Chapter 113: Stranger Things


    Straightening his back, Harun swept the gathered Gods and Knights. A mix of pity, reluctance and regret fluctuated in his brown eyes, putting them on tiptoes. "s," Harun sighed and turned heels. Knowing how his cons proceeded, Jiyan walked toward him. But as the two faked an exit move, the worried experts rushed after them. "Wait, wait. What do you mean by that?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Harun asked, capturing the audience''s attention. "The strongest among you deities are two fourth-level Ascending Gods. In the Second Range, this might allow you to stand tall. But in this ce, it won''t even be enough to pick the enemy''s teeth. To say nothing of you. As we speak, the me Spirit King has been captured and turned into food already." It was the truth. Thanks to his Attachment Venom, Harun knew precisely where the me Spirit King stood, and what he suffered at the moment. And though he''d yet to turn into a meal, whoevertter consumed him would instantly be vulnerable to Harun''s Attachment Venoma matter for another time.


    Harun''s words triggered a momentous panic. On the scene, who''d not witnessed the me Spirit King''s strength and various abilities? If even he couldn''t survive half an hour in this ce, what would be of them? The intermittent screams of the Soul Refining Hall''s disciples didn''t help the mood. Many considered retreat. But knowing that Harun or someone else might luck on some once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, knowing that the results of this exploration could redefine the Ranges'' leadership, they couldn''t shrink from the mine''s dangers.


    Golden incense shed around Harun, making the Gods recall the terrifying surge of strength they experienced earlier. Back then, even the me Spirit King at his best was nothing to fear. If they could again receive that strength boon from Harun, with theirbined forces, could they not seize the mine''s resources? In a sh, a flurry of mental messages followed.


    "This expert is even more resourceful than the me Spirit King and is no doubt the primary threat of this mine. If we could get a temporary strength boon from him, stay by his side, and harvest the mine''s benefits, we can eliminate him at thest juncture and keep the treasures for ourselves." One thought trumped the rest, and suppressing their evil grins, the deities bowed toward Harun.


    "Sir, with the extraordinary skills you disyed, this mine''s dangers must not mean much to you. However, four fists are still better than two. If you could bestow another strength boon on us, we could be your swords and shields across the mine, enabling you to focus on seizing the opportunities. We only ask that you spare us some scraps at the end," the deities'' chosen spokesman said, and alongside the others, bowed toward Harun.


    Inwardly, Harun sneered. Greed and hubrisbined often produced delightful specimens. Hang a bone under their noses and they jump into the pit with no second thoughts. Spiritual Incense didn''t have many offensive applications. As a source of Miraculous Powers, its main purposes were to assist, protect and enhance. Harun couldn''t use it to summon meteors or turn into toads those that got on his nerves...unless they secretly wished to be toads.


    Thus, to use his Miraculous Powers against the Gods, he first needed their cooperation. "For me, strengthening you is no trouble at all. Be it Gods or Celestial Knights, as long as you make a Dao Pledge to assist me, I can even make the change permanent," Harun offered, instantly making the Gods and Knights leap from joy. Without hesitation, they raised their hands at the ceiling and made their pledges.


    "As long as Your Eminence strengthens us, we pledge to help you secure the Obsidian Soul Stone mine and Abyssal River''s opportunities!" Their heart-stirring words reverberated against the walls.


    "How nave. Even if we help you now, can''t we kill you afterward? Poord mustn''t have much experience of the world," they thought. But while some regretted this cruel era that pitted man against man for the tiniest benefit, others looked forward to crushing Harun''s skull and robbing his soul of all the secrets it carried. Satisfied, Harun shed his new helpers a radiant smile, and raised his left hand.


    A basketball-sized golden orb formed above his palm, shimmering with unfathomable powers. If the deities'' greed could move and speak, it''d be screaming and wing at the orb already. With a rare show of willpower, they hid all traces of their nefarious desiresweing Harun''s boon with a dutiful stance. Hundreds of golden rays shot from the incense orb, stabbing and merging with the hearts and souls of the divine assembly. Instantly, while their bodies swelled with unprecedented strength, they all felt their minds filled with a miraculous glow that pushed them onto new levels of enlightenment.


    "Howmind-expanding!" So fulfilling was the high, that they didn''t notice their bodies rising from the ground to merge with one another.


    Indeed, before Jiyan''s astonished eyes, the nine Gods and hundreds of Celestial Knights fused to create a pir of golden incense in which the shadows of twisted and abhorrent forms rotated. A jam of lightning cracks and buzzing sounds marked the rotation''s end. A massive wolf''s head emerged from the light column, with four green eyes that nailed both Harun and Jiyan. Thetter stepped back instantly.


    The light column vanished, revealing the horror''s immense frame in its full nightmarish glory. Instead of the expected furred, four-legged body, Jiyan now faced a chimeric, jet-ck creature, with the body of a spider and the head of a four-eyed wolf whose long protruding tusks could gore a boar. Dark-green energies swirled around the creature''s eight legs, melting the ground and spreading noxious scents across the atmosphere. Exhaling green mes, the spider-wolf fiend ambled at Harun and bowed to show its devotion.


    "Congrattions. You''ve all obtained the strength to crush a fifth-level Ascending God. From now on, I will be relying on you to clear the way," Harun seriously said and patted the fiendish creature''s head.


    "In the Ancestral Land, some people would call this Fiend Creation. A now lost practice that in forgotten times used to be extremely popr. But I''m not even sure that applies here. Impressive," the system gave its approval.


    "Fiend? I''d say this is art. But forck of better words, let''s just call it and all future such battle beats...Chimeric Fiends," Harun nonchntly replied.


    "You even n to create more already? I wasn''t wrong about you. But before that...maybe you should stabilize your beloved first." The System reminded Harun of his neglect. By now, Jiyan had long fled his side, ran whence she came, and hid in a corner.


    "Oh,e on. You''ve seen worse," Harun, who couldn''t understand the "extreme" reaction, said.


    "No, I haven''t. It has only been getting worse. But at least before you kept things at a reasonable scale. Damn it Harun, for the love of all that is sacred, can''t you just once in your life make a deer? Why are you alwayspeting with yourself...to create stranger things?!"


    Jiyan sobbed, making Harun realize that perhaps, just perhaps, he''d gone overboard. But recalling thatunless he died earlyhe''d soon reach the Monstrous Realm, Harun regained his cool. If she couldn''t even handle his abominations, how could she face his abominable forms.


    But as the two negotiated a truce, a tter of armored footsteps came from the front, back, and all corners of the six roads. And though no aura matched the steps, the two didn''t doubt that the mine''s first dangers had reached their doorso to speak.