Otherworldly Desert Dust

"I'm implanting martial arts into them now; soon, they'll all become Super Chun Li," Wang Rui said as he extended his palm.

A streak of mechanical soul light appeared on his hand, and one by one, objects resembling soul chips flew into the bodies of the Vine Beauties. Instantly, it was as if their entire skeletal structures and bloodlines had been activated. A layer of silvery glow enveloped their bodies, exuding resilience and strength.

Wu Hen was completely taken aback, not expecting a mechanic to be capable of capturing and transforming on the spot. He was left dumbfounded.

Wang Rui, on the other hand, was rather pleased with himself. This was a skill he had mastered not long ago. As a controller who hid behind mechanical beasts and a Tactile Spiritual Awakened, he elevated combat power in such a unique way.

"Gasp!!!!!!"

Suddenly, a massive cannibal earthworm tunneled up from beneath the soil. This cannibal earthworm was as formidable as an ocean dragon, opening its mouth wide to swallow an activated Vine Beauty whole.

Wu Hen heard the metallic sound of compression, as if a piece of machinery was tossed into a shredder.

"It's the symbiotic cannibal earthworms; there are many beneath our feet!" Wu Hen quickly warned.

He raised his hand once again, releasing scorching Fiery Flame Clouds. The flames surged towards the earthworm that had emerged, but the creature's agility exceeded expectations. After devouring the Vine Beauty, it instantly retreated underground, rendering Wu Hen's fiery attack futile.

Wang Rui hastily ducked into a safe position, then began using his tactile resonance to manipulate the transformed Vine Beauties. The Vine Beauties quickly formed ranks, morphing into Female Fighters. Having been implanted with martial arts memories, their movements, strength, and techniques improved drastically.

"Boom!!"

Suddenly, a large section of the ground caved in, revealing a gaping pit. Within the pit, numerous symbiotic cannibal earthworms erupted.

Wu Hen and Wang Rui dodged in time, while the Vine Beauties plummeted down. Yet, instead of losing their balance, they began fighting fiercely against the symbiotic cannibal earthworms.

Being vine-bodied, their vine arms could transform into Vine Spears and vine ropes or unleash thorn-like spikes across their bodies.

The Vine Beauties understood cooperative tactics as well. Some grew vine shields, wielding the defensive equipment to block the earthworms' attacks, while the faster, stronger Beauties took responsibility for slaying. In the skirmish, half of the earthworms were swiftly chopped apart.

"Slash!"

The previously devoured Vine Beauty burst forth from the earthworm's belly, drenched in its steaming blood. She rejoined the ranks of the Vine Female Fighters, valiant like a general who combined elegance with raw strength.

Earlier, Wu Hen had been considering ways to use his flames to roast the earthworms hiding underground. Witnessing the ferocity of Wang Rui's Vine Supermodels, he couldn't help but see Wang Rui in a new light. Forget about his lackadaisical personality; over the years, Wang Rui had made significant progress in the field of Mechanical Beast Mastery. With only scrap and limited resources, he had managed to assemble a capable fighting squad in short order.

"Nicely done, Old Wang," Wu Hen praised without hesitation.

The fiercer Wang Rui acted, the less Wu Hen himself needed to expose his abilities—much to the frustration of the Black Navigators lurking nearby.

"My Supermodel Female Warrior squad can still evolve. I'm slowly uploading higher-level combat memories into them... but the download speed is a bit slow," Wang Rui said.

"These earthworms share a collective brain. Be careful; they're not just shrimp soldiers and crab generals," Wu Hen reminded.

If Wang Rui could handle the symbiotic mushrooms and earthworms, Wu Hen saw no need to push himself excessively.

Meanwhile, his small clone was continually absorbing Fire Spiritual Factors, evolving steadily. Once the Fire God Body was fully forged, even if thousands of "Cultivators" converged from miles around, he could incinerate them all with a single blaze.

"Wu Hen, the Soul Nesting Wood is sprouting. The aura it's releasing will attract more ferocious otherworldly predators," Gao Yu Yan warned.

"It's growing this fast?" Wang Rui remarked in surprise. Turning to look, he saw that the area where the Soul Nesting Wood had been planted now featured a sea-blue sprout. Protected by a faint layer of firefly light, it was growing visibly by the second.

"The tree crab seems to be feeding it," Wu Hen noted, pointing to the tree crab corpse he'd killed. Its body was decomposing rapidly, along with the other predatory beasts grafted to it.

"That's great; it speeds up the maturation of the little Soul Nesting Wood," Wang Rui replied.

After the earthworms were slain, their corpses also swiftly decomposed. These creatures stormed in droves, failing to breach the Vine Beauties' defense wall and instead inadvertently aiding the Soul Nesting Wood by tilling soil and turning their bodies into fertilizer.

"Roar roar roar~~~~~~~~~"

"Wail wail wail~~~~~"

"Howl howl howl!!!!!!"

As fragrant air filled the atmosphere, it resembled the maturation of an ancient immortal fruit, instantly drawing countless demonic cultivators eager to claim eternal life. None were willing to miss the rare opportunity.

Their desires overwhelmed their rationality. Meanwhile, the Plant Kings amplified the frenzy by emitting countless biological signals. The humble Soul Nesting Wood had ignited a bloody storm in this jungle realm. Adding to the turmoil, the Black Navigators manipulated the chaos from behind, transforming an ordinary planting mission into a Chaotic Scene worthy of legend.

Before long, Wu Hen's focus shifted to the Phoenix Bees that had arrived. Swarming in droves, they blazed across the horizon as fiery clouds of breathtaking magnificence, their golden radiance emanating a sense of divinity.

"What are those?" Wang Rui asked, pointing at the vast fiery clouds with curiosity.

"Bees," Wu Hen replied.

A few minutes later, the vanguard of the Phoenix Bees descended. Each creature was as large as an adult peacock, adorned in gold-plated fire feathers with long Phoenix Tail Needles at their rear. Their blazing presence radiated immense pressure.

"You call those bees?? More like offspring from a Queen Bee mating with a male phoenix!" Wang Rui quipped.

With their massive size and fierce fiery momentum, every Phoenix Bee trailed flames tens of meters long. The wing-powered storms they formed swept for miles, an awe-inspiring sight.

"They're bees by nature. My fire magic isn't particularly effective against them," Wu Hen said.

"My Vine Beauties are weak against them too. They'll be burned to ashes!" Wang Rui lamented, unwilling to see his recent "harem" destroyed so quickly.

"Leave it to me," Gao Yu Yan volunteered.

Wu Hen and Wang Rui decisively stepped back to let Gao Yu Yan take the stage.