Chapter 333 The Giant Beast

Standing at the edge of the “ship” plane, gazing at the massive spatial rift spanning the void ahead—constantly twisting and shifting, emanating ominous fluctuations.

Black took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the slight unease and regret in his heart, his expression reverting to a wizard’s calm and rationality.

Honestly, his preparations this time weren’t poor.

Custom witch artifacts better suited one’s soul traits and offered higher cost-effectiveness, but top-tier standard artifacts often provided greater pure protection strength.

For absolute safety, the two standard artifacts he purchased were sixth-level精品.

In mind protection alone, they likely surpassed some master alchemists’ customs by a notch.

“Just the merit drain was too great—only afforded three in total… hope it’s enough.” Black sighed helplessly.

Intel from the opposing plane came from a sixth-level wizard, suggesting sixth-level mind protection should handle most situations there.

The issue was his “quantity” was too low.

Meaning he must be more cautious, avoiding prolonged engagements or simultaneous multiple mental assaults.

But for a soul-system wizard lacking strong offensive means, excessive caution often meant missing precious spoils.

Black roughly calculated; if luck soured, this plane war’s gains might not cover the massive cost of these three artifacts.

“Hope Jie Ming’s artifact lasts longer in protection…” His gaze fell on the simple bracer on his left wrist.

Within the transparent crystal, the colorful golden liquid flowed slowly, exuding a reassuring stable aura.

With contract binding, he wasn’t worried about Jie Ming deceiving on core functions.

But as known, same sixth-level varied vastly in upper-lower limits.

His expensively bought two were undoubtedly high-tier sixth-level.

While Jie Ming, a second-level wizard’s artifact—even leveraging special materials and tech to reach sixth-level threshold—likely barely entry-level.

He had privately tested the “Mind Barrier Bracer”; protection was indeed good, effectively isolating several mid-low intensity soul illusions he applied.

But each test, watching the golden liquid deplete visibly, pained him—that was real military merits!

As for Jie Ming’s claimed short resistance to seventh-level wizardry and warning for eighth-level.

Lacking test conditions, Black largely dismissed them as optimistic theory.

“Still, Jie Ming crafting a sixth-level threshold artifact at second-level—even mainly via materials—his tech is quite fearsome.”

“After returning, might ask what other artifact types he excels in…” As Black pondered, the expedition commander’s icy voice spread via spiritual force to all participating wizards’ minds, interrupting him.

No excess mobilization; orders issued directly.

Instantly, multicolored lights flared at the ship plane’s edge.

Wizards activated prepared mind protections: some with crystalline orbs hovering overhead, some encircled by invisible mental barriers, some—like Black—wearing special ornaments or bracers.

Then, following masses of cannon fodder units, figures turned to streams of light, resolutely charging the rift gaping like a giant beast’s maw.

Black dared not slack; he immediately activated a badge in his bosom carved with complex eye-like patterns—one of his two purchased sixth-level protections, the Gazer’s Emblem.

A cool, stable mental force instantly enveloped his consciousness, forming a tough barrier.

Simultaneously, he habitually cast soul-system wizardry “presence dilution,” rendering his aura unremarkable among wizards.

Only then did he take flight, entering the bizarre spatial rift with the flow.

Upon entering the rift passage, anticipated spatial tugging arrived, but immediately after, a far-exceeding dizziness slammed his senses!

“Urgh!” Black grunted, feeling his soul tossed into a high-speed spinning washer.

Amid twisted lights and chaotic spatial sense, he seemed to hear an extremely faint, soul-level “crack.”

“Not good!”

Soul-system wizards were hyper-sensitive to self-changes; alarms blared in Black’s heart!

This was no normal spatial transit reaction!

Enduring discomfort, he desperately mobilized spiritual force to stabilize.

Breaths later, the intense dizziness receded like a tide; he found himself out of the passage, in an… abnormal space.

Surrounding: endless “rock walls” in dark red flesh-tone, warm, soft, slick to touch, subtly pulsing.

Underfoot: pitch-black, cold, shell-hard “ground.”

Looking up: high “vault” similarly of writhing flesh, like some creature’s abdominal cavity walls!

Black instantly realized.

He wasn’t teleported to an underground cavern but swallowed into an unimaginably massive unknown creature’s body!

The rift exit was likely blocked by its “mouth”!

He scanned around, spotting more wizards “swallowed” like him.

They drifted down from mid-air like dumplings, but in eerie states—eyes shut tight, faces bearing utter satisfaction, peace, even bliss, as if in the sweetest dream, oblivious to their plight.

Then, surrounding flesh walls surged; countless slick tentacles with suckers extended, precisely coiling the falling wizards, easily pulling them to the walls.

Flesh writhed like living, enveloping and slowly “integrating” the wizards, leaving only vague humanoid outlines faintly visible on the surface.

Illusion!

Powerful group hallucination!

No, not just hallucination—likely extreme mental interference too.

Seeing theoretically unintelligent cannon fodder—perhaps soulless, mere instinct—also meekly allowing tentacles to reel them in, Black corrected himself.

Heart pounding, he recalled the faint crack.

That must have been his activated Gazer’s Emblem’s sixth-level mind barrier shattering instantly upon entry!

Could what he now saw and felt already be illusion?

The thought chilled him to the bone.

But if illusion to lower guard for devouring, why such twisted terror?

Would his subconscious craft such a “sweet dream”?

Wrong!

Black suddenly realized, instinctively glancing at his left wrist.

There, the originally plain “Mind Barrier Bracer” now emitted a still stable, gentle white halo.

And the sealed golden liquid Aging Gold—claimed to last ten years—depleted at visible speed!

Like snow under sun, melting rapidly!

This terrifying consumption rate starkly informed him of the immense, bizarre force continuously assaulting his mind defenses!

The bracer hadn’t failed; it faithfully fulfilled “isolation.”

Firmly blocking the terror illusions and mental interference that instantly felled other wizards from his consciousness.

This horrific scene inside the giant beast… was likely this plane’s bloody reality!