Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 588: Loose Tongue

"Strongest, me? Heh." Xylos smirked proudly as though he had just been praised by Lin Mo. "I am merely the vanguard, the supreme architect of the new flesh. But the strongest? No. I cannot claim that, no matter how arrogant I am. That title belongs to Vespera. Her mind can crush this entire cavern into dust, and she weaves illusions that make reality weep. Zyrith, the fool whose fragile toys you broke earlier, is nothing but a disappointing trash who plays with intangible strings. But to deal with native insects like you? I am more than sufficient."

Lin Mo kept his expression to an unreadable mask of polite customer service, but internally, his mind was operating at maximum capacity, categorizing and storing the data.

He couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. This Dreilling might appear overbearing but he had a loose tongue.

From what he had just said, it confirmed that there were three Dreillings in the Anchor at the moment.

Zyrith, the Mind-Weaver, was the one responsible for the hostages and the psychic pressure. Xylos, the Flesh-Shaper in front of me, was the brute force who possessed an ability that it wouldn’t be wrong to call him a bio-engineer. And Vespera... the leader. A psychic entity far stronger than the other two combined.

This was the intelligence he had risked coming here for. It was terrifying, but crucial.

"I see," Lin Mo replied smoothly, taking a half-step back, ensuring Xiaoyu was perfectly within his peripheral vision. "That sounds like a diverse management structure. Vespera is your superior, Zyrith is someone inferior to you, yet he still handles human resources. Meanwhile, you oversee product development."

"What in the High Ancestors are you talking about?" Xylos frowned, not liking or understanding the terms Lin Mo used.

"Oh, it’s a corporate structure, dear customer. And it sounds like your department is about to be downsized," Lin Mo replied, shaking his head in pity. "But don’t worry. Our Divine Convenience Store is an equal opportunity employer. As long as you submit your resume now, I might just let you stand in our storefront along with the Guardian Statue. Of course, that is if you’re gonna accept our convenience."

For a moment, the place became utterly silent. The unfathomable audacity of a Foundation Establishment cultivator mocking a Highland Realm Noble like Xylos, even if he’s currently suppressed by the penalty, was hard to take in.

Then, Xylos laughed.

"A comedian, I see. How novel. I will make sure to keep your vocal cords intact when I turn the rest of you into a feeding trough." Xylos stopped laughing as he snapped his fingers.

Following the crisp sound, six figures materialized behind him as though they had been there all along but Lin Mo and Liu Xiaoyu never noticed their presence.

[Entity Identified: Amalgamation - Hunter-Killer]

[Composition: Decrint Tribe Bonecrusher Base / Shadow-Stalker DNA / Refined Highland Energy Core]

[Threat Level: Level 40 Peak Core Formation Stage]

[Abilities: Optical Camouflage, Corrosive Blades (Some abilities cannot be shown)]

"Go. Butcher the girl and the mutt and bring their bodies back."

The six figures moved in a split second.

Compared to stitched-together abominations like Subject Alpha and the hybrids they just faced, these amalgamations became a terrifying fusion between the bipedal, muscular structure of the Decrint Tribe Bone Crusher and the shifting and light-bending ability of the Shadow-Stalkers.

Lin Mo couldn’t help but wonder where they got it. It wasn’t a spirit beast or demonic beast in the Realm of Nine Heavens. But considering they’re from an Outer Realm that may or may not be at the same level as theirs, they had their own means to find those creatures.

In the blink of an eye, the creatures vanished, blending perfectly into the dim, violet-lit gloom of the cavern.

"Liu Xiaoyu, stay alert!" Lin Mo called out, not taking his eyes off the Flesh-Shaper.

"Way ahead of you, Boss! Sparky, illuminate!" Liu Xiaoyu’s cheerful voice rang out.

The golden [Legionary Set] made her shine like a light bulb. Sparky, the storm-soul wolf, let out a piercing howl.

Instead of a directed sonic attack, the cub unleashed a radial burst of static electricity that clung to the damp air.

Zzzt-pop-zzzt!

Three invisible figures suddenly flickered into view, their optical camouflage short-circuiting as the localized static clung to their biological armor.

"Found you! [Nine Heavens Storm: Thunderclap Annihilation]!"

Liu Xiaoyu didn’t wait for them to recover. She launched herself forward like a golden cannonball.

Her gauntlet, wreathed in roaring plasma, slammed into the chest of the nearest Hunter-Killer.

The creature crossed its bone-bladed arms to block, but the force of her fist and chaotic storm qi shattered its arms and caved its chest in with a sickening crunch.

As Xiaoyu danced through the remaining five assassins, turning the cavern into a localized thunderstorm, Xylos made his move.

"That’s your assistant? Quite capable." He said as he flexed his knees and exploded forward.

The ground where he stood shattered, sending chunks of stone flying. The distance between them vanished in a microsecond.

Even suppressed by the Anchor’s rules, a Late Nascent Soul equivalent possessed speed that challenged the limits of Lin Mo’s current abilities.

But Lin Mo’s perception was no longer merely human.

His [Stillwater Perception], fueled by his Perfect Foundation and the [Harmonic Resonance Instrument] vibrating at his waist, painted Xylos’s trajectory in his mind’s eye before the Dreilling even completed the step.

With the assistance of his suit, he immediately retreated.

Xylos’s right arm morphed midway. His flesh tore open, revealing a massive, dense bone-blade that extended three feet past his hand, dripping with corrosive Highland Energy. He swung it in a brutal, horizontal arc aimed at Lin Mo’s waist.

Although he managed to open up a distance, the range of Xylos’s blade could still reach him.

To defend himself, Lin Mo brought the [Starlit Dragon Spear] down vertically, planting the butt of the shaft into the stone floor, using it as a fulcrum.

CLANG!

The bone-blade struck the heaven-grade shaft. The impact was deafening which sent Lin Mo backwards. His arms trembled violently as the suit’s ability to absorb damage screamed under the strain.

He glanced at Liu Xiaoyu and estimated that his prodigious assistant could deal with those six on her own. What he needed to do was to occupy Xylos’s attention and squeeze out more information from him.

"Impressive," Lin Mo said, appearing unruffled. "But oh noble customer, can’t you be any more crude? It’s making me curious about how one can grow stronger in your realm. Do you also follow a path like us cultivators?"

"Cultivate? Like how you fragile sacks of water gather invisible mist into your body?" Xylos sneered. "You natives are obsessed with breathing exercises and absorbing ambient dirt. We of the Highland Realm do not ’cultivate’ in your pathetic, passive manner. We adapt, consume, overwrite."

Xylos stepped forward again, the heavy thud of his boots cracking the stone floor. As he moved, the flesh on his left arm began to writhe and bubble. Muscles tore and re-knit in a fraction of a second, expanding into a massive, shield-like carapace covered in weeping, acidic pores.

"It is the Path of the Apex," Xylos declared, his eyes burning with fanatical pride. "We locate optimal biological traits across the conquered realms. We isolate them, refine them in the nutrient vats, and graft them onto our own genetic tapestry. I have the density of a Star-Eater Behemoth and the regenerative cells of a Void-Hydra. Our Highland Energy is merely a supplement. We do not borrow power from the heavens. We steal it from the corpses of the strong!"

"Oh, corporate acquisition and asset stripping. I understand completely," Lin Mo nodded, maintaining his cool facade even as his internal alarms were blaring. "But that’s only the case for you Flesh-Shapers, no? What about the Mind-Weavers? Do you eat brains for breakfast?"

He wouldn’t believe him completely. After all, he had already confirmed the energy in the Outer Realms was similar to the spiritual energy in the Realm of Nine Heavens. They might have different ways of harnessing them, but it still ultimately meant they wouldn’t advance as a civilization without relying on it.

Above First Heaven, immortal qi and divine energy are merely higher states of spiritual energy.

Xylos’s unhinged jaw clicked as he let out a scoff.

"Eat brains? How disgustingly literal and primitive. You think like a savage. The Mind-Weavers do not consume gray matter. They consume trauma. They feast on despair, on the fracturing of a cultivated will, and weave that psychic agony into their own soul matrices to expand their mental dominion. Vespera could gorge on the terror of a million mortals and still hunger for the refined despair of a single, broken Immortal."

"Oh. Emotional vampires. I’ll be sure to note that in their employee evaluation," Lin Mo quipped, though the visual of the Dreilling leader feeding on mass panic made his stomach churn. If Vespera got past the Anchor, Fanling City would be her buffet.

"Your wit is a fragile shield, native!" Xylos roared.

He didn’t waste another second on conversation. The massive, acidic carapace on his left arm glowed.

SPLAT!

A barrage of highly pressurized, corrosive green spheres shot out from the weeping pores of his biological shield. They flew towards Lin Mo like a spread of mortar fire, sizzling as they surged through.