He pondered another question:
“What kind of organization is ‘Ember’?”
“Rebels,” Ed said.
“A group of survivors who refuse to be consumed.
“We research ways to resist mutation, collect pure resources, and search for the possibility of completely purifying the pollution.
“Though everyone knows that’s impossible.”
She walked to the entrance and peered outside.
“It’s time to go. I’ve stayed here long enough.”
Jiang Lin also stood up and nodded in agreement.
“You’re right. I feel something approaching.”
Ed was puzzled. “What is it?”
Just then.
“ROAR!!!!”
An earth-shattering roar erupted from the distant ruins!
The roar was a cacophony of countless overlapping tones, as if hundreds of creatures were screaming simultaneously.
Immediately after, the ground began to tremble, and rubble rained down.
Ed’s expression changed drastically.
“It’s an Aggregate! Damn it, how could an Aggregate appear in an outer area like this?!”
She turned sharply to Jiang Lin.
“Run! Head east and don’t look back! An Aggregate is usually composed of dozens or even hundreds of rank-3 Aberrants. It’s far beyond the strength a human can reach; it’s not something we can handle...”
Before she could finish her sentence...
Three hundred yards to the east, a half-collapsed skyscraper exploded!
Amidst the billowing dust, a massive figure slowly rose.
It was a monster formed from the fusion of dozens, perhaps even a hundred, Aberrants.
It stood over ten meters tall, its torso embedded with twisted human faces, arms, and eyeballs.
Every part was writhing, opening and closing, and screaming in an irregular rhythm.
Countless crystal tentacles extended from its body, dancing in the air like the tentacles of a sea anemone.
Wherever the tentacles passed, the wreckage of the ruins rapidly crystallized, becoming part of its body.
The Aggregate’s “head” turned toward Jiang Lin and Ed.
Hundreds of eyeballs focused on them at once.
In the next second, all the tentacles shot toward them like arrows from a bow!
Their speed was so great that they broke the sound barrier!
Ed gritted her teeth, her crystallized right arm erupting with a piercing blue light.
She was prepared to fight for her life.
But someone was faster.
Jiang Lin stepped forward, shielding her.
He simply raised his right hand and made a grasping motion.
A blade of interwoven platinum and deep blue manifested in his palm.
Eight Extremities Holy Sword, manifest!
The blade vibrated slightly as the ice soul power circulated naturally, causing fine frost patterns to condense along the edges.
Jiang Lin looked at the swarm of crystal tentacles, his golden eyes reflecting the rapidly approaching web of death.
He took a deep breath.
Then, he swung the sword.
First Style · Frost Condensation.
There were no flashy moves or complex variations.
It was simply the most fundamental sword of his pursuit of the Dao, condensing all the insights he had gained over the past month!
The sword light swept across.
Time seemed to slow down at that moment.
All the tentacles froze simultaneously ten yards away from Jiang Lin.
Pale frost flowers appeared on their surfaces, spreading rapidly until every tentacle was covered.
Then, fine cracks emerged, as if ice had been struck by a heavy blow.
“Crack... Crack-crack-crack...”
Amidst a continuous sound of shattering, hundreds of tentacles disintegrated at once, turning into a cloud of crystal dust that refracted the dark red sky into a hauntingly beautiful halo.
The Aggregate let out a roar of rage.
Every face on its torso opened its mouth at the same time, unleashing a piercing mental shriek!
This was an attack that targeted the soul directly, enough to make any transcendent below the 3rd-rank lose consciousness instantly and become a lamb to the slaughter.
Ed groaned, clutching her ears as more cracks appeared on the surface of her crystallized right arm.
She was under immense pressure.
But Jiang Lin did not budge.
After merging with the Eternal Ice Soul, his soul had long since become one with the ice soul power.
A mental shock of this level was nothing more than a gentle breeze to him.
He didn't even bother to defend.
He simply raised his sword again.
This time, what condensed at the tip of the sword was not just ice-blue cold air, but also a faint, almost invisible wisp of golden Holy Light.
Holy Light and ice soul power merged.
Soul-targeted bonus, applied.
Jiang Lin stepped forward and charged.
His figure turned into a streak of gold and blue light, shooting straight for the Aggregate’s core against the backdrop of dust and roars!
The Aggregate sensed the threat.
All its tentacles, limbs, and the Aberrant remains embedded in its torso surged frantically toward Jiang Lin, attempting to drown, tear, and assimilate him.
But Jiang Lin’s sword was faster.
Everything was severed wherever the sword light passed.
The moment the blade touched anything—be it crystal, flesh, or pollution energy—it instantly lost its vitality and turned into a lifeless husk.
This was the result of the soul-targeted bonus of the ice soul power combined with the purification power of the Holy Light.
It was a natural counter to everything in this polluted world.
Three breaths.
Jiang Lin pierced through all of the Aggregate’s defenses and reached the core.
It was a pulsing, dark red tumor two meters in diameter, its surface covered in vein-like networks.
Deep inside the tumor, a distorted human face was faintly visible.
It looked at Jiang Lin, its eyes revealing fear, pleading, and... relief.
Jiang Lin did not hesitate.
He thrust his sword in.
“Pfft.”
A soft sound of penetration.
The tumor’s pulsing stopped abruptly.
Immediately after, the entire Aggregate began to collapse.
All the fused parts separated, fell off, and turned to ash.
In just ten breaths, the ten-meter-tall monster had completely dissipated into the air.
All that remained was a ground covered in dark blue crystal dust and...
A fist-sized, deep red crystal with swirling light inside.
Jiang Lin landed and sheathed his sword.
He walked to the crystal and bent down to pick it up.
The crystal felt warm to the touch, but it contained a massive and violent amount of pollution energy.
If an ordinary transcendent touched it, they would likely be corrupted instantly.
But Jiang Lin’s Holy Light magic essence circulated naturally, sealing the pollution away.
“This... this is...”
Ed walked over with difficulty, her voice trembling as she looked at the crystal in Jiang Lin’s hand.
“An Aggregate’s core crystal...
“It’s worth at least ten standard units of pollution energy...”
Jiang Lin didn’t answer.
He turned around, looked at Ed, and handed her the crystal.
“Take me to ‘Ember’.”
Ed’s amber eyes stared at him for a full three seconds before she tremblingly reached out to take it.
She stared at the deep red crystal held before her eyes, her fingertips shaking slightly.
An Aggregate’s core crystal...
This was an extremely precious strategic resource even within Ember, enough to exchange for a three-month quota of purification reagents or a chance at a deep memory anchoring surgery.
Yet this youth, who called himself “Matthew,” handed it over as casually as if it were a common stone.
She took a deep breath, not taking it immediately. Her amber eyes scrutinized Jiang Lin from the shadow of her hood.
The pollution energy radiating from the crystal caused the veins inside her crystal arm to glow faintly, bringing a subtle, stinging pain.
It was the resonance of a common power source, but also a warning.
“Do you know what this is?” Ed’s voice was low. “Ten standard units of pollution energy is enough to push a rank-2 warrior’s mutation level by five percent. Are you sure you want to give it to me?”
Jiang Lin nodded, his tone calm.
“Payment for being my guide. I’m not familiar with this place; I need a guide.”
Ed was silent for a moment before finally reaching out to take the crystal.
The crystal was warm in her hand, the dark red light swirling within reflecting off her pale face.
She carefully placed the crystal into a lead box at her waist, shielding most of the radiation and preventing the energy from dissipating too quickly.
“Follow me.”
She turned and headed deeper into the ruins.
“Ember’s nearest outpost is underground, about ten miles from here.
“We might encounter wandering Aberrants on the way, and... Soul-devouring Moss.
“Don’t touch any glowing plants; they will suck away your memory fragments.”
Jiang Lin followed, his gaze scanning the surroundings.
Under the dark red sky, the silhouettes of the ruins were as twisted as the bones of monsters.
The viscous pollution in the air was still trying to erode him, but the faint golden halo formed by his Holy Light magic essence kept most of it at bay.
He could feel his magic essence slowly being consumed, but compared to his training sessions with Loren on Frostblade Peak, this depletion was almost negligible.
Furthermore, he could replenish it by purifying the magic essence in the air.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, Ed suddenly stopped and signaled for Jiang Lin to hide.
Ahead, at the corner of a ruin, three Aberrants were tearing at the carcass of a beast that had not yet fully rotted.
Their forms were similar to the one before, with eye-like protrusions on their torsos constantly opening and closing, and sharp crystal claws at the ends of their slender limbs.
“Should we go around?”
Ed lowered her voice, her crystal right arm rising slightly as dark red light condensed in her palm.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Lin said:
“Wait a moment.”
Ed looked back. “What is it?”
Jiang Lin didn’t answer.
He closed his eyes and sank his mind into the system.
【Trial of Blood (2)】
【Lead the Blood Demons to occupy Planet Teluofuto】
【Current Progress: 0%】
Jiang Lin opened his eyes, a flash of blood-red light appearing in his golden pupils.
He raised his right hand, palm facing down.
In the next moment.
Blood!
Boundless, blood-colored energy surged from the ground beneath his feet!
It wasn't ordinary blood, but blood qi containing endless slaughter and violent will.
It gushed out like a fountain, rapidly condensing and taking shape in the air.
The first one.
A crimson claw-wing.
The Blood Demon, with its hideous fleshy wings and withered, hunched body, struggled out from the blood, letting out a piercing screech.
A crimson claw-wing, rank-2, was also the highest rank Jiang Lin could currently summon.
Its entire body was covered in dark red keratinous armor, with a pair of scythe-like bone wings on its back and sharp, blade-like bone claws at the ends of its arms. Two points of crimson soul fire burned in its hollow eye sockets, radiating a brutal and chaotic aura.
The three Aberrants sensed the anomaly almost simultaneously. They abandoned the carcass and turned toward the Blood Demon, letting out roars that sounded like sandpaper rubbing together.
Ed’s pupils shrank violently.
“What... what is that?!”
Jiang Lin didn’t answer; he simply shifted his intent.
The crimson claw-wing moved.
Its bone wings vibrated, and its figure turned into a dark red blur, instantly pouncing on the nearest Aberrant.
Its bone claws tore through the air, accurately piercing into the gaps between the eye-like protrusions on the Aberrant’s chest, and ripped with a violent jerk!
“Pfft!”
Viscous black fluid sprayed out. The Aberrant shrieked, its slender limbs thrashing wildly, but they were easily parried by the Blood Demon’s bone wings.
The other two Aberrants pounced at the same time, their crystal claws raking across the Blood Demon’s body with a piercing sound of blade against flesh, wounding the crimson claw-wing.
But the crimson claw-wing did not fear death. It crushed the core of the Aberrant in its hand and began to bite into its flesh. Its body began to recover, and then it spun around, its wings acting like blade wheels, slicing the remaining two Aberrants in half.
The battle ended extremely quickly, taking no more than a few seconds.
The three Aberrant remains rapidly withered and disintegrated, turning into a pile of dark blue crystal dust mixed with the black blood dripping from the Blood Demon’s claws.
Jiang Lin frowned slightly.
He clearly felt that maintaining this rank-2 Blood Demon was draining his magic essence at a slow but steady rate.
It consumed about one-thousandth of his total magic essence per minute.
It seemed that on Planet Teluofuto, although Blood Demon summoning was no longer limited by quantity, the cost had changed from “no cost” to “continuous magic essence consumption.”
“I can summon more, but I must be precise with my calculations.”
He planned in his mind.
“At the current consumption rate, with my total spirit of 700,000 and the use of magic restoration potions, I can probably maintain a hundred rank-2 Blood Demons for about two hours...
“But in actual combat, I have to consider the consumption of the battle itself and magic essence recovery, so the actual number I can manage will be lower.
“However, if I’m staying in the rear and using higher-grade magic restoration potions, that number should be larger.”
Ed had retreated to Jiang Lin’s side, her crystal right arm fully raised and pointed at the crimson claw-wing standing silently in the ruins.
Her breathing was ragged, and her eyes were full of disbelief.
“You... you can control this monster?!”
“It’s one of my abilities.”
Jiang Lin glanced at her and then continued summoning.
Then came the second, the third, the fourth...
Ed’s eyes widened, unable to believe what was happening before her eyes.
In just ten breaths, over thirty crimson claw-wings had appeared around Jiang Lin!
They hovered in the air, their crimson eyes scanning the surroundings, filled with a thirst for slaughter.
But they did not move.
They were waiting.
Waiting for their master’s command.
It seemed that due to the change in his summoning title, Jiang Lin could now control these Blood Demons without restriction.
It was no longer like before, where he had to find an attack target within thirty seconds.
“These... these are...”
Ed’s voice was dry.
Jiang Lin didn’t answer.
He continued summoning.
Magic essence poured out like water from an opened sluice gate, each portion of magic essence turning into a new Blood Demon.
Crimson claw-wings, cursed blood bone dolls...
These two types of Blood Demons were born from the blood-red energy, growing in number.
Fifty.
Eighty.
One hundred.
When the one hundred and twentieth Blood Demon struggled out from the blood, the magic essence in Jiang Lin’s body was exhausted.
In terms of pure summoning, he could call forth about a hundred Blood Demons at once.
He breathed slightly and took out a bottle of rank-2 magic restoration potion to drink.
Ed was completely speechless.
She looked at the mass of blood-colored monsters hovering in the air, their crimson eyes, hideous fangs, sharp claws, and eerie auras, and felt her legs go weak.
“They... they really won’t attack us?” she asked with difficulty.
Jiang Lin glanced at her, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“Of course not.”
He raised his hand, and with a thought...
All the Blood Demons simultaneously let out a low screech, a sound filled with awe and submission.
They were responding to their master’s will.
Jiang Lin didn’t explain further.
He took a deep breath and shifted his mind again.
Space fluctuated slightly.
A blood-red figure, almost identical to Jiang Lin, stepped out from the void beside him.
Shadow of Blood.
It still had Jiang Lin’s previous appearance, a form wreathed in blood qi.
Looking at it reminded Jiang Lin of the time when he had just reached level 10.
It was quite nostalgic.
However, Jiang Lin could feel that its power was too weak.
At a level equivalent to the teens, it was useless in this world full of rank-3 Aberrants.
“It’s time for you to grow.”
Jiang Lin looked at the Shadow of Blood.
...
Rate on N.U.
