Chapter 601 - 594: Rock Sugar
Zhou Yuanjue had a vivid memory of the first of the Seven Mo Luo he had ever faced—and the first one he had ever completely killed.
That creature’s bizarre and formidable abilities had redefined his understanding of a Celestial Demon’s power. In fact, his own Star Cells and Star Body were initially developed using its abilities as a template.
Among the many techniques it had employed, one in particular had given him an inspiration.
During his battle with it, the creature had swallowed "Sugar Beans" on multiple occasions.
After swallowing the "Sugar Beans," its cellular strength and Life Energy would be massively replenished. And naturally, he had been able to analyze the principle behind this action.
Its abilities were related to disease cells. Those Sugar Beans were, in reality, potent supplements made from compressed masses of disease cells, which it could assimilate and absorb the instant they were consumed.
’Perhaps I can use a similar method to create my own energy supplement.’
Zhou Yuanjue muttered to himself.p>
His own abilities already possessed traits that mimicked those of Yuan Luàn. Moreover, now that he was on the Path of True Self, the strength of his cells and his control over them were countless times greater than Yuan Luàn’s.
Besides, if he was simply separating cells to create a supplement, he wouldn’t have to consider the massive impact the cells themselves had on the body as a whole. This meant he could do more—and be far bolder.
It was an idea worth trying.
Zhou Yuanjue slowly rose from the ground.
...
...
「Several days later.」
Secret Inspection Bureau Laboratory.
A large electrical discharge device was placed in the middle of the spacious laboratory.
"What are you planning to do with this big guy?"
Zhong Hongyu asked Zhou Yuanjue, puzzled.
"I’ve had some inspiration recently and made a few attempts. Now I just need to verify something."
Zhou Yuanjue said with a smile.
"What kind of inspiration?"
Zhong Hongyu asked.
"You’re an expert in the Biological Domain, so you should know it’s been proven that bacteria capable of surviving by consuming electrons exist on Earth. I found a similar gene within humanity’s gene pool, which has collected countless biological traits."
"Of course, this bacteria’s electron-consuming ability is extremely weak, only enough to sustain itself. If you wanted to use genetic micro-adjustments to give a body an electron-consuming ability hundreds of millions of times greater, it would be an enormous undertaking. It would require a subversive change to the entire structure of a living being. The difficulty and risks involved would be immeasurable."
"However, if you’re only making similar modifications to individual cells that have been separated from the body, without having to consider any associated effects, then the risk and difficulty are reduced by tens of millions of times."
Zhou Yuanjue said slowly.
"Hmm... I think I generally understand what you’re saying, but I still don’t get what you’re trying to do."
Zhong Hongyu said, exasperated.
"You’ll see in a moment."
Zhou Yuanjue smiled faintly. He then walked out of the observation room, entered the laboratory, and came to a stop in the output area of the large discharge device, slowly extending his palm.
HUMMM!!
He quickly entered his Star Body state. At the same time, one could clearly see his palm slowly squirming as a small, pinky-sized pouch bulged from it.
POP!!
The small ball of flesh suddenly burst, and a writhing mass of flesh, shimmering with a faint silver light, appeared in his palm.
Zhou Yuanjue slowly picked up this small piece of flesh and placed it in the output slot of the large discharge device.
The mass of flesh seemed to retain a fair amount of vitality, twisting and squirming as it struggled to escape the output slot.
HUMMM!!
Zhou Yuanjue’s Divine Soul Power spread out, instantly suppressing the flesh’s rampage.
Although it had been separated from his body, the magnetic connection between the cells’ essences still allowed him to easily control it completely.
After making the mass of flesh stay quietly inside the discharge device, Zhou Yuanjue turned toward the surveillance monitors and nodded.
Zhong Hongyu understood immediately and turned to a staff member. "Begin the discharge."
"What power level?"
the staff member asked.
Zhong Hongyu glanced at Zhou Yuanjue in the lab, deliberated for a moment, and said, "Maximum power."
The staff member nodded and threw the switch.
ZZZZT!!
Instantly, the discharge device in the lab emitted a powerful electric hum. Arcs of electricity coiled around the machine before violently surging into the output slot.
CRACKLE! POP! POP! POP!!
An intense electrical light flooded the entire output slot, fiercely stimulating the writhing glob of flesh. Some of the excess current sparked outward, striking at Zhou Yuanjue who stood nearby.
However, this was nothing to Zhou Yuanjue. A thin layer of Divine Soul Power protected his entire body, easily deflecting all the incoming currents.
His eyes and his perception remained focused on the mass of flesh.
ZZZZT!!
Under the intense stimulation of the electrical energy, the outer cells of the flesh mass rapidly necrotized, releasing a strange odor. They had failed to withstand the impact of the current.
However, these dead cells bought time for the few cells on the inside, allowing them to rapidly devour the electrical energy and strengthen themselves. They successfully reached a level where they could withstand the current’s intensity.
Of course, this was also because the strength and adaptability of Zhou Yuanjue’s own cells were terrifyingly high, making it impossible for others to replicate.
These cells that had withstood the current’s intensity began to charge up rapidly until the energy they had devoured reached their absolute limit.
And so, they began to rapidly multiply.
The surrounding scorched flesh crumbled away as the newly born flesh began to rapidly expand, growing larger and larger.
By having the modified, electricity-consuming cells devour electrical energy and rapidly multiply, Zhou Yuanjue successfully converted pure energy into a vast amount of biological energy.
These chunks of flesh were the perfect nutritional supplement. And because the cells within them were connected to his own, he could, just like Yuan Luàn, digest the energy they contained at the fastest possible speed.
Now, only the final step remained.
Compression!
The Divine Soul Power within Zhou Yuanjue’s body was released. Through his connection to these modified cells, he forced the cells that had finished charging and dividing to enter a kind of dormant state. Their activity gradually subsided, and their cellular structures began to contract, much like insects or bacteria coiling up to hibernate. The space they occupied shrank dramatically.
The discharge process continued for nearly five minutes.
Finally, Zhong Hongyu saw Zhou Yuanjue on the surveillance monitor, who was standing amidst a sea of blue light. He slowly raised his hand and made a fist, a signal to stop.
"Stop the discharge!!"
Zhong Hongyu said in a low, firm voice.
The staff member immediately threw the switch, and the discharge device—powerful enough to supply half a city district with electricity—ceased operation.
Zhong Hongyu immediately leaned closer to the screen, wanting to see just what it was that Zhou Yuanjue had created in the output slot.
On the other side, the discharge ended and the blue light subsided. Zhou Yuanjue could also now clearly see the object he had created in the output slot.
Due to the Star Transformation, and because the cells had entered a compressed, dormant state under Zhou Yuanjue’s control, they had lost their Star Transformation’s faint glow, showing only a translucent color.
It lay quietly in the output slot. It was about the size of a longan fruit, not a perfect sphere, but with irregular bumps and angles. Combined with its translucent color, it looked...
...like a piece of rock candy.