That someone, who theoretically should have been trapped in the Void Realm and unable to escape, had a calm expression, not showing the slightest regret that his prey had flown away.
"Seriously, just like that? I wanted to say hello to those unknown bigshots behind you. As expected, good kids shouldn't mix with cults; after mixing for too long, they even lose basic manners."
If the other party hadn't left in such a hurry, Yu Lian would have been quite willing to exchange a "may our paths diverge and be filled with splendor" with him.
Yu Lian looked at the direction of the closed dimensional gate, genuinely hoping that Flores Wanda, the cult leader, and his companion who broke through the dimension to save him, could escape, at least successfully escape this planet.
If you don't escape, then it'll be meaningless for me to trick an entire fleet into coming here! I'd practically become a national parasite, wasting the Commonwealth people's precious tax money!
Yu Lian once again sincerely prayed to the universe spirit, praying that Cult Leader Wanda and his companion would have above-average intelligence and foresight, before finally focusing his attention on the Myriad-Headed Beast in front of him.
This fellow no longer needed to disguise itself; it was completely a mass of twitching scarlet vines.
"So, you're the obedient one! In this gray, turbid, and evil world, as long as you stay with me." Yu Lian looked directly at the prostrate Myriad-Headed Beast, sighed, and suddenly felt a subtle sense of pity.
In the Past, even a hundred of himself would never have been a match for this Calamity-level Behemoth.
Moreover, even with three lifetimes of experience, it would probably take more than ten years of cultivation to confront such a monster head-on.
Since that's the case, let's choose a smarter hunting method. First, lure the prey into a trap, then blast it to oblivion, and finally, personally finish it off.
Only then can we live up to our era of advanced technology!
Of course, the major spiritual energy organizations in the extraordinary domain have summarized a large number of experiences and tactics for conquering the Void Realm, but they all come down to the same principle: find a large group of powerful high-level spiritual energy users, formulate a conquest plan for several months, bring a large number of useful and useless items and supplies, and finally open a blue card, while also having the most trustworthy team member carefully hold a red card. Only then is the initial Explore preparation considered complete.
While the spiritual energy experts advanced cautiously, they also had to worry about being ambushed by their companions. Even if the conquest was successful and yielded results, they still had to guard against their companions turning hostile on the spot and delivering a realistic backstab.
I have to say, what a classic conquest model, full of the romantic sentiment of classical heroism!
So romantic it's like playing a real-life RPG dungeon!
Yu Lian temporarily didn't want to criticize the bigshots of the extraordinary world and the long-established spiritual energy organizations too much; perhaps they had some hidden difficulties that he couldn't understand yet. But no matter what, this Myriad-Headed Beast was now his prey.
Yu Lian wielded his Lightsaber, slowly slicing at the Myriad-Headed Beast, and at the same time, slowly...
He let his spirit, condensed into an invisible whip, collide with the Myriad-Headed Beast's soul shield once again. This time, he finally felt the Void Realm Behemoth's weakness.
"Forgive me... Please! Please!" The Behemoth's emotions conveyed a clear message of pleading.
"Count Salwen didn't harm me; he just signed a soul contract with me... He promised that as long as I waited for his successor and handed over his spiritual treasure house to him, he would set me free!"
"But haven't you already gained freedom prematurely? Salwen's contract no longer exists. As for myself, I certainly don't need to abide by his agreement."
With the other party's brain capacity, it seemed unable to understand Yu Lian's words, only continuing: "I can also submit to you, submit to your spiritual contract! For your entire life, I am willing to fight for you! I open my spirit; please suppress me with a spiritual contract!"
Frankly speaking, having such a Calamity-level demon beast as a henchman was quite tempting. If Yu Lian had the strength of Count Salwen back then, he might have agreed.
However, when he subdued the Myriad-Headed Beast, he should have been at least at the Saint level, and he should have been very familiar with methods like spiritual imprinting, only then could he have suppressed this massive Behemoth for two hundred years.
But I can't! A Three Rings "newbie," even if I really manage to sign some spiritual contract, it won't have much binding force. When you, this guy, recover from your injuries and are back to full health and mana, won't I be the unlucky one? You're a Myriad-Headed Beast that can devour bodies and seize souls! By then, even dying a complete death would be a luxury for me.
...Of course, if it were a Void Realm divine beast with a magnificent appearance and friendly attitude, like the Kai Ming Beast, Gou Chen Monster, or Pesas, I might not have the heart to strike. But you, a mere Myriad-Headed Beast, are inherently chaotic evil, not only ugly but also a man-eater; killing you will never bring guilt.
As an aside, the divine beasts mentioned above are not the source of Earth's mythology, but rather because they occasionally bear some resemblance to ancient myths, Earthlings refer to them as such. In reality, the Alliance, the Empire, and any civilization with its own history also name them after the divine beasts in their own classical legends.
"You're truly pitiful." Yu Lian suddenly sighed.
“The information in the Mustard Seed World you're guarding, the spiritual treasure house locked by your soul… these are all part of Salwen's legacy. But this legacy should also include you!”
The Myriad-Headed Beast's spiritual fluctuations showed a clear pause, as if it had fallen into some kind of contemplation.
"I finally understand now. If my Xia... ah, bah, if Count Salwen's heir were to master the Source of Life ability in the Mustard Seed World you guard, then every cell, every protozoan's vitality would probably rival that of a cosmic amoeba. By then, devouring you whole would probably allow her to quickly digest your genetic information, right?"
Now that I think about it, for a humanoid gene bank like Shirley, a single individual is equivalent to a monster of an entire species. Every Leviathan behemoth is a source of her power, even far more important than advancing her Star Ring!
Then, a demon beast like the Myriad-Headed Beast, with its incredibly long health bar, ability to manipulate space, and control souls, would be the best beginner experience package, wouldn't it?
Thinking further, the future's nest worms with built-in spatial folding in their bellies, the hub worms that can serve as spiritual relay nodes, and the Lord Bugs and Queen Worms that can independently command and direct a detached force of hundreds of millions of bugs... all seem to find some shadow in the Myriad-Headed Beast.
Heh, Count Salwen really went to great lengths for her successor! However, this clearly arranged feeling, rather than a successor, feels more like a manipulator. Why would that old fellow go to such lengths even after death?
...According to the information feedback from the Mustard Seed World, Count Salwen was vaguely Grand Emperor Ilansel's great rebel, and he kept talking about "the next round" and so on, which makes one ponder a lot with just a little thought!
However, no matter how much I ponder, it's all just baseless speculation with no practical meaning. What a pity... If Shirley were here now, I could ask her clearly and also put her out of her misery.
Forget it, the universe is so vast, no one knows where Shirley is hiding now, and no one knows when she'll come over. It's the same principle as not being able to guard against a thief for a thousand days; setting an ambush using Count Salwen's legacy is inherently unrealistic.
So, stick to the original plan and seize her fortune first. The slower she develops, the greater my advantage!
"So, die!" Yu Lian whispered.
The Myriad-Headed Beast naturally felt Yu Lian's undisguised killing intent. Its soul also recovered from its previous stagnation, but after a brief tremor, it suddenly released its spirit. That last bit of spiritual power that had been defending its soul core suddenly transformed into a storm, fiercely rushing towards Yu Lian in a near-suicidal manner.
This was like a group of defenders stubbornly holding a fortress suddenly abandoning the sturdy stronghold and launching a desperate charge towards the superior enemy outside the city!
"Kill you! Kill me!" Such a murderous and intense message was conveyed through its will.
It probably already knew it couldn't escape this time, so it simply adopted a desperate, mutually destructive ferocity. After all, it was a Calamity-level demon beast that had survived countless years in such a thoroughly dog-eat-dog world; if it didn't have such determination, it would have died at the hands of stronger demon beasts long ago.
However, at this moment, although it was fighting for its life, it had no will to survive.
It probably felt that dying by my hand was better than being devoured like octopus balls by a little girl... Anyway, such determination was exactly to my liking.
He allowed the last bit of the Behemoth's spiritual will to enter the soul labyrinth he had already constructed, letting this Void Realm demon beast's final desperate struggle fall into a spiritual vortex it could not comprehend.
Yes, with the Myriad-Headed Beast's intelligence, the complexity of the soul labyrinth indeed surpassed its comprehension. Of course, as the saying goes, one force can overcome ten skills; if it were at full health and status, purely relying on spiritual energy intensity to directly A-move, it could indeed destroy Yu Lian's soul labyrinth. But now, its last bit of spiritual power was like a broken army, having suffered heavy losses and been without food and water for many days; its final charge, though tragic, was merely tragic.
It was a clean end, Yu Lian thought. If it hadn't made that final reckless move and instead continued to turtle until the end, I might have had to expend a bit more effort.
He closed his eyes, feeling the Behemoth's life force about to cease, feeling its spiritual energy fluctuations begin to calm, and likewise, feeling the passage that suddenly opened before its spirit completely extinguished.
Yu Lian did not hesitate, allowing his will and soul to directly enter this passage.
He knew that inside should be another layer of spiritual treasure house, the core of Salwen's legacy left in this star system.
I know this week's updates haven't been great. I originally wanted to keep burning the midnight oil, but I caught a cold on Monday, and even had a fever and cough, which made me worry if I had caught something, but thankfully it was just a simple flu.
Sore throat, coughing, and dizziness made me feel unwell, mentally drained, and unable to concentrate, so I wrote very slowly. Rather than that, I'd rather play with my baby with a mask on, and play Jin Yong Qun Xia 10 or something...
Also, perhaps it's because I'm getting older, but I recover very slowly! Today is already the fifth day... My throat doesn't hurt anymore, no more coughing or fever, but now my nose is starting to feel uncomfortable. It's not going to turn into rhinitis, is it?
Anyway, when I'm better next week, I'll start burning the midnight oil again, everyone please rest assured.