Chapter 215

That said, blocking this divine might head-on while simultaneously guarding his mind against mental attacks was still putting tremendous pressure on Qi Xing.

"Silly boy, retreat, quickly retreat!"

Sasa, perched on Qi Xing's head, kept shouting, spinning around in a panic.

"This time, it really is a stat monster with 'similar attributes'! You can't win fighting like this!"

"Can't [Dominator] counter its attributes?" Qi Xing asked back, a cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"That only counters the attack! If you turn off the defense of the Silver Coin of [Illusion] now, you'll be killed by this Giant Spirit within three moves!"

"Huh?"

"It's still connected by an umbilical cord, it can't chase you very far!"

That was indeed a very obvious weak point.

Qi Xing had considered whether to use his Phantom Sea Sword to fly over and try cutting the blood-red umbilical cords on the Giant Spirit.

Perhaps if he cut the umbilical cords, the Giant Spirit would lose power?

But Qi Xing was also worried that if the umbilical cords were cut, it might go berserk instead. Oh well, better not risk it.

"The green hills will remain, and the green waters will flow. Island Master, your Giant Spirit is truly formidable. We shall come to learn from you again next time."

Even if one loses the fight, one shouldn't lose their composure, and courtesy must not be lacking. Although suppressed, Qi Xing did not lose his calm demeanor. While shielding himself with the Phantom Sea, he cupped his hands toward Xue Ning, preparing to transform into lightning and escape.

But would Xue Ning allow them to escape just like that?

"Great Mother of Heroes—Womb that births kings, milk that nurtures heroes, above all gods, crown of radiance, the rightful Goddess of Olympus—"

The attributes of this Giant Spirit seemed to be of the same nature as Qi Xing's [Illusion], so it was hard to directly break through Qi Xing's defense.

However, Xue Ning did something quite incredible at this moment.

While reaching out to touch the Giant Spirit's fair body, she loudly chanted a prayer:

"For your glory, by your will, grant me the power to accomplish this!"

Before the words had even faded, some kind of power within the Giant Spirit began to respond.

These Cult Leaders didn't touch the [silver coin] themselves, but they had ways to indirectly use the power of the [silver coin].

One hand pressed against the Giant Spirit's white flank. Qi Xing saw the Giant Spirit's umbilical cord tremble gently, as if responding to some holy delivery.

Xue Ning's right hand slowly rose, and a blinding white light began to coalesce in her palm.

It was like the rising sun, yet also like a burning angelic heart; in Xue Ning's palm, a rapidly expanding, high-energy fireball began to form. It was not just a fireball.

In an instant, Qi Xing felt as if he saw the microcosm of a star there.

A man-made little sun, born from the womb of a god.

"What is that?!"

Of course, the Island Master would not answer Qi Xing's question.

The fireball grew larger and larger, its color shifting from orange-red to white-blue. Xue Ning released her hand, and that violently vibrating little sun flew out, trailing a tail as it slammed toward Qi Xing—exploding less than ten meters in front of him.

Hell descended immediately.

A circle of transparent white light expanded, swallowing all surrounding colors.

It was as if a giant beast were roaring beneath the crust; the entire [Labyrinth Island] was blasted upward in an instant!

The searing shockwave, carrying deafening blasts, thousands of tons of vitrified rock, and vaporized metal, danced into the sky like a giant serpent of flame!

It exploded—it truly exploded!

Fusion fire comparable to the Tunguska event burst open before Qi Xing's eyes! Its heat was enough to evaporate the very ocean!

When the intense light faded, the area within hundreds of meters of the epicenter had turned into a vacuum-melted dead zone. Not a scrap remained.

Only the Giant Spirit stood quietly by the pool of blood, guarding this underground womb.

Xue Ning stood in the afterglow of the nuclear explosion, cloaked in incandescent light, like a god of death, a destroyer of worlds.

She lowered her head and glanced at the palm of her right hand that had cast the fireball.

In her hand, there was only a lump of silver the size of half a palm.

Volume Five: Welcome to the █ █ █ Paradise!: 197: It's Really Hard to Guess!

Even a powerhouse like Qi Xing couldn't help but be shocked as he watched a sun of explosion suddenly "rise" before him.

That searing, extreme fusion flame would likely boil away in an instant, even if one tried to block it with tens of billions of tons of seawater.

However—the more critical the moment, the calmer Qi Xing became.

At this moment, he was using the Silver Coin of [Illusion] to construct a defense and could not switch to other silver coins.

But the large thundercloud he had gathered earlier using the [Dominator] silver coin was still floating behind him, having not dissipated!

As the nuclear fireball plummeted and the light engulfed him, at this hair-trigger moment, Qi Xing instead closed his eyes and pressed his palms together.

There was not a shred of anger, not a ripple, not a trace of superfluous emotion.

He stood in the Phantom Sea like a stone Buddha, solemn as a god of nirvana.

It was as if he were closing his eyes to await death.

It seemed as if the raging fusion explosion rushing toward him had nothing to do with him anymore.

—But this was not truly awaiting death.

After an instantaneous and extreme void, Qi Xing suddenly threw a punch! He grabbed the core of the thundercloud, compressing and condensing it to the limit!

Immediately after, he threw a punch!

Using the fist power of [Wuji Vibration Zen], he resisted the powerful nuclear explosion just inches away!

In an instant, the thundercloud disintegrated into thousands of lightning bolts, propelling the fist power to meet the fusion heat head-on as it was about to break through the Phantom Sea!

The continuously expanding nuclear flames had a destructive power reaching the megaton level; even Qi Xing's [Wuji Vibration Zen] could not stop it completely!

But immediately after, Qi Xing mobilized the [Illusion] of the Vast Sea again in a short time, layering it to block the explosion!

He did not attempt to hold out by force, but instead used the momentum to move.

Qi Xing's understanding of [Illusion] was the Taoist concept of [Water]. Nothing in the world is softer than water, yet nothing can overcome those who are strong and firm better than it.

Therefore, he guided the Phantom Sea, using it to dissipate force like water, converting a portion of the nuclear explosion's kinetic energy into lift and thrust!

His figure jolted, leaping upward like a fish!

Boom!

The gale surged backward, and white flames intertwined beneath his feet.

Qi Xing rode the torrent, supported by the "aftermath" of the nuclear explosion, flying upward at extreme speed, piercing through the shattered rock layer above the maze, all the way up!

Above ground, the surface of Labyrinth Island had long since cracked due to the nuclear shockwaves.

Gravel, ash, and sea breeze mixed together, resembling the apocalypse.

Qi Xing rushed out of the broken ruins of the maze on the surface and landed quietly.

With a flash of [Illusion] power, his figure disappeared again, hiding in the shadows, his aura restrained to the limit.

It was still morning when he entered the maze, but now, looking around, the entire world was shrouded in night.

It was easy to guess that the entire island had probably been pulled into the [Inner Realm] created by the Giant Spirit's authority.

Trapped in the [Inner Realm], retreat was difficult, and he couldn't contact Elaine and the others either.

"…Sasa, what on earth was that?"

Now that he could rest a little, Qi Xing asked while regulating his breathing, puzzled,

"Was that just now… a hand-crafted nuclear explosion?"

He had fought Demon Kings, and he had fought Cult Leaders. If powerful Demon Kings and Giant Spirits could casually craft nuclear fusion explosions, Qi Xing would accept it. But how could a Cult Leader like her also craft nuclear explosions?

"[…I'm afraid it's Alchemy.]"

However, after a moment of silence, Sasa murmured an answer that left Qi Xing even more confused.

"Alchemy?"

"[Using Alchemy to create ultra-high temperatures and pressures can theoretically trigger nuclear fusion, forcibly causing atomic transmutation, accompanied by a massive release of energy, ultimately forming heavy elements like gold or uranium… This is at least theoretically possible.]"

She muttered,

"[But to achieve such a thing, it would definitely require an incredibly unrealistic amount of energy, which humans could not possibly achieve… However, if you use a [silver coin], or draw upon the divine power of the Giant Spirit, that's a different story.]"

The more she spoke, the more annoyed Sasa became—this was no longer a matter of "unauthorized use." No matter how it was used, it was an illegal operation that severely violated the original design purpose of her universe!

"So the Island Master is actually an alchemist?"

Qi Xing was somewhat surprised, listening in wonder,

"But what she blew up just now was silver, not gold, right?"

"[Because silver is lighter than gold, and its atomic number is much lower.]"

Sasa said, glancing at the shattered remains of the silver maze, her eyes gradually becoming serious.

"[In terms of reaction conditions, refining 'silver' is less difficult than Alchemy, and it's easier to control.]"

Speaking of which, she had already faintly thought of some clues.

In Alchemy, gold is the most perfect metal. Even in internal Alchemy, a similar technique, the concept of "Gold" is regarded as supreme.

By comparison, silver is a secondary metal. Although noble, in Alchemy, it is still regarded as second-tier, not perfect enough.

For traditional alchemists, being able to refine base metals into gold versus only being able to refine them into silver are two vastly different realms, representing a level of technical skill that has not yet fully matured.

…But this maze, on the contrary, emphasized silver.

Vaguely, Sasa felt that she could see through some of the secrets behind this Island Master, Xue Ning.

"What god is that Giant Spirit, exactly?"

Qi Xing asked thoughtfully while regulating his breathing,

"Without even knowing what god I'm up against, I'm very restricted in my fighting."

"[Can't you tell by now?]"

Sasa frowned, unhappily patting Qi Xing's head,

"[The foundation of that Giant Spirit is clearly Hera!]"

Hera.

Qi Xing certainly knew this name.

The Queen of Heaven in ancient Greek mythology, the goddess with the highest status and power among the gods of Mount Olympus, the legitimate wife of Zeus.

Her divine authority came from her marriage, but she also shared the throne and glory with Zeus.

But Qi Xing was still puzzled:

"I know Hera is indeed jealous, but doesn't she govern marriage, childbirth, and family?"

"Where is the 'Illusion' in that?"

"[I've said it many times: you can't look at mythology in parts, and you can't look at just a single version.]"

Sasa said irritably,

"[Before Hera flowed into Greek mythology, she was once a different goddess; after Greek mythology was absorbed by Roman mythology, she became a new goddess.]"

"[The Queen of Heaven in Roman mythology—Juno—is the fusion of Hera and Latin culture, as well as a version update.]"

"[In the Latin tribes before the founding of Rome, Juno was originally 'Juno Luna'; like Diana, she was a goddess of the moon.]"

"[The guardian of marriage is not just about protecting the family. She represents the cycle of a woman's entire life: from maiden to mother, from new moon to full moon to waning moon. In other words, Juno also represents the entire cycle of the moon and is a goddess with three-phase attributes.]"

Hearing this, Qi Xing finally understood a little.

Romans had always believed that the moon could induce madness.

And primitive moon goddesses like Diana and Artemis were almost all associated with wildness, chaos, and illusion.

Needless to say, even Qi Xing's own Silver Coin of [Illusion] had the moon as its pattern.

"[As for the many eyes, that's even simpler—the hundred-eyed giant in Greek mythology was originally Hera's loyal servant. The Greeks believed that the many eye patterns on a peacock's tail were because Hera placed the eyes of the hundred-eyed giant on them. From then on, the peacock became Hera's sacred beast.]"