Chapter 171: The Altar of the Long-Haired Monster

The golden wheel of creation spiritual power revolved around the towering, long-haired monster, absorbing the densest wisps of black qi emanating from it.

The long-haired behemoth trembled violently as if it were a living creature. Enveloped by the wildly fluttering black fur, it raised its head toward the heavens, and a painful roar seemed to burst from its maw.

Inside the sealed, tunnel-like aperture, Lin Zhan was naturally aware that the creation spiritual wheel—so vital to his very life—had slipped away on its own accord. Yet, his entire body was bound by some mysterious restraint, rendering him utterly immobile and powerless to alter the situation.

A state of enlightenment? At a time like this, what infernal use was enlightenment? He could only sit cross-legged there, face-to-face with Shui Xinxin, staring at each other in blank dismay.

Shui Xinxin made frantic grimaces, equally too terrified to move a muscle, lest she disturb some unimaginable existence and ruin Lin Zhan’s cultivation.

The creation spiritual wheel was a stream of spiritual energy that had formed within Lin Zhan’s body after he practiced the first page of the *True Scripture of Creation* left behind by the Venerable Dayanyan. In actual combat, it was a remarkably ferocious and formidable energy.

According to the *True Scripture of Creation*, the initial awakening on the first page formed the golden wheel of spiritual power, while the intermediate stage of "winds rising and waters churning" brought forth the tidal surges of spiritual power.

At this moment, the incantation for the advanced stage of the first page flashed with brilliant golden light within Lin Zhan’s sea of consciousness—Advanced Stage: Thunderous Might!

This Thunderous Might required the convergence of a massive amount of creation power to successfully refine.

If the creation spiritual wheel and the tidal surges of spiritual power were now augmented with Thunderous Might, their might would multiply exponentially.

Lin Zhan’s spiritual consciousness seemed to unknowingly step into an entirely new realm. In that domain, every casual gesture carried the swiftness of lightning and wind, and every movement was imbued with intense electromagnetic induction. Electric arcs and sparks crackled and hissed around his entire body, making him feel as though he were the supreme lord of thunder between heaven and earth, with flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder entirely under his control.

In the icy realm of the Blue Ice World, Lin Zhan had yet to encounter thunder or stormy weather, for the macro-environment of this world was vastly different from that of his homeland. The sun, moon, and stars were not the original ones he knew.

Consequently, wind, rain, clouds, gales, rainstorms, the sunrise in the east and sunset in the west, as well as the mountains, rivers, and oceans, completely subverted all his past perceptions.

To be able to survive until now in such a world was, upon reflection, truly no easy feat.

Yet, he constantly faced various crises. These crises included the environment, various living and lifeless entities in nature, and, of course, other humans.

Humans were by far the most threatening category among all these crises.

At this moment, with the creation spiritual wheel having left his body, Lin Zhan was paradoxically not the most worried person. If this was an accident, worrying was utterly useless.

While his spiritual consciousness carefully comprehended the artistic conception of Thunderous Might, he also kept a watchful eye on the situation of the creation spiritual wheel near the long-haired fiend.

Right now, the creation spiritual wheel was absorbing the black wind at an unprecedented speed, swallowing it like a colossal whale gulping down the sea, turning nothing away.

Having absorbed so much black qi, the golden light of the entire creation spiritual wheel not only remained completely uncorroded, but instead grew increasingly brilliant, and its volume swelled several times over. Originally, its size only allowed it to circle around the long-haired monster; but now, it hovered directly above the monster's head, wildly devouring the black wind and qi while resonating from afar with the Taotie totem inscriptions on the cavern ceiling, absorbing the golden light of the seals upon them.

The black wind was formed from the black fur of the long-haired monster. Following the ravages of the black wind and the absorption by the golden wheel of creation, the black fur gradually grew thinner and shorter, undergoing changes visible to the naked eye.

Finally, after reaching a peak, the black wind gradually subsided, and the terrifying, howling, and raging commotion slowly faded away.

The painful roars emanating from the long-haired monster’s mouth also gradually calmed down...

Lin Zhan finally saw the golden wheel of creation wobbling as it rotated, flying back toward his direction like an overfed, chubby giant. Still, it managed to arrive smoothly, fully condensed once more, and plunged straight back into his body.

This caused Lin Zhan to shudder, almost throwing his internal vital breath into disarray, for the energy contained within the golden wheel of creation was simply too immense, catching him off guard. It was like reaching out to catch something expecting it to be light, only for it to plunge downward with crushing weight the moment it touched one's hands, entirely unprepared.

Pure, vast, and seemingly pregnant with a terrifying energy—this was the sensation the golden wheel of creation imparted to him.

"I’ve struck it rich! Haha!" Amidst his pleasant surprise, Lin Zhan discovered that the previous restraint binding his body had vanished, replaced by a sense of lightness and exhilaration.

He leaped to his feet, a movement that was immediately accompanied by a few shrill screams!

"Ah... Lin Zhan... why did you suddenly spring up like that? You scared me to death, wuwu..." Shui Xinxin had genuinely been startled out of her wits.

Her nerves had been wound tightly, and such sudden movements were exceptionally nerve-wracking.

Not only Shui Xinxin, but Fang Daguang and his companions, as well as Qin Qingxuan and the others, were all startled to varying degrees.

This was rather awkward. Lin Zhan rubbed the back of his head, gave a dry cough and a small laugh: "It seems the black wind has stopped..."

Putting away the white pagoda, Lin Zhan took the lead and stepped forward. One by one, heads crowded around him, gazing outward through the aperture.

The long-haired monster’s entire body had shrunk by more than half. Because of the disappearance of that black fur, it now looked far more majestic and imposing than before. Its head no longer gazed upward, but instead stared levelly at a certain spot on the rock wall, its expression calm and serene.

Suddenly, yet another change occurred.

From the surrounding apertures in the cavern walls, figures wrapped in black fur emerged one after another—these were the small black-furred monsters Lin Zhan had seen twice before.

The first time, they had been blown past by the wind; the second time, while he was dueling with Cheng Chong, these little monsters had scattered like birds and beasts from afar and gone into hiding.

So, they turned out to be of the same family as this large long-haired monster. No wonder he had always found it somewhat familiar upon first seeing the giant beast.

Lin Zhan signaled for everyone to remain completely still to see what these little monsters intended to do.

At this moment, every single black-furred little monster seemed to cast a glance toward Lin Zhan's side first, before leaping out of the apertures and agilely climbing and jumping down!

Right now, the black mist beneath the feet of the long-haired monster had completely dissipated, revealing a cluster of buildings below—villages and houses packed closely together could be faintly discerned.

The spot where the long-haired monster stood was a large plaza, resembling the layout of an altar.

The little monsters rushed forward like a tidal wave, countless in number, until they finally crammed the entire plaza at the giant's feet. They prostrated themselves in worship, emitting strange sounds from their mouths.

This scene made Lin Zhan and the others’ hair stand on end. They truly had no idea where all these little monsters had been hiding previously—there were simply far too many of them!

Then, an even more miraculous scene unfolded. After prostrating themselves for several breaths, one of the little monsters stood up first. At the exact moment his body rose, a beam of golden light streaming down from the totem inscriptions on the cavern ceiling enveloped him. Instantly, all the black fur shed from the little monster’s body, revealing skin as smooth and fair as that of the human race...