Chapter 396: Slaying the Illusory
Chapter 396: Slaying the Illusory
Chen Chuan's footsteps echoed clearly in the empty underground passageway, each step reverberating back. His stride was steady and rhythmic.
But as he approached Meng Huang, the second self above him also exhibited intense signs of fading, intensifying as he drew closer.
Yu Sun, following behind, wore sharp prosthetic armor on her hands. However, after a few steps, she seemed to sense something, and she lifted her wrist. The edge of her bracelet was gradually turning dark, and she touched her earring, feeling a slight warmth.
She made a mental judgment and thought to herself, "No more than five minutes..."
She glanced at the jade bracelet on Chen Chuan's hand and the accessory hanging at his waist. This item was likely issued by the Processing Bureau, slightly better than what she had, but still limited. It wouldn't maintain its effect for more than seven minutes.
Yu Sun solemnly reminded him, "Chen Executor, be cautious of 'pollution'."
Chen Chuan glanced at his bracelet and nodded slightly.
According to the information from the Processing Bureau, the longer one was in contact with these beings, the more likely they were to be influenced. Aside from mental attacks, the altered organisms might also undergo uncontrollable changes, which Yu Sun referred to as 'pollution'.
The jade ring and the accessory were meant to prevent the altered organisms from causing issues for a period of time. If this item lost its effect, one would have to rely on their essence blood to suppress and maintain control. As for the mental pressure, it could only be alleviated by consuming the resident deity.
Only a Tier Three Combatant could handle such a situation; ordinary fighters would likely be unable to even approach.
At this moment, Chen Chuan tapped the Boundary Vessel and tried to contact the outside world. Despite the specially designed setup, it was incredibly challenging to send information, and it would take several minutes to transmit a message.
However, he couldn't afford to wait. He didn't know Meng Huang's purpose for coming here, but it was highly likely related to his existence and power. Chen Chuan couldn't let him succeed.
He gazed at the massive body writhing on the door, took a few steps forward, shifted his center of gravity, and leaped towards the front. He lifted the long sword he had set aside and swiftly approached, then slashed downward!
Such a massive body should not have been able to evade the strike, but as the blade sliced through, the struck area dissipated like a puff of illusory smoke, and the sword felt empty, as if it hadn't inflicted any damage.
Chen Chuan lightly touched his toes to the ground. At that moment, a shadow flitted across the ground, and a limb that had been clinging to the ceiling reached down towards him.
He sidestepped, avoiding the limb, but it pursued him. He tried to use his sword to strike it, but encountered the same scenario as before, as if he had only slashed through insubstantial smoke.
Despite this, he didn't want to be caught by the limb. He retreated, and when he reached a certain distance, the limb withdrew.
Chen Chuan looked up. The reason he couldn't touch the limb might be that Meng Huang, freed from the Sealed Ritual, could now manifest such changes, just as he could pass through the ground.
According to the Processing Bureau's information, the entities on the other side were all different. In this world, many fighters with altered organisms could attack and make contact with them.
Only a few special ones required a mental connection to interact with, and although their power might not necessarily surpass the former, they were the most troublesome and challenging to handle.
Apparently, the entity they faced was one of these special cases.
If so, then...
Chen Chuan closed his eyes, and a faint red mark appeared on his forehead, which began to twitch. At this moment, he blocked out ordinary senses and focused purely on the mental aspect, feeling as if an indescribably massive presence had appeared before him.
The entity's body seemed to fill the entire space, accompanied by the shadows on the ground and walls, not at a distance but right beside him, shifting and sliding.
Countless tentacles floated in the air, surrounding him densely, and a few brushed past his cheeks.
As these tentacles approached or touched his body, the jade ring on his hand dimmed.
He held the Snow Lady Saber, and with a sudden burst of strength, he spun and slashed in a wide arc. This time, it felt like cutting through numerous resilient objects.
Within a radius of nearly three meters around him, all the tentacles were severed and fell to the ground, turning into wisps of smoke and dissipating.
At the same time, he seemed to sense something. He looked at the Snow Lady Saber.
In that moment of contact, it seemed as if something had been drawn from the entity and absorbed by the blade.
He could feel the essence within the Snow Lady Saber, which now seemed particularly excited, conveying a sense of eagerness to him.
He didn't concern himself with what it was. As long as it could eliminate the entity, that was enough. Chen Chuan swung the sword again, severing a large swath of tentacles, and took a step forward, moving closer to Meng Huang's location.
Yu Sun also rushed forward to help, initially unable to find Meng Huang's physical body. Although she didn't possess Chen Chuan's unique spiritual senses, by consuming Divine Essence and refining her spirit, she could achieve the same result.
However, this method was not sustainable for long, so she proceeded with caution. She avoided the vague, blurry things surrounding them whenever possible, and when unavoidable, she either pushed them away or severed them with her armor. Her attack efficiency wasn't high, but she did alleviate some of Chen Chuan's burden.
The two of them, one after the other, swiftly approached Meng Huang's main body. Sensing the threat, Meng Huang's massive body, which was blocking their path, suddenly lashed out with a thick limb.
Yu Sun leaped forward, forming a circle with her hands and pushing outward. With a loud bang, she firmly held it back, creating space for Chen Chuan to advance.
Chen Chuan seized the opportunity, and in a flash, he dashed forward. Just then, another limb lashed towards him from above, but it only grazed his back.
In an instant, a blade light swept across a ten-meter space, slashing deeply into Meng Huang's massive body, which was turned away from them. This strike created a long crack, from which countless black mists and fine fragments drifted out.
Meng Huang, or rather, that thing, suddenly twitched violently.
It seemed that it was initially solely focused on breaking through the door blocking its path, or perhaps it believed it could withstand significant damage, so it merely brushed them off.
However, Chen Chuan's slash seemed to have inflicted severe damage, pushing it beyond its endurance.
Its body surface suddenly bulged with bumps that burst open, releasing more limbs that flailed wildly before striking at both of them.
Yu Sun, upon noticing this, quickly retreated with agile steps. As she withdrew, she swiftly batted away two limbs attacking from the sides.
The impact numbed her arms, and she felt a much stronger force than before. The black bracelet on her wrist also turned dark, startling her.
She glanced at Chen Chuan but couldn't see anything due to the obscuring limbs.
Chen Chuan looked up, dodging the limbs as they struck towards him. He sidestepped one limb, then leaped backward to evade another. Landing, he pivoted and charged forward, swiftly weaving through the gaps between the limbs.
His long sword slashed continuously, leaving deep cuts on the limbs. Black smoke billowed from the wounds, and on the ground lay a pile of severed, slender tentacles.
Another limb silently coiled towards him, but in the next moment, it was slashed to the ground by his blade. Without hesitation, he moved away from his original position, and the spot he just left was smashed by several limbs, creating a crater.
He weaved and dodged through the crisscrossing limbs, occasionally slashing to clear a path. He kept moving, not just evading, but also observing calmly.
He noticed that while the number of limbs had increased and they were thicker and stronger than before, their speed had actually decreased.
According to the information, Meng Huang's symbiotic body with the entity might gain incredible power from the entity's infusion, but as long as it remained in the physical world, there were limits that couldn't be easily surpassed. Some of these limits were determined by the symbiotic body's own ceiling.
If the entity was originally an ordinary person without any special assistance, its performance would be at the level of a Tier Three Combatant, the limit that mundane objects could reach.
Unless the entity didn't care about its physical body, but if it did, the destruction of the physical body would also mean its end.
Of course, even among Tier Three Combatants, the difference in size could lead to a significant gap in power. Meng Huang had now reached a height of six to seven meters, capable of exerting considerable force.
However, Chen Chuan had his Second Self, which could withstand a certain amount of damage and provided a speed advantage. As long as the attack didn't exceed his comprehension, he had a chance to eliminate and drive away the threat.
At that moment, a faint sound came from the Boundary Vessel—the message he had just sent had finally been fully transmitted. If all went well, he believed the Processing Bureau would arrive soon.
But Meng Huang's appearance today might have been prepared for, so he didn't entirely rely on this.
As for the current situation...
He glanced at his wrist, where the bracelet had turned dark on most of its surface, and at the nearly filled space surrounded by limbs and tentacles. He tightened his grip on the sword, his skin suddenly turning hot, and white smoke rose from his body.
He wasn't entirely helpless on his own...
...
(End of Chapter)
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