Chapter 537: Mental Pollution
Chapter 537: Mental Pollution
What transpired in the underground chamber of the New Empire Building in the next few minutes profoundly shocked Ji Xinghuo's psyche.
Although he had previously guessed that something was amiss with the Sun King's mental state, this exceeded his cognitive limits.
"This is too perverted!"
Ji Xinghuo felt like his eyes and mind were polluted, and he couldn't describe in words what he had witnessed.
He had never seen anything like this before.
In the secret chamber, the Sun King and his four clones, after warming up, quickly escalated their activities, engaging in various permutations and perfect closures... Their physical prowess allowed them to effortlessly perform many challenging moves.
Ji Xinghuo even felt some regret.
"Damn it!"
"Curiosity killed the cat. Why did I have to watch?"
He couldn't comprehend the Sun King's preferences. Weren't women attractive? With the Sun King's power and status, what woman couldn't he obtain? He could easily attract the celebrities and models of the American Federation to his bed with a snap of his fingers.
Even if the Sun King preferred men, it would still be understandable, given the American Federation's pride in its diversity and freedom.
But the Sun King wasn't interested in women or men.
He was into himself!
Moreover, he was hosting a party with his clones. Was this the only way for him to reach a thrilling threshold and heighten his excitement?
"If I could record this and post it online, the Sun King would be utterly disgraced."
"But it won't be easy."
Ji Xinghuo considered how to find an opportunity to capture footage, but the thought of having to approach the Sun King during his self-indulgent moment made him feel nauseous.
"Never mind, never mind."
"There's no need to make things difficult for myself."
Ji Xinghuo's lips twitched as he moved Macro Eye away. Firstly, he didn't want to put himself in a difficult position, and secondly, he wasn't confident that he could enter the chamber without the Sun King noticing, which might end up alerting him and causing him to sense that his secret had been exposed.
He waited for a long time outside the Earth's atmosphere, observing every few minutes, but even after more than an hour, it still hadn't ended.
"I'm not waiting anymore."
Ji Xinghuo shifted back to the Earth's surface and flew back to South America while remaining invisible.
When his main body returned to Chang'an, it was already late at night.
The impact of the two significant events that had occurred that day—the integration of the South Asian subcontinent into the Asia-Pacific community and the Battle of Asuncion—was still reverberating.
However, as a key participant, he no longer paid attention to these matters.
"You're back."
As soon as Ji Xinghuo flew into his home in the Weiyang Building, Zhao Manying sensed his presence.
She turned her attention away from the screen, stood up, and brought him a set of comfortable home clothes and slippers. With concern, she asked, "I saw online that you killed an alien assassin?""
Ji Xinghuo nodded. "It was a Shadow Star Spirit." He drew the thin sword at his waist and handed it to Zhao Manying, smiling as he said, "This is the Shadow Spirit's weapon. It's perfect for you. It's yours now."
"A thin sword?"
Zhao Manying was intrigued and took the sword from him.
Her initial profession was that of a swordsman, and later she became a sword cultivator. She had used swords her entire life, but the style and design of this sword were like nothing she had seen before. She had assumed that Ji Xinghuo was casually giving her a slightly better sword, so she hadn't refused.
However, as soon as Zhao Manying held the thin sword, she immediately sensed its power, and her beautiful eyes widened in surprise.
"This is an Apocalypse weapon!"
"That's right," Ji Xinghuo said nonchalantly. "It's called 'Shadowless,' an Apocalypse Two-star weapon."
Zhao Manying's face froze.
The value of an Apocalypse One-star weapon on Earth was already immeasurable, let alone an Apocalypse Two-star.
These days, she often heard Ji Xinghuo recount his experiences in the True Dragon Dynasty, including the rarity and power of Apocalypse-level treasures. A Two-star Apocalypse weapon was worth over 200,000 ether crystals and could even reach 500,000!
In an instant, she felt the light and delicate sword in her hand become incredibly heavy.
"Take it," Ji Xinghuo said, not giving Zhao Manying a chance to refuse. "I have better ones. This Shadowless sword will be more effective in your hands." Then he proceeded to explain the sword's abilities to her.
Zhao Manying listened intently, nodding along.
Her heart was filled with a mix of emotions—shock and warmth. Finally, she thought to herself that since her heart and body already belonged to him, and she had already accepted so many priceless treasures and exotic species, what difference would one more sword make?
With this mindset, Zhao Manying felt liberated, no longer plagued by any tangled thoughts or stray ideas.
"Manying, are you listening?" Ji Xinghuo noticed that she had zoned out.
"I am," she replied.
Zhao Manying gave him a sweet smile and suddenly set the thin sword aside. In a soft voice, she said, "We can talk about this sword later. We have something more important to do right now."
Ji Xinghuo was perplexed. "What's the matter?"
"Taking a bath!"
Zhao Manying dragged Ji Xinghuo's hand and led him into the bathroom, soon filling the room with sounds of playful banter and joyous laughter.
"Ah..."
In the latter half of the night, Ji Xinghuo let out a satisfied sigh.
Tonight, Zhao Manying had been exceptionally proactive and passionate, unlocking many new techniques that brought him unprecedented pleasure.
"Nothing beats a woman's charm," he thought to himself.
At that moment, his mind uncontrollably flashed back to the scene of the Sun King in the secret chamber, causing his expression to freeze.
Fortunately, it was already Wise Hour, so there was no impact.
However, he couldn't help but curse inwardly, "That damn perverted Sun King almost ruined my favorite pastime!
Ji Xinghuo bid Zhao Manying farewell as she headed to the Ether Research Institute, while he stayed home and entered his cultivation room. He took out the dimensional ring of the Shadow Star Spirit and began to inventory his spoils.
There were over 410,000 ether crystals, several dragon crystals of various denominations totaling 130,000 ether crystals in value, and other similar currencies, including 'Spiritual Energy Gold' issued by the Star Spirit Empire and 'Stellar Yuan' issued by the Pan-Human Interstellar Alliance, with a combined value of over 200,000, usable in most countries in the Star Galaxy.
These ether crystals and currencies made up the majority of the Shadow Star Spirit's wealth, in addition to some exotic species and treasures.
Ji Xinghuo began appraising the exotic species one by one.
Most of them pertained to the Shadow Star Spirit's profession, involving Shadow Blades, Demon Refiners, and Dark Stringers, among others. Many were ultra-limit exotic species that didn't match him.
[Exotic Species: Ghostly Shadow Assault]
[Grade: Ultra-Limit]
[Fusion Success Rate: 76%, 34%, 91%, 68%]
[Can it be Upgraded: Yes]
Ji Xinghuo held a piece of charcoal-like substance in his hand, the exotic species for Ghostly Shadow Assault. "Although it's useless to me, it's a perfect match for Jiu You, with a 91% fusion success rate, which is quite high," he thought to himself.
Jiu You had one more fusion opportunity available.
Although Ghostly Shadow Assault was only an ultra-limit exotic species, it was extremely rare. If Jiu You fused with it, it would be as good as Ji Xinghuo having the ability himself.
"Jiu You."
Ji Xinghuo's left eye shot out a black light, and Jiu You appeared before him. He directly tossed the exotic species to it.
Like a ball of dark light, Jiu You immediately devoured the exotic species, emitting excited fluctuations and beginning the fusion process.
Ji Xinghuo continued his inventory.
"Shadowless Form?"
Among these exotic species was surprisingly a Starfall exotic species.
Shadowless Form was an innate ability of the Shadow Star Spirit, granting acute perception in lightless environments, known as "Darkness Touch," along with shadow dashing, invisibility, and shadow jumping abilities, making it extremely powerful in combination.
However, Jiu You already possessed this ability.
In front of Ji Xinghuo's eyes, the exotic species' information interface appeared.
[Exotic Species: Shadowless Form]
[Grade: Starfall]
[Fusion Success Rate: 78%, 33%, 0%, 72%]
[Can it be Upgraded: Yes]
The Shadowless Form exotic species appeared as a black mist, somewhere between a solid and a gas, constantly undergoing slow transformations.
Ji Xinghuo speculated, "This exotic species was probably obtained by the Shadow Star Spirit after killing one of its own kin..."
Not every Shadow Star Spirit could awaken Shadowless Form.
This Starfall-level ability had an extremely low occurrence rate, even among races with high innate talent.
"What a shame."
Ji Xinghuo shook his head.
Neither himself, Qinghong, nor Doomsday were suitable for Shadowless Form, and Jiu You already possessed it, resulting in a direct success rate of zero since it couldn't fuse with a second Shadowless Form.
Shadowless Form could cultivate top-notch shadow assassins. Among his friends and family, only Jing Ji was a suitable candidate, but as a Starfall exotic species, Ji Xinghuo's relationship with Jing Ji wasn't close enough to warrant gifting such a precious item.
"I'll keep it for now. Perhaps it will come in handy in the future."
Ji Xinghuo stored 'Shadowless Form' in his dimensional pouch.
After returning to Earth, he still had a considerable number of Starfall exotic species left after sending out a large batch. These were his valuable assets.
Aside from ether crystals and exotic species, there were also some weapons, equipment, and treasures, but none reached the Apocalypse level, so Ji Xinghuo wasn't interested.
Additionally, there were several expansion curios, which he found most intriguing. Unfortunately, most of them overlapped with the expansion curios he had already used, or there were conflicts. After searching through them, only one turned out to be usable.
Ji Xinghuo gently held a small bottle containing a pitch-black substance that resembled a liquid, emitting a strange, dim light.
[Expansion Curiosity: Dark Star Elixir]
[Effect: Increases Fusion Attempts +1]
[Usage Stage: Fifth Stage, Sixth Stage]
[Limited Usage: 2]
[Remarks: After ingestion, the body is eroded by dark energy. If the damage cannot be endured, expansion failure may occur. Can be ingested a second time after an interval of one life evolution.]
Ji Xinghuo carefully read through the remarks, finally understanding how to use the Dark Star Elixir.
The first dose should be taken at the Fifth Stage. If the body couldn't withstand the erosion of dark energy, it wouldn't have any effect, and the second dose couldn't be used. However, if it successfully increased the number of expansion attempts, reaching the Sixth Stage would allow for the ingestion of the second dose of the Dark Star Elixir.
"This expansion curiosity was specifically prepared for Dark Stringers!"
"But I'm already at the Sixth Stage."
Ji Xinghuo felt a bit disappointed.
The Dark Star Elixir could only be used at the Fifth and Sixth Stages and was ineffective at the Seventh Stage. He had missed the opportunity to use it during the legendary stage.
However, there was only one dose of the Dark Star Elixir in the Shadow Star Spirit's ring.
At that moment, Jiu You completed the fusion and mastered 'Ghostly Shadow Assault.'
Ji Xinghuo immediately invested nearly 300,000 spiritual source energy, upgrading Ghostly Shadow Assault to level six. Then, he allowed Jiu You to possess his body so he could slightly sense the new ability and master the effect of the Shadow King. Afterward, he tilted his head back and drank the Dark Star Elixir.
(End of Chapter)
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