Chapter 531: Chapter 14: Underground Viral Creatures

Lin Yu led his group quietly to the edge of the cavern.

He looked at the swarms of virus creatures inside, releasing his perception to try and discover why they had gathered here.

Unfortunately, all he could sense was the immense Undead Energy within the cavern and a strange, chilling vitality that resulted from the viruses merging with it.

"Lin Yu, there are too many viruses here. I’m afraid we can’t devour them all at once! What should we do?"

Just then, Baining asked Lin Yu for their battle strategy.

"Here’s the plan. First, we’ll set up some Healing and Purification Arrays in this tunnel."

"Then, you all can eat first. When you’re almost full, I’ll have the Death Devourers make their move."

"The Array will help you digest, so eat your fill!"

...

Everyone quietly got to work. Baining couldn’t help with the Array, so it took its offspring to stand guard at the tunnel entrance, awaiting Lin Yu’s command.

Its offspring dug their roots into the tunnel’s rock walls, suspending their bodies in mid-air and creating layers of filters across the circular entrance.

The tunnel, which had been large enough for Baining to enter, was now blocked by its offspring, leaving only a small opening in the center.

And behind this opening was Baining’s own massive, tree-like form.

Once the tunnel’s inner walls were inscribed with the Array’s patterns and the Spirit Crystals were set in place and activated—though left dormant—the resulting ripple of Spiritual Energy instantly alerted the viruses in the cavern.

They followed the traces of Spiritual Energy and charged toward the tunnel where Lin Yu and the others were.

However, the once-spacious tunnel was now almost completely blocked by Baining’s offspring, leaving only a small gap. Moreover, these saplings Baining had brought along had all learned to mask their auras; as long as they didn’t release their presence, the viruses would simply perceive them as rock.

So, from the viruses’ perspective, the tunnel had suddenly narrowed.

But it didn’t matter. A narrow tunnel was still a tunnel, and they could still pass through.

So the viruses streamed through the central opening and the gaps between the saplings’ trunks, while the virus creatures clambered over the saplings’ bodies, crawling toward the opening and advancing into the tunnel.

During this process, the saplings continuously used their spare roots to snatch virus creatures, occasionally sucking in a few of the airborne viruses.

After passing through the layers of interception by the saplings, the viruses arrived before Baining.

As the father of the saplings, Baining took the lead and began to feast ravenously. With Lin Yu’s team as backup, it wasn’t afraid of itself or the other trees eating until they burst.

Baining was even bolder. It completely unfurled its needles, letting them emit an alluring aura of natural energy. The viruses that reached it couldn’t wait to throw themselves into its body.

After a period of gorging like this, the saplings quickly reached their limit and stopped eating.

Baining continued to eat for another two minutes before it also stopped.

By this point, about one-fifth of the viruses and virus creatures in the cave were gone. With a slow and steady cleanup, the entire cave could be cleared in five days.

But it was obvious Lin Yu hadn’t brought so many people here just for a slow cleanup.

"Lin Yu, we can’t take any more! Are you guys ready?"

"We’ve been ready. Open up the tunnel!"

The saplings released their roots from the rock walls and all dropped to the ground. Baining also leaned against one side of the tunnel wall.

Without them blocking the way, the viruses and virus creatures charged straight in, reaching the Array Lin Yu had set up. They then began to spew Undead Energy at the Array’s runes, which were emanating Spiritual Energy.

"Activate the Magic Array!"

The Healing Array and the Purification Array activated simultaneously.

Under their combined effect, the virus creatures rapidly lost their vitality, and the viruses themselves died as the Undead Energy was purified.

Furthermore, under the Array’s influence, the viruses inside Baining and its offspring were also rapidly digested.

At the same time, the Death Devourers by Lin Yu’s side also went all out. Outside the Magic Array, they spewed Death Energy to constantly assimilate the Undead Energy, while also absorbing the Death Energy produced when the viruses died.

Even though the Death Energy from a single dying virus was incredibly faint, almost negligible, when it all added up, the overall harvest was still quite substantial.

"Sigh... It’s a shame. If only there were more Death Devourers!"

Chenxi remarked, watching the number of viruses in the area steadily decrease.

Lin Yu replied, "It’s fine. Baining and its offspring did a good job too!"

"The main issue is we’re in a hurry to complete the mission, so we’re rushing a bit."

"If we weren’t in a rush, they would have been perfectly capable of clearing this cave on their own, given a little time."

A short while later, Baining and its offspring walked into the Array. With its help, they quickly digested the viruses in their bodies. Then they walked back out and resumed their frenzied feasting on the incoming viruses and virus creatures.

Thanks to everyone’s efforts, the vast number of viruses and virus creatures in the cavern were completely cleaned up in a short amount of time.

With the virus creatures that had blanketed the entire cavern gone, its true appearance was revealed to Lin Yu and the others.

Countless biological limbs were fused together, forming a three-dimensional pattern within the cavern. At the very center of the pattern was a massive, oval-shaped sphere made of virus creatures.

Every line of this pattern shimmered with a dim, murky light, and a strange fluctuation pulsed around the central oval sphere.

Lin Yu stared at the pattern in the cavern, constantly cross-referencing it with his knowledge and pondering its function.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.