roccoschili Chapter 791 - 791: Have You Ever Seen the Microscopic World?_1
Chapter 791 - 791: Have You Ever Seen the Microscopic World?_1
"Finally, everyone is here." Wang Linchi's voice carried a peculiar rhythm that made one's scalp tingle. At this moment, Wang Linchi had completely engulfed the thunder and fire.The Human Martial Gods knew Wang Linchi had been waiting for them. He planned to capture them all in one fell swoop, but they, too, were eager to eliminate him on the spot.
"So, have you ever witnessed a microscopic world?"
As his words landed, the expressions of the Human Martial Gods shifted in unison. They looked up abruptly and saw that the original light source in the subterranean world had been obscured.
"You've hung that monstrous sphere in the sky!" Kong Huai ground out through clenched teeth.
They were extremely wary of Wang Linchi's Flesh and Blood Relic, as it could turn their own cells against them.
"I must correct you on one point. That object is no monstrous sphere."
As Wang Linchi spoke, an unnatural mist, teeming with bacteria and viruses, began to materialize.
These bacteria and viruses were steadily swelling, each expanding to the size of a human.
"Those are the 'benefactors' you so desperately sought," Wang Linchi said, his tone laced with malice.
Upon hearing this, the Human Martial Gods were momentarily stunned. They then instinctively glanced at the Flesh and Blood Relic, never having imagined the truth would be this.
So that's how it is. No wonder we couldn't find them before. They were right under our noses all along, and we just didn't recognize them, Kong Huai murmured to himself.
Looking up again, they saw tentacles beginning to sprout from the light source in the sky.
The Flesh and Blood Relic was not currently clad in its iron armor, so the human face on it was clearly visible to the Human Martial Gods.
In that single face, they could discern traces of all the 'benefactors' they had been searching for.
"Oh, and by the way, it's not called a monstrous sphere. Its name is the Flesh and Blood Relic."
"I came up with the name. Catchy, isn't it?" Wang Linchi said with delight.
"Attack! Kill him!" Kong Huai shouted, knowing there was no turning back.
All the Martial Gods struck simultaneously, naturally employing the Sky Thunder Divine Fire Seal, their most advanced combined martial art, to deal with Wang Linchi.
However, the now-enormous bacteria and viruses burst apart, transforming into grotesque monsters that lunged at the Martial Gods.
The blast of thunder and fire tore a hole in the now-gigantic microscopic ecosystem.
Numerous Martial Gods surged forward, intending to kill Wang Linchi then and there, but when they reached his last known position, they found it empty.
"He's dissolved! Evacuate this domain quickly!" Kong Huai urged, his extensive contact with Wang Linchi making him acutely aware of the danger.
However, no sooner had he spoken than blood began to trickle from his nostrils.
He was poisoned—or, to put it more bluntly, he was sick.
And he wasn't alone; all the Martial Gods were experiencing the same symptoms.
Poisons and diseases, things that should never have been able to affect Martial Gods, had now silently infiltrated their bodies.
"Stop struggling. Merge with me."
"Close your eyes, and when you open them again, you will greet a beautiful new world."
A hollow voice drifted through the colossal microscopic ecosystem.
"Split up! Evacuate everyone and destroy the entrance to the subterranean world!" Kong Huai ordered, coughing up blood. He could feel layers of flesh squirming beneath his skin.
His very cells were gaining their own consciousness, attempting to rebel against his control.
This was utterly lethal for any living being—for what should have been a part of oneself to turn into an enemy.
"It's too late," one Martial God lamented, watching his own left hand tear itself from his arm and dissolve.
It happened in less than a second. A vast number of his cells mutated into a bizarre creature that lunged at him, only to be instantly obliterated by his counterattack.
One died, but countless more emerged.
A normal human body contained trillions of cells, and a Martial Artist possessed even more.
For them, as Martial Gods, the number was terrifyingly greater.
Thus, if even a fraction of their cells lost control—even a tiny flake of skin—it would transform into innumerable cellular monsters within this magnified microscopic ecosystem.
The expressions of the Human Martial Gods had shifted drastically several times, yet it had no bearing on the dire situation.
Thanks to the Sky Thunder Divine Fire Seal, they had avoided casualties so far.
However, they then discovered a horrifying truth: the magnified microscopic ecosystem was expanding.
It hadn't been this large at first. But now, even after struggling for nearly ten minutes, they couldn't fight their way out and remained trapped.
He's digesting us, Kong Huai concluded.
He now understood Wang Linchi's true objective. Killing them was perhaps only one part of the plan. His true plan was to use them, the Human Martial Gods, as fuel to expand his microscopic ecosystem until it enveloped the entire subterranean world.
The subterranean world was immense. Once he controlled it, it would undoubtedly become a self-contained ecosystem, from which he could then extend his influence to the surface world.
However, to achieve such control, his magnified microscopic ecosystem first needed to attain a certain scale, and that required sustenance.
For instance, themselves—these Martial Gods—and the other human Martial Artists who had ventured into the subterranean world.
They were, in essence, nourishment for Wang Linchi's growth.
A pang of regret hit Kong Huai. No wonder he deliberately let the Wind Thunder King give us the Twelve-Style Heavenly Pulse Skill! It was all to ensure we would commit to attacking the subterranean world and the Alien Races!
A full-scale war meant vast numbers of casualties, which in turn meant ample nourishment for him.
This included not only their Human Clan but also countless members of the Alien Races.
"We can't all die here. One of us must get out and take charge of the situation," Kong Huai said, a searing pain wracking his internal organs. No part of his body was unscathed; even his skin was erupting in blisters.
"Who should go?" a Martial God asked.
Asking this question was tantamount to giving up any chance of escape for himself.
Sometimes, survival was not a blessing.
With such grievous injuries and afflictions, even if one were to escape, they would first need to undergo an agonizing internal and external purification.
"I will," a younger voice volunteered.
The speaker stepped forward bravely. The other Human Martial Gods didn't question his motives; they all immediately agreed.
"Head for the nearest subterranean exit!"
"You know what to do once we get you out," Kong Huai asked, enduring his own pain.
"I know. I will sever all connections between the surface and the subterranean world," the Martial God replied.
"No! You must also develop technology! If the subterranean world is sealed, our Martial Arts will also die out!" Kong Huai added urgently.
Most of their resources came from the subterranean world. The entire Human Clan had, in truth, always been draining the subterranean world of its resources. Otherwise, how could they ever have triumphed over the Subterranean Alien Races?
If the subterranean world was lost, the path of Martial Arts will effectively be severed.
Recovering the resources on the surface world would not be easy.
With the subterranean world as a constant supply, there had never been a need to develop resource production on the surface.
Technology, however, still offered a glimmer of hope.
Retaking the subterranean world is now unthinkable. As long as Wang Linchi can be prevented from escaping it, that will have to be enough.
"Don't be in such a rush to leave," Wang Linchi's voice echoed again. "You're all thoroughly infected. Returning to the surface now would trigger a mass extinction."
The Flesh and Blood Relic in the sky grew more grotesque by the second, with tentacles now beginning to descend from it.
One Martial God, caught unawares, was brushed by a tentacle and instantly disintegrated into fine dust. Then, a large mass of flesh and blood began to coalesce where he had stood.
Multicellular organisms... Kong Huai understood at once. Their enemy's magnified microscopic ecosystem was evolving, officially transitioning from an age of single-celled life to one of multicellular life.
This meant that complex, multicellular beings, previously immune, could now be incorporated into the ecosystem.
It shouldn't have advanced this rapidly. They had the very structure of their Martial God bodies to thank for accelerating the process.
"You..." one of them started.
"Shut up!" Kong Huai roared. The effort, combined with his deteriorating condition, caused him to cough up his own lungs. Fortunately, as a Martial God, he had other means of survival, but he could no longer speak.
"Go! Do not return! And do not covet the subterranean world!" Kong Huai conveyed, forcing his vital energy to resonate with the air.
"Disinfect him! Send him away!" Kong Huai commanded.
As Kong Huai finished, a bolt of searing thunderflame descended upon the departing Martial God, inflicting excruciating pain from within and without as it simultaneously teleported him out of the subterranean world.
Once he was gone, the remaining Martial Gods destroyed the subterranean exit.
"Then, gentlemen, from this point on, we are each left to our own fate," Kong Huai said, his gaze fixed on the crumbling remains of the destroyed subterranean exit. He continued, his voice heavy, "We must resign ourselves to this, for we too must destroy the remaining exits from this side. We cannot wait for those on the surface. Most of us... will perish in this endeavor."
Each to their own fate, because they also had to take action to destroy the subterranean exits, not wait for those outside to do it. The vast majority of them would die in this process.