Chapter 48 - 47: Infinite Grafting
The old man looked helplessly at the giant and said, "I’m old enough to have witnessed the invincible power of the Prophet Hundred Phases."
"You can’t possibly comprehend its abilities. I will plead with the Leader again in a moment."
Hearing the old man’s words, the group realized just how terrifying the Prophet Hundred Phases was.
But a question arose in Mo Ling’s mind.
’Theseus Cell organisms don’t have transplant rejection reactions?’
Normal cellular organisms treat foreign organs as alien components.
After the immune system identifies it, the recipient will launch an attack to destroy and eliminate the foreign object, triggering an immune response.
But Theseus Cells, due to their identical composition, cleverly circumvent this rejection.
The Transparent Race People happened to discover this property and used it to create "Hundred Phases."
’They probably only know of this property, not the principles behind it.’
’Could a product of such forced grafting really possess such powerful abilities?’
Mo Ling was full of doubt.
However, what happened next put the power of the ancient war machine on full display.
The traitor who had been fighting the Flesh Race People was quickly beaten to the ground, reverting to a pool of liquid.
The Flesh Race People charged toward the Prophet Hundred Phases once again.
They flapped their wings, flew into the air, and assailed the giant from all directions.
But the Prophet Hundred Phases was in no hurry. A liquid tentacle shot out from its left shoulder, transforming into a crimson deer’s head.
A golden light glinted in the deer’s eyes, and a swarm of golden flying insects suddenly burst from its mouth, engulfing the Flesh Race People attacking from the left.
The moment the golden insects touched the skin of the Flesh Race People, they instantly erupted in fierce flames, turning the Flesh Race People to ash.
Then the giant raised its right hand, which hardened into one of the thick vines commonly seen throughout the Underworld.
With a swing of its body, the vine shot out to entangle the Flesh Race People on the right.
A member of the Flesh Race who couldn’t dodge in time was ensnared by the vine. With a squeeze, they instantly exploded.
Some of the more agile Flesh Race People dodged the lashing vine, but a flower bud suddenly blossomed at its tip.
Multicolored petals bloomed rapidly, and from the center of the blossoming flower, yet another bud grew.
The blooming of the buds repeated, one layer upon another.
But the blooming flowers grew increasingly bizarre, with strange creature skin and scales appearing on their petals.
The constantly blooming cluster of flowers grew toward the fleeing Flesh Race People, giving chase through the air.
Realizing something was wrong, the Flesh Race person quickly dodged, but the flower bud closed in.
A long, jet-black needle suddenly shot out from the bud and stabbed into the fleeing Flesh Race person.
After the thin needle pierced their body, the Flesh Race person’s eyes widened. Paralyzed in mid-air, they soon stopped moving and fell to the ground.
Their body began to swell erratically.
Before long, their wings suddenly turned black and withered away, and a zipper-like opening appeared on their back.
Butterflies emerged from the opening one by one, flapping their wings and flying into the air.
The butterflies flew to the giant’s side and merged into its liquid-like long hair.
The remaining Flesh Race People no longer dared to act rashly, retreating to a safe distance.
The butterflies dancing through the sky were fantastical and beautiful, but at this moment, no one was in the mood to appreciate the view.
Seeing this, the members of the squad cautiously retreated toward the edge of the Temple, afraid the butterflies would touch them.
’It’s that terrifying?’
"This is the Prophet Hundred Phases." The old man watched the butterflies and murmured, "These are all creatures that the Hundred Phases Team once grafted."
A soldier said in shock, "I’ve seen that kind of deer before. It’s called an Insect Deer. They raise many kinds of insects inside their bodies and use them to hunt. The older they get, the more parasites they have."
The old Transparent Race man nodded. "That was once a Flesh Race creature. It was infected, became a Transparent Race creature, and was then grafted by Hundred Phases."
The soldier asked, confused, "But what are those burning insects? I’ve never seen an Insect Deer with that kind of parasite."
"Water-Splashing Moths. They’re a species of moth that carries intense heat, but they like to dive into water. We have them in our sealed-off zones," another soldier in the know explained.
’What a mishmash.’
Mo Ling watched these creatures he had never seen before, his heart filled with shock.
’Just how many creatures has the Prophet Hundred Phases grafted?’
A soldier asked the old man.
"All of them," the old man said calmly. "Every known creature in the Underworld, from the largest beast to the smallest insect, has been grafted."
"And it isn’t simple grafting, merely taking a creature’s limbs for its own use."
"Hundred Phases completely acquires the instinct to use these creatures’ abilities. It can also resurrect them for a short time, giving them consciousness and letting them fight enemies according to their innate powers."
"Having grafted the entire Hundred Phases Team, the Prophet Hundred Phases has perfected its use of these biological instincts."
As the old man was speaking, the butterflies in the sky were already attacking the remaining Flesh Race People.
The butterflies converged, some transforming into insects, others into Snake Beasts, and devoured the Flesh Race People completely.
The butterflies then flew toward the Sheep-headed Man and the squad.
"Leader! Stop! We can’t commit such an ungrateful act." The old man spread his arms to block the group. Though he was trembling all over, his voice was not the least bit quiet.
"Those who betray their friends will be punished by the Goddess!"
"Move," the Leader said coldly. "This is war."
"Leader, wanton slaughter will only lead to the same fate as the Hundred Phases Team! We are here to end a disaster; war is merely our means to that end!"
The old man pleaded from the bottom of his heart.
But the Leader paid him no mind; the butterflies bypassed its body, flying toward the group behind.
The old man spread his arms and wept bitterly in the sea of butterflies.
However, the expected scene of slaughter did not occur.
The butterflies dancing in the air were disappearing, one by one.
Mo Ling had activated his teleportation.
These butterflies were like natural targets—they flew slowly and were incredibly conspicuous.
Moreover, the butterflies didn’t even try to dodge. Before they could even reach the group, they vanished into thin air.
Mo Ling directly teleported the butterflies he was destroying back into the body of the Prophet Hundred Phases.
These cells, which completely perished upon being teleported, could not be reabsorbed by the Prophet Hundred Phases and became foreign objects inside its body.
As a result, the Prophet Hundred Phases’ body began to bloat, and strange fleshy lumps grew all over it.
In the blink of an eye, all the butterflies near the group had been teleported away by Mo Ling.
More and more pustules appeared on the Prophet Hundred Phases’ body. It roared ceaselessly, as if the growths inside it were causing immense pain.
But before long, the dead butterflies were expelled from Hundred Phases’ skin, like insect corpses floating to the surface of water.
The dead butterflies fell to the ground and began to dissolve into a transparent liquid.
After expelling the butterflies, Hundred Phases’ expression grew even more savage, and it glared ferociously in the group’s direction.
The skin on its hands began to ripple, as if it were preparing some new move.
