chsdbacks Chapter 247 Blood Pool Mutation
Chapter 247 Blood Pool Mutation
Nie Lingfeng slowly exhaled a scorching breath, a feeling of fullness mixed with slight fatigue surging through the fusion core in his chest. That "Earthfire Furnace" attack had been incredibly taxing, almost draining most of the newly acquired power. But the effects were also significant; it not only eliminated the strongest threat in one fell swoop but also greatly intimidated the remaining corpse puppets and the "Council" squad.
His gaze swept across the cave. The remaining dozen or so ordinary corpse puppets had long lost their will to fight, cowering at the edge of the blood pool or in the corners of the rock walls, their filthy blood vessels dim and their soul flames flickering, daring not to advance any further. As for the huge, nauseating central blood pool, although it still exuded a strong evil aura, its "activity" seemed to have been significantly reduced due to the purification of a large number of corpse puppets and the impact of the previous outburst, its rolling becoming listless and weak.
Finally, his gaze fell coldly on the group of "parliament" members in the distance.
Upon meeting Nie Lingfeng's emotionless, dark golden eyes, which seemed to look down upon ants, the scarred captain shuddered, instantly snapping out of his shock! He knew this was not the time for shock and fear! This terrifying man who had suddenly appeared, possessing "divine bloodline," was a far more deadly threat than those corpse puppets! Moreover, he clearly harbored hostility towards them!
"Retreat! Retreat immediately! Enter the north passage!" The scarred captain practically roared the order, simultaneously raising his gun, pointing it in Nie Lingfeng's direction, and pulling the trigger without hesitation! "Cover fire! Doctor, you go first!"
"Da da da da—!!"
The silence was shattered once more by the piercing sound of gunfire! Several tongues of fire spewed towards Nie Lingfeng! At the same time, the other two team members reacted, firing wildly in the general direction of Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo while protecting the doctor in the white coat carrying the metal box, scrambling towards the arched entrance to the north passage! They abandoned all unnecessary equipment, even leaving behind a seriously injured and immobile companion (who desperately reached out towards the passage, only to be unhesitatingly discarded), seeking only to escape this killing machine and this desperate situation as quickly as possible!
"Trying to run?" Nie Lingfeng's eyes turned cold. He shifted slightly, easily dodging the incoming bullets (these bullets were instantly melted or deflected by the high temperature of the residual dark gold flames on his body when they came within three feet of him), and prepared to give chase. He absolutely could not let the people from the "Council" leave with potentially important "samples" or intelligence, and even more so, he could not let them enter the deeper parts of the altar to come into contact with the so-called "holy artifact"!
However, the instant he moved—
"Gurgle...gurgle..."
In the center of the cave, the enormous pool of blood suddenly began to boil violently and abnormally! No longer did it churn rhythmically as before, but instead, like boiling asphalt, it violently emitted huge, dark red bubbles. These bubbles burst, releasing an even stronger, more pungent stench and an evil aura! The surface of the blood pool began to drop and shrink at a visible rate!
It was as if there was an invisible funnel at the bottom of the pool, frantically drawing out the foul blood from it!
At the same time, a deeper, more ancient will, filled with endless resentment, madness, and a kind of... hunger and desire, burst forth from the depths of the blood pool, like a slumbering primordial beast being forcibly awakened, with a pressure that made the entire cave tremble!
This will, so powerful and evil, far surpasses all the previous corpse puppets, even exceeding the nascent evil god incarnation in the "Nammu Cave" by several times! It seems to be the true core born from the corruption of this altar, the aggregate of the resentment and evil energy of all living beings sacrificed, corrupted, and distorted here over countless years! It is the final malignant tumor that has grown from this ancient altar's "terminally ill" state!
"Not good!" Alarm bells rang in Nie Lingfeng's mind! He instantly abandoned the idea of pursuing the "Council" team, focusing all his attention on the blood pool that was undergoing a strange transformation! He could sense that what was awakening was extremely dangerous! Moreover, the "hunger" and "desire" it emitted seemed to... be faintly targeting him?! Was it because of the pure and powerful Qilin power that had just erupted within him?! Or was it because of... Chen Duo's Phoenix True Fire?
"Chen Duo! Come here! Get to my side! Defend with all your might!" Nie Lingfeng shouted urgently. At the same time, the power that had just recovered in his body was once again circulating wildly. The dark golden Qilin True Fire reignited on his body, more solid and vigilant than before!
Chen Duo also felt the terrifying malice emanating from the depths of the blood pool, which froze her soul. Her face turned pale instantly, and she rushed towards Nie Lingfeng without hesitation. At the same time, she quickly formed hand seals, and pure golden phoenix true fire blazed up, forming a warm and solid flame shield around her.
"Boom—!!!"
The blood pool contracted to its peak! Within seconds, every last drop of the foul blood in the pool was drained, revealing the bottom filled with countless twisted bones, shattered armor, and a massive, intricately designed, dark green, unidentified magic circle that exuded a strong aura of blasphemy! At the center of the magic circle was a bottomless, pitch-black vertical shaft!
At that moment, something was slowly, struggling, and climbing upwards inside the shaft!
First to emerge from the well was a gigantic, emaciated claw covered in dark red scales, its fingertips sharp as hooks, dripping with thick, black blood! Next came another! Two claws gripped the edge of the well, producing a teeth-grinding scraping sound. Then, a massive, bloated head, barely maintaining a "dragon" or "giant serpent" form, but covered in rotting tumors, everted bone spurs, constantly opening and closing wounds oozing pus, and countless mouths that opened and closed silently wailed—a terrifying head utterly indescribable in words, filled with ultimate blasphemy and madness—slowly emerged from the vertical shaft!
The head had no eyes, only two constantly rotating, dark red vortexes that seemed capable of devouring all light and soul! At the center of the vortexes were two cold, piercing gazes filled with endless resentment and hunger, like those from the deepest hell, fixedly on Nie Lingfeng, who was on high alert at the edge of the blood pool, and behind him, Chen Duo, who exuded an alluring aura of "purity" and "warmth"!
"Hiss... Ah... Pure... flesh and blood... Sacred... aura... Finally... here... The final... sacrifice... The perfect... vessel..."
A hoarse, drafty, yet strangely rhythmic and terrifying whisper, a mixture of countless overlapping voices of men, women, and children, echoed directly into the depths of the soul, reverberating eerily in the cave.
As it whispered, the entire altar palace began to tremble slightly! Pebbles fell from the cave ceiling, and the filthy runes on the rock walls lit up with dark red light one after another. The evil "field" in the air instantly increased several times, making it almost impossible to breathe!
This ultimate monster, which crawls out from the depths of the blood pool and embodies all the pollution and resentment of the altar, is the "greater shadow" mentioned by the mountain guardians, and the terrifying existence that may truly be related to the so-called "holy artifact" or "experiment" of the "Council"!
And at this moment, it awoke.
Furthermore, it regards Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo as its final and most perfect prey, which it "descended" or "completed"!
Meanwhile, from the arched passage on the north side, the panicked cries of the "Council" squad could be faintly heard, along with even more intense gunfire and explosions. It seemed that they had also encountered some terrible trouble deep inside the passage, forcing them to stop and even engage in battle.
The ultimate monster has awakened in front of them, the "Council" team may cause trouble behind them, and the remaining corpse puppets are watching them from the sidelines...
Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo were suddenly plunged into an unprecedented and desperate crisis!
At this moment, Nie Lingfeng's eyes were icy cold and extremely calm. He slowly took a step to the side, completely shielding Chen Duo, whose face was pale but whose eyes were stubborn, behind him.
Within his body, the newly born, immense power, fused with the Qilin's strength and having just experienced a burst of power and depletion, began to slowly condense and compress in a deeper, more restrained, yet more dangerous way...
The Qilin tattoo on his chest seemed to sense this ultimate evil originating from "calamity," and let out a silent roar full of indomitable fighting spirit!
"Duoduo," Nie Lingfeng's voice rang out calmly, carrying a strange, reassuring, and steady strength amidst the suffocating evil pressure and monstrous whispers, "Are you afraid?"
Chen Duo shook her head vigorously, her small hands tightly gripping Nie Lingfeng's clothes from behind. Her emerald eyes were fixed on the terrifying monster slowly crawling out of the shaft. Although fear still lingered on her face, there was even more of a resolute determination. She answered loudly and clearly:
"Don't be afraid! I'll burn this stinkiest, most filthy villain with you!" (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
"Okay." A cold and wild smile appeared on Nie Lingfeng's lips.
Dark golden flames exploded in his eyes and on his body!
"Then let's fight!"
Before the words were even finished, the ultimate monster, which had just crawled out halfway, seemed to be completely enraged by the word "war," which was full of fighting spirit and provocation. It let out a soul-tearing shriek and suddenly broke free from the shaft! Its enormous, twisted body, exuding endless evil and blasphemy, almost filled half of the cave! Countless rotting tentacles, bone spurs, wounds oozing pus, and wailing "mouths" danced and opened at the same time! A destructive attack, a mixture of physical impact, mental pollution, and a tide of evil energy, slammed down on Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo like a tsunami!
The battle instantly entered its most brutal and desperate final stage!
The outcome of this battle will determine the ultimate fate of this ancient altar, and will also profoundly affect Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo, as well as their yet-to-be-unfolded, even more magnificent future with the "Council" and that ancient "calamity"...