Beginning with the Ubume Bird
Chapter 684 - Chapter 684 Chapter 70 Skeleton Boxun Mechanical Boxun

Chapter 684: Chapter 70: Skeleton Boxun! Mechanical Boxun! Chapter 684: Chapter 70: Skeleton Boxun! Mechanical Boxun! “`

As the generals of the Thunder Department perished, several fierce spirits plummeted simultaneously. They were supposed to fly back into the dragon’s orb in the sea, but for some reason, they veered off and landed on Muni’s chest, where the giant turtle that Qian Wu had transformed into, swallowed them. If Xue Wenhai, the ghost, were still alive, he would have recognized this as altering fate on behalf of Heaven.

Muni just continued to eat, paying no attention to what had happened.

“Crack~”

Several diamond-shaped iron spikes inserted around the Taixu Compass sprang outwards, as the fiery old man staggered back several steps, his eyes wide and tongue-tied in the moment.

“This, this this…”

Zhang Zhongshan, twirling his goat beard, spoke up, “That demon truly doesn’t know whether to live or die, daring to swallow the Thirty-six Gods of the Thunder Department in one gulp. Enraged, Elder Xing is bound to request the Nine Heavens Responding Original Thunder Voice Puhua Lord to strike down this demon into dust.”

The fiery old man shot him an irritated glance, “I admit my skills are not perfect, and I cannot summon Puhua Lord myself, so don’t give me that yin-yang talk.”

With that, he bowed his hands and withdrew.

“Let me do it.”

Another person emerged, his voice suggesting great age, his entire body enveloped in a robe.

He approached the Taixu Compass, tapped a few points, then pulled out several small flags from his sleeve and inserted them around the compass.

In the Feng Shui Realm, the continuous mountain ranges began to rise sharply as if they were growing towards the sky, and a thick fog started to lift from the valleys, at first reaching up to Muni’s waist, but as the mountains grew taller, the fog reached his nose.

Without a word, Muni’s golden body radiated a five-colored brilliant light, and his own stature began to grow. The mountain grew a foot, the demon ten feet, competing in strength.

As the mountains drew higher, the gorges became more profound, and Li Yan felt as if he was falling, sinking faster and faster.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhongshan swiftly called out, “Brother Jiusheng, Mr. Zhao and several children are involved in this, we should wait for the Heavenly Yi to come and rescue them; it might be better to wait a little longer.”

The man had already thought the demon was troublesome. With an exit provided by Zhang Zhongshan, he feigned helplessness and said, “Well, all right then.”

After he removed the flags, the growth of the mountains halted, lining up evenly with Muni’s height. Seeing the mountains cease to grow, Muni grabbed a slightly shorter peak with both hands and began to furiously gnaw at it.

…

“We interrupt this program with breaking news. A typhoon named ‘Cucumber’ made landfall at 7:15 PM, causing several major landslides in the Da’ao area of our port, including the destruction of the Hengshui Crossing Bridge and Yanghou Ancient Temple. Tourists in the vicinity, please stay safe.”

Ye Shiru silently turned off the radio. She looked up at the sky, which rumbled ominously before heavy rain began to fall. She took a piece of yellow paper, folded it into a crane, bit her middle finger, and dripped blood onto the paper crane while muttering,

“The sun brings life, spirit of the fire virtue, responding above the void, Immortal Crane takes shape, arise!”

The paper crane spread its wings as if to take flight, but Ye Shiru swallowed it with one gulp.

Inside the Feng Shui Realm, Li Yan’s face was somewhat pale. The mountains continued to soar, and though he seemed motionless, the intense sensation of weightlessness was overwhelming. Ren Ni was even worse off, barely holding back vomit,

Just then, a white pelican, beaming with light, approached. Its feathers were white and its crown red, with wings spanning ten meters.

“Come into my mouth.”

The pelican spoke in human tongue.

Li Yan didn’t move but gestured with his eyes for Ren Ni to go inside. Ren Ni jumped into the pelican’s mouth, and the bird immediately wobbled, on the verge of falling.

“I can only carry one anomaly at a time. What have you brought?”

Ren Ni hesitated for a moment after hearing this and then pulled out Yang Zheng’s two severed legs from his embrace, placing them under the pelican’s tongue, and jumped out.

“`

“Let’s take him away first.”

Ye Shiru glanced at Ren Ni and took off with a flap of her wings.

Li Yan gave him a look, “You should be the one to leave first. If Muni continues to fight with Mr. Zhao’s friend, I’m afraid you’ll be the first to get caught up in it.”

Ren Ni’s face turned red, “I’m sorry, I can’t leave first.”

They saw the pelican circling for a while before unexpectedly flying back, “I just tried, and indeed, there’s room for one more. You should get on, too.”

Ren Ni was overjoyed and didn’t hesitate.

“But there’s definitely not room for another.”

The pelican carried Li Yan across.

“If you rescue these two, I’ll have much to thank you for.”

Li Yan folded his arms.

The pelican’s gaze flickered for a moment before it spoke again, “If you beg me, maybe in good spirits, I could fit one more.”

Li Yan immediately responded solemnly, “Miss Ye, I was wrong in the past. Your godfather, Xue Wenhai, is a good man. With his compassionate heart and generosity, he has contributed to society and is a fine example for the citizens of Hong Kong. I was wrong; I am inherently overbearing, hypocritical, and cruel. My arrival disrupted the beautiful world you and your godfather had. Please, with your great magnanimity, do not take it to heart.”

Ye Shiru, filled with hatred, snorted coldly and flew away, this time without any intention of coming back.

Li Yan watched the pelican, then he lowered his head and stretched out his palm, where a steel humanoid emitting red vapor lay.

Ascenders.

The pelican abruptly vanished into the distance, soon reaching the horizon right behind Muni’s head. In the clouds emerged a golden compass-like vortex; if only they could get through it, they would make their way to ascent.

Muni, engrossed in devouring a mountaintop, seemed oblivious, while Ye Shiru held her breath. Just as she was about to cross through the vortex, Muni suddenly looked up, roaring irritably, “Where’s the taste?!”

With that look, Muni caught sight of the pelican transformed by Ye Shiru–almost within his grasp. Muni’s massive hand already enveloped Ye Shiru, and despite the pelican’s sudden acceleration, Muni managed to grab the edge of its wing, leaving it unable to move.

With only a few meters to the vortex, the pelican opened its beak wide and, with all its might, ejected Ren Ni and Yang Zheng’s limbs. The two flew into the vortex, which then instantly closed and disappeared from view.

Muni, spotting the pelican, immediately showed a look of craving but before he could open his mouth, a fierce force struck him, causing Muni to stagger back a few steps, and he had no choice but to let go of the pelican.

The pelican, with one wing severely damaged, could no longer fly, tracing a curve as it fell into the enormous palm of a mechanical hand.

This steel giant radiated black and white light, with two faces, one in the front and one in the back. Encased in cracked red steel armor beneath its neck were its strong arms, filled with steam-forged steel. Its waist was slender, and its upper body formed a tense inverted triangle.

The backbone exposed every vertebra, with each intervertebral junction lit up like a hot pot. Eighteen out of twenty joints were emitting red steam.

Ascenders!

Li Yan lifted up the transformed pelican that was Ye Shiru, taking a deep breath and spraying a golden mist of Soul-forgiving Water on the pelican before entering through the mouth on the black fiery face of the Ascender.

When Li Yan increased the power of the Ascender’s Tri-Orb Device to fifteen, his master-servant relationship with the Ascender also dissipated. Now the Ascender was entirely free and would no longer obey anyone’s commands.

But relying on the Black Rider Ghost’s residual loyalty and the Ascender’s dependence on the Ambota Volcano Bacteria for Soul-forgiving Water, Li Yan could at least ensure that the Ascender would not harm him first.

As for rescuing Ye Shiru, Li Yan was genuinely concerned; if the Heavenly Yi Noble were eaten by Muni, it might lead to unforeseen consequences. As for the kind of spark that would arise between the world-ending Black Emperor and Muni, that had become a situation beyond Li Yan’s control.

Muni steadied himself, sizing up this steel man which was about chest high to him.

The Ascender, apparently dissatisfied with being a whole head shorter than Muni, let out a roar, its body surged in height to match Muni before it was satisfied.

Shape-shifting at will.

Muni was unimpressed, for he could smell the scent of Boxun’s flames on this sheet of iron, which suggested its origins were somehow related to the Sky Demon King Boxun. However, what startled him with delight was the fact that he could smell the scent, which meant…

This piece of iron had an odor!

Roar!

Muni collided with the Ascender, biting into the Ascender’s neck and causing the white flames of its facial features to flicker on and off erratically.

“Flavor!”

Fishy, astringent, salty.

But it was enough to excite Muni.

Red steam blasted from the eighteen Tri-Orb Devices on the Ascender’s back simultaneously, unleashing towering might that pushed Muni back several steps.

Supreme Power!

“Hahahaha~”

Muni dangled a large chunk of iron from his mouth, torn from the Ascender’s neck down to its chest in a ghastly spectacle.

Mid-laugh, Muni suddenly fell silent as the protective five-colored enhancements on his right hand transformed into a rising mist of five colors, settling on the Ascender’s mutilated body. It didn’t stop there; even after the five colors disappeared, the Ambota Volcano Bacteria remained relentless, still corroding Muni’s golden body. Whichever parts of the Ascender Muni had touched, whether it was the base of his thumb, lips, arms, or elbows, were slowly but surely vaporizing into golden steam and flowing back to the Ascender!

Ambota Major Pollution!

It wasn’t just Muni’s golden body that was affected; wherever the steam from the Tri-Orb Devices reached, all things in the Feng Shui realm evaporated into a predominantly red mist, which was then inhaled and exhaled by the Tri-Orb Devices along the Ascender’s spine.

Whoosh!

As all vapor circled back, the Ascender let out an ominous snarl, especially as the five-colored steam and golden steam originating from Muni’s golden body flowed back, causing all eighteen Tri-Orb Devices to overheat and shiver, and then, the nineteenth Tri-Orb Device was also kindled!

The Ascender trembled. It was partly due to the innate fear of the higher-level Sky Demon King in both the black and white ghosts, and partly because of the inherent Emperor’s instinct of the Ambota Volcano Bacteria to evaporate everything into steam. The combination of these feelings stirred within him a complex mix of both fear and greed.

“Interesting.”

Muni cocked his head, watching the Ascender for a while, unconcerned that his body was slowly evaporating and instead taking a deep inhale of the red steam.

As the Ambota Volcano Bacteria from the red steam entered his body, spider-web-like blood vessels began to appear in Muni’s black eyes. The flesh on his chest swelled abruptly then burst open, and out sprouted a white skeletal rosary bead. On closer inspection, a second and third appeared until there were nineteen. Astonishingly, red steam was also exhaled from the seven orifices of the nineteen rosary bead skulls.

Both the Ascender and Muni glared fanatically at each other with expressions that were a mixture of grievance and something indescribable.

The two clashed again, shredding each other like wild beasts in a frenzy, yet entwined like lovers in a deathly embrace. At times, Muni bit off pieces of the Ascender’s iron hide, causing the black and white flames to scatter wildly, and other times, the Ascender’s steam dissolved Muni’s golden body, revealing a dark golden skeletal structure. As the corrosion reached the dark gold bones of Muni’s fingers, their mutual gnawing caused both Muni and the Ascender to undergo transformations, increasingly resembling each other…

Their struggle to rip each other apart intensified. Only the red steam gathered more and more, enshrouding everything within it.

Li Yan had almost exhausted all of his Soul-taking Water to envelop himself and the shape-shifted pelican that was Ye Shiru, desperately trying to sustain them and avoid the calamity.

Ye Shiru curled her body tightly, speechless.

Although Muni was frenzied, mindful of Se Kong’s words and in order to protect Qian Wu, he occasionally gave the Ascender a chance to exploit a weakness. However, the Ascender had no such concerns. In the midst of their ferocious struggle, the Ascender’s white flame facade formed a wry smile and actually scooped out the ball of Soul-forgiving Water that enveloped Li Yan, hurling it at Muni’s face!

Muni gulped down the ball of water containing Li Yan in one swift move, not bothering to chew and swallowing it directly.

Under ordinary circumstances, Li Yan entering Muni’s mouth would lead to his immediate crushing and digestion–a complete end. Whatever tricks were used, touching Muni’s teeth was futile. Even if Li Yan were to be swallowed whole into Muni’s stomach, there would be no means to retaliate. Although Muni’s stomach was not as terrifying as his teeth, digesting a Li Yan or two would not pose a problem.

But at this moment Muni’s law body was enormous, and his attention was not on this matter; firstly, Li Yan seized the opportunity and didn’t touch the teeth, and secondly, Muni had swallowed a great deal of Ambota Volcano Bacteria and had yet to digest it.

The Soul-taking Water was the cradle of the Ambota Volcano Bacteria, the black-robed emperor, and in principle, the only entity that could coexist with the bacteria. Wrapped in the Soul-taking Water, Li Yan slipped into the stomach full of Ambota Volcano Bacteria and, for the time being, was safe.

However, this method also required a large consumption of Soul-taking Water, and Li Yan’s long-accumulated stock was running low.

In life-or-death situations, Li Yan still had a Force of Ten Thousand Aspects, which could temporarily transform his entire body into Soul-taking Water to save his life, but if it really came to using the Force of Ten Thousand Aspects, Ye Shiru’s life would likely be lost.

That Mr. Wen Jun had confidently said that getting inside Muni’s stomach would offer a glimmer of hope, so he surely wouldn’t deceive himself.

…

“Can’t wait any longer!”

The Feng Shui master who was called “Brother Jiusheng” saw Heavenly Yi Noble fall into a trap and started performing his incantations anew. The surrounding elders exchanged glances and stepped forward to assist.

In an instant, the Feng Shui realm was engulfed in a heavy snowstorm, clouds fell chaotically, and circles of thunderfire whirled anxiously, leaving no place peaceful. If Ren Ni found herself in such a cataclysmic environment akin to a heavenly tribulation, she would not last long before being reduced to mincemeat.

But gradually, no matter the storm, thunder, fire, or the cloud phantasms, they all began to slowly turn into steam, fusing into the battlefield where the Ascenders and Muni were tearing at each other. The terror of Ambota Volcano Bacteria was clearly evident.

The mirror of the Taixu Compass was already filled with red steam, completely obstructing the view inside. The elders paced anxiously, and one couldn’t help but complain, “What chaos did Mr. Zhao’s young friend cause? The fierce sky-high fiend was already tough enough to deal with, but now he has unleashed something even more sinister?”

“These two demons devouring each other could end up leaving the more troublesome one standing!”

Zhang Zhongshan stroked his beard and said, “I think, this might not be such a bad thing.”

In the Feng Shui Realm, all manifestations were evaporated, one after another ferocious spirit fell, and all were swallowed into Muni’s turtle chest, where it all happened without sound.

The biting and evolution between Muni and the Ascender had entered an intense phase. The two entwined in a distorted pose: Muni’s golden body was riddled with corrosion, uneven and pitted, whereas the Ascender’s body began to fill out with a combination of steel, flesh, and steam–through the Ascender’s inherent [Craft Instinct], reassembling its form, becoming ever more humanoid.

If not for the nineteen steaming hotpot-like Tri-Orb Devices behind the Ascenders, and Muni’s “Tri-Orb Devices” were nineteen white bone skulls grown on its chest, one would find it challenging to tell them apart at first glance.

It appeared that the Ascenders were gaining the upper hand.

Upon closer observation, however, Muni had bitten onto the backbone of the Nineteen-Core Ascender.

The Ascender with the white features thrashed for a moment before cleverly shouting, “Who are you? Daring to impersonate me?!”

It turned out that it had evolved vocal cords and could now speak.

Muni hesitated; for a moment, he released his bite and asked in return, “Who are you? Daring to impersonate me?”

“I am the Sky Demon King Boxun.”

The mechanical Boxun crowed triumphantly.

“I am…”

The bone Boxun hesitated, then suddenly sneered, “I am Muni.”

Having said that, he bit down hard, crushing one of the Ascender’s spinal Tri-Orb Devices.

The Ascender cried out in pain, and then like a house of cards, it collapsed. Muni crunched each Tri-Orb Device on the Ascender’s body and swallowed them all, and the mountainous body of steel was devoured clean by Muni in no time.

“What a delicious taste.”

Muni howled, and a bulge gradually formed on his chest– if this bump burst open to reveal a white bone skull, it would become the twentieth Tri-Orb Device!