Chapter 1488: The Power of the Butterfly Geno Core
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ignoring the angry crowd of Elysium spirits, Han Sen drew Taia and swung it at the Elysian Umbrella.
"Stop!" Gu Qingcheng shouted. It was not loud, but it quelled the roaring of the spirits. The area around the Geno Core Storage platform went quiet.
Han Sen stopped Taia mid-swing.
"Leave the umbrella and release the holy child. Do that, and I will let you live." Gu Qingcheng looked at Han Sen and spoke slowly.
"My life is my own. I don't need your protection. If you want my life, then come," Han Sen said, then stepped outside the Geno Core Storage.
The Elysium wished to stop him, and without saying a word, Han Sen lifted his sword over the umbrella again.
"Back off!" Gu Qingcheng shouted at the spirits. Then she said to Han Sen, "Do you really think you can escape Elysium Shelter?"
"I would like to. But if I can't, the holy child dies with me." Han Sen looked fearless, and he continued to walk with the umbrella and his sword drawn.
The Elysium bosses didn't want to leave him be, and they stared at Han Sen with anger. Han Sen continued walking forward, heading towards them.
"Step aside; let him through," Gu Qingcheng said shortly.
"Master, the umbrella feels like the holy child's umbrella. But it doesn't look like it. Perhaps this is all a trick of some sort?" suggested an Elysium boss.
"Yeah, even if that was the real thing, no human can destroy that umbrella. We can't let him go!" another boss stated.
All the Elysium began to shout again, deploring the idea of letting him go.
Han Sen was shocked. "At least Elysian wasn't lying when she said that she had an enemy in Elysium Shelter. It doesn't seem as if these spirits like her very much. She's definitely not the most reliable hostage to have."
Gu Qingcheng said quietly, "Why doesn't one of you become master of the shelter and replace me?"
"No, we wouldn't dare!" The Elysium spirits were all in shock, and they responded as quickly as they could. They obviously feared her.
"Then what are all doing there?" Gu Qingcheng's expression looked grim as she glanced at the spirits blocking Han Sen's way.
The Elysium parted to form a path, prompting Han Sen to sigh in relief. While he could now proceed, he still kept his guard up. He maintained his grip on the umbrella and his sword.
Under the gaze of all those Elysium, Han Sen slowly walked away from the Geno Core Storage. When he took another step, a creature suddenly appeared near him. It was a white snake, and it came lunging towards Han Sen with a snapping maw.
The Elysium were delighted at the sight. The creature, while it was motionless, had the ability to become entirely invisible. That invisibility would disappear as soon as the creature moved. So, it had waited until Han Sen came within range before trying to bite him.
Han Sen's body flashed red as ruby butterfly wings appeared on his back. His Taia gleamed crimson like a laser beam, and with the greatest of ease, he sliced the monster's head off. Its blood squirted through the air like a shower of flower petals.
The Elysium spirits had been stepping up to support the creature, but they were shocked into motionlessness again. They stopped their advance, not expecting Han Sen to possess such power.
The beast was a super creature. Its body might not have had the highest fortitude, but it would require the strength of something super-class to triumph over it. The fact that Han Sen had just cut its head off with such ease was a revelation of his true power.
"Super Creature Alien Beast killed. Beast soul gained. Geno Core unobtained. The flesh of this creature is inedible, but you may harvest its Life Geno Essence."
Han Sen was so happy. The Butterfly geno core was far stronger than he imagined it to be. The red light was able to kill super creatures, and while the super creature's defense was fairly weak, the result was still surprising.
And after that swift kill, the last thing Han Sen expected to receive was a super beast soul.
"You obtained the God geno core?" Gu Qingcheng snapped out of her daze and finally asked Han Sen the question.
After Gu Qingcheng said that, the rest of Elysium awoke from their shock, too. Han Sen had been very weak when he first came there, and now, he had suddenly become very strong. The reason he had so much power must be because he obtained the God geno core in the God Battleground.
But even so, they found it a struggle to believe such a thing. There were so many elites there, and Elysian Moon had gone there on the heels of intense preparation. How a human had managed to beat such odds was incomprehensible.
"I do want to try out the extent of the God geno core's power. I wonder if this thing can actually allow me to break the umbrella." Han Sen walked over to the headless corpse of the fallen Alien Beast and collected its Life Geno Essence.
Han Sen continued walking. The Elysium spirits watched him with conflicted expressions. They wished to stop Han Sen from leaving and attack him, but they found themselves too afraid to do so.
They didn't stop Han Sen leaving, but they did not move from their positions. The Elysium all just stared at Han Sen, looking as if they were ready to fight.
After Han Sen exited the Geno Core Storage, the spirits and creatures had begun to slowly surround Han Sen from all sides. If they found the opening they wished to find, they'd tear him to shreds.
Han Sen continued to move forward, watching the subtle movements of each being there in his mind's eye. If any of them moved his way, Han Sen was ready to react.
The way Han Sen walked kept them from finding an opportunity to attack, though. But there were too many of them, and Han Sen couldn't keep track of them all. Whether they attacked ultimately depended on their collective bravery.
Fortunately, Gu Qingcheng was still in command. With her there, the spirits were unlikely to disobey her order to leave Han Sen untouched.
But when Han Sen had reached the shelter's door, the spirits decided not to let him go any further. They assembled at the door, barring his way.
"Master, you can't let him go! If he leaves, it would be profoundly embarrassing. And I think the holy child will die. He won't let her go, even after he leaves. If he is kept here, perhaps she will stand a chance," an Elysium spirit said angrily.
The other spirits were in agreement. They did not want Han Sen to depart, either.
Chapter 1489: Chaos Inside Elysium
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"I told you to move! Did you not hear me?" Gu Qingcheng's face darkened.
The Elysium wore cloaks that obscured their faces. They lowered their heads and did not vocally object to her repeated command, but still, they did not move. Standing where they were, they were blocking Han Sen's exit.
"It looks like the politics of Elysium Shelter are quite complex. Gu Qingcheng is not one-hundred percent in charge. And because Elysian Moon isn't all that popular, my hostage isn't invaluable," Han Sen thought to himself.
"Gu Qingcheng, you are the master of the shelter! You should think about the Elysium. If the human can simply walk out so boldly, how can we expect to survive and maintain our strength in the Fourth God's Sanctuary?" A voice echoed across the shelter, and the spirits then divided their ranks to form a path.
A spirit with a grey cloak and a black staff was approaching. When the spirits saw him, they bowed and exclaimed, "The Big Priest!"
"Why is there another big priest here? How many priests do they have?" Han Sen looked at him and frowned. Strangely, Han Sen could not detect a lifeforce from him. It was as if he was inspecting a dead man walking.
Gu Qingcheng, seeing the spirit, frowned and said, "Priest, this is my business! I don't need your lectures."
The priest laughed quietly. "I, Ghost Holy, followed Elysium King in the Fourth God's Sanctuary for an untold number of years. We engaged in many battles and became the priests that nurtured many holy children. Elysium is my life, and nothing is more important to me than upholding all this. Even if you are the leader of the shelter, if you ever tried to do something to embarrass me, I would forbid it."
"Then what must be done to avoid this embarrassment?" Gu Qingcheng said, looking at Ghost Holy.
"Elysium will not be threatened by humans. We must kill all who try," the Big Priest said.
"You would really prefer Elysian Moon to perish?" Gu Qingcheng looked at him with disdain.
The priest was fearless in his response. "Every holy child of Elysium must attain further glory for us. If they fail, even they cannot be allowed to embarrass us any further. If they cannot be saved, dying for the betterment of Elysium is the most glorious thing they can attain."
"What if I have to let him go?" Gu Qingcheng looked at the priest implacably.
"You want to let him leave? Over my dead body," the priest said with a modicum of cruelty.
Gu Qingcheng looked at Ghost Holy before addressing Han Sen again. "Leave now, and I will see to those who might dare stop you."
Han Sen knew this would be his last chance for freedom. Elysian Moon, being a hostage, only seemed to affect Gu Qingcheng. He listened to what she told him and proceeded on towards the gate.
But the spirits at the gate did not part for him, and Han Sen realized they were most likely going to side with the priest. Han Sen was going to walk right in front of them. If the crowds did not part for him, he'd have no choice but to swing his sword.
But before he did, another powerful sword cleaved through the masses to form a way for Han Sen. Many of the Elysium spirits were instantly annihilated.
Han Sen was shocked by the sudden spectacle. He turned around and saw Gu Qingcheng's hand grasping a green sword with the delicateness of a fairy. The strike had come from her.
"Gu Qingcheng, do you dare to kill those of Elysium? Do you truly think we fear you?" The priest was enraged by her actions. He brought his staff down on the ground as the Elysium-borne powers began to rise.
"You guys were afraid of me for two years. Isn't this rebellion a little late?" Gu Qingcheng said icily.
"Fine, Gu Qingcheng. I will let you witness the true power of Elysium. Kill the humans! None will be leaving Elysium Shelter today!" The priest raised his staff as the entire shelter was consumed by a void of nothingness.
Han Sen understood now that it was the priest who controlled the spirits, truthfully. The spirit stone inside the spirit hall's statue had to be his, no doubt.
When the order was received, the eyes of all the spirits became frightening. Their bodies all turned gray, as if they were hell-raised minions.
The Elysium did not have an elder, but there were many king-class spirits amongst the horde. Twenty of them had super geno cores, while the rest had gemstone geno cores.
The power they unleashed was wretchedly powerful, and it even made Han Sen a little nervous. Fighting individual king spirits wouldn't be difficult for Han Sen now that he had his Butterfly geno core. But their numbers were so grand, getting out would still prove a major problem.
Han Sen put away his useless umbrella. He summoned his Bulwark Umbrella instead, determined to use that alongside Taia. He was ready to fight. Han Sen watched another strike come from Gu Qingcheng's direction. It was so bright, and it slammed right into the gate.
The gate had been hewn open in two, kicking up a murky haze from the debris. The way outside was now clear.
"Get out of here!" Gu Qingcheng shouted.
She didn't say his name, but Han Sen knew she was speaking to him. His butterfly wings glowed red as he started flying out of the shelter through the curtain of fog.
"Gu Qingcheng, how dare you!" The priest was further enraged. His body exuded a horrible aura, and he swung his staff towards Gu Qingcheng.
Some of the king spirits took off after Han Sen, following him out of the shelter.
Han Sen did not stop, and with his butterfly wings, he employed the grace of his phoenix techniques. But the king spirits were incredibly fast, and his evasive maneuvers weren't losing them.
Elysium Shelter was shaking with thunderously loud noises, as if the entire place was falling to pieces. Most of the Elysium, and the priest, had been locked inside the shelter.
"She is so strong! Who is she? Is she really a human?" Han Sen was shocked by it all. He did not think a member of Blood Legion could be that strong, either.
Han Sen didn't have time to think about such things, though. Right now, he was flying fast. He rushed forward, determined to return to the Underworld.
Gu Qingcheng had appeared before him in the Underworld before. She was not of the Elysium, and so it was highly likely those who were would have to abide by the Hundred Tribe Deal. If they did not follow the rules and break off when Han Sen entered the Underworld, Dark Spirit would have no choice but to teach them a lesson.
There were six spirits coming after Han Sen, all king spirits wielding super geno cores.
Chapter 1490: Entering the Underworld Again
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
All the pursuing spirits were from Elysium, and while they were all around the same power level, their geno cores were very different. Two of the king spirits were using swords. One used a feather, one wielded a knife, and another used a copper cauldron. Han Sen couldn't see what the sixth spirit was using. He simply waved his hand beneath a cloak, which dropped a thick mist across a dozen miles of landscape. It consumed everything, including Han Sen.
The radius of that fog was too wide for Han Sen to escape. While he was inside, his Dongxuan Aura was also suppressed and dampened by the mist. This made him feel uneasy.
Hallucinations could not confuse Han Sen, but this mist carried a phantom pressure with it. It weighed on Han Sen and slowed him down.
The six king spirits, each with their horrible weapons, all managed to catch up due to this.
The fight was going poorly for Han Sen. It was fortunate he had the powers of his God geno core and a number of airborne talents for maneuvering. He also had the Dongxuan Sutra and phoenix techniques.
Han Sen was only just managing to hold his own. He kept getting beaten back, and he began to collect injuries. Luckily, all his weak spots were okay, so he wasn't in any danger of dying just yet.
But after a long time of such fighting, death would be inevitable if things did not change. Han Sen decided to use super king spirit mode to see if he could do something about the mist, but just as he was about to, he heard a familiar voice.
"Daddy!"
Han Sen turned around. The mist was too thick, and all he could make out was the sight of something small approaching. He eventually saw a beautiful little girl crawling through the fog like a rocket.
"Bao'er!" Han Sen was both surprised and delighted. He had no clue why she was there, and neither did he have any idea how she'd found him.
"Dad, I missed you." Bao'er looked happy now, and she leaped back into Han Sen's arms.
Han Sen caught her, but this act distracted him from the battle. And with that opening, a king spirit was able to deliver a firm slash against his back. His blood sprayed through the cleft in his armor.
Han Sen resumed the fight, all the while trying to escape. Bao'er looked incredibly angry. She raised her pudgy arms and summoned her gourd. Then, she pointed it at the mist that was veiling all.
The mist was then sucked away, like water that had been drained. It all vanished into Bao'er's gourd without issue.
"Blergh!" The king spirit that had unleashed that mist spilled out some blood. The other king spirits were angered by this, and their furor only heightened. They raged at Han Sen with greater ferocity.
But Han Sen was happy. He felt the burden of the fog lift, enabling him to flap his wings and soar into the open sky. He could not lose the hounding of the king spirits, but at least they couldn't catch up to him.
"Bao'er, you are a good daughter to have," Han Sen complimented her as he flew.
Bao'er cockily responded, "Bao'er is Dad's best baby."
The Elysium spirits, unable to catch up with Han Sen, tried to use their swords to stop him.
But Han Sen's movement was better than the king spirits, and everything they tried to do missed. They couldn't slow him down, not even for a second. The slashes ended up wreaking havoc on the ground below, as if it was the end of the world.
Han Sen ignored them, though, and he just kept up his escape. He'd earn no benefit from battling them, and with the risk involved in fighting them being as large as it was, Han Sen didn't fancy doing so.
The king spirits really wanted Han Sen dead, though; they weren't keen on the prospect of giving up the chase. They chased Han Sen for a few days, until he was able to reach the Underworld and fly through the tunnels and caves of the place.
The king spirits stopped at the entrance of the Underworld. They were clearly afraid of something, and they weren't going to follow him any longer.
"It looks like this place belongs entirely to Dark Spirit. Should we continue our pursuit?" one of the king spirits asked, frowning.
The other king spirits hesitated, but one said boldly, "Of course! He is not of Dark Spirit, so what is there for us to be afraid of? We can't let him escape. And if we fail to kill him, what can we tell the priest?"
After that, the king spirit entered. Clenching their jaws, the others followed him.
When Han Sen saw the Elysium king spirits following, he was delighted. The landscape of the Underworld was complicated. It was perfect for him to make the most of Heavenly Go and the Dongxuan Sutra.
If he used the terrain to his advantage, it might even be possible for him to kill them there. But Han Sen, after thinking about it some more, decided not to attempt to kill them immediately. He was going to go to the place where the shell king had died.
He remembered the hordes of scary creatures that had gathered there. So, there was still a chance he could use them to aid in the fight against the king spirits. If he was lucky, he could end up hitting two birds with one stone.
Han Sen traveled for a while, but he didn't see any creatures. There were no super creatures, or creatures of lower classes either.
"That's weird. Where did they all go?" Han Sen ran towards the fallen shell king, but there was no sign of a creature there.
Han Sen flew past the shell, planning to proceed onwards to Dark Spirit Shelter. If Dark Spirit discovered they had been invaded by Elysium spirits, Han Sen could pretend to be Ling Mei'er's subordinate. If he pulled that off, it'd not fare well for the spirits that chased him.
When Han Sen flew over the shell and glanced down into the big hole at its top, his heart jumped. A dark purple pincer flashed from the hole like an excavator. The teeth-laden pincer almost nicked Han Sen.
Han Sen looked inside the hole where the pincer had come from, and he could see more. A dark purple crab was crawling up into the light.
Han Sen did not know since when the shell king's body had been claimed by the crab.
But the crab, after coming out of the shell, immediately encountered the king spirits that were still in pursuit. The pincers moved so fast it looked like they were teleporting, and the crab tried to grab two of the king spirits.
The spirits had not expected something so big to be lying in wait beneath them. When they noticed the pincers coming towards them, they had to use their swords to block.
Dong!
The super geno core weapons, fueled with Elysium power, came crashing down on the pincer. But the strikes did not even leave a mark; they only succeeded in making the creature even angrier. The eyes of the crab gleamed with a purple color and obvious bloodlust. Next, the crab gathered itself, then hurled its entire body forward. The pincers were going for the king spirits at a blisteringly quick speed.