Chapter 229 - 162: Aura Manifestation: Tasolomo
The Parasites were born from the Eternal Life Blocks, which formed after these Hosted Primordial Bodies inhabited flesh and blood.
And these so-called Eternal Life Blocks were, in fact, just the eggs vomited out by the Hosted Primordial Bodies...
The two quickly put it all together.
"There’s something else here."
Li Miao’s sharp eyes spotted something lying beside the corpses.
It appeared to be a rough sheet of animal hide, likely left behind by a member of the Wind Erosion Tribe before they died.
[Watcher’s Last Letter]
[Type: Letter]
[Content: "...Oh, Chieftain, the Stone of Tasolomo has grown ever more miraculous. I can feel the turmoil within my body. I have seen the light of eternal life. It guides me forward, to merge my flesh and blood into it and become eternal, never to perish..."]
[Explanation: A zealot in pursuit of eternal life. Perhaps only in the true face of death can one find a moment of clarity.]
"The Stone of Tasolomo?" Li Miao glanced into the pit, his expression thoughtful. ’Could that be what’s at the bottom?’
"Beats me." Shore scoffed. "The tone of this letter is pretty fanatical. So why did he look so utterly terrified when he died?"
Li Miao shook his head and put the letter away.
The two pressed on.
By now, they were nearing the bottom of the pit.
The eggs of the Hosted Primordial Bodies were becoming noticeably more numerous. Some were even tangled together in clumps, so dense the sight was enough to make one’s skin crawl.
If the duo made the slightest sound, the Hosted Primordial Bodies would hatch. Unable to parasitize them, the creatures would burrow directly into the rocks or nearby skeletons, becoming Hosted Incarnations of vastly different forms.
But the duo’s strength was undeniable. After making a single mistake while getting swarmed, they quickly wiped out all the Hosted Incarnations.
The loot dropped by these Hosted Incarnations was bizarre and varied. Though the Quality wasn’t high, each item had its own unique characteristics.
"Tsk, all this equipment... How much in development resources did this take?"
Shore couldn’t help but remark.
Then again, Spirit Candle was full of shocking things. This was hardly the most surprising.
BZZZZZZZ—
The closer they got to the bottom of the pit, the more the strange, piercing sound swirled around them.
"Looks like we’re at the bottom!"
Seeing the ground open up ahead of them, their eyes lit up with joy.
But that joy quickly turned to caution.
For there, before them at the end of the path, stood a small mountain piled high with corpses.
In front of this mountain, several translucent souls sat in a circle, vacant and motionless. It was an exceptionally eerie sight.
And on closer inspection, they could see that even these souls, which clearly had no physical bodies, were carrying Hosted Primordial Bodies on their backs and necks!
"They can even parasitize souls?"
Seeing this, Li Miao and Shore were horrified. A chill ran down their spines.
It would have been one thing if the Hosted Primordial Body could only inhabit dead matter, but it could even assimilate into a soul-like form and parasitize a Soul Body!
It was absolutely appalling!
"Eternal life..." "Eternal life..."
The parasitized, vacant souls seemed to sense their presence. They suddenly rose, their mouths murmuring ceaselessly.
The bizarre sound never ceased. It overlapped with the rising and falling chorus of murmurs, echoing in his ears. Li Miao felt a dull ache throb in his head, and his vision began to swim.
"Huh? What’s wrong with you?"
Shore asked, stunned. He wasn’t affected at all, merely finding the sounds a bit noisy.
"..."
Though his senses were dulled, Li Miao’s control over his body was tangibly affected.
Thankfully, the sensation receded like a tide the moment he ignited his Warfire, enveloping his entire body.
"It must be a Spiritual Attack."
Having recovered, Li Miao replied casually, raising his Frost Riding Spear to face forward.
At that moment, the souls at the entrance to this lowest level began a horrifying transformation.
Murmuring about eternal life, they slowly walked toward the corpse pile, manipulated by the Hosted Primordial Bodies within them.
One of the soul-like Hosted Incarnations quickly burrowed into another.
Then, like a set of nesting dolls, the Hosted Incarnations began to parasitize each other in succession. Just like with the Parasites they’d seen before, Soul Power constantly leaked and dissipated from them.
"Should we attack?" Li Miao looked to Shore and asked.
"What’s the rush? Let’s finish the cutscene," Shore said, rolling his eyes. "Besides, if you break them up now, what if the boss doesn’t form?"
Li Miao didn’t say anything else. Shore had a point.
Their journey down had been relatively easy, so they were both feeling more relaxed.
Niuniu had been a bad influence on them; they’d gotten into the habit of always opening with a sneak attack. While it gave them the initiative, they missed out on a lot of spectacular scenes.
Now, watching the cutscene before the fight didn’t seem like a bad idea.
Without any interference from Li Miao or Shore.
The nesting-doll-like Fusion of the Hosted Incarnations proceeded with perfect smoothness.
𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
Souls kneaded together, flesh and blood converged.
A moment later, a hideous monster woven from flesh and Soul Power materialized before their eyes.
[Soul-Host Incarnation]
A Level 30 Molten Slag Ash Tier monster.
"..."
The two locked eyes, and they could both see the utter speechlessness in the other’s expression.
After such a massive buildup, they had expected something truly fearsome. But this was it?
It felt like the grand finale was just a bowl of plain white rice.
"Let’s go."
Li Miao raised his Frost Riding Spear, and Shore lifted his Magic Staff.