Chapter 1310: The Six Gemstones
Zhang Lie weathered the current, then charged forward and kicked at the stone dragon.
The stone dragon was protected by a watery barrier of energy, which deflected Zhang Lie's attack.
Zhang Lie was shocked to find that the six genetic lifeforms were linked both in terms of attack and defense. The stone dragon swept its tail, spawning a current.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Quake]!"
Before he released his punch, the ground began to quake. Gravity distorted in the vicinity of the space, and the stone dragon was sent flying. Zhang Lie's fist struck the ground, which cracked and split.
As the ground beneath the water dragon broke apart, the dragon barely avoided falling into the resulting hole.
The six stone lifeforms charged forward, led by the diamond tiger.
"[Rune: Control]!"
The two gravity-controlling tablets smashed into the ground. Black ripples emanated from the two gravity-altering tablets, forming a localized region of distorted gravity. magic
The six stone lifeforms, caught unawares by the gravitational distortion, fell to the ground.
The stone tiger was the first to adapt. The other lifeforms' gems all shone. As the lifeforms shared their energy, the stone dragon spat out a howling blizzard.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!"
Having invoked the dragonturtle transformation, Zhang Lie's genetic energy had turned mud-yellow. His punches were all but unstoppable, and the heavy blow shattered the incoming attack.
Simultaneously, the mud-yellow punch, imbued with gravity, sent the six stone lifeforms flying again.
The six stone lifeforms were clearly divided based on element, and Zhang Lie was certain that that was the crux to dealing with them. One of the elements was the weakest—it might have been the obvious choices of fire and lightning, which generally had the strongest offensive abilities, or even the exact opposite, earth and water, which generally had the strongest defensive abilities.
Zhang Lie didn't know precisely how the elements of these lifeforms interacted with each other, and neither did he want to figure it out. Rather, he would simply use brute force.
The topaz ox rushed forward, its gem glowing with light, augmenting its strength and allowing it to charge forward despite Zhang Lie's gravity manipulation.
The gem's golden light transformed the stone oxen into a golden one.
"[Rune: Control]!"
The image of a dragonturtle appeared before him as Zhang Lie raised his hand. Ripples spread out from the two tablets, sealing the lifeform's will and power.
The six lifeforms found their own strength dropping and their thoughts slowing down.
Zhang Lie charged forward. His fists landed on the golden ox with the sound of a tolling bell.
The ox tried to impale Zhang Lie on its horns, but he pulled aside.
As Zhang Lie activated his blood ant and dragonwolf soulshards, he transformed into a dragonwolf with russet fur and limbs covered with dragons' scales. His aura became magnified as a hurricane of blood spawned around him.
He swiped forward with bloody claws, slashing at the golden ox's tough exterior, leaving long scars on its body, trailing with sparks. The golden ox was entirely suppressed, without the ability to counterattack.
The remaining five genetic lifeforms attacked simultaneously in an attempt to free the golden ox, but they had already transferred their energy to it. At this point, their attacks were weaker than even those of superior-grade lifeforms, and Zhang Lie nullified it easily. The golden ox's body grew scarred under Zhang Lie's rapid-fire attacks.
The resonance between the six gemstones was indeed incredible, tethering the six lifeforms' energy and strength together. It was able to give one of the six lifeforms disaster-grade offense and defense, but Zhang Lie himself was beyond disaster-grade, and could take it on by brute force.
"[Rune: Resonate]!"
The four dragonturtle tablets began to resonate as one, sending ripples that melded with the space and forming an absolute domain over all things within and without.
The six genetic lifeforms' attacks stopped short.
Zhang Lie tore the topaz off the golden ox's head, causing it to scream as its energy weakened dramatically. It transformed back into a stone ox. With the topaz removed, the other gemstones' luster also faded, along with the lifeforms' energy.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!"
Zhang Lie punched forward, manifesting a blood-colored dragonturtle, which crushed the stone ox near-instantly.
[You successfully killed a peak-grade sturdy ox. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade sturdy ox, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]
The blood-colored dragonturtle continued charging forward with the energy of annihilation. Suppressed by the four runic tablets, the other five lifeforms couldn't even escape. They were smashed to bits as well.
The gems on their foreheads fell to the ground as the will of the realm's voice rang out in Zhang Lie's head.
[You successfully killed a peak-grade flaming qilin. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade flaming qilin, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]
[You successfully killed a peak-grade earthen blackturtle. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade earthen blackturtle, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]
[You successfully killed a peak-grade lion of lightning. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade lion of lightning, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.] [You successfully killed a peak-grade deepsea dragon. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade deepsea dragon, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]
[You successfully killed a peak-grade whitefrost tiger. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade whitefrost tiger, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]
Zhang Lie picked up the fallen gemstones, prepared to study them carefully. Perhaps he would be able to reproduce that incredible ability linking the six lifeforms and confer it on the members of Team Zenith.
As he picked up the gemstones, Zhang Lie found to his surprise that the stone lifeforms were similar to the stone soldiers outside. The interior of their bodies was flesh and blood, but whereas the soldiers were natural, these stone lifeforms were clearly manmade.
In other words, the six lifeforms were originally ordinary lifeforms of different elements that were subsequently captured and sealed inside stone using some special technique, in order to use them as guardian beasts.
Just then, a door before him swung open. Zhang Lie smiled. "This is an invitation, isn't it?"
He certainly wasn't going to resist.
However, before that, he intended to bring the lifeforms back into the disaster-grade dragonwhale's soulspace, so as to increase his strength.
Li Qianlin made another sumptuous feast, and Zhang Lie devoured it all.
[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade flaming qilin, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 101]
[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade sturdy ox, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 111]
[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade lion of lightning, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 121]
[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade earthen blackturtle, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 131]
[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade deepsea dragon, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 141]
[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade whitefrost tiger, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 150]
Zhang Lie: an emperor-grade lifeform
Techniques: Rippling Walk (pinnacle), Three-Wave Crescendo (pinnacle), Calm Waters (pinnacle), Fists of the Silent Sea (pinnacle), The Boundless Blade (pinnacle), Eclipse (pinnacle), Syzygy (pinnacle), Ninesoul Dragonblade (pinnacle), Blade of the Heavens (pinnacle)
Genes: Basic, 160; Mutated, 150; Superior, 150; Peak, 150; Disaster, 0; Monarch, 0; Emperor, 0
Soulshards: White Grub (superior), Blood Ant (superior), Potbellied Toad (mutated), Eternalspring Cocoon (superior), Dragonwolf (superior), Moonlight Wyrm (peak), Golden Roc (peak), Dragonwhale (disaster), Mistmeld Clam (disaster)
Having maxed out his peak gene fragments, Zhang Lie stepped through the door.
The door was surrounded by a layer of spatial energy, which teleported Zhang Lie to an independent space that seemed like a small world. The ground was littered with skeletons and broken pieces of armor, and a gigantic black nine-headed lion guarded an imposing set of doors.
The doors seemed like the gateway to hell. They were formed of skulls and chains, and gave off a chilly aura. The black nine-headed lion seemed to be made of black steel. It released incredible pressure just by sitting there.
The moment Zhang Lie appeared, the dozing lion opened its eyes wide and released a black aura around itself. Its formless pressure seemed to bear down on Zhang Lie with the weight of a mountain.
As black energy swamped the small world, the nine-headed lion pounced forward with incredible strength. From the aura it gave off, it was unquestionably a disaster-grade existence.
As it did so, the land cracked apart. Its black claws were charged with killing intent. Boulders large and small were hurled into the air and sent smashing toward Zhang Lie.
Zhang Lie waved a hand, sending the rubble back toward the nine-headed lion. He darted among the rocks and landed on the black lion's body as naturally as though he were a floating leaf, then grabbed it by its mane.
The nine-headed lion howled. Light shone all over its body as it shook Zhang Lie off. Zhang Lie summoned pale blue genetic energy over his arms. He flicked his wrists, causing a frightening aura to descend on the world. The hall began to darken, and a fish the size of a whale materialized in the air.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar]!"
A howling gale swept over the arena. As more and more genetic energy gathered around Zhang Lie's arms, it looked as though he were at the heart of a whirlpool.
A huge wave soared into the air. As Zhang Lie punched forward, the fish slammed its huge tail on the ground and sent a torrent of water surging.
Ripples of energy from [Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar] spread out from Zhang Lie, warping the space around him. The towering waves looked like enraged black dragons, flooding the enclosed space.
As the waves burst apart, the air filled with echoes of Zhang Lie's signature genetic energy. The nine-headed lion fell from the skies, and its crystalline body cracked.
It roared so loudly and ferociously that an ordinary hunter's soul might have been expelled from the hunter's body. The fight between Zhang Lie and the lifeform took place over a battlefield of unparalleled size.
Its nine heads howled as one, sending nine waves of umbral energy into the sky.
The ground cracked.
Zhang Lie resisted the attack at full force, then counterattacked. Man and beast chased each other for hundreds of miles as the battlefield grew larger and larger.
The nine heads roared again. The sound waves took on physical form, and golden ripples covered the air.
As Zhang Lie and the lion fought each other off, moving rapidly from one place to the next, the umbral waves caused the surrounding low-lying mountains to crack and fall, and some boulders even burst apart into powder.
The black lion's physique was shocking, and its claws had the power to destroy mountains. When those claws smashed into Zhang Lie's fist, the resulting boom could be heard all throughout the world.
As the lion's body smashed into Zhang Lie's, umbral light encapsulated both combatants.
Zhang Lie had only maxed out his peak gene fragments; on the other hand, his disaster-grade foe was exceptionally strong. It had safeguarded this vault for an eternity and slain the manifold challengers that had come its way. It was halfway to monarch-grade itself.
Its nine heads all widened their jaws to reveal incisors over a meter long. Gleaming light shot right by Zhang Lie's face, scraping his skin and cutting off a few strands of hair. Far into the distance, where the light struck a mountain, the mountain crumbled.
Zhang Lie's heart thumped as he converted his pale-blue genetic energy into a pitch-black version. "[Ninecarp Transformation]!"
A black serpent materialized behind Zhang Lie, by now so large and so developed that it resembled the world-swallowing serpent Jormungandr. It let out a threatening hiss as its scales clicked together.
His fist smashed into the black lion's incisors with a tremendous clang, as though he had struck steel, or as though a heavenly drum was beating out a rhythm through the skies.
The man and lion fought and fought and fought, summoning winds around them from nothing but the force of their blows. The world shook and trembled.
As they clashed again, the black lion roared, sending a bombardment of sound waves at Zhang Lie. Gritting his teeth, Zhang Lie weathered the assault.
Struck by battle-frenzy, Zhang Lie was fighting as much like a beast as a man. Heated blood pumped through his body, and his eyes were those of a predator's.
As he punched forward, the black serpent behind him shot forth.
The black lion, surprised by the attack, reflexively dodged at extreme speed. It morphed into a bolt of black that pinballed through the air in a rumble of black lightning.
Despite how rapidly it moved, however, the serpent shot forward with destructive energy, cracking a mountain as it shot through its middle.
Dust billowed into the air as a cloud, revealing an ashen lion that had once been black. Large patches of scales had fallen off its body, and one of its heads had almost been smashed open. A terrible wound marred its body, and flowing blood dyed one of its eyes red.
The lion's howls were like thunder. Shining brilliance drowned the sky in gold.
As Zhang Lie activated his blood ant and dragonwolf soulshards, he transformed into a dragonwolf with russet fur and limbs covered with dragons' scales. His aura became magnified as a hurricane of blood spawned around him.
The next moment, Zhang Lie vanished from sight and appeared before the lifeform.
Smoke filled the air.
Zhang Lie launched his strongest attack. Within the clouds, lightning crackled.
A huge burst of light dissipated the mist and smoke. Although it hadn't yet truly broken through the disaster-grade threshold, its combat prowess was no laughing matter.
Zhang Lie and the black lion tussled with each other in the sky. This was a dangerous close-combat fight. Zhang Lie rode the lion, gripping its mane tightly as he launched attack after attack at the largest of its heads.
Just then, the black lion howled again. A ball of light—a miniature black lion—shot out toward Zhang Lie with devastating force.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!" As Zhang Lie punched forward, a blood dragon roared in outrage and shot forward.
The blood dragon and miniature lion crashed into each other, and the frightening energy that lay dormant within the blood dragon's body surged out.
A wave of annihilation exploded around the dragon. Pitch-black energy swallowed everything in the vicinity like a storm at sea, covering up the sky. The explosion was like a black hole that sucked up everything in sight, land, sea, and sky alike.
The black lion widened its maw and shot out another ray of umbral light, resplendent with energy.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Hundred Dragons Soaring]!"
A horde of dragons launched out of Zhang Lie's left arm as he expended half his genetic energy in one supercharged attack.
Howling with the force of thunder, the hundred dragons soared through the air. They were fierce and domineering, and all hundred of them boasted the power of annihilation. The black lion's might was suppressed head-on.
If not for Zhang Lie's fear of destroying the black lion so completely that not even parts of its flesh remained, it would have been pulped.
Zhang Lie grabbed its mane with one hand and smashed a fist into its skull with another in an outpouring of genetic energy.
The black lion howled, its skull caved in and almost cracked entirely open. Its black fur stood on end; one of its heads suddenly grew multiple times larger, like an umbral millstone brimming with light.
It opened its maw, transforming the air before itself into a crackling ocean of lightning.
Zhang Lie unsheathed Guicang and split the ocean into two. In fear, the black lion tried to run, but it was too late. The two heads to its left were chopped off in a fountain of blood.
The lion roared again. Fearful and unwilling to resign itself to its fate, it immediately retreated.
With another slash, two more of its heads on the right were chopped off. The lion howled in pain.
"[The Boundless Blade: the River Lethe]!"
The temperature of the air dropped to sub-zero values, and a strong wind buffeted the two combatants. Blood-colored frost appeared around them.
An underworld river materialized in the air. As though the doors to hell had just been thrown open, tens of thousands of serpents rushed out in a flood, devouring the bruised and battered lion.
[You successfully killed a disaster-grade nine-headed lion. By consuming the core of the disaster-grade nine-headed lion, you may receive one to ten disaster gene fragments.]
When Zhang Lie's serpents dissipated away, they left behind only a single black core. The black core gave off the impression of hell, of mountains of corpses, and was fearful to behold.
Zhang Lie cut his palm with his sword, then dripped blood onto the core. The moment it touched the core, the blood was quickly absorbed into its interior.
It sucked up more and more of Zhang Lie's blood until it turned blood-red.
Zhang Lie opened his wounds again and again until the core became perfectly transparent. Then, he closed his eyes and began pouring concentrated, black genetic energy from his body into the core.
As Zhang Lie clutched the crystalline orb, he felt some unusual sense of kinship with it, as though it was already part of his body.
Zhang Lie swallowed it whole without even daring to chew it. As the core slid down his throat, Zhang Lie felt a fiery, numbing sensation spread throughout his body.
Subsequently, all that energy contained within the core burst apart.
Almost immediately, Zhang Lie took on the color of a boiled prawn.
Blood seeped from his skin and pores, then boiled in the air. The residue detached itself automatically from his body, forming black grains of sand that revolved around him.
His blood boiled, his body swelled, and golden light emanated from his body.