CHAPTER 441: CHAPTER 441: ASCENSION, RAINY SEASON

What happened to Shuji? What is happening on the surface?

The people stationed on the orbital platform looked in horror at their mother planet beneath them. They saw that it had undergone earth-shattering changes recently. Eerie white substances were spreading across the planet’s surface like a nightmare, even the thick rain clouds near the equator couldn’t conceal the terrifying mutation overtaking the entire planet — a mutation that had started hundreds of years ago but only now came into their view.

The Cognitive Barrier enveloping Shuji was disintegrating. This powerful cognitive interference had once extended from the planet’s surface into space, pulling even those stationed in high orbits into a "everything is normal" Dream Realm. But now, the dream was ending.

This wasn’t because the "Inference Star Body" had stopped its activities — but because the "Angel" parasitizing the planet’s interior was now ready to Ascend.

The Ascension Body was severing connections with the Feather Nest. As those massive neural systems deeply buried underground and the Crystal Branch structures spread across the globe disconnected one by one, the cognitive interference field that had operated in Shuji for hundreds of years naturally came to a halt.

The Inference Star Body decided to abandon its nest ahead of schedule — the numerous anomalies occurring within the nest made it feel an immense danger.

Mo Ran watched grimly as his subordinates brought him the Lingxi Mirror, showing him the projected images from within.

It was the scene recently transmitted from the orbital platform, observing Shuji from space.

The eerie white substance undulated across the planet’s surface, shifting from the polar regions to the equator. All surface structures were changing, a horrifying "face" had formed covering nearly a third of the planet. It appeared to be a complex nest structure, yet also like a face fused from humans and insects, and at the center of this face was... that "mountain."

Mo Ran raised his head, looking with a sense of suffocation toward the end of the plains. She saw that the geological structure rising from afar had surpassed the highest peaks near Mo City. It seemed like there was something slowly "squeezing" itself out of the crystal-composed mountain from beneath the crust. Scalding magma welled from around the crystalline cliffs, and as this process continued, the previously growing "tendrils" from underground seemed to have entered a terrifying state of loss of control.

The army outside the city fell into chaos, the cultivators led by Lord Yun Shan scattered in all directions from the clouds, some appearing to try to restore order, while others rushed suicidally toward the living jungle.

But at this moment, Mo Ran could no longer concern herself with matters outside the city.

Under her feet, the planet on which she was born and raised was coming to life.

The homeland had become a murderous living planet, and the city... seemed like an unwelcome blemish on the body of this monstrous living entity.

The entire city shook, the protective structures beneath Mo City were close to breaking.

With a thunderous roar that nearly shattered her liver and gall, Mo Ran saw a sinister flash of light in the distant rain as a massive structure fell from the clouds, and a series of explosions and tumbling massive debris impacted the shaky City Defense Array.

"The sixth Refining Tower collapsed... something is coming out from underground!"

Someone shouted, and then everyone saw a massive crystal tendril piercing out from beneath the position where the Refining Tower had fallen, crushing down on the last Shield at the edge of Mo City’s urban area.

Amid the Shield’s flashes that nearly spanned half the city, that tendril shattered, the scattered crystal debris falling from the sky, but before touching the ground they transformed into countless crystalline creatures, swarming like bugs toward Mo City’s City Guard, which had already started to waver.

"Don’t retreat!" Mo Ran shouted loudly, immediately leaping off the fourth Refining Tower without hesitation, carrying her personal guards directly into the front line against the storm, "Seal the breach!"

They were everywhere.

All around were the crystal swarms transformed from the remnants of the tendrils, the ground splitting open in countless places, yielding small flashing tendrils, alongside black-robed figures that appeared like phantoms cutting through the storm, attacking from unknown origins — they wore withered twisted black masks, humanoid in shape, but no blood flowed upon their death, only pale and dark gray crystals emerged from their wounds.

The City Guard ultimately didn’t retreat, with the City Lord personally taking to the front lines, the warriors stood firm once more and engaged in a fierce battle with the endless monsters.

The fierce wind carried the torrential rain, the downpour like inverted seawater, Mo Ran panted heavily, even feeling the rain choking into her chest, making even breathing a burden.

An unusual crystalline creature broke through the rain curtain, silently leaping behind her, its blade-like limbs slashing down fiercely.

Mo Ran felt the danger from behind, hastily turning, she let her Flying Sword loose, slashing towards the creature with a streak of light.

However, before she could act, a hot ray struck the crystalline creature’s shell — with a brief and violent flash, the creature seemed to be "lit up" by the ray, then exploded into countless fragments.

Mo Ran turned her head in surprise, seeing a small figure with a dull expression standing a dozen meters away.

Soon after, one after another, similar figures appeared nearby.

"Who are you..." Mo Ran instinctively opened her mouth, but she wasn’t sure whom to ask among those present—the short figures that appeared out of nowhere looked expressionless, seeming to be just summoned mechanical men, and she even doubted they possessed the ability to communicate at all.

But just as she finished speaking, a voice came from nearby: "Here to help!"

The giant Nine-tailed Silver Fox stepped forward in front of Mo Ran, and atop the Silver Fox’s head stood a small figure with an air of arrogance.

Another figure, ghostly and elusive, passed through the curtain of rain, and in a dance-like spin, killed two black-clothed cultivators with her Fingertip Blade on the spot.

Luna turned her head, watching the already scarred Mo Ran with a face that always wore a smile.

"It’s almost over."

She spoke languidly, articulating each word with care.

Mo Ran was taken aback and was about to ask something when the corner of her eye caught sight of another Crystal Creature leaping high and pouncing fiercely towards the back of the Nine-tailed Silver Fox.

But before she could voice a warning, that Crystal Creature abruptly shuddered, then suddenly pulled back its offensive, and upon landing, it turned to charge at the nearest black-clothed man.

The black-clothed man was caught off guard, never expecting an attack from the "Benefactor’s Servant," and was torn apart, losing half his torso.

Soon, more Crystal Creatures emitted chaotic squeaks, suddenly turning their attack strategies in the rain and pouncing on the "allies" closest to them as if they’d gone mad.

The number of "frantic" monsters grew rapidly, and chaos spread among those Crystal Creatures in the blink of an eye, like a rapidly contagious "madness," driving enemies within and outside the city into a frenzy.

The out-of-control Crystal "swarm" began gnawing at the small tentacles emerging from the ground, while other affected tentacles started attacking the still-advancing black-clothed individuals of the City Guard, resulting in chaos even within the black-clothed ranks—

The black-clothed "cultivators" with human exteriors but completely transformed into Crystal Creatures struggled in the rain, as though battling some unseen enemy. At first, they only retreated in panic, but then, seemingly realizing something, they began frantically scratching at their bodies, desperately seeking shelter. They rushed towards the closest ruins without regard, ignoring the blades and swords right behind them, but often lost their remaining shreds of sanity after a few steps—after a terrible convulsion, they would turn violently and attack the nearest "comrade" like beasts.

Mo Ran watched all this in astonishment, and after a long while, she finally vaguely understood the actions of those frenzied black-clothed "people" before they lost control.

They were avoiding the rain.

She unconsciously raised her hand and wiped the rain off her face, then looked up.

The rain fell densely, even heavier than it should be this season. The intense curtain of rain seemed like two overlapping rainfalls pouring from two dimensions, and among this dense rain... thin strands of crimson mixed through.

Mo Ran lowered her head, looked at her palm, and saw something akin to blood dispersing in the rainwater, and a thin red line separated from the stained crimson, slowly moving and gathering in her palm like a living creature, first forming a triangular strange sigil, and then gradually forming a smiling face...

Mo Ran screamed, terror-stricken, and flung the raindrops off her hand.

This caused her to miss seeing the phone number behind the smiling face and the message "If in trouble, find Angel."

Then she heard the rumble from outside the city.

The guards stationed at the Refining Tower of Mo City looked toward the direction of the rumbling, seeing the mountain at the plain’s end "rising" and gradually cracking from within.

The mountain collapsed, and the pale crystalline material surged over the plain like an avalanche. A surge of heat escaped from the cracks, followed by a mass of light that swiftly ascended from deep within the earth—surrounding the Crystal Mountain, the vast crystalline material became instantly active, but was then forcibly pacified by the torrential rain pouring down from the sky.

A chaotic howl sounded from within the "mountain," something digging out from underground seemed to sense danger, but... Ascension had already begun prematurely, and the process could not be reversed.

A massive, irregular crystal mass, even larger than the entire Mo City, arose from the collapsed mountain; it broke through the earth’s crust, soared into the sky, ascending in the raging storm, with large portions of crystalline material continuously peeling off its surface, and dim glows flickering among those falling fragments.

The Ascension Body emerged from its "embryonic sac."

Exposed in the torrential rains of Shuji.