Finally, in a flash of light, the mysterious metal box appeared above the metal platform.
The golden light erupting from the hammer began to gather around the metal box. Clack! A few moments later, the surface of the metal box cracked open, and it fell to the ground in countless metal pieces.
With the disintegration of the metal box, a fiery-red and dazzling object was left to float in the air, slowly turning.
Incredible! This must be the Ifrit King!
Wang Chong inwardly sighed in praise. He could tell that this object was extremely similar in terms of origin to the World-Destroying Ifrit that Khatabah had controlled, but it was several dozen times stronger.
Unfortunately, even though the Landeshunger had developed the method to create the Ifrit King, they had only gotten halfway. They had failed to truly create the Ifrit King.
But Wang Chong didn’t have the time to ponder things deeply. He quickly realized that the dormant energy of the Landeshunger people, after being awakened to summon the Ifrit King from beneath the earth, was beginning to scatter at an astonishing rate.
If this continued, it would take only an hour for this precious energy to disappear.
There’s no time!
Wang Chong immediately pushed his way through the violent tides of energy to appear in front of the metal platform. Placing his hands on its cracked halves, he activated the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art, absorbing this vast energy that was countless times more bountiful than the energy of the Kegang Empire.
Rumble!
At the moment of activation, as that unimaginably boundless energy flowed in, Wang Chong felt for the first time that he was going past his upper limit. The sensation of energy in his body was like too much food being stuffed into a person’s mouth, impossible to swallow all at once.
Too much, too much…
Wang Chong immediately activated the golden seed, and the energy of the Landeshunger barely lingered in Wang Chong’s body as it was absorbed by the golden seed.
“Notice! An energy change in the golden seed has been observed. Energy reserve at 19%, 21%, 23%, 25%…” The Stone of Destiny spoke once more as the golden seed began to absorb energy at a terrifying rate.
The energy of the Kegang Empire had only brought the golden seed to a mere 17%, but in just a few moments, the golden seed had raised its level to 29%, and this number continued to rapidly climb.
Wang Chong stood motionless in front of the platform. Although he had two lives’ worth of experience, he had never before experienced the joy of absorbing so much energy.
The golden seed appeared to have a nearly limitless capacity for energy. 30%, 31%, 33%… The golden seed began to exude a brighter and brighter light.
“38%，39%，40%……”
“38%, 39%, 40%…”
Wang Chong was already pushing the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art to its maximum.
“57%，59%，61%，64%……”
“57%, 59%, 61%, 64%…”
The energy in the golden seed was growing stronger and stronger, and even though this energy was just passing through him, Wang Chong could feel that he had gotten quite a bit stronger.
“72%，73%，74%……”
“72%, 73%, 74%…”
The voice of the Stone of Destiny was constantly ringing through Wang Chong’s mind. As the golden seed continued to accumulate more and more energy, swallowing it like a whale, the sea of energy left by the Landeshunger civilization was slowly weakening. The rate of increase was slowly decelerating.
As time slowly passed, Wang Chong could sense the energy beneath him thinning, and it seemed like the golden seed was also approaching the end of its absorption.
“85%……，86%……，87%……”
“85%… 86%… 87%…”
At 87%, the energy sea finally dried up, and the golden seed ceased to increase in power.
The golden seed exuded much greater power now. If one compared the golden seed previous to this to a firefly, it could now be considered a bright lantern.
What a pity! It’s just lacking a little more!
Wang Chong regretfully sighed.
Although the golden seed had accumulated a huge amount of energy, and even Wang Chong himself had gotten significantly stronger, the golden seed had stopped at 87%, so it had not activated a new ability.
Wait; there’s still a way!
Wang Chong scanned the area, smiled, and vanished from the platform.
Wang Chong placed a single palm on the floating golden hammer, upon which its energy flowed into Wang Chong’s body.
“88%, 89%, 90%, 91%!”
Crack! The golden Landeshunger hammer broke apart into countless lightless shards that dropped to the ground.
“Still lacking 9%!”
Wang Chong looked around and quickly locked onto the fire seed of the Ifrit King floating in the air.
The golden seed would not be able to completely drain the Ifrit King of its energy, so Wang Chong sent the Ifrit King into the golden seed.
“100%！”
“100%!”
As if the last piece had been placed in a complicated puzzle, the golden seed began to blaze with a white light. At the same time, its insides experienced a quintessential transformation.
The golden seed had originally been located in Wang Chong’s head, but a moment later, it began to work its way downward through his meridians, eventually reaching his heart.
There was a soft crack, and a sliver opened on the surface of the seed, like something was about to grow from it.
The Stone of Destiny’s voice rang out in Wang Chong’s mind.
“Sufficient energy has been accumulated. A new ability of the golden seed is in the process of being unlocked! 55%… 87%… 100%!
“Congratulations to user on obtaining the advanced ability ‘Foundation Dimension’!
“Description: This ability was activated due to the fact that a significant amount of the world’s foundation energy was contained in the nature and chaos energy that user provided.
“The Foundation Dimension is a special dimension created through foundation energy. User can use the Foundation Dimension to obtain several special abilities!
“Notice: foundation being, the Ifrit King (Incomplete) has been discovered. Would user like to use the Foundation Dimension to nurture the foundation being and assist in the creation of the true Ifrit King?”
A string of messages appeared in Wang Chong’s mind, with the very last message setting off a storm.
“What? The golden seed can help create the Ifrit King?!”
Wang Chong was stunned by this revelation.
The Landeshunger civilization had expended all its strength and still been unable to complete the Ifrit King. But after tens of thousands of years, Wang Chong found to his surprise that he could use the power of the golden seed to fulfill the last wish of the Landeshunger.
“Stone of Destiny, how long will it take to create the true Ifrit King?” Wang Chong asked.
“Calculating… Approximately one year!” the Stone of Destiny said.
This news was a cold bath for Wang Chong. The Ifrit was very powerful, and if the Landeshunger people had not been lying, this Ifrit King was even stronger. But the greater the power, the more difficult it was to bring into being. Even with the Foundation Dimension, it would take some time.
I hope that the Ifrit King created by the Landeshunger can be of use in the war to come! Wang Chong thought.
The Ifrit King would take at least one year to create. He could do nothing to change this, but as long as it was really as effective against the otherworldly invaders as the Landeshunger claimed, it was enough.
Kaclack!
At this moment, stones and debris began to pelt the metal shell around the Landeshunger civilization’s tomb. At the same time, the ground began to shudder.
“The Kegang Empire’s formation can’t hold for much longer! This place is about to cave in!”
Wang Chong raised
his head, his eyes peering through the earth to view the Kegang Empire ruins above.
Wang Chong had left one-tenth of the Kegang Empire’s energy sea behind, but it was clear that it had run out. Without the formation’s support, this underground region was about to cave in.
Chapter 1925 - Behemoth Forging Art!
Chapter 1925: Behemoth Forging Art!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
It’s about time to leave! Wang Chong said to himself.
The golden seed had finished absorbing the energies left by the Kegang Empire and Landeshunger civilization. Since there was nothing else down here, he could leave.
Just one last thing! Wang Chong said to himself as he glanced at the nearby metal sphere, which had fallen from the platform.
This metal sphere was made of some unknown material that had allowed it to emerge completely unscathed from the energy shocks just now. More importantly, Wang Chong recalled that there was another set of information inside it besides the Ifrit King.
Wang Chong walked over, picked up the metal sphere, and sent his Psychic Energy into it to inspect the final piece of information.
Buzz!
Wang Chong’s face twitched and slowly turned pale.
“I didn’t think it would be something like this!”
Grabbing the metal sphere, Wang Chong flew through the underground region, out of the hole made by the God Demon Obliteration Sword Qi, and back to the Kegang Empire ruins above.
The walls of the well were trembling, and countless pieces of dust and stone were showering down. This area was getting more unstable by the second.
“Wang Chong, what happened?”
“Wonderful! You finally came out!”
Zhangchou Jianqiong, Gao Xianzhi, and An Sishun had been waiting for Wang Chong, and they called out in relief.
After waiting for a while, they had realized that the turmoil underground was getting worse and worse. As Wang Chong had yet to come out, their anxiety finally got the better of them, and they went down to search for him. They all celebrated upon seeing that Wang Chong was unharmed.
“We can talk about what happened underground later. This place is about to collapse! Let’s get out now!” Wang Chong gravely said.
Boom! Stellar Energy surged out of his body as he swept up the group and soared upward like a cannonball, flying through the well. In just a few seconds, he had covered the distance of nearly ten thousand meters and reached the surface.
At this time, a great rumbling came from deep beneath the earth, like waves crashing against a shore, and then great plumes of dust blasted out of the well as it finally began to collapse.
The Arab noble was greatly unsettled by the great turmoil down below.
But Wang Chong had no time for him. The noises underground were only the beginning of the collapse of those two sets of ruins. They would inevitably set off an even greater chain reaction.
“Let’s go!”
Wang Chong sent out another stream of Stellar Energy to grab the Arab noble and began to flee outward. It was at this time that the ground began to sway.
The earth around the ancient well suddenly caved in.
With resounding booms, large chunks of land began to plunge into the depths.
By the time the collapse stopped several moments later, a great cloud of dust was rising from the center of Hamuhad. The large well had vanished, replaced by a massive pit with a diameter of some four hundred meters. Many of Hamuhad’s buildings had also collapsed into rubble.
All of the Arabs who had accompanied this mission were left panicked and fearful by this sight.
Hamuhad was the holy city of Arabia, the residence of Hierophant Khatabah. No Arab could have imagined this level of damage before this, but as Khatabah had been killed by that eastern King of Foreign Lands, none of them dared to say a word.
Wang Chong ignored them. Looking at his comrades, he gave a brief explanation of the Kegang Empire, but he left out the matter of the Landeshunger and the otherworldly invaders.
The calamity had yet to take place. Speaking to them about such things would only cause unnecessary panic that Wang Chong did not desire.
“So this was the case!”
They all nodded and asked no more.
The Ifrit had emerged from Hamuhad, and for them, it was enough to know that there were no other potential threats here.
Whoosh!
At this moment, there was a flapping of wings. Wang Chong looked up and saw a messenger bird flying toward him.
Wang Chong reached out to receive the bird and quickly took its letter.
“What’s wrong?” Zhangchou Jianqiong asked.
“Zhang Que has sent word. They asked Mutasim III if he knew anything about that piece of paper in the treasury mentioning the master of the Central Plains. Mutasim III didn’t have a very deep impression, only saying that some faction in the east had sent it. They claimed to have formidable capabilities and hoped for an alliance with Arabia, but Mutasim III laughed them off and shelved the request,” Wang Chong nonchalantly said, passing the letter to Zhangchou Jianqiong.
It was all as he had expected. Mutasim III had an army of millions and his empire was at its peak. He had his mind set on conquering the east and uniting the continent. He was to be the greatest sovereign of the continent, so why would he have any interest in someone claiming to be the future master of the Central Plains?
“Then haven’t we lost our only clue?”
Gao Xianzhi slightly frowned.
‘Future master of the Central Plains’.
Someone claiming this title was neither too important nor unimportant, but if this person had also tried to ally with Arabia to strike against the Great Tang, the matter took on a greater significance.
“Could we find some of his close aides? Mutasim III might not remember, but some of them might know more,” Gao Xianzhi said.
“It will probably be very difficult. These Arab nobles are mostly incompetent, even more arrogant than Mutasim III. The eastern world doesn’t even exist in their vision!” Wang Chong indifferently said.
Arab Governors like Abu Muslim at least had some understanding of the Great Tang and the east. But these nobles who had never stepped onto the battlefield were so full of themselves that the east might as well have not existed to them.
Wang Chong was already keenly aware of this.
“Reporting!”
At this moment, the galloping of a horse came from the distance. A few moments later, an officer of some sort rode through the gates of Hamuhad.
“Milord, there’s been some progress on the matter you asked us to investigate.”
The officer pulled on the reins of his horse and swiftly dismounted in front of the group.
“Take me there!” Wang Chong ordered, his eyes glinting with cold light.
……
The area beneath the supreme Temple of the Arabian Empire was dimly lit. Close inspection had revealed the Temple to be hiding a massive secret area beneath its grounds.
Pulsing flesh hung from the walls, bulging with veins, some of them even having hairs. They seemed to be breathing as they tensed and relaxed.
Besides these pieces of flesh, Wang Chong saw many strange formations, altars, platforms, and metal instruments.
Armored Tang generals had already completely locked the room down.
Several of them were guarding the area to prevent anyone else from entering. Another group was inspecting the machines, and yet another group was responsible for detaining the monks who had been performing the experiments.
This was the most mysterious place in the Arabian Empire, the place where the Behemoth Army was created and raised.
“Milord, according to your orders, the moment we entered Arabia, we began to search for where the Behemoths were created. This Temple was one of our most important targets.
“These monks refused to speak at first, but we managed to find some clues that led us here,�
� the general who had first reported the matter sternly said.
“When we arrived, these people were in the middle of packing up and withdrawing. Some of them were also ready to destroy the machines upon realizing that they had been discovered.
“Fortunately, because of Your Highness’s advance orders, we managed to capture the majority of them and detain them here.
“But these things are far too bizarre. We don’t dare to recklessly touch them. We simply sealed the area and waited for Your Highness.”
The treasury of Arabia, Khatabah’s city of Hamuhad, and the High Priest’s Temple were areas that Wang Chong had already issued plans to seize before stepping into Arabia. The number one priority was to find these three targets!
Wang Chong had made meticulous arrangements so that each team was ready to go to work, executing their missions simultaneously while not interfering with each other.
This team was one of them.
Wang Chong examined his surroundings, as did Gao Xianzhi and the others.
This underground area was weird and frightening. In some ways, the things here completely overturned their understanding of the world.
“Impossible!”
“Where did this High Priest come from? Where did he get these things that allowed him to create the Behemoth Army?”
Gao Xianzhi walked up to a metal platform. The metal platform gleamed, and in its center was a depression from which spewed a stinking, dark green mist.
The Arabian Behemoth Army could destroy countries and cities. It had helped the Arabs defeat countless opponents, even Bahram’s Sassanid Dynasty.
If not for Wang Chong, his giant ballistae, and his Behemoth Slayers, the Great Tang might have been their next conquest.
In every aspect, the Behemoths were mythical creatures that never should have appeared in this world.
“The High Priest is dead now, so it’s impossible to investigate on that front!” Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian Wang Zhongsi suddenly said.
“These Behemoths completely defy common sense. My greatest worry is that if this technique becomes widespread, it can be used to deal immense damage to the empire.”
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1168