Chapter 101: Severing the Tentacles
The sky exploded with brilliant psychic light as the joint Sea of Consciousness grand array unleashed a dazzling membrane of light, desperately holding back the psychic heavy cannon the Ancient Progenitor was condensing.
All of the Ancient Progenitor's psychic computing power was being poured directly into the grand array in front. Its dark golden vertical pupils were locked tightly onto Zhou Lin and the other cultivators, while the hundreds of psychic tentacles around its head trembled violently, continuously supplying power. It had not noticed in the slightest that, taking advantage of the cover of smoke and beast corpses, a figure had silently circled around to the side and rear of its massive body.
Lin Yan kept his body low, his footsteps on the scorched earth so light they were virtually soundless. His fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness continuously released a faint illusionary mist, distorting the Ancient Progenitor's perception of its surroundings and masking his own aura. He dared not be careless in the slightest; with every step, he observed the movements of the scaled beasts around him.
A few low-tier scaled beasts blocking his path sensed the anomaly and pounced at him with roars.
Lin Yan's short blade flashed up and down. A cold gleam flashed, and two scaled beasts fell to the ground. Without pausing for a moment, he continued his advance.
The distance was closing in. The Ancient Progenitor's massive body was right before his eyes. Its rough, thick scale-skin was covered in ancient grooves, and the psychic tentacles drifting around its head were like countless semi-transparent long whips, writhing slightly. These tentacles were the hub through which it controlled the beast tide across the wasteland and unleashed psychic attacks. As long as they were severed, the Ancient Progenitor's psychic network would be instantly paralyzed.
At the front, Zhou Lin roared to hold the grand array steady, blood continuously surging from his mouth. Every extra second they held on was a massive drain on everyone. Several Imperial Guards were already swaying on their feet, their Seas of Consciousness on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
"Lin Yan! Hurry!" Zhou Lin's voice traveled through the psychic link into Lin Yan's mind.
The Ancient Progenitor seemed to faintly sense something amiss. Some of its tentacles swayed slightly, wanting to turn back and investigate.
He couldn't wait any longer.
Lin Yan exerted force with his feet, launching himself into the air and leaping onto the Ancient Progenitor's broad back. The scale-skin on its body was sticky and slippery, mixed with foul-smelling mucus. He dug his fingers tightly into the gaps between the scales, rapidly climbing upward.
"Someone!"
The Ancient Progenitor finally realized what was happening, its will suddenly erupting with shock and fury. It never expected that while it was fully suppressing the joint grand array, Lin Yan had actually managed to sneak up behind it. It violently twisted its head backward, its massive maw opening wide as it snapped viciously toward its own back. Simultaneously, several thick psychic tentacles shifted direction, transforming into blades that stabbed straight at Lin Yan.
Lin Yan flipped mid-air to dodge the snapping jaws and swung his short blade.
Tear!
A semi-transparent psychic tentacle was cleanly severed by the blade. The moment the tentacle broke, a mournful psychic shriek exploded out of thin air. The Ancient Progenitor's massive body trembled violently, and dozens of scaled beasts on the wasteland instantly lost control, freezing in place.
It works!
"Delusional!" The Ancient Progenitor raged. Its remaining tentacles danced wildly, lashing out at Lin Yan in a dense barrage. These tentacles were not merely psychic conduits; physically, they were equally tough and sharp. If struck, his bones and muscles would be torn apart.
Lin Yan maneuvered nimbly across the Ancient Progenitor's back, his short blade swinging continuously.
Tear! Tear! Tear!
One psychic tentacle after another snapped. Pale golden psychic fluid flowed from the severed ends, hissing and smoking as it hit the scorched earth. With every tentacle severed, a batch of scaled beasts on the wasteland lost their commands, their attacks descending into chaos.
In agonizing pain, the Ancient Progenitor thrashed and shook its massive body wildly, trying to crush the person on its back to death. The thick scale-skin rubbed against him continuously, and Lin Yan was nearly thrown off several times. His arms were slashed by the tentacles, leaving several deep wounds that soaked his sleeves in blood.
"Concentrate all your power and strike the Ancient Progenitor's true body!" Zhou Lin seized the opportunity and shouted the order.
The joint Sea of Consciousness grand array shifted its focus. No longer purely defensive, it condensed a thick pillar of psychic light and fiercely slammed it into the scales on the Ancient Progenitor's chest.
Rumble!
The massive impact caused the Ancient Progenitor's body to stagger. Suffering attacks from both the front and the back, its mind was thrown into disarray. The psychic heavy cannon collapsed directly, unable to be maintained any longer. The psychic oppressive might that had previously blanketed the entire wasteland noticeably weakened.
Seeing this, Old Chen waved his knife and led the surviving close-combat warriors out of the defensive perimeter. They slaughtered the chaotic scaled beasts ahead and charged toward the Ancient Progenitor to provide support.
Beset by enemies on all sides, the Ancient Progenitor's fury reached the heavens. It no longer cared about commanding the wasteland beast tide. All of its remaining dozens of thick tentacles retracted, concentrating their power to hunt down Lin Yan on its back.
"You despicable ant, you dare damage my tentacles! I will tear apart your Sea of Consciousness and crush your flesh!"
Countless psychic spikes swarmed along the remaining tentacles, stabbing relentlessly into Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness.
Lin Yan fully deployed his fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness barrier, enduring wave after wave of psychic stabs. Meanwhile, his gaze was locked firmly onto the thickest main trunk tentacle at the base of the Ancient Progenitor's head—the root of all the tentacles. As long as this main trunk was severed, the entire psychic network would collapse completely.
The Ancient Progenitor seemed to see through his plan and desperately turned its head to protect the main trunk tentacle. Simultaneously, it mobilized its remaining psychic power to stir up endless illusions within Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness. The scene of his master's death in the deep mountains, the dying faces of comrades who had sacrificed themselves during rift missions, and the sea of corpses beneath the city wall—countless scenes of grief and despair flooded into his mind, attempting to shatter his mind.
Lin Yan's mind trembled, his temples throbbing with intense pain. But he guarded his core, calming his mind and protecting his spirit, refusing to be deceived by the illusions.
"Your psychic control ends here."
Lin Yan stabilized his stance. Channeling all his inner qi into the short blade and infusing the edge with his fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness power, he found the fleeting gap exposed as the Ancient Progenitor turned its head. Leaping forward, he swung his blade with all his might!
End of Chapter.
All of the Ancient Progenitor's psychic computing power was being poured directly into the grand array in front. Its dark golden vertical pupils were locked tightly onto Zhou Lin and the other cultivators, while the hundreds of psychic tentacles around its head trembled violently, continuously supplying power. It had not noticed in the slightest that, taking advantage of the cover of smoke and beast corpses, a figure had silently circled around to the side and rear of its massive body.
Lin Yan kept his body low, his footsteps on the scorched earth so light they were virtually soundless. His fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness continuously released a faint illusionary mist, distorting the Ancient Progenitor's perception of its surroundings and masking his own aura. He dared not be careless in the slightest; with every step, he observed the movements of the scaled beasts around him.
A few low-tier scaled beasts blocking his path sensed the anomaly and pounced at him with roars.
Lin Yan's short blade flashed up and down. A cold gleam flashed, and two scaled beasts fell to the ground. Without pausing for a moment, he continued his advance.
The distance was closing in. The Ancient Progenitor's massive body was right before his eyes. Its rough, thick scale-skin was covered in ancient grooves, and the psychic tentacles drifting around its head were like countless semi-transparent long whips, writhing slightly. These tentacles were the hub through which it controlled the beast tide across the wasteland and unleashed psychic attacks. As long as they were severed, the Ancient Progenitor's psychic network would be instantly paralyzed.
At the front, Zhou Lin roared to hold the grand array steady, blood continuously surging from his mouth. Every extra second they held on was a massive drain on everyone. Several Imperial Guards were already swaying on their feet, their Seas of Consciousness on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
"Lin Yan! Hurry!" Zhou Lin's voice traveled through the psychic link into Lin Yan's mind.
The Ancient Progenitor seemed to faintly sense something amiss. Some of its tentacles swayed slightly, wanting to turn back and investigate.
He couldn't wait any longer.
Lin Yan exerted force with his feet, launching himself into the air and leaping onto the Ancient Progenitor's broad back. The scale-skin on its body was sticky and slippery, mixed with foul-smelling mucus. He dug his fingers tightly into the gaps between the scales, rapidly climbing upward.
"Someone!"
The Ancient Progenitor finally realized what was happening, its will suddenly erupting with shock and fury. It never expected that while it was fully suppressing the joint grand array, Lin Yan had actually managed to sneak up behind it. It violently twisted its head backward, its massive maw opening wide as it snapped viciously toward its own back. Simultaneously, several thick psychic tentacles shifted direction, transforming into blades that stabbed straight at Lin Yan.
Lin Yan flipped mid-air to dodge the snapping jaws and swung his short blade.
Tear!
A semi-transparent psychic tentacle was cleanly severed by the blade. The moment the tentacle broke, a mournful psychic shriek exploded out of thin air. The Ancient Progenitor's massive body trembled violently, and dozens of scaled beasts on the wasteland instantly lost control, freezing in place.
It works!
"Delusional!" The Ancient Progenitor raged. Its remaining tentacles danced wildly, lashing out at Lin Yan in a dense barrage. These tentacles were not merely psychic conduits; physically, they were equally tough and sharp. If struck, his bones and muscles would be torn apart.
Lin Yan maneuvered nimbly across the Ancient Progenitor's back, his short blade swinging continuously.
Tear! Tear! Tear!
One psychic tentacle after another snapped. Pale golden psychic fluid flowed from the severed ends, hissing and smoking as it hit the scorched earth. With every tentacle severed, a batch of scaled beasts on the wasteland lost their commands, their attacks descending into chaos.
In agonizing pain, the Ancient Progenitor thrashed and shook its massive body wildly, trying to crush the person on its back to death. The thick scale-skin rubbed against him continuously, and Lin Yan was nearly thrown off several times. His arms were slashed by the tentacles, leaving several deep wounds that soaked his sleeves in blood.
"Concentrate all your power and strike the Ancient Progenitor's true body!" Zhou Lin seized the opportunity and shouted the order.
The joint Sea of Consciousness grand array shifted its focus. No longer purely defensive, it condensed a thick pillar of psychic light and fiercely slammed it into the scales on the Ancient Progenitor's chest.
Rumble!
The massive impact caused the Ancient Progenitor's body to stagger. Suffering attacks from both the front and the back, its mind was thrown into disarray. The psychic heavy cannon collapsed directly, unable to be maintained any longer. The psychic oppressive might that had previously blanketed the entire wasteland noticeably weakened.
Seeing this, Old Chen waved his knife and led the surviving close-combat warriors out of the defensive perimeter. They slaughtered the chaotic scaled beasts ahead and charged toward the Ancient Progenitor to provide support.
Beset by enemies on all sides, the Ancient Progenitor's fury reached the heavens. It no longer cared about commanding the wasteland beast tide. All of its remaining dozens of thick tentacles retracted, concentrating their power to hunt down Lin Yan on its back.
"You despicable ant, you dare damage my tentacles! I will tear apart your Sea of Consciousness and crush your flesh!"
Countless psychic spikes swarmed along the remaining tentacles, stabbing relentlessly into Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness.
Lin Yan fully deployed his fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness barrier, enduring wave after wave of psychic stabs. Meanwhile, his gaze was locked firmly onto the thickest main trunk tentacle at the base of the Ancient Progenitor's head—the root of all the tentacles. As long as this main trunk was severed, the entire psychic network would collapse completely.
The Ancient Progenitor seemed to see through his plan and desperately turned its head to protect the main trunk tentacle. Simultaneously, it mobilized its remaining psychic power to stir up endless illusions within Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness. The scene of his master's death in the deep mountains, the dying faces of comrades who had sacrificed themselves during rift missions, and the sea of corpses beneath the city wall—countless scenes of grief and despair flooded into his mind, attempting to shatter his mind.
Lin Yan's mind trembled, his temples throbbing with intense pain. But he guarded his core, calming his mind and protecting his spirit, refusing to be deceived by the illusions.
"Your psychic control ends here."
Lin Yan stabilized his stance. Channeling all his inner qi into the short blade and infusing the edge with his fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness power, he found the fleeting gap exposed as the Ancient Progenitor turned its head. Leaping forward, he swung his blade with all his might!
End of Chapter.
