Returning to the Mysterious Era

Chapter 312 - Golemization of the Lungs (2)

Chapter 298 (2) - Golemization of the Lungs

Buzz... buzz... buzz...

The fountain erupted, and a horde of white beetles spewed out from its fist-sized opening at the top. Their sheer number made it seem as though a milky liquid was surging forth.

The scarab swarm overflowed like a gushing stream.

At this moment, Cassius stood motionless in the pool like a towering, silent white statue. His body remained still, but his eyes flickered with dark light. Wisps of shadow-like black mist seeped through the gaps in his clothes, rising and swirling like hot flames.

The scarabs encountered the Golem's life magnetic field as soon as they emerged. This swarm of scarabs was akin to a school of piranhas in a rainforest stream. Even a large predator passing through would be heavily injured or even killed.

However, each scarab was individually weak, and even an ordinary person could cautiously kill them without injury. Their life magnetic field was extremely fragile.

Cassius fully activated his powerful Golem life magnetic field, reaping the lives of the dense scarabs like a scythe. Each scarab was so weak that merely touching the Golem life magnetic field caused it to die instantly.

The moment they crawled out, they turned into corpses, dropping to the ground with a thud. Nearly a hundred scarabs were killed in just a couple of breaths, and their life vibration energy was absorbed by Cassius.

This unique frequency naturally nourished his lungs, propelling the operation of his Golem Covert Martial Arts. Each scarab's life vibration energy was minimal, though uniquely effective, and only slightly enhanced his lungs. But when he absorbed nearly a hundred in rapid succession, his lungs suddenly brightened.

He felt as if a cool, refreshing liquid enveloped his entire respiratory system, including his lungs and airways. A subtle change was quietly occurring.

Buzz...

The fountain's interior resembled a hornet's nest as scarabs scrambled to emerge. The number of bugs appearing each second surged, as they poured out in a maddened frenzy.

This was precisely what Cassius wanted. He wrapped his arms around the fountain, his massive hands crossing together. His body erupted with black mist, momentarily shrouding the entire fountain, blocking Feng Liusi and Saint Feinan’s view.

Crash... crash... crash...

Wave after wave of dead scarab bodies fell rhythmically. Soon, they filled the pool and began spilling out onto the plaza.

Cassius' chest now felt incomparably comfortable, a sensation that made him want to burst into song. He felt euphoric!

The cooling sensation in his lungs was like he had downed an entire bottle of medicinal balm. Even his breath carried the damp scent of mist.

But the cooling sensation was accompanied by a numbing pain from his body's accelerated transformation. His entire lungs emitted a bright light, akin to a lightbulb growing increasingly powerful. The evolution, which would normally require long-term refinement, was now accelerated thousands of times over. Cells divided, and functions were being upgraded at high speed.

His bronchial tree extended further, its branches spreading in all directions as it formed a complex and vast system like the roots of a banyan tree. Countless bag-shaped alveoli hung at the tips of the branches, drenched in a black energy.

These enhancements gave the lungs more efficient and powerful functions. This evolution would accelerate the gas exchange process tenfold over, allowing the body to rapidly extract oxygen from the air and expel carbon dioxide and other waste gases. The modified cells and energy would act like a filter to remove toxic gases. He could now function normally in even the harshest environments, with a greatly enhanced survival capacity.

Furthermore, his lungs would no longer be vulnerable. Even if ninety percent of it was destroyed, the remaining ten percent could still maintain normal bodily functions.

Cassius had a technique called Breathless Chain Strike, which could explosively increase his attack speed in a short burst. Now that his lungs had transformed, his Breathless Chain Strike would receive an epic enhancement. He could remain in a constant Breathless Chain Strike state during combat, making it part of his combat style rather than a burst of activity.

The insect corpses piled up on the plaza, covering the ground. The chaos at the bottom of the fountain remained intense, and the scarab swarm seemed endless. Even as Cassius continued to reap them like a scythe, the size of the white beetles pouring out grew larger.

They had grown from the size of a fingernail to the size of a finger. They no longer died instantly when they collided with the Golem life magnetic field. It now took half a second for them to perish. Over time, beetles the size of half a fist began appearing in the swarm, taking a second or two to be killed by Cassius.

If they grew any larger, they might even escape the Golem life magnetic field. Cassius fully activated his Golem Covert Martial Arts, barely managing to complete his final evolution before things spiraled out of control. His lungs flashed like an incandescent bulb.

He had thoroughly completed his Covert Martial Arts golem transformation.

Cassius didn’t even have time to check his physical condition. He shot out of the black mist like a bullet, shouting to Feng Liusi and Saint Feinan.

"Run!!!"

Earlier, he had been shielding himself with Qi, unsure how much information could be blocked. Now that he had completed the lung transformation, Cassius sensed that something massive was colliding with the fountain's base.

Something that was giving off a dangerous aura.

So, having committed the foul deed, he had no choice but to flee. The trio had just vanished into the entrance of the Fire Spark Zone tunnel, when the fountain suddenly shuddered.

A loud crack rang out as if some mechanism had activated. The fountain's base lifted, revealing a pitch-black hole with a diameter of five to six meters. A thick chill crept across the plaza as a swarm of bugs crawled out.

Clatter...

The metallic clashing of limbs against the ground echoed as several giant insects, each two meters long, crawled out, their antennae twitching slightly.

The scarab swarm surged like a tsunami inside the hole, rushing in all directions as though enraged by the slaughter that had just occurred. Tens of thousands of bugs poured into five tunnels.

Cassius's use of Qi to block off the scarabs had indeed had some effect.

***

Boom... boom... boom...

The silent and untouched gray-white walls of the Water Vortex Zone were being shattered. Dust trickled down from the corners of the walls.

A blood-red pool lay below, seemingly lined with rows of black coffins. Numerous grooves on the ground transported a reddish-brown liquid to them. It appeared to be some kind of ritualistic arrangement.

The vibrations grew louder, shaking the entire cave wall. The topmost coffin creaked open, and a man dressed like a noble was startled awake. His face was pale, his lips decorated with two fangs, and an aura of powerful energy emanated from his body.

Whoosh! The man's eyes snapped open. His fierce gaze swept across the entire cave like a vicious bat-like creature, as if he wanted to find the intruder.

He would suck them dry! However, no other creatures were present in the cave.

Perplexed, the man poked his head out, only for the cave to shake violently again. Dust showered down on his face and his ears buzzed with rumbling sounds, mingled with something else.

The man, just awakened from his slumber, was a bit sluggish. It took him a moment of shaking his head before his expression changed abruptly.

That sound was the sound of limbs against the cave walls!

It was insects. Scarabs. A scarab tide!

Damn it!!!

The man instantly lay back down and slammed the lid of his beloved coffin shut.