Chapter 408 - 405: Sponge Kin

Chapter 408: Chapter 405: Sponge Kin

High above the volcanic plains, a giant yellow bird flapped its terrifying wings, constantly dodging flying volcanic rocks.

Mo Ling didn’t quite understand why so many creatures existed in such a harsh environment.

He was now a giant bird, soaring high in the sky and gazing down at the plain below.

Not only were the creatures numerous, but the species were also incredibly diverse. There was even a complete food chain.

Finally, after circling a few times, Mo Ling found his target:

It was a sponge crab, currently battling a turtle.

’One of my own kind.’

He had been searching for others of his kind.

The sponge crab was being beaten so badly by the turtle that it couldn’t fight back. Its segmented limbs were broken, and its carapace was shattered beyond recognition.

The more Mo Ling watched, the stranger it seemed. ’All it has to do is revert to its sponge form, then back to a crab, and its injuries will heal. Can it really not know how?’

Mo Ling dove, gliding downward.

A massive Black Shadow fell over the ground below. Before the turtle could react, Mo Ling’s talons seized it and hauled it into the air.

The turtle struggled desperately, but it couldn’t reach the bird’s talons.

With a sharp turn, Mo Ling slammed the turtle down onto a jagged volcanic rock.

The turtle’s shell shattered on impact, its blood and gore spilling out.

Mo Ling ignored the dying turtle, walking directly up to the sponge crab.

Seeing the turtle’s fate, the sponge crab froze in terror.

Mo Ling flapped his wings in front of the crab a few times, but it didn’t react. It seemed to have been scared witless.

As Mo Ling drew closer, the crab began to tremble again. It couldn’t even maintain its shape, its body swelling and becoming bloated.

"So terrifying... such terrifying hostility..."

the crab stammered, trembling as it looked at the giant bird.

It was a simple language, like the sound of rushing air.

’So it’s one of my kind, and we can communicate.’

"I mean you no harm," Mo Ling replied.

Wind whistled through the massive pores in Mo Ling’s body, creating a low, rumbling roar.

Though it was the same type of air-current language, the sound Mo Ling produced was far more terrifying.

"You do! You have so much hostility!"

The crab lost all control of its body’s expansion, puffing up with sponge until it was plump and round. It even started rolling around on the ground.

Mo Ling had no choice but to reach out a talon and hold the rolling, spherical body in place.

’It’s soft. Feels pretty nice, actually.’

Mo Ling used his talon to pick up the crab and wedge it between several volcanic rocks so it would stop rolling about.

Tucked among the volcanic rocks, the crab suddenly went still.

"The hostility is gone..."

It inspected its body, glanced at Mo Ling, then squirmed into a crevice between the rocks.

’So it predicted I was going to grab it.’

This fellow creature’s ability to predict hostility seemed very crude.

"Aren’t you going to kill me?" the crab asked, looking up at Mo Ling.

"Why would I kill you?"

"Because I want to kill you," the crab replied with surprising innocence.

’Is that so?’

Mo Ling focused, trying to sense any hostility, but he felt nothing coming from the crab.

"I don’t feel any hostility from you. Perhaps you’re too weak."

After taking the form of the giant bird, Mo Ling found he could no longer perceive minor threats. For example, attacks from small rocks caused him no harm and thus didn’t trigger his danger sense.

In other words, his senses had been dulled considerably.

"Am I that weak?" The crab sounded dejected.

But a moment later, its spirits lifted. "Once I get stronger, I’ll definitely kill you!"

Mo Ling was rather amused by the crab’s innocent words.

"Alright, I’ll be waiting."

"Thank you," the crab said, expressing its gratitude with great solemnity.

Mo Ling heard its words and thought it must be joking.

"A moment ago, why didn’t you revert to your sponge form to heal yourself?" Mo Ling asked curiously, looking at the crab’s battered body.

"Heal myself?" The crab seemed completely baffled.

"Like this..."

Mo Ling snapped off one of his own wings and tossed it to the ground.

Then, he reverted to his sponge form. After a moment of contortion, the giant bird reappeared, its broken wing now fully restored.

"See? That’s how you heal yourself."

Mo Ling had just given the crab a live demonstration of a skill he’d learned in a previous battle.

The crab watched, stunned, then slowly crawled out from the crevice.

Then, it mimicked Mo Ling and reverted to its sponge form.

A moment later, the crab held up its now fully restored pincer in utter astonishment.

"I can do that?"

"Has no one else of our kind told you this?"

"No," the crab explained. "They all just try to kill me on sight."

Mo Ling quickly understood why they fought amongst themselves:

They all sensed hostility from one another.

And so, battle was inevitable.

These creatures were still in a state where they were controlled by their hostile instincts. They hadn’t realized they could control that hostility, and so they were driven to kill one another.

They sensed hostility, so they decided to fight. And because they knew a fight was coming, they generated hostility in the first place.

It was a vicious cycle, one difficult to break.

These fellow creatures could only become puppets of their own hostility, trapped in a never-ending cycle of combat. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

At this thought, Mo Ling could only sigh.

He couldn’t change this biological instinct, but he could offer the crab some advice:

"You must control your hostility. Don’t let it control you."

"Okay." The crab waved a pincer, only half-understanding. "Thank you."

It expressed its gratitude once more.

Looking at this weak member of his own kind, Mo Ling felt lost once more.

This time, am I supposed to become a god, too?

’The god of these sponge creatures?’

Mo Ling remembered Fatty saying that this species was called "Slaughter."

From what he’d seen, the species was indeed belligerent, powerful, and full of potential. He just hadn’t encountered a particularly strong one yet.

’Am I just supposed to experience the life of this creature?’

Mo Ling had a faint feeling that, just like before, he had been pulled directly into a "simulation" within the Sea of Creation.

This time, however, Mo Ling didn’t know how to become a god.

Nor did he know what the wish of this species was.

If he failed to fulfill that wish, the consequences could be dire.

But for now, all Mo Ling could do was play it by ear and gather as much information as he could on these volcanic plains.

"Do you know where I can find the most of our kind?" Mo Ling asked the crab. "I’m looking for the really powerful ones."

"I do! The closer you get to the Celestial God Volcano, the stronger our kind becomes, and the fiercer the battles are!" the crab replied, waving its limbs excitedly.

"Where is the Celestial God Volcano?"

"It’s the largest Volcano around here. The strongest of our kind are inside the crater, bathing in the scorching magma..."

The crab’s description conjured a terrifying image in Mo Ling’s mind.

But he didn’t hesitate. After bidding the crab farewell, he turned and flew toward the Volcano...