Chapter 189: Chapter 163: Decapitated, In Dire Peril
CRACK, CRACK~
Before anyone realized it, the last sliver of azure at the edge of the sky had vanished.
In its place were countless giant, crimson eyes that filled the heavens!
Black, ring-like lines coiled across the surface of the innumerable crimson eyes, which betrayed no emotion—only an icy coldness.
Any creature on site that gazed upon those eyes found dark red blood streaming from their own, plunging them into temporary blindness.
Under the silent gaze of the eyeballs, the magma that had shot into the sky suddenly grew eerily calm. With a tremendous THUD, it fell back into the volcano’s crater.
The massive lava cocoon suspended in midair also began to tremble violently.
Waves of agonized roars echoed from within the cocoon.
"The Crimson Mirror Surface... The Queen is here! This farce should be over now!" the Cyan Insect Master roared with laughter.
But Astha’s expression was grim. After a cold glance at the hysterically laughing Cyan Insect Master, they said to Xiu Lin,
"The Queen’s Power and the five damn insects have found us. Speed things up."
The towering Xiu Lin nodded silently.
At his signal, several of the nearby Fire-Burning Insect People—who should now be called Fire-Burning Dragon People—still wreathed in golden flames, took three discolored, slowly beating hearts from the pouches at their waists.
The original insectoid limbs were now covered by vicious claws and pale red scales, and their huge pupils had shrunk, transforming into the vertical slits of a Dragon Species.
Their sanity had changed along with them.
Han Ning keenly observed that as the golden liquid entered their bodies, their emotions had become extremely unstable. They would fly into a rage one moment and grow restlessly agitated the next, occasionally letting out low, guttural roars.
Xiu Lin continued to command them as if he saw nothing.
"Sky-Splitting Instant Butterfly, Abyssal Rock Ant, River Basin Shattered Gold Mantis..."
The moment the Cyan Insect Master saw the three hearts, his wild laughter froze on his face.
He gave Han Ning a strange look, then suddenly let out an odd chuckle.
"And that includes you and me—Cyan God Armor and Ghostly Purple Bee."
’Are they planning to...?’ The corner of Han Ning’s eye twitched as he foresaw a certain outcome.
"There has always been a rumor among the Insect Master Families on the continent that the bloodlines of the Five Great Holy Clans are the key to breaking through the fog’s blockade..."
The Cyan Insect Master had just finished sending Han Ning this message via Spiritual Power.
The next second, Xiu Lin grabbed him by the hair, forcing his head toward the sky.
His lower body was held fast by several other Burning Fire People.
The Cyan Insect Master stared daggers at Xiu Lin, ceaselessly cursing at him in the Insect-man language.
But the other man’s face remained impassive. Ignoring the curses, he crouched down slightly and swept a pitying gaze across the Cyan Insect Master’s face.
Then, he reached out a hand, flicked his sharp fingertips, and aimed for the Cyan Insect Master’s chest, plunging them deep inside.
SQUELCH!
Pale cyan blood splattered.
The Cyan Insect Master let out a muffled grunt, and his expression began to tremble violently.
His pupils instantly dilated as the life rapidly drained from his eyes.
DRIP... DRIP...
Pale cyan blood ran down a red palm. In Xiu Lin’s hand, there was now a slowly beating, cyan heart.
As Han Ning glimpsed this scene, a tingling numbness shot up from the base of his spine. Though the air here was hot enough to boil water, he felt as if he were in an ice cellar, completely enveloped by a bone-chilling cold.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!
Faced with a life-or-death crisis, his heart began to pound violently as his mind raced.
’All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm, push my heart to the side, hide it with a layer of flesh and blood, and try to change my blood to a dark purple. Then, create a new, purple heart in my heart’s original position.’
The moment he sent that thought, an excruciating pain erupted in his chest.
His normal, human heart was forced to the very edge of his chest cavity, its major blood vessels completely encased in a thick layer of flesh.
With a vital organ displaced, his blood flow and even his normal breathing became extremely difficult.
A fake, dark-purple heart, similar in shape to the Cyan Insect Master’s but completely different in color, appeared in the heart’s original place.
This heart served none of the functions of a real one; it only began to beat slowly under the influence of the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm’s Blood Qi.
Meanwhile, Xiu Lin, having removed the Cyan Insect Master’s heart, handed the dripping organ to a nearby "Dragon" man who looked simultaneously young and ancient.
His left hand still gripping the Cyan Insect Master’s hair, he took a strange weapon from a subordinate’s hand with his right. It resembled a long blade but was fashioned from the limb of some insect. Aiming at the Cyan Insect Master’s head, he brought it down with all his might!
Head and body were separated.
Xiu Lin glanced impassively at the now-lifeless head before tossing both it and the body beside him into the magma below.
Watching this from the side, Han Ning’s breath caught in his throat.
’All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm, can you heal a decapitation wound?’
"Hiss..."
Upon hearing Han Ning’s question, the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm trembled slightly, then split into two smaller Spiritual Silkworms.
One quickly crawled toward the position of his head, while the other remained amid the flesh in his chest.
After the Cyan Insect Master’s death, Xiu Lin did the same to Han Ning, grabbing him by the hair and dragging him over.
Unlike that poor soul, Han Ning simply hung his head, making no sound.
Pressed for time, Xiu Lin extended his sharp claws and thrust them fiercely toward Han Ning’s heart.
SQUELCH~
A moment later, a purplish-red, slowly beating heart appeared in his hand.
He tossed the heart to his subordinate, raised the long blade, and swung it forcefully at Han Ning’s head.
In an instant, Han Ning’s head was severed from his body.
Holding Han Ning’s head in one hand, Xiu Lin didn’t hesitate for a moment, immediately tossing both the head and body into the magma.
WHOOSH~
A surging heat wave washed over them.
Just as the attention of all the Burning Fire People was drawn to the hearts before them and the giant eyes in the sky,
in the instant before his head and body fell into the magma, countless blood-red threads suddenly shot out from the severed surfaces of both.
The endless crimson threads met in midair, instantly stitching his head back onto his body.
The vacant look in Han Ning’s eyes was instantly replaced by clear-headed consciousness.
Facing the scorching magma that was about to touch his body, Han Ning silently incanted, "Demonization!"
His once black-and-white pupils were completely consumed by a dark purple light.
This dark purple light grew brighter and brighter, finally erupting into two blazing balls of flame that completely engulfed his entire body!
FWOOSH~
As the flames surged, an arm covered in vicious bone spurs and dark purple skin shot out from the fire, smashing hard against the solid rock wall a few meters away!
BANG!
