Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 744 - 353. Accommodation

Chapter 744: 353. Accommodation

However, the development of events was always unexpected.

Just when Li Aozi felt he had opened the door, finding a shortcut to his mission, Merid abruptly disappeared.

Li Aozi woke up, sensing a somber and decayed deathly atmosphere surrounding the entire village. The original fragrance of bone broth was replaced by the moldy scent of decaying wood, and even the bed he specifically summoned for sleeping had turned into a broken and rotten floor.

For a moment, his heart sank. He hurriedly got up and searched the village, but everywhere he went, he saw not even a single animal’s footprint.

"Gone."

Li Aozi spun around, tearing open a spacetime rift, instantly reaching the mountaintop. The houses were tightly locked, the sight desolate. Though previously dilapidated, it had never been to the extent that even the ceiling was damaged.

It felt as if, in an instant, he had lived through a century.

Li Aozi’s gaze deepened. He bent down and grabbed a handful of soil from the ground.

The ground was dry, as if it hadn’t rained, and there was no residue of radioactive materials.

Yet, at precisely five in the morning, the substance rain had just washed over everything; he and Merid had walked down the slope side by side, discussing the moon.

But now, glancing back, Li Aozi saw that the stone paths had been washed away by mountain torrents, leaving one out of ten intact, entirely different from the path he had walked on that morning.

Swoosh—

Li Aozi drew out the deep red cursed blade with a backward motion, walking step by step toward the shrine’s gate.

Bang—creak!

Li Aozi kicked the door open and entered the shrine. His "Eye of Truth" scanned all around.

There were no mythical beasts laden with jewels, nor were there any young boys and girls singing praises to the substance rain.

The hollow, dilapidated dojo exuded an earthy and mossy smell. Only a skeleton sat on a cushion. The skull hung low, its tattered clothes scattering arrowheads and bullets by its feet, as if they had fallen from its body.

"This is..."

Li Aozi’s heart filled with doubt. He stepped forward, lifted his sword, and pried open the skeleton’s head, revealing the plaque on its chest:

Yali Mountain Shrine Leader—Merid Fenny

"...Merid?"

Li Aozi was stunned.

Caw caw—

A flock of crows cried and flew over the treetops, immediately putting Li Aozi on alert.

Crows?

How could there be living creatures in a place washed by the substance rain?

Unless...

He immediately turned his head, striding out of the shrine’s gate. Footsteps quickly surrounded him, and Li Aozi gripped his sword with one hand, ready to release his Arcane Energy at any moment.

"Up there! Right in front!"

A squad of silver-armored elite forces equipped with guns swiftly spread out. A masked Void sorcerer turned a sixteen-faced die with one hand, creating a purple virtual shield for the warriors to set up a dense formation.

Their armor was extremely peculiar, as if modern soldiers’ Kevlar were replaced with chainmail and plate mail from the cold weapon era. Each one wore a purple canister on their waist to charge their guns.

But rather than their odd attire, Li Aozi was more concerned with the oppressive murderous aura they exuded.

Like an airtight cotton cloth covering his nose and mouth, his trachea kept trembling and shuddering, almost unable to contract. The airflow brought stinging pain as it passed through.

Suffocation, an overwhelming suffocating force.

Yita Phase (7).

Li Aozi’s hand holding the sword trembled involuntarily. His biological instincts were urgently warning him!

Every single one of these warriors standing here was nothing less than elite forces of the Yita Phase.

There were as many as 30 or more armored warriors. Though none of them had the blessing of the Pathway, the mysterious and empty aura of the Void and their sheer biological strength had already surpassed ninety percent of the beings in Layer Abyss.

And that wasn’t all.

Li Aozi saw several black-armored soldiers within the crowd. Their builds were exceptionally tall with purple goggles, and their fiery, violent aura revealed them to be Theta.

But even so, that was still far from enough.

Li Aozi’s gaze continued forward, seeing through the crowd with his true vision. He noticed another even more terrifying presence on the mountainside behind them, emerging like a frozen giant mountain from the deep sea.

Thud, thud, thud—

"You sure made me look everywhere for you. I didn’t expect such a spy to infiltrate the council. Luckily, the Kingdom Parliament’s prowess is immense. They can even locate a corpse dead for forty years."

A sullen voice sounded, and a towering figure appeared before Li Aozi.

"What say you, Blockade Body—’Succubus’?"

Single-handedly, he grabbed his waist, wearing a strange crow mask. As soon as he saw Li Aozi, he supported his chin, twirling his hook-like claws, jesting:

"It looks like you’ve been abandoned."

He wore much more exquisite and luxurious armor than the ordinary soldiers. On his pitch-black, hollowed-out equipment were vivid carvings, and white feathers floated in the wind, further emphasizing his majestic figure.

However, such a strong body was that of a hunchbacked cripple. His left leg was empty below the knee, using his knee to walk.

He bent down, placing his knee on the ground. All his crow feathers ruffled sharply, aligning his sight with Li Aozi’s.

"Truly pathetic. Raised so high, you look so beautiful. When discarded, you are so pitiful."

"Who...are you?"

Li Aozi forced himself to ask.

"Kingdom Parliament Knight—High Table’s seventh member, ’White Crow’ Aiwens."

The crow-man bowed elegantly.

He slightly tilted his head, asking:

"Don’t be too nervous. Relax, we mean no harm."

Hoo... ha... ha...

Yet to Li Aozi, maintaining his current calm demeanor in front of the other was no less difficult.

— Iota Rank (9)

This was the ultimate power in Layer Abyss, second only to Kappa Rank (10), having not submerged in Starry Abyss.

Though merely at the entry-level of Iota, sharing the same space with him made Li Aozi feel as if spacetime had frozen into ice, with his body heat uncontrollably seeping out.

This was no illusion.

For an Iota Rank, they were considered top-tier beings in this universe, and their every move could impact the fragile Layer Abyss.

When Aiwens breathed, surrounding energies in the space were drawn to his body, sustaining his formidable existence.

An Iota Rank, analogous to a battleship or carrier battle group of an interstellar civilization, unlike the absolute decisive battle weapon of a Kappa Rank, was the limit for one without Talent, climbing the Pathway to the peak.

Beyond that, mortal bodies could not endure the excessive powerful Strength, collapsing completely, reconstituting in flesh, and ascending to godhood.

Even those who reached Iota Rank purely through biological strength were no exception.

In other words, the limit of Layer Abyss biology stood before Li Aozi.

"...If you’re here to find Merid Fenny, I’m afraid you’re too late."

Li Aozi shook his head and said.

"Oh, let’s put Merid aside for now. We’ll find her sooner or later, even if we have to dig three feet down."

Aiwens looked at Li Aozi, laughing:

"I came for you, Succubus from the sky. You seem unaware of what it means to be a sane Blockade Body, right?"

"Honestly, I have no idea."

Li Aozi grinned. From their reaction, he knew even tearing spacetime rifts would mean instant death.

Not to mention, with Aiwens, an Iota Rank right before him, Li Aozi abandoned any thought of resistance.

It was useless. Under absolute power, no matter how Blood Demon Style split the damage, the remaining value would overwhelm and kill him.

So, from the start, Li Aozi had no intention to resist, simply saying:

"Could you kindly explain my worth?"

"Of course."

Aiwens said, raising his hand to remove his mask. Flesh tendrils writhed, opening his gray beak, six eyes emitting faint purple light.

"Excessive use of the Void’s power leads to corruption, which you likely know. The more Alige injections or prolonged reliance on Blockade Bodies for battle, the more one’s body gradually transforms into a Void creature."

He hobbled closer on his crippled leg, spreading his claws, greedily remarking:

"Only pure Blockade Bodies can yield reliable, safe, and untainted Alige."

The flesh tendrils on his face twisted, yet another mouth developed on his side face, voicing his desire as he approached:

"Li Aozi, I’ll offer all of you to the Kingdom Parliament... Don’t see this as sacrifice, like a ritual offering..."

Endless flesh extended from the gaps in his armor, swiftly enveloping Li Aozi’s feet like a flood.

"No, it’s not that, this is an opportunity. You should be grateful... The parliament always reallocates resources where they’re needed most."

He reached out, gripping Li Aozi by the waist, justifying himself while opening his great mouth:

"But before that, let me help the parliament coordinate a bit..."

With that, he swallowed Li Aozi’s head in one bite.