Book 08 Chapter 055: The True World Devouring
Book 08 Chapter 055: The True World Devouring
A fifty-kilometer-long purple dragon chased a forty-kilometer-long black dragon.
Although it was just ten kilometers, it was a world of difference.
Over the past couple of days, Gu Hai had faced off alone against three powerful experts. Despite consuming countless hungry ghost bases, he had grown by only six hundred-odd meters.
Cultivating the physical soul as a hungry ghost became increasingly difficult as one progressed. Gu Hai realized that reaching Ji Dihong’s level quickly was unattainable. This was mainly because there were no higher-level hungry ghosts left to consume, leaving him with only ordinary ones.
At one point during the chase, the purple dragon swiped its claw at the black dragon, which retaliated with a claw strike of its own.
Boom!
The black dragon went flying a considerable distance.
Ji Dihong sneered, “The black dragon’s form is nothing impressive. You cannot escape!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Throughout the chase, the black dragon kept retreating. Both creatures ignored the others around them, fully engrossed in their battle. After pursuing for thirty minutes, Ji Dihong cornered the heavily wounded Gu Hai.
Boom!
With a tail swipe, the black dragon was slammed into the ground.
Standing tall and looking down, Ji Dihong gazed coldly at the severely injured Gu Hai.
“We thought you had some powerful tricks up your sleeve, but it seems that’s not the case. You can’t escape now!” Ji Dihong said with a cold laugh.
“Hah!” The black dragon suddenly revealed a fierce grin.
“Ji Dihong, you look quite ragged chasing us! But now, we don’t need to play with you any longer!” the black dragon suddenly said, its tone icy.
“Play?” Ji Dihong frowned.
“Initially, we did not intend to use this shaman technique while Tianwu and Ju Mang remained loyal. However, since they have betrayed us, we have no more reservations!” Gu Hai declared coldly.
“Shaman technique? What shaman technique?” Ji Dihong asked, its face darkening.
“The shaman technique world devouring!” Gu Hai replied solemnly.
“World devouring?” Ji Dihong raised an eyebrow.
World devouring? That’s Chiyou’s secret technique. However, I’ve already plundered it. I have world devouring! Is there some other secret to world devouring?
“Roar!”
The black dragon roared skywards and swiped its claw down, triggering a reaction from the Hunger Pearl hidden beneath its skin. This gesture suddenly manipulated the spatial laws.
To Ji Dihong’s eyes, Gu Hai’s claw gently stirred space, creating ripples. A black thread-like law flew out, setting off alarm bells in Ji Dihong’s heart.
When this black law thread emerged, it began pulling numerous other threads, multiplying exponentially.
Centered on Gu Hai’s dragon claw, a vast net appeared, seeming to cover the sky and earth.
Instantaneously, the entire Hungry Ghost Path Secret Realm turned dark as this enormous net spanned the whole world.
All the battling experts suddenly changed their expressions, unaware of what had just transpired.
They saw dense black energy, identical to the black energy expelled by Gu Hai, emerge from this expansive net and fill the space.
Ji Dihong’s face changed, as it seemed to realize something dreadful.
Revealing a ferocious expression, the black dragon shouted thunderously, “World devouring!”
Then it opened its mouth and inhaled.
Boom!
The newly formed net of laws swept across the entire hungry ghost path of reincarnation in an instant, like a genuine giant net.
Rumble…!
This enormous net ensnared Ju Mang, Shangguan Hen, Ao Ying, and Ao Sheng. Every hungry ghost in the hungry ghost path of reincarnation, regardless of their size, was caught in these laws and yanked towards Gu Hai.
The scene resembled the act of drawing in a vast net full of fish. World devouring—a terrifying technique capable of swallowing every creature in the world—was now in full effect.
“What? What’s going on?” Ju Mang screamed in horror.
Shangguan Hen, Ao Ying, and Ao Sheng also showed shocked expressions, unable to control their movements under this massive net.
World Devouring! This was the true cultivation technique of world devouring—a horrifying secret method capable of consuming every living being in the world.
Gu Hai sucked, and the inhabitants of the nearest hundred hungry ghost bases flew towards it, immediately entering the black dragon’s mouth.
There was no need to chew, simply devour. Devour! Devour! Devour!
Devour the world in a mouthful.
This was the true world devouring.
Ji Dihong watched in horror as countless hungry ghosts swarmed towards Gu Hai.
He suddenly understood what Gu Hai relied on—the world-devouring power, a power Ji Dihong had once taken away and could not harness himself.
How could he possess such a horrifying shaman technique?
No. There is no time to think. Ji Dihong charged Gu Hai in a frenzy.
“Roar!”
The black dragon devoured the endless stream of hungry ghosts, simultaneously clashing with Ji Dihong.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Although Gu Hai suffered a series of severe blows, the inexhaustible influx of hungry ghosts kept healing its wounds, swiftly restoring him.
However, every heavy strike from Ji Dihong felt like a lethal blow, inflicting immense pain on Gu Hai.
“How do you think Mister Cangjie is faring now?” Gu Hai shouted, trying to divert Ji Dihong’s attention.
At these words, Ji Dihong’s expression shifted drastically.
“Mister Cangjie? We understand now. Our sense of unease wasn’t from Shangguan Hen but from your intent against Mister Cangjie. Gu Hai, how dare you?!” Ji Dihong roared in fury.
Gu Hai provoked Ji Dihong further as it bore Ji Dihong’s tempestuous assault. “Who do you think is more valuable, Mister Cangjie or me?”
This taunt only fueled Ji Dihong’s anger.
On one hand, Ji Dihong struggled to kill Gu Hai. On the other hand, Cangjie was his most valuable strategist and official. If Cangjie fell victim to Gu Hai, the loss would be tremendous.
Gu Hai, too, was growing anxious. The more he employed the Hunger Pearl, the more he became acquainted with it. This pearl embodied the laws of the hungry ghost path of reincarnation.
The ancient shaman race geniuses had not created a supreme secret method but comprehended the laws of the hungry ghost path of reincarnation, then embedded these laws in the Hunger Pearl, somewhat akin to the Reincarnation Pool. However, while the Reincarnation Pool only had the patterns of the laws, the Hunger Pearl also possessed their power.
Consuming the hungry ghosts one by one was one thing. Now that Gu Hai used world devouring, it had to use the power of the laws in the Hungry Pearl—which could be used only once. Once used, he could not retrieve them.
Unless left without a choice, Gu Hai would not use world devouring.
Now, Gu Hai had no choice. After it used world devouring, a crack suddenly appeared in the Hunger Pearl within its body.
Crack!
Gu Hai felt the crack but could not prevent the pearl from cracking, so it had no choice but to wallow in this round of “world devouring.”
Ji Dihong had already forced Gu Hai to the ground. It repeatedly attacked, almost tearing Gu Hai’s body apart and breaking Gu Hai’s dragon form. However, under the effect of world devouring, Gu Hai had incredible recuperative power. Each time Ji Dihong inflicted a severe injury on Gu Hai, the black dragon immediately healed completely.
The frenzied Ji Dihong repeatedly targeted Gu Hai’s dragon head. However, how could Gu Hai allow that? It would rather let its body be torn apart by Ji Dihong than let its head be damaged. With its dragon mouth open, it could continuously devour numerous spirits.
Ji Dihong grew increasingly frustrated by its failure to finish off Gu Hai despite attacking for a long while.
“Gu Hai, if anything happens to Mister Cangjie, I swear you’ll never recover!” Ji Dihong roared.
“Hahaha! Bing Ji has been with us from the start. I made her hide and told her she mustn’t emerge even if we got gravely hurt. The moment you joined the battlefield, she was free to assassinate Cangjie. The last time, I tore apart Cangjie’s physical body. Now he’s even less of a match, right? Bing Ji must have torn him apart by now!” Gu Hai shouted back.
Ji Dihong’s expression changed drastically.
“Furthermore, with Cangjie dead, you, Ji Dihong, will never escape the hungry ghost path of reincarnation unless you commit suicide! You’ll be trapped here forever, with no escape!” Gu Hai bellowed.
Buzz!
Ji Dihong shuddered and halted its assault on Gu Hai.
It immediately turned towards where it last saw Cangjie.
Initially, Ji Dihong had wanted to finish off Gu Hai first, then save Cangjie. It even thought that Cangjie might already have been killed, so going to rescue him would be useless. Hence, killing Gu Hai had priority.
Now, it was jolted into the realization that without Cangjie, what was the point in killing Gu Hai? It could not escape this place, so there would be no point in anything. Would it have to commit suicide to escape by reincarnating?
Ji Dihong left in haste, hoping Cangjie could hold on.
With Ji Dihong gone, Gu Hai immediately opened its dragon mouth and rapidly devoured countless hungry ghosts.
Ji Dihong’s attacks had been fierce. Gu Hai had previously devoured countless hungry ghosts merely to heal its injuries. If it continued this way, once it consumed all the hungry ghosts, it would not gain any strength. That would signal its end.
So, Gu Hai sent Ji Dihong away.
Gu Hai needed to devour as many hungry ghosts as possible right away.
Devour! Devour! Devour!
Its injuries healed rapidly. How many hungry ghosts were there in the hungry ghost path of reincarnation? Countless trillions, if not more. Many were tiny, merely a few centimeters in height, while others were several kilometers tall.
Gu Hai welcomed all, consuming them without discrimination.
As this happened, some hungry ghosts still possessing spiritual souls were digested. Suddenly, the three spiritual souls flew out and expressed their gratitude to Gu Hai, apparently thankful for its purification, before departing the hungry ghost path of reincarnation.
Gradually, Gu Hai’s black dragon form enlarged, growing continuously.
Before long, the suction drew Shangguan Hen and Ju Mang in.
At the sight of the black dragon, Shangguan Hen’s eyes lit up. With a thought, the black dragon flung Shangguan Hen away.
Unfortunately, Ju Mang was not as favored, propelled towards the gaping maw of the black dragon.
“World devouring? Gu Hai, you actually possess such a terrifying ability? You could have used it earlier if you wanted to. Was your intention genuinely to lead us out? No, Gu Hai, Imperial Emperor Gu, I was wrong. Please spare me. I swear loyalty to you. Don’t eat me, don’t eat me!” Ju Mang revealed a look of despair.
The black dragon remained indifferent, its eyes gleaming with cold light as it inhaled sharply.
Whoosh!
With a mighty gulp, the black dragon swallowed Ju Mang.
“No!” Ju Mang screamed in despair.
However, Gu Hai completely digested Ju Ming in the blink of an eye.
The black dragon’s form expanded once more, growing significantly larger.