Chapter 348

Chapter 348: "Recovery"

In the next moment, the Horned Demon felt a powerful impact on its back, causing its three-meter-tall body to step forward and bend slightly to maintain balance.

Blood Puppet descended from the sky, landing on the Horned Demon’s back. He gripped the crystal spear that had been thrown from a distance and forcefully pulled it out from the beast’s body.

This strike was already the maximum he could achieve, yet it failed to completely penetrate the extraordinary beast.

Seeing that the spear’s tip had not broken through, Blood Puppet gained a rough understanding of the beast’s physical resilience.

Such tough skin and bones were more than enough to render most of his abilities ineffective.

He could no longer transform into various weapons and poses for a fluid battle as he had done against the griffin.

Attacks like the rain of crystallized blood, which had been effective in that previous fight, couldn’t even puncture the Horned Demon’s skin.

No wonder… no wonder the man had used the term "hold down"; he was absolutely correct.

A brief moment of frustration flickered in Blood Puppet’s heart, but his blood began to flow slowly across his surface, allowing him to take on a more agile form.

Sure enough, the next moment, the Horned Demon’s one remaining wing twisted at an odd angle, slicing down toward where Blood Puppet stood like a long blade.

Blood Puppet quickly jumped aside, his gaze sweeping across the city wall.

Currently, about five or six people were engaged with the Horned Demon, many already injured. Among them was Wang Xiao, whom he had met briefly, now with only half of his neck remaining, exposing part of his spine.

Just as Blood Puppet prepared to inform the other superpowered individuals about the reinforcements that were about to arrive, he noticed the “Survivor,” whose complexion resembled that of a corpse, moving his lips.

He easily read the man’s lips:

“It can speak human language.”

Blood Puppet was taken aback, recalling the three extraordinary beasts he had seen recently.

Both the griffin and the feathered serpent had various animal features, but their physical forms leaned more toward animals.

In contrast, the Horned Demon before him, while possessing many animal-like attributes, stood upright in a humanoid shape.

Blood Puppet was unsure if there was a connection between form, intelligence, and the ability to understand human speech, but he planned to share his findings with the research institutes after the battle.

For now, holding it down was the most important task.

—

“You seem a bit surprised.

Is it because I learned your precious ‘cocoon’?”

Lin Qingliu extended his right hand, which was covered in glowing fiery patterns, and glanced at it:

“Or is it because my current state feels familiar to you?”

With each step he took forward, the feathered serpent wriggled back slightly.

The will of the mycelium did not feel fear; it only heightened its vigilance, preparing for a desperate fight.

Its body seemed far from its peak condition, and its ability to replicate and use "Nian" was nearing its limit.

The little strength remaining was no longer utilized for flying but had reverted to the typical crawling motion of ordinary snakes.

“Perhaps my earlier display of fear toward fire led you to have some unrealistic expectations?” Lin Qingliu teased with a smile, unable to discern any response from the serpent’s expressionless face.

"You actually guessed correctly. I did start off a bit weak, but the twist is—"

Lin Qingliu did not continue speaking. He looked at the flickering light coming from the cracks in the feathered serpent’s body and extended his right hand forward.

"Boom!"

A giant fireball formed from his palm and began to burn fiercely in a way that defied the basic laws of science.

"I just recovered."

The flow of flame within him seemed to have found its rightful direction, surging into Lin Qingliu’s hand.

His body gradually returned to normal, moving away from that state of near overload.

The feathered serpent also began to brew a ball of fire in its mouth.

As if wanting to prove the weakness of its opponent and the inferiority of its race, the two fireballs collided in the street and exploded.

The shockwave was powerful enough to overturn small cars and struck the surrounding houses, knocking down several walls.

Yet Lin Qingliu and the feathered serpent remained unfazed.

"You see, this ability really isn’t that impressive," Lin Qingliu said with a brighter smile, dressed in Arthur’s skin, approaching the extraordinary beast step by step like a cheerful young boy.

The feathered serpent seemed still skeptical. Its snake-like eyes narrowed, and countless burning feathers detached from its body, shooting towards Lin Qingliu.

It remembered that less than an hour ago, it had turned Lin Qingliu into a fire-wreathed human with these burning feathers.

Having traversed through countless human minds, it knew just how painful the burning of flesh was for them.

Combining these two abilities, no matter how weak Lin Qingliu was, such close distance could not leave him unscathed.

"I said stop."

Lin Qingliu waved his hand, halting the burning feathers in midair.

This was not a freeze in time; while the feathers could not advance an inch, the flames continued to burn fiercely.

He pushed his hands to the sides, and the feathers parted to allow Lin Qingliu to continue forward.

"You should have guessed by now."

His tone carried an almost overflowing nonchalance:

"The more you use, the stronger I become. What’s so hard to understand?"

The feathered serpent had no way to retreat, and a shrill howl echoed across several nearby blocks. Numerous new emerald green branches sprouted from beneath its charred skin.

Its body, stretching dozens of meters long, sent out over ten thousand branches.

Those branches seemed to root into its flesh, continuously absorbing nutrients and growing stronger, weaving into a vast net of spikes, like an iron maiden made of thorns, intending to completely imprison Lin Qingliu.

Both sides understood that this attack was effectively useless.

But the extraordinary beast also had things it wanted to confirm.

"Ah, this won’t do at all."

Lin Qingliu threw a commendatory glance at the feathered serpent.

Knowing he was about to fail, the beast still managed to remain calm for one last trial.

Was it the essence of the mycelium that allowed for this, or was it because being Immortal erased such emotions?

This time, Lin Qingliu did not mimic the serpent’s ability to create corresponding plants to counter it; instead, he used the combination of other abilities to shatter the branches one by one.

Breaking the beast’s final attack, Lin Qingliu turned the branch net to complete ashes.

Meanwhile, the feathered serpent had already crawled over dozens of meters and was attacking a spot on the ground.

With the perspective granted by the biological field, Lin Qingliu clearly saw that it was directly above a Shelter.

He couldn’t help but laugh in anger, unsure whether it was sarcasm or muttering to himself:

"Can’t you just die peacefully?"