Chapter 40: Within the Void
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 40: Within the Void
[Funeral Rites]
[Quality: Divine Artifact]
[Type: Scythe]
[Requirement: Lv.300 (Ignored)]
[Strength Bonus: 1,000,000 + (Level * 10,000)]
[Intelligence Bonus: 1,000,000 + (Level * 10,000)]
[...]
[Space Breaker: You may consume any amount of Mana to tear open a space rift lasting 5 seconds. You can choose any designated anchor point within any dimensional space to establish a connection. You may then choose any target to send into the rift. The size and gravitational pull of the rift are determined by the amount of Mana consumed.]
[Growth in progress. Time remaining until next stage: 5d 18h 58min]
After absorbing a massive number of souls, Funeral Rites had completed its second metamorphosis.
The base attribute bonuses it provided had increased tenfold once again.
However, compared to Xie Bai’s status panel—where numbers were measured in the hundreds of millions—this value was still relatively low.
Of course, this metamorphosis brought more than just attribute increases.
It also granted a brand-new ability: Space Breaker.
The "Space" in this context referred to the dimensions themselves.
It was only because of this ability that Xie Bai gained the confidence to face a Demigod.
Naturally, the ability to tear through space alone wasn't enough to put Xie Bai at ease.
This was where Master Roland’s Hive Replacement ritual came into play.
Because the ritual had been successfully triggered, the entire Void Insect Hive had been transported into the Void.
This provided Xie Bai with a designated anchor point within the Void.
With an anchor point established, Xie Bai could use Space Breaker to open a passage directly into the Void.
Vroom—!
As the space rift snapped shut, the massive Golden Dragon vanished instantly.
As for Thanatos and Julius, Xie Bai had "thoughtfully" left them outside, leaving them to perform a graceful free-fall through the open sky.
*
The Void Insect Hive.
By now, Melos had long since returned from the outside and begun designing the structures surrounding the palace.
He was currently unaware that the entire hive had been relocated into the Void.
"Hmm... this feels alright, but something’s still off. Let’s try another draft..."
Just as Melos put away his blueprints and reached for a fresh sheet of paper, a massive tremor suddenly struck, knocking over a nearby ink bottle.
Melos: "!!!"
"Oh no!"
But it was too late.
In less than a second, the thirty-two blueprints Melos had spent sixteen hours designing were completely soaked in ink.
"I... it wasn't me... you... you piece of... ah?!"
For a moment, Melos was at a loss for words.
Before he could fully vent his fury, he looked out the nearby window and saw a colossal airship parked outside.
Melos: "?"
"Is that... the Golden Dragon?"
Melos rubbed his eyes.
"I must be hallucinating from the stress. How could the Emperor's Golden Dragon possibly appear here..."
Melos opened his eyes again.
The massive ship was still floating there.
Melos: "??"
"Not a hallucination?"
"That really is the Golden Dragon!!"
Under Melos’s shocked gaze, the grand vessel began to plummet.
At the same time, two figures streaked out from within.
It was the Chaos Demigod and Xie Bai.
Whoosh—!
A massive, twisted tentacle lashed out, but Xie Bai dodged it with ease.
"Ugh... how revolting..."
Looking at the Chaos Demigod’s hideously distorted body, Xie Bai felt a wave of physiological revulsion.
Especially since the creature was covered in a mass of bizarrely shaped tentacles.
"Disgusting things like you should just hurry up and disappear...!"
As she spoke, a violet-black book manifested beside her.
[Poem of the Void]
[Quality: Divine Artifact]
[...]
[Return: When you are located within the Void, ignore all negative effects of the Void and receive the Void's Blessing. All attributes are increased to 100x. You cannot die while within the Void.]
The moment Xie Bai entered the Void, the Return affix of the Poem of the Void was successfully activated.
Under the terrifying empowerment of the artifact, Xie Bai’s various attributes shattered the ten-billion mark. She had become an extreme existence whose raw stats surpassed even those of the Chaos Demigod.
If not for the restrictions of Greed's Curse, a single casual basic attack from Xie Bai would have been enough to vaporize the Chaos Demigod’s trillion-point health bar until not even ash remained.
Furthermore, the Poem of the Void granted Xie Bai immortality.
This directly covered her weakness—her fear of death—making her invincible in the truest sense of the word.
The only problem was that the Chaos Demigod’s current form was so grotesque and warped that Xie Bai found it nauseating.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have even bothered to dodge. She would have simply ignored its attacks and mashed her skills in a mindless combo.
The moment Xie Bai’s attention was momentarily diverted by the Poem of the Void, the Chaos Demigod seized the opportunity. It lashed out with a massive tentacle writhing with strange, pulsating growths.
Whoosh—!
Almost instantaneously, Xie Bai relied on her astronomical Agility of forty billion to evade the strike.
However, because the dodge was so close, a few drops of strange mucus from the tentacle managed to splash onto her thigh.
"..."
In an instant, a thick, suffocating killing intent erupted from Xie Bai, radiating outward.
Even the Void Insects agitated deep underground were affected by this terrifying will; they all pressed themselves against the floor, not daring to move an inch.
"Heh..."
At this moment, Xie Bai’s originally crimson eyes had turned a deep, absolute shade of blood-red.
"Chaos Demigod, was it...?"
Xie Bai raised Funeral Rites once more.
"You messy, sewer-dwelling, social-blight of a damp, dark waste—hurry up and find a spit-covered, filthy manhole cover, crawl inside, and drown yourself upside down!"
With that, Xie Bai activated every single one of her skills. Completely disregarding whether she would exceed the gold coin limit, she swung Funeral Rites with all her might.
Slash—!
In an instant, a devastatingly powerful attack tore toward the Chaos Demigod, frantically shredding every inch of its putrid flesh.
-76.508 Billion
-76.508 Billion
-76.508 Billion
-76.508 Billion
[HP: 784.1 Billion / 1,596.1 Billion]
In a mere heartbeat, the Chaos Demigod’s health dropped by over two hundred billion.
Furthermore, due to the Reaper's healing suppression affix, the Demigod was helpless.
Although its talent had increased its maximum health by over five hundred billion, it couldn't make use of it. It could only stand there and take the loss of two hundred billion health, unable to mount any resistance.
Roar—!
Following Xie Bai’s assault, the Chaos Demigod’s attacks became even more frenzied.
However, against forty billion Agility, not a single strike could get near her again.
"Tsk..."
Watching the Chaos Demigod’s mad, haphazard flailing, Xie Bai’s gaze grew increasingly dark.
Sensing her mood, the Ring of Seven Curses opened its eyes once more.
[Do you allow Wrath to...]
"Piss off."
[Wrath's request has been rejected.]
[...]
[Do you allow Lust to...]
"You piss off too!"
[Lust's request has been rejected.]
After rejecting all the ring's requests, Xie Bai raised Funeral Rites again.
Her Echo skill had entered cooldown, depriving her of her fourth hit of damage.
But to Xie Bai, that didn't matter much.
Before this, she had killed every unit in a single hit.
But now, things were different.
Swish—!
In a flash, thousands of attacks surrounded every corner of the Chaos Demigod, pouring down like a violent, relentless storm.