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Chapter 260 - Big Bang Annihilation
🕑 Added 2025-03-07 07:00:05 +0000 UTCCrown Prince Dastan stopped the Crown Rider. As the wind died down, they began to feel the oppressive heat rising in waves around them.
"Hmm... At first, I thought the same thing, so I've been paying close attention to our surroundings. But I haven't sensed anything suspicious. Furthermore, we've passed through a few different terrains now, so I don't think we're running in circles. Maybe that tree is just way too far, even beyond the current horizon. Or maybe it's some kind of illusion beyond our comprehension," Leyvi speculated as he stepped off the Crown Rider, his feet landing on the parched, cracked earth.
After five days of travel, they had entered a semi-arid desert. The ground beneath their feet was dry and uneven, a mix of cracked soil and jagged stones baked under the relentless sun. Sparse shrubs clung stubbornly to life, their twisted branches adorned with small, waxy leaves that shimmered in the light. The landscape was a testament to the harshness of the environment, where only the hardiest of lifeforms could survive.
Distant mesas and crumbling rock formations loomed on the horizon, their surfaces scarred by the passage of time. But the silhouette of the towering tree far beyond the horizon still outshone them, its presence both awe-inspiring and unnerving. The tree seemed to defy logic, its size and distance making it appear almost otherworldly.
A warm wind swept through the land, carrying the faint scent of dust and dry vegetation. Though the sky was a brilliant blue, the sun's glare made the air shimmer, distorting the distant landscape.
"This prince will destroy this Mystic Realm if that tree turns out to be an illusion! Making a fool of this prince will result in severe consequences!" Crown Prince Dastan declared, his voice filled with indignation.
Leyvi rolled his eyes. "Can you stop bragging every time you open your mouth, clown prince? Destroy this Mystic Realm? You can't even fight weak Demonic Beasts targeting us. Where is this arrogance coming from?"
"Hmph, this prince is the driver, so of course, you have to do the fighting. And this prince wasn't bragging—this prince's grandfather could bring his army here and decimate this place." Dastan retorted, his tone haughty. Deep down, he knew that it would be extremely difficult for his grandfather to bring his army here, but he had to brag somehow.
"Your grandfather isn't you. If you're not the one doing it, stop saying 'this clown will do this, this clown will do that.' Curb the bragging," Leyvi shot back.
"Dammit, Leyvi! This prince! Not this clown! Fine then. This prince will destroy this Mystic Realm with this prince's own effort. Just you wait and see in a few hundred years!" Crown Prince Dastan retorted.
Just as Leyvi was about to respond, the ground beneath them shuddered violently, sending loose stones tumbling down nearby slopes. A deep, rumbling vibration coursed through the earth, like the muffled growl of a buried beast awakening from slumber.
His spiritual sense instinctively spread through the underground, something that for some reason hadn't crossed his mind to do yet. Leyvi immediately noticed a large creature moving rapidly through the ground, approaching them with alarming speed. The creature's presence was overwhelming, its energy radiating a sense of primal danger.
Without hesitation, Leyvi grabbed Crown Prince Dastan by the hair and tossed him aside, then kicked the Crown Rider to where he tossed Dastan. The sudden movement caught Dastan off guard, and he let out a yelp of surprise.
"Oi, Leyvi! I swear I'm going to beat you up—" Dastan began, but a deafening explosion cut off his words.
Boom!
The ground beneath Leyvi erupted, sending a plume of dust and shattered rock into the air. From the gaping fissure, a colossal Demonic Earthworm surged forth—a Commander-Level Demonic Beast. Its segmented body gleamed with a dull, rock-like sheen, each section lined with jagged ridges that scraped against the earth as it emerged.
"Clown Prince, run! It's a Commander-Level Demonic Beast! And there's more coming! Go! Get ready to use your life-saving artifacts at any moment!" Leyvi shouted, his entire body erupting with fiery Qi. He knew he had to go all out from the start. The air around him crackled with energy, and the ground beneath his feet began to scorch from the intensity of his power.
He also reminded Crown Prince Dastan about the life-saving artifacts because he knew that non-combat cultivators often forgot their options in chaotic situations. Even experienced fighters could overlook their tools in the heat of battle.
Crown Prince Dastan frantically dashed toward his Crown Rider, screaming, "Oi, Leyvi, what about you?"
Leyvi noticed the Demonic Earthworm twist around and lunge out, targeting Crown Prince Dastan first. However, the lunge failed as its long body smashed into the ground. Leyvi had concentrated his spiritual pressure into a small area and aimed it at a small section of the tail end of the earthworm's body, pinning it against the ground. This caused its lunge to fail and it slammed into the ground with a thunderous crash.
"Just go, idiot! I can't go all out if you're here! You're a burden!" Leyvi shouted, his voice strained as he maintained his spiritual pressure on the earthworm.
"Dammit Leyvi! This prince will remember this insult!" Crown Prince Dastan rode the Crown Rider and escaped the place at full speed. Multiple High-Level Demonic Earthworms burst forth from the ground in all directions, intending to swallow him, but at the last moment, a strong shockwave repelled all the Earthworms in his path, allowing him to escape successfully. Crown Prince Dastan had activated his life-saving artifact as Leyvi instructed.
At the same time, Leyvi took out the metal bat and charged forward to bonk the earthworm, but the earthworm also took the chance to attack by whipping its head, smashing Leyvi to the ground a few hundred meters away.
Pfftt!
Leyvi spurted a lot of blood, he could feel his ribs broken by the attack. The metal bat was also no longer in his hand. The earthworm was only stunned for a split second after making contact with the metal bat. After that, it realized that it was unpinned and immediately went after Leyvi, its massive body writhing with terrifying speed.
Leyvi clenched his teeth and ignored the pain as he formed his spiritual pressure, pinning the earthworm lunging at him. It wasn't hard to pinpoint as the target was huge. The earthworm once again slammed itself to the ground by the sudden pin on its tail part. The ground shook violently from the impact, and dust clouds billowed into the air.
The Commander-Level Demonic Earthworm lifted its body again and opened its mouth, producing a great sucking effect to devour Leyvi. But Leyvi, feeling the danger of the suction, split his concentrated spiritual pressure into two and redirected one of them toward the Demonic Earthworm's head, pinning its head to the ground as well, disabling its ability to attack.
However, even with his out-of-the-ordinary spiritual pressure, his opponent right now was a Commander-Level Demonic Beast. Splitting his spiritual pressure reduced its effectiveness. It took the entirety of his mental strength to pin it to the ground. Veins could be seen popping out from Leyvi's forehead as he strained to maintain control.
All of the sudden, a High-Level Demonic Earthworm rushed out from the ground and slammed onto the vulnerable Leyvi, launching him into the air. It didn't dare to swallow Leyvi because the fiery Qi around him was burning intensely. Leyvi wasn't injured by the attack, but the launch dispersed Leyvi's spiritual pressure, freeing the Commander-Level Demonic Earthworm from the pin again. Leyvi kept getting attacked by other Demonic Earthworms, so he kept getting launched into the air by them.
These worms! They are toying with me! I could have run away easily if not for this stupid flying prohibition! Leyvi thought as he was thrown around by the group of earthworms. His previous injury ached from the repeated impacts, but he endured because his preparation was almost complete.
The Commander-Level Demonic Earthworm lifted its body and opened its mouth wide again, but for a different purpose. From deep within its maw came a hollow, echoing wail, which stopped all the other Demonic Earthworms in their tracks. As soon as the wail ended, the earthworms spread apart, and the ones that had stopped chasing Crown Prince Dastan turned around and moved toward Leyvi, who had just landed on the ground.
They then circled the area, binding themselves together with their huge and long bodies, creating a wall. It seemed that they intended to prevent their only prey from running away. The wall of earthworms was a formidable barrier, their bodies intertwined like a living fortress.
Leyvi knew exactly what they were doing, as his Universal Language ability translated the wail. Leyvi complained in his mind. Do all the group creatures in this Mystic Realm use this wall strategy? Previously, it was the rock monsters; now, even the earthworms.
Leyvi saw the Commander-Level Demonic Earthworm approach him. Its pride was hurt because it had been slammed twice onto the ground by Leyvi, so it wanted the others to watch it devour him. The creature's massive body loomed over him, its maw opening wide, ready to consume him whole.
This time, aware of Leyvi's formidable spiritual pressure, it activated another one of its bloodline abilities first to counter Leyvi's spiritual pressure. Its tail end stuck into the ground and vibrated at a high frequency, causing localized earthquakes. It noticed Leyvi needed to concentrate to use spiritual pressure, so it created earthquakes to prevent Leyvi from focusing. The ground beneath Leyvi's feet trembled violently, making it difficult for him to maintain his balance.
However, even with the unstable ground, Leyvi remained unfazed. He had completed the preparation for his final attack. All that was left was to execute it—the strongest attack he possessed at the moment. His body glowed with fiery Qi like a burning sun, and the air around him shimmered with heat.
The ground below him split due to the intense tremors, so he jumped away, but the Demonic Earthworm took this chance to charge at him. Its massive body moved with terrifying speed, its maw opening wide to swallow him whole.
The next moment, Leyvi was completely swallowed.
"Big Bang Annihilation."
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
A massive pillar of fire erupted into the sky, visible from afar.
