The white filaments were absorbing the evolutionary energy from Talking Ladyâthe vast amount required for an level eight being to advance to level nine.
For the white filaments themselves, evolving to level nine likely demanded similar energy.
However, due to conversion inefficiencies, even after draining Talking Ladyâs energy, it still hadnât completed its evolutionâor perhaps, it simply hadnât absorbed enough.
Until its evolution was complete, it clearly had no intention of releasing Talking Lady.
Even after exhausting her evolutionary energy, Talking Lady herself was a top-tier level eight lifeform. The energy contained within her body was still substantial.
But it seemed the white filaments were inefficient at directly extracting energy from evolved lifeforms, which was why Talking Lady had survived this long.
Of course, Ye Zhongming preferred to believe it was Talking Ladyâs own defensive mechanisms that slowed the absorption, allowing her to cling to life.
These human evolved, however, were different. They were conscious, injured, and unlike Talking Lady, they werenât unique, mutated lifeforms. No matter how bizarre the white filaments were, they were still a variant lifeform, and human evolved were undoubtedly the best source of nourishment.
So when Achinas and the others were thrown into the cave, the white filamentsâalready having tasted the benefitsâbegan frantically draining their energy.
It was like a person who had been surviving on scraps suddenly being presented with a feast. Why would they still bother with the unappetizing leftovers?
Thus, one of the filaments wrapped around Talking Lady loosened, joining the frenzy to absorb fresh, delicious energy. Then a second one detached, followed by a thirdâŠ
Until finally, only two remained coiled around Talking Lady. She, who had once been suspended at the very center of the cave, now hung perilously close to the ground.
The surviving foreign evolved hurled the vilest curses at Ye Zhongming, but he paid them no mind. His focus was solely on Talking Lady and the distant demon crystal.
Nine-tenths.
The crystal was now nine-tenths silver. It stood on the very brink of level nine evolution.
But then came the problem that gave Ye Zhongming a headache: no matter how much he healed Achinas and the others, he couldnât make them generate energy fast enough for the filaments to absorb. This bizarre lifeform, already a thorn in his side, was now just a hairâs breadth away from evolutionâand yet, it wasnât enough.
Ye Zhongming had planned to rescue Talking Lady the moment this thing evolved to level nine.
He wasnât opposed to bringing more people, but with the filaments on the verge of evolution, the energy from level seven evolved was negligible. As for level eight onesâaside from Achinasâs group, the rest had either been killed by the female guards and devoured by warbeasts, or were still holed up in the Allied Forcesâ stronghold. Ye Zhongming and his fighters werenât foolish enough to challenge an enemy a thousand times their number with just a few hundred men.
Five level eight evolved plus one corpseâYe Zhongming had thought it would suffice. But in reality, he had underestimated the white filamentsâ appetite.
Pei Jia, the weakest of them, was the first to be drained into a desiccated husk. Then Apudu, followed by Donis.
Only Achinas and Rustig remained, and they wouldnât last much longer.
Once they were gone, the filaments would inevitably turn back to Talking Lady, the only remaining source of energy.
Ye Zhongming gritted his teeth, racking his brain for a solution.
Thenâ
The black cat moved.
It tore open its own wound and leaped into the cave.
It was offering itself in exchange for Talking Ladyâs freedom.
Earlier, when the cat entered the cave and even attacked the filaments, they ignored it. The reason was simple: the cat had already broken free once, and the filamentsâlacking true intelligence and mainly operating on instinctâsaw it as an outsider.
Or perhaps Talking Ladyâs self-imposed isolation had made the filaments perceive the cat as similar to herâsomething that, even if captured, wouldnât provide much energy. Not enough to bridge the gap to evolution.
But now things were different. The filaments were on the cusp of advancement, and the black catâs energy might be exactly what they needed.
The cat was too fast. Ye Zhongming couldnât stop it. By the time the filaments coiled around it, he could do nothing.
The silver on the demon crystal spread further.
Xia Bai suddenly grabbed Ye Zhongmingâs arm.
She didnât speak, but he understood.
Leave.
Xia Bai never denied Ye Zhongmingâs strength. With ample preparation, the King of Cloud Peak could even clash with level nine lifeforms.
But this wasnât one of those times. He had exhausted many of his trump cards in the battles against the two level-nine beings. If this mass of filaments succeeded in evolving, Ye Zhongming would be facing yet another apex predator of this world.
Even with her at his side, they would likely lose.
Xia Baiâs duty was to protect Ye Zhongmingâshe would die for him without hesitation. But right now, retreat was the wisest choice.
As for Talking Lady and the black cat? Ye Zhongming had already done more than enough in Xia Bai's eyes.
Across the cave, the entangled cat cried mournfully, pleading with Ye Zhongming not to leave.
"If we donât try⊠Iâll always regret it."
Ye Zhongming gave Xia Bai an apologetic smile. She released his arm, her massive scythe materializing in her grip.
If he wouldnât leave, they would fight or die together.
But I wonât let you die. Xia Bai thought, as she always did.
The demon crystal finally completed its transformation into pure silver as the black catâs body visibly withered. At that moment, all the filaments convulsed violently. The desiccated corpses still entangledâincluding Achinas and Rustigâwere snapped apart like brittle twigs, their remains scattering across the cave floor.
Talking Lady and the black cat were clearly under immense strain. Blood seeped from their eyes, ears, and the areas where the filaments gripped them.
Ye Zhongming and Xia Bai were forced to retreat as the filaments thickened, lashing through the cave like frenzied whips. The solid stone walls were gouged as easily as tofu.
Thenâ
The section of the wall embedding the demon crystal exploded outward. The crystal floated free, hovering like a malevolent eye, fixing its gaze on Ye Zhongming and Xia Bai.
Freshly evolved to level nine, it craved new prey.
Talking Lady and the black cat were hurled aside with two sharp snaps. The impact twisted their limbs at unnatural anglesâbones shattered, their survival uncertain.
Freed from the wall, the monstrous entity lunged at Ye Zhongming and Xia Bai.
Ye Zhongming activated his bloodline instantly, his weapon flashing as he struck at the newborn level nine horror.
But his full-powered slashâaugmented by his job skillsâwas effortlessly blocked by a single filament. Before he or Xia Bai (her wings now fully unfurled) could react, countless threads lashed out, binding them both in an inescapable grip.