Blergh!
Han Sen fell out onto the grass, coughing blood.
Bao'er was as cool as ever, and when she came out, she did so with a graceful drop on top of Han Sen's head, pushing his face into the bloodied soil.
Han Sen was immediately starting to regret bringing Bao'er, the silver fox, Little Angel, Golden Growler, and Moment Queen with him. He couldn't imagine what the pain was like for them, to brace and stay composed on their ascension through the fire.
The fires Han Sen had to endure were of a greater intensity than what Xiang Yin and the Xuan Men successor had dealt with. The lecherous flames they suffered were far weaker, and despite Han Sen once fearing the steps those two had trodden, he now thought they had gotten off easy.
And that aside, Han Sen had brought five people with him. This only boosted the intensity. He had felt as if the fires had been deliberately testing him in their wicked glow, like wretched demons taunting him to fail under the pressure of those he had selected to bring along.
Fortunately for Han Sen, he was able to employ the powers of super king spirit mode, Jadeskin, and the Dongxuan Sutra to pull through. He'd have most certainly failed had he tried to mount the steps without those abilities to boost his resistances.
On their way up, he started by trying his best to keep everyone calm, composed, and alive in the ascent. But there was little he could do when the true strength of the fire kicked in. It soon became clear to him that the only one he could truly protect and guide up was Bao'er, and the others would have to succeed by themselves.
Han Sen was able to keep Bao'er shielded from most of the fire, but the flames had properly incinerated the silver fox. By the time he was through, he had become an egg.
Little Angel and Golden Growler were in a similar position; now evolving. Han Sen was unable to protect Moment Queen at all on the way up, and while she had managed to become a demi-god, the fires had taken a toll on her. She was grievously injured, and it seemed as if there'd be little she could do for a long time to come.
"It's fortunate I did not decide to bring anyone else. If I had, the fires would have surely killed me," Han Sen said to himself, feeling glad he had made it.
Han Sen took a look around, after that. He was in a field, one that was as plain as could be. A single wide expanse with no notable geography or landmarks to consider.
He picked himself up and exerted much strength to do so. He was incredibly heavy, and it didn't feel natural. The very air seemed to tingle and hum with energy, and the atmosphere around almost felt tangible.
Even the gravity felt remarkably higher there. It was lucky his body was as strong as it was, and so it didn't inhibit him.
Unfortunately, his clothes had been entirely scorched away by the fires. He was nude in the field, and although it was a touch awkward, he was at least relieved there was no one else around to see him that way.
Han Sen: Super Body Super King Spirit – Ultimate
Level: Demi-God
Lifespan: 500
Evolution Requirements: None
Geno Points: None
Demi-God Geno Cores: None
Han Sen did not know what the Ultimate tag meant, but he was pleased that his lifespan had another one hundred added on top, bringing the number up to five hundred.
Han Sen already knew there would be no more evolution requirements before coming to the Fourth God's Sanctuary; even in the Alliance, there were no further evolution pools. It didn't seem to matter much where you went after this, even if your geno points were at the max.
Han Sen caught sight of some odd shrubbery nearby. The bushes had thick leaves, and not wanting to remain naked, he brought Bao'er over to help him make some clothes.
After crafting some makeshift clothing, he suddenly heard the chittering of an insect. It was a grasshopper, and it was making a squealing sound down in the grass.
Han Sen gave it a scan and noticed its lifeforce to be obscenely weak. It didn't look like a demi-god in the least. And although it initially gave the impression it was just a common insect, it kept on squealing, as if to taunt Han Sen. He decided he was going kill it with Ghost Slash, and nab himself a few early geno points.
But before he could attack, he felt a pain come onto his right eye.
Han Sen moved his hands to cup the afflicted eye, but then, another sharp pain began to pierce his left one.
Han Sen swiftly started to look around and scan the surrounding vicinity for something else that might have been attacking him, but he could not see anything. The absence of danger he could visualize was strange, but his gut was most assuredly telling him something was wrong.
The grasshopper then scrambled away, disappearing someplace in the grass.
Han Sen could no longer feel its presence, but eyes still felt as if they were in pain.
So, Han Sen used Dongxuan Aura to search. But strangely, he could not make out anything.
Argh!
An agonizing pain suddenly pierced Han Sen's throat, but shortly after, it spread to his stomach. A cold sweat began to roll down his face, which was now twisting under the agony he was suffering.
Han Sen decided to use Jadeskin, which gave him that crystallized luster. Following its use, even all his organs were turned to shimmering crystal. Han Sen could still feel the stabbing, but at least Jadeskin was enough to deny him the full experience of that pain.
Han Sen then sought to examine himself with the ten gene locks of the Dongxuan Sutra open. After examining himself, Han Sen was able to notice the presence of something small and unnatural residing in his stomach.
It was a grey silkworm, of sorts. If he did not have Dongxuan Aura, he would have assuredly not been able to find it.
The head of the silkworm was very much like a needle, and it was undoubtedly the source of the pain Han Sen was experiencing. After more examination, Han Sen discovered it was not a creature, though. Instead, it was the grasshopper's Demi-God Geno Core.
From this bug, Han Sen was able to detect and learn the sequential structure of the grasshopper.
The grasshopper came out of hiding once more, and it peered at Han Sen through the blades of grass. Not wanting to risk a single thing, Han Sen knew he'd have to kill it the first opportunity he had. He immediately cast Ghost Slash towards it.
The grasshopper was cut in half, when it was, the bug inside Han Sen's stomach died with it.
"Ordinary Creature Soil Lotus killed. No beast soul gained. Bronze Geno Core received: Dust Bug. Consume its flesh to gain zero to ten ordinary geno points randomly."