Life Game In Other World
Chapter 744: The Underground Palace, the Advent (Two-in-One Super-Size - for Monthly Votes)

Chapter 744: Chapter 744: The Underground Palace, the Advent (Two-in-One Super-Size Chapter for Monthly Votes)

"I don’t know if you really survived all these years through some means, or if you’ve just obtained some kind of ’legacy’ from that annoying Federation,"

The Black Shadow’s figure flickered, "From the thoughts I ’saw,’ your power seems very strong, you appear to be one of the strongest people in this world, and since you know so much, you must also understand the might of the Great Being.

"If you are willing to follow the Great Being above the endless starry sky with me, you will receive an unparalleled Grace, and perhaps have the chance to ascend as an Angel, which is the true eternal life."

He watched He Ao, seemingly expecting his response, as few C-levels could resist the temptation to ascend as an Angel.

If He Ao showed any hesitation, that would mean there was a possibility for him to take advantage.

"Sorry, I’m not interested in being a dog for others."

He Ao adjusted the brooch pinned to his chest and held the Shadowless Sword horizontally in front of him.

"Foolish and arrogant creature!"

The Black Shadow glared at He Ao, raising both hands, "Then, you will become my sustenance!"

One after another, orange glows lit up in the silent building of the Moonlight Branch, spreading across various floors.

The warping, hissing voices of seduction, like a symphony echoing through the heavens, began to play.

"Originally, once those monsters and humans had entered this building, with enough sacrifices,"

The Black Shadow watched He Ao, "I would have completely unleashed chaos upon this city, turning everyone into my servants, ensuring the Advent of the new world. Although you’ve ruined it, sacrificing you should have a similar effect."

"Listen."

Along with the gradually brightening glows, He Ao watched the Black Shadow and whispered.

"Hm?"

The Black Shadow was startled.

Boom boom boom—

In that instant, echoes of explosive roars suddenly resounded throughout the building.

The Array that was about to form, outlined by the glows, instantly shattered.

"What is this?"

The Black Shadow looked blankly at He Ao.

"Timed bombs,"

He Ao shrugged, "I left a bit of extra time, but it was just right."

In the memories he inherited from Robert, there were moments where Robert followed instructions from the deputy leader of Daybreak to set up some special ’scenes’ at the Moonlight Branch.

Robert didn’t know what it was, but He Ao did, it was some kind of ’Ritual Array.’

However, the memories he inherited weren’t complete, he didn’t know where all these Arrays were placed.

Fortunately, Robert’s status was high. He used Robert’s identity to find all the Daybreak infiltrators lurking in Moonlight, had each of them recall a bit, pieced together a rough idea of the Array, and even got him the timed bombs.

Some of these timed bombs were even set up by people from Daybreak.

No matter how powerful the ritual, once the Array was destroyed, it was difficult to sustain.

After hearing He Ao’s words, the warped Black Shadow’s eyes widened, his head seemingly full of question marks, and he froze on the spot for a moment.

The places where these Arrays were set up were supposed to be top secret, and he couldn’t figure out how the ’Hao Yi’ before him knew about them.

But he soon snapped back to reality, watching He Ao, "I admit, you truly have given me many ’surprises.’ It seems I have to completely destroy you to continue the plans of the Great Being."

His figure rapidly twisted, some invisible power surged from all around, converging into his body, causing his momentum to rapidly soar.

He raised his palm, turning it into a colossal Black Shadow claw, and reached for He Ao.

That claw trembled with a force that seemed capable of harming the Soul.

He Ao lifted the Shadowless Sword, swung it, and cut through the Black Shadow’s ’claw’.

Then he stepped sideways, advancing a step forward, as the sword’s light swept through the void, severing the Black Shadow’s body.

Divided into three parts, the flickering Black Shadow’s body twisted, looking at He Ao in surprise, "Your sword can actually hurt me?"

The separated body writhed, reformed into a mass, and reconstituted into the humanoid Black Shadow, with a force more potent than before spreading from his body.

He looked up at He Ao, "I’ve never felt so good, fool, you can’t kill me, I am immortal, my power is infinite!"

His body further swelled, like a vast shadow looming over He Ao, "I will consume your Soul, make your body mine!"

He Ao looked up at him, took out a coin, then flipped it into the air.

The Black Shadow’s eyes widened, he didn’t know the purpose of the coin, but his instincts told him to stop He Ao.

He reached out, trying to grab the tossed coin.

But at that moment, his twisted feet, driven by the converging power, pulsed upwards, stretching him taller and causing his hand to reach too high, missing the coin.

The color on the green gem petals of the brooch fixed to his chest darkened a bit, and the coin landed safely back in He Ao’s hand.

And in that instant, the entire city seemed to fall silent.

"What’s this?"

He lifted his head and glanced around in bewilderment. "Some kind of special space?"

Then he turned his gaze to He Ao, grinning to reveal a hollow darkness.

He sneered and swung his claw toward He Ao again, "Do you think you can use this space to kill me? Impossible. I’ve told you, I am immortal."

His power had been growing stronger, surpassing the threshold of C-level.

But He Ao paid him no attention. The moment he entered the Mirror Space, he leapt into the wardrobe mirror beside him.

The Black Shadow’s body followed his steps and jumped into the wardrobe mirror as well.

In the next instant, the two figures, one after the other, appeared almost simultaneously in a narrow stone house.

Black Shadow sensed something was amiss, and by that time, He Ao had already leaped into the mirror in the center of the stone house.

Without hesitation, Black Shadow immediately followed.

Whoosh—

The undulating waves crashed against the rocks. It was still night, but to Black Shadow’s ears, the sound of the waves seemed like whispers from a demon.

"Aren’t you curious how I ’got in’?"

He Ao stood at the doorway of the stone house, smiling at Black Shadow who was still inside, "That’s how I ’got in’."

Black Shadow stared blankly at He Ao, at the dense fog that shrouded everything behind him.

He had ’come out’.

From the city engulfed by the powers of the servant of the Great Being, he had ’come out’.

This time, he did not immediately rush to kill He Ao but stood in the stone house filled with mirrors, raising his hand with a chilling voice,

"Your abilities are indeed somewhat bizarre. I can give you one more chance to join the glory of the Great Being. But if you refuse to cooperate,"

Black Shadow raised his hand and figures twisted in agony took shape in his palm, "I have killed ’Federation people’ before, and death will be your only endpoint."

"I know,"

He Ao lifted the Shadowless Sword, "During the outbreak of the disaster, you took advantage of the moment when the suppression of the fourth layer’s 009-2 riot was in effect, ran from the fourth layer to the third, and then followed the researchers of the third layer into the second,

"In the stairwell of the second layer, they discovered you, prepared to completely close the floodgate, so you incited them to kill each other,

"At that time, you must have connected with your so-called Great Being, praying to Him for the support of the vines on the second layer to prevent the complete closure of the floodgate.

"The researcher you seduced who survived brought you into the second layer, and with that momentum, you moved into the first,

"In the end, you seduced all the survivors, leading them out of the ’shelter’ to their deaths, destroying all the ’survivors’ in the Research Institute,

"Your power actually comes from those you ’seduced’, right? The more people you seduce, the more support you can gain,

"Your so-called ’immortality’ is actually a constant absorption of power from the ’seduced’ within your seduced area.

"And now,"

He Ao looked up at the Black Shadow, gripping the Shadowless Sword, "the energy inside you is no longer growing. After leaving your seduced ’area,’ you have lost the support of those seduced,"

"And according to your consistent behavior, your abilities are parasitic. You probably can’t ’survive’ for long without your seduced victims, can you?"

He calmly watched Black Shadow, "Now, you are going to die."

In fact, Black Shadow would likely find it difficult to be disembodied for long periods when there weren’t enough seduced people.

Otherwise, at the stairwell of the second layer of the Underground Palace, he wouldn’t have needed the vines to hold the floodgate for him, insistently saving some of the ’survivors’ he had seduced. He could have left the ’seduced’ and escaped on his own.

Based on the concept that Black Shadow’s power grows stronger with more seduced victims, it can be inferred that once all the seduced are gone, Black Shadow’s power will rapidly weaken, even falling into a ’slumber’ that even some wild beasts can easily kill.

And the method to counter Black Shadow was actually given to He Ao by the researchers at the stairwell of the second layer of the Underground Palace.

It was the two words left on that rusty Gauss Gun, ’Isolation’.

Of course, in the hands of the researcher at the time, it might have been the method to ’seal’ Black Shadow.

After all, their approach of "closing the floodgate to trap all the seduced between the second and third layers of the Underground Palace, isolated from the outside world." shows that the ’isolation’ is actually achieved by cutting off the channel of Black Shadow’s seduction, weakening him completely and then ’sealing’ him in the stairwell.

But the situation He Ao faces is that the entire Newland City-State consists of people ’seduced’ by Black Shadow. He can’t possibly isolate and ’seal’ all of Black Shadow’s seduced victims.

However, from this ’sealing’ method, He Ao has successfully deduced ’Black Shadow’s weakness, and he happens to have an excellent ’isolated’ area.

The entire Newland City-State was enveloped by that twisted spatial force and was now almost completely severed from the outside world. Even the Velora had merely been unable to surface on Newland City-State; it was now almost incapable of reaching the deep space beneath Newland City-State.

To the main world, Newland City-State was almost like an alternate space and, similarly, to Newland City-State, the main world was nearly an alternate space as well.

The problem was then solvable. Black Shadow couldn’t stray too far from those he seduced, which meant the transfer of power from the seduced had its decay and could not ignore distance.

If Black Shadow is pulled directly into the main world, which has become an ’alternate space’ relative to Newland City-State, the connection between him and the seduced would naturally be severed.

He couldn’t possibly isolate and destroy all of Black Shadow’s seduced victims, but he could isolate Black Shadow from the seduced.

The so-called ’immortality’ would naturally be broken.

And Black Shadow’s so-called ’another chance’ just exposed his fear.

"Impossible, impossible,"

As He Ao unveiled his background sentence by sentence and revealed what he had done, Black Shadow’s originally still figure finally began to flicker uncontrollably.

He felt as if he were stripped bare, all his secrets laid out without reservation before He Ao.

It was laughable that he had always thought himself ’clothed’.

Shaking his head in bewilderment, he said, "All those who knew these things are already dead. How could you be so familiar with that world while in this one?"

"I might happen to have some channels of information,"

He Ao shrugged, "Like I also know that you came here through the door that was opened from that side."

Upon hearing this, Black Shadow’s eyes widened.

Was there a traitor among them?

No, that wasn’t it. The ability to read past information always existed in this world—this man must be backed by another Great Being.

After a burst of violent flickering, he finally calmed down, his gaze fixed on He Ao, "I don’t know which Great Being you follow, but all stones that obstruct the great endeavors of our Great Being will be mercilessly crushed,"

He also looked at He Ao, "I admit, you are a smart man, but through the fight we just had, I can feel that your body is not strong. Killing you will solve all the problems."

Located in the center of the vast sea, with no sign of human life and no intelligent beings to seduce, escape was no longer possible for him. Only by killing He Ao could he find a sliver of chance for survival.

He had no other choice.

He raised his hands once more, "You’re fortunate to be the first to witness my true power."

Boom——

Immense and terrifying power burst forth from within him, shattering the small stone house with its surging force, scattering shards of stone and mirror fragments across the quiet sea.

Countless tiny fish uncontrollably surged out of the ocean, converging in the sky into massive ’streams’ of fish, which then were seized by an invisible force and torn into twisted strips of flesh in the sky, gathering together.

In the blink of an eye, a beast with a bull’s head and a humanoid body, standing five meters tall with flesh squirming and twisting all over it, appeared within He Ao’s line of sight.

A horrifying oppression characteristic of a B-level emanated from the Minotaur.

All the while, He Ao watched the creature with a calm expression.

In truth, he couldn’t be certain how Black Shadow came from the Underground Palace to the main world, so he started with a long string of deductions and ended with bluffing Black Shadow.

Based on the results, it seemed he guessed correctly.

Strictly speaking, the strength of this clone was indeed at C-level, and since his main body was in the dangerous Underground Palace, he would be unlikely to choose to bring his soul down for prolonged combat.

But,

His expression was slightly peculiar,

Because the main body could only take C-level items to the Underground Palace, aside from the jade pendant and ring which were cleverly brought in, all other B-level items stayed with the clone.

He looked at the Shadowless Sword in his hand and the Fake Master Bracelet on his right wrist grasping the Sword, then he touched the Miracle Wand hanging from his waist······

"No matter how powerful the Great Being you follow,"

The imposing Minotaur raised its fist, smashing it down towards He Ao, "none of that changes the fact that your own strength is weak."

He Ao glanced at the Minotaur, allowing his main soul to briefly descend, using Divine Sense to clearly see the energy pathways within the Minotaur’s body.

Then he activated the Fake Master Bracelet without hesitation, leaping into the air. Dodging the Minotaur’s punch, he stabbed at the creature’s chest with his Sword.

The Minotaur hastily dodged to the side, taking a direct hit to the center of its chest.

Its squirming flesh immediately contracted, attempting to trap He Ao’s Shadowless Sword.

He Ao simply gave up on pulling out the Sword. Clutching the hilt of the Shadowless Sword, he leaped upwards, landing on the Minotaur’s shoulder, while the Sword that had been thrust into the Minotaur’s body turned into a phantom shadow and reappeared in his hand.

The Minotaur stretched out a hand to strike He Ao, but He Ao, still wielding the Shadowless Sword, stabbed through the Minotaur’s neck and with a swift motion, carved open a huge gash and pulled out the Sword.

Without pausing for battle, he used Fist Technique and Heavy Strike Technique to hurl the Shadowless Sword from his hand towards the back of the Minotaur with sudden force.

Then, flipping off the Minotaur’s shoulder, he landed in front of the beast.

The undulating sea lapped at the rocks beneath his feet.

"To throw away one’s weapon, what a fool!"

The Minotaur leaned forward, its palms coming down on He Ao from both sides.

In that instant, He Ao slightly raised his hand.

The pitch-black swordlight turned into a phantom in the air, circling once, piercing the Minotaur’s heart from behind, and then spiraling in the air before returning to He Ao’s hand.

Within this bodily form of the Minotaur, the energy gathering points were distributed throughout, totaling five.

The very first point, right in the center of its chest, was where the Minotaur thought it had dodged successfully, but that was exactly where He Ao intended to strike.

With that, plus the neck and the point in the back, in just a brief series of exchanges, three of the Minotaur’s five energy gathering points had been destroyed.

The Minotaur’s eyes bulged, seemingly unable to believe what was happening. Its arms continued to come down, only to be effortlessly dodged by He Ao.

The wounds He Ao had inflicted slowly healed, but the destroyed energy gathering points could not be reformed.

"Did you hide your strength?"

The Minotaur looked at He Ao, its eyes wide in revelation.

This man was obviously so strong, yet he had been overly cautious.

He Ao didn’t speak, but gripped the Shadowless Sword and leaped towards the Minotaur once again.

"However, you are still a fool! Don’t think this is the extent of my power!"

The Minotaur raised its hands high, and a twisted gear pattern emerged behind it, with eerie gray light surfacing on its body.

The previously clear sky darkened abruptly, and the boundless sea whipped up waves, making it seem as if the entire world’s space was warping. Even the distant fog began to shiver, and a terrifying force appeared to descend from the endless fabric of time and space.

"Offer everything to my great Lord,"

the Minotaur roared aloud.

At that instant, He Ao grasped the Miracle Wand at his waist.

Mountain Collapse Tsunami!

Howling gales swept through the dark clouds, and tumultuous waves surged, the ferocious power of nature trembling the rocks beneath their feet.

The whole world seemed to shudder at that moment, as raging waves carried by violent rain swept over everything on the sea surface.

Amidst this roaring storm, tornadoes reaching for the heavens drew the undulating waters, forming colossal pillars of water and wind.

"No one can stop the power of the Great Being,"

the Minotaur bellowed within the tempest, "I know flesh is weak,"

His body gradually swelled, giving rise to a twisted mechanical shell, and a terrible, ferocious oppression descended from the endless void, quieting even the noisy elements of earth and water in the world.

And at that moment, the furious cyclone also reached the front of the Minotaur. The howling water and wind suddenly tore through the monster’s body, the thundering earth trembling his flesh.

The Minotaur still had two energy convergence points, one at the brow and one under the rib. The one under the rib flickered in the storm’s rotation, on the brink of destruction, while the one on the brow was covered with sharp armor, still solid.

Inside this howling tempest, He Ao, wielding the Shadowless Sword, dashed like a streak of light into the heart of the storm, right in front of the Minotaur’s head.

"Only the mechanical······"

The Minotaur still roared his chant, as inch by inch, the twisted metal armor began to cover his entire body.

But the power of the storm still shackled his form.

He Ao, looking into those widened, pale eyes, didn’t hesitate and thrust his sword forward.

The sharp blade penetrated the armor, pierced the flesh, and also the energy convergence point on the brow, sinking the sword hilt into the metal armor.

Bang—

As if a faint sound came from the void, the energy convergence point under the Minotaur’s rib also shattered.

The massive body covered in metal suddenly fell apart, turning into countless fragments of flesh that flowed into the storm.

But He Ao didn’t stop.

His true soul descended, and he instantly activated Super Memory.

In the invisible realm, an illusory Phantom Shadow was curling up, trying to escape into the sea.

It was normal for a non-corporeal being like the Black Shadow to have some life-preserving abilities, but the soul is hard to hide.

Spiritual Attack!

Terrible force immediately descended upon the dim Phantom Shadow, tearing it apart.

And He Ao was swept away by the storm’s power, tossed up into the tempestuous sky.

Aside from the directed attack on the target, Mountain Collapse Tsunami’s remaining power was indiscriminate, not distinguishing friend from foe.

The howling Velora emerged from the void, opened its doors, and caught He Ao from the sky.

"Cough—"

He Ao coughed once, expelling the water choking his throat, then reached to take off the Lucky Brooch that he’d been wearing on his chest.

It was the power of the Lucky Brooch that had allowed him to successfully catch the coin in his hand just by tossing it.

The moment he removed the Lucky Brooch, he stumbled and fell to the floor of the Velora, and then the storm outside battered the carriage, shaking the entire train violently.

His body once again became unsteady in the quaking, rolling to the other side of the train.

In that instant, the weakness from using The Fake Master Bracelet, along with the overexertion from using his Fist Technique, and the recent indiscriminate damage from the storm all took effect at once.

He Ao felt sweetness in his throat and suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, almost completely drained of strength.

It took him quite a while before he could barely stand up, staggering to the door of the train.

This injury was much less severe than the previous time he had used the Lucky Brooch on the Navigator.

After all, the Black Shadow whom He Ao had influenced using the Lucky Brooch was only peculiar in abilities and not particularly strong, and it had only been affected momentarily, so the brooch’s green petals had not changed color much.

He raised his head to look above.

At this moment, the violent storm outside seemed to have subsided, but a more immense ’apparition’ occupied the sky and the sea.

Within the dense fog enveloping the entire city for hundreds of miles, a vast and enormous Mechanical Phantom Shadow was slowly surfacing.

He Ao felt as though he could see through the Mechanical Phantom Shadow to the twisted creatures within, the endless Vines.

The Underground Palace was descending.