Chapter Eighty-Six: Clash of Attributes and Power (Part Two)

Since Xiao Ou began hunting mutant beasts, the intelligent entity that had eluded him three times was not the strongest he had encountered, but certainly the most cunning. Though it had not yet assumed a human form, its intelligence surpassed that of ordinary people, bordering on the terrifying. Whenever the intelligent entity slipped into the gene body swarm, it was as if a fish vanished into the sea—finding it again required considerable effort.

As the Sword of Pagoda cleaved towards the fallen intelligent entity, the psychic energy surrounding its body "grasped" a passing gene body. In the instant it was seized, a fissure split open on the gene body's forehead, a flash of white light occurred, and the intelligent entity darted inside. The Sword of Pagoda stabbed into the blue-black earth, its hilt trembling ceaselessly.

"Feng!"

Xiao Ou bellowed, his entire body suffused with the power of wood, instantly appearing beside Bai Wan’er, then at the Sword of Pagoda’s location.

"Block the passing gene bodies; all else, leave to Feng and me."

His words reached Bai Wan’er only after he had departed, just as Yao Ling hurried over to stand at her side.

Feng, standing at the highest vantage point, heard Xiao Ou’s signal and hesitated for a moment. This place was not the optimal trap; not far away, a side chamber’s passage led underground, though no gene bodies emerged, they could easily use it to retreat.

Feng’s hesitation lasted but a second. He drew five daggers from beneath his gray cloak, each crackling with bursts of electricity as he held them.

He flung the five electrified daggers toward the intelligent entity. Meanwhile, Xiao Ou’s wood power flashed in his hand, and before the daggers struck, the Sword of Pagoda flew back to him.

The five daggers formed a pentagon, trapping the intelligent entity within. As they stabbed into the blue-black earth, each dagger erupted with fierce electrical brilliance, crackling loudly against the ground.

The metallic layer outside each dagger was soon pierced by lightning, breaking into fragments that scattered onto the earth.

Freed from the constraints of the outer metal, arcs and flashes of electricity instantly turned the surrounding soil black, while the shattered daggers began their second transformation.

At the center of the electric brilliance, each dagger became a shining alloy rod. Four tiny claws appeared at the base, gripping the ground tightly. Numerous small holes dotted the rods, from which threadlike bolts surged outward. Atop each rod was engraved the mythical beast Kui Niu, the ancient controller of thunder and lightning; its mouth bit down on the alloy, and its slender tail pointed to the sky.

A sudden crackling sound echoed as the alloy rods grew longer and taller. An electric orb ignited at the tip of Kui Niu’s tail, continuously charging the extending rods.

Sparks radiated from the rods, spreading outward until they met the arcs from the other rods, forming a pentagonal electric net.

Just as the second transformation of the five rods began, the engraved Kui Niu seemed to come alive. In the instant the electric net formed, the white arcs in its eyes and tail turned blue.

Suddenly, the beast’s eyes flashed, and a blue arc shot from its tail toward the intelligent entity at the center.

Disguised in a gene body, the intelligent entity could sense the dense energy surrounding it. It tried repeatedly to break free, but each attempt was repulsed by the electric net, the electricity burning black holes into the gene body’s claws and torso.

Five blue arcs struck the intelligent entity at the center. In less than a fraction of a second, the gene body disguise was reduced to ash, piling on the ground.

The powerful electric current obliterated two of the entity’s auxiliary brains, leaving blackened marks on the main brain.

The Kui Niu rods—exchanged especially for this mission between Xiao Ou and Senior Da San, with Xiao Ou paying five points for each use to compensate for wear—were now spent. Their stored energy exhausted, they would require recharging before they could be used again.

Though intelligent entities could not capture living beings and their numbers were few, over the decades, many had encountered them. In the beginning, the people of the Main City resorted to every means to catch these new variants, but all their efforts were confounded by the entity’s disguises. Often, they could not tell which was the real one. By chance, it was discovered that electricity could restrain them: it paralyzed them, slowed their movements, and prevented them from switching disguises.

The Kui Niu rods, once used, could not be used again until recharged.

Seeing the opportunity, Xiao Ou channeled a torrent of wood power into the Sword of Pagoda, causing green sword patterns to appear and illuminate along its blade.

The Sword of Pagoda was split from the ancient Xiao family sword, bearing some of its sword patterns. Those who wielded the ancient sword or its derivatives gradually awakened the sword patterns through their understanding and synergy with it.

There were ten sword patterns in total on the ancient sword, but no one had ever activated all ten. The derivative swords bore between three and six patterns.

Each Xiao family member awakened the ancient sword to varying degrees, and the patterns differed. According to his father, the Sword of Pagoda in Xiao Ou’s hand was engraved with four ancient sword patterns.

When he first awakened the ancient sword, the Xiao family was overjoyed. Having the derivative sword bear four ancient patterns, the Wood King proclaimed Xiao Ou the most talented child in decades.

Yet, after nearly three years with the Sword of Pagoda, Xiao Ou had managed to reveal only one pattern, and it was not fully lit. As he poured his wood power into the pattern, it gradually shone—a green leaf, the easiest to light, though its stem remained the blade’s color, not yet illuminated.

The first time Xiao Ou realized he could light the pattern was when he barely survived an onslaught of gene bodies in District C. He was close to death, but in that critical moment, the Sword of Pagoda shone, revealing the first pattern. It drew his wood power, then returned it, healing his wounds.

Now, with each activation, his wood power injected into the sword pattern returned more refined, strengthening both himself and the sword, amplifying its lethal force several times.

With its refined power, the Sword of Pagoda surged toward the exposed intelligent entity. Its brain twitched uncontrollably, white energy flowing over its surface.

A sharp blow landed, not splitting the entity in two as expected. Instead, Xiao Ou seized the seed lying on the ground and turned away.

The Sword of Pagoda was blocked by the white energy surrounding the entity, which used the sword’s momentum to slide away.

At that moment, Feng descended like the wind, daggers in hand, stabbing toward the entity.

Before he could get close, the entity’s body was enveloped in white light. A thin beam shot skyward.

"Feng, be careful! It’s going for a life-for-life exchange!"

Even without Xiao Ou’s warning, Feng knew the white beam was trouble. Twisting midair, he evaded it, but his dagger was pierced through by the light.

Far away, Ye Bai suddenly felt his mind buzz. Several gene bodies nearby had their heads explode like watermelons, while the remaining ones went berserk.

When the white light vanished, the intelligent entity’s brain shriveled, while the seed floated in the air, radiating a white glow.

"The seed!"

A smile finally broke across Xiao Ou’s face—his first since entering the radiation zone. The seed was before his eyes.

He rushed forward to claim it, but before he reached it, the black earth quaked, and a thick tentacle erupted from below, swallowing the floating seed.

Xiao Ou was stunned. Was he just the mantis, with another bird behind him? Had he paved the way for someone else?

His sword trembled violently, green light flashing.

"Who is it? Show yourself!" Xiao Ou shouted, cleaving the ground with his Sword of Pagoda, exposing the thief’s true form.

"You!"

Xiao Ou’s black eyes locked onto the mutant before him, ablaze with fury. "A mere mid-tier Foundation Eight-Clawed Mutant dares act so bold here? Has your meager intelligence finally short-circuited?"

He gripped the Sword of Pagoda, activated the sword pattern, and struck at the tentacle. A flash of green cut it in two.

The mutant’s blood-red eyes gradually cleared, and it tried to flee, but it was too late. Xiao Ou transformed into a pillar of green light, embodying the divine force of wood. The Sword of Pagoda spewed sword light, piercing the heavens.

Green sword marks streaked through the air. The Eight-Clawed Mutant suddenly froze, then its body shattered into dozens of pieces, the seed slowly emerging from the remains.

Xiao Ou stepped forward, quickly collected the seed, ensuring nothing unexpected transpired.

Not far away, Feng watched the scene and murmured, "Stronger again. Excellent. Now things get interesting."

A fierce battle spirit burned in Feng’s eyes. He absentmindedly nicked his pinky with his dagger, unaware of the wound. Only he and Xiao Ou knew what transpired during the battle at the Main City of Rage Sea.

Ye Bai had lost count of how many times he’d unleashed Fire Bodhi. Gene bodies lay dead in droves, their madness unchecked.

Ye Bai didn’t know what had happened, but his intuition told him it was tied to the pursued intelligent entity.

Just as Ye Bai prepared to dispatch another attacking gene body, Cao Xiaoseng appeared at his side, saying, "Mission complete. Let’s go."

Yao Ling stood beside Bai Wan’er, who gazed at Xiao Ou and Feng in the distance, waiting for them to return so they could leave District B.