Power of Chaos, Polluted Origin Substance (3K)

Etoris, kneeling on the ground, and the headless-body Etoris condensed on Lawrence’s shoulder moved at the same time, looking into the black mist.

A powerful pressure radiated from within.

Lawrence shifted his feet, and flesh had already burrowed back into the ground in the form of tentacles. He could escape at any moment using this method.

But suddenly, his heart shuddered violently, then stopped beating.

That life force, powerful enough to crush ordinary humans to death outright, abruptly froze as well.

The next moment, he felt something inside him rapidly draining away—a life force so faint to him that it was almost imperceptible.

He immediately realized something and looked into the black mist.

"What did you do?!"

The golden ripple behind Lawrence began to sway uncontrollably, taking Lawrence’s body along with it.

The Etoris head piled together from flesh swayed with Lawrence’s body, its long golden hair dancing like a lion’s mane.

Unfortunately, beneath that long hair, there was no longer a heart in that flesh that would pound wildly at the sight of Seraphina.

Tap, tap.

Footsteps grew clearer and clearer from within the black mist. A hand emerged first, as though parting the black fog.

Specks of golden light streamed from behind Lawrence like ribbons toward that hand.

"What did I do?"

Bai Cangshu’s tone rose, his displeasure turning into a savage impact that crashed against Lawrence’s body with a boom.

A scarlet phantom wrapped around Bai Cangshu’s body. Omen of the Evil God had already activated. In this state, a mere glance sent Lawrence flying.

At this moment, Bai Cangshu’s Gaze of Arrogance contained the terrifying destructive power brought by strength exceeding a thousand.

Bai Cangshu still held out his hand. He was reclaiming his gift. He was taking back the power that belonged to him!

From the very first moment he saw Lawrence reveal that golden ripple stretching thousands of meters, he had known that his investment had failed…

The man who had traded his own heart and hot blood for the protection of the red-haired girl was dead, devoured by Lawrence.

Yet now, he had heard that man’s final thoughts from Lawrence’s mouth… So weak…

In the end, humans were weak.

In the end, living beings were impure.

Merely seeing a fragment of the Observer, seeing that above this tragic world there were no merciful gods or peaceful divine kingdoms, that the Creator held no warmth toward its children—

Just that level of shock had cooled that man’s hot blood and plunged him into utter despair.

It displeased Bai Cangshu. It even angered him.

He knew very well that the lost chance to reclaim that wildly beating heart along with the Hamon he had bestowed accounted for only a small part of that anger.

He was furious that someone who possessed something he himself had never possessed could still act so frail.

Bai Cangshu raised his head, his eyelids lowered as he looked down on Lawrence and Seraphina from an angle of utmost arrogance and contempt.

Even this entire world.

In his eyes, this world was filled with a kind of petty small-mindedness, from top to bottom…

Whether it was those high-dimensional beings who had placed the Great Will upon this tiny world, or these "seekers of the Dao" within this world.

From beginning to end, the greatest revenge they seemed able to conceive was merely fusing the humans of a small continent together into a sufficiently high-level lifeform, then flying into the stars and splattering the other party with blood to air their grievances?

Absurd!

Bai Cangshu had never concerned himself with foolish questions like what the Creator was or how exactly he himself had come into existence.

Even if there truly was some Creator, he had no interest whatsoever in why it had created him.

Bai Cangshu had always cared only about himself.

"I’m already tired of you weak, foolish fools."

"Now, I’ll reclaim my gift, then leave with that Origin Substance."

The power of authority genuinely radiated from Bai Cangshu’s body. In an instant, Lawrence, who had been sent flying by Gaze of Arrogance, stiffened uncontrollably.

At this moment, not only could he not activate Flesh Pasture to affect his opponent, he could not even escape.

A power system that had already fused into his Life Ladder was being stripped away from the roots.

That was… the miraculous power within Etoris!

That special energy art that generated sunlight-like waves from flesh and blood, that special ability which, in his eyes, could further extend his own formidable life force!

"Urgh… Aah!"

Lawrence howled in agony as the golden ripple behind him, along with flesh, was slowly pulled out from his body.

Great masses of writhing blood, nearly solidified, were pulled out of Lawrence’s body by Bai Cangshu along with that incredibly vibrant and powerful Ripple Power.

Bai Cangshu remained indifferent, showing neither joy nor sorrow.

The specks of light grew increasingly brilliant before finally turning into distorted Ripples and plunging fiercely into Bai Cangshu’s palm.

You have reclaimed Gift: Hamon
Ability Hamon Lv 9 has mutated. Current: Starry Sky Ripple Lv4 (A)
Starry Sky Ripple Lv4—A special ripple forged by inscribing celestial phenomena through the principles of flesh and blood. It can propagate through the void and gain the properties of light, possessing the traits of extension, destruction, and enhancement.
You have obtained Active Blood (World's Rare Treasure)—Blood and flesh possess vitality, allowing autonomous control over the transfer of life force between flesh and blood for selective regeneration.
You have come into contact with the incomplete Ladder: Life Ladder (9 levels). Please visit the Rank Management Office upon returning to the space for more information.

As the ripple behind Lawrence was extracted, it was as if his spine had been pulled out. He instantly fell to his knees.

His original plan had naturally been to capture Seraphina, persuade her to activate the Life Furnace with him, and use the Origin Substance to elevate the Life Ladder.

But Etoris had unexpectedly been discovered by him first. That miraculous Ripple Power allowed him to generate higher-level strength through flesh and blood, so he had activated the Life Furnace ahead of schedule.

Originally, in his Life Furnace form, he should have been able to sweep aside all resistance, overpower Seraphina, force her to merge with him, and fulfill his long-held wish.

Who would have thought that a monster like Mercenary Tao would suddenly appear in this world? Every plan had now been shattered.

Lawrence gave up struggling, and his body went limp. The immense despair made every beat of his heart seem heavier.

Black mist rose from his body.

Only then did Bai Cangshu raise his head and look directly at the drifting mist.

The mist in the sky grew denser and denser, and this special space gave off an increasingly dangerous aura.

Bai Cangshu flicked his finger. With a bang, a vacuum wave exploded over Lawrence’s body, and his flesh instantly burst apart like a rotten watermelon.

But no kill notification appeared.

After a brief thought, Bai Cangshu flashed forward, appearing before the red-haired girl Seraphina as though using Teleportation.

With one hand, he lifted the red-haired girl, whose body was already beginning to heat up. He could clearly see the black mist in her eyes.

Sure enough, this hidden thing had very few targets to choose from. If not Lawrence, then Seraphina.

Seraphina seemed unable to feel the pressure of being lifted by Bai Cangshu. Instead, her lips parted, and a melodious tune began to ring out.

This song resembled the one she had sung when saving those beastmen, except some notes had changed. Its overall style shifted from uplifting and healing to gloomy and twisted.

Bai Cangshu felt a strange power. A pitch-black starry sky appeared before his eyes, without the presence of a single star. The entire sky was empty and deathly still.

He had seen that place when he activated the first threshold release of the Limiter. That was Chaos, the unobserved void…

Suddenly, a pair of eyes opened within the void. Bai Cangshu froze in place, his gaze passing through Seraphina’s eyes to meet that eye in the void.

Eyes opened one after another within those eyes. Then Bai Cangshu’s vision focused into ever-smaller eyes, repeating in an endless cycle.

Then…

Artoria froze. Instinctively tensing her entire body, she immediately appeared before her host. His head had already shattered, blood shooting into the sky. There was no sign of his injury healing as he fell straight down.

Artoria raised her holy sword and swung it down at the mutated Seraphina without hesitation.

The black holy sword was caught by a hand. That arm completely ignored the holy sword’s sharpness, firmly holding it in place.

Artoria frowned. It was the host she had just confirmed had lost all signs of life, using his left hand to grab her sword and stop her from cutting down.

"Ha… So that’s possible too…"

His lustrous white hair fluttered. Bai Cangshu, who had successfully returned from death, now had lustrous white hair spreading continuously outward from behind his head.

His eyes shone brightly as he looked into Seraphina’s eyes again. The girl’s song became increasingly gloomy, while everything beyond the black mist began to decay.

In the same way, Bai Cangshu’s head exploded once more. Twelve Labors did not exempt this damage.

In other words, although the way he was injured was nearly identical, the form of the attack directed at him was entirely different from before.

Many images appeared in Bai Cangshu’s mind—the ancient gods said to have come from the stars, and this unknown existence truly hiding within Chaos.

The truth of the world was about to be revealed to him, but before that…

Bai Cangshu thrust one hand into the girl’s chest and gripped that heart, which seemed feeble even as it beat.

Blood spilled from Seraphina’s nose and mouth, and her expression turned sorrowful, yet she continued singing. The blood in her mouth made her voice even stranger.

Bai Cangshu completely pulled out that heart. Crimson light gleamed from it.

Special Reincarnator EX051, you have come into contact with Special Creation: Origin Substance (Polluted)
You may submit the Origin Substance after returning to the space to receive an exceptionally high reward!

Lightning flickered, striking the separated heart once. It actually began beating forcefully again. Then Bai Cangshu cut open his fingertip, letting a thick drop of blood fall onto the heart.

Thump!

Thump!

"Seraphina, I’ll help that guy make up for his heart’s beating!"