Ch 54: Interplanetary Planting Master

The False God

The falcon arrived at lightning speed, appearing above Su He in the blink of an eye. The silver figure spread its arms, and its spiritual power hit the falcon like a massive hammer. Su He, who was close by, felt the overwhelming force and instinctively unleashed his deepest layer of energy. Green light gathered around the falcon like a river, wrapping it in a protective barrier similar to the Galactic Treemen’s shield. The flowing light deflected the violent spiritual attack.

Protected by Su He, the falcon flapped its enormous wings, and its sharp talons fiercely pierced the silver figure’s chest. Everything happened in a split second. Su He heard a scream that echoed deep into his soul. The silver figure staggered back, the glowing points on its body dimming significantly. The falcon had clearly inflicted serious damage.

“Aliens can be hurt too!”

This realization thrilled Su He. He immediately pulled out the dagger he always carried and, using the whirlwind created by the falcon, shifted his position to strike at the silver figure’s arm. The dagger passed through the silver light, and Su He froze for a moment before he understood: the silver figure was a purely spiritual being, and the falcon was an entity formed from spiritual power, which was why the falcon could harm it. After figuring this out, Su He quickly regained his balance and attempted to channel his spiritual energy for an attack. Surges of energy rolled toward the silver figure like waves, and the falcon blocked its retreat. Working in perfect harmony, Su He and the falcon’s powerful assault overwhelmed the alien entity, sending it plummeting toward the ground like a kite with a broken string.

“…” Su He was taken aback. The effectiveness of his attack had been so unexpected that he didn’t react immediately. After a brief pause, Su He shouted, “Little Seedling!”

Connected with Su He’s mind, Little Seedling, in its glowing form, quivered, and Su He leaped into the air. The black falcon swooped in and caught Su He with its wings. Little Seedling spun rapidly, faster than the falcon, darting toward the ground and capturing the silver figure. This was Su He’s first captured alien, and he needed to keep it alive for Lu Li.

All of this took place in just a few seconds, and the falcon had already circled around the air with Su He on its back. With his focus now off the battle, Su He finally took in the sight of the underground space. Contrary to what he had expected, it wasn’t pitch dark; the light was sufficient enough to see. The underground area stretched endlessly, with no visible boundaries. Countless towering, prism-shaped ice pillars stood in rows, neatly supporting the vast space. Su He looked up and saw that at the tops of the ice pillars were enormous platforms, from which countless moving white dots poured down toward the ground.

The white beasts emerged, and Su He realized that breaking through the beast horde to reunite with Lu Li was impossible. He had no choice but to let the falcon land. Extending his senses, Su He noted that Lu Li wasn’t far from him in a straight line, but the small-scale beast tide blocked their path. Su He gently poked at Lu Li through their bond, conveying that he was safe and unharmed.

On the surface of Snowfall Star, the white beasts continued to flood the area, covering a radius of several kilometers. Dozens of mechs hovered in the air, firing various weapons toward the underground. In the distance, half of a snow-capped mountain collapsed, and the cascading snow rushed through the city like a flood, burying people under the thick ice before they had a chance to escape.

Shen Jin flew over to Lu Li and connected to his channel, asking, “Can you sense where your guide is? Where is he?”

“Underground,” Lu Li responded, his tone calm and concise.

Shen Jin paused for a moment, then asked, “Are you holding up okay?”

It was hard for Shen Jin to gauge Lu Li’s current state. Although Lu Li radiated a stormy anger, a dark, overwhelming urge to tear everything apart that was so intense it caused the guide Su Qin to retreat in pain, Lu Li hadn’t succumbed to the expected madness. Instead, he remained unnervingly calm, demonstrating textbook precision in battle.

Lu Li’s black mech landed heavily, sparking against the metal ground, and the beasts in his path were crushed under the force. Their bodies quickly incinerated in the searing gunfire. His left arm’s Gauss cannon spun, painting the white snow red with blood as it obliterated everything in its path. Lu Li didn’t answer Shen Jin’s second question, instead focusing on holding onto the last thread of rationality amid his near-uncontrollable rage, determined to rescue Su He as quickly as possible.

Hundreds of meters underground, Su He stepped onto ice so cold it seemed to exhale frost. He shivered, realizing that this entire place was like a natural ice cavern. The falcon spread its wings and, like a mother hen, shielded Su He in its warm embrace. Su He stroked the falcon’s feathers, the sensation warm and real under his touch.

Little Seedling hopped over, dragging the unconscious silver alien behind it like a dried-out husk of a human. Su He paid no attention to the alien prisoner, instead focusing on finding the source of the beast horde. He couldn’t detect any energy field indicative of a wormhole; these beasts must have emerged from here. He thought for a moment, bent down, and carved a strange symbol into the ground, whispering, “Light!”

Energy flowed from Su He’s hand, and milky-white light illuminated the vast surrounding space. In the shadows of the prismatic ice pillars, something seemed to be encased. Curiosity piqued, Su He approached the nearest pillar. Covered in frost, he couldn’t see inside, so he used his dagger to scrape at the surface. After some time, a black silhouette faintly emerged.

“!!!”

Startled, Su He took a step back. Inside the pillar was a kind of creature he had never seen before, packed tightly together and submerged in a pale yellow liquid. These creatures were not dead; their steady breathing suggested they could awaken at any moment. Su He immediately recalled the holographic projection he had seen on Iris Star, where artificially synthesized beasts were similarly soaked in glass containers.

The thought was terrifying. Su He looked around at the countless ice pillars standing in this underground world. If his guess was correct, could Snowfall Star be nothing more than an incubation chamber for these dark beasts? As this realization dawned on him, the previously calm falcon suddenly lunged at one of the ice pillars. An invisible wave of energy burst forth, and Little Seedling immediately flew up, transforming into green light to block the falcon’s path. Two pure energy forces collided, and the nearest ice pillar made a sharp cracking sound as a spiderweb of fissures spread across its surface.

From behind the ice pillar, a robed human boy stumbled out, looking at Su He with a complicated expression. His left cheek was swollen, giving him an oddly comical appearance.

Su He stared at him and suddenly realized something, “Are you the so-called ‘Divine Son’? Should I call you Uerlen or Zhou Xin?”

The name Zhou Xin made the boy scowl in disgust, and he replied coldly, “Do not tarnish the glory of a god with a lowly human name!”

“…,” Su He was speechless. He had initially thought that religion was just a tool these aliens used to manipulate people, but he hadn’t expected them to believe so deeply in their own delusions, truly seeing themselves as gods. His expression showed a hint of mockery, causing the boy to frown further and say, “Test subject, mind your attitude toward a god.”

“Attitude? What attitude?”

Ignoring the term “test subject,” Su He mimicked Shen Shen’s casual demeanor and asked nonchalantly. As soon as he finished speaking, he lunged forward and punched the boy hard on his right cheek. While Su He was 18, hitting a kid of about 12 or 13 might seem excessive, considering the alien entity that had possibly lived inside the boy for much longer, it was Su He who was at a disadvantage.

Just as Bai Xiaoxi had described, the Divine Son had no experience in fighting. His first reaction to Su He’s punch was to cover his face. Su He’s blow landed squarely, and he immediately grabbed the boy’s arm, forcefully invading his mental world. Having learned from the last encounter, Su He unleashed his mental strength. A retaliating force tried to defend itself and expel Su He. The two clashed within Zhou Xin’s mental space while the Divine Son, with his free hand, tried to pull out a weapon. The falcon swiftly grabbed his arm with its claws, tipping the scales of the battle. A surge of violent mental energy erupted, and the silver figure was forced out of the boy’s body.

The alien entity that emerged was even taller and more imposing, but Su He could still make out distinct human features on its face. The being stared at Su He with a chilling, disdainful gaze, its lofty demeanor making Su He extremely uncomfortable.

“Cyrus was right, you are a perfect test subject. The fusion of human and stardust particles, flesh, and pure energy—you will be the god’s most satisfactory creation.” As it mentioned Cyrus, its gaze briefly flicked to the barely-alive mental entity on the ground. After a moment of what seemed like disapproval, the silver figure turned its attention back to Su He. “The gods granted you life and bestowed wisdom upon you. Now it is time for you lowly beings to repay the gods.”

Su He: “…”

In response, Su He unleashed a violent surge of energy. The alien barely managed to raise a mental defense, but the nearby ice pillars weren’t as fortunate. The web of cracks expanded, and chunks of ice began to fall. Yellowish liquid seeped through the cracks, accompanied by the faint sound of breathing from the creatures inside, gradually becoming more distinct.

Su He slowly turned his head, regretting his actions almost instantly. His opponent was supposed to be the alien, and he had no intention of taking on these dark beasts.

With a loud crash, Su He instinctively thought one of the ice pillars had shattered. A faint light shone from above, followed by the black mech plummeting down. Lu Li’s voice echoed between the pillars.

“Su He!”

On the surface of Snowfall Star, Shen Shen, piloting the starship, unleashed a barrage of high-energy particle beams, carving out a small section of the ground and revealing a massive platform beneath. Lu Li immediately jumped in, and Shen Jin, in his mech, was about to follow when Liao Kai subtly stepped in, blocking Shen Jin’s path. In that split second, the white dark beasts surged forth, quickly filling the hollow space. Shen Jin shot a stern look at Liao Kai, whose expression remained calm, as if he hadn’t noticed Shen Jin at all.

In the link between the mech and the starship, Liao Kai’s fingers flew over the controls, “Mission complete, boss. Hold your ground against your brother’s pressure.”

“Don’t worry!” Shen Shen responded with just two words.

Shen Jin’s order came through: “Blast open the ground; Lu Li needs reinforcements.”

Shen Shen casually ignored him, scratching his ear as if he hadn’t heard.

Shen Jin: “…”

The black mech landed heavily amidst the small horde of dark beasts. Su He still had a smile on his face, but then he heard the cracking sound behind him. The mech’s impact on the ground was the final straw that shattered the cracked ice pillar, fully breaking it open. The dark beasts inside, now exposed to the air, began to awaken.

The black mech’s right hand transformed into a blade, and the first dark beast to awaken was neatly sliced apart, its body collapsing like a stack of dominoes. The mech’s left hand reached out to Su He, who swiftly jumped into the palm.

From the moment the dark beasts began to awaken to Lu Li’s arrival, it all happened in the blink of an eye. The energy attack from the alien entity only hit at this moment, and Su He immediately raised a mental shield to protect Lu Li from the blow. The silver figure began to retreat, but Lu Li, piloting the mech, gave chase. “Su He, kill him,” Lu Li said in a low voice.

Su He hesitated for a moment and quickly reminded, “Don’t you want to keep him alive?”

Lu Li glanced at Su He, somewhat helpless, as the falcon swooped down to strike the enemy. Su He quickly grasped Lu Li’s intention and launched his own attack. He had already realized that these alien entities weren’t as powerful as they seemed. Their real threat lay in their ability to parasitize humans and bluff. Once that ability was neutralized, humans had a good chance against them.

A violent surge of energy enveloped the alien lifeform, and the glowing points on its silver body dimmed one by one as its life force faded. When the last point of light was extinguished, Su He could no longer sense any mental waves from the alien.

“There’s another one,” Lu Li reminded him.

The falcon darted toward it, and at that moment, the ground was blasted open again. Shen Jin, in his mech, jumped down. A yellow lion leaped toward the falcon, but it was too late—the last flicker of light in the unconscious alien lifeform had already died out.

Shen Jin cast a deep, intense look at Lu Li.

Lu Li remained calm and composed, saying, “Alien parasites and dark beast cultivation—these achievements should be enough to help Major Shen advance further.”

Shen Jin glanced briefly at Su He’s face, let out a noncommittal grunt, and took a step back, standing alongside Lu Li as they both faced the dark beasts.

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