Two days had passed, and after patiently waiting inside the subsidiary realm, or Garden, as Xiao Julin called it, after repeatedly biting her tongue trying to say "subsidiary realm", Xue Hui was finally able to revert to his original physique.
To Xiao Ning'er's disappointment of course, she found herself genuinely enjoying the sight of the tiny version of Xue Hui walking around and doing his usual things. She found the de-aged Xue Hui rather adorable and endearing to look at.
But now that he was back to full strength, Xue Hui was fully prepared to challenge the last trial, and he couldn't wait to discover what lay behind the fifth trial room.
During their rest, Xiao Ning'er, who had spent the past two days diligently practicing, managed to break through to the Gold rank of Demon Spiritualist thanks to the dense spiritual energy inside the Garden.
At the same time, Xue Hui took out a Black Gold rank demon spirit with an extraordinary growth rate called the Black Cloud Sparrow, which possessed lightning attributes, and submerged it into the True Dragon Lineage Fermentation Blood.
Letting it soak inside the jar of blood, he mutated it into a Black Storm Winged Dragon Sparrow, a demon spirit with an extraordinary growth rate and dragon bloodline, then handed it to Xiao Ning'er so she could replace her current demon spirit, which only possessed an ordinary growth rate.
Unfortunately, Xue Hui didn't possess any demon spirits with a god-level growth rate, since finding one was nearly impossible, especially without venturing into the outside world to search for one.
Even the few demon spirits with extraordinary growth rates in his possession were treasures Xue Hui had stumbled upon purely through luck.
But now that Xue Hui had obtained the Pure Dragon Lineage Fermentation Blood, he needed to find a way to acquire a demon spirit with a god-level growth rate and mutate it into a dragon bloodline demon spirit.
Only then, once everyone integrated with dragon bloodline demon spirits possessing god-level growth rates, would Xiao Ning'er, Chen Linlin, and the others be able to reach unprecedented heights in their cultivation.
But for now, the Black Gold rank Black Storm Winged Dragon Sparrow with extraordinary growth and dragon bloodline was the strongest demon spirit Xue Hui could provide to Xiao Ning'er.
Although Xue Hui felt the demon spirit he gifted her was somehow lacking, Xiao Ning'er experienced a tremendous increase in strength the moment she integrated with the Black Storm Winged Dragon Sparrow. The enhancement was so great that she felt confident she could fight an opponent an entire realm above her own.
Xue Hui estimated that, with Xiao Ning'er's current strength, once she merged with her demon spirit, defeating a one-star Black Gold rank Demon Spiritualist would be fairly easy for her.
Which was great, considering they were about to enter the fifth trial room.
Having a rough idea of what might await them there, Xue Hui busied himself preparing every tool he could use to face the upcoming trial.
During their fight against the older version of Xiao Julin, Xue Hui had been so overwhelmed by Xiao Julin's strength that he had been forced to use his trump card just to defeat her.
'If my hunch is right and the opponent turns out far too strong for us to handle, we might need to use my origin power to escape and return with Lord Ye Mo or Uncle Zhenlong to finish the trials,' Xue Hui reckoned.
But he would really prefer it if he and Xiao Ning'er could complete the final trials by themselves.
Asking two Legend rank Demon Spiritualists for help would be far too troublesome. Just finding Lord Ye Mo's whereabouts would already waste a lot of time. Worse still, there was a possibility that failing the fifth trial might cause the tens of thousands of soul puppets and automatons to turn hostile and begin hunting them down. If that happened, Glory City would be in great peril.
"Xiao Julin, stay here, okay? Ning'er and I will go look around the real world." Hearing Xue Hui's words, Xiao Julin, who was in the middle of stuffing herself with sweets and cake, stopped and looked at them worriedly before nodding.
"Okay, Julin will wait for Big Sis and Big Bro here. Be careful, okay!"
Nodding, both Xue Hui and Xiao Ning'er exited the Garden and found themselves amidst the wreckage of the fourth room.
Grasping her hand, Xue Hui brought Xiao Ning'er toward the next door.
The two exchanged a knowing glance before Xue Hui used the key to open it.
"Ning'er, if I find the situation too dangerous for both of us, I'm going to send you back to the Garden while I try to escape this place, understand!?"
Biting her lip, Xiao Ning'er answered with a firm yes, fully understanding how dangerous the upcoming challenge was.
As much as Xiao Ning'er hated the idea of leaving Xue Hui alone while he faced the trials, she was aware of the dangers awaiting them.
As the door opened, Xue Hui and Xiao Ning'er stepped inside with measured and cautious movements.
Just like before, Xue Hui placed an Origin Sphere on Xiao Ning'er's side as a precaution in case things went wrong too quickly.
Compared to the other rooms, the fifth room looked exactly like a soul puppet workshop. Tools and metal-forging parts were scattered everywhere. On one side of the room stood various operating equipment, and not far from them was a row of containment pods filled with unknown liquid. Everything appeared untouched for years, with thick layers of dust settled across every surface. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all covered in inscription patterns, each emitting a faint glow that illuminated the room with an ominous atmosphere.
"Ning'er, stay on your guard. Someone is watching us," Xue Hui whispered. He could sense a gaze lingering on them ever since they entered the room.
"Mm." Xiao Ning'er nodded in response. She too could feel a presence observing them. Enhancing her senses with soul force, her eyes darted across the room, ready to react at any moment.
WOOSH
Xue Hui and Xiao Ning'er both jumped as golden metallic tendrils suddenly sprouted from all directions and attacked them.
Xue Hui employed his Origin Spheres to block the incoming assault. At the same time, Xiao Ning'er called upon NiHue, transforming it into a lightning swan before unleashing a massive electrical charge toward the metallic tendrils, electrocuting them.
The tendrils froze for a moment as an unknown figure emerged from the shadows.
"It's been a while since guests visited my workshop. Unfortunately, neither of you is suitable to become the soul of my latest creation. But you, little lass, possess a suitable soul to bring my daughter to life."
After speaking, one of the elongated tendrils reached toward a soul puppet inside a containment tube.
It resembled a little girl around nine or ten years old. Unlike the other soul puppets, which looked like mechanical dolls, this one appeared exactly like a real child.
The tendril caressed the lifeless doll's face as if admiring its own handiwork before tossing it aside as though it meant nothing.
"Who are you? And what is this labyrinth for?" Ignoring the unsettling atmosphere, Xue Hui questioned the figure, wanting to understand their situation better.
The unknown figure paused briefly, seemingly pondering the question. Then the mechanical tendrils swirling around the room retreated to its side.
At the same time, the room brightened, allowing Xue Hui and Xiao Ning'er to finally see the figure clearly.
Stunned, Xiao Ning'er let out a shaky breath as her eyes landed on the creature before them.
Made entirely of golden-colored metal, the being In front of them could only be described as an amalgamation of different creatures fused together into one grotesque existence.
Iron parts shaped like pieces of humans, demon beasts, and demihumans had all been merged together to create an abomination.
To Xiao Ning'er, the sight was far more disturbing than fascinating.
"Welcome, visitors. My name is Xan Kang Hang, the greatest mind this world has ever seen," the figure introduced himself with pride and arrogance dripping from every word.
Lightly squeezing Xiao Ning'er's hand, Xue Hui sent her a voice transmission, explaining the plan he had just devised.
After receiving his message, Xiao Ning'er gave him a knowing look before letting go of his hand. She bit her lip. The situation was dire, but since Xue Hui believed they could handle it, she could only place her trust in him.
Xue Hui gave Xan Kang Hang a condescending look, the disgust on his face unmistakable.
"A soul puppet claiming to be a real person is quite laughable, don't you think? Claiming the original person's name is one thing, but actually believing you and the original are the same person is hilarious. No matter how skilled Xan Kang Hang was at creating soul puppets, he was never talented enough to recreate a true human."
Xan Kang Hang, who had been tinkering with something, froze upon hearing Xue Hui's words. Rage quickly spread across his doll-like face.
Killing intent crashed down upon Xue Hui and Xiao Ning'er. Xiao Ning'er struggled to remain standing beneath the overwhelming soul force pressing down on them, while Xue Hui remained completely unfazed, sneakily forming a hand seal beneath his sleeve.
Xan Kang Hang let out an animalistic growl as his massive body leaned forward to better face Xue Hui.
"Boy, you have a nasty mouth. Did your parents never teach you to respect your elders?"
In response, Xue Hui let out a mocking laugh, which only angered Xan Kang Hang further.
"Elder? If I were going to call a soulless doll my elder, I'd at least choose something that resembles a human. Not you, who looks like some stitched-together abomination. Don't get on your high horse just because your creator programmed you to believe you're human."
The tendrils surrounding Xan Kang Hang's body emitted a dangerous low hum as they vibrated at insane speeds.
"You are seeking death, boy!"
Getting the reaction he wanted, Xue Hui continued provoking him while secretly sending one of his Origin Spheres toward Xiao Ning'er.
"What, am I wrong? You're nothing more than an automaton with an artificial personality crafted to imitate Xan Kang Hang's mind. Even if you perfectly mimic his personality, there isn't the slightest trace of the original remaining within that mechanical body of yours."
Xue Hui revealed a savage grin as he watched Xan Kang Hang tremble in fury.
"Why do you think you can freely enter and exit the interspatial inscription formations spread throughout this room? Because this room doesn't recognize you as a living human being, but as a tool. That's why you aren't restricted from entering storage spaces."
BOOM!
"YOU DUMB BRAT! I WILL TURN YOU INTO A PATHETIC SOUL PUPPET AFTER I TEAR YOU APART!"
Enraged, Xan Kang Hang roared furiously as he launched a massive fist toward Xue Hui and Xiao Ning'er.
The two dodged through the air, carried away from his reach by the Origin Spheres.
All the metallic tendrils shot toward them at blinding speed. Seeing this, Xue Hui used his Origin of Space to redirect their trajectories, narrowly avoiding being skewered by their sharp tips.
At the same time, Xiao Ning'er unleashed a lightning strike toward Xan Kang Hang, striking his enormous frame.
Naturally, Xiao Ning'er's attack wasn't enough to truly harm someone with a Legend rank physique.
Xan Kang Hang's body began sinking into the floor as though swallowed by quicksand.
"Cheap tricks!"
Seeing this, Xue Hui let out an unimpressed snort before summoning ten of his Origin Spheres. Each sphere turned purple before shooting wildly toward the inscription patterns covering the room.
The Origin of Pierce possessed the ability to pierce through anything, whether shields or inscription barriers. Thus, it came as no surprise when the purple spheres tore effortlessly through the interspatial formations, completely destroying their effects.
Xan Kang Hang's massive body was forcibly expelled from the interspatial space and sent flying before crashing heavily onto the ground.
"How!? Those are Legend rank inscription patterns! A brat like you shouldn't be able to destroy them!"
Before Xan Kang Hang could fully comprehend what had happened, another barrage of lightning strikes slammed into his body, irritating him further.
"STOP!"
Annoyed, Xan Kang Hang leaped toward Xiao Ning'er. The sheer speed of his movement shocked her. Despite his enormous frame, his speed far surpassed even that of the City Lord.
Xiao Ning'er grunted when one of the tendrils coiled around her body, trapping her tightly within its grasp.
Before Xan Kang Hang could react further, Xiao Ning'er transformed into her demon spirit form. Gathering all of her soul force strength into a single devastating strike using her cultivation technique's combat ability, she unleashed her attack.
Earlier, Xue Hui had instructed her to use her combat ability to send a massive electrical surge through Xan Kang Hang's mechanical body. The goal was to disrupt the connection between Xan Kang Hang's soul and his inscription coding, allowing Xue Hui to use the Origin of Devourer to consume Xan Kang Hang's soul force while it was destabilized.
She simply hadn't expected Xan Kang Hang to grab hold of her directly.
But since the perfect opportunity had presented itself, she seized it without hesitation.
With one massive attack, Xiao Ning'er unleashed her ultimate move, Thunder Tempest, electrocuting Xan Kang Hang's entire body. The attack worked exactly as intended. Xan Kang Hang's gigantic mechanical body twitched violently, convulsed, and completely halted.
"Good job, Ning'er. I'll handle the rest."
Before Xiao Ning'er could lose consciousness, she felt the space around her ripple.
The next thing she knew, she was no longer inside the fifth trial room but standing beneath clear blue skies.
"Waah! Big Sis, are you okay!? You look pale. Here, Big Brother said I should give this to you once you returned."
Xiao Julin's concerned voice reached Xiao Ning'er's ears. She tried to respond, but no sound came out.
A pill was gently placed into her mouth, which she swallowed. Moments later, the medicinal effects spread through her body, replenishing both her strength and soul force.
As her eyelids grew heavy, Xiao Ning'er gradually lost consciousness, silently praying for Xue Hui's safety.
End of Chapter 55
If you like my story, you can read advance chapter patreon.com/AxelDeAxist