"Boom—"
The golden giant python roared, and the dense gray mist exploded. The former suddenly contracted, returning to Ronan's side and transforming back into Ithium.
After just a few breaths of contact, the law domain and energy particles attached to the Ithium had been completely eroded. Even the Ithium, whose grade had surpassed the third tier after devouring the Crimson Lotus Staff, had been somewhat depleted.
"If a Dawn Wizard were to accidentally fall into this, they might not even be able to escape alive..."
Ronan's pupils contracted, and without hesitation, he turned and left, completely abandoning any thought of confronting it.
The terrifying gray mist blocked his path, making it clear that the way he came was impassable. He could only try to find another way out.
Ronan continued forward along the intestinal-like cave passage. The path ahead grew narrower and narrower, while the white, vine-like tendrils became increasingly numerous. Along the way, he even saw the skeletal remains of unknown creatures and what appeared to be weapons, though they seemed to be from an extremely distant era, crumbling and melting at the slightest touch of his spiritual energy.
Ronan pressed on, unsure of how long he had been walking. The light ahead grew dimmer, the air became increasingly foul and putrid, and the free energy particles in the air grew thinner and thinner.
It wasn't until the gray mist that had been relentlessly pursuing him suddenly disappeared that Ronan finally stopped.
"Crack, crack, crack—"
A strange sound drifted from ahead.
It was very dense, as if many people were rapidly striking bone-like objects.
Ronan's eyes flickered, and he slowly moved toward the source of the sound.
By now, the intestinal passage he was in had narrowed to only a few meters in height. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all covered in white tendrils growing from the intestinal walls, tangled together like wildly growing vines, making the already narrow passage even more cramped.
Fortunately, they showed no intention of attacking Ronan, though they were still unsettling to look at.
After walking a bit further, when the passage was almost completely filled with the white tendrils, Ronan carefully passed through a narrow opening, and his vision suddenly widened.
"Crack, crack, crack— crack, crack—"
The frequent knocking sound instantly became crystal clear, as if the source was right in front of him.
Ronan stepped inside. The alternating light and darkness, with a somewhat regular rhythm, made the space not seem too dim. When he finally saw the scene before him, he was utterly shocked.
What lay before Ronan was an enormous cavity-like space. The elastic walls of the cavity were covered in thick, white, fleshy tubes, each one pulsating like it was breathing. With each pulse, a white light would rapidly slide through the tube.
At the end of countless white tubes was a massive black demon snail.
The snail's shell was crystalline, and its body was covered in thick, sharp bone spurs, much like the countless demon snails Ronan had seen inside the Ghost Crying Fish.
If the creature that had swallowed Ronan was the Ghost Crying Fish King, then the demon snail parasitizing inside it must also be a top-tier individual among its kind.
It was hard to say whether Ronan's calm and decisive journey to this point hadn't been partly driven by a desire to see the demon snail inside this giant fish.
Now, he had finally gotten his wish.
"Crack, crack— crack, crack—"
The strange cracking sound echoed through the vast cavity, now right before his eyes.
Ronan activated the [Eye of Truth], and it was as if a thin veil had been lifted from his vision. Only then did he see that every bone spur on the monstrous snail before him was adorned with grotesque and misshapen heads, clustered together like bunches of grapes.
The heads on these "grape clusters" had their eyes tightly shut, their faces displaying expressions of fear, sorrow, or rage. Each one seemed to shiver, their teeth chattering rapidly and crisply. "Are these the sea folk from the Mermaid's Song of old?"
Ronan took a light breath and attempted to approach the massive black snail.
However, as soon as he took a single step forward, all the eerie spectral heads above suddenly opened their eyes, staring directly at him, and the frequency of their teeth chattering intensified.
Ronan frowned but ignored this unsettling sight, continuing to move forward.
Accompanied by the rapid "click-clack" sounds, the gazes of all the heads followed Ronan's movements. Just as he was about to reach the black snail, the "click-clack" sounds abruptly ceased, followed by a series of piercing screams. The "grape clusters" hanging within the cavity suddenly scattered, and countless ghostly heads opened their mouths wide, roaring as they flew toward him.
"Ding—"
A clear, melodious bell sound rang out.
In Ronan's hand, a small, ancient-looking cowbell had appeared at some point. He gently shook the square-cornered bell, and strange ripples emanated from it, forming thick clouds of black smoke.
Immediately after, a pale-faced youth with blood-streaked eyes and an aura of overwhelming resentment slowly emerged from the smoke.
"Go, Ahashiah!"
Ronan spoke calmly, and the youth's cold gaze swept over the scene. In the next instant, he transformed into a streak of black smoke, darting out like a massive black serpent sweeping through the void. In one swift motion, he enveloped a dozen or so of the strange heads that had closed in around Ronan, and the sound of chewing soon echoed from within the smoke.
Ahashiah, the ghostly youth, had always been Ronan's perfect "arrow embryo" for practicing the [Ghost Arrow] spell, but he was also an incredibly powerful spirit in his own right, nearly reaching the fourth level. He was more than capable of handling the current situation.
The whirlwind formed by Ahashiah created the sturdiest defensive barrier, firmly protecting Ronan's surroundings. The ghostly heads were no match for him, and soon he began actively hunting and devouring them, like a ferocious shark charging through a school of fish.
Ronan turned his attention back to the black snail before him.
He finally reached the snail, which was dozens of times larger than him. Its black shell stood like a towering wall in front of him.
The surface of the shell was covered in uneven, spiraling ridges, dotted with faint points of light. Ronan gently placed his hand on it, feeling the cold, slippery texture.
Something seemed to be sleeping inside the shell, and every few dozen seconds, a heavy breathing sound could be heard.
The commotion of the spectral battle outside didn't seem to disturb it; it slept peacefully.
Ronan slowly traced the patterns on the shell, his expression focused, like a child reaching out to touch an ancient wall filled with infinite mysteries.
At a certain moment, he withdrew his hand.
His heart's lake split in two, with ice and magma surging from the depths, distinct yet intertwined, forming a chaotic vortex.
In his mind, the ten Mental Power Crystals trembled slightly, like ten suns silently radiating boundless light. Ronan once again entered the state of [Ethereal Extreme Thought].
This time, he was even more composed, and the strength of his mental power increased exponentially in this indescribably marvelous state.
Spanning the dawn, the feeling of being a sovereign returned. Enveloped in layers of halos, Ronan calmly pressed the tip of his right index finger to his forehead.
"Hum—"
With this action, a dense bronze light emerged from Ronan's forehead and gently rippled out, transforming into layers of heavy bronze waves that fiercely spread in all directions.
The overlapping bronze waves passed through the black crystalline shell in front of Ronan, penetrating it without any resistance. Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
The rhythmic breathing sounds inside the shell, the flowing white light on the surrounding cave walls, and the ghostly heads that Ahashiah was freely hunting—everything in the vast cavity space seemed to come to a halt. Countless ghostly heads turned their gazes in unison, staring blankly at Ronan.
Then, in the next second, all the ghostly heads displayed expressions of extreme terror.
It was as if something utterly disastrous was about to happen! "Hiss—"
After Ronan fully unleashed [Spiritual Maya Bronze Head] to launch a mental attack on the slumbering entity within the shell, he felt as if all the air currents around him were suddenly drawn toward a certain point at the bottom of the shell. Immediately after, the white fleshy tubes on the cave walls swelled and bulged, creating an atmosphere of extreme oppression. Ronan blinked.
He raised a hand, and a diamond-like luster emanated from his fingers, condensing into a heart-shaped form with countless prismatic facets, enveloping him entirely.
—[Spiritual Maya Diamond Heart]! Just as he completed this, the overwhelmingly oppressive atmosphere in the air shattered with a resounding crash.
"Ah!!!!"
Following this, an indescribably terrifying scream erupted from within the shell.
The sheer ferocity and intensity of the scream were beyond description. Even though Ronan believed he was fully prepared, his [Diamond Heart] defense shattered upon the first impact.
Ronan felt a "hum" in his head, as if someone had struck his forehead with a heavy hammer. Within his consciousness space, the ten Mental Power Crystals instantly dimmed completely, and blood quickly flowed from his seven orifices. "Ahhh!!!"
Under the deafening, earth-shattering scream, the vast cavity of the cave seemed to become a piece of tattered cloth being violently whipped by a gale. Layers of visible transparent ripples appeared in the air.
Including Ahashiah, countless ghostly entities wandering in the cave exploded under the terrifying sound waves.
The ground shook violently. Ronan, enduring the intense nausea and pain, feeling as if he might pass out at any moment, desperately tossed the square-cornered cowbell toward Ahashiah, who had reverted to a smoky form and was rapidly dissipating.
Then, trembling, he turned around, widened his eyes, and stared intently at the shell before him, his gaze filled with greed and urgency.
The mystery of the parasitic demon snails within ordinary Ghost Crying Fish was already enough to captivate Ronan. So, what profound secrets might this top-tier demon snail, which had existed for an unknown span of time, hold within its shell? Ronan strained to open his eyes wide, only to see countless lights emerging from the pure black, massive shell, writhing and intertwining.
Those lights reflected into the depths of his heart, where the previously outlined spiral patterns rapidly grew outward again, becoming more intricate and complex. The pattern resembled a ever-changing dark starry sky, or perhaps a winding ancient maze.
Ronan had no time to interpret it; he could only rely on instinct to desperately memorize it.
The screeching in his ears grew increasingly intense. The white fleshy tubes clinging to the cave walls burst one after another, and the white mucus they exploded into was instantly shattered into countless scattered froth by the sound waves before it could even disperse.
"Crack—"
Ronan maintained a forward-leaning posture, his body elongating section by section. His chestnut short hair grew rapidly, and with the surging black-blue frost, it stood straight behind him like a dark blue banner.
His face twisted in a grimace, and the large patches of snake-like scales on his body had not fully emerged before they were covered by countless bursting wounds.
"Boom!"
In the state of [Ancient Ice], an even more powerful force surged from within him.
"Crack—"
Ronan's body expanded another size, and countless lightning-like white lights shot out from beneath his skin. His originally dark blue, fluttering hair gradually turned pure white from the roots, while pitch-black runes rapidly grew upward from his hands, spreading across his entire body.
"Roar—"
Ronan's bloodshot eyes widened, and a "Sacred Tree" shaped rune flickered rapidly at his heart.
With the complete activation of the Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline and the dual enhancement of Complete Giant Fiend Transformation and intermediate [Ancient Power], he was finally able to barely withstand the terrifying sonic wave impact, slowly straightening his body amidst the overwhelming sound waves.
"Gasp— Gasp—"
Ronan panted heavily, enduring the immense pressure as he step by step approached the screeching demon snail, wanting to see it more clearly.
The black glowing shell had now become almost completely transparent, resembling the texture of crystal. Countless streams of light rapidly intertwined and merged within this translucent crystal. Ronan's pupils dilated, and the maze-like pattern in his heart grew increasingly complete, increasingly profound and complex.
Instinct drove him to inch closer to the demon snail, reaching out toward the massive crystal wall before him.
When his fingers finally touched the surface of the crystal shell, some vague and fragmented ancient images abruptly flooded his mind.
In a daze, Ronan seemed to see a bizarre world with no land, entirely covered by ocean.
At the center of this world was a massive, unfathomable black vortex, with torrents of seawater pouring into it, flowing to an unknown destination.
Within this vortex, countless strange creatures with black bone-spurred shells, carrying countless wraiths and vengeful spirits, desperately climbed toward the vortex's mouth, raising their heads to let out earth-shaking, terrifying screeches.
"Zhi Gu... Demon Snail..."
Ronan's eyes were dazed as he murmured the words.
At this moment, the last bit of proficiency needed to reach the 1500-point threshold for the master level of the [Ascetic Body Forging] skill on his character panel was quietly filled.
A certain internal constraint seemed to shatter along with it.
"Crack—"
Ronan heard a sound like something breaking inside his chest.
The next second.
"Boom!"
His two-meter-tall, muscular ancient Giant Demon Body suddenly exploded, and thick, viscous black runic light surged out from beneath his skin. "Boom!"
On the calm sea surface, a massive water column abruptly erupted, roaring like an angry dragon straight into the starry sky.
Chuck jolted awake, scrambling up from the deck of the Spell Airship. Before he could even figure out what was happening, he saw a vast, dark shadow suddenly blot out the moonlight above, rushing toward him at incredible speed.
A thick, bloody scent carried by the sea wind hit him like a wave, and within the shadow that writhed like growing black vines or some forbidden living creature, a hoarse, deep voice emerged.
"Go."
Chuck's mind went blank as he was swept up by a tremendous force, and the Spell Airship beneath him swiftly turned around, speeding back the way it had come.
In his daze, he turned his head and saw, in the area where the water column had erupted, the massive corpse of a bizarre fish, as large as an island, slowly rising from the depths of the water. (End of chapter)