In that instant, the violent tremors throughout the underground cavern strangely subsided.
The eye-power storm that had been wildly clashing just a second ago seemed to have had its throat seized by an invisible hand, coming to an abrupt halt.
The rubble floating in midair froze, the boiling lava stopped churning, and even the raging energy currents in the air seemed to have been paused.
A deathly silence fell.
Hyuga Xiao's azure eyes narrowed slightly.
He could clearly feel that the ground beneath his feet had changed.
It was no longer cold, hard rock, but something like a vast mass of warm flesh slowly awakening. An energy a hundred times greater than the chakra White Snake Sage had unleashed before—more ancient and more savage—was being brutally, greedily drawn up from the deepest planetary ley lines by the God Tree Roots burrowing underground!
"Xiao... Lord Xiao..."
In the distance, Orochimaru, pinned beneath the rubble, spoke in a voice trembling beyond recognition. His skin was shriveling at a visible rate, while the little chakra left in his body was being uncontrollably sucked away by the ground beneath him.
It felt as though his entire body had become a leaking sponge, with his life draining away at a terrifying pace.
Hyuga Xiao ignored him.
His gaze remained fixed on the horrifying transformation unfolding around him.
Thump... thump...
A dull sound, like the heartbeat of some colossal beast, came from every direction.
The rock walls, which had been battered full of holes by the eye-power storm, began to writhe and grow. Dark gray veins spread madly across the stone like grotesque earthworms, rapidly filling every crack and ravine. The hard rock quickly softened, becoming dark red flesh walls with a certain elasticity, their surfaces covered by a thin membrane that constantly secreted viscous fluid.