101: All the trump cards are revealed to break the puppet

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Golden Core Puppet's offensive was like a torrential storm, each strike carrying a dull whooshing sound as it slammed into Li Dong.

His Black Scale Armor glowed intensely, and cracks spread across it like a spiderweb.

"Pfft—" Another mouthful of fresh blood spurted out.

Li Dong felt as if his internal organs were about to be shattered.

This damned thing had monstrous strength, incredible speed, and its Moves were incredibly tricky and unpredictable.

"Damn it... how is this iron lump harder than a rock in a latrine!" He gritted his teeth, his Spiritual Qi almost depleted.

If this continued, let alone investigating the mother nest, he would die here today.

He had to fight with everything he had!

Fragments from the core experimental data chip flashed through his mind like lightning—"spiritual essence," "Artificial Dao Body"... Wait!

"spiritual essence"... "Artificial Dao Body"... This body... Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal!

Li Dong had a sudden inspiration, and a bold idea surged into his mind.

This Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal was deduced by the System based on his Perfect Dao Body, and the Dao Body itself had an intricate connection with "spiritual essence."

It wasn't just about suppressing evil; perhaps... it could directly act upon "spiritual essence" itself!

Purify! Strip away!

"That's right! Why didn't I think of it!" Li Dong's eyes lit up, as if he had grasped a life-saving straw.

"Come on, you beast! Let's see who falls first!" He roared, no longer holding back, and furiously poured all the remaining Spirituality in his body into the Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal!

Buzz—

In an instant, the Mystic Iron Demon Suppressing Ruler in his hand seemed to come alive.

The dense golden patterns on the ruler's body suddenly flared, transforming into dazzling golden flames that illuminated the entire side hall in a golden hue!

The Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal's incantation rapidly formed in his hand.

It was no longer a simple hand seal, but more like a massive and complex golden rune, exuding an indescribable majesty and purifying power.

"Break for me—!" Li Dong roared.

Li Dong used his last ounce of strength to slam this golden rune, which embodied all his hope, onto the Golden Core Puppet's chest—precisely where the System had previously indicated the energy core was located!

"Roar—?"

The Golden Core Puppet seemed to sense a fatal threat.

Red light burst from its hollow eye sockets, wanting to dodge, but it was already too late.

The golden rune branded itself onto the Puppet's chest armor like a hot iron.

Sizzle—

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a grating, corrosive sound.

The Puppet's indestructible dark red armor, under the golden rune's illumination, melted like ice and snow, quickly becoming mottled and damaged.

Even more bizarrely, countless twisted, struggling black runes appeared on the Puppet's surface, as if something was trying to break free from within its body.

"Hoo... hoo ah ah ah—"

The Puppet let out a series of mournful, non-human wails, its voice filled with pain and unwillingness.

Its massive body trembled violently, and the "spiritual essence" within it seemed to be forcibly torn and stripped away by an invisible force!

Immediately after, streams of extremely pure, yet somewhat sinister energy surged out from the Puppet's body, transforming into dark red currents of Qi that uncontrollably... flowed towards Li Dong!

"What the hell?!" Li Dong was greatly startled.

What was happening?

Buy one, get one free? And forced consumption?

He wanted to dodge, but his body was as if drawn by a magnet, unable to Move at all.

Those dark red energy currents eagerly rushed into his body.

System: Detecting high-purity 'spiritual essence', beginning absorption and conversion...

System: 'spiritual essence' being purified...

As the System's prompt sounded, Li Dong felt an indescribable sense of comfort spread through his limbs and bones.

The weakness he had felt from exhaustion vanished, replaced by a feeling of abundant power.

As for the Golden Core Puppet, after losing its core "spiritual essence," the red light on its body rapidly dimmed, and the black runes on its surface also dissipated.

Its massive body swayed, and finally, with a loud "boom," it completely disintegrated, turning into a pile of scrap metal gleaming with metallic luster.

Only a few residual wisps of dark red Qi were completely devoured by the System's power within Li Dong's Dantian, leaving not a trace.

"Hoo... hoo..." Li Dong gasped for breath, collapsing onto the ground.

System: 'spiritual essence' absorption complete, host's Spirituality attribute greatly increased.

System: Congratulations to the host, special ability—Spiritual Resonance—unlocked.

Spiritual Resonance: The host can perceive and influence the fluctuations of "spiritual essence" at a deeper level, and can resonate with it to a certain extent, even performing preliminary control.

"Spiritual Resonance? Sounds... interesting." Li Dong grinned, then his smile froze on his face.

Pfft—

A strong sense of exhaustion and intense pain suddenly struck him.

His vision went black, and he almost fainted.

That last Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal had almost drained all his Spiritual Qi and mental energy.

Now, the backlash surged, and even with his formidable Physique, he was struggling to endure it.

"Cough cough... Damn it, I almost overdid it." He struggled to sit cross-legged and looked inward.

His Meridians were empty, and the Spiritual Qi in his Dantian was pitifully thin.

But strangely, under the nourishment of the absorbed "spiritual essence," his remaining Spiritual Qi, as well as the tiny bit that had just recovered, became exceptionally pure, as if it had been tempered a thousand times.

Vaguely, he felt as if he had touched an invisible barrier.

The Golden Core Stage Bottleneck!

"I... am I going to turn misfortune into a blessing?" Li Dong didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

This feeling of repeatedly dancing on the edge of death was truly... stimulating.

He endured the severe pain and dizziness in his body, his gaze directed towards the depths of the side hall that the Puppet had previously guarded.

There, a massive, transparent cultivation tank, like Colored Glaze, stood silently, occupying nearly half the space of the side hall.

The cultivation tank was filled with viscous, faintly glowing red liquid.

And in the center of the liquid, a blood-colored flower, about a person's height, with an eerie and strange form, floated quietly.

Every petal of the flower seemed to be condensed from the purest blood, its edges shimmering with a chilling light.

At the heart of the flower was a constantly wriggling mass of mist, exuding a rich, sweet fragrance.

Waves of powerful, suffocating "spiritual essence" emanated from this flower like a tide, filling the entire side hall.

"Soul-Devouring Demon Flower... mother plant!" Li Dong's pupils constricted.

Indeed, this was the real deal!

This thing was many, many times more terrifying than the saplings he had seen at the west city's public graveyard!

Just looking at it, Li Dong felt his Divine Soul becoming unstable, as if it was about to be sucked into the mist within the flower's stamen.

He quickly circulated his newly enhanced Spirituality to stabilize his mind.

Next to the cultivation tank was a stone platform, on which lay a thick, beast-skin bound book.

"Experiment Log?" Li Dong's heart stirred.

Ignoring his injuries, he struggled to crawl over.

He picked up the book and opened the first page.

Mother Nest Cultivation Log

Codename: Blood Rose

Recorder: Guijiu

"Guijiu? Never heard of him.

Someone from the Shadow Council?" Li Dong frowned, continuing to read.

The log, written in a strange script, meticulously recorded the cultivation process of this Soul-Devouring Demon Flower mother plant, as well as the evil plan to use it to catalyze and twist the Dragon Vein.

Among them, "Evil Dragon Vein" and "Living Holy Grail" were explicitly mentioned, which perfectly matched the information he had obtained from the core experimental data chip!

"Using the mother plant to devour the Spiritual Qi of the capital's ley lines, supplemented by the souls of the populace, to pollute the Empire's Dragon Vein and transform it into an Evil Dragon Vein..." The more Li Dong read, the more shocked he became.

The Shadow Council's plan was simply insane!

He suppressed the surging Qi and blood and commanded, "System, scan, copy all content!"

System: Scan initiated... Copy complete.

After recording all the log's content, Li Dong didn't hesitate, directly setting the log, which documented monstrous crimes, ablaze until it turned to ashes.

After doing all this, he let out a sigh of relief, then another wave of dizziness washed over him.

"No, I have to leave here quickly." He knew that by destroying the Golden Core Puppet and prying into the Shadow Council's core secrets, they would soon detect it.

Cold Moon Palace had now become a den of danger.

He forced himself to stand up, staggering out of the side hall.

Although he had successfully taken down a troublesome guard and obtained such crucial intelligence, Li Dong's mood was not at all lightened.

The Shadow Council... these rats hiding in the dark were more troublesome than he had imagined.

This time, he had stirred up a hornet's nest.

The waters of the capital were becoming increasingly murky.

He looked back at the massive cultivation tank and the eerie Soul-Devouring Demon Flower mother plant within it, his expression becoming incredibly solemn.

A greater storm, he feared, was about to arrive.