Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 495 - 490: Nuclear Bathing Tripod - Killing the First Son

Chapter 495: Chapter 490: Nuclear Bathing Tripod - Killing the First Son

Two faintly glowing azure escape lights, one behind the other, streaked across the sky.

"Save me! Save me!..."

The golden light chasing from behind emitted strange cries from time to time, sounding like the wails of an infant, pitying and sorrowful, stirring a sense of compassion in anyone who heard them.

But one glance back would reveal the truth.

The creature trailing behind was not some pitiable weakling but a bloodstained amalgamation, half-human and half-insect—the Golden Cicada God!

Its ascension had been interrupted by Yellow Dragon Sage, rendering its body even more deformed.

The upper half remained that of a cicada, while the lower half, besides blade-like wing membranes, now sprouted countless pale human limbs.

A mere glance was enough to induce an involuntary nightmare.

The lamentable intelligence of this poison worm seemed to have increased slightly, learning to feign vulnerability by crying "save me" as humans do.

If anyone foolishly got lured by its pleas, they’d be instantly devoured.

Fortunately, Wang Yuan and Huang Wu were well-prepared for their own Human Tribulation, not allowing its tribulation energy to cloud their judgement and fall for the Poison God’s deceit.

In the distance, the two riding on the Golden Crow and Jade Rabbit easily dodged the pursuit of the Golden Cicada God.

"Crow Flees, Rabbit Runs" was a power bestowed by the Moon Essence - Rabbit Lord, which allowed them to run to the ends of the earth without expending any of their own energy.

Beneath their feet, the mountain range gradually disappeared, replaced by green tiles, white walls, and small bridges arching over running water.

"We have left the range of the Six Shao of Langqiong and entered the territory of Great Yan’s Xiangzhou Prefecture; we’re on our home turf now."

The two turned to face the streak of golden light bearing down on them.

Huang Wu brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear, as the Calamity Butterfly at her temple gently fluttered its wings.

Flapping sounds filled the air—!

Mirror in the Water and Flower in the Mirror connected the night sky with the sleeping populace and their dreams.

The second ability of the Calamity Butterfly.

Water Moon: Dream Realm Descent.

It blurred the lines between dream and reality; where it stood became the dream realm, greatly amplifying the power of Dream Realm Dao Skill.

It could erode reality with the dream realm; the scope and intensity were dependent on the strength of the dream and the practitioner’s own Taoist ability.

Call upon long-standing local folktales to project into reality, transforming them into one’s ultimate home ground where the master of the Calamity Butterfly could not be killed.

Or imagine out of thin air, creating a vast utopia.

Even forcibly drag enemies into dreams, compressing and distorting them at will.

Prerequisite: This ability could be used wherever dreams existed; the stronger the collective dream, the more powerful this ability became.

The next instant.

Wherever the silvery-gray Calamity Butterflies passed, a large hole was torn in the night sky, into which the oncoming golden light was fiercely thrust.

From the darkness at the bottom of the hole, pairs of blood-red eyes opened in succession.

They roared and surged towards the Golden Cicada God like a tidal wave.

—Xiangzhou folklore: Zombie Cave!

As is well known, among the strange tales of Xiangzhou Prefecture, eight out of ten are related to zombies.

Once the boundaries between dream and reality had been shattered.

Iron Armored, Silver Armored, Golden Armored, and bone-scaled Corpse Kings... all kinds of zombies stepped out of the dreamscape into reality on a cold, damp mist.

Attracted by the stench of blood on the Golden Cicada God, they immediately lunged at it.

Groans... squeak squeak squeak...

Limbs were sent flying all around.

The Golden Cicada God, having failed to transcend the Green Seal boundary, lacked the power to ignore the number of enemies and was desperately gnawed upon, crying out miserably.

"Taiyin transformation, essence of the water level. Void danger response, Stove Snake formation. Cycle Six Union, overpowering all spirits. No ghosts unseen, no desires unfulfilled.

"From tribulation’s end to its beginning, cutting down the spirit demons. Go!"

In Huang Wu’s hand, the Lifebound Magic Treasure - Taiyin Treasure Mirror transformed into a moon wheel.

She used the Taiyin Refining Technique to channel a massive amount of moonlight into the hole, significantly boosting the zombies’ strength as they bit even more ferociously.

Wang Yuan and Huang Wu could not bear to look directly at the Golden Cicada God any longer.

The denser the population, the stronger the power of the dreamscape, making the Calamity Butterfly’s move all the more lethal.

The population density of Great Yan’s north and south typically maintained a ratio of one to three, with the entire north holding only fifty million people while the south boasted one hundred fifty million.

The public dreamscapes were more robust, and the might of the Dao naturally rose with the proverbial tide.

All the more so in Xiangzhou Prefecture, where there was a unified "mass base" of geomancy, rendering the public dreamscapes exceptionally uniform.

This spelled a legitimate nightmare for the Golden Cicada God, which had already been severely beaten by Yellow Dragon Sage and was suffering great injury.

In less than half a two-hour period, the tribulation energy symbolizing the Golden Cicada God utterly dissipated above their heads.

Without a second thought, the Calamity Butterfly plunged into the hole, consuming everything left by the deceit object along with its Killing Dao Fruit, leaving nothing behind.

With a half-step Green Seal Killing Dao Fruit, it achieved a fundamental leap in its essence.

All three of its base abilities—Dream Divination: Dream Illumination, Water Moon: Dream Realm Descent, and Calamity Butterfly: Invisible Calamity—were greatly enhanced.

With time, just like before, it could drag the entire Dengzhou Prefecture into a dream, making it not just a wild fantasy.

"Our next Human Tribulation is at sea!"

By this time, Wang Yuan had already used the tribulation energy as a medium to open Ziwei Dipper and divine the fortunes, pulling Huang Wu with him as they vanished into the Ghost Gate.

In the estimation of Yellow Dragon Sage, a single "Golden Cicada God" should be sufficient to act as the "Human Tribulation" for a Green Seal Sage’s advancement.

Little did one know, Wang Yuan’s "Three Realms Beyond" had no precedent, and coupled with the suppression of his realm and the joint advancement with Huang Wu, the tribulation energy was naturally far greater than that of an ordinary sage.

The tribulation energy consumed by a mere "Golden Cicada God" did not even amount to one-fifth of the total.

For some reason, Wang Yuan always had a bad premonition.

Instead of waiting for enemies to come knocking, he decided to take the initiative and, guided by the tribulation energy, he activated hunting mode!

Nobody understood the concept of debt from the dead better than he, the King Yanluo.

Death cancels all debts!

It was also a way of advancement that involved "killing" to reduce the cost.

Furthermore, since he entered the path, he always adhered to the principle: "Eradicating the roots is the greatest respect one can show to an opponent."

The enemies who offended Old Master Wang and still managed to survive could be counted on one’s fingers.

Just take this opportunity to do another big clean-up.

The next moment.

Upon the vast expanse of the East Sea, far from land.

"Eh? Is this... the Great Yan Treasure Ship?"

A couple stepping out of the Ghost Gate found themselves on a vast deck and simultaneously let out a surprised murmur as they beheld the massive ship before them.

Forty-four zhangs long and eighteen zhangs wide, the expansive deck resembled a drill ground in a military camp.

There were three sizable ship towers on the deck, resembling hills at the front, middle, and rear.

The bow featured a two-story transparent bow tower, the center of the main deck held a single-story deck house to form the midship tower, and at the stern, there stood a three-story stern tower, together comprising five layers from the bottom of the hull to the top of the ship tower.

The ship was also fitted with nine masts towering like heavenly pillars, each bearing a total of twelve hard sails.

This colossal ship was undoubtedly the maritime hegemon of the era!

Through the eyes of "Deep Azure Gaze,"

the ship’s body was riddled with holes large enough to sink it, and the wooden planks were covered with various types of seabed parasites—barnacles, tube worms, bryozoans, mussels, algae...

In the holes and corners, tufts of slender black tentacles grew, drifting gently as if in the water.

Indeed, it was a true Deceit Ship—a "Weird·Great Yan Treasure Ship"!

Until today, the "Great Yan Treasure Ship" had always been an overseas supplier for the "Cloud Tower Ghost Market," where Wang Yuan, who possessed super VIP status, is concerned.

It had made remarkable contributions to the "overseas purchasing" business of the ghost market.

Of course.

As a powerful "Deceit Object," it had always sought nothing but Wang Yuan’s unending life and Qi-Blood, with no friendship involved.

Once Wang Yuan grew fat enough, or if he escaped its control, it would undoubtedly devour him without hesitation!

Without a doubt, although the concept originating from maritime trade, the "Great Yan Treasure Ship," was strong, due to the limited time since its inception, it had not grown to the level of a Green Seal.

Just as Wang Yuan and Huang Wu arrived,

Under the influence of the tribulation energy, the "Great Yan Treasure Ship," already ready to retaliate, immediately made its move.

The enormous vessel shook, and its size swelled instantly.

Its Deceit Realm abruptly unfolded.

Compared to it, Wang Yuan and his partner on the deck seemed like two little mice.

They instantly fell through the gaps in the broken deck into the lower ship cabins they had never visited before.

Crew members who, due to transactions, were forever kept on board, turned their heads and looked towards them, all of their mouths revealing a creepy smile in unison.

"Fattened up, ready to eat!"

Wang Yuan looked down and saw a glowing red cauldron under his feet growing larger and larger.

The "Heart Communication Conch" by his ear revealed the origin of this Deceit Object.

"Nuclear Bathing Tripod·Killer of the Firstborn":

According to the historic record in "Mozi·Frugal Burials," it states: "In ancient times, the country of Nuclear Bathing in the east of Yue practiced a custom of killing and eating its first-born sons, calling it beneficial for the younger siblings."

That is to say, "Killer of the Firstborn"!

As its name implies, within a place called Nuclear Bathing, the first child to be born was to be killed and eaten, under the belief that this would benefit the subsequent siblings.

In reality, this originated from the area’s unique "marriage by capture" system.

There, many marriages weren’t solemnized with mediators or witnesses but occurred through violent raids, with men gathering friends and family to attack a woman’s village under the cover of night.

In the chaos, the women were abducted, and to reward those involved in the raid, each participant could have relations with the woman.

The so-called "groom" was the last in line.

Therefore, since the paternity of the firstborn wasn’t assured to be the groom’s, it was simply killed outright.

The evolution of the character "孟" (oldest) reflects the traces of this custom, comprising "子" (child) above "皿" (dish).

"孟" also means to be "first" in order, as seen in historical figures like Cao Mengde and Ma Mengqi, who were both the eldest in their families.

"Deceit Object·Nuclear Bathing Tripod" is thus derived from the activated concept of "dish" from this anecdote.

If one is the first child of one’s parents, one will be completely dominated by this object; as long as one is within a hundred zhangs of it, one will instantly lose all Taoist ability!

As it happens, both Wang Yuan and Huang Wu are the firstborn children of their respective parents.

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