151: Chapter 151 The Black Tentacles That Ceased Operation and the Backstab of [Honkai Power]

The black vortex was like a giant mouth devouring the sky. Countless black tentacles as thick as buckets gushed from the center of the vortex, their surfaces covered in a sticky black liquid. The dripping liquid fell onto the dark red highway, instantly creating patches of black Honkai cracks. These tentacles, as if injected with a frenzied intent by the [world will], half lunged toward the golden Soul light spots in the air, while the other half locked onto the positions of the four teams, pressing down overwhelmingly with a whistling sound that tore through the air.

On the roof of [Most Journey to the West]'s [hundred-refined dragon steed], Sun Miaomiao had just used her [ruyi stick] transformed into a bug net to scoop up a batch of white Soul light spots when she was startled by the sky-blotting tentacles, her octopus pupils dilating. She didn't have time to think; with a sudden wave of her tentacles, the hundreds of tentacles on her back covered in pale gold suckers surged instantly like a blooming black sea anemone, wrapping the entire truck in the center. "Sha Luoluo! Help me control them!" Sun Miaomiao shouted.

Sha Luoluo's voice came from behind the sand wall, accompanied by the roar of yellow sand: "Understood! Sea of Quicksand, rise!" The sandy ground around the truck boiled instantly, as countless grains of yellow sand condensed into dozens of giant sand arms, wrapping around the black tentacles like chains in an attempt to slow them down. Tang Youyou sat cross-legged at the back of the vehicle, her fingertips quickly flipping through the "Xinhua Dictionary." A two-meter-square golden character for "Pure" condensed out of thin air, steadily blocking the front of the truck, waiting for the impact of the tentacles.

Beside [Dream Society]'s [dream chaser], Zhao Hu roared, the red halo of [Giant Strength Berserk] surging as he smashed his right hand violently toward the black tentacles in front of him. "What on earth is this thing!"

"[Purification Halo]!" Lin Wan's voice rang out just in time. She clasped her hands together, fingers interlaced, as ripples of three colors—life element, water element, and wood element—began to spread from her hands. The Dream Spirit [Qingyu] landed on Lin Wan's head, flapping its wings to stir up a flurry of three-colored elemental light spots that flew toward the pouncing black tentacles.

In the motorcycle fleet of the [Road Overlord] team, the [hurricane motorcycle] driven by Walker and the [blazing motorcycle] driven by Phil coordinated to whip up a massive storm carrying scorching molten fireballs.

Around the cloud tents of [Fairytale Town], countless colorful clouds rose up, intercepting the path of the black tentacles.

Just as all the teams were tensed up and prepared for the impact, an eerie scene occurred—a tentacle reaching for the golden Soul light spots suddenly seemed to have its pause button pressed, stopping completely less than a centimeter away from the light spot. Then, the second, the third... all the tentacles lunging toward the light spots froze in mid-air like solidified black sculptures, the black liquid on their surfaces even stopping its dripping.

All the black tentacles attacking the Hosts similarly stopped their movements when they were less than a centimeter away from the Hosts. However, the attacks from all the teams fell upon the black tentacles without any obstruction. Large sections of black tentacles broke apart due to the Hosts' attacks, crashing onto the highway and kicking up clouds of dust.

"What's going on?" Sun Miaomiao's tentacles paused in mid-air as she looked at the scene before her in confusion. She controlled a tentacle to try and touch a black tentacle, but the black tentacle remained motionless, as if it had lost all its power.

Something even more bizarre followed. A tentacle locked onto the [dream chaser] also suddenly stopped the moment it was about to touch the golden light shield. Zhao Hu's eyes widened, and he tentatively smashed both hands against the tentacle. The tentacle broke with a dull thud but showed no other reaction. "It... stopped moving?"

Soon, all four teams discovered this pattern—whether the tentacles were lunging toward the golden light spots or toward them, they would instantly stop moving as long as they were less than a centimeter from the target. The originally overwhelming sense of pressure instantly turned into a bizarre "sculpture exhibition," with countless black tentacles frozen in mid-air, forming a gruesome yet comical landscape.

"Why! Why can't I touch them!"

A collapsed, frenzied roar came from the direction of the [Magma Sea]. At the center of the black vortex, that black sphere, which had already expanded to ten meters in size, trembled violently, its surface distorting with rage. It frantically activated the [Honkai Power] within its body, trying to make the tentacles move again, but those tentacles seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier; no matter how much force it applied, it could not advance even a fraction of a millimeter.

At that moment, the [Honkai Power] enveloping the black sphere suddenly surged, and from it condensed an exquisite Female Face Mask. The red lips on the mask curved slightly upward in a mocking smile. A seductive voice, transmitted clearly through the spiritual level into the consciousness of the [world will]: "Have you forgotten? In the adjudication of the [Dream System Meeting], you have already been 'deprived of all permissions related to this [Dream Task]'."

"Permissions? What permissions?" The [world will]'s voice carried a hint of confusion, then it suddenly realized, "Impossible! I am the will of this world! Everything in this world should listen to me!"

"Oh? Really?" The female mask let out a crisp laugh, as pleasant as silver bells yet piercingly cold. "The adjudication took effect long ago. From the very beginning, you have been fundamentally unable to influence anything in this world again—neither these Soul light spots nor these Hosts. What you thought was a 'counterattack' was merely an 'illusion' temporarily lent to you by [Honkai Power]. Now that the 'illusion' is over, you are still just a 'useless' [world will]. Hahaha..."

"You lied to me! You liar!" The black sphere expanded frantically, trying to break free from the shackles of the [Honkai Power]. "I'll kill you!"

But before its curses could finish, they came to an abrupt halt. The black sphere, which had originally expanded to ten meters, began to rapidly shrink into a two-meter-sized black sphere like a punctured balloon. The black light on the surface was sucked into the black sphere at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the [Honkai Power] within the black tentacles frozen in mid-air also rapidly retracted into the black vortex, being sucked into the black sphere along with the vortex. As they lost the [Honkai Power], the black tentacles, like withered vines, broke and fell one after another, turning into black powder the moment they touched the ground and dissipating into the air.

The black Honkai cracks that had been continuously spreading across the sky and ground also receded like a tide, rapidly shrinking back into the black platform of the [Place of Honkai Beginning], eventually being completely absorbed by the cracks on the platform's surface.

In just a few seconds, the surface of the two-meter-sized black sphere became even deeper while being covered with cracks symbolizing [Honkai Power]. The Female Face Mask condensed from [Honkai Power] merged into the black sphere while laughing loudly with its crimson, seductive lips wide open.