Chapter 38: The Mortal World as a Prison, Refining the Karmic Fire [Finale] [Seeking Subscriptions]

On the other side, the burly red-skinned man stared at the God of Thunder Chisel in the pit, its hammerhead gleaming like purple crystal, his face brimming with delight.

"Hehe... This might just be a perfect fit for me!"

The man rubbed his hands together, gripped the handle with both hands, and gave it a mighty heave. Yet, the thunder chisel did not budge in the slightest, as if it had fused with the earth itself.

"What the... I can uproot mountains, so why can't I even lift you up?!"

Gazing at the unmoving thunder chisel on the ground, the red-skinned man widened his bovine eyes. His muscles rapidly expanded, his feet planted firmly on the ground, and he exerted all his might to pull upward.

"Rumble... Rumble... Crack..."

As the red-skinned man began to exert his full strength, his feet slowly sank into the ground. The entire altar began to tremble violently, and the deep pit housing the thunder chisel even showed faint signs of cracking.

Yet, no matter how hard the man tried, the thunder chisel remained completely motionless, as if it were one with the earth, showing no reaction whatsoever.

"Shit..."

The red-skinned man cursed in anger, his eyes filled with disbelief. He possessed divine strength as vast as mountains and seas, yet he could not even shake a tiny hammer. How could he possibly accept such an outcome?

"Shit... You idiot, what are you doing?"

Amidst the shaking altar, the purple-haired woman staggered, nearly being struck by the long blade in Emilia's hand. She turned, glared fiercely at the red-skinned man, and scolded him angrily.

"Purple Flame, come take a look at this. There's something weird about this hammer—I can't lift it no matter what!"

Faced with the purple-haired woman's rebuke, a flash of embarrassment crossed the red-skinned man's face. He pointed at the thunder chisel in the pit, his expression full of bewilderment.

"You can't lift it? Let me try!"

She was well aware of the red-skinned man's divine strength; forget a tiny hammer, he could easily uproot a small mountain.

All of this clearly indicated that the hammer was indeed no ordinary object. However, she had her own method of dealing with it.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

With a wave of the purple-haired woman's hand, a pitch-black wormhole descended over the thunder chisel.

"Rumble... Buzz... Crack..."

"Get back!"

The moment it was enveloped by the wormhole, chaotic-style seal scripts instantly dissipated from the thunder chisel. A burst of purple lightning erupted instantly from the center of the chisel, sweeping outward in all directions and enveloping the entire altar in a massive electromagnetic field.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

"Bah... Shit..."

As the purple lightning swept across, everyone on the altar was blasted backward. The red-skinned man and the purple-haired woman bore the brunt of the impact; she scrambled up from the ground with a face full of terror, spat out a mouthful of dust, and looked utterly disheveled.

At this moment, the red-skinned man was charred all over, his hair standing completely on end as if he had been struck by lightning. If he hadn't reacted swiftly and shielded the purple-haired woman at the crucial moment, she would likely have been scorched to a crisp by that bolt of purple lightning. After all, the purple-haired woman did not possess the freakish defensive power of the red-skinned man.

Although the others were shaken quite badly and covered in dust, they sustained no injuries, as the lightning from the thunder chisel was primarily directed at the purple-haired woman and the red-skinned man.

"This hammer is too bizarre. I think we'd better leave it alone."

The red-skinned man and the purple-haired woman exchanged glances, the terror in their eyes vividly apparent. The moment they were struck by the lightning, even the red-skinned man had felt a profound sense of threat, as if the blood in his veins was about to be evaporated in an instant.

Meanwhile, Li Yang, floating in mid-air, watched the red-skinned man with a look of astonishment.

While others hadn't noticed, he could clearly perceive that after being struck by the lightning from the thunder chisel, a trace of crimson-colored exotic energy had suddenly leaked from deep within the red-skinned man's body. Accompanied by faint spatial fluctuations, this energy felt exceptionally peculiar compared to the energy of the prime material world, carrying a distinct sense of incompatibility.

Had it not been for that energy blocking the impact, the red-skinned man would likely have been reduced to ashes by the lightning in that very instant.

After all, the unsealed thunder chisel possessed a might that completely surpassed its previous capabilities. Even Li Yang had felt a formidable threat from that bolt of lightning, let alone the red-skinned man.

Never mind that his superpower was merely a physical mutation; Li Yang firmly believed that even a man of steel would have been melted into liquid metal by the energy carried in that lightning, let alone a mortal flesh-and-blood body.

Clearly, this anomaly was entirely due to that trace of crimson energy. Li Yang guessed that it was very likely energy originating from another dimension.

As everyone knew, worlds were divided into many kinds, including dimensions composed entirely of pure energy. The energies of such dimensions were filled with unique corrosive wills, completely different from the gentle energy of the main world.

......

"Let's go!"

Calling out to the blonde woman, the purple-haired woman pulled her hands apart, instantly opening a massive spatial wormhole before them. The three figures vanished into it, reappearing instantly in the underground laboratory.

"That's our target. Destroy it!"

The moment they materialized in the underground laboratory, they spotted the incessantly pulsating golden flesh-egg at the center of the room. The blonde woman pressed a hand to the center of her brow, sensed for a moment, and then spoke with absolute certainty.

"Who are you people! Protect His Majesty..."

The instant the three appeared, Dr. Yorkson reacted immediately, stepping forward with a vigilant expression to block the path of the giant egg transformed from Li Yang.

"Hehe... Let me deal with these pests. You guys hurry up and destroy that thing!"

"Thud, thud, thud..."

The red-skinned man grinned hideously, taking heavy strides like a rolling armored tank as he charged toward the group of researchers.

"Crack... Big guy, look over here!"

Faced with the menacing red-skinned giant, Marcus stripped off his upper garments. His bones expanded amidst a series of pops, instantly transforming him into a dark-skinned, bat-like monster.

Although he lacked overly powerful superpowers, as the progenitor of vampires, Marcus's strength was far from negligible—easily on par with Lucian, who had transformed into a bloodline warlock. While his defensive power might have fallen short, his speed and regenerative abilities were even more formidable.

"Worm, I'll tear you to pieces!"

"Bang, bang... Thud!"

Faced with Marcus's provocation, fierce light flashed in the red-skinned man's eyes as he threw a heavy punch.

"Crack... Snap... Clatter..."

Gazing at the oncoming fist, Marcus felt a jolt of alarm. Reflexively, he crossed his arms to block, but against the red-skinned man's terrifying strength, his arms were instantly shattered. He was sent flying, skidding dozens of meters across the laboratory before crashing heavily into a massive glass wall.

"You won't, bang, bang, bang..."

On the other side, seeing the purple-haired woman approach the giant egg transformed by Li Yang, Karina drew her firearm and instantly emptied a magazine of bullets.

"Hahaha... What a lovely little beauty!"

Watching Catherine's actions, the purple-haired woman chuckled lightly. With a wave of her hands, a black wormhole appeared before her. The bullets vanished into it without causing a single ripple, disappearing like mud cast into the sea.

"Puff, puff, puff..."

"Ugh... Cough, cough..."

On the other side of the black wormhole, which had silently opened up directly behind Catherine, a volley of bullets instantly pierced her body. Catherine let out a muffled groan as her limbs went limp and she collapsed.

"Get away, you filthy scraps from the dark..."

"Rumble... Clatter..."

"Whoosh... Buzz..."

At that moment, the woman reached out and shoved forward, sending a massive wave of energy exploding through the laboratory. It instantly knocked over the gathering researchers, and her right-hand leather whip lashed out viciously. Accompanied by a white arc of energy tearing through the air, it struck fiercely against the giant egg formed by Li Yang.

"No, no, no..."

Gazing at the descending white aurora, a wave of despair erupted in Catherine's eyes as she let out a piercing scream.

Li Yang's metamorphosis was currently at a critical juncture. The energy of the Six-Winged Golden Centipede had been entirely refined by him, and his magical power and physical body had essentially completed their transformation.

Only his soul remained in the process of transforming. Perhaps due to refining the Six-Winged Golden Centipede all at once, the moment its energy was refined, the ferocity and violence carried within its genes surged into Li Yang's body as well.

This was also the fundamental reason why Li Yang's soul had instinctively fled his body. Had the transformation taken place entirely within the physical form, his soul risked being polluted by the violent and ferocious Qi of the Golden Centipede, which could potentially cause him to completely lose his humanity and transform into a mindless, bloodthirsty humanoid beast.

By detaching his soul from his body to undergo transformation in the void, once the process succeeded and it returned, he would be able to temporarily suppress the violent Qi within his body and slowly refine it until the hidden danger was completely eliminated.

Of course, this process might be very slow, but its greatest advantage was safety.

All of this had been taking place imperceptibly. In truth, Li Yang had not previously noticed how the ferocity of the Six-Winged Golden Centipede was slowly eroding him. It wasn't until he consumed the Nirvana Golden Pill and gained a special perspective that he could clearly see the violent Qi hidden deep within his cellular structure, slowly eroding his consciousness.

That surge of violent ferocity had constantly been wearing away his humanity, causing his divinity to expand infinitely. Although it couldn't pollute his soul directly, through this gradual erosion, his humanity would eventually be wiped clean one day, leaving behind only pure divinity.

To put it simply, external factors were influencing his personality. This influence was extremely subtle, but it would accumulate over time. Refining the energy of the Six-Winged Golden Centipede all at once this time had drastically increased the violent Qi within his body, even threatening to pollute his core consciousness. Coupled with the special perspective afforded by his soul leaving the body, he had finally uncovered this hidden danger within himself.

"Puff, puff, puff..."

As the white energy whip struck the giant egg in the laboratory, Li Yang instantly felt a tremendous pulling force emanating from within it.

His soul, lingering in the void, was instantly dragged back. The moment his soul re-entered his body, the accumulated violent Qi erupted, transforming into a dark red centipede that entangled itself with Li Yang's soul.

With his soul returned to his physical vessel, it meant Li Yang had completely concluded his transformation. At that very moment, in the dark abyss of consciousness, he suddenly sensed a deep, bone-chilling malice originating from the heavens and earth itself.