Chapter 52

"…It’s too late."

Ignoring Lei’s struggles, Zheng Chen carried her and jumped out from the broken opening in the building. Xi Ya turned back, her eyes filled with confusion, "Who… are you? Hmm, never mind, you will become part of me, nourishment for my strength."

Several vines quickly coiled towards Zheng Chen. With a light hum, he avoided the vines and grabbed the thinnest one. The patterns on his body instantly spread across his entire palm, and the refinement process began!

The vine in Zheng Chen’s hand quickly withered and crumbled, and his face showed a hint of strange expression.

"Ugh! What is this!!" As if encountering a nemesis, Xi Ya’s face twisted in a fierce roar, "My power, you thief!!"

"…" Without hesitation, Zheng Chen moved away as she became even more frenzied, avoiding the shock waves released by Xi Ya.

Finding temporary cover, Zheng Chen placed Lei aside and spread out his palm. His palm now had several black dots, like those made by a ballpoint pen. Though black, they shimmered with a luster, a murky color rather than a vibrant one!

Ginseng could be refined into a pure liquid under the patterns, and the same effect could be produced on the vines. Although Zheng Chen felt strong resistance during the process, he eventually succeeded. The refined essence was the essence contained within the vines.

However, it was not like the essence refined from medicinal herbs. Most of it was absorbed by the patterns, but a part leaked out during the absorption process. This leaked part, as if alive, directly attached itself to Zheng Chen’s palm!

Upon closer inspection, the black dots on his palm began to spread like capillaries.

The pain was exceptionally intense, and this was definitely not a good sign.

"Your hand?" Lei also noticed the abnormality on Zheng Chen’s left hand and asked worriedly. She didn’t want to see anything happen to Zheng Chen, given Xi Ya’s current state.

"It’s fine!"

Zheng Chen swung his right hand, quickly using a small knife to peel off the skin contaminated by the black dots. Lei couldn’t help but cover her mouth during the process. The palm tissue that Zheng Chen peeled off quickly turned black and transformed into a crystalline substance, then shattered and disappeared!

The blood that fell to the ground also did the same.

Zheng Chen himself was resisting the erosion by the black particles, but the peeled-off palm tissue had no resistance, hence the rapid transformation.

After a while, a faint blackness reappeared around the wound, but since the main source of erosion had been removed, the blackness stopped spreading. The timely treatment meant the problem wasn’t too serious.

"I found you!"

The shadow covered Zheng Chen’s surroundings. Without even looking up, he quickly jumped away with Lei in his arms. The ground was shattered by the falling vines. Using the shock waves, Zheng Chen quickly moved out of the range of the vines’ subsequent attacks.

"We should form a pact." Lei looked at the rampaging Xi Ya and said sadly.

Zheng Chen shook his head, "You don’t have the resolve to fight her."

Without resolve, even if they formed a pact, Lei’s power wouldn’t be fully utilized…

"But we must stop Xi Ya! This isn’t the real Xi Ya." Lei said softly, "Xi Ya would never do such cruel things, I can’t let her continue."

"Just stopping her?" Zheng Chen narrowed his eyes, glancing at a nearby surveillance camera, "What about the people here?"

The camera was still operational, so their situation must have been reported to a monitoring room. However, no other combatants from the Eden Garden had come to help, indicating that this place had been abandoned!

"But there are innocent people too."

"Let those who are responsible deal with it!" Zheng Chen’s feelings towards this place were already negative. A monster they created was rampaging, yet they did nothing?

Hmph!

"…One last time." Under Lei’s watchful gaze, Zheng Chen said solemnly, "Kindness isn’t a cheap commodity to be wasted."

Forming a pact… The black spots on Zheng Chen’s left hand were quickly expelled by Lei’s power. Although it affected his performance, it didn’t hinder his overall state.

The Green Wind Sword swiftly swung, leaving several sharp cuts in the air. The thick vines that were pressing down paused briefly in the air before breaking with a loud crack, directly stimulating Xi Ya, making her even more frenzied!

Her body also showed unusual features, like plant derivatives, but the greater threat was the patterns appearing around her. The vines emerging from these patterns were exceptionally dangerous, and contact could result in the absorption of life.

She also displayed other types of abilities, those of the Holy War Angels she had absorbed!

Though the variety of abilities wasn’t extensive, they were troublesome.

In the state of the pact, Zheng Chen could faintly sense Lei’s conflicted mindset, which directly affected the use of her power. The vines that could be instantly cut now required more effort to sever…

"Lei, if you want to stop her, do it properly." Zheng Chen said calmly, "Otherwise, we leave immediately!"

"Confusion is useless!"

Unknown to what stimulation or prolonged battle, Xi Ya’s mental state deteriorated further. Her form became distorted, with mutated arms and plant-like twisted wings, making her resemble a demon more and more.

Was there any point in continuing the fight?

Silently observing her increasingly chaotic state, perhaps she would collapse and die in the next moment!

Zheng Chen didn’t know how many Holy War Angels she had absorbed, but she clearly couldn’t integrate their abilities in an orderly manner. The massive absorption had indeed made her stronger, but the intense conflicts were constantly destroying her body.

The essence Zheng Chen extracted from the vines was a manifestation of this chaotic conflict, appearing in the form of particles without a carrier. Even when materialized, it remained dangerous.

Zheng Chen’s erosion was the best proof; the tissue he peeled off was the result of complete erosion. He couldn’t withstand such power, and neither could Xi Ya, even though she was a Holy War Angel with far greater endurance than humans, but she had her limits.

"Stop her! We must stop Xi Ya!" Lei’s tone became resolute.

The wind enveloped the entire building.

"What is this!!" In a state of mental chaos, Xi Ya looked around at the wind, which gently cut the mutated vines extending from her body, reducing their size to the extreme.

"Xi Ya, come back."

"…Lei?" Xi Ya called out in confusion, looking at the wind that completely enveloped her. The wind instantly dissipated, and Zheng Chen reached out to grab the remaining vines on her body, the patterns spreading across his palm.

The vines left on Xi Ya’s body were the most deeply connected to her. In the refinement process, they withered and quickly recovered. The particles that invaded were isolated by Lei’s power and reattached to Xi Ya’s body, but they had little effect on her.

What made Zheng Chen feel uncomfortable was the rapid loss of his physical strength. The objects he had absorbed before were inanimate, and he could take them away easily. However, this time it was a semi-biological existence, and the resistance was exceptionally strong!

Moreover, due to the loss of strength, Xi Ya, who had calmed down, seemed to start another rampage. Zheng Chen pressed her to the ground, the Green Wind Sword at her neck, and said coldly, "If you don’t want to die, stay quiet!"

"Zheng Chen!" Lei called out urgently.

"Listen to me now!"

"But…"

"No buts, I’m taking you away, and you can’t resist." Zheng Chen said calmly, and it was the truth. Lei opened her mouth slightly and fell silent.

Even in a state of mental confusion, Xi Ya still felt the threat of death. The vines around her body, due to resistance against Zheng Chen, were unable to expand and were completely suppressed. She fell silent, mumbling in confusion.

Zheng Chen didn’t pay attention to her muttering, but Lei heard it all. Xi Ya’s muttering, though chaotic, was a narrative of painful memories.

Despite the chaotic language, Lei still heard important information, such as Xi Ya’s child and how she lost control and killed her child when Kies wanted to use it for experiments.

"Is this place really the rumored Radiant Pearl Garden… It’s all a lie!!"

Lei’s tone gradually became agitated, and the Green Wind Sword emitted uncontrolled wind. However, before she could fully erupt, she was directly pushed away, staring in shock at Zheng Chen. She didn’t want to break the pact, so why did this happen?

"…Impulsive."

Looking at the partially withered vines left on Xi Ya’s body, Zheng Chen’s tone was unusually pained. His left hand was already covered in black spots. He could extract a few drops of essence from ginseng, but she was like a vast reservoir.

He didn’t know how many lives she had absorbed to accumulate such power!

Lei’s power could prevent the particles from invading but couldn’t completely isolate them. Combined with her unstable mindset, the remaining particles slowly seeped into Zheng Chen’s hand.

When the particles accumulated to a certain level, they directly expelled Lei during her emotional outburst. It was a power struggle, and the invasion of the particles was more like an abnormal forced pact…

What kind of monster had she been transformed into?

...