"This little thing seems pretty smart," Wang Linchi remarked, watching the atball being flattened by the Saint Master.
He had just gone out to retrieve the remaining Demon Gods from Springhead City when he noticed the atball had sohow escaped from the Glass Cultivation Column. Upon closer inspection, the column didn’t seem to have any major damage.
Has it developed its own abilities? It must be Space-series, I think, Wang Linchi mused. He wasn’t overly surprised. Although its birth was unexpected, this entity possessed remarkable Potential. It’s sowhat like how Li Qinglian used the Ten Li Teleportation Charm, but an ultra-low-spec version. Otherwise, if it had actually managed to teleport ten li, the Saint Master wouldn’t have caught it so easily.
Wang Linchi reviewed the surveillance footage. As suspected, the atball’s teleportation range was only about ten centiters. It had barely hopped out of the Glass Cultivation Column when the Saint Master nabbed it, subjecting it to an unspeakably torturous ordeal.
However, the life force within this entity was indeed extraordinarily tenacious. Despite being tornted for so long, it hadn’t died, which was quite remarkable.
After securing the Demon Gods, Wang Linchi brought over a smaller one and stuffed it directly into the Glass Cultivation Column where the atball was.
The atball, previously listless, imdiately perked up at the sight of the Demon God, its feelers waving vigorously.
Excitedly, it floated towards the Demon God. Nurous feelers made contact and instantly took root, completely ignoring the power disparity between them.
A special advantage against gods? Wang Linchi quickly noted this down.
More and more feelers dug into the Demon God. Despite its desperate struggles, the Demon God could not break free.
As they drew closer, the entire atball rged with the Demon God through these densely packed, rooted feelers, ultimately parasitizing it.
Just like the Gray-haired True Immortal before it, the Demon God suddenly stilled, becoming lifeless and immobile.
Under its skin, a multitude of feelers sprouted from its pores, leaving Wang Linchi stunned.
Has it evolved? Or is it because it has transitioned from an embryonic to a juvenile stage, thus altering its feeding habits? he wondered.
Previously, when it was on the Gray-haired True Immortal, it hadn’t displayed this ability.
It must be due to a difference in developntal stages, Wang Linchi suspected. The feeding thods of an embryo and a juvenile would naturally differ. Moreover, its feeding efficiency this ti is much faster, and it eats more cleanly.
The Gray-haired True Immortal had been consud leaving only its skin, but this ti, even the skin was devoured completely.
Its digestive ability has greatly improved, Wang Linchi thought.
As the Demon God disintegrated, the atball’s form erged from within the ravaged remains. Retaining the rat’s single eye, it now also displayed characteristics of the consud Demon God.
So, Devouring evolution as well, Wang Linchi concluded. But for now, it seems limited to Demon Gods. It probably can’t consu other animals, plants, or even humans. Still, this thing’s Potential is indeed quite good.
Besides confirming its Devouring evolution, Wang Linchi also noticed that the atball’s size had increased, though the growth wasn’t very obvious. If not for his keen perception and the ability to make comparisons, he might not have detected the change.
It probably needs to consu a sufficient number of Demon Gods to grow significantly, he surmised.
As if on cue, the atball hopped to the edge of the Glass Cultivation Column, pressing against the glass. A human-like sycophancy glead in its rat eye; it clearly wanted more food.
Seeing this, Wang Linchi readily indulged its appetite. He reached to the side, grabbed another small Demon God, and tossed it in.
The other Demon Gods were terrified. They had all witnessed the atball’s earlier actions—it swallowed its prey whole, skin, bones, and all. For them, with their god realm connection severed and faith links broken, this was an absolute path to oblivion. However, they were utterly powerless to resist either Wang Linchi or the atball.
After another Demon God was tossed in, the atball was naturally overjoyed and began to feed once more.
I just want to see how much you can actually eat, Wang Linchi thought. This little thing definitely has a limit. Despite its current voracious appetite, it can probably accommodate two more Demon Gods at most before it can’t consu any more.
While it ate, Wang Linchi conducted extensive inspections and research on the atball.
Dissection? No, that’s out of the question, he considered. The atball is one of a kind. If I accidentally killed it, I wouldn’t even know if I could recreate it following the sa procedure. That’s why I have to be extrely careful in protecting it. If it gets ill or injured, I’d be heartbroken. However, if it becos worthless in the future, its treatnt will change. From a precious child to an abandoned one—of course, it’ll be different. Demon Gods, on the other hand, are different. They’re plentiful in Great Heng; I can find them almost everywhere if I want them.
Seeing that the atball had finished eating again, Wang Linchi threw in two this ti. It only ate one; the other was now being parasitized, apparently to be consud slowly.
With that, Wang Linchi closed the Glass Cultivation Column and left the Saint Master to continue watching over it.
Actually, there’s no need for a guard now, Wang Linchi mused. The atball doesn’t plan to escape because of the food. Instead, it’s preparing to develop here and then... try to kill .
He had noticed the atball’s animosity towards him—or rather, towards everything in general. However, the atball was excellent at forbearance and disguise; in this regard, it was far more adept than Li Qinglian. Although Wang Linchi wasn’t fooled, he could still find it amusing.
After settling the atball, Wang Linchi began his preparations.
To study this unique specin, I can’t be as rough as I am with Demon Gods, he thought. I must ensure its physical and ntal well-being. Therefore, if I were to dissect it, I’d need to use anesthesia, at the very least. The problem is, I don’t have a suitable anesthetic. I’ll need to gather relevant data from the atball to extrapolate and then synthesize one. Otherwise, I can’t just conjure one out of thin air. As for using certain abilities to induce sleep, that’s not ideal. Whether it’s a Spell or other magical arts, they essentially affect the body, which could cause fluctuations in the data I collect. An anesthetic I formulate myself would be able to induce a deep sleep with maximal effect and minimal interference. One is external interference; the other is akin to it sleeping naturally. The latter would clearly have less impact. Given the complexity of the atball’s physical body, soul, and energy structures, even the slightest influence could lead to data deviations. Therefore, I must be extrely cautious. Moreover, this process won’t be quick.
"Dongyue Tianqi Emperor of Life and Benevolence, you actually created such a monster!" a voice suddenly spoke.
A humanoid fox, standing upright and speaking human language, appeared.
"Oh? You recognize ?" Wang Linchi turned, looking curiously at the upright fox.
The fox was known as the Extre North Saint Fox Heaven Lord. It was a white fox, possibly an Arctic fox, which would explain the "Extre North" in its title. What was more interesting than its ability to speak was that it recognized him.
Then, the fox’s expression froze, then gradually filled with fear. It had rely been bluffing, not expecting Wang Linchi to admit his identity outright.
"Looks like you’ve lived a long ti, even experienced my era," Wang Linchi said with an amused smile.
The other Demon Gods were bewildered. They only recognized the Lord of Mount Tai and had no idea who the Dongyue Tianqi Emperor of Life and Benevolence was.
"I... Spare ! I’m willing to beco your subordinate deity!" the standing Arctic fox stamred, surrendering imdiately. It seed to have sensed so terrifying plot; not only had it foolishly stumbled into this situation, but it had also exposed Wang Linchi’s identity. Before he silences , my best bet is to throw in my lot with him! it thought desperately.
"You still don’t get it, do you?" Wang Linchi said, his tone one of disappointnt, as if chiding an unpromising subordinate. "Do you think I still need incense offerings and faith now?"
Upon hearing this, the standing Arctic fox stiffened. Wang Linchi had completely broken free from the limitations of godhood, becoming a higher being. anwhile, they were still stuck, squabbling over incense offerings and faith. They were simply not on the sa level.
To put it bluntly, apart from serving as fodder, they were useless.
"But for you to have survived this long is indeed unusual," Wang Linchi remarked, looking the fox up and down. "Demon Gods of your caliber usually have short lifespans because their incense offerings and faith tend to dwindle."
Top-tier Demon Gods didn’t have to worry about such things, but this so-called Extre North Saint Fox Heaven Lord was different. It belonged to the middle-to-lower tier. Every year, many such Demon Gods perished due to a shortage of incense offerings and faith. However, many more were born as a result, to the extent that for every one that perished, five new ones would erge.
"I... I run fast," the Extre North Saint Fox Heaven Lord stuttered. It was true; it did run fast. It had migrated several tis to evade certain death. Yet, its support from incense offerings and faith had gradually dwindled during this process, and thus, it had declined to its current lower-middle tier status.
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