Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 153

Volume 6 Chapter 153: The End of an Era (Part 3)

Looking at the floating "Swelling Earth," Zhang Xusheng smiled slightly and turned to Immortal Zizhen to ask, "Have you really made up your mind, Taoist friend?"

Immortal Zizhen looked around at the other masters and then turned to Zhang Xusheng. After a moment of hesitation, he finally nodded slightly.

Zhang Xusheng’s smile held an inexplicable hint of surprise as he tossed the "Spirit Eater" egg into the air. It silently flew beside the "Swelling Earth." The moment the egg touched the "Swelling Earth," the dull, lifeless "Spirit Eater" egg slowly emitted a faint gray glow.

At the same time, an unknown wave of life energy radiated from the egg, carrying an ancient and timeless aura. Though weak, it made the masters feel a sense of pressure, as if they were not facing an unhatched demon beast’s egg, but an ancient beast as large as a mountain.

Truly, this is a mythical-level demon beast with the strongest life force. Even after countless years without energy, this egg, which appeared to be exhausted, still contained a flicker of vitality deep inside.

Sensing the aura coming from the demon beast egg, all the masters changed their expressions slightly. Even before it hatched, it had such an overwhelming presence. They could not help but wonder what kind of power the "Spirit Eater" would have once it completely hatched.

At the same time, the clear sky suddenly filled with dark clouds, and thunder and lightning erupted. A wild wind appeared out of nowhere, making the earth tremble slightly as if it were scared.

Deep down, the masters felt as if they had done something terribly wrong. However, now that things had come to this point, it was already too late to change it.

The "Spirit Eater" egg seemed to be absorbing energy from the "Swelling Earth." As time passed, the colorful light of the "Swelling Earth" grew dimmer, while the gray glow of the "Spirit Eater" egg became stronger. Its wild, distant, and powerful aura became clearer.

As the gray glow of the "Spirit Eater" egg grew brighter and larger, the masters continued to step back instinctively, unwilling to touch it at all.

Ancient creatures, like the Xuanwu or Kylin, although powerful and long-lived, needed hundreds of years to hatch. However, this "Spirit Eater" was completely different. It hatched remarkably fast. After just a short time, a loud crack of the eggshell was heard, and in the next moment, the gray glow quickly faded away as if absorbed by the "Spirit Eater." The strange phenomena disappeared as if they had never existed. Then, with the gray glow gone, the masters’ vision cleared, revealing the legendary "Spirit Eater" at last.

Upon a quick glance, the masters only saw a few pieces of broken eggshell about the size of a fist, colored pitch black. This was completely different from the small gray egg Zhang Xusheng had shown earlier. However, aside from these black broken shells, both Mr. Liu’s "Swelling Earth" and the legendary "Spirit Eater" had vanished without a trace.

It could be said that "Swelling Earth" disappeared because it was absorbed during the hatching of the "Spirit Eater." But what about the "Spirit Eater"? Why was it not in front of everyone?

Just as the masters were filled with confusion, one of the broken eggshells suddenly tilted to the side, and a creature they had never seen before finally appeared before their eyes.

This is a small bug, about the size of a regular ant. It has a round, flat body with several tentacle-like antennae that look like an octopus. It is completely black and is currently struggling to move without showing any signs of life.

"Is this the ‘Spirit Eater’?"

Scholar Buxing examined it closely for a moment and asked Zhang Xusheng in disbelief.

Zhang Xusheng innocently shook his head and explained, "Don’t ask me; this is the first time I’ve seen something like this."

Mr. Liu looked at the seemingly ordinary bug at his feet and then at Zhang Xusheng, saying softly, "If the ‘Swelling Earth’ is wasted for no reason, I will be furious with you."

Zhang Xusheng nodded, wearing a welcoming expression, but he kept his gaze fixed on the little bug, with a strange sparkle in his eyes.

"Wait!" Immortal Zizhen suddenly said as if he had discovered something.

"What is it?" Zhang Xusheng asked.

Immortal Zizhen inquired, "Do you all remember how many antennae this little bug had when it first appeared?"

"Nine tails…" Master Tianhan began to speak but suddenly froze.

Because at that moment, the "Spirit Eater" had thirteen tentacles!

Even more terrifying was that, while everyone was talking, the "Spirit Eater" grew from the size of an ant to the size of a cockroach.

From then on, with the sharp sensitivity of the masters to the flow of Spirit Qi in the world, they finally barely noticed that there seemed to be a swirling presence around the "Spirit Eater," constantly absorbing the Spirit Qi surrounding it. The Spirit Qi it consumed at that moment was insignificant even to Qi Refining Stage cultivators, but over time, its absorption speed was growing faster and faster.

After discovering this, the masters had strange expressions. They were relieved that the "Spirit Eater" was real, but they also felt an inexplicable tension about its mystery.

At this moment, a lot of time had passed, and the Shura Clan could recover and return at any time, but the masters did not act according to their previous plan; instead, they became oddly silent.

After a moment, a look of determination flashed in Mr. Liu’s eyes. After exchanging a glance with Immortal Zizhen and nodding at each other, he said, "Now that it has come to this, we cannot hesitate any longer. Let’s begin."

All the masters nodded, and then they saw Immortal Zizhen suddenly make a hand gesture and murmur. The "Spirit Eater" beneath their feet suddenly floated up and transformed into a beam of black light, being sent deep into the ground.

At this time, the "Spirit Eater" was already the size of a baby mouse.

Just as Immortal Zizhen had guessed before, the eight stone statues were hiding deep in the cave, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment on the human cultivators who ventured inside. At that moment, they were silently gathering power, but the "Spirit Eater," with its weak breath and small size, failed to notice a flash of black light passing by it and disappearing into the dark depths of the cave.

"Let us return to our positions in the ‘All Immortals Formation.’ I hope we will not regret this decision."

Watching the "Spirit Eater" vanish into the cave, Immortal Zizhen said lightly after a moment of silence.

The masters all frowned and nodded in silence, transforming into fifteen beams of spiritual light and returning to their respective positions in the "All Immortals Formation."

Strangely, regarding the small creature that seemed to be easily squashed, the masters felt a sense of unease in their hearts.

However, in order to lure out the hidden Shura Clan, this seemed to be the only way.

…

Meanwhile, deep within the mysterious blood pool in the cave, the Shura Clan members, who were recovering, were surprisingly silent.

When the "Spirit Eater" was hatching, a wild and brutal aura flashed briefly. Though this aura was not strong, the Shura Clan felt a tremor in their hearts, as the memory of this aura sank deep into their souls. It was as if sheep, even without having seen a wolf, instinctively felt panic at the mere idea of it, causing even these battle-hardened Shura Clan members to feel a sense of dread.

"Chief, the strange energy just now gave me a bad feeling."

Asura broke the silence and suddenly spoke.

"Our strength has almost fully returned, and our energy is about eighty to ninety percent restored. Once our energy is fully recovered and we perfect our ‘Immortal Body’, no matter what tricks the humans play, we will not be afraid. The humans have not yet attacked the cave, so let’s not overthink it; it is better for us to quickly regain our strength."

The Shura clan leader said in a deep voice.

However, there was a lack of his usual coldness in his voice, as he seemed to ponder the strange and somewhat familiar energy that was making him feel uneasy.

While he was lost in thought, a strange dark, flat, round insect, about the size of an adult rat and covered with nearly a hundred tentacles, quietly entered the blood pool, which was filled with abundant Spirit Qi.

Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, nearly half an hour had passed.

The members of the Shura Clan were puzzled to find that the blood pool, meant to restore their energy and strength and filled with the nearly half of the essence and souls collected by Great Brahma over thousands of years, was rapidly losing its Spirit Qi.

"What is happening?"

"Is the Spirit Qi in the blood pool depleted? It shouldn’t run out so fast!"

"Just now, the Spirit Qi was abundant. Why has it decreased so quickly?"

…

Just as the members of the Shura Clan noticed something was wrong and began to discuss, a whirlpool suddenly appeared in the center of the blood pool. As the whirlpool grew larger, the vast blood pool visibly lowered.

Just as the Shura Clan members were about to investigate the cause, something even more shocking was discovered.

"Wait, I just saw a huge shadow pass by me…"

"I think my body just bumped into something…"

While the Shura Clan members were discussing, a wild and terrifying presence silently enveloped the underground chamber. As time went on, this presence grew at an astonishing speed.

"Ah…"

"Ah…"

"Ah…"

Suddenly, the huge pool of blood began to churn, and three terrible cries echoed one after another. Just as the life energy in the three Shura Clan members was about to recover and their "Immortal Body" was close to reaching its peak, the presence of the three Shura Clan members suddenly vanished without a trace.

Though they were the weakest three from the Shura Clan, their silent disappearance was enough to shock everyone.

"’Spirit Eater’! Everyone quickly leave the blood pool, do not attack! This is the presence of the ‘Spirit Eater!’" The Shura clan leader transformed into a shadow of blood and swiftly fled the pool, quickly escaping towards the exit of the cave, shouting urgently.

Rarely, there was a note of urgency in the Shura clan leader’s voice.

The appearance of the "Spirit Eater" was from a time long ago, and even those from the Shura Clan who lived for over a hundred thousand years viewed it as a myth. When they heard the Shura clan leader mention it suddenly, they could not help but feel momentarily stunned.

In that brief moment, another terrible cry rang out, waking the Shura Clan members from their daze. Without daring to hesitate any longer, more than a hundred blood-colored figures hurriedly left the blood pool, following the Shura clan leader as they swiftly escaped towards the exit of the cave.

"Leader, we…"

Although "Spirit Eater" had many terrifying rumors, the top Shura warriors were not afraid at all and wanted to fight back, but before they could finish speaking, the Shura clan leader interrupted them.

"Stop talking and leave here with me!"

However, along with over a hundred blood-red figures leaving the blood pool, there were also hundreds of thick black tentacles. After leaving the blood pool, they rapidly twisted towards the Shura Clan people. Even though the Shura Clan members had not yet recovered their energy, their strength was still at its peak. As they moved quickly, they managed to avoid being entwined by the tentacles, but still, three or four of the weakest Shura Clan members were caught and were about to be dragged into the blood pool.

At that moment, the Shura clan leader transformed into a beam of blood light and returned. Suddenly, the blood light brightened within the cave, and several blood blades appeared out of thin air. As the blood light swirled, it severed the tentacles that were chasing after the others, saving the captured Shura Clan members.

Once the rescued Shura Clan members fled outside the cave, the Shura clan leader hovered at the cave’s entrance, coldly watching the severed tentacles writhing violently. Surrounded by blood light, his eyes glowed with a deeper red, and he murmured, "‘Spirit Eater,’ humans actually have such a treasure. What a wonderful gift, but this ‘Spirit Eater’ is still too small to…"

With a cold laugh, the Shura clan leader cast a blood mist that enveloped the entire cave and then, without hesitation, flew quickly after the fleeing tribe members towards the cave’s exit.

However, after the Shura Clan members left, at the wounds of the severed tentacles, a strange wriggling began, and in a moment, they all returned to normal, continuously pounding against the blood mist that blocked the exit.

A group of Shura Clan members gathered in the tunnel a thousand feet outside the cave. Although these Shura Clan members looked strange and fierce by human standards, aside from a dozen of the most powerful warriors, every other Shura Clan member looked pale.

For the battle-ready Shura Clan members, this kind of fear was truly unprecedented.

From start to finish, the Shura Clan never found any trace of the "Spirit Eater," yet this hidden danger was the most terrifying. Furthermore, deep down in their souls, the people of the Shura Clan felt a deep fear of the "Spirit Eater." At this moment, the "Spirit Eater" had clearly not grown for long and was probably weaker than the weakest Shura Clan member. However, as soon as the Shura Clan sensed the aura of the "Spirit Eater," they felt their minds go blank and their bodies stiffen, allowing the "Spirit Eater" to kill them without resistance.

"Leader, that ‘Spirit Eater’ clearly hasn’t grown much and is still weak. Why don’t we just kill it?"

After sensing the aura of the "Spirit Eater," Asura was one of the few in the Shura Clan who remained calm. When the Shura clan leader rescued the clan members, Asura immediately frowned and asked.

After leaving the blood pool, Asura’s appearance finally showed to everyone. Aside from having snake-like eyes and a head full of white hair, Asura looked quite similar to a human.

The Shura clan leader, however, was completely wrapped in a fog of blood, concealing his appearance. Hearing Asura’s question, he snorted coldly and said, "If I could kill it, I would have done so long ago. But in the blood pool, where the Spirit Qi is abundant, the ‘Spirit Eater’ cannot be killed. As long as it has Spirit Qi to draw from, it can revive endlessly, even if there’s only a drop of blood left. Moreover, the ‘Spirit Eater’ is good at hiding its aura in dense Spirit Qi and moving underground. We can’t even find its location, so how can we kill it? We can only watch helplessly as it devours our few remaining clan members one by one."

After a pause, the Shura clan leader could no longer contain his anger and roared, "Foolish humans, did you release this monster to destroy the entire Shenzhou Continent?!"

In his words, there seemed to be a deep concern for the "Spirit Eater," making him seem entirely different from the earlier Shura clan leader who had coldly watched the "Spirit Eater" get hurt.

Remembering the terrifying tales of the "Spirit Eater" passed down through generations in the Shura Clan, all the clan members fell silent.

Originally ambitious to recover the Shenzhou Continent after regaining their energy, they hadn’t expected the "Spirit Eater" to reappear. Before they had the chance to show their strength, they were left in a pitiful state while being chased, truly dampening the ambition of the Shura Clan.

In the Shura Clan, the "Spirit Eater" is also called the "Demon Devourer," the greatest enemy of all living beings. The fear of the "Spirit Eater" is deeply engraved in the hearts of the Shura Clan from their ancestors’ long battles against it.

At that moment, the ground began to shake, and stones fell. It seemed that the "Spirit Eater" was trying hard to break free from the Shura clan leader’s imprisonment, and the faces of the Shura Clan members changed drastically.

According to what they knew, the "Spirit Eater" would not leave until all the Spirit Qi in the area was gone. Was it possible that in such a short time, the Spirit Qi in the cave had already been completely devoured by the "Spirit Eater"?

"So, the Spirit Qi in the cave has been completely swallowed by the ‘Spirit Eater’?" Asura pondered. "What should we do?"

"Hmph, the bitter fruit of humanity should be borne by humanity itself. We will break through!"

The Shura clan leader snorted.

"But there are human ambushes outside," Asura said. "Furthermore, should we really let that ‘Spirit Eater’ grow?"

"Let the eight stone statues go out first to draw the attention of the humans. We will work together to defend. Even that last attack won’t be able to harm us," the Shura clan leader replied with a cold laugh. "As for the ‘Spirit Eater,’ it will take a long time for it to fully grow. We only have a little over a hundred people now, and it’s not worth sacrificing more to eliminate it. Besides, getting rid of the ‘Spirit Eater’ isn’t something that can be done with strength alone. Let’s allow humans to hold it off for a while!"

The ground shook even more violently.

The leader of the Shura clan no longer hesitated and said, "Some things I will explain to you later, but for now, we must break through!"

Saying this, the leader of the Shura clan flew out of the cave first, and the more than a hundred Shura Clan members quickly followed.

Asura followed behind the leader of the Shura clan, silently watching him, thinking to himself, "The terror of the ‘Spirit Eater’ is well-known; the sooner we deal with it, the better. But from the leader’s actions, it seems like he wants to protect the ‘Spirit Eater’ and let it grow. What are you really thinking, leader?"

Immortal Zizhen and the others wanted to use the "Spirit Eater" to force the Shura Clan out of their hidden cave; in that moment, their goal was achieved.

But in fact, with the Shura Clan officially returning and the ancient demon beast "Spirit Eater" reappearing, it not only meant endless battles and killings but also signified even more.

The time when humans ruled the Shenzhou Continent and righteous cultivators led human society was now gone forever.

In the days to come, humans would face the threat of the Shura Clan every moment.

The evil cultivators, under Zhang Xusheng’s leadership, would also become incredibly powerful and start competing with the righteous cultivators for control over humanity…

All of this meant that an era had come to an end.