Feng Qi gazed at the swirling and contracting mist in the sky, his heart heavy with unease.
It was clear that Lin Ran was struggling to wrest control of the body from the Mist Lord. However, in the midst of this battle for dominance, the Mist Lord had developed a murderous intent toward him.
Suction Cup, seemingly activated by sensing this hostility, leapt into action, launching a punch at the Mist Lord without hesitation.
Looking up, Feng Qi saw that the misty face, which Suction Cup had dispersed with her strike, began to condense again after a brief contraction.
Without delay, he called out to the misty face:
"Lin Ran, have you successfully reversed the parasitic control?"
The misty face's expression twisted constantly before it finally spoke:
"I'm trying to take over... but its power is suppressing me..."
Before it could finish speaking, the face contorted violently, then grew expressionless.
The Mist Lord had regained control of the body.
Lin Ran's presence, which should have vanished, had reemerged and initiated a counter-parasitic attack. Additionally, Feng Qi, who should have died 1,500 years ago, now stood before it.
Confused yet aware that this unexpected turn of events was related to Feng Qi, the Mist Lord asked:
"Feng Qi, you're not dead? What are you plotting?"
Without a hint of subtlety, Feng Qi smirked arrogantly and replied:
"Plotting to take you down, obviously."
The Mist Lord's eyes flared with killing intent at his words.
"Take me down? With just you—"
Smack!
Before the Mist Lord could finish speaking, Suction Cup, reacting to the resurgence of hostility, leapt into the air once again. Her jade-colored energy gathered into a massive phantom fist and smashed into the Mist Lord's face.
The impact caused the misty visage to collapse inward as if the entire face had been flattened.
Then the jade energy exploded, unleashing a fierce gust of wind that shredded the Mist Lord's misty face into pieces.
[Beautiful! That's satisfying!]
The mist above churned momentarily before condensing again. A raspy voice echoed down:
"Qi-ge... what's going on?"
"Is this Lin Ran?" Feng Qi asked the narrator.
[I can sense that the Mist Lord's core consciousness within the mist is being suppressed. Currently, the body is controlled by a weaker consciousness. Don't worry—it's Lin Ran.]
Relieved that Lin Ran had gained the upper hand, Feng Qi looked up and shouted:
"Lin Ran, can you fully take control of this body now?"
"Qi-ge... my consciousness isn't weak... but I lack spiritual assault techniques... I can't overpower it."
Hearing this, Feng Qi felt a tinge of regret but wasn't surprised.
The Mist Lord was clearly not an easy foe to defeat.
The first time, he had tasked Lin Ran with creating a counter-parasitic technique to find an opportunity to seize the Mist Lord's power. That attempt had failed.
The failure lay in the Mist Lord's mental strength continuously eroding Lin Ran's consciousness, forcing Lin Ran to divert part of his strength to resist this mental invasion. This hindered his ability to grow rapidly.
After returning to reality, Feng Qi had directed Lin Ran to develop a technique that could safeguard his consciousness.
This time, Lin Ran had come closer than ever to successfully countering the Mist Lord. According to the narrator, Lin Ran's consciousness had grown nearly as large as the Mist Lord's.
But the problem remained: Lin Ran lacked any spiritual attack techniques.
[It's like Lin Ran has no weapons for the fight. He's forced to ram his consciousness into the Mist Lord's, which severely limits his combat effectiveness. Next time, have Lin Ran develop a strong spiritual attack technique—or better yet, steal a five-star-rated spiritual assault technique from the future and teach it to him. Then he'll definitely succeed.]
"Got it!" Feng Qi replied decisively.
At that moment, the misty face contorted again.
[Heads up—the Mist Lord's consciousness is starting to suppress Lin Ran.]
As the narrator's voice fell, the Mist Lord's face twisted into a look of fury, glaring down at Feng Qi.
Before the Mist Lord could speak, Suction Cup sensed the rekindled killing intent, vaulted into the air, and swung her fist once more.
With a sonic boom, the misty face was scattered again.
"Qi-ge... aren't you supposed to be dead? Why are you here?" Lin Ran, regaining control of the Mist Lord's body, voiced his confusion.
Before his body had been taken over by the Mist Lord, Lin Ran had learned of Feng Qi's death.
Seeing Feng Qi alive now, coupled with the techniques Feng Qi had urged him to study—such as the counter-parasitic method and the consciousness-protection technique—made Lin Ran realize that his current situation had likely been foreseen by Feng Qi.
These techniques and methods had become Lin Ran's secret weapons for preserving his consciousness.
Facing the inquiry, Feng Qi understood Lin Ran's confusion. Without hesitation, he succinctly explained his ability to traverse timelines.
Upon understanding the situation, Lin Ran turned to him and said, "Qi-ge… I need a spiritual assault technique. If I can master a powerful spiritual technique, I'm confident I can completely seize control from it!"
"Got it. For now, attack it with everything you've got. I'll have Suction Cup back you up!"
"Alright… Even if I die, I won't let it have its way!"
As Lin Ran's determined words echoed, the misty face contorted violently, accompanied by the Mist Lord's raspy howl. It was clear that Lin Ran's consciousness was repeatedly ramming against the Mist Lord's, trying to take over.
At the same time, Suction Cup lunged into the mist. Her energy churned the mist, creating a rapidly spinning vortex that slowly shifted westward. Together, Suction Cup and Lin Ran mounted an intense offensive against the Mist Lord.
With the Mist Lord's focus diverted, it could no longer activate the latent threat of the Flesh Sacrifice. For the time being, the survivors within the Star City Shelter were safe.
Even now, Feng Qi couldn't shake a lingering question in his heart.
The Mist Lord had promoted the Flesh Sacrifice cultivation method as a long-term strategy to harvest humanity as sustenance. Once activated, the hidden mechanism would turn humans into blood offerings to strengthen the Mist Lord's power.
But why had the Mist Lord delayed triggering this mechanism?
Over the course of 1,500 years, humanity's population had dwindled significantly. Star City, which had once been home to tens of millions, now only had a few thousand survivors.
Choosing to activate the Flesh Sacrifice at such a critical juncture—when humanity was at its weakest—made no sense. It defied logic to deploy a scheme millennia in the making when the potential yield was so diminished.
[First, let's rule out the possibility that the Mist Lord is an idiot.]
"Obviously!" Feng Qi rolled his eyes at the narrator's sarcasm.
At that moment, he recalled something Xia Qian had told him earlier: even the domain creatures within the shelter were practicing Flesh Sacrifice.
(Refer to Chapter 185 for context.)
A thread of logic began to weave together in Feng Qi's mind. He speculated that the Mist Lord's true target wasn't humanity but the other domain forces hiding within human civilization.
Taking a deep breath, his expression turned grave as the realization hit him.
[Well, well, it seems your guess is spot on. The Mist Lord is insanely ambitious, aiming to wipe out every other domain faction in one swoop. Clearly, we've misjudged it all along. Humanity was just collateral damage. That explains why it's been holding off on activating the Flesh Sacrifice mechanism.]
Hearing the narrator's explanation, Feng Qi also found the answer to another long-standing question.
The first time he entered the Star City Shelter, there were no domain creatures inside. However, based on the current information, the shelter should have been occupied by weaker domain species at the time.
Back then, he hadn't used Suction Cup to cleanse the shelter.
Now it made sense. These domain creatures, having practiced Flesh Sacrifice as well, were likely absorbed by the Mist Lord just like the humans were.
In the previous dream timeline, both the domain creatures and humans within the shelter became sustenance for the Mist Lord. That's why the shelter he entered was completely empty—devoid of both humans and domain creatures.
The Mist Lord's plan had clearly succeeded. Using Flesh Sacrifice, it had harvested the other domain forces alongside humanity.
Feng Qi vividly recalled how, in the earlier timeline, blood-colored clouds rolled in from all directions after the Flesh Sacrifice was activated, converging toward the Mist Lord. These blood clouds were absorbed, turning into its sustenance.
Aside from human survivors in other cities, those clouds undoubtedly contained remnants of domain forces that had also fallen victim.
"Damn it. The Mist Lord's cunning is off the charts—scheming for millennia just for this grand harvest."
[To be fair, this harvest strategy wouldn't work well on the stronger domain species. After all, they have unique racial abilities that far surpass the foundational body-tempering techniques of Flesh Sacrifice. But for the weaker domain species, it's devastating—practically wiping them out in one go. It's dragging them to the underworld alongside humanity.]
As the pieces fell into place, Feng Qi now fully understood the Mist Lord's horrifying plan. His realization only deepened his resolve to kill it.
Without the intelligence gathered through his repeated timeline traversals, he would never have uncovered the true scope of the Mist Lord's ambitions.
Reflecting on the previous dream timeline, Feng Qi recalled how the Mist Lord had remained entrenched in the western regions without advancing. He had often wondered why it chose to stay put.
Now it was clear. The Mist Lord had been consuming the blood clouds steadily pouring in from all directions, rapidly growing stronger.
Given enough time to absorb every Flesh Sacrifice offering, the Mist Lord could reach an unimaginable level of power.
[This thing is dangerous. It cannot be allowed to live!]
Hearing these words, Feng Qi nodded in agreement.
At this moment, the battle between Suction Cup and the Mist Lord continued, with the sea of mist gradually shifting westward as they clashed.
Feng Qi wanted to join the fight, but he knew that at this level, his involvement wouldn't make a difference. Taking advantage of the time he had, he decided to return to the shelter to search for a spiritual assault technique to aid Lin Ran in his efforts to seize the Mist Lord's power.
If one attempt failed, he'd try again. If two attempts failed, he'd try a third… Feng Qi firmly believed that on some timeline, Lin Ran would succeed in fully taking over the Mist Lord and gaining all its strength.
Just as he turned around, several spatial vortices suddenly appeared above the Star City Shelter. These swirling rifts rapidly expanded, and countless humanoid figures rained down from the sky like a torrential storm.
The figures bore a striking resemblance to humans, except their faces were marred by distorted rune patterns that made them appear grotesque and menacing. After landing, these humanoid domain creatures stood motionless, their expressions vacant.
Feng Qi was taken aback. This scenario was entirely unfamiliar to him; in all his prior loops, he had never encountered these humanoid domain creatures before and had no clue why they had appeared.
Without hesitation, he shifted into his combat form. He clenched his fist and struck the nearest humanoid domain creature, sending it flying backward into several others.
To his surprise, the fallen creatures remained lifeless, their blank stares unchanged, making no attempt to retaliate.
"What's going on here?" he asked the narrator.
[As you can see, it seems like their brains got fried.]
"Can you be serious for once?" Feng Qi groaned, rolling his eyes.
[Alright, if I had to guess, this domain race must be incredibly weak. They likely couldn't withstand the turbulence of the spatial passage, and all of them got scrambled in the process.]
Feng Qi: …
"These weaklings dare to invade?"
[Eh, maybe they're just here for the laughs.]
At that moment, Feng Qi noticed that not all the humanoid domain creatures were incapacitated. Some of them were running toward the shelter's black stone monument with surprising urgency.
He didn't know their purpose, but he wasn't about to let them succeed. Activating his bloodline ability, Feng Qi's body surged with vitality as his muscles expanded. In seconds, he grew into a towering figure over three meters tall, his frame packed with iron-like muscle.
Standing before the black stone monument, he grinned menacingly at the approaching humanoid creatures, his fist clenching tightly.
Whatever they wanted from the shelter, he wasn't about to let them have it.
The humanoid domain creatures slowed as they approached him, their expressions filled with uncertainty. After regrouping, a few gritted their teeth and charged at him.
Feng Qi swung his massive fist, smashing it into the head of the leading creature. Its skull exploded like a cracked egg, and its lifeless body collapsed to the ground.
He threw another punch, sending another humanoid creature sprawling. Their physical strength was even weaker than he'd imagined, and he began to understand why this domain race had been nearly annihilated as soon as they arrived.
Their bodies were frail, barely stronger than ordinary humans from 1,500 years ago. Feng Qi continued his assault, punching down every creature foolish enough to approach the stone monument. One after another, they fell, becoming lifeless corpses at his feet.
Seeing the carnage, the remaining humanoid domain creatures faltered, their resolve wavering as they backed away, their faces full of hesitation. Yet their eyes betrayed a deep longing for something within the shelter, something they desperately desired.
"What are they after?" Feng Qi muttered to himself, curiosity piqued.
Oddly enough, killing these humanoid creatures didn't grant him any new abilities—only a paltry 3 bloodline evolution points.
[Tsk, tsk. These guys are so weak they don't even have innate abilities. If every domain faction humanity faced were like this, humanity would've won the war before you were even born.]
Feng Qi: …
Before he could retort, the narrator's surprised voice echoed in his mind.
[Hey, see that one over there? The one missing a leg and glaring at you from a distance? It looks familiar for some reason…]
Feng Qi turned his gaze toward the figure in question. Among the group stood a humanoid domain creature with its right leg missing, its body tilted awkwardly as it balanced on one side. Its face was covered in rune-like markings, and it stood surrounded by others, clearly holding a position of importance within its group.
As he studied it, Feng Qi's expression shifted. A thought crossed his mind, and he asked, "Could it be… Little Cripple?"