Chapter 656 - Evil Laughter

Buzz!

A peculiar, overbearing ripple rolled through the air. It was the Golem's life magnetic field, which could annihilate all weaker life forms within range. The Golem's life magnetic field expanded in an instant like an amber sphere, swallowing the Lord of Flooding Light!

Pressure from all directions pressed down on every inch of the Lord of Flooding Light's burning body. It was as if billions of tiny sharp blades were slowly slicing it apart. Then those blades would become bloodsucking flies, greedily devouring the essence the Lord of Flooding Light had amassed over millennia!

This was one of the core abilities of the Golem Covert Martial Arts. The ability would naturally grow stronger as Cassius's life essence grew stronger. From feeding on ordinary dark creatures to Ultimate Dark Forms, it had evolved bit by bit with almost no bottleneck.

The Lord of Flooding Light's vast Will quaked within the ultraheated flames.

"This is—!!!"

At such close quarters, it felt keenly the terror of Cassius's ability. It was then that the Lord of Flooding Light discovered a horrifying fact.

"Pale Origin! True Progenitor of Blood! Star Horn God! Demon Throat Beast! Seranar King! Moon God! You... you!"

Its Will, set on mutual destruction, now wavered. It suddenly perceived the essential signatures of no fewer than six or seven Ultimate Dark Forms within the opponent's life magnetic field! These were energies unique to different Ultimate Dark Forms, forming distinctive life magnetic field traits.

At the moment, they all appeared together with the Golem before it! Combined with what Cassius had said earlier about "merging into one," the Lord of Flooding Light seemed to grasp a startling truth.

"You devoured the energy of those Ultimate Dark Forms! Impossible! How did you do it?! Even Xiadu, in its Well of Sin state, could not freely strip away the essence of an Ultimate Dark Form unless it returned to a concept. However, it would then be merely a blurry instinct. Why would it strip our energy for no reason? Wait... I understand... You are the nemesis of calamity!"

Only a natural enemy could reap the greatest gain by killing its foe. They would grow like carnivores eating their prey. Their fangs and claws would sharpen, muscles strengthen, and battle instinct be further honed. Though the Lord of Flooding Light had chosen mutual destruction, a thread of horror and fear suddenly arose within its heart as it was wrapped in terrifying flames with a ruthless Will. The fear grew wildly in moments.

It, a dignified Ultimate Dark Form that was once near the top ten of that ranking, was actually on the Golem's menu! Furthermore, that menu was filled with Ultimate Dark Forms!

Rumble!

The Lord of Flooding Light began to struggle madly. However, all its strength had just been immolated in hopes of making Cassius pay dearly. Thus, its resistance was negligible. The fists pounding the Golem's heavy armored chest were limp, as if it were flirting.

The Golem suddenly tightened its arms, drawing it into a closer embrace.

"Stop struggling. Let us... merge into one!"

Multiple voices echoed to the vault of heaven, as if thousands of Golems had spoken at once. Clamped tight around the Lord of Flooding Light, the Golem squeezed harder and harder, heedless of the all-searing flames. Suddenly, a steel-armored arm formed of black Qi thrust out from the Golem's back and seized the Lord of Flooding Light. Then a second, a third, and a fourth...

In moments, many black steel arms reached from the Golem's back, fiercely embracing the Lord of Flooding Light. They bloomed like a flower, then folded inward toward a bud. Its violent struggle was for nothing as hundreds and thousands of black arms delicately wrapped even the flames' light inside.

Crack!

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The Lord of Flooding Light's flaming pupils looked toward the free sky in utter despair. Then, a final black steel arm covered the last gap.

"No!!!!!"

Boom!

The sphere formed by countless steel arms collapsed inward in an instant!

Cassius's hideous, evil laughter drowned out the Lord of Flooding Light's final struggling Will.

"Heheheh... hahaha!"

He let his aura pour out without restraint. It was as if a million devils were dancing within the Golem's burning body. The expanding Golem life magnetic field blanketed such a vast area that countless rocks and soil hung overhead eerily, as if a torrential downpour had frozen still.

This marvel lasted over a full ten minutes. Then, at some point, the field dissipated and the debris fell like rain. Even half a mountain flung high came crashing down.

Rumble...

Amid the billowing dust, Holy Fist Skyfall was bloody from head to toe as he crawled up a surviving peak. Even as an extreme combat artist who had managed to find cover, he had still nearly died without a grave from the battle’s aftershocks. Surviving left him grievously wounded and near death.

"Ugh..."

Holy Fist Skyfall smeared blood across the ground as he dragged his heavy body forward. He slumped against the mountain, gasping for air with a desperate look on his face. His throat rasped like a worn-out whistle.

The Golem's expanding life magnetic field, which was not even aimed at him, had still left him almost unable to breathe for over ten minutes. It was a terrible pressure, like being at the seabed several thousand meters below ground.

"Too insane... far too insane... The Lord of Flooding Light actually got... No, I must send this news back, report to—"

The thought in Holy Fist Skyfall's mind broke off when he saw a vast shadow creeping across the ground. The world suddenly dimmed, as if some giant blocked the sun. Despairing, he raised his head with difficulty. A silver heavy metal helmeted visage loomed before him, taking up most of the sky. Scarlet light from the helm lit half the shadow.

"Wait, my lord, I'm willing to—"

Boom!

A huge steel-armored palm slapped down. The mountain collapsed, the ground sank, and superheated magma seemed to spurt from the cracks. As for Holy Fist Skyfall, his mortal flesh was undoubtedly flattened to pieces.

Cassius had no need of his surrender. The purpose of his sixth time-travel was clear. The main target was the Ultimate Dark Forms of the World of Calamity.

Cassius had no plan to create a Golem Sect, so there was no need to tangle with the Gate Organization. Hence, Holy Fist Skyfall could obediently die. That way, the owner's lingering attachment would likely be overfulfilled.

Vmmm... whoosh...

The sole towering phantom abruptly shrank back to a small human form. Cassius stood atop a heavily damaged peak. He looked to the upper right, checking the lingering attachment of the antique's original owner.

Sure enough, with the Lord of Flooding Light fallen and the Gate Organization's deputy leader Holy Fist Skyfall slain by his hand, the second lingering attachment had been fulfilled. According to what the original owner had learned, he only knew the Gate Organization wished to seal the Miracle Garden.

However, in fact, the Gate Organization also sought to open the seal within the Miracle Garden and release the Ultimate Dark Form, the Lord of Flooding Light. But now, the Gate Organization's objective had been taken out by Cassius!

Naturally, this wrecked the Gate Organization's plan at its root. Thus, the second lingering attachment had been completed to a very high degree. Cassius immediately checked how long he could remain in his sixth time-travel. A glance showed a total of three full years.

A thousand days! It was the longest time he’d been able to stay in a time-travel, since it only barely overtook the fifth. Yet though it seemed much, it might still be insufficient to accomplish great deeds in the World of Calamity. After all, Cassius had to be cautious in that dangerous environment.

The World of Calamity was so vast that he would have to stick to the plan and finish the primary objective. First, he had to pay a visit to Totem King Kassares and Blood Vulture Dominator Fist. As for the rest, he would leave it for after.

The wind eased and sunlight returned after the great battle. Cassius sat cross-legged at the summit, breathing steadily.

"The Lord of Flooding Light... What a pity, it was confined and worn down by the Miracle Garden for far, far too long. Its life essence was near exhaustion, and it just self-immolated to try to take me with it. Otherwise, the life vibration energy it would have provided would be far greater. Still, what I have now is quite good. I happened upon it just as it emerged from the seal so that's quite fortunate. I likely wouldn't be a match at its true peak. My foundation and accumulated reserves still aren't enough..."

The thought flashed through his mind as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Since my accumulated reserves aren't enough, then let’s start piling it up! My daily sweat and effort have been enough to lay a solid base. Now, I just need to put in effort the same way to quickly form my own deep reserves... I need to continue boosting the progress of the Golem Covert Martial Arts technique!"

Light flashed in his eyes as the thought rippled through his mind. A roaring like a flash flood thundered in his ears. Life vibration energy surged like a coiled dragon from his Dantian, coursing through every cell. It splashed into every corner like scalding magma.

The Golem body had eagerly anticipated this. It opened its gluttonous maw, swallowing the life vibration energy like a bottomless abyss. As time passed, the torrent like a giant waterfall diminished, narrowed, and finally vanished without a trace.

White steam wafted upward from every patch of Cassius's skin. Billowing like a bonfire, it burned through the clouds.

[Golem Covert Martial Arts: Mental Unification 42.4% (Final Stage)] → 54.5%

In the upper-right of his sight, the technique status bar showed a 12.1% rise. This was the single largest increase since Cassius's Golem Covert Martial Arts had broken through into the Mental Unification stage. It surpassed even Star Horn God's 10.1%.

A 12.1% boost at this stage was even more valuable, so the Lord of Flooding Light's contribution was precious. It had been close to the top ten, after all. In the end, a starved camel was still bigger than a horse.

"Huu..." Cassius exhaled and slowly rose.

The Mental Unification stage of the Golem Covert Martial Art was more than half cultivated, and it hadn't even been long since he broke through to Holy Fist near the end of the fifth time-travel. Indeed, talent coupled with effort and the pre–Holy Fist accumulated reserves had let him burst forth. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, ignoring the progress bar in the upper-right.

"Now then, let me see what secrets of the ancient era lie within the Miracle Garden built by the Ao Yin civilization..."

Cassius leaped down, almost teleporting to the former basin of the Lotak mining area. The area had been scoured by the battle's aftershocks. The soil and rubble had been left almost flat after being blasted for who knew how many kilometers. Only the piece of the Miracle Garden still jutting from the ground marked its original position.

Cassius stood beside a great boulder. He lifted a foot and lightly stamped. Then, tons of soil parted of their own accord. The garden emerged before him like a complex of ancient Roman marble. Its heavy marble structure carried an epic, mythic feel. Cassius approached step by step, his aura gently surging.

Finding the gap he'd used before, he paused for a moment. Then, he leaned forward, entering the Miracle Garden for the second time. This time, the exploration did not disappoint him. After passing the star maps and statues he'd seen before, he found something useful in just five minutes.

Within the Miracle Garden, a grand circular hall’s decoration bore the solemn style of a church. The hall had three motifs, representing Holy Fist, Dominator Fist, and Ultimate Fist.

Beside each motif were strange, unknown script that was unreadable yet somehow comprehensible.

Dominator Fist was the hegemonic Will that sweeps all before it.

Holy Fist was purification of one's Will.

And Ultimate Fist was...

"Everlasting Penance?"