Chapter 102: It's Here
The smell of blood spread through the room. The stone-grouper-faced sea creature was embedded in the wall, having been slammed there by Zuiyasi.
Under the siege of Zuiyasi and Wude, the Divine Envoy of Boluosi lay on the ground, his body a bloody mess, but missing no limbs, since they still needed him as a puppet later.
Blood dripped from the Divine Envoy of Boluosi's half-missing chin as he stared at Zuiyasi.
"You three... oh, I see. You're after the Sea God, not here to settle a grudge with me."
The Divine Envoy of Boluosi leaned against the corner of the wall, sitting there like a small mountain of flesh.
Zuiyasi stepped forward and said, "Wude, restrict his mobility."
Hearing this, Wude released black smoke, suppressing the Divine Envoy of Boluosi's body.
A tentacle as thick as a pinky finger extended from Zuiyasi's palm. This tentacle, like a stinger, swiftly pierced into the Divine Envoy of Boluosi's brow. The marrow-burrowing worm began to invade his brain.
Pop~
A low sound came as the tentacle, tipped with a bone spur, emerged from the Divine Envoy of Boluosi's brow. Zuiyasi said, "His consciousness is resisting fiercely. I can't invade yet. Do either of you have a way?"
"I do, but after using it, he'll be nothing but a waste-producing machine."
Wude indicated he had a method, but it was too ruthless. Zuiyasi's gaze turned to Su Xiao, who took out the [Endless Darkness] collar from his storage space.
"After using this, his intelligence will drop to about that of a two-year-old, lasting at least a day, at most a week before recovery."
As Su Xiao spoke, he recalled the Divine Maiden of the Dark Star world. After her willpower was reduced to below 3 points, the once-proud Divine Maiden became innocent and naive, with the downside of frequent bed-wetting and crying.
Hearing Su Xiao's account, the Divine Envoy of Boluosi's fat face twitched violently. He really wanted to know what kind of monsters he had provoked this time.
"How about using a more primitive method?"
"Fine."
Earlier, at the Sun Church, Su Xiao had a large surplus of treatment potions he had concocted using church assets. Although these potions couldn't be taken out of the Painting World, they could be taken out of the Inner Painting World and used in other Inner Painting Worlds.
Su Xiao had disguised himself as a doctor this time, partly because of these treatment potions, and also because he didn't want to reveal his ability to concoct alchemical potions in front of Wude and Zuiyasi, especially Wude, who came from the Void.
Earlier at the Sun Church, he wasn't worried about exposure, but now it was different. Moreover, he felt that the Crow Woman would likely arrive soon. With the methods of Arcane Eternal Star, they could certainly get her into the scene.
If the Crow Woman entered, she would also target the Sea God. If she discovered that Su Xiao could concoct alchemical potions, it would be very troublesome, leaving a hidden risk for his identity as the Holy Flame Alchemist. After all, Su Xiao planned to visit Arcane Eternal Star as the Holy Flame Alchemist and deliver a "big gift" there.
Even if revealing his alchemical skills made the exposure of his Holy Flame Alchemist identity unlikely, details determined success or failure. For now, acting as a doctor was safer. A doctor mixing some potions was normal and wouldn't arouse suspicion.
Zuiyasi released a black tentacle. It split apart, crawled onto the Divine Envoy of Boluosi, and began gnawing at his flesh, making a rustling sound that sent chills down one's spine.
"Is that it? Do you think I care about this pain?"
The Divine Envoy of Boluosi, sweating profusely from pain, spoke. Being gnawed by these small tentacles felt like having flesh slowly sawed off by fine serrated wires. He had to admit, the Divine Envoy of Boluosi had some backbone.
"Tough guy. No wonder the marrow-burrowing worm can't handle you."
Zuiyasi checked the time. They needed to hurry. If anyone else discovered that this small building was enveloped in an alternate space, it would cause a big commotion, making things hard to manage.
When the Divine Envoy of Boluosi was on the verge of screaming from the gnawing, Zuiyasi stopped.
Su Xiao stepped forward, first injecting a treatment potion into the Divine Envoy of Boluosi, then generating six micron-level Spirit Shadow Threads to stitch up the wounds inside his body.
A few minutes later, although the Divine Envoy of Boluosi couldn't move, the pain had mostly subsided, and his injuries were at least 70% healed. He didn't want to admit it, but Su Xiao's medical skills were undeniable.
"What's the point of this? After what you've done, there's no reconciliation between us..."
Suddenly, the Divine Envoy of Boluosi guessed something. He gritted his teeth, his face fat trembling, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Don't you have any pity?"
"Look at what you're saying. Neither of us are good people. Give it up."
Zuiyasi released a black tentacle. It split and scattered over the Divine Envoy of Boluosi, beginning to gnaw fiercely. Soon, the Divine Envoy of Boluosi couldn't hold on, starting with low groans, gradually turning into screams, and finally wailing like a pig being slaughtered.
Five minutes later, Su Xiao treated him again, then Zuiyasi continued, alternating like this. Wude, sitting on a chair nearby, shook his head, unable to bear watching, and turned to sip a cup of black tea leisurely.
The stone-grouper-faced sea creature was still embedded in the wall, eyes closed, ears filled with the Divine Envoy of Boluosi's screams and pleas, along with the sound of hot intestines being gnawed.
The stone-grouper face inside the wall kept silently chanting "can't see me, can't see me," tears of cowardice streaming from his tightly shut eyes. Thinking of the pain of intestines being chewed by the tentacles' evil teeth, his crotch was wet with urine.
These guards, who usually bullied the poor and acted arrogantly, were now crying uncontrollably and even wetting themselves when faced with true villains.
"Kill me, kill me... I confess. I've done many bad things, but... even if I deserve to die, I shouldn't be treated like this."
The Divine Envoy of Boluosi had no visible injuries, yet he was on the verge of death.
"Bai Ye, how is it?"
"Should be fine."
"Then I'll do it. Hope this works. Boluosi, sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up. Don't resist. This is... the will of the Supreme Underworld God."
Zuiyasi's voice grew hollow. The slender tentacle, as thick as a pinky, pierced into the Divine Envoy of Boluosi's brow. After a moment of confusion in his eyes, he knelt on the ground, raising his arms high.
"Ah, Supreme God."
The Divine Envoy of Boluosi smiled, a hint of fanaticism on his face.
Su Xiao naturally knew that Zuiyasi was connected to the Underworld God. After all, someone from the Doom Star couldn't be unrelated to the Underworld God, who was the supreme deity there. The Feather God had fled to the Dark Star and even sealed himself to avoid the Underworld God's hounds.
Zuiyasi himself wasn't a follower of the Underworld God; he was a transcendent of the Ancient God System, not an Ancient God. However, his wife was a follower, and through exposure, Zuiyasi could use some of their methods.
"How do we handle these corpses and blood?"
"..."
Su Xiao took out a glass column containing the First Generation Devourer: Black A. Opening it, the semi-fluid Black A shot out from the solution.
"That's a host body. Clean up before you go play."
Su Xiao glanced at Black A, which vaguely formed a humanoid outline and roared. Finding Su Xiao ignoring it, it flattened out. Soon, the blood and corpses in the room vanished completely. Finally, Black A pounced on the stone-grouper face, entering through his mouth and nose amid his sobs. This wasn't coexistence but control of the body.
Perhaps if Aichi were here, Black A would consider coexistence. Of course, if Black A found a new suitable host, it might forget its old friend Aichi.
Before Su Xiao could act, with a bang, Zuiyasi turned the stone-grouper face's brain into mush. Su Xiao lowered his hand. This had to be silenced. If Zuiyasi hadn't acted, he would have.
Seeing this, Wude also lowered his raised hand. On silencing and eliminating threats, the three were unanimous.
The reason for releasing the Devourer: Black A was that its current state meant it wouldn't go hunting everywhere; it was in a transformation period.
The growth potential and danger sensing of the First Generation Devourer were the strongest among Su Xiao's creations. If Brother Donkey and the Sun Bird came, Black A would definitely detect them first.
The terrain of Sanctuary City meant Black A couldn't escape. If the Sun Bird came, Black A would definitely run to Su Xiao. It had done this once before.
"I see this place has returned to its original state."
A fraud scroll in Wude's hand burned. He was deceiving himself, thereby mapping his environment. The highest level of a fraudster was to deceive oneself and turn that deception into reality.
As soon as Wude finished, the broken walls and furniture in the room began to reverse. Wood chips gradually reassembled, restoring into chair legs like a rewind.
Soon, the nearly shattered two-story stone building was restored. Su Xiao glanced at Wude, who just smiled.
"Not bad ability."
"Exquisite medical skill."
"..."
Su Xiao ignored Wude. He had no interest in mutual flattery.
After the room was restored, Baha withdrew the alternate space, and everything returned to normal. Half an hour later, the Divine Envoy of Boluosi woke up. He looked around the room and finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Thanks for this, old friends. I won't stand on ceremony. The dogs I raised actually bit me. Sigh."
The Divine Envoy of Boluosi held his head with one hand, sitting on his oversized chair. This was the terror of Zuiyasi's ability. He hadn't enslaved the Divine Envoy of Boluosi but was constantly altering his cognition.
In this regard, Zuiyasi's wife was even stronger. She could do this silently. For example, when a powerful enemy brushed past her, the marrow-burrowing worm would invade unnoticed. Seconds later, that enemy would gain a mother—Zuiyasi's wife. Altering cognition was that terrifying.
In the Divine Envoy of Boluosi's current cognition, Su Xiao, Wude, and Zuiyasi were his long-time brothers who had been away and had now returned to help him. He was very happy about this.
This identity was only to prevent the Divine Envoy of Boluosi's subordinates from suspecting the three. But it wasn't enough. They needed identities that had lived in Sanctuary City for years, even longer, to avoid arousing the Sea God's suspicion when they took up posts in the main city.
Waves~
A ripple spread. The Divine Envoy of Boluosi sat still, his expression frozen. He was shut down. When he rebooted, he wouldn't notice anything unusual. In his cognition, he wouldn't even care about this.
Altering memories was a low-level method, and memories were too abstract. Who knew when a nerve might twitch and restore them? Altering cognition was the most stable method. As long as the cognition felt fine, even if the Divine Envoy of Boluosi went outside to run naked, he wouldn't think it was a problem.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao suddenly realized he knew why Zuiyasi was afraid of his wife.
"Zuiyasi, your wife is truly terrifying."
Wude said this with a sigh. Hearing this, Zuiyasi just smiled. He wanted to say that his mother-in-law was actually scarier.
In short, at home, Zuiyasi was timid and submissive. Outside, anyone who dared to provoke him would be gnawed by tentacles until not even bone fragments remained.
Boom!!!
A massive tremor came from above, as if to shatter the entire Sanctuary City. A terrifying pressure descended. A whistling sound approached from above. Even from a great distance and through the ceiling, Su Xiao could hear the gurgling of boiling seawater. The surrounding temperature rose sharply.
Feeling this intimidation, both Wude and Zuiyasi stiffened. The incoming enemy seemed stronger than expected, but the door was already welded shut. It was too late to jump out now.