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Chapter 559: Chapter 555: Ruins Beast
Half a month later.
Gu Jinlai’s vigorously boiling spiritual energy gradually became calm.
His repeatedly exhausted True Spirit also eventually no longer had to suffer from oppression.
"Indeed, refining Ruins Beasts is not something Heavenly Monarchs can do, only a creator turning into a Spirit Realm Life can refine a Ruins Beast. If it weren’t for Qingguang’s recovery and relying on the remaining control over this Spirit Realm Life, I might not have been able to refine this Ruins Beast," Gu Jinlai said.
He took a long breath.
Behind him, three giant metal rings, each over two hundred meters in diameter, appeared.
The rings rotated in a way impossible for ordinary people to understand, slowly, but seemingly containing a special rhythmic pattern.
Ripples spread out in waves, causing a slight distortion in space.
Ninety-nine giant swords, each nearly a hundred meters in length, roved around the periphery of the three rings.
In the center of the metal rings was a hollow space more than a hundred meters in diameter, but at its core was a blazing cyan flame, over a dozen meters tall.
The flame was not bright, even giving off a bone-chilling coldness.
The entire appearance of the Ruins Beast leaned more towards being an object than a beast.
"This is the best I can refine it into. In the end, as a Heavenly Monarch, I can’t fully control this Spirit Realm Life. If it weren’t for my continuous burning of True Spirit Power to control it, this Spirit Realm Life would have been drawn back to the Spirit Realm by that mysterious force," Gu Jinlai thought to himself.
This was also the reason he had eagerly begun refining the Ruins Beast half a month ago.
Every second, a massive amount of spiritual power was being consumed.
He had no choice but to make a decision on the spot.
Although this Ruins Beast was not yet perfect, but...
Forbidden is forbidden.
A Ruins Beast’s power isn’t just limited to absorbing the life force of living beings, like Demon Spirits; their manipulation of material force is equally unpredictable and elusive.
The ninety-nine giant swords seem to have unremarkable power.
But if these ninety-nine swords were endowed with the ability to shift between solidity and intangibility, combined with the Ruins Beast’s impact on the spiritual level, the resulting effect would be greater than the sum of the parts.
Even a True Immortal proving Dao would struggle to dodge the assassination attempts amidst the changing reality of the ninety-nine swords.
And if they couldn’t evade these swords’ onslaught, they could only watch helplessly as their spirituality, or rather their soul, was siphoned off bit by bit by the Ruins Beast.
Depending on the difference in strength between the True Immortal and the Ruins Beast, either in a few encounters or over the course of several days, even the strongest True Immortal would be worn down to death.
In other words, as long as the True Immortals cannot outright destroy the material form of the Ruins Beast, death is their only outcome.
Even if they could defeat the Ruins Beast’s physical form...
At best, they could only ensure their escape with their lives.
"To run a Ruins Beast, one either needs a creator like the creator themselves, providing spirituality directly from the Spirit Realm Life for consumption, or else use Demon Soul Crystal as fuel..." Gu Jinlai’s gaze turned towards the nearby Demon Realm Rift.
Unfortunately, just as powerful Demon Spirits cannot easily descend into the material world through ordinary rifts, it is not easy for Ruins Beasts to enter the Demon Realm either.
"Aries Star Lord has a force behind him called Bai Ze Palace... Since they’re so keen on summoning Aries Star Lord to descend, and I’m not one for evil deeds, naturally, I should let them get what they wish for. This Ruins Beast, in a way, is somewhat like Aries Star Lord. If not, I’ll help it get a name, let’s call it ’Aries Star Lord.’ This way, it couldn’t be any more real..."
After thoroughly searching the memory of Aries Star Lord, Gu Jinlai soared into the sky.
Behind him, the Ruins Beast—now coined Aries Star Lord, and having shrunk to three hundred meters—spurred its ninety-nine giant swords and whistled towards the position indicated by its telepathy.
...
Mountain Sword Sect.
At this moment, this force was still in a state of closure.
Outsiders had no way of knowing what was happening inside.
Yang Kaishan, the person in charge of Mountain Sword Sect, served as an attendant, respectfully offering various teas and pastries to the two Void Immortals in the hall.
"Half a month has passed, hasn’t the great Aries Star Lord made any contact with us?" Bai Muling’s expression carried a hint of worry.
"An accident?"
Bai Yuxin’s eyes brimmed with absolute confidence, "The only ones who can deal with a creator are the creators themselves. In the current world, the creators are trapped in the Spirit Realm and cannot descend. Only the great Aries Star Lord, having sensed the anomaly in advance, prepared a countermeasure. Now, His Majesty is the only creator in this world! His power is invincible! There can be no accidents!"
She continued, "The only possibility for His Majesty not contacting us is that he has succeeded. He needs a bit of time to completely transform Gu Jinlai into a Dao Mark..."
"We have made it clear during this time; that Gu Jinlai is too peculiar. He has actually become a True Immortal?! With the bones of over a dozen Demon Emperors and a Demon God as proof, his terrifying reputation has been established! You know, just a year ago, he was only a Martial King..."
Bai Muling said this with incredulity in her eyes.
The gap between Martial King and True Immortal is enormous, isn’t it?
Even if one were to replace Martial King with a Deva, the hurdles that need to be overcome during this period are not just trivial, and the time required is calculated in hundreds of years.
But Gu Jinlai...
It took him only one year!
"Do you think, that Gu Jinlai could truly be, as the rumors say, a True Immortal who has converted to cultivation?" Bai Muling speculated.
"A True Immortal converting to cultivation? How is that possible? Do not forget, Gu Jinlai is also a Heavenly Monarch, one with such great potential that even Zi Yang verified him, qualifying him as a great Heavenly Monarch fit to become His Majesty’s Dao Mark," Bai Yuxin shook her head. "True Immortal and Heavenly Monarch are two entirely different paths, two completely different ones."
"Then, is it possible that Gu Jinlai is also a Dao Mark for another creator? The strength he has showcased could, in fact, be the protective laws manifested by some creator. Otherwise, there’s no explaining how his cultivation could have changed so drastically in a year." Bai Muling suddenly guessed.
Upon hearing this, Bai Yuxin’s expression slightly changed, "This..."
She was unable to respond at the moment.
Just then, she seemed to sense something.
A familiar trembling, a sense of fear, was rushing towards them at an incredibly fast speed.
This feeling...
Although it wasn’t as intense as it had been half a month ago, it was clearly a powerful Spirit Realm life form rapidly approaching.
"He’s back, he’s back, the great Aries Star Lord has returned!"
Bai Yuxin said joyfully, "Quick! Let’s go together to greet the great Aries Star Lord!"
Bai Muling also didn’t hesitate any longer, although the fear coming from the distant end of the Sky Dome made her feel somewhat uneasy, but...
Facing the Spirit Realm Body of the creator was indeed like this.
Just like the natural fear ordinary life forms feel when facing higher beings.
Half a month ago, when the Spirit Realm Body of the Aries Star Lord skimmed the horizon, hadn’t they felt the same chilling dread?
At that moment, the two Void Immortals, six Saints, and a few high-ranking members of the Mountain Sword Sect left the great hall and came to the plaza in front, all filled with anticipation and longing, looking towards the end of the Sky Dome.
However...
When a metal sphere over two hundred meters in diameter, carrying ninety-nine flowing Giant Swords appeared in their view, Bai Muling immediately felt something was amiss: "That aura... it seems... it’s not the great Aries Star Lord..."
Bai Yuxin recognized what it was right away.
Gu Jinlai!
The aura emanating from that terrifying life form...
It was Gu Jinlai!
And this form of life...
"Ruins Beast!"
A Saint from Bai Ze Palace shouted in terror, "This is a Forbidden Ruined Beast!"
"Ruins Beast! Why is there a Forbidden Ruined Beast!?"
"This is a monster even the resident True Immortals can’t stop!"
The remaining Saints began to panic, their expressions filled with fear.
And Bai Muling, at this time, finally saw the true situation before her...
"Gu Jinlai... that Gu Jinlai standing on top of the Ruins Beast, and that Ruins Beast still has residues of the Aries Star Lord’s aura... He has turned the great Aries Star Lord into..."
Her eyes widened, her heart as though it was about to be completely devoured by the shocking reality unfolding before her.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Bai Yuxin was utterly mentally collapsed: "The great Aries Star Lord..."
"Isn’t he right in front of you?"
At this time, Gu Jinlai’s voice came from the Void.
He stood in front of the bluish flame at the center of the metal sphere, looking down at Bai Yuxin in the plaza in front of the Mountain Sword Sect’s hall with the Ruins Beast that had been refined from the Aries Star Lord.
He remembered how, a year ago, this Palace Master of Bai Ze Palace had almost pushed him to a dead end, but now...
"No! No! No! This can’t be true!"
Bai Yuxin looked at the massive Ruins Beast, feeling the lingering aura on it, and collapsed to her knees in agony, her eyes filled with tears of breakdown: "This can’t be real! How could the Aries Star Lord possibly fall..."
"Look, this Ruins Beast that I refined is also called the Aries Star Lord. Since you all so dearly wish for the great Aries Star Lord in your hearts to descend, then why not merge with it forever and become a part of it."}
As soon as Gu Jinlai finished speaking, the enormous Ruins Beast behind him suddenly lunged forward.
As the distance between them closed, the terror that Spirit Realm life carried against ordinary beings rolled in.
In an instant, everyone’s sense of dread and hair-raising fear climbed to the extreme.
It was like Ye Gong who loved dragons.
But when the real dragon appeared before them, what was left for them wasn’t exhilaration or surprise, but an indescribable terror.
The fear brought by the descent of the Ruins Beast kept approaching, not to mention the Saints, even Bai Muling and the other Void Immortals couldn’t help but start to scream in collapse: "No... No!"
"Don’t come over here!"
"Go away! Go away! Get away quickly!"
"Buzz! Buzz!"
The Ruins Beast pounced.
Gu Jinlai didn’t use any of the ninety-nine Giant Swords, but simply let the Ruins Beast, now the Aries Star Lord, pounce downwards, and whether it was the high-ranking members of the Mountain Sword Sect or the Saints and Void Immortals of Bai Ze Palace, their spiritual essence was completely stripped away.
In a faint perception, he seemed to still see Bai Yuxin, Bai Muling, and others who had their spiritual essence stripped away, screaming in terror and pain.
But the next second, they were directly crushed to dust by the condensed body of the Ruins Beast, serving as fuel for his consumption.
All things have spirits.
The most cruel method of replenishing the Ruins Beast’s consumption was not only Demon Soul Crystals and the transfer of spiritual essence from the creator’s Spirit Realm Body but also this.
Refining the Spirit of All Things to replenish oneself.
Like now.
The Forbidden Ruins Beast swept over the plaza of the Mountain Sword Sect, with dozens of high-ranking members of the Mountain Sword Sect and the eight top powerhouses of Bai Ze Palace directly stripped of all spiritual essence, their eyes’ Divine Light rapidly dimming, losing all signs of life.
And because the size of the Ruins Beast was so immense, covering more than three hundred meters, not only the plaza in front of the hall, but also hundreds of the Mountain Sword Sect disciples in the vicinity silently fell down.
There were no visible injuries on their bodies, but they were devoid of all consciousness.
This is the Ruins Beast.
A taboo crafted by the creators in emulation of Demon Spirits, but surpassing them, specifically targeting living creatures.
