Chapter 165: Snatching the Treasure

The Second Devil Head's eyes flashed red. Without a word, it charged towards the opponent. That aberrant creature was also fierce; instead of dodging, its Divine Sense leaped out and met the charge head-on.

The two immediately began to fuse. Wang Lin, using the Divine Sense he left inside the Second Devil Head, instantly perceived the changes. The danger here was immense: only one could survive, either the Second Devil Head would be devoured, or the aberrant creature would be assimilated.

Soon, a slight smile appeared on Wang Lin's lips. As a Soul Devourer, the Devil Head he created inherently possessed a trace of Wandering Soul characteristics. How could this aberrant creature compare?

The two Divine Senses fused and devoured each other. Gradually, the Second Devil Head's ferocious form emerged, and the aberrant creature's Divine Sense slowly dimmed, finally being completely assimilated by the Second Devil Head, becoming a part of its Physical Body.

The moment the Fusion succeeded, a group of small beasts immediately flew to the Second Devil Head, enveloping it and reforming a Vortex. Wang Lin's eyes flickered. The reason these small beasts' Divine Senses could perfectly condense together was the presence of a dominant Divine Sense, which was greatly related to their ability to mutually devour and fuse with these small beasts.

At this moment, the Second Devil Head let out several sharp shrieks, intending to sweep the Vortex towards the next aberrant creature. Wang Lin's eyes flashed, and he let out a soft snort. Instantly, the Second Devil Head's momentum slowed, and the surrounding Vortex immediately stopped spinning, reverting back to the state of small beasts.

Wang Lin clearly saw that the Second Devil Head, surrounded by the small beasts, showed signs of pain on its face and looked at Wang Lin with deep fear.

Wang Lin sent out a Divine Thought from his Divine Sense. The Second Devil Head immediately let out a sharp shriek, and the surrounding small beasts quickly encircled Wang Lin. Wang Lin's expression remained normal, his eyes calm as water, showing no surprise towards the small beasts flapping their wings around him.

When those small beasts flew closer, they did not attack; instead, they lifted his body, transforming into a Vortex once again.

The Devil Head Xu Ligou quickly tried to follow, but upon hitting the Vortex, it was violently flung away. It roared repeatedly in frustration and felt deeply wronged, until Wang Lin finally extended a hand from within the Vortex, allowing Xu Ligou to slip inside.

Inside the Vortex, Wang Lin did not need to fly himself. He stood on several small beasts as if walking on flat ground, and the outside was wrapped in the powerful Divine Sense condensed by these small beasts, making it impossible for outsiders to detect him with Divine Sense.

Wang Lin's eyes flashed, and he gave a command to the Second Devil Head. Immediately, the Vortex flew toward the direction of Meng Tuozi. Behind it, other Vortices slowly followed. Just like this, more than ten Vortices roared away, quickly arriving at the cluster of Vortices that had previously startled Wang Lin.

The moment they flew over, a massive Divine Sense swept towards them. Wang Lin immediately tightened his focus, but the Divine Sense did not linger, sweeping past quickly.

That Divine Sense clearly did not observe carefully; it merely glanced over and found no abnormality.

Perhaps in its view, it was impossible for this Vortex to undergo a mutation. Wang Lin, inside the Vortex, stared at the towering Vortex King in the distance, sneering internally. Without a doubt, that Divine Sense must have been emitted by the aberrant creature within the Vortex King.

He now had some understanding of this type of creature. Within every Vortex, there was a relatively powerful existence, which was the one that gathered the small beasts' Divine Sense and gave commands.

This was like the difference between a soldier and a general. The ordinary small beasts were the soldiers, and the slightly stronger commander was the general. As for the towering Vortex, that was the King!

After getting closer, looking out through the Vortex, he saw a Black Tower piercing the clouds within this massive cluster of Vortices. Meng Tuozi was clearly inside it.

Wang Lin was not in a hurry. The reason he had the Second Devil Head bring him here was that he realized this method allowed for silent approach. This way, he could act opportunistically. He didn't expect to kill Meng Tuozi, but if handled properly, it might be possible to take some treasures from him.

The Divine Sense left inside the Second Devil Head was different from the one in the Devil Head Xu Ligou. The Devil Head Xu Ligou had undergone a long period of evolution, and the Divine Sense had imperceptibly taken control of it. If Wang Lin wished, he could make it vanish into thin air even without using his extreme realm Divine Sense, but he generally wouldn't use the Divine Sense left inside its body for offense, reserving it as a last resort.

Normally, he mainly used the threat of his extreme realm Divine Sense, supplemented by subtle manipulation. After all, Xu Ligou had recovered a trace of memory, making him clearly different from ordinary Wandering Souls.

However, the Second Devil Head was different. Although the imprint of Wang Lin's Divine Sense inside it was not deep, he used a forceful method to quickly seize control of the main body, allowing the opponent no chance to resist.

The reason he previously prevented the Second Devil Head from continuing to assimilate the dominant entities in other Vortices was that if the Second Devil Head devoured too much, it might dilute the Divine Sense Wang Lin left within it, inevitably leading to a Backlash. Given Wang Lin's shrewdness, he would never allow this phenomenon to occur.

Even someone as stubborn as Xu Ligou had been thoroughly subdued by Wang Lin, let alone this Second Devil Head refined from a Beast Soul.

Meng Tuozi's mood was as dark as water. He looked bitterly at the Vortices outside, especially staring at the towering Vortex for a long time, his eyes showing apprehension. The Divine Sense within that towering Vortex was nearly as powerful as the total sum of all other Vortices combined. Even the Heaven Cripple Poison was forcibly broken and driven far away by its Divine Sense activation.

During this period, all the Spirit Beasts in his Storage Pouch had been used up one by one. Each time he used a Spirit Beast as a substitute and cast a Spell outside the tower, although it could destroy large groups of small beasts, more Vortices would often fly in from afar after only a short time.

They simply couldn't be killed off!

If he was even slightly careless, he would be hit by the condensed Divine Sense of these countless small beasts. Once struck, even if he was in the Soul Transformation Stage, he would certainly be gravely injured or killed.

This injury wouldn't be a minor one; it would be a severe injury capable of causing his cultivation to drop drastically!

As for Magic Treasures, he had used quite a few, and although they had an effect, the outcome remained the same.

He was now at the end of his rope. It wasn't that he hadn't thought of breaking out; he had even acted upon it once, using more than ten Spirit Beasts as decoys to charge out directly. But just as he was about to break through the encirclement, the towering Vortex delivered a fierce blow, causing him to fail at the last moment. Not only did he fail to escape, but he was also seriously injured.

"Is Heaven trying to destroy me! This old man cultivated in secret for so long, finally reaching the Middle Stage of Soul Transformation today. I thought I could use this place to obtain a Nascent Soul Transformation Pill and leap into the Nascent Soul Transformation stage. Alas…" Meng Tuozi thought bitterly. He couldn't help but recall a group of people who came here a thousand years ago; everyone perished except for the four of them.

Among those people, some had deeper cultivation than them, but they still couldn't escape death. The four of them only survived by chance Opportunity.

After a thousand years of preparation, he had progressed from the Late Stage of Nascent Soul to the Middle Stage of Soul Transformation. The reason for this rapid advancement was that he had consumed the Giant Demon Race's supreme treasure, the Heart of the Ancestral Demon!

This was also why he was being hunted and pursued by the Giant Demon Race!

Meng Tuozi's face showed unwillingness. He gritted his teeth and looked at the toad on the ground. This Litian Toad had accompanied him for several millennia, always remaining faithful. He had watched it ascend from a Low Grade Spirit Beast all the way to a High Grade Peak Spirit Beast, already belonging to the Sub-Desolate Rank. If it had another few thousand years, supplemented by some Spirit Medicine, it was highly likely to become Desolate Rank!

However, at present, Meng Tuozi's eyes showed determination. He stroked the toad and muttered, “If Teleportation could be used in this damned place, it wouldn't be so troublesome. Litian, this time, I'm relying entirely on you!”

As he spoke, his right hand suddenly reached out and plunged into the toad's mouth. The toad showed pain, its body trembling incessantly, but it offered no resistance, only looking calmly at its master.

Meng Tuozi closed his eyes, but quickly opened them, revealing a ruthless look. He said in a deep voice, “Litian, forgive me!” After speaking, he fiercely grabbed, then suddenly withdrew his hand. In his hand was an object: a fist-sized, ink-black Origin Core, emitting powerful waves of spiritual energy.

The Litian Toad's body slumped, weakly falling to the ground, emitting faint sounds. The bumps on its back began to rupture one by one, releasing foul-smelling black liquid that quickly covered its entire body. Even the gurgling sounds now seemed weak and powerless.

Grabbing the Litian Toad's Origin Core, Meng Tuozi swallowed it without a word. His body immediately twitched, and a surge of black Qi suddenly appeared on his face. Following this, he let out several low roars, and the pustules on his face instantly burst open. Poisonous liquid sprayed everywhere, splashing onto the surrounding tower walls and emitting plumes of black smoke.

Spirit Beasts' Inner Cores are divided into many types. Only upon reaching the Spirit Beast level will a true Inner Core appear inside the body. As for some aberrant beasts also having Inner Cores, those are merely False Cores, formed by the temporary condensation of spiritual energy inside the body to store spiritual power.

A true Inner Core has immense efficacy and is the foundation of all Divine Abilities within a Spirit Beast. Upon reaching Low Grade Spirit Rank, the Inner Core transforms into an Earth Core, which is extremely similar to a Cultivator's Core Formation, though still different from a true Core Formation Cultivator.

Upon reaching Medium Grade Spirit Rank, the Earth Core transforms into a Heaven Core. If it reaches High Grade Spirit Rank, the Heaven Core turns into an Origin Core. At this point, it is only one step away from the Primordial Spirit of a Desolate Beast!

Only upon reaching the Desolate Beast Realm will the Inner Core transform into a Primordial Spirit, instantly becoming an immensely powerful beast of the desolate wilderness.

The black Qi on Meng Tuozi's face intensified. He sprawled on the ground, reaching his right hand toward the Litian Toad. After grabbing it, he immediately roared and pressed it against his forehead.

The bumps on the Litian Toad's back emitted more and more liquid. This liquid flowed along the pustules on Meng Tuozi's face and slowly entered his body. Eventually, the entire toad dissolved into black water and was absorbed by Meng Tuozi.

The hump on Meng Tuozi's back suddenly swelled, and countless granular bumps instantly appeared. These bumps rapidly spread across his entire back. At this moment, Meng Tuozi, viewed from a distance, bore a striking resemblance to the Litian Toad from earlier.

Meng Tuozi slightly closed his eyes at this moment. The black Qi on his face slowly gathered at his glabella, forming a Vortex. Then, he abruptly opened his eyes. His pupils had actually turned triangular, revealing a ruthless gaze.

Meng Tuozi clenched his fist, and immediately crackling black electric light burst forth from within it. He took a deep breath and muttered hoarsely, "This Ancient Demonic Technique is indeed miraculous. By relying on the High Grade Spirit Rank Li Tian Toad, I can temporarily reach the Perfection Realm of the Soul Transformation Stage. This time, I will definitely break out! It's just a pity that the price is too great. If it weren't for being forced… Alas!"

After speaking, he slowly walked out of the black pagoda. The moment he appeared, the converging Divine Sense lightning suddenly struck. Meng Tuozi's face revealed a ferocious expression, and he spat out a stream of green mist. As soon as the Divine Sense lightning entered the green mist, its speed immediately slowed. Taking advantage of this Opportunity, Meng Tuozi leaped out and plunged into a hurricane.

Immediately, the hurricane stopped spinning, and the small beasts within scattered. However, they didn't fly far before exploding one by one, dying, and a sky full of bloody rain spread out.

Meng Tuozi's eyes showed a ruthless look as he swiftly charged towards the next hurricane.

But then, billions of Divine Sense suddenly merged together, forming a Long Spear shimmering with black light, appearing silently in the sky and shooting out swiftly with the momentum of shattering the Void Realm.

The Long Spear left behind afterimages in mid-air. One moment it was in mid-air, the next it had already approached Meng Tuozi with the momentum of tearing through the air. Along the way, the Restrictions of this Earth Element land were also triggered, emitting huge rumbling thunder.

The hurricane Wang Lin was in was quite far away and not greatly affected. He stared intently at Meng Tuozi's neither-human-nor-ghost appearance, his eyes flickering, especially paying more attention to the Storage Pouch at his waist.

Meng Tuozi only glanced at the Divine Sense-condensed Long Spear before immediately forming hand seals and uttering several complex, incomprehensible words. Then, as he opened his mouth wide, a four-legged small cauldron emitting dense green Qi flew out from his mouth.

The moment this cauldron appeared, dense green Qi surged forth. At the same time, the Long Spear crashed down, striking the small cauldron. At the point of impact, an earth-shattering roar suddenly erupted, and a ring-shaped Qi wave more than ten zhang thick immediately pushed outwards frantically. Even the hurricanes were forced to fly backward, and some that couldn't retreat in time were directly struck down by the Qi wave, all the small beasts within instantly turning into flying ash.

Wang Lin's eyes flickered. He retreated a bit with the other hurricanes, but his gaze remained fixed on Meng Tuozi, not blinking once.

At this moment, the green small cauldron in mid-air made a 'pah' sound, shattering into two halves and falling from the sky. However, the Long Spear that struck it began to turn green from its tip. Almost in the blink of an eye, the entire Long Spear became green. The Long Spear suddenly trembled, transforming back into strands of Divine Sense, scattering in all directions.

Just then, a bizarre scene occurred. After these Divine Sense scattered, each one had more or less a trace of green light, but soon, the green light spread wildly. In just a few breaths, all the Divine Sense that had previously condensed into the Long Spear turned completely green.

The moment the green cauldron shattered, Meng Tuozi's body immediately weakened, and he continuously spat out several mouthfuls of vital blood. That green cauldron was his Lifebound Treasure. Under his temporary Soul Transformation Late Stage cultivation, it had forcefully withstood billions of Divine Sense attacks, finally shattering into two.

Meng Tuozi had no time to feel heartache. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the sky full of Divine Sense emitting green light, laughing maniacally: "If my Lifebound Treasure didn't pay some price, how could it be so easily damaged? Even if it shatters, it will definitely drag you all to your graves! Explode! Explode! Explode!!!"

All Divine Sense contaminated with green light immediately exploded one by one with bangs. Once Divine Sense exploded, it immediately transformed into Spiritual Qi, scattering in all directions. At the same time, once Divine Sense was destroyed, the Physical Body would naturally also die.

As those Divine Sense exploded one by one, more than half of the surrounding hurricanes suddenly disappeared. These hurricanes all stopped spinning, and the small beasts within them fell from mid-air one by one.

Meng Tuozi grabbed with his right hand, and the green cauldron, broken into two halves, was put into his Storage Pouch. Without a word, he took this Opportunity to swiftly rush into the distance, his direction precisely towards the hurricane where Wang Lin was located.

At this moment, the towering King of Hurricanes let out a violent roar. The entire hurricane suddenly paused, stopping its rotation, revealing a huge flying beast, about three zhang in size, right in its center!

The size of this beast was incomparably massive compared to its kin, but in Wang Lin's eyes, it was clearly far inferior in size to the Flood Dragon荒 beast in the passage.

The beast roared, leaping out. Its long, sharp mouth emitted ripples as it roared. Wherever these ripples passed, Rifts subtly appeared in the space of the Earth Element land, demonstrating its power.

At the same time, the surrounding hurricanes that had not dissipated immediately flew towards Meng Tuozi. Especially the hurricanes he had broken into, they recklessly tried to block him. During this, Divine Sense, sound waves, and other attacks were dazzling, but they could not stop Meng Tuozi for half a step. Any hurricane that tried to block him shattered with a crash upon impact, completely annihilated.

However, with each collision, the black Vortex at Meng Tuozi's glabella would fade a bit. He inwardly cursed, knowing that the time for his cultivation boost was about to end. If he paused now, he would immediately be hit by the sound waves of the Beast King behind him, so he increased his speed even more, charging straight ahead.

Wang Lin was sharp-eyed. The moment the Beast King emitted ripples, he saw a golden light flash on its head, faintly revealing half a golden finger bone within.

He had no time to think. Meng Tuozi had already arrived. Wang Lin's eyes flickered, and with a cold laugh, he slapped his Storage Pouch. Immediately, the Flood Dragon's Dragon Sinew appeared in his hand. With a flick of his right hand, the Dragon Sinew immediately twisted its ends together, and several branches also intertwined, forming a thick single strand!

The moment Meng Tuozi arrived, the hurricane he was in swiftly moved to the side. At this time, among the many hurricanes blocking his path, the one he was in seemed very inconspicuous.

In the instant Meng Tuozi flashed past the hurricane, the Dragon Sinew was thrown out by Wang Lin. He had just shattered a hurricane when he suddenly sensed an abnormal Spiritual Qi fluctuation around him, but at this time, the heaven and earth were filled with the Spiritual Qi transformed from the numerous Divine Sense that his Lifebound Treasure had just destroyed. This slight fluctuation was hidden within, and if one didn't look carefully, it would be very difficult to notice.

At this moment, Meng Tuozi was anxious to escape. Although he noticed it, he didn't pay it any mind. He never imagined that there would be other human Cultivators present besides himself.

But the moment he suddenly felt a strong pull on his right leg, his expression finally changed drastically. Without needing to look down, with his experience, he immediately knew that this was a Magic Treasure made from a beast sinew, and the only one who could use a Magic Treasure here was clearly not those small beasts. There was only one possibility: a human Cultivator!

Such a beast sinew-type Magic Treasure, in the past, Meng Tuozi would not have cared about it at all. A casual dispersal of Spiritual Qi could not only shatter it but also use it to poison the user of the Magic Treasure to death.

But now, numerous hurricanes were blocking him, and Divine Sense, sound waves, and other attacks were incessant. He was already struggling to cope, relying entirely on a burst of Spiritual Qi to propel himself, crashing forward recklessly. Especially with his Lifebound Treasure shattered, this made his mind waver. If not for combining with the Ancient Demonic Technique and the Li Tian Toad, he would probably be dead by now.

At this critical moment, this Dragon Sinew, which he usually wouldn't even glance at, was like a death-invoking talisman branded on his body. Although the Dragon Sinew was shattered inch by inch by his collision, his charging momentum involuntarily slowed by a fraction!

Just a fraction, and the consequence was that the sound waves chasing him from behind suddenly appeared behind him, and the attacks from the surrounding hurricanes intensified by several fractions.

A straw cannot kill a camel, but it can be the critical point that breaks the camel's back.

At this moment, this Dragon Sinew's role was precisely that straw!

The moment his body was struck by the sound waves from behind, Meng Tuozi spat blood, and his body was propelled forward. Just then, a hurricane flashed past him, and an arm reached out from within the hurricane, grabbing the Storage Pouch at his waist, passing him by.

In that instant, Meng Tuozi vaguely saw Wang Lin's cold, smiling face through the hurricane. Enraged to the point of attacking his heart, he spat out another mouthful of fresh blood. As this blood emerged, it immediately emitted waves of dizzying Qi, chasing after the hurricane where Wang Lin was.

After grabbing the Storage Pouch, Wang Lin, without a word, controlled the Second Devil Head to fly at extreme speed towards the Vortex in the distant mid-air, which was the entrance to the second stage.

As for the blood, it was blocked one by one by the small beasts flying in rotation outside the hurricane, but the toxins contained in his blood were no laughing matter. Wang Lin had always been cautious. Without a word, the moment the hurricane was hit, he leaped and flashed, swiftly rushing out of the hurricane, followed closely by the two Devil Heads.

The moment Wang Lin landed, he immediately activated Earth Evasion Technique, running forward quickly. As for the hurricane, it was permeated with blood, and all the small beasts within it died.

All of this sounds slow, but in reality, it was extremely fast. Almost in the blink of an eye, the Storage Pouch at Meng Tuozi's waist had disappeared.

Meng Tuozi's body was struck by the sound waves, causing his bones and flesh to separate. The numerous granular bumps on his back burst open, and foul-smelling black liquid splattered everywhere. Any small beast that touched this liquid immediately convulsed and died.

He watched as his blood attack was blocked and Wang Lin escaped with his Storage Pouch. At this moment, he wasn't feeling heartache for his Storage Pouch, but rather an overwhelming killing intent, a bitter hatred for Wang Lin. If not for Wang Lin, he would have already broken out of the encirclement and perhaps even entered the second stage.

But all of this changed completely because of Wang Lin's appearance. With Meng Tuozi's intellect, he immediately knew that all along, he had purely acted as a pathfinder for the other party, and even held back all the hurricanes for him. Otherwise, how could this Core Formation stage youth have safely passed this first stage!—

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