novelraw Chapter 176 - 174: Black Stone
Chapter 176 - 174: Black Stone
"And over here, I’ve prepared a special dipping sauce for you, made from sea salt, dogwood berries, honey, and dozens of other spices. It adds even more flavor."
Hearing this, Black Stone said nothing.
He casually tore off a human thigh bone, which was still streaked with red.
He dipped it into one of the small bowls of sauce, then placed it in his mouth and began to chew. With each movement of his jaw, his sharp teeth easily shredded bone and flesh.
For a moment, the only sound was the CRUNCH, CRUNCH of chewing.
Before long, he had swallowed the entire thigh.
"Not bad, not bad!"
Black Stone extended his long, slender, crimson tongue, covered in fine barbs, to lick a fleck of meat from the corner of his mouth. A look of satisfaction spread across his face.
Seeing this, the slim man to the side couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of relief.
Although he was extremely confident in the food he made, this was his first time using human flesh as an ingredient.
Facing the ruler of Black Stone City, he couldn’t help but be nervous. If he made even one mistake, the consequence would be death.
He wouldn’t even leave a whole corpse behind. The most likely outcome was being swallowed whole, only to be expelled as a pile of dung a few days later.
"You are quite good," Black Stone said with a smile. "Once I have finished my meal, I shall grant you the transformation."
"Thank you, Lord Black Stone."
Hearing this, a look of joy flashed across the slim man’s face.
He had come here, risking his life, precisely to be transformed into a Celestial God and wield the same immense power.
Although Celestial Gods needed to consume flesh and blood, compared to the power they commanded, their long Lifespans, and their status above all others, what did a small drawback like that matter?
People outside would fight tooth and nail just for the chance to be transformed by even the lowest-ranking Celestial God, but such opportunities were exceedingly rare.
Although the Black Blood Species could transform other creatures, and even humans, into more of their kind, they refrained from doing so.
Because they needed to ensure the population of the Black Blood Species remained stable at a certain number.
If they transformed others as they pleased, there wouldn’t be enough humans in the Earth Core for the Black Blood Species to eat.
Thus, it was not easy to obtain an opportunity for transformation, let alone from this particular being.
Thinking of this, the slim man was overcome with excitement.
He quickly signaled for the person behind him to bring up the other dish.
"Lord Black Stone, this is another dish. I’ve named it..."
Just as he was about to introduce it,
His head suddenly exploded, splattering red and white matter everywhere.
The person who had been walking forward carrying the dish suddenly looked up,
Revealing a cold, expressionless face.
The covered platter was flipped open, but what appeared was not the slim man’s meticulously prepared delicacy.
But a blinding crimson Sword Light.
After tearing through the slim man’s head, the Sword Light continued unabated, slashing directly toward Black Stone.
"Hm?"
Black Stone’s expression changed abruptly.
Black energy roiled around him. He raised a thick arm, his muscles bulging as his bluish-black, iron-like skin formed a barrier in front of him.
Then, he reached a hand behind him, trying to grab the giant hammer placed to the side.
SHK!
Suddenly, a flash of red light streaked past.
Black Stone’s movements froze.
His face was filled with utter disbelief.
’He couldn’t understand why he hadn’t blocked a single move.’
His eyes shifted downward to look.
"How is this... possible!"
A thin line of blood appeared on his thick, root-like neck.
The next moment, Black Stone’s hideous head tumbled to the side like a kite with its string cut.
A huge amount of Black Blood gushed out.
Nearby, the two Lower-Rank Black Blood Species who had been standing guard saw this, and their expressions changed drastically.
However, before they could make a move, their bodies stiffened.
The next second, blood sprayed as they were sliced in two at the waist.
Whether it was Black Stone’s headless corpse or the two Lower-Rank Black Blood Species, all of their blood and Vitality were instantly drained away, drawn into the Long Saber in Hu Qi’s hand.
In an instant, they turned to Ashes and scattered on the ground.
Modification Point +19 (91%)
Modification Point +23 (3%)
Two lines of text appeared before Hu Qi’s eyes.
As his Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Bloodline became more complete, his Spirit Devouring Talent grew ever stronger.
He could drain them directly without even needing to touch them.
’It was just that the Modification Point values that appeared seemed to correspond only to the two Lower-Rank Black Blood Species, not Black Stone.’
’Regarding this, Hu Qi had discovered long ago that simply absorbing their blood without killing the Black Blood Species would not grant him Modification Points.’
’Modification Points must be related to the soul.’
’As for why the eggs of a Camphor Tea Duck could provide Modification Points, perhaps the eggs were equivalent to an ungestated life.’
’And the reason there were no Modification Points from Black Stone, a Middle-Rank Black Blood Species, was simple: it wasn’t dead yet.’
Thinking this, he turned his head to the side.
In the corner, Black Stone’s head lay on the floor, its eyes staring right at him.
Black Stone, now just a head, was shockingly still alive.
The Life Force of the Black Blood Species was already unnatural.
This was even more true for a Middle-Rank Black Blood Species. Even with only a head remaining, it was largely unaffected.
"Who... who in the world are you? You dare... treat me this way? Lord Food Master will not let you go..."
Seeing Hu Qi look over, the face of Black Stone’s disembodied head on the attic floor twisted in terror, its eyes locked on Hu Qi.
At the severed part of its neck, the blood squirmed as if it were alive, but none of it flowed out.
In addition, countless fine tendrils of flesh twisted and writhed, trying to grow a new body.
But before they could intertwine, the tendrils instantly lost their power and turned to Ashes.
The Taiqing Immortal Slaying Sword Technique was an upgraded version of the Seven Evils Saber, so it naturally possessed the same annihilating Traits.
This was why Black Stone couldn’t recover, despite its astonishing Recovery Power.
"Now, tell me your name, and where to find the Food Master of the Dense Forest Realm."
Hu Qi asked.
The moment Hu Qi’s voice sounded, a hazy feeling seemed to cloud Black Stone’s senses, and its expression became slightly vacant.
However, this state only lasted for two or three seconds before it snapped out of it.
"...Damn you... What did you do to me?"
It wanted to struggle and escape, but it was now only a head.
Furthermore, the power of the Black Blood Species was being suppressed by the annihilating Traits of the Taiqing Immortal Slaying Sword Technique at the wound, making it impossible.
Faced with its question, Hu Qi just sighed.
"It’s nothing. It’s just that sometimes, having a will that’s too strong isn’t necessarily a good thing."
As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed. Guided by his True Essence Power, Black Stone’s head was pulled directly into his hand.
Then, before its terrified and despairing eyes, he lifted the head and smashed it violently against the stone table.
BAM! With just one strike, the stone table shattered, and Black Stone’s face was covered in blood. But that wasn’t all.
A Sword Light flashed in his hand.
Black Stone’s ears, tongue, and both horns were all sliced off, leaving it in a miserable state.
The intense pain made Black Stone twitch uncontrollably.
Normally, this would be trivial, but the current damage, imbued with the Traits of the original Seven Evils Saber, was continuously causing an Erosion of Black Stone’s Vitality.
It was completely unable to regenerate.
It felt as if someone were slowly slicing its face apart with a small knife, a death by a thousand cuts.
Under the intense pain and successive rounds of torture, even the will of a Middle-Rank Black Blood Species was pushed to its limit. It felt as if it would pass out at any second.
"Tell me, what is your name? And where is the Food Master of the Dense Forest Realm?!"
Hu Qi asked the same question again.
"My name is Black Stone. The Food Master is..." This time, Black Stone no longer resisted.
Its remaining eye was vacant, like that of a puppet.
Faced with this scene, Hu Qi nodded in satisfaction.
’The Hypnosis Technique is useful, all right.’
’But sometimes it needs a bit of physical assistance. For example, beating the target to near-death and torturing them to push their Spirit to its absolute limit allows it to work even better.’
"Lord Black Stone, are you all right?"
Suddenly, a noise came from downstairs.
As they spoke, footsteps rapidly approached from below. It was clearly the Black Blood Species who had heard the commotion and rushed over.
Seeing this, Hu Qi’s eyes flickered, and when he opened his mouth, Black Stone’s voice came out.
"Get out!"
The voice was like a crack of thunder, shaking the very air.
"Yes!"
The next moment, hearing Black Stone’s voice, they all flinched.
The footsteps quickly receded and vanished. The Black Blood Species that had gathered downstairs rapidly dispersed.
Some time passed in a session of questions and answers.
After hearing Black Stone finish explaining its situation, an idea struck Hu Qi.
A light flashed around his body.
His figure vanished.
In his place stood a tall, burly figure clad in armor, with two curved horns on its head—the spitting image of Black Stone.
He glanced at Black Stone’s head.
’Everything Hu Qi had done was, naturally, to replace this Middle-Rank Black Blood Species, Black Stone.’
’As for why he didn’t just kill it and plunder its Light of the Soul—which would have been much simpler and faster than using Hypnosis to interrogate it—it was because, according to Zhu Xi’s internal records and his own observations, of the Black Blood Species’ special transformation and sensory Abilities.’
’If a Black Blood Species dies, the higher-ranking member that transformed it will sense it.’
’If he killed Black Stone, the Food Master of the Dense Forest Realm would surely notice. At that point, his only option would be to leave the Inner Earth World.’
’This was also why Fa Ji had instructed him to avoid the Black Blood Species as much as possible when he first entered this place.’
’Because killing any Black Blood Species would lead to discovery.’
’So, if he didn’t want the Food Master of this realm to realize something was wrong, he had to let Black Stone live for now.’
’As for the two Lower-Rank Black Blood Species from earlier, they had been transformed by Black Stone itself, so killing them was fine.’
Thinking of this, he glanced at Black Stone’s head as a distorted black light appeared on his palm.
The light enveloped Black Stone’s head, and a miserable scream tore from its mouth, as if it were suffering some unimaginable agony.
The next moment, the screaming stopped and the light receded. Black Stone’s massive head was gone, replaced by a Brass Bell on a red woven cord.
The bell swayed gently without any wind, letting out a crisp ringing sound.
Looking at the bell, a strange expression flashed across Hu Qi’s face.
’As his Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Bloodline became more complete, his Talent Abilities grew stronger as well.’
’From only being able to distort inanimate objects at the beginning, he could now freely distort the appearance of even living things.’
’However, there was one prerequisite to do this: the target had to be weaker than him.’
He casually tied it to his waist, and Hu Qi turned and walked toward the stairs.
At the same time, Black Stone’s voice echoed.
"Someone, come clean this place up."