Mutant from the Abyss (Part One)

"So, this stone might contain the remains of a child from ancient times who was in the state of Martial Soul Possession?" Tang San guessed.

Why the guess that it's a child?

Because this stone is not tall, only 1.6 meters, and considering the thickness of the outer stone coating, its actual height may be even lower, between 1 and 1.3 meters.

"I think it could also be a human whose Martial Soul Mutation, causing their body to remain in Beast Transformation state, similar to the catwoman; or it could be a peculiar species like the Wolf Bandit." Zhou Qing offered two other possibilities.

"It could also be Fallen One."

Ning Rongrong then proposed another possibility.

"Fallen One?" Zhou Qing asked, puzzled.

"Upon ascending from the Abyss Ruins, one will be cursed, which will affect the body. The deeper one goes, the greater the effect. If one can withstand it, the body will mutate and become similar to Soul Beast. However, generally speaking, such people will lose some of their memories, their appearance will change drastically, and they may not even be recognizable as human. Even their temperament will change."

Ning Rongrong explained the concept of "Fallen One".

"It's said that Fallen One aren't affected by the curse, though some say they are, it's unclear... However, some people who have withstood the curse have drastically changed their appearance, but they are much more harmonious than Fallen One. They are said to look very cute, and their strength is extremely strong. There are even rumors that a certain ordinary person who was mutant in the past looked exceptionally cute and harmless, but when he got angry, his strength was directly comparable to that of Soul Douluo, and he could even kill Titled Douluo who couldn't use his Soul Skill after entering the Abyss Ruins."

"Moreover, this type of Fallen One is not affected by the curse. Its strength will be weakened after leaving the ruins, but it can still cultivate like Soul Beast... Based on this, many Soul Masters in the Spirit Hall speculate that the Wolf Bandit are creatures from the Abyss: Although Wolf Bandit can combine with humans to give birth to Wolf Bandit, they should originally be creatures that were mutated by humans in the Abyss Ruins, rather than the product of wolf Soul Beast and humans from the beginning."

"After all, the Spirit Hall once destroyed a group of Fallen Ones. The Fallen Ones in that group were conducting experiments on the combination of human and Soul Beast bloodlines... The specifics are unknown, but the result is that, not to mention humans and Soul Beast, even Soul Beast cannot produce offspring if they are of different races, unless the Soul Beast has Dragon Clan blood."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing realized once again how low the bottom line of the Fallen Ones was, but also understood how much of the basic theory these mentally unstable beings had provided for the Soul Power cultivation theory of the Soul Master World.

Currently, this stone, which resembles both a human and a fox, is very likely a Fallen One.

"Speaking of which, aren't Fallen One also living beings?" Tang San wondered. Even if the one sealed in the stone was indeed a Fallen One, it couldn't come into contact with air and would have long since become a skeleton.

"Yes."

Ning Rongrong confirmed Tang San's guess. In the past, the Fallen One that were extracted from the stone were either just skeletons embedded in the stone with muscle and blood vessel patterns, or their entire bodies were petrified and turned into sculptures.

In short, the ingredients are reduced to common substances, and at most, it has artistic value.

As the stone was gradually cut open, water splashed and stone chips flew everywhere, revealing a clump of brown and white hair.

"Something came out!"

"It looks like some kind of animal fur?"

"It could also be hair!"

Many onlookers started discussing it, and some even speculated that it was a corpse that had recently been turned into stone!

Among those present, some were aware of the Abyss Ruins. The outer layer of stone used in these other types of stone was primarily made from a peculiar clay found within the ruins. Under specific pressure and temperature conditions, the clay would transform into stone.

Therefore, some of these stones are not natural, but man-made!

Unfortunately for this girl, she is very likely to have chosen a stone that was used to store a corpse!

Seeing that there was something inside, the workers cutting the stone became even more cautious.

After the outer layer of stone was peeled away, a complete "corpse" was revealed—

Just as Tang San had imagined, this "corpse" was only 1.2 meters tall. It was impossible to tell whether it was male or female. It had a pair of large, fluffy ears on its head, which were integrated with its hair. There were also three red crystals distributed on the ends of the hair.

Its skin is brownish-black, its lower body is round and plump, and its feet resemble cow hooves rather than those of a canine. Behind it are five round, fluffy gray-white tails, which are combed like a peacock's tail.

Even more astonishingly, the corpse had four arms, and its forearms and hands were covered in round, grayish-white hair. Each hand had three red claws, resembling crystals, matching the three red crystal decorations on the tips of its hair.

"What kind of strange creature is this?"

Some people couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

Although the "corpse" looks strange, it has a unique sense of harmonious beauty, especially its extremely round and cute face.

For a time, many customers wanted to buy the "corpse".

For nobles with particular fetishes, the corpse would be preserved as a specimen and kept in the basement for close observation.

"This is definitely Fallen One!"

Ning Rongrong said softly but with certainty, "But he should be dead. I just don't know if we can dig out his Soul Bone."

"This thing can drop Soul Bone?" Zhou Qing was surprised. He thought of the Wolf Bandit leader in the original story who dropped a Soul Bone. He originally thought that the Wolf Bandit leader had killed a Soul Master or accidentally obtained Soul Bone while hunting Soul Beast. But he did not expect that the Fallen One itself could drop Soul Bone.

But then he changed his mind and understood.

The Fallen One can no longer be considered human, and the rule of the Douluo Continent is that when a superhuman being perishes, Soul Ring or Soul Bone will appear.

As for why the Wolf Bandit didn't develop Soul Ring after his death in the original story...

Perhaps it's because this human-wolf hybrid creature makes it somewhat difficult for the rules of the Douluo Continent to determine which category it should belong to, therefore—

Split in half?

"Yes, Fallen One can drop Soul Bone. It is said that the chance is even smaller than that of Soul Beast. However, it is not that the Soul Master before mutation already has Soul Bone. Rather, it is that after mutation, when the soul master dies, Soul Bone will be generated. Moreover, there is only a chance of this if the soul master dies after leaving the Abyss Ruins. If you kill Fallen One inside the ruins, you will only get a lump of flesh and blood."

Ning Rongrong's explanation confirmed Zhou Qing's earlier guess.

Looking at the Fallen One corpse again, Zhou Qing quietly activated the Innate Internal Scripture Chart to enhance his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and spirit, in order to perceive the specific situation of the Four-Armed Fallen One.

To be honest, this peculiar creature's corpse is comparable to Hu Fangyuan's and has significant research value.

If possible, he wanted to buy it from the girl.

Research···

It's far more valuable than being bought and defiled by some eccentric nobles here!