LWGP - Chapter 237
Chapter 237: Bloodthirsty Boss
The blade flicked away the sword light that spun back to attack from behind. Sidestepping, Wang Jiu gripped her blade with one hand and, with the other, sent a web of green threads flying out to cut off her opponent's secondary manipulation.
Myriad green threads sliced through the space. The countless fluttering fragments of silk looked terrifying at first glance, but a glimmer shone in Wang Jiu's pupils. Her spiritual power surged, and the tens of thousands of threads instantly sharpened into innumerable green needles, piercing from every possible angle.
Her opponent's slender body shifted slightly, creating a small angle. Holding a longsword behind her back with one hand, she flicked her other hand, and the space around her instantly solidified into a perfect barrier.
If one could take a screenshot at this moment, the two women would be seen occupying opposite ends of a side hall in the ancient monastery, the hems of their clothes fluttering gently. One was enigmatic, the other severe.
With blade and sword raised, myriad techniques clashed, life and death of no concern.
The scene was worthy of being a desktop wallpaper.
The green needles bombarded the barrier, their piercing force creating a dense cacophony of impacts. Amidst the continuous sound, a blade light extended, striking the barrier where a crack had been pierced.
Boom! The barrier shattered.
Just as her opponent had done to her before, and then... both vanished from their original positions.
Blade and sword met, and a shockwave rippled through the space. Pillars fractured, stone slabs on the floor shattered, and more than half the monastery was razed to the ground in an instant. Amidst the endless dust and debris, the two shot upward. The powerful impact had created a fissure in the ground, and they had reflexively leaped up, but from below... a strange roar suddenly erupted, carrying with it a powerful vortex-like suction.
Swoosh. Both were dragged down simultaneously.
The underground was deep, and the energy elements were even more intense than on the surface, as if they had all settled here. The two felt that this subterranean area was strange and had no desire to be sucked in uncontrollably. But the moment they activated their mechas to fly upward, the energy within their bodies erupted into chaos. They both deactivated them, continuing to fall under the force of the suction.
At this moment, they glanced at each other and, for the time being, ceased their attacks.
The suction was terrifying; their falling speed had already surpassed the force of gravity. Wang Jiu calculated that they had already passed a depth of ten thousand meters.
Then... at a depth of fifteen thousand meters.
A thick, viscous fog suddenly appeared. The moment it touched them, a negative status effect took hold—Energy Failure?!
Energy included both spirit power and the energy stones that powered their mechas. If all of it failed??? Skills and mechas would be completely unusable!
In the darkness, Wang Jiu directly saw the blood-red maw that was generating the suction vortex.
It was a massive Bloodthirsty Beast.
It was a tiger-type, its entire body covered in metallic scales. A quick inspection revealed only a series of question marks—an unknown entity.
It was it!
Wang Jiu recognized this Bloodthirsty Beast as her target at a glance, even though its appearance had changed considerably.
Was she excited? To have finally found it.
After working so hard for so long (less than two months), she finally had the power and qualification to truly stand before it.
Actually, no. Wang Jiu's heart was calmer than at any time before. In that split second, she used her mental will to control the Gilded Abyss, transforming it into a chain of white bone. One end pierced into the mountain wall, while the other forcibly pulled her as she leaped toward the opposite wall.
Thwack! After her feet landed on the mountain wall, the bone chain transformed back into a blade. A few slashes cut out a huge block of rock from the mountain. Wang Jiu kicked it out, and bang! The massive rock solidly blocked one side, obstructing the omnipresent suction.
After landing, Wang Jiu hid behind the rock. Just as she steadied her breathing, she saw the woman from before jump out as well.
Her body was as light as a swallow, seemingly unaffected.
The suction was so powerful that even this huge rock was now being dragged and moved. How could such a frail-looking weakling be fine?
If energy couldn't be used, it must be due to her own innate talent or a permanent ability from her equipment.
As Wang Jiu pondered this, she happened to see the other woman look over.
Their eyes met. No communication was needed; a tacit understanding was reached instantly: a mere Bloodthirsty Beast absolutely wouldn't have such an incredible energy-suppression effect. There was something strange about this underground area.
Neither had any intention of getting closer, fearing danger, and they moved a certain distance away.
About a thousand meters away, Wang Jiu saw that the huge rock she had just placed to block the suction had already been pulled over.
However, the Bloodthirsty Beast had no appetite for stone. When the rock got close, it didn't even move its claws or mouth, yet the entire boulder disintegrated, as if it were a cracker that had been soaked until it turned to mush.
Wang Jiu watched with a cold gaze, discerning a few clues.
The increase in Desolate Ridge Star's own energy could only come from the surrounding celestial fragments. This was related to energy, and the suppression was also related to energy.
A trick related to energy.
The other woman spoke first. "Based on its genus and family, its evolutionary path should be toward the soul, not energy. So this isn't its own ability."
A local intellectual, knowledgeable enough to even know about genetic evolutionary paths. Wang Jiu's suspicions were corroborated, leading her to deduce, "There's something inside it."
And this something was likely related to the person who had discovered this dungeon earlier but hadn't cleared it.
She had been too rash before. She hadn't expected a Bloodthirsty Beast to exist in such a state. Under the energy suppression, it was normal that the other party couldn't take it down.
Perhaps there was no conspiracy.
Just as Wang Jiu was thinking this and observing her surroundings, she suddenly frowned.
It was so powerful, why hadn't it pursued them?
They weren't that far away.
Suspicious, Wang Jiu activated her Demon's Eye. After the Evil Order book reached level two, its activation of skills was enhanced. The boost from the other Order Books to her order powers had resulted in a massive overall improvement, making Wang Jiu's current insight several times stronger than before.
After a quick scan, Wang Jiu raised an eyebrow.
Her blade was inserted into the mountain wall. Hearing a sound, she turned to see that the woman had also inserted her sword into the wall.
They looked at each other.
Wang Jiu: "Miss, may I ask your name?"
The woman: "A Ran."
A nickname? She looked as cold as a glacier, yet she was surprisingly familiar.
Wang Jiu: "Your real name? We've crossed blades, so don't lie to me. Socializing values sincerity."
The woman: "I'm not lying. And you?"
Wang Jiu: "Qiao Biluo."
The woman: "That sounds nice."
Wang Jiu: "Thank you."
This was undoubtedly a very successful, brief social interaction. The atmosphere was harmonious and friendly as they chatted while using their incredible weapons to dig into the wall.
System: "..."
Certain human women are truly terrifying creatures.
Soon, Wang Jiu and the other woman found what they were looking for—a device.
Super high-tech.
"A control-type device. A new model, not a game item." A Ran had a sharp eye, recognizing at a glance that it wasn't a commercially available tech product.
Wang Jiu, of course, didn't recognize all the current tech products of the three empires. However, she had a lot of money recently and had been searching for and buying all sorts of good things, but she had never seen anything like this.
Control... controlling what?
"Controlling this Bloodthirsty Beast? It must have been controlled since it was weak. At its current level, this device shouldn't be enough."
Otherwise, it would be ridiculously overpowered. The empires wouldn't even need to fight wars; they could just control some high-level bosses to flatten the other empires.
A Ran: "Looking at its control hertz frequency, they must have captured this Bloodthirsty Beast early on and implanted the controller's core into its brain. These external devices are for auxiliary control, preventing it from leaving its original position."
Wang Jiu: "Does your Heiyan Empire have this kind of device?"
She asked this suddenly. An ordinary person might have answered without thinking, but this A Ran withdrew her longsword, flicked off the dust, and said coolly, "Are you testing me?"
Wang Jiu also sheathed her blade and chuckled. "My apologies. I just feel that you're not that annoying. You probably aren't from Xingyao or the Taihuang."
A spatial user, skilled in swordsmanship, able to ignore the vortex's suction, and possessing incredible insight. There weren't many people who met these criteria.
Especially the third point. In this Fourth Spacetime, there were probably only three people who could best satisfy it.
The rulers of the three empires, who possessed Boundary-Breaking Imperial Scepters. Thanks to this world's incredible internet, the keyboard warriors of the three empires worked day and night online, boasting about their own emperor while belittling the other two. There were even high-definition pictures of the three rulers' scepters.
As a newcomer learning the local culture, she had read many such posts. So, combining these clues, she had an exceptionally keen sense that the other party's identity might be a certain Female Emperor.
Speaking of which, that Female Emperor's beauty was even more stunning than her current disguise. The woman was being rather low-key.
The System rolled its eyes. "Are you that certain? Judging by her strength, her average attributes are only around six or seven hundred thousand. If she were really the Female Emperor, she would have insta-killed you long ago."
Wang Jiu pondered, "The three empires are at war right now. As an emperor, it's impossible for her to come in person. It's probably a clone."
Just as she had her Spirit Body and occasionally used a Puppet, it wasn't strange for the other party to have such a clone.
System: "Uh, so you're really afraid the Female Emperor will hold a grudge, and you're already starting to diss Xingyao and the Taihuang?"
Wang Jiu: "I'm not dissing them."
Seeing how troublesome this Desolate Ridge Star was, the three great emperors would have to come sooner or later. She was just engaging in strategic socializing.
A Ran gave Wang Jiu a deep, meaningful look. "You hate Xingyao? Did Xingyao treat you poorly? I heard Xingyao's chief medical officer, Saling, treats you very well, giving you a house and medicine, personally taking care of you. And that Young Prince also considers you his only friend."
Evidently, just as Wang Jiu had her suspicions about A Ran's identity, A Ran had hers about Wang Jiu.
Qiao Biluo? Not Ma Lisu? Heh!
Wang Jiu: "Is there a logical connection between how well they treat me and my dislike for Xingyao?"
I was just talking nonsense. There's really no connection.
A Ran: "Is that so? What about that person, Xing Yao? As far as I know, he has no interest in women."
This tone was a bit off. Did you two great emperors have some unforgettable past?
Wang Jiu chuckled lightly. "He's not interested in me, but that's precisely why I don't have a good impression of him. Is that not allowed?"
"We're both women. You understand."
She probably didn't understand very well.
As a fellow woman, A Ran looked at her for a moment, then turned her face away. A faint smile actually appeared on her glacier-like face. Suddenly, her sword shot out... simultaneously meeting Wang Jiu's own thrusting blade.
Tip against tip.
Clang! Sparks flew.
What conversation? It was just a pretext for a sneak attack.
The killing intent came silently and without reason, but there was definitely a motive—they both wanted to take down this Bloodthirsty Beast, but having an extra person wasn't a help, but a burden, because they had to guard against a stab in the back.
After the sparks flew, they both retreated two steps. Both glanced at the Bloodthirsty Beast, which had started to roar due to the commotion. Then, A Ran raised an eyebrow at Wang Jiu and said, "Knowing who I am, you're still so bold. It seems you're confident you can escape after succeeding. Do you think Xing Yao will protect you? That man has a notorious reputation. He'll probably be even more ruthless than me."
Wang Jiu spun her blade, dispelling the chill that had crept over from her opponent's sword. "And would Your Majesty the Female Emperor be any gentler with me?"
"Perhaps, if you dare to follow me." After saying that, A Ran charged in. She had a Boundary-Breaking Scepter, which could resist the Bloodthirsty Beast's suction and maintain her balance.
As for Wang Jiu... she didn't have such an ability for the time being.
But she followed anyway.
Their movements attracted the Bloodthirsty Beast's attention. It was controlled and fixed in that area. It was already furious that the two had entered and then escaped. Now, seeing them return, it became even more enraged!
Were they provoking it?!
Roar! Its bloody maw opened again, and a terrifying suction sent sand and stones flying.
A Ran, who was resisting with her Boundary-Breaking Scepter, turned back to see Wang Jiu following and was momentarily surprised.
This person had no resistance at all. She simply submitted to the suction, and in a flash, she had surpassed A Ran and was almost instantly swallowed by the Bloodthirsty Beast.
A Ran was stunned.
The System also freaked out, but it quickly calmed down.
This was Lao Wang. It's fine. Don't panic.
Inside the Bloodthirsty Beast's massive body, the highly corrosive environment meant that almost no living creature could survive. But after Wang Jiu entered, she passed through the esophagus. As her body was being corroded and digested, she reached the beast's stomach.
She stopped in front of the stomach pool. There was no other food in it; this thing probably hadn't eaten meat in a long time. However, it was filled with terrifying acid.
Wang Jiu could feel her body's armor being constantly corroded, and her HP was dropping rapidly.
Fortunately, she was using a mecha from the Eternal Night Race. If it had been an ordinary purple-gold mecha, it would have long since dissolved into acid.
She calculated the time and looked at the terrifying, bubbling, scalding black acid in the stomach pool ahead. Wrapped in the acid was a cocoon of light. Even though it was bound by dense threads of energy, it still emitted a powerful aura.
The kind of aura where all its energy was being controlled.
System: "You're screwed. Down here, you can't use a single bit of energy. The energy in your very flesh and blood is being drained. In a few more minutes, you'll be completely digested. Under this negative status, you can't teleport either. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
But Wang Jiu was considering whether she could break open that cocoon of light, take the thing inside, and make this Bloodthirsty Beast lose its energy source. Then she could extract the beast's soul...
However, she knew with just one look that she couldn't do it.
The Bloodthirsty Beast was in perfect condition, merely being controlled. If it weren't for the heaven-defying ability of energy suppression, she could have put up a fight, but not now.
From the moment Wang Jiu entered the Bloodthirsty Beast's body, A Ran had three thoughts.
1. She was seeking death.
2. She had the ability to survive inside the Bloodthirsty Beast even without being able to use energy.
3. She was confident she could escape before being completely corroded.
The first two were hard to say, since she was already in its stomach. If it was the third, then even if she could survive inside the Bloodthirsty Beast's stomach, someone would have to make it open its mouth again.
Could it be that this person was betting that she, on the outside, would attack the Bloodthirsty Beast, and it might open its mouth?
Under normal circumstances, she should retreat first, let the beast completely devour her, and then make her move. But if this wasn't a normal situation, was this person certain she would save her?
No, this person shouldn't be that naive, nor would she entrust her life and death to others.
A Ran's gaze swept around and she suddenly saw a White Bone Body jump down from the wall above. Because it had no energy and no aura, even she hadn't noticed it. It appeared so abruptly. After jumping down, it stabbed its blade into the bridge of the Bloodthirsty Beast's nose.
The Bloodthirsty Beast swiped at it with its two claws. It was fast, but the bone person was faster, directly drilling into its nostril.
Oh boy.
The attack wasn't the goal; getting into the nostril was.
It was just a bit disgusting.
The Bloodthirsty Beast was indeed uncomfortable and opened its mouth again.
And at that moment, a bloody figure leaped out of its mouth.
It was a bloody mess, like a sheep's skeleton with scraps of red meat still attached, hanging in a butcher shop—a world of difference from the beautiful and graceful woman from a minute ago.
A Ran glanced at it, her heart jolting. Before she could speak, she saw this meaty sheep skeleton tilt its head and activate the Undead Order. Its flesh and blood began to recover at a terrifying speed.
Right, she had lost an arm.
Now she only had a left arm.
Their eyes met, and A Ran noticed the other's gaze was on her sword.
She was on guard.
Trusting no one, always vigilant.
A Ran suddenly moved her sword. A long stream of sword energy shot out swiftly toward Wang Jiu's... back.
Boom!
The Bloodthirsty Beast, which had been clawing at Wang Jiu from behind, cried out in pain and roared in anger.
Wang Jiu hadn't moved an inch.
Was she unable to dodge?
It was simply that she had seen that A Ran's killing intent toward her had faded, out of respect for her ability to come out alive.
Also, A Ran had actually confirmed it. Her clone here really couldn't take down the Bloodthirsty Beast, unless her main body came.
But for now, her main body had not yet arrived.
"Let's team up. Afterward, we'll each rely on our own abilities," A Ran said decisively. Wang Jiu replied, "Alright."
They didn't have much time left, because the armies of the other empires were coming soon. On their own, they couldn't finish off this Bloodthirsty Beast.
But together, it was possible.
After that, the two didn't speak much. How could they deal damage under the energy suppression?
Wang Jiu summoned ten White Bone Bodies, each equivalent in strength to a minor king-level entity.
She couldn't fight herself, but her minions could—they drilled into the Bloodthirsty Beast's body.
The White Bone Bodies had no flesh or blood. Their bones were unique, incredibly hard, forged from the bones of countless undead. They could resist corrosion for a long time, essentially attacking from the inside.
A Ran had decided to team up with Wang Jiu because she had taken a liking to the White Bone Bodies, but she hadn't expected this woman to summon ten of them at once.
She didn't seem like an outsider from a weaker spacetime at all.
"This is very impressive. It has broken through the limits and become a new type of soldier. I've never seen it before," A Ran praised generously.
Having been praised for no reason, Wang Jiu glanced at her and responded with feigned social grace, "Your Majesty's scepter isn't bad either. Unique design, appropriate thickness, and just the right length."
The praise was very perfunctory.
A Ran: "..."
The Bloodthirsty Beast's disadvantage was that it was controlled and couldn't move. It originally had a suction ability, but that was useless against the White Bone Bodies inside it. Meanwhile, A Ran on the outside was using mental attacks. She herself had the ability to break boundaries, which could offset the suction effect.
Attacked both internally and externally, the Bloodthirsty Beast's health was continuously dropping, no matter how strong it was. Wang Jiu couldn't see its health bar, but she guessed that A Ran probably could, since she was an emperor-level figure. Unfortunately, she wouldn't tell her.
So Wang Jiu didn't ask.
The two fought for a while and gradually found a rhythm. Just as they were starting to feel optimistic, the Bloodthirsty Beast suddenly roared. This time, it wasn't suction, but rather a kind of... release!
Wang Jiu and A Ran immediately sensed that they could use their energy again. Was this a good thing?
No, it wasn't, because it signified another state.
Energy Attraction!
The moment she was afflicted with this status, Wang Jiu turned and ran without a second thought.
Attracting who?
Elementals!
Damn it, all the elementals on Desolate Ridge Star were going to come after them!
Now able to fly, Wang Jiu piloted her mecha and shot upward at high speed. A Ran's speed was about the same, and neither of them could be bothered with the Bloodthirsty Beast anymore.
At that moment, before the two could even fly up, dense swarms of various elementals came whistling down from above.
Damn it!
The two immediately changed their flight direction, flying through a side tunnel in the underground.
But there were elementals underground too, like earth elementals and dark elementals.
Constantly attacking, dodging, AND fleeing for her life, Wang Jiu couldn't help but suggest, "Your Majesty, would you like to go to the back and lead them away?"
A Ran: "Are you dreaming?"
Wang Jiu: "So protective of a mere clone, with no imperial presence. This won't do for you."
A Ran: "..."
So righteous and earnest while trying to trick someone into dying for you.
But it was true that there was no need to run together. A Ran flew directly into another passage, while Wang Jiu took a side tunnel. The two parted ways, and the frantically pursuing elementals also split into two groups.
Fortunately, Wang Jiu didn't get the protagonist treatment this time; she didn't draw all the elementals. It was about half and half.
The elementals probably had good eyes and gave the great emperor's clone some face.
As she fled, Wang Jiu sensed some movement from the depths of the underground. She was startled, afraid of running into some Primordial Spirit Race entity again, and gritted her teeth and flew straight up.
As long as the Bloodthirsty Beast BOSS was still there, there was hope. But if she died, it was all over.
As Wang Jiu flew upward, the elementals from the underground also roared and pursued her. At the same time, elementals from other tunnels above also whistled down, effectively trapping Wang Jiu in the middle.
Right now, Wang Jiu's flesh and skin were about halfway recovered. Faced with such ferocious elementals...
When Wang Jiu burst out of the ground after a frantic slaughter, her blade was still dripping with elemental fluids. Various elements swirled around her body, and those with conflicting attributes even started fighting each other, making her injuries more apparent. But Wang Jiu didn't care, because these injuries would soon be repaired.
The elementals were still in pursuit behind her. As she flew across the plain, she contacted Qing He.
Wang Jiu: "Are you confident you can trade a complete Elemental Order Book for a Book of Immortality for me within twenty minutes?"
Qing He: "The Elemental Order is very popular because it applies to all elements and provides a significant boost to strength. In terms of value, it's higher than the Book of Immortality. Are you sure?"
The Book of Immortality's effect was restorative, but the Elemental Order could amplify all skills, directly increasing the effectiveness of elemental skills, hence its higher value.
Wang Jiu: "Of course."
She then directly traded the Elemental Order Book to her. Less than five seconds later...
Two complete Order Books were traded back to her.
Wang Jiu: "Huh?"
Qing He: "Take care. I'll wait for your return."
As smart as Qing He was, she naturally sensed how dangerous Wang Jiu's situation was from her choice. So she used two Books of Immortality from her own inventory, exceeding the exchange value, and gave them directly to Wang Jiu.
Nothing more needed to be said.
Wang Jiu didn't say anything either, simply accepting and using them. For her, leveling up the Book of Immortality from level 3 to 4 was about maximizing her advantage, which was more effective than getting a new mixed order, even if it was the Elemental Book.
She was a witch, relying on dark elements and sacrifice. She was too specialized, and it conflicted with most elements, weakening the effect of the Elemental Book.
Moreover, under normal circumstances, it could be exchanged for 1.5 Books of Immortality, maybe two at most, but that would take time. Qing He's action was a show of utmost support.
From level 3 to 5, the terrifying effect of the Book of Immortality made Wang Jiu's flesh and blood recovery speed even more horrifying. Her wounds were rapidly growing new flesh and scabbing over, and the HP she had lost was also beginning to recover.
That's right, the level 5 Book of Immortality could even restore HP.
This was an unexpected bonus.
However, Wang Jiu was once again surrounded by elementals. The elemental aura she had picked up was too strong, attracting other elemental armies.
The plains roiled, filled with elementals.
System: "You've walked into a chicken farm and kicked the coop."
Wang Jiu had a headache, but she felt like she was missing something. As she was thinking, she transformed her blade into a witch's staff, about to make a move.
Boom!! A cosmic starship broke through the atmosphere above. This starship was one or two tiers higher than Prince Xingyun's and could actually land directly on Desolate Ridge Star.
The imperial army had arrived.
She just didn't know which empire it was from.
But the starship's light cannon aimed directly at Wang Jiu's position and fired!
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