Bizarre Survival: I Can Devour Thousands of Talents

Chapter 226, Section 225: Don't subscribe!

Ling Xiao stood at the entrance of the ancient ruins, before which lay a desolate wasteland, with the dust of time swirling among the crumbling walls.

This is the forgotten testing ground of alchemists, where legend has it that endless secrets and immense power are hidden.

"Ling Xiao, are you really going in?"

Xiaoya, his companion behind him, asked with some concern.

She was a petite elf girl with bright green eyes and pointed ears, and she was always filled with fear of the unknown.

"Of course, we've come this far, we can't give up halfway."

Ling Xiao smiled slightly, his eyes firm and confident.

He was a young adventurer with short black hair and sharp eyes. He carried a huge sword on his back, a memento left by his father and his companion on his adventures.

"But...it's dangerous here."

Xiaoya bit her lip. She knew Lingxiao's personality; once he made a decision, he wouldn't easily change it. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." Lingxiao patted her shoulder and then strode into the ruins.

The ruins were dark and damp, filled with a strange smell, like the aura of ancient magic. The walls were covered with bizarre symbols, as if telling ancient secrets.

"There seem to be traces of magic here."

Ling Xiao said in a low voice, his gaze fixed on the front. Suddenly, a slight noise came from the darkness, as if something was approaching.

"What is it?" Xiaoya grabbed Lingxiao's arm nervously. "Don't be afraid, let me see."

Ling Xiao drew the sword from his back, its blade gleaming coldly in the dim light.

He walked forward cautiously, when suddenly, a figure appeared from the darkness.

It was a doll, about 1.5 meters tall, made entirely of metal, gleaming with a cold luster. Its eyes were two blue gems, emitting an eerie light.

The puppet held a short sword in its hand, the tip dripping with an unknown liquid. "An alchemical puppet?" Ling Xiao gasped. He knew this kind of puppet was the work of an alchemist, possessing immense power and being extremely dangerous.

"It seems to have been awakened by some force." Xiaoya's voice sounded behind him, her voice trembling slightly. "It seems we have to be careful." Ling Xiao gripped his sword tightly; he knew a battle was about to begin.

Chapter Two: The Prelude to the Battle The alchemical doll stood there silently, its eyes gleaming with a cold light, as if scrutinizing the two intruders before it.

Suddenly, it moved, rushing towards Lingxiao at an astonishing speed.

Ling Xiao reacted quickly, swinging his sword to meet the attack, and the swords clashed, creating intense sparks.

The puppet's power was unexpectedly strong, and Ling Xiao was forced to take several steps back.

"Be careful!"

Xiaoya exclaimed in surprise. She took out a short bow from behind her back, quickly drew back the bowstring, and an arrow flew towards the doll.

The arrow struck the puppet's shoulder accurately, but it seemed unconcerned, pausing only slightly before continuing its attack on Lingxiao.

"This guy's defense is too strong!"

While dodging the puppet's attacks, Ling Xiao searched for its weakness.

He noticed that although the puppet's movements were swift, they seemed somewhat stiff, as if it were being controlled by some kind of force.

"Xiaoya, step back and let me deal with it."

"Ling Xiao shouted. He decided to take the risk and thrust his sword at the puppet's joint. The tip of the sword pierced the puppet's knee joint accurately, making a crisp sound."

The puppet's movements froze instantly, and Ling Xiao seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack. Sword light rained down, forcing the puppet to retreat repeatedly. "It seems its joints are its weak point."

Ling Xiao was secretly delighted; he knew he had found the key to defeating it. "Ling Xiao, watch out!" Xiao Ya suddenly cried out.

Suddenly, a blue beam of light shot out from the puppet's hand, heading straight for Lingxiao.

Ling Xiao reacted quickly, dodging the attack, but the light was too fast and still grazed his arm. A sharp pain shot through him as a deep wound appeared on his arm, bleeding profusely.

"Damn it, this guy has this ability too!" Ling Xiao gritted his teeth, enduring the pain. He knew that this battle had only just begun.

Chapter 3: The Mysterious Power The puppet seemed to be shocked by Ling Xiao's tenacity. It stopped attacking and stood there quietly, as if it was thinking about something.

Ling Xiao took the opportunity to catch his breath. He looked at his wound; although the pain was unbearable, it wasn't enough to affect his fighting ability. "Xiao Ya, can you still fight?" Ling Xiao asked in a low voice. "I'm fine, I'll help you." Xiao Ya nodded, her face filled with determination.

"Alright, let's go together again." Ling Xiao nodded. He knew this battle had to be ended quickly, otherwise they might be in even greater danger.

The puppet moved again, its movements becoming even more swift, the short sword in its hand gleaming with an eerie light. Ling Xiao and Xiao Ya worked in perfect harmony; Xiao Ya's arrows constantly disrupted the puppet's movements, while Ling Xiao seized the opportunity to launch his attacks.

However, the puppet's power seemed to be increasing as well; its movements became more agile, and its attacks more ferocious. Ling Xiao and Xiao Ya gradually found themselves in a predicament, their stamina dwindling while the puppet seemed tireless.

"This can't go on," Ling Xiao thought to himself. He noticed that the doll's eyes were flashing with an eerie light, as if it were controlling its movements.

He suddenly remembered a saying his father had once said: "Sometimes, true power is hidden in the most inconspicuous place."

"Xiaoya, you distract it, I'll attack its eyes."

Ling Xiao said in a low voice. "Okay!" Xiao Ya nodded. She quickly drew back the bowstring and shot several arrows in succession, attracting the puppet's attention.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ling Xiao rushed towards the puppet, his sword aimed directly at its eyes.

However, the puppet seemed to sense his intention, and its short sword flashed out, forcing Ling Xiao to stop his attack and dodge its counterattack. "Damn it, this guy is too troublesome!"

Ling Xiao cursed inwardly. He knew he had to find a way to truly defeat it. Suddenly, he remembered the sword his father had left him, a sword covered in mysterious runes, said to contain immense power. He decided to risk it and try to unleash the sword's power.

"Sword, show your power!" Ling Xiao shouted. He raised the sword high, and the blade suddenly flashed with a dazzling light. A powerful force surged from the sword, enveloping him.

"What kind of power is this?" Xiaoya looked at Lingxiao in surprise; she had never seen such a powerful force before. The puppet was also shocked by this power. It stopped attacking and stood there quietly, as if sensing the power.

"Now!" Ling Xiao shouted, thrusting his sword towards the puppet's eye. The sword tip pierced the puppet's eye accurately, producing a crisp sound. The puppet's body suddenly trembled, its movements gradually slowing down until it finally stopped moving.

"We won!" Xiaoya ran over excitedly and hugged Lingxiao. Lingxiao also breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he had finally defeated this powerful opponent. However, just when they thought the battle was over, the puppet's body suddenly emitted a dazzling light, and a deep voice came from within the light: "You have won, but you have not yet truly understood my power."

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"What does this mean?" Ling Xiao frowned, a sense of foreboding creeping over him. Suddenly, a figure appeared in the light—a man in a black robe, a sinister smile on his face, his eyes gleaming with a cold light. "Who are you?" Ling Xiao asked warily.

"I am the creator of this alchemical puppet, and the master of these ruins." The man's voice was deep and cold. "You have defeated the puppet, but you have not yet truly understood my power." "What do you want?" Ling Xiao gripped his sword tightly. He knew that this man was the real enemy.

"It's simple. You must accept my test to truly gain my approval." The man's voice carried a hint of sarcasm. "Otherwise, you will be trapped here forever." "We accept your test," Ling Xiao said without hesitation.

He knew this was their only option. "Very well, then, the test begins now." The man's voice carried a hint of excitement as his figure gradually disappeared into the light. Chapter Four: The Mysterious Reward Ling Xiao and Xiao Ya stood in the center of the ruins, surrounded by silence, with only their breathing echoing in the air.

The man's voice echoed in their minds: "You must solve the riddles here to truly gain my approval." "Riddles?" Xiaoya frowned. "How do we solve them?" "Don't worry, I'll figure something out."

Ling Xiao nodded, his gaze fixed on the surrounding walls. The walls were covered with strange symbols, which seemed to contain some kind of secret.

"These symbols seem to be some kind of ancient magical script," Xiaoya said softly, her eyes fixed on the wall.

"That's right, I feel the same way." Ling Xiao nodded. "We need to find the meaning of these symbols to solve the puzzle." They began to carefully study the symbols on the wall, trying to find the pattern. The symbols seemed to represent some kind of power; they combined to form a powerful magic circle.

"I understand!" Xiaoya suddenly exclaimed, "These symbols represent the power of elements. We need to find the corresponding elements to solve the puzzle."

"The power of elements?" Ling Xiao frowned. "How are we supposed to find these elements?" "I think these elements should be hidden within this ruin."

Xiaoya's eyes gleamed. "We have to search carefully." They began searching for clues in the ruins; the power of the elements might be hidden in the walls, the ground, and even the air.

Lingxiao's alchemical gloves brushed against the rock wall, and the moss on his fingertips turned into fluorescent powder.

This is a scouting technique his master taught him—when powder floats in the air and forms a misty star map, it indicates that there is an elemental anomaly within 30 meters ahead.

The boy stared at the distorted red spots of light on the star map and adjusted his filter mask to level three protection. The bronze pipes on the third level of the underground cave were like the blood vessels of a giant beast, and the delivery pipes inlaid with amethyst valves were gushing black liquid, the pungent smell of sulfur and metal corrosion permeating the passageway.

As we rounded the seventh corner, a sudden change occurred.

Kronos's massive granite fist burst forth from the wall without warning, its metallic knuckles, carrying a stench of poison, grazing Ling Xiao's nose. The outer layer of his mask was instantly corroded by the poisonous mist, creating honeycomb-like holes. The boy leaned back until he was almost parallel to the ground, his short sword swirling in his palm, emitting a half-circle of cold light. The blade collided with the pursuing magnetized copper whiskers, sparking blue-purple flames.

"Warning: Unauthorized life form." The mechanical voice carried an eerie electrical crackling. Ling Xiao rolled away, creating distance, the pale golden patterns of the Eye of Secrets glowing deep within its pupils—

Purple light flowed through the doll's hexagonal pupils, and its left arm's bronze whiskers were disintegrating and reassembling in a way that defied the laws of physics, with hundreds of metal segments weaving into a thorny cage in the air.

"Transformation Intuition Activated!" Ling Xiao's mind flashed back to the image of his master adjusting the alchemy array.

He flung out three test tubes: the indigo frost agent froze the poisonous miasma on the left, the crimson sulfur powder ignited a burst of flames on the right, and his figure rose into the air, stepping on the copper shards in the center that had not yet hit the ground. The metal fragments exploded with tiny alchemical sparks on the soles of his boots, forming a brief, levitating staircase.

The moment the dagger pierced the acorn's core, Kronos suddenly let out a non-mechanical scream. This agonizing roar caused Ling Xiao to pause slightly, the blade tip shifting three centimeters and piercing the seam of his shoulder armor. Purple slime gushed out, condensing in the air into a rain of poisonous spikes.

"You feel pain?" The boy weaved through Bronzebeard's Dance of Death, his Eye of Secrets capturing the torrent of data flashing across the core's surface. His response was a spiderweb of cracks emanating from the granite's powerful blows, the entire crypt trembling in the impact waves.

When the seventh bronze pipe shattered, the truth came to light. The black liquid, upon contact with Kronos's body, created clusters of purple crystals; each crystal's proliferation intensified the puppet's frenzied attack patterns.

Ling Xiao risked getting close to the doll's chest, letting the mercury and silver miasma corrode the shoulder guards, and the black liquid collected in the sampling bottle gleamed eerily under the moonstone.

"So this is the source of the pollution." The boy licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, and the six-eyed rock lizard answered the call and tore open Kronos's back armor. Frost potion was poured onto the overloaded gear set, and with a mournful sound of metal brittle breaking, the hilt of the short sword struck the critical point.

The tremor as Kronos collapsed to his knees stirred ripples of mercury-silver. Lingxiao's Eye of Insight suddenly stung—the Crimson Formula was rewriting the core's underlying protective protocol. The boy bit his tongue, spitting blood onto the blade; the crimson and purple light of the Burning Spirit Blood Blade clashed, unleashing blinding arcs of electricity.

"Master's contract is being overwritten!" As the blade collided with the granite for the third time, Ling Xiao deliberately created an opening. The instant Kronos pounced, he shrank back and rolled into the puppet's blind spot, his poisoned dagger piercing the gap between the gears.

As the last purple crystal was removed, Kronos's pupils returned to their emerald hue. The petrified mechanical arm lifted the prismatic crystal, and the moment the memory metal touched the alchemical glove, Lingxiao saw the ancient twilight.

(End of this chapter)