Chapter 294: The Eclipse Species

Chapter 294: The Eclipse Species

"How do you play this game?"

Ji Xinghuo watched as another Qianlu took form, identical to the previous incarnation, and felt a headache coming on.

The electromagnetic spear he had just unleashed was already his strongest attack. Combined with Qinghong's gravity field and Long Yin's power, with the assistance of the Wanxiang Star Pupil, it had barely managed to deal a fatal blow. Yet now, his opponent had resurrected.

It seemed that this Qianlu was as strong as ever.

"If you think this is enough to kill me, you're being naive, Highlander," Qianlu said contemptuously.

Ji Xinghuo's face showed no sign of fear. "If I can kill you once, I can kill you ten times."

"Arrogant!" Qianlu coldly sneered and disappeared from sight.

It entered supersonic flight once more, resurrecting mere meters away. In an instant, it appeared before Ji Xinghuo, its hand transforming into a pitch-black wooden thorn that stabbed viciously.

Ji Xinghuo's electromagnetic senses had been locked onto his enemy, and in his super-frequency thinking state, he reacted just in time.

He threw a punch.

The electric spiral force instantly erupted, colliding head-on with Qianlu's wooden thorn.

Bang! The wooden thorn shattered, and half of Qianlu's arm exploded. The spiral force blasted into its body, causing half of its body to burst open.

With his star power raised to level five, the might of the electric spiral force had greatly increased.

However, it was not enough to make up for the gap in strength between the two. Ji Xinghuo was knocked flying backward, while Qianlu remained in place. In the next moment, it reached its top speed and caught up with Ji Xinghuo, who was still flying backward.

During this brief flight, Qianlu's body had already healed. It stabbed at Ji Xinghuo's chest with another wooden thorn.

Ji Xinghuo barely managed to regain his balance and threw a punch in retaliation.

Bang!

Ji Xinghuo's backward flight speed increased, while Qianlu only staggered slightly before pursuing him again, continuing its simple yet effective attack with the wooden thorn.

"Too fast!"

"No need to accelerate, I can directly reach top speed."

Ji Xinghuo was helpless. This time, he was unable to counter. He could only watch as Qianlu's wooden thorn pierced him.

The flux barrier appeared, blocking the thorn.

As the two entangled in mid-air, Qianlu's upper body sprouted multiple tendrils that wrapped around Ji Xinghuo's limbs. The vines contracted with force, pushing the thorn through the flux barrier, only to be stopped by the Holy Scale Armor.

Ji Xinghuo unleashed a frenzy of electricity, striking Qianlu's body. But the damage he had just inflicted was instantly healed.

Qinghong grew larger and pounced, opening its mouth to spit out a spherical lightning bolt.

However, Qianlu was prepared.

While flying at high speed, it used its branches to abruptly halt Ji Xinghuo, instantly transitioning from extreme motion to absolute stillness. The enormous inertial force made Ji Xinghuo feel as if he had crashed into a wall, and his whole body was in immense pain.

With this sudden stop, it created distance between itself and Qinghong.

Due to inertia, Qinghong continued flying forward. The spherical lightning bolt missed its target and detached, carrying the gravity field with it.

A vine shot out from Qianlu's body and transformed into a thirty-meter-long giant serpent in the blink of an eye. Covered in thorns and possessing a pair of wings formed from countless leaves, it resembled a feathered serpent as it flew to meet Qinghong in mid-air, tangling with it.

Meanwhile, Qianlu controlled Ji Xinghuo and flew in the opposite direction.

Boom!

It instantly entered supersonic flight, transitioning from stillness to rapid motion. The inertial force impacted Ji Xinghuo once more, sending him reeling.

Countless vines entangled Ji Xinghuo, who relentlessly destroyed them with lightning. But more vines regenerated, wrapping around him like a mummy. In front of him was another Qianlu, pressing forward with the wooden thorn, piercing through the Holy Scale Armor.

The surroundings were a blur of light and shadow as the scenery retreated.

From the sky to the ground.

Qianlu slammed Ji Xinghuo into the ground with tremendous force, creating a deafening sound that echoed throughout the entire underground city.

Ji Xinghuo felt as if his body was going to fall apart. His throat turned sweet, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

There was excruciating pain between his chest and abdomen. Finally, the Holy Scale Armor had been pierced by the wooden thorn, but the thorn itself could not withstand the enormous force and shattered into pieces.

"Ah..."

He cried out in pain, only to have his voice cut short.

Qianlu's vines lifted Ji Xinghuo from the pit and, with a thunderous roar, entered supersonic flight once more. It crashed into a nearby ruined building, using Ji Xinghuo as a battering ram. It penetrated the wall and emerged on the other side, then crashed into the next building.

Bang, bang, bang...

The two became like a supersonic train, rampaging through the underground city. One by one, the ruins collapsed amidst the dust, leaving a straight trail of devastation in their wake.

Ji Xinghuo's face was covered in dust and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Yet his gaze remained calm, and he even felt a sense of relief.

With the level six flux barrier and level six Holy Scale Armor, his defensive capabilities had reached new heights. After Qianlu's wooden thorn shattered, the dual layers of protection immediately recovered. No matter how much Qianlu's vines entangled him or how many walls they crashed through, it was not enough to deliver a fatal blow.

The wound between his chest and abdomen was already healing.

"Is that all you've got?"

"Use more force!"

Ji Xinghuo stared at the Qianlu mere inches away and scoffed.

"Highlander, you're asking for death," Qianlu said in a deep voice. "I don't believe you can last much longer. How much star power do you have left?"

"Hehe..." Ji Xinghuo wore a relaxed expression.

In reality, his star power had dropped below 1500 points and was less than a third of its original amount. With one layer of protection consuming star power and the other consuming spiritual energy, his star power was rapidly diminishing by the second. In just five minutes, it would be depleted entirely.

Countless plants surged from the ground, forming wooden thorns that surrounded them.

The largest among them was over 20 meters long, as thick as a pillar, and ended in an incredibly sharp point, resembling a dagger magnified countless times over.

A ruthless glint appeared in Qianlu's triangular eyes.

It accelerated once more, barreling forward with the intent to impale Ji Xinghuo on the massive thorn.

"Damn it!"

Ji Xinghuo's electromagnetic senses detected the enormous thorn, and his expression changed. If they were impaled, even if he didn't die, he would be severely injured.

The underground city was only about 300 meters high, and Qianlu's speed far exceeded 500 meters per second.

There was no time for Ji Xinghuo to think.

Not wanting to expose his secret of being able to use the Dimensional Stomach outside the Star Realm, he immediately released a spherical boulder from the stomach.

He had originally prepared two stones, but had used one earlier, leaving only this one.

Boom!

The giant rock filled their vision, bursting the vine tendrils and slamming into the nearby Qianlu. The ten-ton boulder, traveling at 200 meters per second, instantly crushed Qianlu into smithereens.

Ji Xinghuo freed himself from the restraints and was pushed aside by the turbulent blast, missing the giant thorn by a meter as he fell to the ground.

He crashed harshly, but the turbulent blast had slowed his descent, lessening the impact.

Before the surrounding tendrils could enclose him again, he took to the skies.

Qianlu had died once more.

Taking advantage of its resurrection delay, Ji Xinghuo soared into the sky and chased after the slowing boulder, retrieving it into his Dimensional Stomach. He then cautiously looked around; Ran Mian was hidden beneath the roots of the banyan composite, and she hadn't witnessed what had just transpired.

She had been setting up her plan for a long time, not only positioning herself deep within the massive root system but also controlling the Qing Lock Dragons to extend even further, placing those roots.

"It should be soon."

Without waiting for Qianlu to resurrect, Ji Xinghuo turned and flew towards Qinghong.

It had landed on the ground and torn the thorn feathered snake to shreds, but was now entangled by numerous plants and couldn't break free.

Ji Xinghuo flew above Qinghong and released a pulse arc, the Spirit Sword Ring transforming into four sword lights that cut through the vines and tendrils holding Qinghong. It immediately shrank and leaped back onto Ji Xinghuo.

A figure formed below—a well-proportioned body with smooth, pale green skin, but an extremely ugly face.

Qianlu had resurrected again.

Without looking back, Ji Xinghuo pulled away, but this time, Qianlu didn't pursue. Its gaze fixed on Ji Xinghuo, filled with confusion and doubt.

"What was that just now?" Qianlu's voice echoed.

"Guess," Ji Xinghuo replied, not intending to reveal his secrets.

He accelerated with all his might, wanting to put some distance between them.

A hint of wariness appeared in Qianlu's eyes.

Ji Xinghuo keenly sensed this and immediately guessed that Qianlu's resurrection wasn't without cost. Ran Mian had mentioned that it was the combat incarnation of the banyan composite, not the main body, and the incarnation's death would also deplete the main body's strength.

Through this battle, he had discovered two weaknesses in this incarnation.

First, its defense was relatively weak. While it was definitely stronger than a legend, it didn't reach the level of a Heavenly King's powerful defense.

Second, it lacked physical attack burst damage.

Its most terrifying aspect was its speed.

It seemed to have no acceleration process, instantly reaching its top speed. It could seemingly ignore inertia and change direction at will.

This gave it an invincible advantage in close-quarters combat.

If not for his super-frequency thinking and the Wanxiang Star Pupil, anyone else would have found it impossible to hit.

"I can only stall for time," Ji Xinghuo thought as he flew desperately.

Through his electromagnetic senses, he noticed that Qianlu remained in its original position, as if it had discovered something. It then changed direction and flew towards the exit of the underground city.

As expected, Qianlu immediately assumed that he wanted to escape and shouted, "It's too late to try and flee now!"

As it spoke, it entered supersonic flight.

Ji Xinghuo hadn't even heard its voice before Qianlu was upon him again, but it didn't dare to directly attack at close range like before.

Dozens of plant tendrils sprouted from its body, and at the end of each tendril was a closed eye that suddenly opened, revealing black and white irises. From the pupils, grayish-white rays shot out, covering the area where Ji Xinghuo was.

Ji Xinghuo sensed extreme danger and immediately activated the Wanxiang Senluo.

The future light streams appeared before his eyes.

He dodged left and right in the rays, constantly changing his flight direction and alternating between Flash Step and Instant Step.

The grayish-white rays grazed his body, striking the walls and ground of the buildings silently, leaving voids in their wake. Whatever the rays hit—rock, soil, plants, or crystal—was instantly reduced to powder.

Ji Xinghuo's heart pounded.

He didn't know what these rays were, and he dared not gamble on his body being able to withstand them without being disintegrated.

Each dodge felt like dancing on a knife's edge, but he always managed to escape by a hair's breadth.

These fruits immediately exploded, and with a loud rumble, the passage collapsed.

Ji Xinghuo never intended to escape.

He just wanted to attract Qianlu's attention, so he turned again and flew along the edge of the underground city.

Qianlu pursued him relentlessly, using various plant abilities each time it caught up, displaying an array of techniques that amazed Ji Xinghuo but also left him in a dire state.

Suddenly, Ji Xinghuo came to a stop.

He hovered in mid-air, turned around, and looked back at the pursuing Qianlu, his expression strange.

Qianlu, on the other hand, looked suspicious and wary.

Just as it was about to speak, its expression changed drastically, and it revealed a look of panic.

A loud rumble...

A muffled sound came from deep underground, quickly turning into a tremendous explosion that shook the entire underground city, as if an earthquake had struck.

The center of the explosion was right below the banyan composite, and the surrounding ground was upheaved by the giant tree's falling branches.

The giant tree slowly toppled over, exposing countless broken roots.

At the point of rupture, one could see white flowing light seeping in, like illusory flames, burning the roots and preventing their regeneration. The light then spread to the tree's trunk, branches, aerial roots, vines, and leaves, igniting the entire underground city in a brilliant white flame.

In just a few seconds, the plants throughout the underground city were infected by these strange flames, igniting and beginning to struggle wildly, emitting silent screams.

"No..."

Qianlu let out a desperate cry and rushed towards its main body.

But halfway there, its body disintegrated, spontaneously combusting and turning to ash in an instant.

Ji Xinghuo watched this unfold, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Then, he was filled with astonishment.

How had Ren Mian managed to set fire to the massive banyan composite so quickly? Moreover, while this seismic-level monster was a plant, it didn't seem to fear flames like ordinary plants. In fact, it had even mastered the use of high-temperature flames for combat.

He flew towards the fallen, burning giant tree, feeling the heat waves wash over him, and landed a hundred meters away.

Nearby, several Qing Lock Dragons emerged from the ground, bringing Ran Mian back to the surface.

She was still immaculate, without a speck of dirt on her, showing no signs of having burrowed underground for an extended period.

"Sister Ran!"

Ji Xinghuo called out happily.

Ignoring the burning tree, Ran Mian's gaze fell on Ji Xinghuo, taking in his injuries and disheveled state. She quickly approached him with concern, asking, "Xinghuo, how are your injuries? Are they serious?"

She immediately produced several peach blossoms to heal and detoxify him.

"I'm fine..." Ji Xinghuo grimaced, though he didn't really need the treatment as his wounds were already healing on their own; he just looked worse for wear.

Ran Mian's heart went out to him, and she reproached herself, "I should have been faster, but its root system was just too vast. I could only do my best to speed things up without alerting it, or all our efforts would have been for naught. Thankfully, you held on..."

"It couldn't kill me." Ji Xinghuo smiled calmly, "As long as we can take down this monster, it's worth it!"

Ran Mian personally inspected him, ensuring that he was in good condition and hadn't lost any vital parts, finally putting her mind at ease.

"We did it!"

Only then did she look at the burning giant tree, her joy evident, "The two of us, just super-humans, successfully killed a seismic-level monster. Xinghuo, we've created a miracle together!"

Ji Xinghuo was also excited, "All thanks to your plan, Sister Ran."

"It wouldn't have worked without you holding off its attacks and drawing all its attention. The plan alone wouldn't have been enough." Ran Mian shook her head, her eyes shining with a mysterious light as she looked at Ji Xinghuo, finding the man before her irresistibly charming and capable.

Ji Xinghuo, however, was unaware of her gaze, his eyes fixed on the giant tree.

It was burning at an incredibly fast rate.

In less than five minutes, the branches, roots, and leaves were all reduced to ashes, leaving behind only a massive, charred tree trunk, over a hundred meters long, bare and blackened. The entire underground city was filled with the ashes of the plants that had been burned away.

The peculiar illusory flames died out, and the surrounding temperature quickly returned to normal.

"It's done." Ran Mian said, "The burning temperature of the Virtual Flame Root isn't actually that high. It's specifically effective against the banyan composite, its bane. Once it burns out, there won't be any further damage, and you can even touch it without harm."

She walked over and touched the charred tree trunk, and indeed, there was no harm.

Ji Xinghuo also stepped forward, and as he touched the trunk, he felt a gentle warmth, and his eyes were met with exotic information.

Just a glance, and his heart skipped a beat.

[Monster: Banyan Composite]



[Level: Cataclysm - Quake]



[Exotic: Plant Origin, Acceleration, Heart of Flora, Life Revival, Omniform Limbs, High-Frequency Thought, Flight, Panoramic Vision, Insight]



Plant Origin, this was a solar eclipse exotic!

Ji Xinghuo was shocked, a myriad of thoughts flashing through his mind, but his expression remained unchanged as he turned to look at Ran Mian.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end