108: Chapter 108 Void Rift Beast

The so-called "Mist Swamp" route provided by Shen Weilan was indeed the shortest shortcut to the boundary stone vein. All of this was done through the unspoken understanding and cooperation between Zhang Mingxuan and Shen Weilan.

The spirit boat of the Other Shore detached from the main fleet and sailed toward the gray, hazy swamp on the left.

Upon entering the misty zone, visibility instantly dropped to zero. Furthermore, the mist here didn't just obstruct vision; it was also highly corrosive.

"All personnel, activate Miasma Avoidance Mode."

Zhang Mingxuan sat in the command chair. The self-developed thermal imaging radar from the Other Shore mounted on the spirit boat reflected everything in the surroundings with absolute clarity.

A large number of tentacled, soft-bodied demonic creatures lurked in the swamp, but under the dense explosive coverage of the Black Blade Legion, they didn't even get a chance to show their heads before being blasted back into the depths of the mire.

Half an hour later.

A pitch-black mountain col appeared ahead. The space surrounding the col exhibited a strange tranquility, as if something were suppressing the turbulence there.

"Found it."

Zhang Mingxuan stood up, his eyes burning with intensity.

The moment his Divine Sense probe touched that area, it was bounced back by a powerful spatial Law.

[Detected extremely high-purity spatial crystal reaction.]

[Estimated reserves: Giant vein.]

[Warning: A high-energy lifeform is guarding the core of the vein. Energy level: Nascent Soul Stage Middle Stage.]

"Roar—!!!"

A roar that seemed to come from ancient times echoed from the depths of the mountain col. The ground shook violently as giant pangolin-like Demonic Beasts covered in silver crystalline shells burst from the earth. The leader was over a hundred meters long, and the crystal clusters on its back emitted heart-palpitating spatial fluctuations.

"Void Earth-Cracking Beast."

This kind of Yao Beast lived by devouring spatial crystals. Its shell had long since mutated into a natural spatial barrier that ordinary Spells simply could not penetrate.

"Heizhang, take a team of Executioners and engage. Remember, don't shatter its back shell; that's good stuff."

Zhang Mingxuan licked his lips. He hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise.

Heizhang unsheathed his greatsword and moved like lightning. Leading twelve Executioners who were also shimmering with golden light, they were like thirteen daggers plunging fiercely into the beast pack.

Behind them, Zhang Mingxuan was in no hurry to strike. He slowly raised his hands, and an obscure gray light lit up at his fingertips.

He was weaving a net.

A massive net constructed from Five Elements Primordial Spirit Qi, specifically designed for capture.

Clang—!

A metallic impact loud enough to shatter eardrums resounded through the canyon. The greatsword in Heizhang's hand—a lethal weapon forged from black iron essence mother weighing three thousand catties—carried the full force of a Golden Core Perfection strike as it slammed into the beast king's spine.

Sparks flew, but that layer of silver crystalline shell only developed a tiny crack. Instead, the massive recoil caused the hydraulic transmission devices in Heizhang's arms to emit a teeth-grinding grinding sound. He was sent flying dozens of yards, his feet plowing two deep grooves into the ground before he barely managed to stop.

"Roar!"

The Void Earth-Cracking Beast King was enraged. Its beastial pupils, like red lanterns, were filled with tyranny, and the crystal clusters on its back suddenly glowed with a blinding silver light.

Since physical attacks were ineffective, it would use rules.

The surrounding space instantly became as viscous as water. Heizhang wanted to charge again, but found his body as if embedded in amber, his movements becoming extremely sluggish. Meanwhile, the beast king's figure vanished into thin air amidst a ripple.

"Spatial Jump."

Zhang Mingxuan, who had been standing in the rear weaving the spirit network, had cold eyes. "DeepEye, predict the landing point."

[Spatial fluctuation detection in progress... Coordinates locked: Behind Heizhang, distance three feet, elevation 15 degrees.]

"Heizhang, jettison back armor! All-directional fire coverage!"

The moment the command was issued, the heavy armor plate on Heizhang's back snapped open, revealing a dense array of honeycomb-like launch ports.

Almost simultaneously, the beast king's massive claws tore through space and appeared behind Heizhang.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh—!

Hundreds of miniature high-explosive fire shells were fired in a volley at this point-blank range.

Boom boom boom!

A series of dull explosions erupted on the beast king's face. Although it hadn't broken its defense yet, the massive impact and blinding firelight successfully interrupted its killing blow, forcing the behemoth back half a step.

That half step was all it took.

"Seal."

Zhang Mingxuan slammed his hands together.

Countless gray threads condensed from Five Elements Primordial Spirit Qi manifested from the void without warning. They had already permeated every spatial node within a thousand-yard radius during the gaps in the battle earlier.

Buzz.

The entire mountain col seemed to have been hit by a pause button. The beast king's second teleportation, which it was in the middle of preparing, was forcibly interrupted. It discovered in terror that the space around it had turned into an indestructible wall. The spatial talent it relied on for survival had now become the cage that imprisoned it.

Zhang Mingxuan's face was pale; the consumption of Nascent Soul-level Divine Sense for this move was horrific, but the light in his eyes grew even more fervent. "In this cage, there are no spatial Laws, only the Five Elements rules I have established."

"Heizhang, pin it down for me!"

"Understood."

The blue light in Heizhang's eyes turned crimson. The artificial golden core in his chest began to overload, and the terrifying heat caused the surrounding air to start burning. He discarded his greatsword and dropped to all fours, charging forward like a steel beast. He firmly grabbed one of the beast king's hind legs, and his Spirit Gathering Divine Bone erupted with the strength of ten million catties, actually managing to lift one side of the hundred-meter behemoth's body off the ground!

"Executioner squad, destroy the joints!"

The twelve Executioner Puppets followed up instantly, aiming their drills and saw blades at the weakest joints where the beast king's shell connected, outputting damage frantically.

"Awoo—!!!"

The beast king let out a desperate scream. The spatial shell it was so proud of could block Spells, but it couldn't stop this kind of precision-demolition engineering disassembly.

A quarter of an hour later.

The massive beast king crashed to the ground, its limb joints completely destroyed, with only its chest still heaving violently. In its eyes, which were once full of tyranny, there was now only deep fear of these cold-blooded machines.

Zhang Mingxuan walked to its massive head and, without the slightest hesitation, slammed a Divine Soul control chip specially made by Ji Hongyi into its forehead.

Having done all this, he then looked up toward the deepest part of the mountain col, at the crystal vein emitting a faint silver glow in the darkness.

"boundary stone..."

With this, the problems of the non-attribute Spiritual Root project and the mass production of artificial golden cores finally have a solution.