Pretending To Be A Boss

And Nether Valley did indeed give him a very unsettling feeling.

Tang Xian had been feeling uneasy these past few days.

The mining area was a place full of uncertainty. In places untouched by humans, could there exist creatures unknown not only to humans but also unrecorded by the Stele?

After delving into Nether Valley, that uneasy feeling intensified.

In the distance, Tang Xian could sense that, amidst the valley's purple poison fog, there seemed to be some kind of majestic construction.

He could only see its outline through the veil of fog, but even so, Tang Xian felt the enormity of the building, as if it were the dwelling of some huge creature.

Why would such a structure exist in a Nether Valley roamed by Lei Xiao?

Tang Xian faintly felt that this trip to Nether Valley might bring about some unexpected events.

The group walked toward the direction of the dense fog for about ten minutes, the rotten stench in the air becoming increasingly intense and pungent, making even Bai Mansheng and Tang Xiaojiu, who were protected by the divine fog, feel nauseous and sick.

On the contrary, Tang Xian, who had the strongest sense of smell, wasn't affected at all.

But his brows were deeply furrowed.

"This is poison fog, its scent is very complex. You'd better not inhale too much of it. The corpses of the animals around here, obviously, weren't killed by ferocious beasts but were poisoned to death."

Tang Xian moved to the front of the group, and with a gentle touch of Bai Mansheng's finger, a light filled with divine meaning circulated among them.

Tang Xiaojiu and Yuanwu immediately felt much better.

"Worthy of being a Nuwa Emperor. This poison could kill many elite-level creatures, but it doesn't affect you," Tang Xian said.

"Aren't you the same?" Bai Mansheng said.

Tang Xian nodded. After killing the source of the epidemic and taking its abilities, he felt as if he were immune to all poisons.

Even his adaptability to various negative states had significantly increased.

Not long after, Tang Xian stopped. They had ventured deep into the thick fog.

All four stared at the huge building, still only visible by its outline, with some confusion.

The dense fog not only obscured sight but also blocked scent. Surrounded by the heavy mist, Tang Xian's nostrils were filled only with the pungent rot and poison fog, unable to employ his powerful sense of smell to sense anything about the huge construction.

"What exactly is this place?" Bai Mansheng asked.

Tang Xian shook his head. This was Nether Valley, a place that only appeared in travelogues. To penetrate deeper into it, they would have to pass through many yellow zones and a red zone.

Even with Judgment Knights, humans dared not venture recklessly into it.

But Tang Xian hadn't expected that within Nether Valley, there would be such a majestic and enormous structure.

He said with some gravity,

"We will not proceed further today. Prepare to take a detour around this place and look for some creatures around here to scout for information."

Bai Mansheng was surprised; he hadn't expected Tang Xian to choose to take a detour.

Tang Xian stared thoughtfully at the large building.

According to the intelligence received before, in the holy lands of several courts, there were powerful Calamity-level boss creatures. These Calamity-level bosses were extremely powerful, and on par with Tang Feiji.

Looking at the majestic structure before him, Tang Xian, for some reason, thought of the Zudun Giants. These huge yet simpleminded creatures seemed to be employed by the Myriad Beasts Court to build enormous castles in the holy lands.

Now Tang Xian naturally wondered... in their search for Lei Xiao, had they come upon another holy land of the courts?

"This place might be a stronghold for the Myriad Beasts Court. If that's the case, we would encounter at least one or two Judgment Chiefs here," he surmised.

The power of Taotie left Tang Xian uneasy. Tang Xiaojiu and Yuanwu were clearly unable to handle a Calamity-level battle, and Bai Mansheng was not a pure combat type amongst the Myriad Beasts.

After careful consideration, Tang Xian decided to be prudent for now, at least until they could ascertain exactly what kind of "Mountain King" was entrenched here.

Once he made up his mind, he didn't hesitate to lead the three others slowly away from Nether Valley. After leaving Nether Valley, that unsettling oppressive sensation immediately diminished significantly.

Focusing on the various scents here, Tang Xian suddenly realized this place didn't quite seem like a holy land, but more like a prison.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but it seemed as if some strange creatures were incarcerated within. On one hand, he felt uneasy, but on the other hand, he was also somewhat expectant.

…

...

Dim, cold, and damp. In the center of an enormous and empty dungeon, an odd creature was shackled by what looked like red crystal manacles.

The "hybrid" awoke. He had not been asleep for long; a sense of hunger soon brought him to consciousness.

As a being that seemed to be an evolved form of Lei Xiao, his stature was quite "petite". He was no larger than an average adult human.

His entire body was covered in black scales, with horns on his head, giving him somewhat of an infernal demon vibe.

He had no name. He once had a name among the Lei Xiao, but now it was meaningless.

The long-eared ancient apes called him a hybrid.

That's because the hybrid really was a mixture of various creatures.

Why a Lei Xiao would grow horns, why the skin of a Lei Xiao was as dark as a demon's, and even why Lei Xiao, who originally could not humanize through crystallization, could transform into a human—the long-eared ancient apes were trying to unravel many such mysteries.

After all, they were responsible for this experiment. In this process, the hybrid's body had undergone countless cycles of metamorphosis.

Unlike the Human World, where humans can cultivate test subjects in nutrient pods,

the long-eared ancient apes of the Myriad Beasts Realm, who had mastered some of Eden's knowledge, used beast pouches to serve a similar purpose.

Various creatures' blood was injected into the beast pouches during this process.

That nine-tailed fox mutated this way, and when it emerged from its cocoon, the court began planning to take full control over the fox clan.

But the hybrid was different. As a Lei Xiao, a creature with extreme vitality, no matter how long he stayed in the beast pouch or how much blood from various creatures was injected, it seemed to have no effect on him.

The hybrid had been to many places.

He was first at Sacred Mountain, then transferred to another holy place for continued research by the long-eared ancient apes. Finally, he arrived at Nether Valley, the court's third holy land.

In this place reeking of death, he was both an experimental subject and a prisoner of the court.

The reason for his transfer here was because the blood from at least a dozen powerful creatures had failed to elicit any reaction in the hybrid, but one day, without any experimentation—a reaction of evolution occurred in the Lei Xiao.

He let out a low roar like a fiend from hell; his strength was far beyond any ordinary Lei Xiao, yet his voice carried a hint of human agony.

He was furious, but was quickly subdued by the Judgment Chiefs of the court.

It was originally feared that an out-of-control evolving Lei Xiao might be unmanageable, but strangely, the hybrid was slow.

It was as if the most prized power of the Lei Xiao was taken away or rather, devoured by a more domineering force.

After that day, he was henceforth known as the hybrid.

Because the long-eared ancient apes found too many traits of different creatures in him.

They originally intended to create an ultimate creature, with the speed of Lei Xiao, coupled with the terrifying attack power of other strong creatures.

The hybrid's abilities seemed mediocre in all aspects, fluctuating just above or below a purple tier, not at the extreme even within his tier, although he surpassed the Lei Xiao, he no longer possessed their terrifying speed.

To the long-eared ancient apes, this didn't seem like evolution at all but rather a degradation, an inferior failure.

But they quickly discovered—

The hybrid's constitution was very strange.

No matter what torment he experienced, no matter how gruesome the wounds the two Judgment Chiefs inflicted on him, he seemed to feel nothing. Those wounds healed in an instant, with a speed that was hard to imagine.

It was as if the extraordinary speed of the Lei Xiao had shifted to another attribute altogether.

The long-eared ancient apes had of course studied some creatures with strong vitality, and even had data on the Judgment Chief Xuan Bird.

But unlike the phoenix, the Xuan Bird, when facing death, seemed to wander between the Netherworld and reality, not simply relying on strong vitality for recovery.

The hybrid's immortality, however, relied solely on an unimaginably strong regenerative force.

The hybrid was hungry, as always, constantly pulling on the chains, letting out pained howls.

The guards from the Myriad Beasts outside the dungeon paid no mind to his cries, having long since grown accustomed to them.

After a long time, the hybrid quieted down again, his expression weary. He had no idea what his fate was, or for how long he would be toyed with by those apes of the Myriad Beasts' court.

What kind of monster would he end up becoming eventually?