The towering mechanical arm reached up into the sky, its massive gears meshing with precision. The immortal specter, whose body could pass through walls and debris, found itself unable to penetrate this mechanical hand. It was tossed about in midair, and on several occasions, unable to dodge, was slammed hard against its body by the mechanical arm.
The immortal specter watched as the puppeteer carried away Eris’s severed limb and the Wanyang Hourglass escaped right before his eyes. The face drawn on the white cloth covering his head shifted from its original smile: the black marker-drawn eyebrows furrowed, and the simple outline of his mouth turned downward, transforming into a furious expression.
He hovered in midair, a ripple emanating from within him. The youth concealed beneath the white cloth let out a series of shrill, cackling laughs—a sound that seemed to take physical form as waves. The core mechanism inside the mechanical arm began to resonate in sync with his laughter.
The mechanical gears on the arm hummed, and its movements grew sluggish. As the resonance frequency stabilized, the gears emitted a cracking sound, and the cracks on the wheel spread wider and wider.
The Immortal Spirit’s laughter suddenly rose an octave; the shrill, piercing sound caused nearby birds to plummet from the sky and insects to plunge into the water. Vibrant bird feathers lost their color, flowers and grass withered, and the broad leaves of the trees surrounding the pharmaceutical plant turned gray and withered, their trunks exploding and collapsing with a thunderous crash.
As the surrounding landscape gradually turned grayish-white, the mechanical arm ceased its movements. After a brief silence, a gear exploded, and the entire mechanical arm collapsed.
“Let’s play,” the Eternal Spirit chuckled, flying toward the nearest Wanyang Hourglass.
Running is no match for flying, especially since the Wángliáng was merely a M2-level experimental subject still in the cultivation phase—the gap between it and the Eternal Spirit was simply in a different league.
The Immortal Spirit approached him, emitting a wave of spiritual energy. Wangli’s body stiffened; clutching his head in agony, he collapsed to the ground. The glass hourglass rolled across the floor a few times, cracking open a significant fissure. The glass hourglass was an extension of Wangli’s glandular cells; when it broke, it signified that Wangli’s glands had been injured.
The Eternal Spirit drifted before him, landing lightly, and asked in an ethereal voice, “Aren’t you going to run yet?”
The Wanying glanced back at the Puppet Master leading Eris away, clenched his teeth, grabbed the glass hourglass from the ground, and flipped it over in front of the Eternal Spirit.
“Attributes, swap.”
The white glass sand inside the hourglass flowed backward, and the concrete floor beneath the Eternal Spirit suddenly began to shift. Almost instantly, the Eternal Spirit’s lower legs sank into the ground, which had turned to water.
But another wave of energy, enough to make a soul tremble, surged from the Immortal Spirit’s body. Wangliang let out a scream as the glass hourglass shattered, and spider-web-like cracks spread across his body, which resembled opal glass.
The Eternal Spirit floated into the air. The simple, sketched expression on the white cloth turned menacing as it dove toward the Wanying, who was struggling to push himself up from the ground.
The Wanying closed his eyes in fear, curling his body into a tiny ball and trembling uncontrollably.
A slender, pitch-black rod—seemingly fluid—suddenly appeared between them without warning. As the spirit dove, it nearly collided with the rod, its movement halting abruptly, a puppet string wrapped itself around the wraith’s waist. The puppeteer, standing atop a distant skyscraper, gave a sharp tug, dragging the wraith away.
Clutching the shards of the hourglass, the wraith was dragged away blankly by the puppet strings. His back was turned to the direction the puppeteer was pulling him, and in his line of sight, he saw Bai Chunian, his body covered in blood.
The immortal spirit floated in the air and slowly turned around; the simple expression on the white cloth took on a look of astonishment.
“Hey. It’s so dark down in Hell—aren’t you coming down to be my tour guide?” Bai Chunian crawled out of the cement floor, which had softened into water after the Wángliáng’s hourglass properties had reversed it. His combat suit was in tatters, with some tears exposing bleeding skin beneath, his body covered in bloody gashes torn by ghostly hands, and two fresh streaks of blood on his cheeks. He slowly straightened up, the wounds on his face gradually healing.
The black staff that had been thrust into the ground to block the Immortal Wraith’s path and save the Wanyan’s life had melted away. The Dead Sea Heartstone transformed into a stream of pitch-black liquid, rushing toward Bai Chunian, coiling around his neck, and reforming into a collar that clamped tightly around his throat.
Two scratch marks remained on the glands at the back of Bai Chunian’s neck—this was the most severe injury on his entire body. The Dead Sea Heartstone collar tightened around him, simultaneously constricting the wounds on his glands, causing Bai Chunian to stagger slightly in pain.
“How did you get out?” The Eternal Spirit tilted its head to examine him, slowly raising a hand. It emerged from beneath the white cloth, just like the ghostly hands protruding from the ground—dark blue in color, with sharp, long nails. “My J1 ability, the Angel Beneath the Ship, should have dragged you into the underground river.”
“Well, you miscalculated. You don’t know who controls all the water above and below ground, do you?”
The Spirit tilted its head in surprise: “You?”
“Not exactly,” Bai Chunian scratched the tip of his nose. “My wife controls it. What’s hers is mine.”
The Eternal Spirit held out its palm toward him: “My mission is to take you back. Come with me.”
“Give Pearl back to me, and then we’ll discuss whether or not I’ll go with you.” Bai Chunian shoved his hands into his pockets and stared intently at the Eternal Spirit. “I know you’re carrying her.”
The Eternal Spirit let out a shrill laugh. “The Pearl? You mean that crybaby? He’s mine.”
Bai Chunian’s face paled slightly. If it could cry, did that mean it was still alive?
The Eternal Spirit’s expression turned cold. “If you try to steal my things, I’ll have no choice but to take your corpse back with me.”
The surface beneath the Eternal Spirit’s feet suddenly unfolded into a vast, boundless mirror. From within the mirror, hundreds of dark-blue ghostly hands reached out, frantically clawing at the ground beneath him, as if trying to grasp something.
Yet the reflection of the Eternal Spirit in the mirror was that of an angel with snow-white wings and a golden halo above its head. At the angel’s feet stretched out hundreds of human hands, pleading for a blessing.
The spirit spread its arms, and the angel in the mirror spread its wings. Two voices merged into one, murmuring softly, “The Reaper summons.”
Bai Chunian took two steps back, and the ground beneath his feet transformed once more into a shimmering mirror. This time, the mirror’s interior revealed pure white stone pillars and silk brocade, with an angel chanting within the temple.
Gradually, ripples spread across the mirror beneath the immortal spirit’s feet. From the center of the ripples, a towering Alpha slowly emerged, dragging a thick, scaly tail behind him.
Bai Chunian’s pupils contracted sharply. This was none other than the Velociraptor test subject that had died on the factory terrace. However, his body was devoid of color; the tail that had once been golden was now gray, and he looked like a three-dimensional black-and-white photograph.
At another spot on the mirror surface beside the spirit, ripples began to form, and a little girl crawled up from the center of the ripples.
Shi Mian stared at Bai Chunian with her milky-white, pupil-less eyes. Like the Velociraptor, her body was entirely black and white, devoid of any other color. She looked lifeless, showing no signs of “life” whatsoever.
Bai Chunian had no choice but to retreat, but his path was blocked by Xia Shilu. Xia Shilu’s four hooves stamped slowly on the ground, and from beneath her silver mask came a cold, threatening voice: “Divine Messenger, do not resist.”
The Immortal Wraith M2’s differentiation ability, “Death God’s Summoning,” awakens the souls of the dead to fight for it. These souls inherit 70% of the deceased’s former strength and can be further enhanced through support.
Bai Chunian was surrounded by four A3-class test subjects, one of whom was an Immortal Wraith in its degenerative phase.
Bai Chunian scanned their positions out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly, a silver light flashed from Xia Shilu’s antlers, and a thick fog erupted, swiftly engulfing the entire pharmaceutical plant.
“Ugh, here we go again.” In the thick fog, Bai Chunian could see nothing, and his normally superhuman hearing had been reduced to that of an ordinary person.
But his feline instincts remained sharp.
A faint breeze blew from behind, and Bai Chunian spun around instantly. The Velociraptor’s sharp claws came crashing down from above. Bai Chunian raised his forearm, activating his J1 ability to harden his bones. His reinforced forearm withstood the Velociraptor’s two punches, and he leaped into the air, spinning mid-flight. He swept out a swift, vicious kick, with the bone-hardening ability applied to his lower leg. the powerful kick struck the Velociraptor’s ribs with a force comparable to being hit by a solid roller from a road roller. Half of the Velociraptor’s ribcage shattered on the spot, and it was violently sent flying.
Bai Chunian spun around warily, only to come face-to-face with the little girl made of eroded cotton. A barrage of reinforced asbestos needles pressed in on him; even Eris’s ceramic body couldn’t withstand the ravages of the asbestos fibers, let alone Bai Chunian’s flesh-and-blood body, which was utterly incapable of withstanding the relentless onslaught of the asbestos needles. Once the asbestos seeped into his heart and lungs, it would inevitably destroy his internal organs from within.
A scent of brandy pheromones wafted from the back of Bai Chunian’s neck. He placed his left hand on his right arm and bowed his head, silently reciting his own name.
Since “Annihilation” could not be used on a target who did not acknowledge his own name, Bai Chunian chose to annihilate himself. A glass-like layer rose across his skin, covering every pore. A rain of asbestos needles fell from the sky, yet they merely brushed past Bai Chunian, unable to harm him in the slightest.
Bai Chunian tore the glass-like layer from his body; it came away along with flesh and blood, falling to the ground. Blood gushed from his entire body, flowing down his forearms and thighs to mix with the filthy water on the ground.
The severe blood loss caused Bai Chunian’s complexion to rapidly turn ashen. He staggered several steps before managing to steady himself. The bleeding slowly subsided, and the wounds began to heal inward from the edges.
“My turn…” Bai Chunian opened his left hand. Under his command, the Dead Sea Heartstone Collar rapidly melted, leaving a ring around his neck to continue restraining him, while a stream of crystalline energy split off and elongated in his palm, forging itself into a long-handled scythe. Within the scythe, it seemed as though water was flowing.
A deep, indigo glow—the same as Lan Bo’s—flared in Bai Chunian’s eyes. His pupils dilated, nearly filling the whites of his eyes.
The collar around his neck sensed Bai Chunian’s energy spilling out and automatically tightened its grip. It extended fine, intricate branches, forming a beast’s muzzle to restrain his sharp teeth and jaw.
Bai Chunian swung it against the wind, and the viscous fog was actually cleaved open by the Dead Sea Heart Scythe, moving with a speed rivaling that of a predator hunting its prey—so swift that one could not catch a glimpse of his shadow.
The Velociraptor closest to Bai Chunian, whose scent was the strongest, bore the brunt of the attack.
The Velociraptor wrapped its body with its hardest part—the tail—to defend itself. As the scythe blade, accompanied by a howling gale, swept toward it, the Velociraptor suddenly fell into a deathly silence. In the distance, it faintly heard the sound of tranquil waves washing over sand—the sound of stagnant water flowing within the Dead Sea Heart Scythe.
The Velociraptor’s eyes widened as its upper and lower halves began to shift out of alignment, severed by a smooth, crimson line.
The hard dragon tail fell to the ground first, its cross-section smooth as if sliced cleanly in two, followed by the severed upper body, which hit the ground with a limp, fleshy thud.
The Velociraptor shattered into several fragments, collapsing onto the ground. Its corpse turned into a wisp of blue smoke and dissipated, being reabsorbed into the body of the immortal spirit.
The summoned spirits were single-use entities; once killed, they vanished and could never reappear.
Bai Chunian spun around and charged toward Erosion Cotton. His speed was blinding; to the eye, he appeared as nothing more than a streak of white lightning. Erosion Cotton used her J1 ability, “Like a Gentle Bath,” to absorb most of the scythe’s force, but her body still bore a deep gash. Blue smoke rapidly billowed from the wound, merging into the body of the immortal spirit.
Bai Chunian landed lightly, moving like a cat—utterly silent. The Dead Sea Heart Scythe, clenched tightly in his left hand, slammed into the ground with a thud. Its long handle plunged into the earth, stirring up a turbulent wave. The concrete floor cracked in a spiderweb pattern radiating from the point of impact, and soil was flung several meters high, shattering the mirror-like surface beneath the Eternal Wraith’s feet.
The Eternal Spirit staggered back a few steps. Bai Chunian suddenly burst out of the white mist before him, sweeping the scythe horizontally to slash at the Eternal Spirit’s throat.
The ghost’s white cloth was sliced clean through by the sharp, icy blade. As the cloth fell to the ground, the true face of the youth beneath it was revealed.
The Alpha boy wore a school uniform; long, disheveled hair fell across his eyes, but one could faintly see that his lower eyelids were a vivid red, forming a stark contrast to his pale complexion. A row of interlocking, gnawing skulls was tattooed on his throat and neck, a jarring mismatch with his school uniform.
Bai Chunian recognized him—it was the high school student from the missing person’s flyer.
But this did not shake Bai Chunian in the slightest, for in his hands he held a pure, lustrous pearl that exuded the scent of the tuberose flower, similar to that of Lan Bo.
The Eternal Spirit tilted his head to look at him, curling the corners of his lips into a cold smile. “Since you’re so eager to see him, I’ll grant you that wish.”
The Spirit raised his hand, and the white cloth on the ground flew back into his grasp. He gently shook the dust from it and draped it over the pearl floating before him.
Just as Bai Chunian was a fingertip away from snatching the pearl, it trembled beneath the cloth, expanding and shifting shape.
Bai Chunian froze. The Eternal Spirit lifted his chin, gazing at him with a look of contempt. “My servant, the Spirit Cloak—well, are you surprised?”
The pearl beneath the Wraith Cloak lifted a corner of the white cloth, revealing a flawless, childlike face. His eyes were a deep blue with slender pupils; his hair and body were snow-white and crystal clear, and his legs were long and slender.
It was an albino devilfish omega, in full mimicry.
“How could this be…” Facing this youth who perfectly combined the features of both himself and Lan Bo, Bai Chunian couldn’t muster even a shred of the strength to harm him. His lips trembled, and he couldn’t utter a single word, retreating step by step.
The omega stared at him with a look of unfamiliarity, then charged toward Bai Chunian. He flipped gracefully through the air and swept a swift, powerful kick toward Bai Chunian. With nowhere to hide, Bai Chunian had no choice but to brace himself and take the blow head-on.
But he never could have anticipated that this single, heavy kick would shatter the bones from his forearm to his ribs, sending excruciating pain coursing through his entire body.
Omega murmured expressionlessly, “J1 ability: Skeletal Fortification.”
“No.” Bai Chunian’s eyelids flushed red, his eyes bloodshot. His chest heaved as he struggled to breathe, his voice choking with emotion.
The omega raised his left hand, and rainwater pooled rapidly in his palm, forming a translucent, water-colored Tang sword. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he lunged at Bai Chunian.
His M2 ability was actually water-hardened steel.
Bai Chunian pressed his hand against the wound and moved aside quickly, but the Omega was a step faster than him, whose energy was already more than half depleted. The water-hardened steel blade sank deep into Bai Chunian’s abdomen; blood spurted out, and Bai Chunian was pinned to the ground by the tip of the blade, a trickle of blood running down the corner of his mouth.
Yet he couldn’t grip the Dead Sea Heart Scythe, couldn’t strike back. Several times he tried to grit his teeth and fight back, but he simply couldn’t. Blood seeped from the wound in Bai Chunian’s back onto the ground. He felt utterly exhausted; his eyes closed several times, only to open again in resignation.
Bai Chunian was too weak to control his shapeshift; the lion’s tail emerged from behind him and fell limply to the ground, the crystal bell at its tip ringing once.
The omega’s body trembled. For a single moment, his cold blue eyes cleared, and he suddenly froze in place. He stared down in a daze and reached out his hand.
The collar around Bai Chunian’s neck melted, drawn into the omega’s hand. He cradled the small piece of Dead Sea Heartstone, lost in a dazed reverie.
Bai Chunian was already teetering on the brink of a rampage. With the sudden loss of the gag and collar’s restraints, his pupils instantly lost focus. His lion ears pricked up, his fangs lengthened, and he sprang to his feet with a violent lurch. The whites of his eyes were entirely covered in blue, making him look like a beast that had lost all control.
A thunderous roar of artillery fire echoed from the distance as a barrage of transparent quad-rocket rounds flew toward them. One struck the White Devilfish in the chest, and the powerful hydro-steel projectile sent his body flying dozens of meters away.
A surging electromagnetic hum echoed through the air as Lan Bo crashed to the ground. A wave of electromagnetic energy radiated out from him, shaking the trees to their cores.
Lan Bo frantically held Bai Chunian, who was staring blankly into space, pressing his palm against the wound on Bai’s lower abdomen to staunch the bleeding. He kept kissing the side of Bai’s ear: “Randi, I’m here. Wake up.”
Bai Chunian couldn’t regain his senses immediately, but under Lan Bo’s soothing touch, the chaotic energy surging through his body finally stabilized. He slowly crouched down, summoning every ounce of strength to suppress his murderous impulses.
“Wake up, you’ll be fine.” Lan Bo stroked his darling’s hair with concern, then glanced back at the omega boy whose aura was strikingly similar to his own. The last traces of tenderness in his eyes gradually vanished, replaced by ruthless determination.