Chapter 657 - The Elite’s Arrival, The Expert Went Fishing
"What's a cyclops doing in the River of Time?" asked the mysterious phantom in disbelief when he saw Yanmo. How could he not be surprised when faced with so many people in such a short time? It was illogical for them to be here for he had first-hand experience of the price he had to pay for his phantom to enter the River of Time. He had been here for many, many years and it was all due to his effort that the Eldritch clan could rule over the world.
Yanmo ignored his question and erupted with another wave of murderous intent "Die!" he screamed with a bloody eye. He violently slammed down his palm and the sky was immediately blanketed by thunder and lightning which pressed down against the mysterious phantom.
The mysterious phantom's expression became fierce and with his mana, he summoned some flames which then transformed into a flaming lance. The power of the flame was terrifying and seemed to possess its own will. The increase in temperature stained the River of Time red. This was a fire force of the Wisdom level, and it had the ability to burn everything to the ground.
The mysterious phantom threw the flaming lance at Yanmo which he deflected with his fist. The impact caused an explosion. Yanmo's right arm was completely burned off. The flames continued to work up his stump to burn off his Primordial Spirit. The mysterious phantom did not fare any better as he was sent flying violently along the river water, creating mini tidal waves while his flaming lance was completely destroyed.
Seeing this, Qin Manyun and the rest of the group gave out involuntary gasps. "They're so strong!"
"Is it really that easy to burn off Yanmo's right arm?" asked Jiang Liu in disbelief. He thought back to not long ago when they only managed to leave some inconsequential scratches on Yanmo even after they all attacked at the same time. The mysterious phantom must be more powerful than all of them combined to easily burn off Yanmo's right arm. He suddenly perceived his power to be of insignificance.
Yanmo's eye was completely red and with a roar, he shouted, "Death Stare!" Terrifying beams of red began to envelop the mysterious phantom which caused him to shake violently as he screamed in pain. His 'body' started to disappear. First, his legs were gone, then half his belly was gone. Suddenly, he gave out a loud roar and with a burst of light, his body materialized again.
"I don't care how you all got here as long as you don't go out alive. Die!" said the mysterious phantom coldly. He manifested the flaming lance again and with one step forward, he appeared in front of Yanmo. He pierced Yanmo's eye with the flaming lance and black blood began to spray out of Yanmo's face. The mysterious phantom kept his hold on the lance while pushing it deeper into the eye, burning it even further.
Yanmo roared with pain and grabbed hold of the mysterious phantom with both his hands. Like a python, he began to squeeze the mysterious phantom until its 'body' exploded. The mysterious phantom's Origins of Life flashed and in a blink of an eye, completely healed himself again. No traces of any injury could be seen on his 'body'. So, he was not that different from the rest of them, too, in the sense that he relied on the Origins of Life to heal himself. He stood mid-air and stared down at them coldly.
He had already decided that he would kill them no matter how they got here. He would not allow other people to exist in the River of Time. The fight between the mysterious phantom and Yanmo was very short. All this while, the Soul Master and the Elite King only watched from the sidelines. There was a hint of recognition in the Soul Master's eyes when she saw Yanmo for it was her who sealed him away. She never expected him to ever break out from under the seal.
Although Yanmo did help them in fighting off the Eldritchs, by then, she had sensed that someone was messing with the River of Time and was putting in motion his plan to kill off the young Elite King. She had no choice but to send a piece of herself into the River of Time to stop the plan. In doing so, she realized that her power was greatly diminished and became worried that she would not be able to control Yanmo from indiscriminately killing off those in the Chaos since he was not of this world. She could only rest easy after sealing him away.
She came to the River of Time for two reasons. One, to find the person responsible for messing with the River of Time, and two, to get back the piece of her soul she sent here eons ago. The Soul Master's eyes fell on Blackie and the rest of the group with a thoughtful expression. Could it be that the expert had requested them to release Yanmo so that they could bring them there to fight off the mysterious phantom?
It was obvious Yanmo held a deep grudge against the mysterious phantom, a grudge so deep that he had no eyes for anyone else but the mysterious phantom. "You despicable fool! How dare you kill three of our Elites in the River of Time? I'm going to kill you for that!" shouted Yanmo as he rushed toward the mysterious phantom again.
The mysterious phantom laughed coldly. "The sixth dimension's no more. What can you alone do to me?"
"Let's fight him together!" shouted the Soul Master. She and the Elite King then rushed toward the mysterious phantom with their mighty aura.
"The mysterious phantom alone is worth three Elites!"
"We needed the expert's help to come here and yet, that mysterious phantom could enter with his own power!"
"I can't believe he killed three from the Cyclops Clan in the River of Time. I'd go crazy with revenge if that were to happen to me, too."
No matter what world they were in, a Wisdom Elite was the peak of a clan's battle power. Anyone would have mourned the loss of a Wisdom Elite, what more to say for three Wisdom Elites.
"The sixth dimension? Is this where Yanmo came from? Which dimension is the Chaos?"
Although they were observing from the sidelines, they made sure to glean as much information as possible from their conversations. After a round of discussion, they turned their attention back to the fight with grave expressions on their faces.
"That mysterious phantom is truly despicable. He's been pulling strings from the River of Time all this while. How could we possibly win if he does that? Do you think the Soul Master and others could win this fight?" asked Shi Tuqin worriedly.
Blackie smiled faintly and stood up proudly. "In times like this, you can rely on me!" With that, he suddenly opened his eyes wide in focus and all the mana in his body exploded which caused their surroundings to become distorted as countless laws of the universe shook around them. One terrifying manifestation appeared after one another.
"Ultimate supernatural power, Leather Pants Detach!" shouted Blackie and instantly took off his leather pants which flew off in a burst of light, aiming straight at the mysterious phantom and landing squarely on top of his head. The leather pants were surrounded by the mosaic light which acted as a barrier against sight and other senses.
The mysterious phantom was strutting around cockily with the fact that he was about to win in a fight against three Wisdom Elites when he found himself suddenly blinded by the leather pants. He started to question whether things were happening as they were.
"Huh? What's this? How did this happen?" He began to panic and involuntarily took a few steps back. All he could see was mosaic, mosaic, and mosaic. He was completely cut off from the world outside.
"Hahaha, die!" shouted Yanmo. He was not going to let this chance slip by him. The same could be said for the Soul Master and the Elite King.
"Destroy Everything Into Silence!" said the Soul Master while pointing gracefully at the mysterious phantom.
"Earth-Shattering Fist," shouted the Elite King as he threw a punch.
The destructive power combined with the supernatural power made the mysterious phantom scream in pain. He could not stop his body from shaking.
"Die! Death Stare!" shouted Yanmo as blood-red beams shot out from his eye again.
Their three supernatural powers were strong enough to tear down Heaven and Earth. It was so strong that the space around them began to distort as if their bodies were being reflected in a fun-house mirror. Infinite lights were bursting out from within the mysterious phantom and his Origins of Life began to flicker. Just as it seemed as if he was on his last dying breath, his Origins of Life exploded brightly and a weird aura began to surround them.
"Deity, I summon thee!" said the mysterious phantom in a low voice before it completely disappeared into the thin air.
However, that was not the end for they sensed an extremely horrifying force coming down on them. The force landed on the River of Time with a loud crash and the space around them became even more distorted. They found themselves unable to resist the force.
After that, there was complete silence. Even the ripples in the River of Time were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, a giant hand appeared in the sky. They had no idea where it came from and no idea how it got there. All they knew was it was coming for them. The giant hand seemed to contain all the worlds in the universe and though its power was not evident, they could feel an unassailable aura coming off it.
They wanted to hide from the incoming giant hand but found themselves unable to do so.
'The strongest of the Eldritch Clan's here. That hand belongs to the mysterious phantom's Deity!'
'Mummy, I'm scared. Is he a Wisdom Elite or perhaps…stronger than that?'
'Ahhhhhh—'
The giant hand continuously inched down on them when suddenly, Yanmo roared loudly as his hair flew around his face. His body quickly expanded and in a blink of an eye, became a hundred miles tall with no sign of stopping. He held both of his hands high above his head to counter the falling giant hand. The Soul Master and the Elite King got to work, too, raising their hands above their heads while activating their supernatural powers.
Meanwhile, back in the four-part architecture, Li Nianfan was trying his hand at fishing with Dragin and Nanan accompanying him.
"It shouldn't take long," he said with a smile. He cast the line and the hook landed with a plop into the pond. He was confident he would be able to catch something since not long ago, he had dumped many fishes there. He stared intently at the middle of the pond with eyes filled with anticipation. "I hope I catch a big one!"
At the bottom of the pond, the school of fishes stared blankly at the fish hook as it sank. They were immediately filled with mixed feelings. They wondered what they should do now that the expert had begun fishing. Although they had mentally prepared for this day, they still did not expect it to arrive this fast.
"What are you all waiting for? Isn't it worth sacrificing a little bit of our flesh in return for the expert's favor? Go bite the hook now!" scolded the Old Dragon. Then, he pointed at a random fish and said, "You! Get hooked!"
Said fish swam slowly to where the hook was with tears in its eyes. Finally, it hardened its heart and bit the hook with its opened mouth. He had decided it was an honor to be eaten by the expert for it meant he would be closer to him. However, it was not meant to be for the fish hook had dodged the fish's opened mouth.
They were all stunned by what had happened. Each of them tried to bite the hook with the end result being the same. They discovered the hook to be imbued with some kind of weird power that allowed it to dodge the fishes' opened mouths. They were deeply puzzled and wondered exactly what the expert was hoping to catch.
Back at the River of Time, the giant hand was not slowed down by Yanmo and the others' attacks. It made contact with Yanmo and at that slightest touch, Yanmo was completely blown into smithereens. His fragmented lumpy flesh landed with a squish against the walls and floor while his blood sprayed out. What was worse was his Origins of Life had broken apart.
The Soul Master and the Elite King's attack was futile against the giant hand and the backlash from the impact caused them to spew out blood as their bodies were sent flying into the River of Time. The giant hand continued on its path. It was not even that close to them, but Blackie and the group could already feel the unimaginably strong power it was emitting—weighing down on them until they could not even lift their heads. Their bodies began to break apart and a fine mist of blood sprayed out. The giant hand did not even need to descend completely for them to turn into dust.
"I'm afraid this is the end for us. He is just too strong."
"We're gonna die. We're gonna die."
"I no longer wonder how he could mess with the River of Time. But I do wonder who's more powerful—the expert or the owner of this giant hand."
"I'm sorry, Master, for failing to bring back the fruit tree."
"Save me, Master! I don't want to die just yet."
They wanted to resist to the very end to die with a little dignity, but how could they when they could not even lift their little finger? They had to turn to the next best thing which was to create scenarios in their mind.
Suddenly, a weird ripple appeared in the air, and out peeked a fish hook. It had bypassed the normal laws of time to end up here. The line connected to the fish hook seemed to be from somewhere else. The entire sky began to vibrate and the fish hook had captured everyone's full attention.
Compared to the giant hand, the fish hook seemed laughably weak. The fact that it was not giving off any weird aura made it all the more attractive. Its appearance made all the other things seemingly disappear from their sight. The fish hook swept through the sky, aiming straight for the giant. Its speed was not fast but contained the determination to break through any barrier.
"What's this? How's this possible?" screamed a voice in the sky in surprise. The voice belonged to none other than the giant hand's owner. It appeared the fish hook had frightened him from the way he was trying to escape with all his effort. However, he realized that his fate had been sealed.
"No, no—" His frustrated scream rang through the air as he helplessly watched the fish hook dig into the giant hand.