Chapter 409 - 406: At the Foot of the Volcano

Chapter 409: Chapter 406: At the Foot of the Volcano

This Volcano was surprisingly tall. Mo Ling flew along the mountain range for a long time without reaching the summit.

Scalding rivers of lava flowed down, and thick volcanic ash concealed the true appearance of the Celestial God Volcano.

Through the grayish haze, Mo Ling could only make out the faint outline of a massive mountain range.

The higher he went, the hotter the lava burned and the steeper the slopes became. The creatures here also grew increasingly strange.

A creature resembling a red quilt clung tightly to the rugged volcanic rock, motionless, like patches of red moss.

’Is this some kind of plant?’

Mo Ling watched from high in the sky, marveling at the sight.

A type of deer, its body covered in an insect-like carapace, hopped about on the rock walls, searching for this red moss. Once it found a patch, it would call to its companions, and they would swarm the area, devouring the moss entirely.

When the red, quilt-like moss was gnawed on, its wounds would ooze a red, lava-like liquid that radiated intense heat. This was clearly some kind of defense mechanism.

But the carapace-covered deer seemed completely unafraid of the hot liquid. In fact, they lapped it up frantically, not letting a single drop go to waste.

Once the hot liquid entered their bodies, their carapaces would suddenly flare open, spewing white, steam-like mist from the gaps.

In an instant, the area around the moss flickered with red light and was shrouded in mist, resembling an Immortal Realm.

The mist concealed the carapace-covered deer, ensuring their safety as they foraged.

However, clever Hunters would keep their eyes on these sudden plumes of mist.

In the distance, a spider covered in volcanic rock had its attention drawn by the mist. With a few bounds, it reached the edge of the fog and then plunged inside.

A few of the carapace-covered deer fled in a panic, while several mournful cries echoed from within the mist.

Blood splattered everywhere. For a moment, it was impossible to tell whether it was the red liquid from the moss or the fresh blood of the carapace-covered deer...

The rising heat made the creatures here extremely irritable and hyperactive.

Mo Ling encountered some of his own kind, but none of them seemed interested in communicating.

The moment he encountered them, he felt their intense hostility.

Any of his kind that could survive here were no saints. They all attacked the very instant they detected Mo Ling.

Fortunately, most of them lacked a flight form as powerful as Mo Ling’s, and they couldn’t harm him high up in the sky.

However, Mo Ling did spot one of his kind who was particularly unique.

It had the form of a gorilla, but two pairs of enormous bat wings sprouted from its back.

The creature clumsily maneuvered its utterly mismatched body and launched an attack on Mo Ling.

Of course, Mo Ling quickly subdued it, tearing its bat wings to shreds and pinning it to the ground.

"You can kill me now," the gorilla said dejectedly.

"I’m not going to kill you."

"Why aren’t you killing me? Hurry up and kill me!" the gorilla urged, agitated.

Mo Ling ignored its nonsensical ramblings and asked directly, "How did you get those bat wings?"

"Kill me, and I’ll tell you!" the gorilla said stubbornly.

"..."

’These kin really aren’t too bright,’ Mo Ling realized.

"If I kill you, how are you going to tell me?"

The gorilla fell silent.

It took a long time for it to work out the logic.

"You’re right. I’ll tell you first, then you can kill me!"

"Fine," Mo Ling agreed, then released the gorilla he was pinning down.

The gorilla didn’t try to flee or launch a sneak attack. True to its word, it stretched its limbs and began to demonstrate for Mo Ling.

"First, like this..."

It first reverted to its sponge form, squeezing itself into a long strip.

"Then, snap it in two..."

Before Mo Ling’s shocked eyes, the sponge split into two halves.

Next, one half became a gorilla and the other became a bat. The gorilla then picked up the bat and grafted it directly onto its own back.

"Done."

The gorilla looked at Mo Ling. "Did you get it?"

"I got it," Mo Ling nodded, stunned.

"Good. Now you can kill me."

The gorilla flopped onto the ground, then reached out and guided Mo Ling’s claw to its head.

"Hurry up, kill me! Right here."

It seemed worried Mo Ling wouldn’t be precise enough, so it even pointed out its weak spot.

But Mo Ling, claw raised, still hesitated.

"I don’t really want to kill you."

"Why?" the gorilla asked from the ground, confused.

"We may have fought, which makes us enemies, but you also taught me a skill, which makes us friends, too. It would be a shame to kill you," Mo Ling said earnestly. This was truly how he felt.

Although his kin were irritable, thoughtless, and attacked everyone on sight, they possessed a strange sort of innocence.

"You have a point. We’ll hold off on the killing for now. Maybe next time we get a chance," the gorilla agreed, seeming to find the logic perfectly reasonable.

It pushed itself up and got to its feet.

The gorilla glanced at Mo Ling, then toward the summit. "Are you going to kill stronger kin?" it asked curiously.

"I want to go check it out. I don’t necessarily have to kill anyone."

"You’re weird. If you’re not going to kill them, why look for them?" the gorilla asked, scratching its head in confusion.

"Maybe to learn something new, like I did from you."

Listening to Mo Ling, the gorilla nodded thoughtfully. "Right. If you learn new things, you can kill faster. You really are smart. No wonder you’re stronger than me."

"Then you should go. When I get stronger, I’ll come find you. If you’re not dead yet, I’ll kill you. If you’re already dead, I’ll kill the one who killed you."

The gorilla rattled off the convoluted sentence in one breath, then ran off into the distance, flapping its bat wings as it went. It was a comical sight.

Mo Ling watched the gorilla’s retreating figure, feeling completely exasperated.

He was starting to understand why this race was known as "Slaughter."

They could talk about "killing" all the time without it being the least bit repulsive.

In this race’s consciousness, killing was an ordinary affair. This world was, by its very nature, full of competition.

Especially on the volcanic plains of their birth, the tension between creatures was like an erupting volcano—it never had a moment to cool.

The gorilla mentioned killing in every other sentence, yet it was genuinely communicating with Mo Ling.

What’s more, Mo Ling felt no hostility from the gorilla, so he naturally let his guard down. As a result, their conversation was surprisingly smooth.

They both spoke of fighting and killing, but their attitudes were like those of next-door neighbors.

Without even realizing it, Mo Ling had already grown accustomed to this strange form of communication.

The gorilla had vanished from sight. Mo Ling’s sponge-like body began to squirm.

He mimicked the gorilla, splitting his body into several parts and then reassembling them:

A lizard’s head.

A goat’s horns.

An ape’s torso.

An insect’s carapace.

And finally, a bird’s wings...

Mo Ling controlled this bizarre, hodgepodge body and took to the sky.

He was a bit clumsy at first, but slowly, the spongy matter at the junctures of the different parts began to fuse, automatically generating connecting tissues. The seemingly incongruous form began to gradually refine itself.

And Mo Ling’s flight speed grew faster and faster...