Chapter 444: "Mutation of Her Black Cauldron: Cauldron of Carnage"
They can see there are dozens of greenish red eyes currently lurking within the fog, proof that there are at least something in there. But before they can do anything to react to this danger, the creatures had already pounced!
"Ming Yue be careful!" Getting in front of his junior sister, Luo Song instantly sends out a blast of energy from his palm to destroy the wolf like creature coming their way.
He knew continuing on like this can only be disadvantageous for them both. It's not that the lad had trouble dealing with these seventh to eighth grade spirit beasts, in fact, they are but small fries to him if not for the hindrance of this strange black mist constantly sucking the energy out of him.
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"What the heck is this stuff?!" A sense of chill grips their skin at the frightening possibilities.
"Let's get out of here first Brother Song." Without hesitation, it was Hong Ming Yue who first reacted by drawing out her Three Life Flute for retreat.
"A'bone, take Hou Qi (Prince) right now and leave with your Purple Elephant. I will stay and keep these things at bay while the three of you retreat!" Understanding this was no time to be dilly dallying around, Ling Yue made the hard decision to act as the rear guard.
Its not that she didn't want to leave like the rest, but rather she knew her friends would never make it out alive without someone holding off the creatures in the shadow.
"No Ling Yue, let's leave together," the Sixth Prince cries out for her to come.
"Don't worry about me, I will be fine! Leave now and I will be right behind you. A'bone, I'm ordering you so go!"
As painful as this was for the wild girl, she knew they didn't have much of a choice, especially when her friend the Purple Elephant was quickly being flanked from all sides. If things continue on like this then it be just a matter of time before they fall. As such, A'bone could only call for her friend the spirit elephant to smash a path out of the fog.
Now only one remains....
Ling Yue should be panicking right now, alone and with the odds against her; however, that's not the case here. Her eyes are firmer than ever without a spec of fear. In reality, since the first moment she stepped into this foggy mist, her body's been feeling amazing like it's been doused with a breath of fresh air. Even her Chaos Core was starting to act up after so many days of absence!
There's no question about what must be done now. Raising her right palm like it's the most natural thing to do in a critical situation, she materializes the black little cauldron and released a blinding black light from it. Now that's when the horrifying scene occurred.
Acting without her consent or instruction, the Black Cauldron actively began to suck in the black mist like a hungering beast, devouring everything in its wake until its metallic sheen became a crisp dark black - even darker than its usual relic like appearance.
Appearances aside, there's more to this than just looks though. From within, Ling Yue can sense a tyrannical force brimming to break free.
Likely aware or at least noticed the oddity in the air after that display, the dozen or so frenzied spirit beasts immediately made a dash in the opposite direction. Sadly for these creatures, it's already too late because the Black Cauldron has already laid its sight on them.
What occurred next happened in a matter of seconds.
First was the agonizing screams of the fleeing animals as the strange gas penetrated into their bodies, then came the whimpering cries for help, followed quickly by the complete devouring of flesh and bone by the cauldron's strange smoke that came out of it.
Naturally the bizarre scene greatly startled Ling Yue there, so much so that she actually fell into a stupor daze for a minute. Then finally after realizing this was all caused by none other than herself, she promptly turned to examine her right hand for the answer.
Its one thing that she didn't know, it's another thing entirely after knowing.
When she investigated what was going on here after sending her consciousness into the Black Cauldron, that's when she saw the astonishing scene - there's another black swirling mass inside!
Based on her speculation, the second type of substance should also be her spirit smoke, just black this time. And unlike the white spirit smoke that's usually gentle and calm, this black type carried an almost tyrannical vibe with a violent character to its movement.
Furthermore, Ling Yue's got a hunch that this black spirit smoke must have something to do with her Chaos Core in her dantian. But why would she assume that? It's because after consuming the life force of the creatures nearby, her core has definitely grown bigger, something she's been desperately trying to do for the last little while.
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So does this mean my future cultivation is highly dependant on the growth of this black spirit smoke?
Without hesitation, she immediately began experimenting.
First up was the big bouldering rock nearby. And sure enough, it exploding like the animals that was just here not long ago.
"WAH!! It's so lethal!" Her jaws dropped, stunned by the destructive force she wielded.
In light of the black spirit smoke being the size of a single hair width - the same size as her white one initially - its still a huge relief to know its something she can use and was on her side.
Now the only question remains, what would occur if she continued to kill and absorb the black foggy mist? Would it grow like her white one?
But that can come afterwards. The biggest obstacle to her plan remains to be the viability of it. Her newfound power was definitely strong, deadly even, but it's also quite resistant to her control. Until she can master it and manipulate it like her white spirit smoke, she can't possibly use this in a life and death battle.