Chapter 166: Shedding

Slap! Yi Chen’s upper body slammed heavily onto the ground, under the influence of the regenerative properties of the neck umbilical cord, roots sprouted excessively from the severed waist and abdomen, extending towards the distant lower body, connecting and joining together. Just as when he battled the Lake Bottom Giant Eye, Yi Chen had complete faith in Little Grape’s control over ‘eyes’, as long as he could successfully burrow into the opponent’s core Big Eye, this battle would essentially be declared over. ... Even though it was a relatively short skirmish, the significant relic known as the ‘Black Umbilical Cord’ was now severely damaged… The cord had mostly shriveled up, far from its original vitality. However, while Yi Chen’s upper and lower bodies were joining together, a wave of discomfort swept over him, feeling that something was not right, feeling that the battle happening here hadn’t ended, sensing another kind of unsettling aura still lingering in the cavern. Because of the dislodging of his eyeballs during the battle, and the temporary departure of Little Grape, Yi Chen could currently see nothing at all; he could only calm his mind to feel the environment, to sense the ‘movement’ in the darkness, to pinpoint the source of this unease. [Darkness]was quite familiar to Yi Chen, so when his eyes were dislodged, he was not afraid. This, in part, was thanks to his experiences in the orphanage. Despite being exceptionally skilled and winning various games and competitions, earning him exemption from numerous physical punishments compared to his peers, Yi Chen refused to be trapped in the orphanage for life. Before his successful escape, there had been many failures. Every failure would be met with days or even tens of days in the tiny black room. The pitch-black tiny room only allowed a sliver of light through the door when meals were served. And even the provision of meals was utterly random—the boxes containing food were black, blending into the tiny black room once brought inside. Lifting the lid might reveal fragrant dining hall meals, perhaps a familiar rat friend, possibly centipedes or snakes carrying toxins, and occasionally even a limb accidentally broken during punishment of a peer. Initially, it was very difficult to adapt. Many peers who had been confined in the tiny black room developed severe claustrophobia or went completely insane inside, choosing to end their own lives within a few days of release. ȑáΝОᛒÊȿ But as his incarceration time increased, Yi Chen slowly grew accustomed to complete darkness. He viewed himself as a blind man without eyes, meditating in the darkness, mentally replaying the orphanage’s entire structure, the patrol routes at different times, even mimicking the behavior of every staff member. … In the stone cavern, Yi Chen quickly calmed down in the darkness, ignoring the state of his upper body connecting to his lower half, and keenly sensing the surrounding environment, Crackle crackle~ Plant roots spontaneously grew from his body and spread across the ground, aiding in the collection of environmental data. In mere seconds, he caught an anomaly; he sensed the gathering of gray matter and the movement of foreign objects, and within these, he felt an indescribable threat creeping up… “What is that!?” Smelling the scent of death, Yi Chen did not hesitate to further drain the energy from the umbilical cord, forcing the regeneration of his own eyes; he had to see clearly what that source of danger was. Why, when he had no eyes and sought to probe the past, did a shade of yellow appear in the darkness? As the vitreous body and the lens took shape, the yellow blur projected onto the lens intensified the sense of imminent danger. Finally, with the formation of the iris, cornea, and pupil, he was able to see clearly. The source of danger was the same yellow robe that had been cut open by the Hand Axe during the battle. This robe, unsupported by a physical body, slowly bulged up, radiating currents from the Grey Zone, and with this sight, Yi Chen suddenly realized something! “Could it be… there was never a final Pilgrim at all, but this yellow robe itself is the entity? It’s collecting Pilgrims’ eyeballs, trying to combine them with itself!” As he reached this conclusion, the gathered gray currents within the yellow robe had already formed the figure of an emaciated old man, whose rock crease-wrinkled face split into a ghastly smile, slowly advancing towards Yi Chen. Even though he knew the old man was nothing more than a vessel condensed from the yellow robe, Yi Chen was still unable to move; his lower half was still connected to an abundance of plants, and the reconnection process was only 35% complete. As danger approached, even Lorrian in the hospital room found it difficult to stay seated, for he too felt slightly uneasy upon seeing this yellow robe alone. Whoosh~ The old man’s seemingly slow pace closed the distance between them in an instant. As his withered right arm stretched out toward Yi Chen, a series of wrinkled and ancient yellow ribbons also spread out, attempting to wrap around Yi Chen’s body with an intent to dominate. A shallow Moon Seal appeared on Yi Chen’s forehead, signaling that Lorrian was ready to make an active appearance within the sickroom. At that moment… swoosh! The yellow ribbon almost touching Yi Chen’s cheek was severed by a streak of red light, followed by the red glow delivering a direct palm strike to the old man’s chest, Red Lotus bloomed~ Boom! The palm strike caused an explosion, with thick red smoke rising from the center of the palm. The old man, clad in a yellow robe, flew out like a bullet, crashing straight into the stone cave wall. Jin arrived just in time, quickly sheathing the red long sword used for the slash behind his back, underneath the colorful mask was a face of astonishment, muttering softly: “Hmm? I had just channeled Red Lotus Energy into my body without any reservation. How come it didn’t explode into dust, still being able to maintain its integrity? Could it be a problem with the yellow clothes?” Meanwhile, the piece of yellow satin ribbon cut by Jin seemed to have its own consciousness as it landed, wriggling like an earthworm trying to crawl back to its host. Yi Chen immediately shot out a strand of roots attempting to entrap the yellow ribbon, only to discover that the roots could not touch it, passing directly through the ribbon. Left with no other choice, Yi Chen tried to communicate with the “Gentleman’s Skin,” seaʀᴄh thё NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The clothing with enough Skin Content immediately responded, shooting out ancient-threaded filaments from the cuffs, successfully entwining and dragging back the yellow ribbon. The “Gentleman’s Skin” was also very sentient, proactively separating a part of its genuine leather to form an ‘envelope structure’ that enveloped and sealed the yellow ribbon, returning it to Yi Chen’s hands. At this point, the integration rate between upper and lower body had reached 60%, barely allowing Yi Chen to stand up. He smoothly pocketed the leather envelope inside his coat’s inner pocket. “Jin… thank you.” “This old guy in yellow clothes isn’t easy to kill… Let’s work together!” “Okay!” The two assumed the stance they had used against the Holy Embryo, as the yellow-robed old man within the stone walls rapidly healed the wounds caused by the explosion through a spreading gray flow, his twisted and bizarre gait advancing towards them. Just as he contorted his body ready to sprint, Hum! A beam from an electromagnetic cannon blasted from the side, enveloping his entire body. Despite being wrapped in the yellow robe, his physical form rapidly disintegrated under the electromagnetic onslaught. The bombardment left behind only a skeletal structure clinging to pieces of the robe. However, this was only the beginning! A spiritual pressure fell down like a sledgehammer, pressing the yellow-robed old man to the ground. Ludwig Reagan then arrived, his palm aimed at the downed old man… Boom! Another electromagnetic cannon blast hit him, charring the yellow robe black and revealing several openings, the old man’s skeletal frame directly shattered. The blasting sounds of the electromagnetic cannon and violent screams echoed throughout the stone cave. After enduring ten shots of the electromagnetic cannon, only sparse fragments of the yellow robe remained, with the bodily form constructed of grey flow gone without a trace. “Hmm? There’s still something left…” Just as Reagan was about to deliver the eleventh cannon shot, the fragments of yellow robe on the ground suddenly began to sink, stirring the floor of the cave into an eerie vortex structure. Sensing the danger, Reagan immediately took a step back to avoid the vortex zone. The whirlpool swiftly disappeared with the debris, and even Reagan’s spiritual tracking could no longer locate it. “What in the world is this yellow fabric… Some sort of disease similar to the Gentleman’s Skin?” As Reagan looked toward the Big Eye, now fully parasitized by the small grape, he realized that the Gathering Eye Disease had been cleared, then he glanced toward his two teammates, nodding as a sign. The trio had finally regrouped…