Chapter 704 - 383: Giant Centipede

Gripping the Red Feather Blade, with countless White Feathers trailing behind him, Yang An’s figure blurred into an afterimage as he charged toward the massive, oncoming swarm of Beng Birds.

His body, tempered by the Red Wheel Infinite Body, possessed a level of pure physical strength far beyond that of an ordinary person, even without access to his Mana or Physical Power.

Based on the combat power he could currently exert, Yang An could likely fight—and even kill—a Visceral Stone Cultivator who had already attained Immortality.

Though the Beng Birds were numerous, Yang An was completely unafraid, quickly charging into the flock.

The countless White Feathers transformed into a whirlwind of white shadows, churning violently around Yang An.

Any Beng Bird that came into contact with a White Feather was instantly sliced into several pieces, raining down one after another. In an instant, the air was filled with the stench of gore and a rain of blood.

Meanwhile, Yang An wielded the Red Feather Blade, unleashing a flurry of lightning-fast slashes as Beng Birds drew near.

Any Beng Bird struck by the Red Feather Blade was instantly infected with a blood toxin. It began to corrode in a flash, quickly decaying into a pile of rotten flesh before finally dissolving into a pool of yellow fluid.

These Beng Birds, which struck terror into any Cultivator who entered the Land of Shattered Armor, were now less than an appetizer for Yang An. He cut them down as easily as slicing through melons.

In less time than it takes for an incense stick to burn, Yang An had slaughtered them in droves.

The remaining Beng Birds merged, forming one giant Beng Bird, which Yang An promptly sliced in two, reducing it to a pool of foul-smelling ichor.

After dealing with the Beng Birds, Yang An continued onward, heading into the disaster-shrouded depths of the Land of Shattered Armor.

’If the Land of Shattered Armor only contained Beng Birds, Old Life Crane wouldn’t have been so solemn about it. He wouldn’t have had that old monster merge with me to unlock the 6th Floor.’

’This just proves it gets more dangerous the deeper I go into the Land of Shattered Armor.’

This place was like a bizarre, isolated land, a distorted pocket of space.

Traversing it horizontally could take one from a great domain to another, but moving "vertically" led deeper into the Land of Shattered Armor.

Typically, when Cultivators entered the Land of Shattered Armor, they would quickly attract attacks from a massive number of Beng Birds in the vicinity.

So, after dealing with this wave of Beng Birds, Yang An was temporarily safe. The next swarm would likely only detect him once he ventured further in.

Yang An searched the vicinity and soon discovered a strange mineral formation unique to the Land of Shattered Armor.

The formation looked like a grotesque, bizarrely shaped mass of gray stone, as if many human bodies had been mashed together.

And at the very top of the formation, at a point that seemed to be the focus of countless straining, stone hands, rested a thumb-sized red crystal.

’This is the Primordial Stone!’

Yang An recognized the red crystal at a glance; the Bow Lady had described the Primordial Stone’s appearance to him before.

While remaining vigilant of his surroundings, Yang An reached out and plucked the Primordial Stone from the mineral formation.

The instant he removed it, the large mineral formation crumbled with a CLATTER, disintegrating into a pile of loose sand.

At the same time, an information box appeared before his eyes.

「[Primordial Stone]: A unique product of the Land of Shattered Armor. Consumption generates a ’gray barrier’ within the body, masking the user’s aura from detection by Beng Birds. Duration: 15 minutes.

Cost: If the user is injured while the Primordial Stone’s effect is active, all the blood in their body will congeal to form a new Primordial Stone.

Status: Eligible for Purification!」

Even within the Land of Shattered Armor, Yang An’s special abilities could still be used, unaffected by the region’s Rules. He’d known this since the first time he entered.

So, he wasn’t the least bit surprised when the information box appeared.

However, he was still a bit surprised after reading the Primordial Stone’s description.

’Just as I thought, this thing only fools the senses of Beng Birds. It’ll be useless if there are other kinds of monsters.’

’I didn’t expect the Primordial Stone to have a cost, though. The Bow Lady never mentioned it. The probability of getting injured while your senses are masked from the Beng Birds must be extremely low; very few people must have ever encountered this.’

’Plus, there’s survivorship bias. Anyone who did run into it died. That mineral pile I took the Primordial Stone from might have been someone who triggered the cost and died.’

Since he’d found a Primordial Stone, it would be a waste not to use it. Yang An’s goal was to reach the depths of the Land of Shattered Armor to find Pan Yu, not to hunt Beng Birds.

So he decisively chose to use Purification on the Primordial Stone’s cost, then swallowed it.

The Primordial Stone felt like a piece of candy as it entered his mouth, but the flavor that washed over his tongue was a bitter, metallic taste, as if blood pudding had been mixed with chalk.

But Yang An didn’t care about the taste. ’If it can keep me from being detected by the Beng Birds and save me a lot of effort, it’s a good thing.’

He pressed onward without pause.

The surroundings grew increasingly desolate, like a barren, uninhabited wasteland.

After swallowing a Primordial Stone, Yang An was able to walk openly right under the eyes of the swarming Beng Birds, just as he’d hoped. He even discovered more of the humanoid mineral formations, and he plucked and collected every Primordial Stone he found on them.

After collecting twenty Primordial Stones, Yang An temporarily lost interest in gathering more.

These Primordial Stones were enough to keep him from being detected by the Beng Birds for at least two hours.

Free from the attacks of the Beng Birds, Yang An’s attention shifted as he walked. He began to focus more on the surrounding landscape and the dilapidated buildings hidden beneath the sand and dust.