Chapter 34: Moon God
For the final kilometer, Su Xiao was exceptionally cautious. Baha was responsible for high-altitude observation, while Bubu Wang blended into the environment to scout ahead.
It wasn't until he reached the base of the World Tree that Su Xiao's Danger Instinct gave no warning, as if the Moon God hadn't noticed him at all.
The World Tree stood several hundred meters tall, with a diameter of about ten meters. Its thick trunk was as hard as metal.
Su Xiao stood beneath the World Tree. Not far from him was a massive square stone, clearly carved by human hands. On top of the stone sat a metal frame, from which hung a spherical metal bell less than a meter high. This was the Moon Bell, oddly shaped, as if a hole had been gouged out beneath an iron ball.
The Moon Bell was covered in yellowish rust. Beneath it, on the stone slab, was a basin-sized depression filled with a dark red substance.
Su Xiao tapped the Moon Bell with his finger. A clear chime rang out.
"Give... up... powerful... human."
A deep, slow voice came. Su Xiao's hand rested on his sword hilt as he scanned his surroundings. Within the range of his Danger Instinct, no enemies appeared.
"I'm... here."
The sluggish voice spoke again. Su Xiao looked toward the World Tree. On its trunk was a massive face, entirely formed from bark.
"World Tree?"
"It's... me, powerful... human."
The World Tree's face was nearly twenty meters tall, looking dry, rough, and wrinkled.
"Human, human."
"Powerful, powerful."
Two crisp voices chimed in. This time, it wasn't the World Tree, but two creatures resembling tiny sprites. They were Tree Spirits, extremely rare beings, mostly harmless but a bit mischievous.
Both Tree Spirits were energy beings, one gold and one green. They sometimes formed twenty-centimeter-tall humanoid shapes, other times became orbs of light.
"Hu... man, you... are..."
"Human, have you come to challenge the Moon God?"
Compared to the World Tree's painfully slow speech, the green Tree Spirit spoke so fast that it was hard to understand without careful listening.
"Give up. Many challengers have died. Your soul will be shattered."
The gold Tree Spirit spoke timidly, curiously examining Su Xiao and his group.
"Human, I... have... only... one... request. Don't... fight... the Moon God... beneath me."
The several-hundred-meter-tall World Tree spoke, sounding more like a warning.
"Oh?"
Su Xiao's eyes narrowed, his aura turning dangerous.
"If... you fight... beneath me... I might... die."
The World Tree, with its massive form, spoke the most cowardly words.
"..."
Su Xiao took out the Dragon's Blood and poured it into the depression beneath the Moon Bell.
"This is... thanks."
As the World Tree spoke, a fruit fell from above, landing toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao caught the fruit, and a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[You have obtained: World Tree Fruit (Legendary).]
...
The World Tree had given both a friendly warning and a gift, mainly because it feared Su Xiao might cut it down.
If it were any other strong being, the World Tree wouldn't be so worried. But Su Xiao was skilled with a long blade, his aura extremely sharp. The World Tree could sense that if Su Xiao truly wanted to cut it, it wasn't impossible for him to sever its trunk.
"As you wish."
Su Xiao clenched his fist as he spoke. A layer of crystal formed over his right fist, and he punched the Moon Bell.
*Clang!*
A soul-shaking chime spread. The two Tree Spirits shrieked and quickly hid inside the World Tree. The World Tree's old face twisted in pain.
The vibrations spread. The Dragon's Blood beneath the Moon Bell rippled into thousands of fine waves, evaporating into mist.
Su Xiao then took a strand of silver-white hair from his storage space. Silver light particles drifted down from the strands.
The Dragon's Blood mist was drawn to the silver hair, which quickly turned blood-red, soaked with the dragon's essence.
"Thank you, human... strong one."
The World Tree spoke, its old face clearly tense.
Su Xiao leaped several times to a spot hundreds of meters away. Seeing this, the World Tree sighed in relief.
"Powerful human."
"Good person, good person."
The two Tree Spirits floated in front of the World Tree, watching Su Xiao from hundreds of meters away.
Blood-red mist rose from Su Xiao's hand. He could already feel something watching him.
Silently, fluorescent blue light particles fell from the sky. A large patch of the thin mist above dispersed, revealing an orange-red full moon.
A black dot appeared on the red moon, rapidly growing larger.
*Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...*
The sound of air friction came. The black dot on the red moon became more distinct. Around it were several tendrils.
Su Xiao looked up at the sky. The thing was falling at high speed, completely different from the divine descent he had imagined.
The sound of tearing air grew piercing. The black dot became larger and larger.
*Thump!*
A heavy object crashed to the ground, sending dust billowing. Su Xiao raised one arm in front of his face. Behind him, Bubu Wang was blown away.
The World Tree's old face wrinkled as large chunks of rock and dirt struck it.
"ROAR!!"
A roar spread, sending layers of shockwaves. The dust was blown away, revealing a massive creature before Su Xiao.
This was a monster covered in tendrils, at least ten meters tall. Its entire body was fluorescent blue. Each tendril was half a meter thick and over twenty meters long, numbering at least a hundred.
Su Xiao had seen this monster before in the cathedral of the monastery, but it had been much smaller then.
Just standing before this monster, Su Xiao felt a crushing pressure.
And this wasn't the Moon God. The real Moon God stood atop this monster's head.
The Moon God was about three meters tall. It had no skin. Its ribs were exposed, its muscles wrapped in bone, appearing pale red. Behind it were three rows of half-meter-long bone spikes. Its skull was uniquely structured, also bone wrapped around muscle, with an inverted bone spike on its head.
"Ba yi e, shu ge (Unknown Language)."
The Moon God looked down at Su Xiao from above. In its dark, hollow eye sockets, a faint red light glowed.
Su Xiao was certain that if the Moon God's followers saw its true form, they wouldn't just wet themselves in fear—they'd turn and flee.
There was more than one enemy. The monster beneath the Moon God's feet was equally formidable. This time, Su Xiao hadn't pre-planted any Apollo bombs, as the chance of hitting the Moon God was too low. Unlike the Black King, who was bound within the Birth Hall, the Moon God was free to move.
[Comparing intelligence attributes... Comparison complete. Our intelligence is 0.8 times the enemy's. Due to Awakening Quest bonus, 67% of enemy data acquired.]
Data as follows:
Name: Moon God (Unfused)
Health: 100%
Soul Power: 41305/41520 points
Strength: 130 (True Attribute)
Agility: 127 (True Attribute)
Endurance: 132 (True Attribute)
Intelligence: 150 (True Attribute, World Maximum!)
Charm: 3 (Slightly increased after fusion. Moon God is an Ancient God. Over 90% of Ancient Gods have extremely low Charm attributes.)
Skill 1: Lesser Deity (Passive, Lv.70): Health +70,000 points. Immune to physical and mental control effects. Immune to 30% of all damage (excluding True Damage, Execution Damage, etc.).
Skill 2: Soul Lord (Aura, Lv.75): All enemy units within 500 meters of the Moon God take 8% of their maximum health as Soul Damage per second.
Skill 3: Ancient God (Active, Lv.60): The Moon God once had three descendants: a female deity (the Moon Goddess worshipped by the Dawn Empire), a male deity (the Moon God worshipped by the Rodan Empire), and a genderless deity (the Moon God worshipped by the Simoro Empire).
Note: All three descendant deities have fallen. The bonus effect of this ability has disappeared.
Skill 4: Soul Severance (Passive, Lv.65): The Moon God can sever a creature's soul, causing it to take 600–800 Soul Damage per second for 12 seconds. If the damage taken during this period exceeds 50% of the target's maximum health, the soul will be severed, resulting in instant death.
Skill 5: ???
Skill 6: ???
Skill 7: Soul Thunder (Ultimate Ability, Lv.40): ???
???
Skill 13: ??? (Ultimate Ability): ???