641 Divine Consciousness! (1/2)

Wang Baole set aside the inner turmoil he felt as he surveyed his surroundings. He lifted his right hand. With a sudden wave, a dozen puppets appeared and spread out. As they searched the city ruins, Wang Baole began to wander around the city as well. He stared at the buildings and made his way towards the area that gave off the strongest Dark Sect aura.

He could tell that the city had housed quite a number of residents. A careful inspection of the clues left around him indicated that the city's residents had been prepared for the calamity that had befallen them. However, it was clear that they had still been powerless in the face of such a catastrophe. Everyone had perished. Even the giant had been cleaved into two.

A sense of loss unfurled inside Wang Baole. He shook his head and approached the center of the city ruins. Wang Baole took but a few steps before he suddenly froze in his tracks. There was a solemn look in his eyes.

One of the dozen puppets he had let out earlier had just severed its connection with him without any prior warning.

Wang Baole immediately went on high alert. He headed swiftly towards the last known location of that puppet. As he neared it, he caught sight of the puppet lying motionlessly in a corner.

Wang Baole didn't approach the puppet immediately. He narrowed his eyes, then raised his right hand and waved. A flying sword dashed through the air towards the puppet. As it drew near, the puppet suddenly jerked and flipped itself over. A red light shot out under it, evading the flying sword as it shrieked and headed straight for Wang Baole's face.

It seemed to sense the Dark Fire outside Wang Baole's body as soon as it approached. The red light shrunk back hastily as if it was trying to escape.

It was fast, but Wang Baole had his Flame Snatch Thearch Armor on. He lifted his right hand and, with a grab, caught the red light.

The red light turned out to be some kind of worm. It wasn't a corpse but an actual living creature. It wriggled in Wang Baole's hand continuously. There was a huge opening on its head, from which fluids continued to escape. Black teeth lined the opening. It roared and bared its teeth at Wang Baole as it struggled violently to break free from Wang Baole's grip.

But its trembling body gave away its fear. The creature had shrunk away from Wang Baole earlier, a clear indication of its fear of fire!

Wang Baole fell into a deep contemplation. His eyes landed on the puppet's back, and he noticed a nick. The puppet must have been attacked by the worm while searching the area. The worm had pierced straight through its body and broken its core.

It doesn't seem very strong, Wang Baole thought, then pinched tightly with his armored hand. The worm shrieked, but its body wasn't crushed instantly. Wang Baole's pupils contracted, and a thought flickered in his head. His Dark Fire drew near the worm, which caused the creature to begin to scream more loudly. It started to burn as soon as the Dark Fire enveloped it, turning to dust within Wang Baole's armored palm.

The cries that the worm had made before its final breath echoed in the silence. The earth trembled slightly when it turned to dust. Even the buildings around Wang Baole shook. Within a blink of an eye—from every nook and cranny of every building, from the ground, and from the long meandering mountain-like skeletal arm in the distance—masses of red worms started to appear!

Some of them were as tiny as the one that he had caught, while others were hundreds of feet long. The most terrifying one came from the distant mountain. It was a thousand feet long and roared as it dug its way out. It stared straight at Wang Baole.

One could hardly see the city ruins and the corpses. Instead, they had been replaced with countless worms. They were like hair sprouting out from the giant's body, wriggling without stop and covering everything on land.

Wang Baole narrowed his eyes as he stared at the countless red worms surrounding him. He felt the connection he had with the puppets he had released earlier snap, one by one.

”These red worms look like… body hair?” Wang Baole shook his head. He knew nothing about these creatures, but he wasn't bothered. He had seen evidence of his Dark Fire's power over these worms. He took a deep breath, then allowed the Dark Fire inside his body to spread outwards. The black fires rumbled as they surged outwards, growing wilder and fiercer, and they exuded an iciness that turned the ground to frost.

The Dark Fire proved effective against the worms. All around him, the worms began to shriek and retreat. Even the largest worm on the giant's arm in the distance shivered and recoiled.

Having once again ascertained the effectiveness of the Dark Fire, Wang Baole began to march forward. None of the worms dared draw near them. They shrank back, clearing a path for Wang Baole, allowing him to reach the center of the city smoothly.

There was… a huge public square that was sunken in!