Chapter 309: Chapter 309: Breaking Through the Critical Point
A wisp of blood-red suddenly appeared in the transparent pipeline, then began to spread rapidly. The blue solution being slowly pumped into the Holy Coffin was dyed the color of fresh blood almost in the blink of an eye!
The main operator, who was constantly monitoring the solution pipeline, immediately noticed this Abnormal Phenomenon. Simultaneously with his panic, he also erupted into the fastest action of his life—this member of the Hidden Cult nearly left behind an afterimage, pressing the emergency stop button next to the Holy Coffin in an instant.
However, the emergency stop button failed—not just the emergency stop button, all the control devices around the Holy Coffin were inoperative.
"The operating system is offline!" an assistant nearby screamed a near wail, "Cultivator! This thing won’t stop!"
"Smash the pipeline! Cut the power!"
"Give me the axe!"
With a loud bang, the main operator of the Hidden Cult wielded a fire axe and violently smashed the pipeline connected to the Holy Coffin, then relentlessly smashed down a few more times, directly breaking the power cable and nerve vascular bundle on one side of the platform. The enormous noise echoed in the Holy Coffin room, the system alarm’s warning tone resounded through the room in a strange off-key voice, and then suddenly fell silent. A series of explosive sparks spread out along the base of the Holy Coffin, momentarily illuminating every terrified face.
After that, everything quieted down, only the Holy Coffin in the center of the platform was still emitting a slight smoke, its surface flashing with malfunction indicator lights.
"...Did we stop it?" The main operator, holding the fire axe, had a trembling voice, staring intently at the smoking Holy Coffin, murmuring as if to himself.
"It’s over," a Low-Tier Cultivator lamented nearby, "We destroyed the Holy Coffin, the Saintess is likely also damaged—how will the Wise Men’s Council punish us?"
"We saved her!" another Low-Tier Cultivator immediately said, but his voice clearly carried a trace of nervous fear, "We stopped a more deadly mistake! You saw just now..."
But before he finished speaking, the high-tier cultivator serving as the main operator suddenly interrupted him: "Shh! Quiet!"
Everyone at the scene instantly fell silent, and then, they finally heard a faint sound coming from the Holy Coffin.
A slight metallic scraping sound, like fingernails scratching against the shell.
A Low-Tier Cultivator suddenly showed a horrified expression, but before he could speak, there was a booming crash at the scene—the heavy shell of the Holy Coffin burst open, a massive force directly flinging away the locked structure. The flying metal parts traced an imperceptible trajectory through the air, striking the high-tier cultivator dead on the head, shattering his mask and slicing off half of his skull!
A tall and slender figure leaped out from the Holy Coffin, almost instantly shifting in a blink, arriving right in front of a Low-Tier Cultivator.
"Safe, safety protocol, execute E-12..." the Low-Tier Cultivator instinctively muttered the emergency shutdown command he had practiced countless times before serving in the Holy Coffin room, but he only managed to utter a few words before feeling a cold sensation followed by sharp pain pierce directly through his chest.
He looked down and saw several sharp blades pulling out from his chest, a crushed heart hanging between the blades.
"...Damn..." the Low-Tier Cultivator fell while spitting blood, and in the rapidly dimming vision, he saw the other Low-Tier Cultivators nearby already lying down without him noticing.
Only the low humming of various operating pieces of equipment remained in the Holy Coffin room, while the Artificial Saintess, cloaked in a dark shell, stood quietly in front of the Holy Coffin, stained with the blood of the fallen cultivators. Warm yellow light descended from above, illuminating her shell like a beam of light from Heaven, making her look like an image filled with saintly presence yet enveloped in a strange atmosphere.
After an indefinite quiet, this "sacred image" suddenly moved again.
She stiffly and slowly lifted her head, her neck joints making creaking noises. That face, bearing a pale smile, beautiful yet hollow, looked towards a corner of the room. Although there was no change in expression, it was clear she was staring fixedly there.
A moment later, a figure emerged from the corner.
Yu Sheng stopped about ten meters from the Artificial Saintess.
He had actually already revived and, for some time, had been leisurely wandering through the corridors and rooms nearby.
Most of this spaceship’s structure had become an extension of his body. The monitoring devices scattered throughout the ship’s interior were his eyes, the rigorous hull perception system was his nerves, and he had been openly active outside—as most of the ship’s systems had already "changed hands," no cultist could spot his figure.
This cycle of death and revival had brought him a lot of new experiences and insights. It was his first time transferring his will directly to another "vessel" upon death—the blood he had spread permeated the spaceship, a process inspired by his creation of Erin’s body using clay and his own blood, which allowed him to maintain a presence and influence in the real world post-"death."
He thought this experience might come in handy next time—though it required a bit of preparation, at least now, he had an "alternative mode" after death that did not involve falling into that "dark space."
But that was a matter for the future; for now, he had to figure out how to solve the "Saintess" problem in front of him.
This steel puppet had already fallen into a state of chaos but was still fiercely resisting his power.
Yu Sheng could clearly sense the intense emotions coming from the icy shell before him—anger, hostility, sorrow, and... some kind of fiery force driven by a sense of justice?
Yu Sheng was unsure if his perception through the blood was accurate, but he did feel these things, leaving him somewhat puzzled.
Was this killing machine acting under the drive of a sense of justice? She wasn’t entirely dependent on the instructions of the Hidden Cult monks but had her own judgment and subjective drive?
The shell of the Artificial Saintess trembled slightly, as she struggled against the force within her body that did not belong to her, slowly stepping towards Yu Sheng — her stiff and sluggish movements were no longer graceful, but unyielding.
"I think we can talk first," Yu Sheng hesitated before speaking, "If you truly possess complete wisdom and can understand my words, I have some questions to ask you."
(The dark monster emitted an irritating screech)
The steel puppet stumbled forward, but noticeably quickened its pace, its murderous intent boiling.
Yu Sheng frowned upon seeing this, yet continued, "Can you understand my words? When I tried to contact that coffin earlier, I saw some strange images... There’s a field of wheat in your memory, correct?"
(The bewildering sound of the demon’s voice was still attempting to enthrall)
The steel puppet stepped over a member of the monastic order who lay on the ground, her foot treading through a pool of blood, then kicking away the still soft arm of the corpse.
(A martyr inexplicably fallen here... may fellow compatriots rest in peace)
She looked up, seeing the flickering lights in the sanctuary, ominous purple smoke floating between the magnificent glass dome, the sound of holy hymns already fragmented and intermittent, the spiritual bodies serving the sanctuary cowering behind candlesticks and curtains, filthy blood dripped from chains spanning across the sanctuary’s sky, and that demon-like creature with a human shape standing nearby, uttering seductive blasphemies.
She lowered her head, seeing the Holy Sword in her hand shining, her blood-stained armor still cloaked in light.
Though the knights who accompanied her leaving their homeland had fallen, their brave and noble souls still stood by her.
When this long expedition ends, on the day of triumph, she can still return to that peaceful homeland with their spirits.
And so she smiled, just like when she was eight, raising a stick amidst the fields of wheat to charge at the scarecrow not far away, starting to accelerate towards the demon.
The steel puppet rushed forward, a series of disquieting noises emanating from her severely malfunctioning body due to the loss of control in the reboot process. Her cold, hollow alloy face smiled, yet from the edge of her face seeped blood-like fluid, and then she leaped high, her body twisting in mid-air into bizarre and terrifying angles, the glittering Fingertip Blade piercing straight towards Yu Sheng.
Yu Sheng had to dodge backward, simultaneously feeling a tremendous... pressure.
Yet this pressure wasn’t due to the attack — in fact, the current Artificial Saintess was far weaker than the previous two times he’d encountered her, her speed was sluggish, her strength greatly reduced, and though the oncoming momentum was fierce, every move was full of flaws, lacking the lethal elegance and agility; handling her, even without Erin and Hu Li’s assistance, wouldn’t be difficult.
But he felt something else.
It was the heavy mental pressure, transmitted directly into his mind through the connection of blood.
He dodged quickly, but immediately, those sharp blades once again stabbed in front of him.
The Iron Puppet was like a beast out of control, attacking fiercely without any pattern.
The loud clash of weapons echoed in the room, accompanied by the noise of metal tearing.
Sparks began to fly between the joints of the Artificial Saintess, her shell seemed to have something gradually melting, intermittently bursting sparks and smoke from the gaps in the shell, and even unsettling viscous fluid seeped from some of her joints, dripping onto the ground like oozing plasma, corroding the floor into pits.
"Wait! Your body is malfunctioning!" Yu Sheng shouted loudly while dodging or blocking the opponent’s attacks, "Stop for a moment! You’re about to die!"
The Iron Puppet remained silent, only launching attacks single-mindedly.
Just like a saint obsessed with wanting martyrdom.
Yu Sheng had to again put distance between them, then prepared to directly manipulate the nearby floor and walls to confine this insane Iron Puppet.
However, just as he retreated, the Iron Puppet somehow recovered to peak form, forcefully reversing the inertia of her previous posture, then approached like a ghost.
"Oh crap—"
Yu Sheng could only utter a startled cry, instinctively raised his hand, and then felt a chill in his chest.
Two more blades, eight more holes.
He fell beneath a column, pulling at the corner of his mouth, looking at the pale face nearby: "...Sis, change your move."
But the Iron Puppet did not respond, nor did she make any further movements.
Had she finally... died?