69: Suicide Bat

Deep within the Underground Mo City, within the Refining Chamber.

This place was completely different from the rugged coldness of other areas; it resembled a biological furnace forcibly carved out, saturated with the aura of taboos and death.

The cavern was not large, its four walls scorched pitch black, leaving behind indelible charred flesh and solidified metallic sap.

The air was thick enough to suffocate, mixed with the rich stench of blood, the fishy odor of viscera, the pungent sweetness of demonic liquid, and a scent of... scorched residue from burning Souls.

In the center of the floor stood a refining pedestal cast from dull metal, its surface carved with twisted Restriction runes. Several thick conduits connected beneath the pedestal, constantly pumping concentrated, dark green demonic liquid and grayish-white Chaos airflow into it, emitting a dull gurgling sound.

Six 'successful' Funeral City Death Soldiers who had condensed Pseudo Golden Cores stood rigidly around the refining pedestal, like six soulless metal statues.

The dark gold keratin layer on their bodies shimmered with an ominous luster under the dim light. The irregular, crack-filled Pseudo Golden Core in their Dantian uncontrollably leaked violent energy fluctuations, causing the surrounding air to slightly distort.

Their eyes were hollow and turbid, their remaining consciousness filled with endless pain and the yearning for ultimate release.

Three years of life? For them, every breath was torture.

Mo Yuan stood before the refining pedestal, his deep purple Thunder God Arm hanging naturally at his side.

Suspended before him were two masses of substance: one was a concentrated demonic liquid, black as ink, dripping with viscosity, emitting extremely dangerous energy; the other was a much thinner, yet more bizarre, grayish-white mist that constantly morphed into phantom faces contorted in agony—this was a mixture of residual Souls and resentment refined from the remains of warriors who failed to condense a Pseudo Golden Core and exploded.

"Fuel... has reached its limit."

"The apparatus... must also... reach perfection."

Mo Yuan's icy gaze swept over the six Funeral City Death Soldiers, as if inspecting a batch of flawed swords about to be recast.

"Your mortal remains... your residual Souls... shall become the Mo Sect's... most brilliant fireworks."

There was no mobilization, no appeasement, only the final declaration of their purpose.

"sequence Fusion... commence."

"Target... Codename: Self-Detonating Bat."

The command was given! Hoooooom—!!!! The Restriction runes on the refining pedestal suddenly lit up, emitting a dark red glow!

A powerful containment field instantly enveloped the first Funeral City Death Soldier!

The Death Soldier let out a screech that was not quite human, a mixture of pain and relief. His body was forcibly dragged by an invisible power and pinned onto the cold metal pedestal!

His limbs and torso were tightly bound and fixed by rune chains!

"Inject... Chaos Soul Guide!" Mo Yuan pointed his Thunder God Arm toward the grayish-white mist!

The mist let out a piercing shriek, transforming into a vengeful stream of Soul energy that forcibly poured into the Death Soldier's Sea of Consciousness through the conduit in the pedestal!

"Ah—!!!" The Death Soldier's body convulsed violently as if electrocuted. His eyeballs instantly turned grayish-white, and black smoke mixed with Soul Power fragments spewed from his mouth!

His residual consciousness was completely overwhelmed, polluted, and merged by this external mixture of vengeful Souls, becoming even more chaotic and insane, leaving behind only the most primitive impulse for destruction!

This was a necessary step to ensure he felt no hesitation in his final moments!

"Infuse... the Final demonic liquid!"

The next moment, the inky black concentrated demonic liquid, like a living, asphalt behemoth, flowed through another conduit, accompanied by a grating, viscous sound, and was violently injected into the Death Soldier's heart!

Hiss—!!! A reaction far more violent than when condensing the Pseudo Golden Core erupted!

The Death Soldier's body inflated wildly, as if being blown up like a balloon!

The dark gold keratin layer on his skin cracked inch by inch, revealing flesh beneath that was lava-red and scalding hot!

The unstable Pseudo Golden Core in his Dantian was fiercely stimulated by the demonic liquid's energy; its light surged, and the cracks on its surface rapidly expanded, as if it was about to completely explode at any second!

Countless black demonic markings drilled out from beneath his cracked skin like living things, spreading frantically and covering his entire body, forming a bizarre and ferocious biological explosion rune array!

His form began a terrifying deformation!

His limbs twisted and retracted, bones cracking audibly. Two huge lumps suddenly bulged from his shoulder blades, then burst open, extending two massive, incomplete wings made of pitch-black keratin and broken membranes!

His head elongated, his mouth split open, revealing interlocking fangs that shimmered with demonic light, letting out a silent, Soul-level scream!

The entire process was as fast as lightning, yet filled with horrifying detail!

When the last drop of demonic liquid was injected, the Death Soldier on the pedestal had completely lost his human form, transforming into a giant, bat-like monster covered in ferocious, pitch-black demonic markings, with damaged wings, a severely distended abdomen, and emitting extremely unstable destructive fluctuations—a humanoid bat-fiend!

It was tightly bound to the pedestal by rune chains. The single remaining eye burned with frantic grayish-white flames. A hissing, leaking sound came from its throat. Every struggle caused the Pseudo Golden Core in its Dantian, which was about to explode, to flicker violently, and the demonic markings pulsed erratically!

[sequence 015: Self-Detonating Bat]! Born!

"Next one." Mo Yuan's voice held no fluctuation, as if he were taking inventory of goods.

The second Funeral City Death Soldier was dragged onto the pedestal...

Screams, Soul Guide pollution, demonic liquid infusion, deformation...

Another twisted humanoid bat-fiend struggled frantically within its restraints...

The process repeated.

All six Funeral City Death Soldiers, without exception, were successfully transformed into six Self-Detonating Bats emitting the terrifying pressure equivalent to a Golden Core self-detonation!

They were firmly locked onto the rock wall on one side of the Refining Chamber by special Restrictions, like a row of living, ready-to-detonate destruction bombs hanging there!

Their very existence caused the space in the entire cavern to constantly emit subtle, distorted ripples!

Mo Yuan's icy gaze swept over these six ultimate weapons.

"Test the power."

One Self-Detonating Bat, which had just completed its transformation and was the most agitated, had some of its restraints removed. A team of Stone-skinned Turtles worked together to drag it to the edge of the Underground Mo City, into a huge abandoned mine pit that had just been excavated but was not yet in use.

Mo Yuan and Wang Linger stood watching from a high observation platform.

"Detonate." The cold command was issued through a Soul Link.

At the bottom of the mine pit, the Self-Detonating Bat received the final order, and the madness in its single eye instantly reached its peak!

It let out a Soul-tearing shriek, its abdomen swelled to its limit, and the black demonic markings on its skin erupted with blinding light!

Rumble—!!!!!!!!!!

A terrifying explosion, indescribable by language, instantly engulfed the entire mine pit!

A sphere of destruction, over a hundred zhang in diameter, mixed with pitch-black demonic flames, fragments of dark gold lightning, grayish-white Soul Energy shockwaves, and chaotic spatial fissures, violently erupted!

The light instantly flooded everyone's vision!

What followed was the delayed, Soul-shattering roar and shockwave!

The incredibly sturdy mine walls, reinforced with Spirit Stone Restrictions, melted silently and vaporized like ice under the sun!

The terrifying energy storm surged upward, violently slamming against the protective rock layer above Mo City, causing the entire underground metropolis to shake violently. The rock layer cracked, and debris rained down!

The runes of the Nine Heavens Thunder Hell Formation automatically lit up, barely managing to block the escaping shockwaves!

When the light gradually faded, the original mine pit was gone. In its place was a huge, bottomless abyss with mirror-smooth edges, flowing with dark red lava, emitting wisps of green smoke and foul odors!

The space at the epicenter of the explosion even experienced a brief moment of spatial distortion that failed to immediately mend itself!

The power... was comparable to the self-detonation of an Early Stage Golden Core Cultivator!

Furthermore, due to the inclusion of the characteristics of the demonic liquid and resentful Souls, it possessed greater corrupting and Soul-damaging power!

Wang Linger and the warriors of the Vajra Battalion standing far away were pale, completely shocked by this world-destroying power. They looked at the Self-Detonating Bats locked on the rock wall with eyes full of terror and awe.

Mo Yuan quietly watched the rising green smoke and the lava abyss.

Consumables.

The ultimate consumables.

Exchanging destined short lives and residual Souls for a fleeting moment of destructive glory capable of changing the tide of battle.

Tragic aesthetics?

No.

This was merely... the most efficient use of resources.

He turned and walked toward the remaining five Self-Detonating Bats.

"Seal... for later use."

"This is... the Mo Sect's Wrath."

"It is also... your... final destination."

The icy words brought a close to this cruel yet efficient transformation.

The five humanoid bombs writhed silently on the rock wall, awaiting the moment of their final bloom.

Their existence stained the foundation of this underground Dynasty with an ever-deepening, ever-more glaring shade of... destructive scarlet.