Chapter 24

A new and strange energy flowed through his body, making him feel as if every cell in his body was breathing desperately. His hearing seemed to have greatly improved; his own breathing sounded like thunder. The scene before him suddenly became colorful, with a disorienting sense of the image breaking apart. But strangely, in this situation, he could still see his surroundings... even more clearly than before.

Every detail around him was within his senses: the gentle sound of the wind, the slow swaying of the grass, the movements of the true god's avatar in front of him, and the anxiety of Ban and Baker, who were unable to move...

In an instant, it seemed as if he had gained a god's perspective.

At the same time, the bone blade in his hand suddenly turned into a flowing liquid, sweeping directly toward him. Even before he could react, the strange liquid had already enveloped his entire right arm, from his fingertips to his shoulder.

A flash of light, and Ji Ran found that he could move. The无形的精神束缚 seemed to have been broken by something, and he could move freely. Moreover, a strange power was flowing through his right arm, which had been holding the sword.

Turning his head, Ji Ran was stunned. His right arm was wrapped in a peculiar substance. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to have a similar texture to the bone blade, but it had turned into a semi-liquid form, wriggling on his arm as if searching for a suitable shape to adhere more closely.

What exactly happened? Ji Ran had no idea. He only knew that all the true qi and magical power in his body had disappeared, replaced by another kind of energy. He didn't know what this energy would bring him, but he could feel that it made his entire body exult.

The bone blade attached to his arm seemed to have been influenced by this energy, causing this transformation. But what was the use of this change? If it could become a protective arm guard extending to his shoulder, with a sword blade at the front, it would look pretty cool...

This sudden change inevitably led Ji Ran to daydream. Referring to the anime characters he had seen before, he began to imagine what shape the semi-liquid bone blade could take on his arm to look more awesome. Then, something shocking happened.

The flowing semi-liquid bone blade actually formed into the shape he had imagined on his arm! A thin, beautifully patterned shell covered his right arm, extending from his shoulder to his palm. The upper part of his palm was replaced by a half-meter-long sword blade, as if it had truly grown out of his body!

What the hell is this! Ji Ran's scalp tingled. Neither of the two games he brought had such a magical setting! A magical treasure that could melt and change shape—while not impossible, it was definitely not something a low-level magical treasure like the bone blade could do!

It must be because of that energy in my body... But what is it? After so many surges, it finally brought about this change? Is this change good or bad...

While Ji Ran was still pondering, a dizzying sensation suddenly hit his mind. His body swayed, and he quickly snapped out of the state of exploring the unknown.

No! I don't have time to think about this now! I need to get rid of that true god's avatar, or who knows what will happen!

Lifting his head, Ji Ran looked at the true god's avatar. Strangely, he found that the avatar's face was filled with shock, but it remained motionless.

The restraint on his body had disappeared, but who knew when the true god's avatar would use another trick. He had to finish it off quickly!

Close Distance! Ji Ran instinctively activated this school's lightness skill. Only after he did so did he realize that his true qi had disappeared!

But the strange energy in his body supported him, propelling him forward. His entire body shot forward, even faster than when he used true qi to activate the lightness skill.

Without time to think, Ji Ran had already rushed to the true god's avatar. Instinctively, he swung his right arm, and the half-meter-long sword blade pierced through the avatar's body!

The sword blade penetrated the outer glow of the true god's avatar, creating a transparent hole. In the next instant, the avatar's image suddenly burst into a ball of light, throwing Ji Ran backward.

Flying backward, Ji Ran hit the ground hard. At the same time, he realized that the strange energy in his body had completely disappeared, and the bone blade had returned to its original form in his hand. It was as if what had just happened was an illusion.

But the true god's avatar was indeed injured.

"Impossible! How could you hurt me! What weapon do you have? It can destroy my avatar..." The true god's avatar was full of shock, looking down at the large wound on its chest. Black smoke was rising from the wound, quickly enveloping it.

"Damn it! I won't let you go! I will curse you, curse you to never reach a higher realm, to always be a lowly worm! Wait and see, I will find you and make you die in the most miserable way, then cast you into the deepest hell..."

The true god's avatar, enveloped in black smoke, was screaming wildly, its body twisting. The black smoke rolled continuously. Suddenly, the black smoke condensed into a black mass. Behind the mass, the avatar's image was almost gone, leaving only a faint shadow.

Then, the true god's avatar threw the black mass at Ji Ran.

Considering the avatar's words and the mass, Ji Ran knew it was not good. He had to dodge! But he was now powerless, unable to even move a finger. The strange burst had filled his body with a strange energy, but now that the energy was gone, it had taken away his last bit of strength...

"Ji Ran!" Just as the mass was about to hit him, Ji Ran heard a loud shout. Before he could react, a figure darted over, grabbed him, and rolled to the side. But the mass seemed to have an automatic tracking function, persistently circling around and hitting the person who had rolled with Ji Ran. The impact threw both of them into the air, and they landed on the ground again.

Ji Ran, who had already lost all his strength, blacked out...

When he opened his eyes again, it was already dark.

A campfire was burning beside him, the flames flickering in front of his eyes. The stars in the sky twinkled through the gaps in the leaves.

Struggling to lift his head, Ji Ran saw the others gathered around the fire.

"Brother Ji Ran, you're awake!" A surprised voice came from beside him. Turning his head, he saw Lydia looking at him with wide eyes.

"Where are we?" His mouth was dry, and he managed to speak with difficulty.

"Away from that valley. Don't worry, everything is over." Uncle Les was beside him. He looked much better now, though he still had bandages on many parts of his body, he could hold a skewer and roast it over the fire.

Baker and Ban were also bandaged, and they smiled when they saw Ji Ran wake up.

"You're finally awake, that's great! This means we all made it out of the battle, and no one died... Hey, why did you hit me?" Baker's excitement was cut short by a tap on the head from Erin.

"Even if I don't fully believe it, sometimes auspicious words are necessary." Erin threw the stick away and focused on her skewer again.

Lydia seemed to understand Ji Ran's condition and picked up a water pouch to help him drink. A few sips of water made him feel much better.

"Thank you, Lydia. By the way... did I pass out? What exactly happened then?" Feeling better, Ji Ran immediately asked about the situation.

Uncle Les turned his head and sighed, "After we dealt with the remaining true god's followers, we came back and found you unconscious. Baker and Ban were dragging you back. I asked them what happened, but they weren't clear. It seemed that the true god's avatar had restrained all of you, but you suddenly burst out and took care of the avatar..."

Since Uncle Les wasn't there, it was understandable that he didn't know the details. So Ji Ran turned his gaze to Baker.

"Uncle Les is right. When we entered the altar, we suddenly couldn't move. You were staring straight at the true god's avatar with a strange expression, as if you were about to embrace it. We called you from behind, but you didn't respond..."

Baker, being a big mouth, naturally didn't miss this opportunity and began to describe the situation in detail.

As he spoke, Ji Ran remained calm on the surface but was inwardly shocked.

It turned out that his conversation with the true god's avatar was not heard by the others! To them, he was just staring blankly!

True gods... even if they weren't real gods but just evil beings from another plane, they were too strange... If possible, he should avoid dealing with such things in the future...

"Then your body suddenly glowed, blinding us. When the light disappeared, we saw you being thrown back, and the true god's avatar had a large hole in its chest. Honestly, we were so impressed... We were all mentally restrained by the avatar, how did you break free and hurt it?"

Baker's expression was excited and curious, but Ji Ran was utterly shocked.

What was going on? The bone blade fusing with him and attaching to his right arm, all that time, was actually just an instant?