After her body, which had lost all signs of life, burst asunder, a twisted form of "light" appeared. Initially, she took the shape of a charming woman, but soon her lower body began to transform, overwhelmed by a black tide, as spider fur sprouted forth. She was being pulled by some force, casting herself towards the "Red Crown."

Those who die by the crown have their souls returned to the Red.

Yet the soul of this deformed spider woman began to change.

Ghastly symbols appeared on her chest, which was covered in flesh-pink scars. The symbols were composed of chaotic, twisted black and red lines, shaping something akin to a curled up infant's skeleton. Except this skeleton had more than just one pair of arms and heads and lay amidst blood and mushy flesh.

It released an emotional vibration that shook the soul, filled with disgust, resentment, hatred... as if it were the embodiment of all things twisted and negative.

The soul of the spider woman was directly consumed by this twisted vortex.

At the same time, the "infant" opened three rows of distorted eyes, gazing at Tang Qi.

An invisible "Soul Pollution" swept across the area.

The first victims were a few overly weak Transcendents, followed by the remaining hundreds of Caluna Demons who had lost their Queen. They all began to mutate, their bodies as pliable as clay in the hands of an invisible force.

Two heads, atrophied limbs, meat tumors... Various deformed features emerged.

For a large area, because of the opening eyes of the malformed infant, pollution spread like rippling radiance, making everything seem unreal.

"Hesse!"

All Transcendents who were using magic or Curios to defend against the pollution had a name surface in their minds.

At the same time, a cluster of memory information sprang up deep within Tang Qi:

"During the Age of Ignorance, which was longer and more barbaric than the Dark Era, mankind emerged as a newborn species. By the third generation, a young girl bore the first deformed infant. Her sudden pregnancy led to suspicions of her frivolous affair with the creatures of the Wilderness."

"She was expelled from the tribe, clutching the deformed child she had just birthed."

"Days later, the ancestors of humanity found the bodies of the mother and child in a cave. The mother's skeleton was covered in bite marks, while the deformed infant lay intact, even with a contented smile on its lips, as if dying peacefully in sleep."

"The infant's name was 'Hesse,' which in the ancient human language, meant monster, an ill-omen."

"The entity worshiped by the Mysterious Deformed Show as an 'Evil God' is Him. These deformed monsters believe that upon Hesse's birth, He became a Divine, intent on using the human species to breed a new, magnificent form of life."

...

"Currently suffering from the influence of a projection of the Exotic Realm Evil God 'Hesse,' extremely dangerous."

Boom!

The Information Fragment indicated that the true bearer of the pollution was Tang Qi.

The two, separated by a vast distance, locked their gaze.

Tang Qi, who initially intended to invoke the Melter Wizard's methods or to directly employ the "Book of Nothingness," changed his mind upon making eye contact.

Hesse!

Indeed, a mighty Evil God, yet in a slumber nonetheless.

At this moment, it was merely a projection observing him.

Besides, it was a defensive measure left to reclaim souls. Most Evil God Organizations would do such things to prevent their members from falling into other Transcendents' hands and having their souls extracted for interrogation, thus revealing the organization's secrets.

With this thought, Tang Qi unhesitatingly stared into the "Eye of Hesse."

The pollution immediately transpired, and everyone watched as Tang Qi's irresistibly adorable "Squirrel Body" began to sprout pus-filled meat tumors, his soft, glowing yellow fur stained with blood, creating a foul and horrifying sight.

But instantly, his head still spouted crimson liquid, crystallizing into arms wielding weapons such as spears, Holy Swords, and axes.

Spears rained down like torrential rain, instantly clearing away the meat tumors.

Soon after, features such as heads, limbs, and facial features began to multiply, only to be promptly severed by the crimson arms, one by one, cleansed away.

Ultimately, the pollution made Tang Qi appear to be "Splitting," with an additional squirrel body forming on each side, like Siamese triplets, both adorable and hair-raising.

Hiss! Hiss!

The long sword slashed down, flesh exploded, and the pollution is cleared once again.

At last, the projection of Hesse reaches its limit. The three rows of malformed eyes struggle to close slowly, and as the vortex spins, it turns into a black spot, vanishing soundlessly.

The remaining deformed Transcendent members of the Mysterious Deformed Show fled silently toward the distant horizon.

Tang Qi did not stop them; he didn't even gaze at those few deformed Transcendents. His attention turned to the "Queen Caluna" on the ground; her magnificent mantis head had been crushed under Tang Qi's short legs, dead beyond death. The remaining Caluna Demons, impacted by the contaminating influence of the "Hesse" projection, were also mostly dead.

From his emergence to the killing of the "Spider Woman" and resolving the Caluna Demon issue, the process was exceedingly smooth.

The only lingering effect was the contamination now surging from within the "Red Crown."

This was the price that had to be paid for using an artifact nearing Demigod-level. For Tang Qi at this moment, it wasn't too severe.

While he fought it with his willpower, he also looked towards the other organizations.

The towering Black Mountain, purely built up of massive black stones, now plays host to a series of powerful Transcendents standing on those remote stones, representing a part of the Divine Eagle Federation's elite mysterious forces.

Before this moment, the gazes these individuals directed towards Tang Qi were akin to those cast upon an amusing, intriguing junior—a newcomer.

But now, the eyes that met Tang Qi's, one by one, began to change.

Within the Evil Camp, within the glares of those monsters, emerged a mix of apprehension, murderous intent, and awe.

While those of the same Order Camp, from organizations like the Church, the officialdom, and the World Tree, Tang Qi saw respect, equality, admiration, and even a few gazes of "worship," mainly coming from ordinary Professional Transcendents.

And the surviving members of the Holy Eagle Nest Society secretly displayed pride and arrogance in their eyes, a sense of shared honor. The two High-level Deacons nodded at Tang Qi, their admiration unmasked.

"In the Mysterious Side, strength is the foundation."

"Simultaneously slaying a Caluna Demon army, killing a member of the Mysterious Deformed Show poised between 'Professional Level' and 'Legendary Level,' and staring down a projection of Hose... These achievements, are enough to earn a certain degree of respect."

"Perhaps I have now been specially marked by many organizations—hmm, a violent Yellow Squirrel?"

As Tang Qi muttered to himself, he casually stowed away the "Fury Reliever," removed his Red Crown, adjusted his glasses, tapped his detective hat, and tapped his pipe which lacked any smoke, quickly arriving at the area where the Holy Eagle Nest Society gathered.

Standing on the "black reef," facing some eyes still watching him, Tang Qi rolled his eyes in front of everyone and then deliberately said in a coarse voice, "Stop staring at your squirrel lord. The real spectacle is above us."

Reminded by Tang Qi's "pointer," the crowd recalled that the truly worthy combat and slaughter were unfolding right above their heads.

Every participant in the melee was a genuine "Legendary Level" strong.

The "Original Force Cutting" and "Death Breath" within the relic had no effect on them whatsoever.

Even before Tang Qi had spoken, the likes of the "High-level Deacon" and other near-Legendary strong had already chosen their spectacles in advance.

It was, after all, impossible for anyone to focus on dozens of Legendary fighters at the same time.

In fact, it was exceedingly difficult to watch one duel in detail seriously.

Tang Qi stood with an ungraceful and domineering posture on the edge of a huge black stone, gazing upwards.

This mountain, devoid of any vegetation or other items, consists only of massive, smooth black stones, which seem to subtly construct an enormous and progressive powerful "force field."

This force field could wield a suppressive effect even on "Legendary Level" beings.

Where everyone stood now was actually the sole "safe area," sandwiched between the force field and the Death Breath Fog Sea.

Further up, the crowd would have to withstand the force field, as the three "Undying Pioneers," including Barton Bird, were doing now.

They were in hot pursuit of Ludwig's shadow, having passed mid-mountain and rapidly closing in on the unstable Ludwig.

And because of their rapid approach, the fight became increasingly vicious.

Tang Qi watched the scar-laden body, resembling a "dried corpse," slowly climbing upwards, leaving streaks of blood along the way. This disciple of Sims was extremely weak, even lacking the strength to draw his sword.

This left him incapable of slaying the "Second Rotten Head" constantly regenerating on his neck.

And at this moment, the Second Rotten Head was also not inflicting harm on Ludwig.

The two, sharing one body, would not benefit from excessive damage. The Second Rotten Head might not die from it, but that doesn't align with his interests; he parasitized Ludwig not for the body of an Ascetic that practised penitence.

The Second Rotten Head just maintained its sharp-tongued nature, incessantly babbling in Ludwig's ear.

It also did not forget to transform into a "meat tumor" and roam around Ludwig's body, with the taunting voice heard crystal clear by the Transcendents at the foot of the mountain.

And this rotten head was not just mocking Ludwig.

It included the imminent Legendary fighters in its scope of contempt.

"Stupid, clumsy Ludwig, move a little faster, those hyenas are catching up to you."

"Come on, dogs, come and catch us. If you catch us, you'll get a reward related to the Great Catastrophe and the All Gods' astounding secret."

"You guys from the Rotten Head, can't you try a little harder? Quickly come over and assist your great Second Master."

"Just a bunch of deformed freaks, the Biters' Suture Monsters, idiots who love daydreaming, little rats hiding in the dark, wastes of space that tout Doomsday all day long... let's see who else, besides the annoying ghosts from the Bright Church."

"Wow, isn't that Barton Bird? A truly loyal fellow. To serve the Federation, he even willingly became an Undead Witch Demon, which even I wouldn't wish to endure. The Undead Curse, although still able to act, means one can neither taste fine foods nor enjoy beauty... What's the point of life? It's too tragic."

"And the other two, what were your names again?"

"Never mind, not important."

...

These taunts pierced the ears of the Legends and rang out above everyone's heads.

For a moment, the atmosphere became somewhat silent.

Even Tang Qi couldn't help but twitch his lips and reflect silently, "My taunting skills are far inferior to this senior's. I need to keep learning."

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