Chapter 476: Zogthoth

Chapter 476: Zogthoth

Ji Xinghuo didn't rashly take action with his shadow clone, choosing instead to confront the giant from a distance of several hundred meters. The giant, in turn, observed him carefully.

"Intruder," a peculiar voice echoed in the shadow clone's mind, speaking in the language of the True Dragons but with a flat tone devoid of any emotion. "What is your purpose for trespassing in my secret realm?"

This was a form of telepathic communication.

The shadow clone hesitated for a moment before replying, "I happened to discover the entrance to a rift in the void, so I decided to take a look inside."

"Lies," the giant with the octopus head said, its voice suddenly rising as it instantly saw through the deception.

An invisible wave emanated from the giant, carrying a mix of anger, coldness, and bloodlust that could invade one's mind. Yet, it also exhibited great caution, keeping its emotions in check.

The shadow clone remained fearless, though it found the situation bizarre.

"Intruder," the giant, who seemed somewhat wary, said, "if you leave this secret realm now, I, Zogthoth, a great Darothian, shall generously allow you to keep your life."

Zogthoth?

Darothian? Ji Xinghuo had never heard of this race, and the giant's name was simply a phonetic translation with no direct meaning in the True Dragon language.

He guessed that the giant likely belonged to an extraterrestrial race, one from beyond the True Dragon Domain.

Perhaps it wasn't even native to the Orion Arm.

"Well?" the giant prompted when Ji Xinghuo didn't respond immediately.

"I've never heard of the Darothians," the shadow clone said truthfully, a hint of provocation in his voice as he continued, "But I'd be delighted to witness your strength. I quite like this secret realm as well."

Zogthoth didn't respond.

However, the thin mist-like transparent energy surrounding his body began to boil, seemingly a manifestation of his telekinetic powers, responding to his emotions.

Though Ji Xinghuo was seeing this for the first time, he could intuitively sense the giant's emotions.

It was anger! Anger mixed with confusion and suspicion.

At that moment, Zogthoth finally seemed to make a decision. One of the tentacles on his left arm curled, and at its tip appeared an object resembling a monocular telescope, about half a meter long, with one end larger than the other, and only the larger end had a lens.

Through the eyes of the shadow clone, Ji Xinghuo also saw the telescope and immediately understood that this was what he had been searching for—the lens was a fragment of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil!

A slit opened on Zogthoth's head, revealing a large, cloudy eyeball that seemed to have been implanted, giving it sight. It held the telescope to its eye with one of the tentacles on its left, aiming it at the shadow clone.

In that instant, several of the tentacles on Zogthoth's chin trembled, and its eye seemed to have witnessed the most absurd, shocking, and terrifying thing in the world.

The thin mist of energy surrounding its body went wild, its colors chaotic like a dye vat.

"How is this possible!"

"Fifth-rank!"

"How can a mere fifth-rank outsider possess so many exotic abilities? You have even more than I do! So many Starfall exotic abilities and even an Eclipse exotic ability. This is impossible! What's the deal with your exotic ability level?"

"What race are Earth humans?"

"And who is Ji Xinghuo?"

"This is just one of your shadow clones! A fourth-level shadow clone..."

"Eclipse Exotic Dragon Vein, what is that?"

"Who are you, really!"

A string of incoherent telepathic exclamations rang out as the giant fell into a frenzy. Zogthoth's mind seemed to have suffered a tremendous shock, unable to accept reality, its entire understanding of the world upended.

Ji Xinghuo was also taken aback, his eyes fixed on the telescope in Zogthoth's tentacle.

The giant's words revealed a lot of information, and it all seemed connected to him.

"That telescope seems to be able to obtain my true information," Ji Xinghuo mused. He guessed that this fragment possessed some of the functions of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil, making it even more versatile than the previous fragments he had acquired.

However, the fragment was still incomplete, capable of obtaining information but unable to directly enhance his combat power or absorb spiritual source energy.

Ji Xinghuo secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Zogthoth could also absorb spiritual source energy, it would have been a much more formidable opponent.

Fragments were just fragments; his Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil was the only true source of power!

Suddenly, Zogthoth stopped trembling.

The thin mist of telekinetic energy around its body calmed, turning cold and rational, and the shadow clone sensed a surge of malicious intent.

"Intruder," Zogthoth said coldly, "call forth your main body. Only one of us will leave this place alive today."

"Oh?" The shadow clone smiled faintly.

Like Lin Yanhong, Zogthoth had turned the fragment into equipment and carried it with him; he couldn't integrate it into his body.

There was a barrier to how they utilized the fragments.

Zogthoth suddenly looked towards the sea outside the island, in the direction of the rift that served as the entrance to the secret realm.

Eight identical Ji Xinghuo figures leaped out of the void and flew swiftly over the sea. The guards who had originally been stationed at the entrance were now rushing towards the palace, and over two thousand aliens living on the island were surrounding them from all directions.

These aliens approached the palace but did not go further, spreading out to maintain their distance.

The shadow clone swept his gaze around.

Instantly, he understood what was happening. All the aliens in this secret realm were Zogthoth's slaves.

Zogthoth was a "Marshal," an advanced occupation of a Mind Hacker and Commander. Through mental control, he dominated other aliens, forming a slave army that amplified his power. Even though these aliens were individually weak, their numbers made up for their lack of quality, resulting in a significant boost to Zogthoth's strength.

The role of a Marshal was somewhat similar to that of a Legion.

However, while a Legion relied on its own clones to amplify its power, a Marshal achieved this through commanding or even enslaving others.

And this was just one aspect of Zogthoth's abilities.

As Ji Xinghuo and his shadow clone flew closer, Zogthoth's monocular telescope turned towards them.

Finally, his lone eye settled on Ji Xinghuo's main body.

Once again, a rapid wave of emotions stirred within him.

"So this is your true body. As expected, it's powerful!" Zogthoth tried to calm the thin mist of telekinetic energy around him and said, "Even in my dreams, I wouldn't have dared to imagine that there would be an alien like you in this world."

Crackle...

Amidst the sound of thunder, Ji Xinghuo and his seven shadow clones descended, spreading out around Zogthoth.

Ji Xianghuo said to him, "Now you've seen it."

"Indeed."

Zogthoth pointed the telescope at Ji Xinghuo's main body, frequently checking his information. His lone eye grew increasingly deep and turbid, and a wave of mental energy swept over Ji Xinghuo. "You dared to enter my secret realm because you were confident that you could kill me?"

"Of course," Ji Xinghuo replied.

"Good." The largest of Zogthoth's tentacles on his chest tapped lightly. "I thought so too. As long as I kill you and acquire everything you possess, my path to becoming a Star Saint will be unobstructed, and I might even have a chance at becoming an Infinite Realm Master."

His eyes gleamed with fanaticism as he said, "Ji Xinghuo, it turns out that you are the greatest opportunity of my life."

Ji Xinghuo remained calm and collected. "You can say whatever you like."

Boom!

A dull sound reverberated from the void above the palace, and a massive shadow penetrated through, directly teleporting into the secret realm from the outside world.

Ji Xinghuo looked up, his face finally revealing surprise.

It was actually a Void Kun Dragon!

However, this Void Kun Dragon was evidently very young and could only be considered a Flood Dragon. Its body length was not yet 80 meters, only about one-fifth the length of the Shock-grade Void Kun Dragon, Xuankun Tianlin.

The Void Kun Dragons' slow growth rate was their most significant drawback.

Even so, a Flood-grade Void Kun Dragon still possessed formidable combat power. As soon as it appeared, it released a gravitational field, enveloping an area with a diameter of over 3,000 meters. Within this field, gravity increased a hundredfold.

Ji Xinghuo and his shadow clones remained unaffected.

He looked at Zogthoth and said calmly, "So this is your trump card, a Void Kun Dragon? Didn't you see my Primordial Dragon Vein?"

Zogthoth's tentacles flicked, but he didn't speak, only revealing a hint of confusion.

Ji Xinghuo immediately understood.

Apparently, Zogthoth's telescope could only access superficial information, such as the name, quality, and level of an ability, but it couldn't discern the specific functions of the abilities. It was also possible that physical contact was necessary to obtain deeper information.

With just a smile from Ji Xinghuo, Zogthoth gleaned a lot from his expression, and he suddenly felt uneasy.

"Don't panic," Ji Xinghuo said, making no attempt to hide his emotions.

"Panicking won't help. No matter what you say or do, the outcome will be the same."

Death was inevitable.

Ji Xinghuo had never considered a second option. He had made up his mind to go all out, holding nothing back.

The calmer he appeared, the more Zogthoth lost confidence.

Mind Hackers often gained a significant psychological advantage over their opponents without fighting, dominating through language and mental confrontation. However, when they were at an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength, this very control over the mind could weaken their fighting spirit.

None of these abilities had any effect.

The human's mental world before him seemed to be protected by an impenetrable fortress, with no weaknesses to exploit.

The only way to defeat him would be through sheer force!

"Outsider..."

Zogthoth projected a mental wave, pretending to continue speaking, but just as he uttered two words, he suddenly attacked. Without any warning, an invisible spike formed and stabbed towards Ji Xinghuo's head.

Soul-Stealing Spike!

This instantaneous mental attack could sever the connection between an enemy's mind and body, as if their soul had left their physical form.

Previously, the shadow clone had been defeated by this very move, as it lacked the protection of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil.

Zogthoth hoped that it would be effective against Ji Xinghuo's main body as well.

As Zogthoth unleashed the Soul-Stealing Spike, his Void Kun Dragon also launched an attack, opening its massive maw and spewing out a torrent of "Void Dragon Breath." A flood of vacuum energy gushed out like a waterfall.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

However, Ji Xinghuo had foreseen this ten seconds earlier, having activated the Myriad Phenomenon Star Domain before entering the secret realm.

As soon as Zogthoth made his move, Ji Xinghuo disappeared.

The eight shadow clones simultaneously vanished, teleporting and reappearing around Zogthoth, surrounding him and striking together. During this process, each shadow clone spared no expense in consuming their stellar power, entering their strongest state.

Great Transformation! Overload! Electromagnetic Shockwave!

The eight shadow clones all expanded and grew to over five meters tall, their bodies enveloped in swirling currents and their eyes flashing with electric light.

They had no weapons, but that did not hinder their offense.

Four of them unleashed bolts of lightning.

The other four charged forward, with electric light bursting from their massive fists as they pummeled Zogthoth with an electric spiral force!

A layer of dragon-like scales appeared outside Zogthoth's body, instantly reflecting the four massive bolts of lightning back at the shadow clones. The electric spiral force slammed into the dragon scale armor, with most of its power negated, and the electric damage burst forth, penetrating the armor and being absorbed by his chitinous shell, failing to inflict significant harm.

A bizarre wave emanated from Zogthoth's armor, enveloping a several-hundred-meter radius and continuously damaging the surrounding shadow clones.

It siphoned away their life force and transferred it to Zogthoth.

This siphoning attack wasn't particularly strong, but it was insidious and unstoppable, weakening the shadow clones while replenishing Zogthoth's own consumption.

"Reverse Dragon Armor!"

Ji Xinghuo recognized this equipment.

It was the famous two-star armor in the True Dragon Empire, the Apocalypse Armor, invaluable and extremely rare. Yet, Zogthoth possessed one.

The Reverse Dragon Armor could reflect targeted ability attacks.

It boasted superior physical defense and energy resistance, absorbing the life force of enemies within a certain range to nourish itself, heal damage, and restore stellar power.

Zogthoth's defense was already exceptionally strong, and with the addition of the Reverse Dragon Armor, he could virtually ignore attacks from seventh-rank and lower aliens.

Of course, the Reverse Dragon Armor was not invincible.

"Hahahaha..."

Zogthoth let out a burst of silent, maniacal laughter, accompanied by a mental shockwave. While Ji Xinghuo's main body was unaffected, the eight shadow clones were influenced, their movements slowing down and their reaction speed diminished.

Seizing the opportunity, Zogthoth teleported again, escaping the encirclement of the shadow clones.

The next second.

Zogthoth appeared in front of Ji Xinghuo's main body, his right giant pincer raised high as he viciously slammed it down towards Ji Xinghuo's head.

Boom!

The giant pincer slammed into the ground, causing the earth to cave in for hundreds of meters.

Zogthoth knew he had missed, and turned his head to locate Ji Xinghuo's teleportation point. With a flick of his left tentacle, he unleashed a burst of mental energy, forming a pitch-black energy ball that instantly warped the surrounding matter, drawing it in.

Gravity Bomb!

Before he could even check the results of the Gravity Bomb, a massive creature suddenly appeared, its body adorned with tricolored scales that shimmered with light. It pounced forward, brandishing its sharp claws.

Above its head, a black vortex formed, pulling Zogthoth upwards, leaving him unable to control his body.

What truly shook his mind and spirit was a shadowy golden light that blossomed before Zogthoth's eyes, revealing a peculiar dragon shadow.

An ancient and terrifying aura emanated from it.

In just an instant, Zogthoth's consciousness went blank, and his body nearly collapsed.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end