hotmtlnovel Chapter 612: The Mysterious and Terrifying Energy!
Chapter 612: The Mysterious and Terrifying Energy!
sterl felt both surprised and delighted. this was the first time he had absorbed and refined a soul so smoothly, without encountering any resistance throughout the entire process.
it’s important to note that while the soul devourer sphere’s effects were terrifyingly powerful, the backlash it caused could be a deadly disaster. every time he absorbed and refined a soul, it was a test for his own soul.
this was especially true when refining the souls of powerful beings, as the backlash could even cause him to fail in the most straightforward situations. discover exclusive content at empire
but now, it seemed that sterl had found a far more perfect method for refining!
that method was to first wipe out the enemy’s soul and will using the soul prison’s eerie eyes ability, turning them into his puppets, and then proceed with the refinement. this way, even when refining the soul of a higher-level divine authority, no backlash would occur!
with this, he no longer had to face the weakness that came with refining divine souls, meaning he wouldn’t be vulnerable to a surprise attack from the enemy.
"soul prison’s eerie eyes combined with soul devourer sphere, it’s truly a flawless combination."
he couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration as he immediately began to check the rewards from the refinement.
his original high-tier soul power had been completely absorbed, and now, to his surprise, there was a noticeable increase in the high-tier soul power reserves section.
this meant that refining a silver mantis’s soul had yielded about one-tenth of the benefit of a divine soul!
"i didn’t expect it to really refine high-tier soul power!"
a smile appeared on sterl’s face. although it was just a small amount, even a tiny mosquito was still meat, after all.
moreover, if he refined all the remaining silver mantis souls, wouldn’t he be able to acquire dozens of points of high-tier soul power? that would be equivalent to the benefit of refining several divine souls, which was already quite remarkable.
he nodded in satisfaction but didn’t intend to refine all these souls just yet.
he had only just broken through one limit, and if he wanted to break through the second limit and awaken his second new talent, the amount of high-tier soul power required was undoubtedly enormous.
even if he refined all the silver mantis souls, the resulting benefit would barely make a dent in what he needed. it would be far from enough to satisfy his requirements.
given that, it was better to keep these souls for now—perhaps they could serve a greater purpose later.
after all, the combat strength of these silver mantis was not to be underestimated. in fact, in a one-on-one scenario, if used correctly, they could even injure or kill a divine being instantly!
sterl’s attention shifted back to the silver mantis in front of him.
he saw that the dozens of silver mantis, once fierce and menacing, now stood motionless like statues. their previously glowing red compound eyes had lost all consciousness and color, fading into darkness.
"as expected, although these creatures’ souls are weak, they are the essential core that drives their bodies. without their souls, no matter how powerful their bodies are, they are nothing more than useless decorations."
sterl murmured to himself. this was the terrifying aspect of the phantom purgatory ability: it was unstoppable. as long as sterl’s eyes caught a target, even a soul from a high-level divine authority would be dragged in.
if the soul could withstand the burn of soulforge fire, there would still be a chance of resistance. otherwise, it would be immediately obliterated and enslaved, becoming nothing more than a puppet that followed orders—or worse, a mere resource for his own growth, no better than a follower!
without hesitation, sterl quickly used divine power and star power to wrap one strand of the gray mist.
"it seems that after losing its soul, this mysterious, unknown power dissipates on its own. but what exactly is this power?" sterl thought, his face full of confusion as he observed it cautiously.
at that moment, his brow furrowed as he felt a sharp pain in his palm.
at first glance, the gray mist had silently corroded through the divine power and star power that enveloped his hand, leaving a large hole. a blood wound had even appeared on his palm.
"this is some powerful energy!"
he stared in shock at his hand. the quality of this gray mist was even greater than divine power! when divine power met this substance, it melted away like butter on a hot knife, vanishing instantly.
on the other hand, star power held out slightly longer, as if this substance was specifically designed to counter divine power.
immediately, sterl increased the power input to prevent a recurrence of this issue while carefully sensing the true nature of the strange gray energy.
"could it... not be some kind of energy?" sterl paused for a moment. with his various perception abilities and soul insight fully activated, he finally managed to detect the form of existence of these mysterious mists. it was as if they were composed of countless tiny insects!
"how is this possible? how can insects form some kind of energy, and one so powerful at that?"
he shook his head in disbelief, then once again focused his perception, trying to explore the essence of each tiny "insect" within the gray mist.
the mist rapidly expanded in his perception, soon enlarging to the level of each individual "insect."
he then focused on one of them, further enhancing his sensory probe.
quickly, this "insect" began to expand rapidly before him. not long later, sterl froze in surprise. on this "insect," he discovered countless smaller, identical "insects"!
"this..."
he was left speechless.
just as sterl was about to delve deeper, he suddenly lost his target. at a glance, he saw that the gray mist had vanished without a trace, evaporating into thin air.
if not for the still-clear wound on his palm, he might have even suspected that this was all just an illusion.
taking a deep breath, he felt as though he had entered a maze, a foggy abyss that was impossible to unravel.
that strand of gray mist had disappeared right under his nose, without any fluctuation in energy. even the tiny "insects" that formed this energy had disappeared completely.
immediately, his powerful vitality and recovery abilities began working on the wound on his palm, rapidly healing it.
however, to sterl’s shock, there seemed to be a faint trace of residual power still lingering in the wound, crazily consuming his vitality. even with his remarkable healing abilities, it took several seconds to completely restore the injury.
as for the consumption...
sterl felt it and his expression immediately turned a bit grim.