This place, once majestic with snow-capped peaks, now resembled the gates of hell. The earth itself was roaring.
Violent, non-seismic tremors pulsed from the depths like the heartbeat of a primordial beast. The valley floor was no longer solid ground but a giant rug being shaken by invisible hands. Thick, yellowish fog—no, not fog, but liquid-thick, suffocating Earth Fiend Qi carrying the oppressive weight of mountains—erupted like volcanic plumes from jagged fissures tearing through the earth!
The air hung thick as sludge, every breath laden with the scent of damp earth and a choking heaviness. Visibility plunged below a hundred meters. Within the murk, chaos reigned. Massive tunnel boring machines lay toppled like discarded toys, groaning under the tremors and invisible pressure, their steel skeletons grotesquely twisted. Temporary camp structures were buried rubble, swallowed by heaving ground and erupting fiendish energy. Most horrifying was the ground itself—vast swathes had turned an unnatural, cement-like grey, "petrified" by the Fiend Qi. Other areas were boiling mud pits, bubbling with thick, deathly gas.
Screaming alarms, wounded moans, mechanical groans, and the subterranean roar wove a symphony of doom.
Chu Xuan's VTOL transport touched down in a temporary safe zone kilometers away. The moment the hatch opened, the mountain-like pressure and stench of Fiend Qi slammed into him, making his already radiation-ravaged body sway. The petrification curse on his left forearm pulsed faintly, like a dormant viper sensing kindred poison.
"Chief Engineer Chu! You're finally here!" The commander of the engineering corps, a colonel smeared with grime and eyes bloodshot, practically lunged forward, voice hoarse with despair. "It's total chaos! High-power pumps? Useless! That 'yellow smoke' weighs like mercury, crushes anything near it! Liquid nitrogen to freeze the fissures? The Qi petrified the nitrogen itself! We can't stop it! Casualties are rising! The Fiend Qi's spread is five times wider! If this continues, the entire western Kunlun range will—"
"I know." Chu Xuan cut him off, his voice unnervingly calm. His obsidian eyes scanned the hellish valley, feeling the raw, destructive power of the rampaging Earth energy. His system interface screamed warnings:
[Environmental Scan: Ultra-high concentration Earth Fiend Qi (Mutated Earth Spirit Energy/Rampant State)!]
[Energy Density: Peaks exceed Beijing spatial anomaly! Contains trace 'Gravity,' 'Petrification,' 'Stagnation' Law Fragments (F+ Grade)!]
[Corrosiveness: High-efficiency petrification, organ-crushing pressure, life-force annihilation! Corrodes/neutralizes non-spirit materials!]
[Source Located: ~1200m depth, intersection of primary Dragon Vein node and massive Earth Fiend accumulation zone! Energy imbalance!]
[WARNING: Massive Fiend accumulation! Forced Devouring Risk: EXTREME! Petrification Curse Backlash Risk: +500%! System Overload Risk: HIGH!]
The warnings blazed red. Chu Xuan's gaze didn't waver. He looked at the colonel. "Pull your men back. Ten-kilometer perimeter. No one enters without my order."
"Chief Engineer! You can't go alone—" the colonel protested.
"Execute the order!" Chu Xuan's voice cracked like a whip, brooking no argument. He strode towards the churning sea of Fiend Qi. Each step met resistance; the very earth seemed to push back, invisible pressure crushing from all sides. Thick Fiend Qi, like living tendrils, clawed at his skin, bringing stinging pain and spreading numbness.
[Passive Defense: Planetary Law Suppression Field engaged! Fiend Qi corrosion weakened by 85%!]
[WARNING! Post-weakening corrosion STILL exceeds human limits! Core Energy Shield (Weak) draining...]
[Petrification Curse Activity Rising... Left Arm Sensation Loss: 20%... Petrification spreading above elbow by 1cm...]
Chu Xuan gritted his teeth, forcing the agony down. He reached the largest vent – a bubbling yellow mud pit surrounding a five-meter-wide abyss. A violent geyser of Fiend Qi, thick as mud, roared skyward. Air warped. Light dimmed.
He sat cross-legged, right on the edge of the boiling mire. His mind plunged into his sea of consciousness, connecting with the fractured system core.
"System! Maximum output! Target: Earth Fiend Qi! Strip Law Fragments, convert to Origin True Qi! Devour it ALL!"
[Core Command Confirmed! Devouring Protocol Initiated! Target: Rampant Earth Fiend Qi...]
[WARNING! Target energy too vast/chaotic! Forced Devouring will cause...]
[OVERRIDE! Overclock Mode Activated! Core Rune 'GLUTTONY' Overloading!]
HMMM—!
A vortex of devouring darkness, larger and fiercer than the one at Site 404, exploded from Chu Xuan! Five meters wide instantly! It spun with terrifying force, a low thunderous growl emanating as it generated monstrous suction!
KRAKOOM!
Like a whale inhaling a river! The erupting column of Fiend Qi was violently ripped and twisted, becoming a turbid torrent surging into the abyssal vortex! The thick Qi blanketing the valley swirled like water down a drain, forming visible whirlwinds converging on Chu Xuan!
"ROOOOAR—!" A guttural bellow seemed to rise from the earth's core. The valley's tremors intensified violently! New fissures tore open, spewing even fiercer plumes! The earth beast was enraged!
[Devouring...]
[Energy Conversion: Rampant Earth Fiend Qi → Chaotic Earth Attribute Energy (98% impurities, infused with 'Gravity,' 'Petrification' law erosion)...]
[Law Fragment Extraction: Detected 'Gravity' (F+) Fragment x1... 'Petrification' (F) Fragment x2... 'Stagnation' (F-) Fragment x3... (Impure/Conflicted)...]
[Initial Purification... Energy Infusion...]
PAIN! Worse than the radiation!
If devouring nuclear waste felt like a million knives scraping bone, this was being crushed under Mount Kunlun itself! Crushing force flooded his body. Every cell shrieked. Bones groaned. Meridians bulged and tore under the violent earth energy, only to be brutally repaired by the Devouring Body's might, the new meridian walls stained a stubborn yellow, turning heavy and sluggish. Worse was the pervasive petrification! It seeped in from the external Qi and the internally converted energy! Numbness surged up his left arm like an icy tide. His shoulder stiffened noticeably. His skin rapidly coated with a thin, stony grey layer.
[WARNING! Meridian 'Earthification' Level: 10%... 15%...! True Qi Flow Efficiency Dropping!]
[WARNING! Petrification Curse Backlash Intensifying! Left Arm Petrification spread to 10cm above elbow! Petrification spots appearing on shoulder! Sensation Loss: 25%!]
[WARNING! Core Energy Draining Rapidly! 0.0008% → 0.0003%...]
Chu Xuan trembled violently. Dark blood seeped from his eyes, nose, and ears. His face turned ashen as stone. But his will, tempered like steel, held his mind clear. He drove the system relentlessly, channeling every wisp of converted Devouring True Qi against the dual assault of destruction!
Time crawled in agony.
One hour. The main geyser visibly weakened, its fury reduced by a third.
Two hours. The valley's Fiend Qi concentration dropped noticeably. Visibility improved. Tremors lessened.
Three hours. The core geyser sputtered weakly. The valley was largely cleared, revealing the scarred, petrified, fissured earth. Tremors nearly ceased.
PTUI!
Chu Xuan couldn't hold on. He vomited a torrent of dark blood mixed with yellowish energy granules and tissue fragments. He pitched forward, crashing to his knees on the cold, hardened ground. He gasped raggedly, each breath like sandpaper on his throat. His left arm, shoulder to fingertips, was dead weight, heavy as stone. Petrification spots marred his shoulder and chest. The system timer blazed: [Estimated Full Petrification: 7 months 29 days].
The cost was brutal.
But the harvest was immense!
Before him, at the vortex's epicenter, lay three crystals, pulsing with distinct auras.
First: Walnut-sized, deep, heavy gold. Inside, countless minuscule grains flowed and settled like sand in an hourglass. A powerful gravitational field warped the air around it. [Gravity Law Fragment (F+ Grade)]! A sliver of gravity manipulation!
Second: Pigeon-egg size, murky yellow. Surface cracked like dried earth. Cold, hard to the touch, radiating a flesh-stiffening death aura. [Petrification Law Fragment (F Grade)]! Pure, controllable kin to his curse.
Third: Pea-sized, lifeless grey-white. It absorbed light and sound. Merely looking at it induced deep fatigue and despair. [Stagnation Law Fragment (F- Grade)]! A law suppressing life, snuffing vitality!
Scattered nearby: glittering, faint yellow crystalline grains – [Earth Fiend Spirit Crystals (Low Grade)]. Relatively pure earth energy crystals, usable despite lingering Fiend taint.
[Special Object Generated!]
[Name: Gravity/Petrification/Stagnation Law Fragments]
[Type: Law Fragment Crystals (Natural/Artificial Purification)]
[Properties: Contains trace Law Source Imprints / Can be core materials for related arrays/artifacts / Can be Analyzed (Costs Core Energy) / HIGH RISK (Law conflict may cause backlash)]
[Name: Earth Fiend Spirit Crystals (Low Grade)]
[Type: Energy Crystals (Earth Attribute/Tainted with Fiend Qi)]
[Properties: Contains pure Earth Spirit Energy (Slowly absorbable by cultivators/Requires purification) / Can be used as low-grade energy source or array material)]
"Report! Fiend eruption ceased! Concentration below safe levels! Tremors stopped!" A scout drone pilot's voice, cracking with excitement, echoed from the safe zone.
Engineering and medical teams surged forward. Seeing the ravaged but quiet valley, seeing Chu Xuan kneeling, half-covered in grey stone, his left arm a rigid sculpture, and the shimmering crystals before him—awe and reverence washed over them.
"Medics! STAT!" the colonel bellowed.
"Don't touch me!" Chu Xuan rasped. He pushed himself up with his functioning right arm, movements stiff as rusted machinery, his left arm hanging useless. He glanced at the carefully collected fragments. "Secure these... byproducts of purification... weapons."
Rushed back to Kunlun Base's medical center, Chu Xuan was worse. Meridians were "earthed," clogged like mud-filled pipes, True Qi flow agonizingly slow. Organs were bruised, shaken, eroded by petrifying energy. His left arm was fully stone, cold and dead, a stark boundary against living flesh. Petrification crept towards his heart.
[Full Body Scan Report:]
[Meridian Earthification/Petrification Damage: 42% Blockage... True Qi Flow Efficiency -60%...]
[Internal Damage: Pulmonary fibrosis w/ localized petrification (15%)... Moderate liver/kidney impairment...]
[Petrification Curse: Left arm fully petrified (Irreversible)... Left chest/shoulder petrification active... Spread accelerated by Fiend Qi devouring...]
[Overall Assessment: Vital signs stable (High-grade life support)... Combat effectiveness SEVERELY degraded... Petrification Curse is PRIMARY threat...]
"Chief Chu... you..." Chief Medic Qin stammered, tears welling. He couldn't fathom the will sustaining this young man.
"Not dead." Chu Xuan floated in the healing fluid, voice faint but steady. The specialized bath, bio-electric pulses, and spirit energy channels eased his pain, slowly flushing the "mud" from his meridians. But the curse clung like a cancer. Medicine could only slow its crawl towards heart and brain. He was a leaking vessel; devoured energy mostly patched holes and fought the curse. "Yang Lao... the Arks... progress?"
"Site One cleared! Construction restarted! Stabilizing structures and initial Dragon Vein energy channeling arrays are up per your specs! Heavy machinery moving in!" Zhao Qiming reported swiftly, anguish in his eyes. "The other nine sites are surveying. No similar energy surges... yet. But Chief Chu, your body—"
"My body is my concern." Chu Xuan closed his eyes. "The 'Gluttony' targets... data..."
Zhao Qiming reluctantly placed an encrypted tablet by the tank. Dozens of global locations marked with skulls: Chernobyl Sarcophagus, Fukushima wastewater tanks, Pacific nuclear dumps, Siberian chemical graveyards... humanity's self-inflicted scars.
"Next... target..." Chu Xuan's will was iron.
Just then, Yang Lao entered, flanked by generals, expression grave. He handed Zhao Qiming a file stamped with a red star and 'Cosmic Secret - Eternal'.
"Qiming. Read this. An hour ago, NORAD, EU Space Command, Russian Strategic Warning... virtually every major power received the same 'anonymous' intel." Yang Lao's voice was low. "Two core points: First, detailed footage and analysis of Chu Xuan devouring nuclear waste at Site 404. Second, explicitly labeling Chu Xuan's 'devouring' ability as a 'civilization-level threat' more dangerous than nukes. Demands global sanctions, tech blockade against China. And if necessary... 'eliminate' the source."
Zhao Qiming's face paled. The footage angles and clarity... impossible for external spies. Only one explanation: a high-level traitor... or something beyond current tech.
"Also," Yang Lao looked at Chu Xuan, heavy, "Our 'Global Joint Defense Initiative'... faces unprecedented resistance. They... don't believe in 'Multiverse Invasion.' Think it's a Chinese power grab. Chu Xuan devouring waste only 'proves' we have some horrific bio-weapon, fueling panic and hostility. Several powers have secretly activated... decapitation strike plans against Kunlun Base... and Chu Xuan."
An icy dread filled the room. Aliens sharpened knives, while jackals circled within.
"They... need... undeniable... 'miracle'..." Chu Xuan's weak, icy voice cut through the silence.
All eyes snapped to him.
He opened his eyes, obsidian pupils swirling. "If... they fear my 'Devouring'... let them... witness... what it can do... its limits!"
He locked eyes with Yang Lao, each word a hammer blow. "Notify... all nuclear powers... three days... Northwest China... 'Sea of Death' former nuclear test site..."
"I... will stand there... in this ruined body..."
"Barehanded... catch... their most advanced... hypersonic missile!"
"DF-17... or... whatever... they think... can kill me!"
Three days later. Taklamakan Desert. 'Sea of Death'.
Once a silent, windswept wasteland. Now, the world's focal point.
A massive, temporary observation platform bristled with sensors and cameras at the safe zone edge. Representatives, military observers, top scientists, and media from dozens of nations crowded it. Faces were taut with tension, disbelief, and buried fear. Bound by ultra-classified NDAs, they were told they'd witness "the ultimate test of individual defense."
The air was thick enough to choke on. The desert wind couldn't lift the oppressive weight.
Ten kilometers ahead, on a cleared patch of sand, stood a lone figure.
Chu Xuan.
Simple black combat fatigues. Left arm hung useless, shoulder to fingertips cold grey stone. Pale, haggard from injury and desert heat. Yet he stood ramrod straight, a spear planted in sand, obsidian eyes calmly fixed on the horizon, awaiting a light shower.
"God... he's really out there? Flesh and blood?"
"Madman! The Chinese are insane! He'll be vaporized!"
"That arm... new armor? Radiation sickness?"
"Intel said he eats nuke waste... but this is a hypersonic missile! Kinetic impact alone..."
"Suicide! A deranged Chinese show of force!"
The murmurs were a nervous swarm. Western faces showed disdain, morbid curiosity. Only a few top physicists scanned him intently, finding no energy shield, no force field.
In the Chinese section, Yang Lao clenched his fists, knuckles white, palms slick. Zhao Qiming stared, jaw tight. Knowing the plan, knowing the Devouring Body... didn't stop the soul-crushing pressure of watching him wait for city-killer ordnance.
"Report! Target locked! 'Sword' launched! ETA: 90 seconds!" The comms crackled.
Hearts slammed into throats. The platform fell silent. Thousands of eyes locked onto the horizon.
SCREEEEEEEEE—!
A silver speck pierced the sky. Instantly, it tore the heavens, a sonic boom shredding eardrums, a death-white line faster than sight—a god's spear hurtling towards the speck on the sand!
DF-17! China's crown jewel. Hypersonic glide vehicle. Terminal velocity > Mach 10. Warhead yield: fortress-killer. Aimed at one man.
Less than a heartbeat! The silver death enveloped Chu Xuan! On the platform, many flinched, eyes shut, expecting vaporization.
Chu Xuan moved!
His only functional arm—his right—lashed upwards with impossible speed and precision. Not to block. Not to dodge. To GRAB!
KABOOOOOOOOOM—!!!!
The detonation dwarfed thunder. A blinding white fireball swallowed the world. Shockwaves like tsunamis hurled sand walls hundreds of feet high, hammering the observation bunker. The earth bucked violently!
"It's over..." despair echoed.
As the searing light and initial blast wave faded, the most advanced sensors and high-speed cameras captured an image that shattered global reality:
No vaporization.
At ground zero, amidst swirling fire and sand, a figure STOOD!
Chu Xuan!
His right arm thrust skyward! Fingers like claws, digging into the nose cone of the DF-17!
No! Not digging! The fortress-shattering warhead melted on contact, like wax under a blowtorch!
Simultaneously, dark, heavy, rock-like yet metallic "armor" erupted from his grasping hand! It flowed like living stone up his right arm, over his shoulder, across his chest and back! It was crude, brutal, etched with cracks like parched earth, blazing with thick yellow light and... the death-stench of nuclear decay! The [Devouring Stone Armor]—forged from devoured Earth Fiend Qi, nuclear radiation residue, and his own curse's defensive nature—manifested at the brink of death!
HISSSSS—!
The missile's kinetic fury and explosive energy slammed into the newly formed armor! Its surface instantly glowed white-hot! Countless cracks spiderwebbed out! Stone shards and radioactive dust exploded like fireworks! BUT IT HELD!
Chu Xuan's feet sank. Sand beneath him compacted into a crater dozens of meters wide. He shook like a rooted boulder under the onslaught. His petrified left arm groaned. The new armor cracked, repaired, cracked again... BUT HE DID NOT BUDGE! His raised hand was an immovable vise, "holding" the river of destruction!
[Devouring Stone Armor (Temporary) Activated!]
[Defense Mode: MAXIMUM OVERLOAD!]
[Energy Source: Devoured Earth Fiend Qi/Nuclear Decay Residue/Own Petrification Curse/Core True Qi!]
[Impact Sustained: Hypersonic Kinetic Energy + High Explosive Yield + Extreme Heat...]
[Damage: Armor Integrity 63%... Repairing (Draining Core Energy)...]
[WARNING! Petrification Curse backlash intensifying! Right Arm armor zone showing assimilation! Petrification accelerating!]
"ROOOOOOAR—!" Chu Xuan bellowed, a sound beyond human! Obsidian pupils became madly spinning vortexes! His gripping hand CLENCHED!
DEVOUR!
HMMM!
Monstrous suction erupted from his palm! The melting warhead metal, its chemical energy, the missile's residual fuel... even its colossal kinetic energy... were VIOLENTLY STRIPPED by the armor!
Visibly, the mighty missile withered. From the nose cone back, it lost luster, lost "life," metal turning grey, brittle... then—
CRUNCH!!!!
—shattered into harmless dust under his grip and the remaining blast wave! The fireball itself, its core energy ripped away, visibly dimmed and collapsed!
BOOOOOOM!
The massively weakened shockwave still threw Chu Xuan like a ragdoll. He plowed a deep trench through the sand, half-buried in scorching grit, unmoving. The Devouring Stone Armor shattered.
Dust settled.
Silence. Absolute, world-shattering silence.
The observation platform was a tableau of petrified shock. Mouths hung open. Eyes bulged. Minds blanked. High-speed replay showed it all: Bare hand vs hypersonic missile. Flesh (and stone) annihilating destructive energy. Not sci-fi. Reality.
"Mein Gott..." A white-haired European physicist whispered, his notepad forgotten on the floor.
"Holy mother of..." A US General paled, trembling.
"This... this..." A Russian delegate choked on his words.
Awe. Absolute, paradigm-shattering awe, a tsunami washing away every preconception. Super-soldiers? Gene mods? Pathetic jokes next to this.
In the Chinese section, Yang Lao exhaled a shuddering breath, near collapse. Zhao Qiming slammed a fist on the railing, eyes wet. They'd won! Won precious time for the Arks with the maddest, boldest gamble!
As medics scrambled towards Chu Xuan's impact site, his system screamed a new, terrifying alert – not about his body:
[WARNING! Detecting extreme spatial law chain reaction!]
[Source 1: Antarctic Pole Deep Blue Zone (Space Beacon)!]
[Source 2: Beijing Center (Spatial Ripple Point)!]
[Energy Signature: HIGHLY synchronized! Resonance intensity CRITICAL!]
[Cause Analysis: Hypersonic missile detonation released extreme kinetic energy & matter-energy annihilation! Briefly disturbed Planetary Law Suppression Field! Caused ultra-range resonance between two spatial weak points!]
[Prediction: Both Beacon/Ripple Point activity will surge 300% within 24 hours! Global Temporary Dungeon spawn rate DOUBLED! Frost Prison Clan infiltration risk... SKYROCKETS!]
Simultaneous with the warning—
HMMM! HMMM!
Two invisible waves of spatial distortion, perceptible only to Chu Xuan, pulsed out from Beijing and Antarctica, sweeping the globe!
The countdown to invasion had just been violently fast-forwarded!
And amidst the stunned chaos on the Western observation deck, a well-dressed, blond man subtly lowered his head. For a fleeting instant, deep within his pupils, a cold, alien, greed-filled emerald light flickered. His fingers brushed a cold, nine-headed serpent emblem hidden in his pocket.