https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-257-Bombing-Fish-with-This-Thing-It-s-the-Way-to-Go-/12850419/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-259-Shadow-Awakening-Sage-s-Book/12850425/
Chapter 258: The Ancient Shadow Beast in the Mountains
Chapter 258: The Ancient Shadow Beast in the Mountains
Stepping out of the interdimensional teleportation channel, Qin Muye found himself on what seemed to be a cliff, leaving him utterly confused.
"Where's the Ancient Shadow Beast?"
The characteristic of the Ancient Shadow Beast was its size, but even from the highest point, he couldn't see it.
This place wasn't like the previous aquatic Ancient Shadow Beast, which could hide in the depths of a lake or in vast underground caverns.
"Speaking of size, the mountain I'm standing on seems big enough, right?"
Qin Muye looked back, and the endless mountain range was barren, not even a blade of grass, let alone anything else.
Whoosh~
A loud noise echoed as a massive black shadow floated in the sky, bearing down on him.
Upon closer inspection, it was a gigantic arm, constructed entirely of rock.
If he were to be struck by it, he would likely be dazed for a while, but he wouldn't die. His skin was tough and his body resilient; it was generally harder to kill him than to capture him.
However, now that he had noticed it, Qin Muye was not about to be caught unprepared. He decided to teleport further away to assess the situation.
Bang~
Rocks collided and flew apart.
The commotion was enormous, but it gave Qin Muye a strange sense of deja vu, as if someone were swatting a mosquito on their belly.
Then the ground shook, and his body's center of gravity began to tilt, as if a giant lying down had just stood up.
Fortunately, Qin Muye could fly, and he turned to look.
The originally vast mountain range had transformed into a massive, dark beast. But calling it a beast was a bit of a stretch; it more resembled a life form constructed from various rocks.
It was not humanoid or like any known animal or plant, but rather an abstract, squirming mass.
It lacked distinct features and limbs, but as the rocks moved, various organs gradually formed.
Qin Muye was speechless. He had indeed suspected something, but he hadn't expected the cliff he was standing on to actually be part of an Ancient Shadow Beast.
The true form of the Ancient Shadow Beast was incredibly large, comparable to a mountain range.
This was much bigger than the one he had encountered when entering the mortal world or the aquatic Ancient Shadow Beast he had faced before.
"Not bad, I'm quite satisfied. I'll choose this thing to help my shadow reach the third stage of transformation," Qin Muye said, squinting at the mountainous Ancient Shadow Beast.
"Besides being large, temperamental, and ruthless, targeting me specifically, it doesn't have many flaws."
Qin Muye noticed that the Ancient Shadow Beast's attitude towards Shadow Bearers was singularly focused, unlike the Dead Shadows, which were polarized.
Whenever Shadow Bearers encountered these Ancient Shadow Beasts, they were always the primary target for elimination, unlike the Dead Shadows, which could be unpredictable due to various factors.
For example, this Ancient Shadow Beast clearly wasn't lacking food and was in a state of hibernation. Yet, the moment Qin Muye stood on its head, it forcibly woke up and attacked him.
It wasn't a matter of hunger; there were plenty of other Ancient Shadow Beasts around for it to feed on.
But it chose to target this small, insignificant piece of meat, which was a matter of attitude, not appetite.
Using the interdimensional teleportation channel to dodge continuously, Qin Muye pondered how to combine such a massive Ancient Shadow Beast with his shadow for the benefit.
During his free time, he had used samples of the Yin Mountain Lord to deduce some techniques, though these techniques might not be closely related to the Yin Mountain Lord.
"Sigh, the first step is to calm this Ancient Shadow Beast down. This is really putting me in a tough spot."
Qin Muye sighed. He couldn't transform into something as large as this, so he couldn't use brute force to calm it down.
So he had to use other means.
"Earth Decree, Prohibit!"
In an instant, the previously raging mountainous Ancient Shadow Beast froze, as if Qin Muye had poured concrete into its body.
This was a blessing Gaia had given him, the Earth's Protection.
Later, during a family gathering, it was upgraded from a partial to a complete Earth's Protection, allowing him to exert control and intimidation over life forms standing on the earth. Currently, it was effective on life forms up to the 7th stage, but not beyond that. The command over the Twelve Titans had disappeared.
Additionally, it allowed Qin Muye to regenerate, form shields, and gain extra health points while standing on the earth.
It was a combination of passive and active abilities.
Similar to this, he also had the Underworld Protection, Ocean Protection, and Sky Protection, all given to him by his relatives during family gatherings.
The effects were not much different, but Qin Muye rarely used the active abilities, treating them as passive skills.
These protections had a constant effect, but only one could be active at a time.
The Earth Protection was the most frequently used. The Sky Protection would activate when his feet were off the ground, the Ocean Protection when he was in water, and the most absurd was the Underworld Protection, which would only work in the Underworld or after he died.
Under normal circumstances, only one of these four protections could be active at a time, likely due to the authority issues.
In addition to these, he had the complete Eleusinian Mysteries, given by the Queen of the Underworld, Persephone. The complete version was extremely resilient, ensuring that Qin Muye could not be killed.
He also had the magical blessing from Hecate, the power of calamity from Ares, and other gifts from his relatives.
Especially the Golden Apple given by the goddess of discord, Eris. If it weren't for the lack of inscriptions, Qin Muye would have thought he was about to start another Trojan War.
At that time, the atmosphere between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite became quite tense, and Qin Muye enjoyed the spectacle immensely.
It was said that after the incident, the dragon Ladon guarding the Golden Apple tree, Atlas holding up the sky, and Prometheus hanging around got into trouble.
Qin Muye then understood why she was called the goddess of discord—she was incredibly adept at causing strife. This Golden Apple held the pain of every Olympian deity.
However, due to Qin Muye's reputation and the quick escape of the goddess of discord, the banquet, which was already nearing its end, concluded even sooner.
The Golden Apple was still in his inventory, a divine artifact capable of reviving the dead and healing bones. Qin Muye kept it for emergencies, as it was far more effective than ginseng.
In the world of Primordial Chaos, it would be considered a first-class primordial spirit root. In addition, he received a golden-fleeced ram, another divine artifact, which was quite absurd.
Qin Muye still didn't know what the golden fleece was for, although it was a divine artifact, it had no attributes and was just a material. He could only collect it and see if he could make a golden fleece pajama in the future.
"Earth Protection is quite useful, though it's a bit middle-schoolish to say it out loud," Qin Muye said, looking at the immobile mountainous Ancient Shadow Beast.
"It's easier to handle now. I can start my research."
Qin Muye squinted, his mind working to figure out where to start.
This thing had no head or tail, slightly better than his slime shadow, which at least knew where its organs were. Qin Muye's shadow was a bit more complicated to describe.
Essentially, except for the area where the Aladdin's lamp existed, any part of his shadow could transform into any body part, even tentacles were possible.
The current Aladdin's lamp was almost unrecognizable, reduced to a blurry, foggy mass, like a moldy potato.
It was a bit unsightly, but it was a necessary process.
"Probably in about half a month, I can enter the Shadow Transformation stage. I need to hurry."
Qin Muye checked the progress reported by the magic network and quickly estimated the remaining time for the second stage, the Solid Shadow stage. Unless Qin Muye paused it himself, the time would not change.
After all, during the first stage, the Ethereal Shadow, the data integrated into his shadow was the magic network, making it a part of him.
The magic network was no longer just magic; it was more like a lord's innate ability, spanning various aspects of his domain, troops, and magic.
It was a crucial part of his strength.
"The time should be sufficient, but if it's not," Qin Muye sighed, "I'll have to pause it."
It wouldn't be a problem; for the sake of development, it was normal for his shadow to awaken a bit later.
If he wanted to rush it, he could finish in a day, but he wanted his shadow to be stronger, which was why he had been waiting for so long.
(End of Chapter)
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