Bizarre Survival: I Can Devour Thousands of Talents

Chapter 85, Section 084: The Mystery of the Dream

If we were to ask what superpower Ling Xiao desires most, it would be nothing other than the ability to survive in water.

He used to be very afraid of water.

He has an innate affinity for water, yet he also deeply reveres the unpredictable existence hidden beneath its tranquil surface.

According to Mother Blue's account:

When Ling Xiao was still an infant, he was wrapped in a cloth bag and couldn't make a sound. If it weren't for an old fisherman who was fishing by the river and found him in time, he probably would have been soaked in the shallow water until the stench attracted attention.

The first time his mother saw him was when she lifted the cloth bag and saw his pitiful little face. It was raining lightly at the time, but the raindrops made him cry and open his eyes, and that's when he saw her.

Already fearful, and with this innate "explanation," although Ling Xiao later learned to swim through public welfare projects, he never went into the water again.

His mother didn't force him or indoctrinate him to be a perfect "good boy".

Unlike some parents who make pumpkin at every meal to "correct" their children who are not picky eaters but refuse to eat pumpkin, or who insist on soaking their children in water until they are no longer picky about food, this parent is different.

My mom is very forgiving.

She wasn't the children's biological mother, but her educational philosophy and compassion far surpassed anyone else's.

Until that rainy night, Ling Xiao held his mother's gradually cooling body in the icy cold water.

My fear of water was suddenly cured.

It sounds a bit childish.

Life and death, both happen on rainy days.

He suddenly fell in love with rain, especially the kind of heavy rain that made it impossible to distinguish between tears.

"call……"

A limp snake carcass lay at his feet. Ling Xiao was momentarily dazed, but his reason quickly pulled him back to reality.

My breathing is much easier now.

He bent down and buried his face in the water, feeling refreshed and at ease.

It's hard to imagine and hard to explain.

But his thoughts drifted far away, back to Ling Xiao in the past, and he didn't want to waste any more brain cells at this moment.

Suddenly, he felt sleepy.

Sensing something was wrong, Ling Xiao's entire body erupted with internal energy!

Just as things were about to erupt, the dream began...

"call!!"

Ling Xiao pulled his head out of the water, still looking shaken, letting the splashing water land on his face.

The cold touch quickly calmed him down.

Before me was a strange twilight.

If it weren't for that revisiting of the scene during the special mission, Ling Xiao would probably be even more awestruck by this spectacle now!

The distant mountains, bathed in a hazy yellow light, stretched to the horizon, seemingly merging together with the sky, making it impossible to discern any boundary.

Like the afterglow of a blood-red setting sun, poignant yet decaying.

The world before Ling Xiao's eyes seemed to be seen through a filter, full of impact and infectiousness, yet unclear.

He was an observer, a passerby.

But when you insert your fingers into the soil, the moisture and warmth you feel are the most real tactile sensations you could ever experience.

I instinctively tried to open the map, but to no avail.

I was a little panicked, but I was still able to control myself.

Ling Xiao simply searched in the taskbar, while also wondering if he had accidentally triggered some special task...

But he couldn't bring himself to open that all-too-familiar system on a whim.

What about the system?

I tried out the new talent's effect, and it ended up erasing the system...

"Holy shit..."

"Where the hell did this bastard do now?!"

Fortunately, after so much hardship, Ling Xiao was still able to remain rational and calm despite his shock and anger. His awakened abilities and acquired status were taking effect, helping him adapt to the current situation.

The familiar system no longer exists.

But seeing the long sword summoned at will and the flames leaping from its blade, Ling Xiao's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was temporarily calmed down.

Behind them was a dense jungle, filled with strange and beautiful unknown flowers and plants.

As visual information is transmitted back, the distorted ear also recaptures the sound.

In the distance, very far away, the shouts of battle shook the heavens and the earth.

Further away, a magnificent building that soars into the clouds sits there.

Even though Ling Xiao had seen skyscrapers and other architectural masterpieces, everything paled in comparison to this supernatural work of art that blends art and technology.

As the saying goes:

"When there are a thousand people, the earth stretches to the sky; when there are ten thousand people, there is no bounds!"

Even from a great distance, Ling Xiao could feel the frantic killing intent emanating from that brutal battlefield where blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

Moreover, judging from the scale, the combined number of people on both sides is probably on another order of magnitude.

Most importantly, this is not a war between humans.

A golden magic array floated in the sky, from which divine light shot out, creating bursts of blood mist.

Countless figures clashed in the air, one side vowing to defend the castle and aerial formation behind them, while the other side charged forward relentlessly, regardless of the cost.

Profound forbidden spells and magic appeared one after another, and the top experts on both sides fought to the death without retreating. The meat grinder on the ground was crushing hundreds and thousands of elites every second.

There was absolutely no intention to conduct close reconnaissance.

The aftershocks alone caused Ling Xiao to tremble, and the protective aura around his body had already been increased by 50%.

Even so, my soul began to ache faintly.

It looks like it'll explode if I watch it any longer!

Only by surviving can one find a way out of this predicament.

As Ling Xiao looked around, preparing to gather more information for his decision, something suddenly grabbed his ankle.

He instinctively swung his knife and slashed!

clang--

A halo of light flashed, and the blade was deflected!?

Fortunately, the attack was repelled, and Ling Xiao took the opportunity to see the "person" clearly.

There were a few strange things about her exceptionally beautiful face.

Her nose was pert and upturned, her ears were pointed, but what was most striking were her emerald green eyes.

Even though it is enduring great pain at this moment, it can still make people feel the most intuitive and simple beauty.

This is a magnificent color that even ten thousand layers of colored contact lenses couldn't replicate.

However, as Ling Xiao observed, the situation of this "person" was not optimistic.

Half a body, actually only the chest, head and one arm remained.

The area below the abdomen had turned into black mud, and the exposed organs on the chest were "corroding" at a visible rate.

Blood-red and black lines crawled across the remaining high peaks, extended across her slender neck, and invaded her fair, snow-white cheeks.

And those pure and clear eyes seemed to have drops of extremely aggressive ink, which were spreading and blurring.

"Help...help me..."

Completely bewildered, Ling Xiao stared at the bizarre scene before him, his head practically burning with rage.

The Eye of Detection was thrown out, but there was no feedback.

There wasn't even a question mark.

The system disappeared so it stopped reporting information?

"Please...please! Help me! Help me get out of this predicament!"

"I don't want to become a monster!"

The "girl" on the ground, whose race was unknown, seemed to be enduring immense pain; her weak screams were even somewhat eerie.

An ominous change was taking place inside her body, and just as Ling Xiao raised his knife, he heard a soft whisper in his ear.

"Please help her..."

As if by some strange force, my body moved on its own, without my conscious thought!

Although he had already decided to take action, and had his attention diverted by the mysterious voice, he would have already chopped down the weapon.

But the active and the passive must never be confused!

My body, under the command of that mysterious voice, skipped the program and started operating!?

bass--

The flames burned away sins.

The beautiful head with its severed neck, the last look in its eyes conveying a sense of relief and gratitude...

Upon regaining control of his body, Ling Xiao instantly increased his protective qi to its maximum strength.

Yet, that mysterious voice could still be heard.

"There's a small path on the left..."

"Who are you! A ghost? Or the pollution residing in my soul!?"

no answer.

At this moment, Ling Xiao had already roughly guessed what the other party was like.

He had been wondering why he hadn't been affected by that strange curse, and now it's here?

The ring's effects remain active in specific stages of special missions, and it can also disable some system functions after pulling oneself into a dream.

Ling Xiao simply couldn't fathom the level of that duchess.

The latest novel is first published here!

It was impossible to resist, and there was no way to resist it.

Following the directions, he trudged through the dense undergrowth, struggling to clear a path with his flaming blade.

The deafening noise behind us gradually faded away, and all the sounds seemed to be diminished by the vegetation.

Parting the last few blades of grass, a very wide road came into view.

"Is this what you call a path?"

There was no response from my ears.

Ling Xiao considered the situation and felt a strong urge to head away from the castle, but reason told him that that was where he should go to resolve the dream.

If we try to escape in another direction, we might end up trapped in this awful place forever...

It's called a path, but it's actually quite smooth.

The surrounding flowers and plants are all special varieties that have been cultivated, and even if Lingxiao doesn't recognize them, he can tell that these plants are precious.

Moreover, it was trimmed very neatly, without suffering any damage from the "nearby" battle.

The owner of that castle was clearly of extremely high status, yet he was still driven all the way to his doorstep...

A surprise attack?

A continuous retreat?

Ling Xiao, carrying his knife, walked with trepidation, because he knew very well the scale of the battle over there.

Those powerful figures flying in the air, if any of them throws a small skill off-target, it doesn't even need to hit the target exactly; just a slight ripple is enough to kill them!

Fortunately, he soon stopped worrying about being blown up while walking.

Two strange corpses emerged from the bushes beside the road ahead.

The armor on his body was gilded and exquisitely crafted, but the body inside was rotten beyond recognition, covered with dark demonic patterns that were rhythmically flashing with an eerie red light, as if it were still breathing.

One tall, one short; one thin, one fat; one female, one male.

The tall "female corpse" held a longbow, and the dark red soul fire flickering in her eye sockets was observing Ling Xiao with great interest; the short and fat "male corpse" was not so leisurely. He fiddled with the giant hammer and round shield in his hand and charged towards Ling Xiao.

They start fighting at the drop of a hat, which is just what I like.

But Ling Xiao still really wanted to curse: "Damn it!"

The Eye of Appraisal is unusable, and these guys show no intention of communicating at all.

Oh, the last person I could talk to was begging me to help her get rid of herself quickly...

So, you're completely clueless and can only attack anyone you see?

As usual, start with Light Slash!

Let's test this melee soldier's abilities first.

As for the ranged archer, Ling Xiao naturally noticed the opponent's action of drawing his bow and nocking an arrow.

A single Soul-Draining Piercing Strike landed perfectly!

boom!boom!

The light slash, which used to be able to break through defenses at the very least, had little effect after hitting that round shield.

It crumbled like a soft snowball, exploding into scattered specks of light.

On the contrary, the latter's round shield seemed to have undergone a cleansing, radiating a layer of orange-red halo that covered its entire body, and its charging momentum was so powerful that it was difficult to resist!

Ling Xiao never intended to confront him head-on.

He's not playing the tank role, nor is he a warrior.

The combination of various skills and talents clearly makes it a high agility and attack speed build.

Dancing on the edge of a knife is extremely difficult to perform and also highly entertaining.

In this dream, the only two spectators are these two monsters of unknown origin.

Oh, and there's that wicked woman who hides her face and only occasionally hums a little!

boom--

Without using a rapid dodge, Ling Xiao dodged the shield strike using only his current abilities.

Fortunately, he didn't intend to confront them head-on.

Because this shield not only inflicts damage through impact, but also, as it rushes back to its original position, a burst of intense flames erupts from its surface!

If anyone chooses to stay put, they'll have to take the full force of this close-range explosion.

"die!!"

He drew his sword and slashed, the sword beam imbued with the power of the blazing sun tearing out a dazzling trail of flames!

But Ling Xiao was startled.

[Execution Announcement] Although it was not a full release, the monster in front of us did not hesitate at all.

This shows that the other party is completely unaffected.

There's no time to hesitate. Even if the control talent doesn't work, it's impossible to be immune to all damage skills, right?!

clang--

A fiery tornado erupted from the point where the giant hammer and the blade collided, spreading out and engulfing the short, stout monster.

Ling Xiao sensed the danger coming from the side; his [Spatial Perception] even clearly captured the monster drawing its bow not far away.

Without hesitation, he summoned the essence of the Azure Wave Serpent!

The phantom emerged from between the eyebrows and immediately charged towards the female corpse who had fired the cold arrow!

While the monsters and spirits were locked in a fierce battle, the fighting here also broke out again!

The giant hammer, crackling with lightning, crashed down with overwhelming force!

Ling Xiao's breath caught in his throat, and he quickly dodged.

The afterimage had barely been created when it was shattered by a ruthless hammer blow!

With a burst of power from his legs, Ling Xiao didn't just stand there taking the hits; he immediately launched a counterattack the moment he created an opening by dodging.

He circled around to the side of the short, stout monster where it wasn't protected by a round shield, and unleashed a barrage of [Wind and Fire Combo] with the Iron Heart Blade!

It doesn't have to hit a vital spot; even hitting the opponent's thick armor is fine.

Just preserve as much internal energy as possible during the fierce attack!

Ling Xiao moved back and forth around the short, fat monster, always managing to cut down the monster and escape before its weapon could strike.

This kind of low-agility meat mountain is also his favorite type of enemy.

It feels so good to use it for brushing!

呲——

The spirit on the other side was pierced by a sharp arrow, while Ling Xiao on this side was completely unaffected.

He discovered a pattern from the previous corrupted butchers: once released, let them entangle with the enemy, then sever the connection.

Even if the spirit loses some "flexibility", it will not affect itself.

It's very useful for blocking the enemy!

Now, it's time to deal with the formidable enemy before us!

A violent explosion of wind and fire!

The short, stout monster was blasted off balance by the violent outburst, its side and back mangled and bloody, a large chunk missing from its distorted body, revealing its sinister, surging core.

Ling Xiao, who had flashed to a distance before the explosion, immediately drew an iron spear and threw it!

After hitting the core, it triggered another miniature explosion.

The rugged face with a thick beard turned with difficulty toward himself, revealing a somewhat terrifying smile.

Slightly taken aback, Ling Xiao wondered why the other person had such a gratified expression.

But even as he confirmed that the short, stout monster had finally exploded and died, he didn't stop and was already charging toward the longbowman.

The monster drew its bow but did not nock an arrow, and a mysterious smile appeared on its face.

bass--

A flash of flame, and a head flew off!

Ling Xiao turned around and silently watched as the two monsters melted into a pool of mud.

They sank into the land, disappearing without a trace.

In the distance, the magnificent castle, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, seemed neither close nor far away.

I've been there, waiting for him to come...

(End of this chapter)