant's corpse and use the Thousand-Faced Great Demon Heart Core to reincarnate it, gestating a new body.
To hatch a powerful demonic beast named the Thousand-Faced Desolate Strength Ant!
It was just that because Lu Yu had intercepted the sacrifices and attracted the Beast Tamers, the two plans interfered with each other, and the embryo before him hadn't received enough nutrients, causing it to be somewhat malnourished.
It was a long way from hatching.
This was bad news for the Stitched Demon Leader, but for Lu Yu, it was an opportunity to pick up the scraps!
He could obtain the materials he wanted without a direct confrontation, and at the same time, destroy the core of the ritual, severely injuring the Stitched Demon Leader on the battlefield above.
But Lu Yu didn't approach hastily. It wasn't safe enough yet.
He needed to make one more preparation.
He took out five Life Bubbles from his Void Treasure Chest and handed them to Little Mouse, instructing:
"From now on, Little Mouse, you will use your shadow power to cover this entire area. Absolutely no information can be allowed to leak out."
If not for Little Mouse's existence, Lu Yu wouldn't have even considered executing this final step.
It was precisely because it had devoured the blood of an ancient Evil God Servitor that it gained the ability to evade all divination and detection abilities below the Morning Star Rank. Thinking in reverse, this meant it could actively block the transmission of information.
It was equivalent to shielding an entire area from the transmission of transcendent information.
Although it didn't directly destroy the ritual, it was like cutting off the internet!
Creating an information gap!
After all, what he was about to do was to be a lurker and steal the fruits of victory.
This kind of thing was most likely to attract hatred.
For example, it was like the cuckold working hard outside, only for him, the 'Yellow Hair' who appeared out of nowhere, to swoop in and steal the perfect girlfriend he'd painstakingly nurtured.
And the process was brutal, completely inhuman.
Once the cuckold found out, he might be so provoked that he would abandon the battlefield above and drill underground to find him.
Then he'd be screwed…
He would definitely be chopped into a mixed paste of Lu Yu, Little Spider, and Little Mouse!
"Mmm…"
It was the first time Little Mouse had seen such a serious expression on the cultivator. It felt immense pressure, but despite its timid nature, it didn't back down.
Instead, it raised its head and said seriously:
"Ten bags of potato chips!"
It seemed like it was asking for a reward, but in reality, Little Mouse was nervous.
So it used its favorite potato chips as a promise, that it would do its best, even…
To the death!
"Deal.
I'll get you a bottle of Fatty's Happy Drink when we get home!"
"Ying!" Little Spider also smiled.
'I'll buy you pudding!'
Lu Yu reached out his hand and lightly bumped his fist with Little Spider's and Little Mouse's small paw.
"It's a promise!"
"When it comes to the critical moment, this family still has to rely on Little Mouse!"
Little Mouse retracted its small paw, snorted proudly, and the dark spiritual power around its body began to boil. It continuously poured into the shadow behind it, which began to expand rapidly, turning into a giant mouse shadow in the blink of an eye.
Then, it clung to the stone wall and spread towards the depths of the cave. The blood-colored tendrils seemed to sense something and flickered with a faint light, as if trying to transmit a message, but they were blocked by the flowing darkness.
Although the cavern where the golden embryo was located was quite large, because it wasn't a battle but just an emission of aura, it was manageable for Little Mouse. It consumed one-third of its spiritual power to cover the area completely.
If someone with the ability of clairvoyance were to look, they would see that this area was enveloped in a giant black shadow bubble.
After doing all this, a trace of fatigue appeared on Little Mouse's face.
It stuck out a small paw, popped a Life Bubble, and after absorbing it, stood with its paws on its hips, Spirit Brimming once more, and said:
"Leave this to me, Little Mouse. You guys go on ahead."
"Alright."
Lu Yu nodded, then led Little Spider into the cavern.
However, the moment he stepped inside, it was as if a trap had been triggered. The carpet-like blood-colored root tendrils instantly erupted, revealing numerous blood spikes that whipped towards Lu Yu.
If they hit, they would tear off large chunks of flesh and skin, instantly shredding a person into a skeleton.
"Ying!"
Little Spider raised its hand, condensed a Spider Silk Shield in front of its body, and blocked the attack, producing a series of ding, ding, ding sounds.
At the same time, it condensed a longsword of spider silk, swung it horizontally, and the Great Black Heaven Sword Qi swept out, cutting like a crescent moon, severing a large number of root tendrils. It was like slitting blood vessels; large amounts of black blood spurted out, turning into a bloody mist that carried a foul stench.
The smell was like a dead mouse in the corner of a house, which over time would emit a nauseating stench of decay that even the strongest perfume couldn't cover.
Filthy and degenerate!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
But the blood-colored root tendrils seemed to know no fear.
They surged forward like a tide, gathering together to form a wall of blood-colored thorns.
Although it couldn't harm Lu Yu, it blocked his path, which would waste a lot of time and delay his progress.
'I have to speed up!'
A sense of urgency flashed in Lu Yu's eyes.
Even if the transmission of transcendent information was blocked, a lack of feedback for a long time would indirectly indicate that something was wrong here.
Little Spider sensed its master's emotions, stepped into the void, held its sword with both hands, and slashed with all its might. The sword qi swept through, forcefully carving out a path.
Everywhere it passed was a mess, piled high with severed, bloody residue.
The remaining blood-colored root tendrils seemed to have regained their senses.
They recoiled in fear back towards the golden embryo, coiling into a ball.
"Well done!"
Lu Yu praised it.
He smoothly arrived near the giant embryo. Through the thin membrane, he could vaguely see a huge mass of flesh inside, continuously gestating a complete form in a large amount of filthy black blood.
He could tell it was in the shape of an ant, extremely similar to the Desolate Strength Ant he had seen before.
But what attracted Lu Yu's attention more was not it, but the mechanical screen embedded in the wall behind the embryo.
The screen was displaying the scene of the Stitched Demons and Beast Tamers confronting each other near the altar.
'A Secret Treasure? Why wasn't it blocked? No, this seems to be just a simple technological product!'
Lu Yu didn't know how to react.
No wonder this thing wasn't blocked by Little Mouse. What was being evaded were transcendent abilities, but the screen in front of him was using the most basic technological means.
It didn't even rely solely on a signal. A black wire extended from the back of the screen, connecting all the way to a higher bare rock or cliff near the altar, which could provide a bird's-eye view of all the action above and broadcast it in real time.
Whether it was after the Thousand-Faced Desolate Strength Ant was born, or when the Stitched Demon Leader came underground, he could monitor every move above through this screen.
Especially since it had no transcendent power fluctuations and was hidden in the crevices of inconspicuous rocks, it was actually harder to discover in this desert.
After all, who would have thought that the Stitched Demons, who worshiped fleshly ascension, would actually use a mechanical camera.
How despicable!
It's not scary when a demonic beast knows magic, but it's terrifying when they know technology.
But now, this screen was a boon for Lu Yu, allowing him to monitor the battle situation above in real time.
However, he wasn't in a hurry to check.
He first used his material extraction ability on the embryo before him.
An eternal white light enveloped it, but instead of extracting it directly, it began to slowly corrode it.
Based on the knowledge in his mind, Lu Yu created a progress bar for himself to more intuitively see the extraction progress.
"2%… 4%…"
The progress bar ticked up bit by bit.
Although it was a conceptual ability, there was a prerequisite: the item being extracted could not resist.
As long as there was no resistance, he could extract even a god for you to see!
Although the consciousness of the embryo before him was still slumbering, it was essentially alive and would have an instinctual resistance to a life-or-death crisis.
However, because its consciousness was weak, it didn't constitute a state of resistance, so it was still being extracted little by little.
'It should take about ten minutes…'
Lu Yu briefly estimated the time, then looked at the screen.
At that moment, the giant Eight-Armed Titan Snake-Man was actually looking towards him. The instant their eyes met, his heart almost stopped, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
'I've been discovered!?'
Lu Yu's first reaction was to run. Facing a top-tier demonic beast that had undergone a Spirituality Transformation, he didn't even have the qualification to fight.
He could always find evolution materials for Little Mouse later, but if he lost his life, everything would be gone.
However, the Stitched Demon Leader only glanced at it and quickly looked away.
This made Lu Yu, who was about to bolt, stop his movements.
'It seems he was just looking at the camera…'
He let out a sigh of relief.
It made sense. Little Mouse's shielding ability was invincible below the Morning Star Rank.
How could it be seen through in an instant?
How could he, the great Minotaur God of War, be so timid?
Lu Yu adjusted his mentality and glanced at the progress bar, which was slowly crawling to "7%". He wished he could just pull it to completion.
There was a thrilling feeling of raiding the enemy's base.
His peripheral vision continued to stare at the live broadcast of the battlefield, ready to run at any moment.
Above ground, near the altar.
The Stitched Demon Leader, transformed into the 【Eight-Armed Titan Snake-Man】, noticed that he had lost contact with the Rebirth Womb and subconsciously glanced at the camera's location.
However, he didn't think much of it, as there had been instances of unresponsiveness during the transformation before. Besides, he had set up a special ritual below that would notify him if anyone stepped into it.
Since it hadn't been triggered, it meant there was no problem.
That being said, a dark cloud inexplicably loomed in his heart.
A sense of unease grew, making him feel impatient.
'Is it because there aren't enough sacrifices, and it's starting to affect the rebirth ritual?'
Killing intent flashed in the Stitched Demon Leader's eyes as he looked at the group of people before him and said coldly:
"Looks like I need to end this quickly!"
So he directly transformed into his Eight-Armed Titan Snake-Man form.
Countless vipers grew from his face, flicking their tongues and hissing. He opened his blood-red maw and hissed out purple poisonous gas, which gathered together.
It turned into a thick, surging purple poisonous mist that swept towards the Beast Tamers on the ground.
Limb Grafting Technique—Venomous Mist!
Wherever the poisonous mist passed, the sand began to sizzle, corroding into a pool of sludge in the blink of an eye.
Bai Mingyi's expression changed at the sight. As one of the few Beast Tamers who had undergone a Spirituality Transformation, he took the initiative to command:
"Wind-type Beast Tamers, quickly summon a great wind to blow away the poisonous mist!"
The Beast Tamers behind him reacted quickly.
Flying Night Owls, Storm Crows, Crimson Gold Eagles, and other wind-type or flying-type pet beasts appeared, using skills like 【Gust】, 【Wind Blade】, and 【Tailwind】. Some of the larger bird-type pet beasts even directly flapped their wings to stir up airflow.
A large number of pet beasts gathered the power of the wind element and soon stirred up a storm that swept out, directly dispersing the poisonous mist.
"Kill them!"
"Kill all these Beast Tamers and take their pet beast limbs!"
"The Boss said that whoever kills more than ten Beast Tamers will be granted the power of an Ancient God and evolve to the Commander Rank!"
However, after the poisonous mist dissipated, a large number of Stitched Demons appeared, charging forward.
Under the threat of death and the temptation of rich rewards, they let out sharp, strange cries and charged at the Beast Tamers.
"Don't be afraid, everyone! Cooperate with each other!"
Although the Beast Tamers were startled, they reacted quickly.
Various pet beast skills bombarded the Stitched Demons, but the demons relied on the powerful bodies of transcendent creatures and charged straight in.
They scattered the Beast Tamers, breaking them into many small battlefields!
The goal was to prevent the Beast Tamers from grouping up.
Bai Mingyi watched this scene, patted the Ice Demon White Lion beneath him, and commanded:
"Use Freezing Wind…"
However, before he could finish, a hurricane swept towards him, forcing him to dodge. The area where he had just been was completely shredded by wind sickles, left in ruins.
'That was close…'
Chen Yuxiao and another fire-type Beast Tamer named Peng E were also attacked by magma and a sea of trees, respectively.
This prevented them from intervening in the main battlefield.
From under the dark face of the Eight-Armed Titan Snake-Man, the Stitched Demon Leader's maniacal laughter rang out:
"Your opponent is me!"
As his voice fell, his figure flickered and appeared behind Bai Mingyi. Four of his arms formed a cursed seal, and an ancient, crimson magic circle appeared, like a blooming blood lotus, beautiful and demonic.
From it, hundreds of arms grew out, stacked on top of each other, forming a ten-meter-long spear made of arms, constantly writhing, looking extremely twisted and terrifying.
Limb Grafting Technique—Hundred-Arm Spear!
The Eight-Armed Titan Snake-Man violently threw it, and it whistled as it shot towards the three people on the ground!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The countless arms on the Hundred-Arm Spear writhed and stretched, falling like a meteor, threatening to drag them into the depths of hell.
"Ice Demon White Lion, use Wall of Eternal Frost!"
"Black Light Electric Leopard, Lightning Pole Spear!"
"Flame Snake, Hellfire Vortex!"
The three Beast Tamers who had undergone Spirituality Transformation reacted quickly. Ice crystals rapidly condensed in the air, gathering into a massive ice wall several meters thick that rose from the ground.
It collided with the Hundred-Arm Spear and was instantly shattered, scattering into a sky full of ice crystals.
Although the ice wall was broken, it slowed down the Hundred-Arm Spear.
At the same time, the Black Light Electric Leopard roared and condensed three highly concentrated spears of lightning, which shot out like flashes of light, directly piercing through the Hundred-Arm Spear.
Rumble!
The lightning instantly erupted, and the terrifying electric current burned it, flashing brightly in the air, briefly illuminating an area of several hundred meters as if it were daytime.
The Hellfire Vortex also swept up, directly engulfing the Hundred-Arm Spear. The fierce flames burned it, incinerating it to ashes that scattered in the wind.
"We did it!"
A hint of joy appeared on the three's faces, but it quickly stiffened.
Because the Stitched Demon Leader's Eight-Armed Titan Snake-Man had once again condensed a Hundred-Arm Spear, and this time, the Storm Giant's arms also formed a cursed seal, enchanting it with a storm's shroud.
Combination Skill—Storm Hundred-Arm Spear!
The three repeated their skills once more.
But with the storm's enhancement, the speed of the Hundred-Arm Spear was raised by a whole level.
Moreover, the wind fanned the flames, which in turn melted the ice spear, and the lightning alone could not stop the Hundred-Arm Spear from falling.
Boom!
With a loud bang, the Hundred-Arm Spear pierced the earth.
The terrifying impact created a crater a hundred meters in diameter, causing a brief vacuum and sending up a cloud of yellow sand that fell like a torrential rain.
The terrifying shockwave shook the Beast Tamers hundreds of meters away, causing their blood to churn.
A few of them lost focus for a moment, and if not for their companions' help, they would have been killed on the spot by the Stitched Demons.
"So strong…"
The three of them looked at this scene with grave expressions, not expecting the Stitched Demon Leader's strength to have reached this level.
This guy was already halfway into the Overlord Rank, only lacking the final Sublimation Ceremony!
They had to go all out to have a chance!
Among the three, Bai Mingyi was the first to attack, using the Combination Skill of his peak Expert skills—Ice Coffin. The air around the Eight-Armed Titan Snake-Man plummeted, and countless ice crystals grew and accumulated, directly sealing it in an ice coffin.
"Combination Skill—Thunderstorm Bite!"
"Combination Skill—Annihilating Fire Prison!"
The other two also acted quickly. Lightning gathered into a giant maw, carrying immense electrical power, and bit down!
The Flame Snake spat out several fire snakes that soared into the sky, intertwining to form a fiery prison, trapping it from all sides, preparing to incinerate and kill it after the heavy lightning strike.
Just when they thought it was over, the ice coffin suddenly shattered. This time, the Eight-Armed Titan Snake-Man used six arms to form a cursed seal.
The countless vipers on its face grew with the wind, wrapping around its body to form a giant sphere of vipers in the air.
The densely packed vipers enveloped it, looking ferocious and terrifying.
Limb Grafting Technique—Serpent's Shield!
The Serpent's Shield blocked all damage. It was like in a fire, when ants would roll into a ball to escape; the outer layer of ants would be burned to death, thus protecting the Ant Queen inside.
The vipers were charred by lightning and burned to ash, but after they dispersed, the Eight-Armed Titan Snake-Man inside was completely unharmed.
This scene made the hearts of the three sink.
This kind of monster… could it really be defeated?
But now there was no retreat. They could only brace themselves and fight.
Even though there were three of them attacking it, the Stitched Demon Leader had also grafted many powerful life forms' bodies, and its abilities were bizarre and unpredictable. It was actually suppressing them.
Wherever it passed, the residual energy of its attacks was unleashed, changing the terrain in a small area!
'Beast Tamers who have undergone Spirituality Transformation are already this strong, so what kind of power does a Morning Star Overlord possess…'
Lu Yu, in the underground cavern, couldn't help but marvel at the scene.
He was glad he hadn't stayed up there.
In a battle of this level, let alone participating, even the aftershocks could kill him.
He turned to look at the embryo.
The progress had reached "90%". He was just a little bit away from a successful extraction, allowing him to obtain two high-level materials with minimal cost.
And he could also heavily injure the Stitched Demon Leader, helping to ease the battle situation above!
Look at what this is?
This is the victory of a lurker!
The home-raiding operation, the closer it got to the end, the more tense and exciting it felt.
Lu Yu looked at the progress bar and silently counted in his heart:
"92%… 93%… 94%…"
"95%…"
Starting from "96%", the speed suddenly slowed down, and it even stopped at "97%".
'What's going on!?'
Lu Yu frowned, inexplicably feeling like someone was staring at him from above. He subconsciously looked up and met a dark golden vertical pupil that had squeezed out from the flesh at the top of the embryo.
It was looking down at him with a hint of confusion…
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