2025-12-19 04:25:06Lin Jin knelt in the mud, sifting through the piles of clothes that no longer had owners.
The Ashbone force was terrifyingly efficient. It destroyed flesh and bone, but it left inorganic matter like leather, cloth, and metal mostly intact—unless Lin Jin specifically willed it to corrode. "Three pouches of gold coins. About 150 pieces," Lin Jin muttered, pocketing the heavy sacks. Money was power in the mortal world. But here, in the depths of the swamp, it was just dead weight. He found a dagger on the leader’s belt. It was a decent steel weapon. Lin Jin picked it up. Tzzt. Immediately, faint spots of rust appeared on the hilt where his skin touched the metal. "Damn it," Lin Jin cursed softly. "I can't even hold a weapon?" "You are a furnace," the Entity reminded him. "Until you learn to completely retract your aura, everything you touch will eventually decay. Wrap it in leather. Thick leather." Lin Jin ripped a strip of leather from the dead mercenary’s armor and wrapped the dagger’s hilt. It wasn't perfect, but it stopped the immediate corrosion. Finally, he found what he was looking for in the leader's vest pocket. A map. It was made of beast skin, resistant to the dampness. Lin Jin unfolded it. It was a detailed topographic map of the Blackwater Swamp. Red circles marked the perimeter—these were the safe zones. Black crosses marked the interior—nesting grounds for Spirit Beasts. And there were markings. Fresh ink. "Blockade points," Lin Jin analyzed, his finger tracing the edge of the swamp. " The East, South, and West exits are all marked with the Lin Family crest." His expression darkened. "Father really wants to make sure I don't leave." "He is afraid," the Entity chuckled. "He saw you melt a Spirit Weapon. He knows that if you escape and grow, the Lin Family is finished. He has likely mobilized the entire clan." Lin Jin looked at the map. To go back the way he came was suicide. The perimeter was crawling with guards and high-level mercenaries. To go forward... His finger stopped at the center of the map. It was a blank space. No details. Just a single, ominous skull symbol drawn in ancient ink. The Dead Zone. Even the mercenaries didn't dare go there. Legend said a beast of the "Earth Spirit Realm" slumbered there. "If I go out, I die," Lin Jin whispered. "If I go in..." "You might die," the Entity finished. "Or, you might find something interesting. I sense a resonance coming from that direction. A faint... echo." "An echo?" "Of my past. Or perhaps, another piece of the puzzle." Lin Jin folded the map. His eyes were cold and decisive. "The Dead Zone it is." He stood up. He stripped the leather armor off the dead leader—it was a bit big, but it offered better protection than his tattered robes—and strapped the dagger to his waist. He looked back one last time toward the direction of his home. "Wait for me," he whispered to the wind. Then, he turned and plunged deeper into the fog. Two days later. The deeper Lin Jin went, the thicker the fog became. The air here was toxic. Ordinary humans would have foamed at the mouth and died within an hour. But for Lin Jin, the toxicity was... spicy. His Iron-Rust Body filtered the poison, breaking it down into a tiny trickle of energy. It wasn't as potent as devouring bones, but it kept him alive. Crack. Snap. Lin Jin moved silently over the roots. He had changed. His skin was now a permanent, sickly grey-white. His hair had lost its sheen, looking like dried straw. He looked like a corpse that had been walking for weeks. "Stop," the Entity commanded suddenly. Lin Jin froze mid-step, blending perfectly into a grey mossy tree trunk. "What is it?" "Ahead. 300 meters. A struggle." Lin Jin crept forward. The sounds of battle grew louder. Roars. Screams. The clash of steel. He peered through a thicket of thorns. In a clearing ahead, a group of people was fighting for their lives. It wasn't the Lin Family. They wore white uniforms embroidered with a blue crane. "The Cloud Crane Sect," Lin Jin recognized them. They were a powerful sect from the neighboring city, far stronger than the Lin Family. There were five of them. Young disciples. Two men, three women. All were injured. Surrounding them was a pack of Swamp Crocodiles. Massive, armored beasts with jaws that could snap a tree in half. "Formation! Hold the formation!" a young woman in the center shouted. She was beautiful, holding a longsword that glowed with a pure white light. But her face was pale, and blood soaked her white robes. "Senior Sister Su! We can't hold on! There are too many!" a male disciple cried out as a crocodile bit through his leg armor. "Ahhh!" Lin Jin watched from the shadows, his face impassive. "Should I help?" he asked himself. Not out of kindness, but to weigh the benefits. If he saved them, he might gain favor with the Cloud Crane Sect. A powerful ally against the Lin Family. But... they were righteous cultivators. If they saw his power, they would likely try to kill him too. "Look at the crocodiles," the Entity whispered, ignoring the humans. "Look at their spines. Look at the density of their bones." Lin Jin shifted his gaze. Indeed. These weren't normal beasts. Their scales were dark green, and their spines protruded slightly, glowing with a faint earth-element aura. Iron-Back Crocodiles. Stage 2 Spirit Beasts. "High-quality fuel," Lin Jin licked his dry lips. The choice was made. He wasn't there to save the humans. He was there to steal the kill. "Wait for the breach," Lin Jin whispered, gripping his rusted dagger. "Wait until they are exhausted." In the clearing, the formation shattered. A crocodile tail-whipped the male disciple, sending him flying into a tree. "Junior Brother!" The Senior Sister screamed, distracted. Opportunity. Lin Jin pushed off the tree trunk. He didn't run. He exploded forward like a cannonball, a grey streak of ruin cutting through the fog. He didn't aim for the humans. He aimed for the crocodile that was about to eat the fallen boy. "Move!" Lin Jin roared, his voice raspy and terrifying. He landed on the crocodile’s back. He didn't use the dagger. He slammed both palms onto the beast's exposed spine. "EAT!" End of Chapter 6
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Chapter 333: The Silver Anchor
The blue fluid poured through the cracked window. It was not water. It was thick and heavy. It smelled like pure ozone. The fluid touched the hot iron console. It hissed loudly. Toxic white smoke filled the small cabin. Elena Cross stood up. She did not wear a heavy hazard suit. She only wore her torn silver uniform. Zero unplugged the thick black data drive from the ship. It looked like a heavy metal spike. She handed it to the older girl. "The virus is inside," Zero said. Her small hands shook. "You must push the silver button after you stab the nerve. It will release the code." Su Qing grabbed Elena's arm. "You cannot breathe that fluid. The pressure will crush your lungs instantly. It is suicide." "My ancestors built this monster," Elena said softly. "My blood is the key to its cage. I will not drown." Elena looked at her arm. She forced her ancient power to the surface. Silv
Chapter 332: The Stellar Harvester
The Core-Diver sank into the red meat. The heat was intense. The black iron ship melted the cosmic flesh easily. It left a burned tunnel behind them. The tunnel healed and closed up almost instantly. The sleeping god was regenerating. Zero watched the biological radar. She did not act like a scared child. She acted like a cold doctor in a bloody emergency room. "The patient has a terrible fever," Zero said. She tapped the glass screen. "Heart rate is rising fast. Massive muscle spasms in the lower mantle. The patient is waking up. We need to administer the anesthetic right now." Su Qing gripped the dual flight sticks. Her knuckles were white. "Give me a clear path to the brain." "Go straight down," Zero replied flatly. "Aim for the central nervous system." ... The General. Up in the broken city General Jaxen Thorne watched the steel walls crack. Huge
Chapter 331: The Tectonic Shift
The Iron-Abacus roared to life. The great forges burned bright orange. The terrible cold was gone. Men and women threw off their thick blankets. They picked up heavy hammers. They wiped sweat from their foreheads. They went back to work. Su Qing stood on the high command balcony. She watched the sparks fly in the giant industrial square. They had limitless power now. The thick orange blood of the sleeping god flowed through the city pipes. General Thorne stood next to her. He watched the massive assembly lines. "The old rifles are useless," Thorne said. His voice was loud over the noise of the hammers. "The bone-spiders proved that. We need better guns." "We are building them," Su Qing replied. She pointed to a glowing vat of liquid metal. "We are mixing the cosmic energy directly into the steel. We are forging Sun-Rounds. The bullets will burn at three thousand degrees. They will melt the white bone easily." Thorne nodded. He liked the sound of that. The Great Zhou was no long
Chapter 330: The Silver Line
The monsters charged. Fifty white bone-spiders leaped into the air. They moved like a single terrifying wave. Their jaws dripped with white acid. They wanted to tear the silver girl apart. Elara did not step back. She gripped the glowing spear. She swung it in a wide arc. The silver light cut through the dark square. It hit the first line of spiders. The ancient weapon did not just break their bones. It erased them. Five monsters turned into gray dust instantly. The dust fell onto the freezing metal floor. But Elara was not a soldier. She was a Navigator. Her body was human and fragile. A spider slipped past her spear. It slammed its heavy skull into her chest. The impact threw Elara backward. She hit the ground hard. The silver spear slid out of her hands. The monster raised its sharp claw to pin her down. "Fire!" General Thorne roared. Thorne emptied his heavy pistol into the spider's face. The bullets did not kill it. But the kinetic force pushed the monster off balance. Ela
Chapter 329: The White Swarm
The Core-Diver flew straight up. Liquid rock washed over the black iron hull. The plasma field melted the earth ahead of them. They moved incredibly fast. Zero held the dual control sticks. Her small hands shook. The heat inside the cabin was terrible. The orange blood of the sleeping god sat in the tank behind them. It radiated pure cosmic energy. It felt like they were carrying a tiny angry star. Su Qing watched the rear radar. The screen was completely red. "They are gaining on us," Su Qing said. Her voice was tight. "Physics Lesson 627," Zero said through her teeth. "Viscosity." "The molten rock slows us down. But the bone-spiders do not care about friction. They are swimming through the magma like water. They are adapted to the extreme heat. We are not." Elara sat in the gunner seat. She watched the rear camera feed. The white bone-spiders crawled right behind the engine fire. Their sharp teeth snapped at the metal hull. Their empty eye sockets glowed with orange light.
Chapter 328: The Immune System
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