Chapter 263: South Sea Jiao

Feng Ling continued the incubation.

To expose as much of the Black Flood Dragon’s body as possible, she spared no expense with her own energy!

—Incubating a life form required not only a Card and flesh and blood, but also a great deal of energy.

Fortunately, she had been deliberately storing up energy for a long time in preparation for this Maze trip. Plus, she could replenish her energy by worshipping the gods inside the Maze, so her reserves were currently full.

Otherwise, absorbing such a massive amount of flesh would have led to severe depletion, and might have even endangered her life.

Feng Ling could feel her energy draining away rapidly.

Like a mother giving birth, she had mobilized every function of her body and exhausted all her strength. Her second form was gradually becoming impossible to maintain.

At the same time, she could hear a cacophony of desperate wishes:

“I don’t want to die! I want to live!”

“I want to get stronger! I want to get stronger!”

“I want money! Lots and lots of money!”

Countless voices assaulted Feng Ling’s mind, and blurry hallucinations even began to appear before her eyes.

One moment she saw bustling streets, the next a temple overflowing with incense smoke, and then she saw the Alien Species that had invaded the Maze. They wore human skin, struggling and screaming from within the flesh: ‘I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!’

She also saw a black Jiao Long coiled upon a divine altar.

It had black scales, a black mane, black horns, and a pair of black eyes.

The Black Flood Dragon stared right at her, sending a telepathic plea: ‘Kill me—’

Feng Ling gritted her teeth and shook her head hard. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that the Card had absorbed nearly a third of the monster’s flesh, revealing the Black Flood Dragon’s two front claws. She immediately shouted, “The rope!!!”

Ye Zheng had been watching from the side like a hawk. She lunged forward and, without a second thought, tightly bound the Black Flood Dragon’s claws!

“Pull with all your might!!!” Ye Zheng yelled to Xu Yiming and the others over her shoulder.

Everyone hauled on the rope together!

The monster’s flesh twitched, convulsed, and contracted violently! As the Black Flood Dragon was gradually peeled away from its body, the monster shrieked a bizarre, high-pitched wail, like the sharpest whistle!

Spurred by the sound, countless Mouse Monsters swarmed in, charging toward the Black Flood Dragon!

They piled on top of each other like a human pyramid, pressing down on the Black Flood Dragon’s body in an attempt to wrest control of it from Ye Zheng!

One of the Mouse Monsters opened its mouth and lunged at Ye Zheng. Xu Yiming, aghast, didn’t dare let go of the rope, so he used his own body as a weapon and slammed himself into the Mouse Monster!

Even more Mouse Monsters pounced!

There were just too many, many, many Mouse Monsters!

The two sides were like in a tug-of-war!

Ye Zheng, having reached her limit, finally unleashed her Spiritual Suppression!

Her spiritual power washed over the area like a tidal wave. The nearby Mouse Monsters instantly collapsed, limp, but the others were also affected. They trembled uncontrollably, unable to keep their grip on the rope.

Not far away, Feng Ling was already on the verge of exhaustion. Struck by Ye Zheng’s spiritual power, she couldn’t hold on any longer. Her second form dissipated, and her body reverted to its normal state.

The weakened monster was also unable to resist Ye Zheng’s Spiritual Suppression, and even its wails grew fainter.

Ye Zheng possessed the Shadow Tiger’s gene. In her agitated state, she let out a tiger’s roar as her body suddenly grew in size. Then, with one hand, she grabbed Feng Ling, and with her other claw, she scooped up the Black Flood Dragon from the ground and sprinted toward the safe house!

She couldn’t spare a thought for the remaining three.

There was truly no way she could have.

After Ye Zheng had run about twenty meters, the effect of her spiritual power weakened, and Xu Yiming, Huangfu Miaomiao, and Li Qing finally recovered.

They scrambled toward the safe house!

The monster and the mice pursued them relentlessly!

Huangfu Miaomiao screamed, “AHHHH! They’re biting my heels!”

Terrified, she transformed into her Ghost Shadow Form and zipped a great distance away in a flash.

Xu Yiming hastily grabbed Li Qing’s arm and leaped with all his might! He covered dozens of meters in a single bound, finally shaking off the Mouse Monsters behind them!

Everyone regrouped in the chaos of the safe house. They had barely caught their breath when hordes of Mouse Monsters arrived at the door!

They couldn’t get in, so they crowded the door and windows. Some clung to the walls, their claws making scraping sounds. SCRAPE. SCRAPE.

Xu Yiming let out a breath as if he’d just survived a catastrophe. He scanned the room and asked, “Is everyone in?”

Ye Zheng turned and replied, “The Pet Feng Ling incubated didn’t make it in.”

“Huh?” Xu Yiming froze. He turned to look outside the safe house. The doors and windows were swarmed with a black mass of Mouse Monsters. Judging by the commotion, it sounded as if every Mouse Monster in the entire Maze had come.

Feng Ling stood up, holding her head. “…They’re not in any danger for now,” she said slowly. “Let’s deal with the Maze Master first.”

Everyone’s gaze focused on the Black Flood Dragon in the room.

This was a Jiao Long that was over twenty meters long. It was extremely thin and slender; if not for its four claws, it would have looked like a giant black snake at first glance.

Fleshy tumors clung to its body, leaving behind bloody wounds from being torn off. The tumors themselves seemed to have a life of their own, trembling as they hung from its scales.

Feng Ling asked Huangfu Miaomiao, “Are you sure this is the Maze Master?”

“Yes, that’s it!” Huangfu Miaomiao nodded emphatically. “Its name is displayed as South Sea Jiao.”

“How did the Maze Master end up like this…” Feng Ling looked at the half-dead Black Flood Dragon before her, her feelings complicated.

Ye Zheng tapped the Black Flood Dragon’s body with one of her spider legs. The scales were rock-hard.

“How are we supposed to kill this?” Ye Zheng frowned. “Feng Ling, can you use your ability to incubate it again?”

Feng Ling couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “A new mother needs time to recover after giving birth. You won’t even let me catch my breath, and you want me to go through that again?”

“Do you have a better idea?” Ye Zheng asked her.

Just then, as if it had heard their complaints, the Black Flood Dragon on the floor moved its head slightly. With great difficulty, it rolled onto its side, exposing its throat.

Its telepathic voice came through once more: ‘Kill me. Please… kill me…’

Everyone in the room heard it.

They were all in disbelief.

Ye Zheng was the first to voice her doubts, muttering with a frown, “Could this be a trap?”

Feng Ling walked over to the Black Flood Dragon and crouched down. After a moment of observation, she reached out and gently touched the fine scales on its throat. The scales in this spot were indeed much softer.

Feng Ling thought for two seconds, then turned and beckoned to Huangfu Miaomiao. “You kill it. Use that Iron Cone you got from the treasure box and give it a quick death.”

‘The points from the Maze Master should be substantial.’

Huangfu Miaomiao took out the Iron Cone and nervously approached Feng Ling. “Are we… are we really killing it?”

Feng Ling thought for a moment. “Or do you want to kowtow a few times before you kill it?”

In a sense, the Black Flood Dragon was the god of this Maze. All the wishes were gathered within its body. Feng Ling felt that kowtowing a few times wouldn’t be excessive.

“Just kill it. It’s in so much pain that it has no will to live,” Li Qing said, his face full of pity. “The system wanted to create a god in this Maze. The god consumes offerings to fulfill the Believers’ wishes, but wishes are infinite… The limited resources of the Maze can’t satisfy infinite wishes. It’s trapped in this cycle. Only death can free it.”

Feng Ling asked him curiously, “Maze Masters can feel pain?”

Li Qing nodded, his expression somber. “Of course. The system creates life, not machines.”

Feng Ling looked at the Black Flood Dragon on the floor again. In its pitch-black eyes, she saw despair for life and an infinite weariness of this world.

“How pitiful.” Feng Ling grabbed Huangfu Miaomiao’s hand, the one holding the Iron Cone, and swiftly plunged it into the Black Flood Dragon’s throat, then pulled it out—