Chapter 148 Gigantic Tentacle
As the smoke and dust dispersed, Hong Chenji's body lay embedded in the collapsing mountain wall, broken beyond recognition.
Half of his body had already carbonized, the charred skin cracking and falling away to reveal the writhing, dark-red flesh beneath. His grotesque compound eye was riddled with fissures, and thick dark-gold blood seeped from the gaps in his eyelid, dripping from his twisted jaw. Each drop corroded the ground into deep pits.
Yet Chen Chang'an and Ji Hongli still did not lower their blades.
They could clearly see countless tiny black tendrils writhing frantically within his shattered wounds, trying to repair the collapsing vessel.
Even more terrifying was that Hong Chenji's remaining human form was being forced apart by some dark substance—like a cocoon about to break, nurturing a more dreadful form beneath the surface.
"Cough, cough…" Hong Chenji suddenly let out a hoarse laugh, his shattered vocal cords making the sound like a leaking bellows. "You… really think you can kill me?"
He struggled to pull himself from the rock wall, chunks of flesh falling off with every movement. "You've only destroyed this shell…"
Ji Hongli's sword gleamed coldly. "So much nonsense."
"Don't be hasty." Hong Chenji suddenly spread his arms, his earlier bravado revealed as nothing but bluster.
He had indeed suffered grievous wounds.
Although Ji Hongli and Chen Chang'an's attacks had not dealt him heavy damage due to the rules, the reflected death ray had nearly cost him his life. If this continued, he truly risked dying here.
His ruined features twisted into a strange devotion. "You've cultivated with such effort, only to seek longevity. Why not join us, become a 'god,' serve the Supreme One, and truly enjoy eternal life?"
"Supreme One?" Chen Chang'an lowered his sword slightly and glanced at Ji Hongli. "Who is that?"
"The Supreme One is, of course, the highest existence!" Hong Chenji's voice rose, the black substance surging violently with his fervor. "He knows the past and the future, comprehends the truths of three thousand worlds. To Him, the river of time is but a book to be flipped at will, and the tracks of fate are no more than the lines on His palm!"
Ji Hongli sneered. "Trickery and delusion."
"Hehehe… your vision is far too shallow. You cannot understand the greatness of the Supreme One." Hong Chenji's voice grew hollow as the black substance wove into a new humanoid form. "As long as you join us, with your talents you can gain far greater power—such as the ability to truly alter the lines of fate, or perhaps…"
His gaze swept over Ji Hongli. "Resurrect the ones you wish to resurrect."
The sword in Ji Hongli's hand trembled for an instant.
That subtle reaction made Hong Chenji's mouth twist into a grin. "So I struck the truth? That endless void in your heart…"
"Shut up!" Ji Hongli's swordlight suddenly flared.
Seizing the chance, Hong Chenji spoke quickly. "Think carefully! What you resist now is nothing but a script casually written by the Supreme One. Accept His gift, and you can rise beyond the fate of ants—become the one holding the pen!"
His body's mutation accelerated, the black matter condensing into the form of a priestly robe. "For example, your daughter was destined to perish today. But if you nod now…"
This finally ignited Chen Chang'an's killing intent.
Nine Heavens lightning thundered down, but upon striking Hong Chenji's newly formed black robe, it was blocked by an invisible barrier.
"Stubborn." Hong Chenji sighed and shook his head. His transformed body began to fade. "The Supreme One has given you the final chance…"
He looked toward the heavens—
There, the once-clear sky fractured like fragile glass, a jagged fissure tearing open. From its edges seeped a dark violet glow, like pus oozing from a festering wound.
Heaven and earth were suddenly plunged into darkness.
The clouds were torn into spirals by an unseen force, whirling frantically around the ever-widening fissure, forming a terrifying vortex that connected heaven and earth.
Boom—
With a soul-shaking hum, an indescribable monstrosity slowly extended from the rift. It was a colossal gray-white tentacle, its surface covered with honeycomb-like suckers, each bearing a ghastly pale eyeball at its center.
The tentacle's diameter exceeded a hundred zhang, and as it descended, blotting out the sky, its shadow shrouded a mountain range spanning a thousand li.
Most suffocating of all was the mucus clinging to it. The semi-transparent slime dripped and stretched into countless strands in midair, each filament refracting distorted light and shadows, faintly revealing twisted human faces floating within.
Wherever the mucus fell, entire forests instantly turned into bubbling black marshes, and boulders melted away like wax.
"Do you see?" Hong Chenji staggered to his feet, his broken body still dripping black blood, yet he spread his arms wide with fanatic ecstasy. "This is true power! The Supreme One is the truth of this world itself!"
His voice carried an inhuman resonance that made the ground tremble and gravel leap.
Ji Hongli was about to step forward, but Chen Chang'an stopped her.
"This time, let me."
It was not that he wished to show off, but he could sense that after using that mirror, Ji Hongli's qi was still recovering and far from her peak.
Chen Chang'an's robes snapped and fluttered in the violent gales.
He silently took half a step forward, shielding Chen Xingcai and Ji Hongli completely behind him.
That simple movement made his figure seem thin and solitary before the monstrous evil, yet it carried the weight of an eternal mountain.
The tentacle suddenly accelerated downward!
Hundreds of suckers contracted at once, the pale eyeballs within them flushing with blood. The indescribable pressure warped space itself; though still a thousand zhang above the ground, it had already crushed out a crater ten li wide.
Zheng—
A clear, piercing sword cry split the chaos.
Chen Chang'an brushed two fingers along his blade, and the three-foot longsword instantly became a pillar of light piercing heaven and earth.
Golden runes swam within the swordlight, each one bearing the primal laws of this world.
The instant the sword's radiance collided with the tentacle, all of time and space seemed to freeze for a heartbeat—
A Sword to Pierce the Heavens!
Boom!
The shockwave was tens of thousands of times fiercer than thunder, exploding outward in a ring.
The eyeballs at the tip of the tentacle burst one after another, spraying foul, reeking ichor, while Chen Chang'an's swordlight quaked violently. The ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch, blood seeping from his seven orifices.
Yet that sword shadow piercing the heavens did not collapse. By sheer force, it halted the world-shattering descent of the colossal tentacle in midair!
…
Hey readers! If you're eager to dive into advanced chapters, consider joining our Patreon. By joining, you'll get access to 20 chapters ahead and enjoy 8 new chapters per week. Plus, we have 2 more exciting fics with the same chapter release rate, giving you a total of 32 chapters per week! Join now and keep the adventure going!
Patreon: https://patreon.com/Alex_Cruise