Gu Ding, Who Completed the Final Mission
(Third update delivered, actually a belated update from yesterday~~)
On this day, Gu Ding had a good night's sleep. Since entering this ruin, he had not slept for more than half a month, spending most of his time fighting against insect beasts.
Liliath and the others felt the same way, as they were all exhausted, since they had not yet reached the Demigod Realm and were still in human bodies.
Robert simply pulled them into his domain. Now a Mid-rank God, he could adjust the flow of time within his domain to twenty times. He hoped everyone could get some rest.
Under the protection of Bigge and Robert, Gu Ding and his group fell into a deep sleep.
Gu Ding slept for ten days and ten nights in Robert's domain before waking up. Upon waking, he discovered that his Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body had naturally broken through the one hundredfold permanent amplification, reaching one hundred and tenfold.
The next morning, after leaving Robert's territory, Gu Ding felt refreshed and invigorated.
"Sea Emperor, has that Gluttonous Insect started evolving yet?"
"It completely devoured the insect about two hours ago, and then began to cocoon." The Sea Emperor had been monitoring the changes over there. "Top 1 and a few members of the Freedom Alliance seem to have some means of investigation. They approached Bigge and Robert about an hour ago, asking everyone to go and try to find the cocoon. Because you weren't awake, Bigge sent them ahead of time. They've all tried, and none of them were able to leave a single mark on the cocoon. They all came back dejectedly."
"Let's set off now," Gu Ding grinned and waved.
With Tagore's assistance, Gu Ding and his group quickly arrived at the location where the Gluttonous Insect had emerged from its cocoon.
The White Cocoon was hundreds of meters tall, like a giant, pure white egg. Just by looking at the size of the cocoon, Gu Ding knew that the Gluttonous Insect's size had also changed dramatically after eating the Mother Queen.
Gu Ding stepped forward and tapped the giant cocoon. The sensation from his knuckles told him that the cocoon's defenses were definitely not simple. He turned to Bigge and said, "Would you like to try it out first?"
"I'll go first!" Elsa seemed eager to try.
She gripped the giant axe tightly in both hands, her pupils suddenly turning blood red, and her hair turning purple. Her ponytail spontaneously broke apart, becoming long, flowing hair that danced in the wind. Gu Ding could clearly feel her aura constantly surging and growing stronger. When that aura reached its peak, even Gu Ding felt a terrifying sense of oppression emanating from her.
As her aura reached its peak, she moved, swinging the giant axe with both hands and slashing down without any fancy moves. At the same time, the shockwave power within her body surged out, showing no mercy.
With a loud "boom," Elsa was sent flying backward, her giant axe nearly slipping from her grasp, and the shockwave from her palms caused them to bleed.
Gu Ding leaped high into the air and caught her, but he also felt a powerful recoil force erupt from Elsa Gu Ding. He quickly slammed down, dissipating the shockwave into the ground. With that stomp, the ground within a few hundred meters sank in.
"What terrifying defense!" Elsa exclaimed in amazement after suffering such a loss.
Seeing Bigge, Big became a little interested. "I'll give it a try too!"
He drew his Four-Star Divine Object longsword from his waist, steadied himself before the giant cocoon, and gripped the sword with both hands. His eyes were closed, and he concentrated his power for a long time. The Emperor Projection reappeared above his head.
Bigge Strider brandished his swords with both hands, and the Emperor Projection made the same move, a semi-transparent giant blade also flying out from the void. Clearly, this attack had concentrated his essence, energy, and spirit to the extreme, aiming to crush the giant cocoon before him into dust with a single strike.
But when the Blade Force struck, only a clear "clang" was heard, like two brittle metals colliding. Then came the ear-piercing sound of a sharp blade scraping against glass, a sound that sent chills down one's spine.
After that strike, Bigge had already appeared on the other side of the giant cocoon. He sheathed his long sword and shook his head helplessly. "There's nothing I can do. I can't break through this cocoon. That attack was basically my strongest attack."
Even Bigge's powerful strike didn't leave the slightest crack on the cocoon, making Gu Ding wonder if his attack would be effective.
"I'll give it a try too!" Robert, who never liked to join in the fun, couldn't resist this time.
His eyes shot out two golden beams, which then focused on a single point on the giant cocoon. The two laser-like rays continuously attacked that same point.
Robert's attack piqued Gu Ding's interest slightly, because he had once witnessed Robert use this laser from his eyes to instantly melt a One-Star Divine Object longsword into a lump of molten metal. Would such terrifyingly high temperatures, concentrated on a single point, be effective in burning it?
After about ten minutes, Robert finally gave up trying. "It seems this kind of attack isn't working either,"
He withdrew his attack, but Gu Ding and the others discovered that the attack had not left even the slightest burn mark on the White Cocoon.
Liliath and the others simply gave up trying. They knew that if Bigge couldn't break out of this cocoon, probably no one else in the ruins could either.
Gu Ding himself wasn't very confident, but he Combat Strength out and wanted to give it his all.
Thanks to his Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body, his physical strength is now comparable to that of Two-Star Low-rank God. This is further amplified by the tenfold increase from Advanced Berserk, the twentyfold increase from Attraction and Repulsion Force, and the thousandfold increase from the Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body. Gu Ding's Combat Strength has directly risen to the level of Seven-Star Low-rank God.
He punched the giant cocoon, feeling as if his flesh had struck steel, nearly fracturing his arm. But his High-Speed Regeneration quickly healed the wound, and then, a second punch landed.
The power of that punch doubled immediately upon impact, causing a flicker of surprise in Gu Ding's eyes. "Damage stacking actually worked? But isn't damage stacking only effective against living beings? If there are non-living objects blocking the way, it won't produce a curse effect. Since damage stacking works, does that mean the sealing ability also works?"
This time, Gu Ding didn't unleash a third punch. Instead, he pressed his palm against the giant cocoon, unleashing all his forbidden sealing power, which quickly seeped into the cocoon. A hint of joy flashed in Gu Ding's eyes. If he hadn't succeeded, his sealing power wouldn't have reacted at all. But just now, the sealing power had clearly surged into the cocoon.
A moment later, the seal finally took effect, and Gu Ding could clearly feel its power. The once pristine white cocoon before him had dimmed, losing its luster. It had even lost its ability to block auras, and Gu Ding could clearly sense that the Gluttonous Insect's aura was weak and easily defeated.
Gu Ding, not wanting to waste any more time and cause further complications, quickly enveloped the entire cocoon with his black Devouring Fire, then swiftly consumed it. In just a few seconds, the entire cocoon and the insects and beasts inside were completely devoured by the flames.
The Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body within Gu Ding's body was strengthened once again, increasing from 110 times to 120 times.
When the black, devouring flames dissipated and the scene became empty, Liliath and the others were all stunned.
"Did you hide the cocoon?" Elsa couldn't help but ask.
"I saw it clearly, that cocoon. It was being devoured bit by bit by the black flames, the speed at which it was being devoured was terrifying." Liliath, with her superhuman eyesight, saw what had just happened. "Gu Ding, did you successfully seal that Gluttonous Insect?"
"Yes, otherwise even if it were to devour flames, it wouldn't be able to devour him." Gu Ding nodded. "However, I still don't understand why the damage stacking ability and sealing ability can still work through the cocoon."
"I think I know why now." The Sea Emperor seemed to have been caught off guard by the sealing ability. "At this time, the cocoon and the Gluttonous Insect inside are actually a whole. Like an egg that is hatching, or more accurately, an embryo. The Gluttonous Insect is just a part of the embryo, and the cocoon is also a part of the embryo. So whether it's the curse ability or the sealing ability, it is treated as a whole, and the effect is directly applied to the entire embryo."
Just as the Sea Emperor finished explaining, the old man's voice echoed from the sky once more.
"The Gluttonous Insect that was about to evolve into the Mother Queen was successfully killed during its gestation and evolution process. The Mother Queen is dead, and the ruins will close in three days. Ten minutes later, all insect beasts will disappear, Merit Points will completely stop accumulating. The Merit Points rankings will also be announced within one hour, and the rewards will be distributed subsequently."
"The Merit Hall will be open for free from now on. Everyone can connect to the Merit Hall's Local Area Network through their smart devices to exchange merit points. However, everyone can only view items within their merit point range; items exceeding their Merit Points will no longer be displayed."
"The entrance to the site is now completely closed, and the exit will open early tomorrow morning. The site will officially close in three days, during which time you are free to choose to stay or leave."
Inside the city, the members of Top 1 and the Freedom Alliance discovered that Gu Ding was no longer there. They knew that the Gluttonous Insect must have died at Gu Ding's hands.
The Freedom Alliance members weren't bothered by anything. They and the top-ranked members had tried various methods, but the cocoon remained completely undamaged. Gu Ding's ability to kill the Gluttonous Insect inside the cocoon under those circumstances was Gu Ding skill, and they didn't feel any resentment.
However, the top group was not satisfied with this result. Their cultivation levels were already very high, resulting in the highest Merit Points only reaching a little over ten million. Converted to Universe Crystal, that's just over a billion, not enough to exchange for anything of value. They had thought that their high cultivation levels would allow them to complete the final mission to hunt down the Mother Queen, but unexpectedly Gu Ding snatched it away again. Moreover, not only did they gain nothing of note, but they also lost a member. This result was naturally unacceptable.
Just as everyone was having various thoughts, the old man's voice entered Gu Ding's ears alone.
"Young man, as the strong one who completes the ultimate mission, I said I would give you an extremely generous gift. But before that, why don't you tell me what you want most?"