Han Shuo was startled. Due to the unusual environmental conditions, of those gods who lost their lives to the stardust current, some lost their self-awareness and left behind their divine souls which retained only their memories. There were also some whose divine energies were somehow miraculously transformed into divine essences of various energy types. However, the majority of them had their divine energies attached to those seals and boundaries, which slowly changed under the effects of the stardust current.
Back then, at death’s door, these gods deployed boundaries and magical matrixes in order to stop the soul-corroding energy of the stardust current. Unfortunately, their last-ditch efforts were futile. Their boundaries and seals which covered the entire valley remained and stood even after their deaths. However, the stardust current caused some kind of mysterious transformation to the divine energies that they had left behind.
Perhaps it was the return of the stardust current, or maybe it was Han Shuo’s initiating of the interplanar transportation matrix, the energies remaining inside the boundaries and seals throughout the entire valley suddenly formed energetic beams that shot ferociously at Han Shuo!
Han Shuo was greatly alarmed as he understood just how terrifying these energies were. He no longer paid attention to the interplanar transportation matrix beside him but sat cross-legged at once and deployed a protective shield in an instant, enveloping his entire body.
Han Shuo’s consciousness could resist the corrosion of the stardust current, but his body might not be able to withstand the power of these terrifying attacks. Especially, as these energies consisted of various different energy types, they could possibly bring about some unknown effects. This left Han Shuo no choice but to defend with all his might. He concentrated his attention, and adjusted the rhythms of his breathing, heartbeat, and even blood flow. The demonic yuan in his body, operating at peak performance, turned into sparkling black lights and gushed into the protective shield.
Pop pop… Pop pop…
These beams, which resembled shooting stars, violently bombarded on Han Shuo’s protective shield. These energies that had degraded substantially remained to be extremely formidable even after countless years. Perhaps one or two beams were tolerable. But several dozens of energetic beams coming all at once – that kind of bombarding power was so fierce and unbearable that Han Shuo nearly choked up blood.
Not good!
Han Shuo cried out in his heart. From the fierce shelling on his protective shield, through the consciousness sensing of the tens of thousands of energies all around, Han Shuo knew that this time, he was in deep trouble.
The protective shield that Han Shuo was painfully holding up looked as though it might rupture at any moment. He was consuming the demonic yuan in his body at an alarming rate. If this situation continued, Han Shuo knew in his heart that he wouldn’t be able to persist for long!
When those beams of bizarre energies in the form of intense beams made contact with Han Shuo’s protective shield, splendid rays of light would blossom. Han Shuo, sitting quietly in front of the interplanar transportation matrix, was doing his utmost to activate all the usable energies in his body, unceasingly injecting them into his protective shield, forcibly resisting the strike of the numerous energetic beams.
Gradually, Han Shuo sensed the reserves of demonic yuan in his body were on the brink of exhaustion. Exhausting at such a rapid rate, even the demonic infant, this fountainhead of energy, seemed to grow powerless and couldn’t persevere much longer…
For a moment, Han Shuo was at a loss. He thought to himself, Will this main body which I rely on for survival be destroyed like this? This is unacceptable!
Even at this stage, Han Shuo had not lost his composure. At the very least, there was one thing that Han Shuo could be certain of – even if his body was destroyed, his consciousness would not be obliterated!
With this premise, in this critical moment Han Shuo racked his brain for any possibility of preserving his body and tried to find a way out of this most dangerous situation.
All kinds of demonic techniques flashed through Han Shuo’s mind one after another. His countless realizations towards demonic arts were evoked one by one.
Han Shuo’s pair of eyes that were closed shut suddenly opened. A bizarre luster shone from their depths!
The most innovative of ideas come in a time of lack!
A mad idea suddenly crossed his mind. Based on some vague comprehension he had about the Nine Changes realm, his trust and understanding of demonic arts, Han Shuo came to a bold decision!
The unending streams of demonic yuan pouring into his protective shield were severed by Han Shuo in an instant. The very next moment, the protective shield that had been withstanding those intense rays shattered into speckles of light and vanished.
Without the protection of his protective shield, the tens of thousands of energetic rays landed directly on Han Shuo’s physical body as he sat cross-legged.
As expected, Han Shuo’s flesh was lacerated. The numerous streams of energy simultaneously assailing at him immediately caused severe damage to his body. His limbs, bones, and organs, every inch of his body was drenched in blood in a flash. Some weaker parts were even penetrated to reveal a hole. Chunks and chunks of flesh fell off his body…
All the remaining demonic yuan was diverted to firmly defending Han Shuo’s demonic infant at the expense of all other parts of his body. The pain as though being hacked by a thousand knives came from his head to his toes!
Han Shuo clenched his teeth and persevered in spite of the pain. His demonic yuan was unwaveringly protecting his demonic infant. He did not let out a single shriek even as the injuries on his body multiplied every second.
As the hundreds upon thousands of energetic beams that fell onto Han Shuo’s desolate body were not homologous, they started to clash against each other when they met inside his body. This caused all kinds of strange noises to thunder from within. Every inch of Han Shuo’s body began to tremble. The pain became ten times greater as all kinds of energies started clashing against each other at full force right inside his body!
Han Shuo, who had persistently endured with his teeth clenched, could no longer bear the pain. Right in this most mysterious valley of the Abyss realm, Han Shuo suddenly stood up, his body dripping with blood and riddled with holes, and his flesh falling off piece after piece. His inhuman body raised its head towards the sky and started to roar.
The Han Shuo at this moment looked nothing like a man. He looked much more like a bloodthirsty demon – a mentally deranged demon!
More and more of his fresh blood sprayed out. Even his extremely tough meridians started to burst one after another. Having been in the business for so long, Han Shuo had suffered severe injuries to his body a few times before, but never ever had the injuries been so thorough.
It could be said that besides the demonic infant which Han Shuo was guarding with all his strength, every single cell in this vessel of his was destroyed by the barrage of hundreds of thousands of energy beams.
Loud shrieks of pain erupted from Han Shuo’s hideous and terrifying mouth, but no one could hear him…
Gradually, the altered energies remaining inside the boundaries, seals and magical matrices shooting at Han Shuo grew weaker and weaker and Han Shuo’s demonic yuan was exhausted more and more.
After an undetermined period, the stardust current that enveloped the entire valley subsided.
The vast expanse of fog that lingered around the valley throughout the year had somehow dissipated. Not a single one of the boundaries and seals that densely covered every corner of the valley remained. While some magical matrices remained standing, they had depleted all their energies!
The valley at this moment seemed to have lost its strange powers and no longer contained any danger. At the center of the valley, in front of the interplanar transportation array, a body drenched in blood that looked nothing like a human was lightly squirming…
After some time, it slowly turned motionless. It was as though this person who had been struggling his utmost to survive had finally lost its life.
However, the pool of blood all over the floor, for some reason, most bizarrely began to flow in reverse!
As though drawn by incorporeal energy, drop by drop the blood flowed back into that mangled figure… The blood seemed to have come back to life. It dragged and moved the chunks of minced flesh and severed meridians back towards the horrendous body…
Then, they slowly reattached to the body!
Energy around the countless holes inside the body was slowly broken up, recombined and gradually twisted into a new type of energy that circulated the body in mysterious orbits, which ultimately gathered in the lower abdomen.
The peculiar transformation was still happening. The bloody holes were rapidly healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. His blood, flesh, meridians, cells – all those that were previously destroyed – started to grow back inside his body. Those energies that were newly recombined, poured into his blood, flesh, meridians, and cells bit by bit.
These fundamental blocks that made up the body, became unprecedentedly powerful and tough!
This process, however, was rather slow and had lasted for a long, long time. It might have been a day, or perhaps a year…
But in the end, the process was complete.
Not a trace of blood could be found around or on him and not a piece of severed flesh or wound could be seen. It was as though the brutal and bloody scene that had taken place in the valley was merely an illusion. But when Han Shuo expanded his consciousness, the entire valley appeared within Han Shuo’s mind without the slightest obstruction. Although Han Shuo looked calm in the eyes, he was greatly pleasantly surprised at heart.
Nine changes, oh, nine changes. Sure enough, a wild transformation is required for the metamorphosis to happen!
Han Shuo lowered his head to look at the interplanar transportation matrix, and raised his head to look at the sky. After weighing for a while, he circled the valley once at high speed. His space ring kept flashing as though he was collecting certain things.
After a while, he suddenly turned into a streak of light. At a speed hard to catch with the untrained eye, he cut across the sky and flew out from the Void.
