Chapter 609 - 547: Bizarre

Chapter 609: Chapter 547: Bizarre

HUMMMMM...

Amidst the scorching crimson blaze, a faint humming sound suddenly arose, just as suddenly growing from weak to strong.

As the humming continued, the crimson blaze, surrounded by an endless Sand-tailed Scorpion Tide, grew visibly more dazzling and brilliant.

The crimson radiance it emitted stained the entire sky, and even the scorching sun seemed to take on a more piercing shade of red.

And as the crimson firelight grew more brilliant, the scene inside the Grand Array became increasingly blurry and difficult to perceive from the outside.

Finally, as the humming faded, the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Array seemed to have completed some kind of transformation.

Viewed from the outside, there was nothing but a scorching crimson blaze aside from the majestic Ancient Tower that soared into the clouds. The scene within was now impossible to glimpse, completely concealing all traces of what was happening inside.

And now, concealed by the Grand Array, Chu Mu had begun his grand deception.

He was, of course, already extremely skilled at refining the Heavenly Deceit Pill.

Back then, for his trip to the East Lake Secret Realm, he had even spent a great deal of effort improving the Heavenly Deceit Pill multiple times, weakening the elixir’s side effects while strengthening its efficacy.

He had even modified the refining process for the Heavenly Deceit Pill again and again under the life-and-death pressure he faced in the East Lake Secret Realm.

Refining the Heavenly Deceit Pill here was child’s play for him.

However, his focus right now wasn’t the Heavenly Deceit Pill, but rather the telepathic link that connected to the unknown.

He had never cultivated Secret Technique Divine Techniques in this area, so naturally, he couldn’t use Magical Techniques and Divine Techniques to simulate this kind of Telepathy.

But for him, solving this problem wasn’t too difficult.

Both Artifact Refining and Arrays could be used to achieve the effect of simulating this Telepathy.

So far, his only uncertainty was that he still didn’t know the endpoint of this connection—or rather, what kind of existence this connection led to.

This uncertainty undoubtedly created more trouble.

He not only had to simulate the effect of Telepathy but also had to probe step by step, ensuring that this simulated telepathic effect was compatible with the mysterious existence at the other end.

Only then could he guarantee a perfect outcome.

’Even if my guess is wrong, even if I lose this gamble... and behind this endless tide of Sand-tailed Scorpions isn’t the programmatic logic I’m expecting, but a Sand-tailed Scorpion Mother possessing Spiritual Wisdom... as long as this Sand-tailed Scorpion Mother’s Spiritual Wisdom is as uniquely rigid and inflexible as it has seemed over the past few days, it’s not impossible for me to fool it. But if that’s the case, the chances of my grand deception succeeding would undoubtedly be much lower. After all, the inflexibility of something completely programmatic and the inflexibility of a being with Spiritual Wisdom are clearly two different things.’

A flicker of Crimson True Flame hovered before Chu Mu. One by one, Spiritual Materials twisted and warped visibly as they were smelted by the True Flame, slowly turning into thumb-sized, multicolored clumps of molten material.

At the same time, as Chu Mu performed a series of Techniques, soul-stirring networks of Inscriptions slowly appeared on the clumps of molten material.

His flowing Divine Sense was like the tip of a brush, each stroke revealing another Inscription.

If an Artifact Refiner were present, they would surely be astonished. In just a few breaths, he had sketched and combined dozens of Inscriptions. These dozens of Inscriptions covered three distinct fields—Array Prohibitions, Runes, and Artifact Patterns—and many of them were clearly conflicting in nature.

Yet under Chu Mu’s hand, they combined with perfect, natural harmony, without the slightest trace of discord.

Chu Mu didn’t pause for a moment. His Divine Sense sketched rapidly as the molten materials gradually fused. In just about a quarter of an hour, with a wave of his sleeve, the burning Crimson True Flame abruptly vanished.

What hovered before him now was not clumps of molten material, but a brilliant silver-white gleam.

Probing with Divine Sense would reveal that within the silver-white gleam was a sphere, radiating its own silver-white light.

The sphere was about the size of a fist. The silver-white light it emitted formed a halo around it, concealing the mysteries within.

Its surface was covered with dense, tiny Inscriptions, crisscrossing in such a way that it resembled a completely silver-white eyeball, constantly exuding a soul-stirring terror.

Chu Mu raised his right hand, and the bizarre sphere floated into his palm.

He used his Divine Sense Perception to check it again and again. Only after confirming it matched his design without any abnormalities did he seem to let out a sigh of relief.

The sphere’s principle was complex, but its sole function was simulation and disguise.

’Based on my observations, the contact signal emitted by each Sand-tailed Scorpion is basically equivalent to a unique identifier. And the purpose of this sphere is to artificially simulate that identifier, allowing it to establish contact with the unknown entity in place of a Sand-tailed Scorpion. Then, I’ll use the Heavenly Deceit Pill for the grand deception, use Puppetry Skill to refine a Sand-tailed Scorpion’s Demon Body, and change my own form. Finally, I will transform into a Sand-tailed Scorpion and complete the deception in the truest sense. This Desert Sea, a place that could be called a forbidden wasteland, will surely be mine to traverse.’

After a moment of contemplation, Chu Mu’s gaze shifted and finally settled on one of the Sand-tailed Scorpions immobilized within the array.

Suddenly, he seemed to notice something. His pupils shrank, and with a swift step, he appeared in front of one of the Sand-tailed Scorpions in the next instant.

Within his Divine Sense Perception, the connection between the Sand-tailed Scorpion and the unknown entity had been temporarily severed by the Grand Array.

Under the Grand Array’s suppression and confinement, the few Sand-tailed Scorpions that had survived his experiments were all completely immobile.

Previously, just as he had predicted, without the manipulation from the being behind the scenes, these Sand-tailed Scorpions had naturally reverted to their own Spiritual Wisdom, becoming individual entities once more.

Low Tier Demon Beasts may not have high Spiritual Wisdom, but there was no doubt that no matter how low-tier a Demon Beast was, its fundamental nature as a living being could not change.

If it was a living being, it had to possess Spiritual Wisdom. The only difference was whether that Spiritual Wisdom was high or low.

But in just a short moment, the spiritual essence belonging to a living creature had completely vanished from the Sand-tailed Scorpion before him.

All that remained... was the vacant, lifeless stupor of an inanimate object!

Chu Mu looked at the other remaining Sand-tailed Scorpions. Without exception, they were all in the same vacant, lifeless stupor.

He flicked his sleeve, and the power of the Grand Array binding the scorpions dissipated. What followed was not the struggle and resistance one would expect after being freed.

The few Sand-tailed Scorpions fell from the air like lifeless statues, crashing onto the sandy ground.

They didn’t move a muscle, showing no reaction whatsoever.

’Their Qi Blood is still present and active, but their souls are gone...’

’Soulless?’

Chu Mu’s eyes flickered. He looked up at the Divine Fire Array that isolated the inside from the out, and a faint suspicion slowly surfaced in his mind.

He pondered for a moment, then flicked his hand, and a wave of fire enveloped one of the Sand-tailed Scorpions.

With a thought, a ten-foot-wide crack suddenly appeared in the towering Divine Fire Array. He then flung the statue-like Sand-tailed Scorpion out into the surging Sand-tailed Scorpion Tide.

The moment it was thrown out of the Grand Array, free from its isolating barrier, the seemingly soulless Sand-tailed Scorpion was instantly reborn as if its soul had returned.

It merged into the Beast Tide and, just like the other endless Sand-tailed Scorpions, charged fearlessly toward the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Array.

Chu Mu watched this silently, his brow deeply furrowed.

’The Sand-tailed Scorpions, even if they’re just puppets of the Sand-tailed Scorpion Mother, are still, without a doubt, individual living beings first and foremost. A living being, a Demon Beast, turns into a soulless, inanimate object after losing the manipulation of the entity behind the scenes... And once that manipulation returns, it becomes a living being again, reborn... This kind of situation...’

Chu Mu’s brow was knitted tightly.

In his experience, only inanimate objects had such characteristics.

For example, the Puppets he refined could move as freely as living beings when he controlled them.

Without his control, the Puppets would naturally stand motionless like inanimate objects inside his Storage Space.

But the problem was, these Sand-tailed Scorpions were clearly not inanimate objects. They were living, undeniable... Demon Beasts!

’Besides, if I remember correctly, when the Grand Array first cut them off and I was studying them, these few Sand-tailed Scorpions hadn’t turned into inanimate objects yet. They must have slowly turned into inanimate objects only after I finished my research and started refining this Silver-White Round Pearl.’

Chu Mu swiped his hand, and a blade of light flashed—

’When the Sand-tailed Scorpions’ connection to the entity behind the scenes is severed for a certain period of time, they turn into... inanimate objects. When the connection is re-established, the inanimate objects are reborn...’

’In other words, the important thing isn’t the Sand-tailed Scorpion itself, but... the connection?’

’It’s the connection that grants the Sand-tailed Scorpions life...’

’Which means... the Sand-tailed Scorpions aren’t living beings in the true sense, but a kind of pseudo-living being... a Flesh Puppet?’

’So, it’s highly likely that the Sand-tailed Scorpions here aren’t truly living beings...’

’But are under programmatic control...’

’Or rather, they are simulations of Sand-tailed Scorpions created by some ancient Great Divine Power User...’

...