"Execute the final elimination protocol: destroy the obliteration stele and symbiotic nodes!"

The sentry's icy electronic synthesizer voice, like the decree of death, echoed in a deathly space rife with turbulent energy, mental pollution, and Pei Du's agonized roars. From the muzzle of the peculiarly shaped long-barreled rifle, a stream of high-energy blue particles had condensed to a blinding degree, emanating destructive waves that made the cold glazed floor crackle under the weight. The muzzle was locked on the ancient stone tablet, entwined with raging mycelium, pressed against Pei Du's back! Annihilating it would mean transforming Pei Du, nailed to the stone tablet, into the fundamental particles of the universe!

Xu Shuangyao was blocked by the sentinels, her vision filled with the dark blue light of destruction. Her heart was instantly gripped by an icy fear, nearly stopping! The faint whine of the plant network echoed deep within her consciousness: [Annihilation... cannot... the key... the only... hope...] Stop him! The sentinels must be stopped! Pei Du cannot die! And the stone tablet cannot be destroyed!

The instinct for survival and her unbreakable bond with Pei Du overwhelmed her near-death weakness. Strength welled up from nowhere, and her bloodstained hands slammed into the cold metal edge of the Sentinel's armored leg. With all her might, she screamed, "No! Don't shoot! He's the key! He can control the stone tablet! He's the only one who can close that rift!!" Her voice was hoarse and cracked, yet it carried a desperate, desperate urge.

The sentry's movements froze ever so slightly. The compound eye helmet swung towards Xu Shuangyao, a cold blue light sweeping across her pale, blood-stained face. The electronic voice remained silent: "Emotional interference is ineffective. The risk of contamination spreading exceeds the value of individual survival. Countdown to annihilation: three..."

The cold countdown is like a death knell!

“Ughh ...

At this critical moment, Pei Du, struggling in agony while nailed to the stone tablet, let out an unprecedented roar that seemed to tear his soul apart! This roar was not only due to the dual torture of body and mind, but also the dual stimulation of the sentry's devastating gun lock and Xu Shuangyao's desperate screams. The extremely suppressed spark of struggle belonging to "Pei Du" in the depths of his consciousness, like a dying star, burst into its final and most blazing light!

"My life...is not up to you...to decide--!!!"

Along with this roar at the soul level, a sudden change occurred!

The area on Pei Du's back that was pressed against the stone tablet and was pierced crazily by the remaining violent mycelium, the dark gray skin, cracked lava lines, and crazily wriggling pale mycelium, at the edge of contact with the mysterious lines of the stone tablet, suddenly burst out with unprecedented strong light!

But this light is neither dark red nor pale white!

It's a kind of... deep, cold, dark starlight that seems to contain billions of stars!

Buzz——!!!

An indescribable surge of vast, ancient will, centered at the point where Pei Du struck the stone tablet, suddenly swept across like a dormant galaxy awakened! This will carried an indescribable weight and sorrow, as well as a... cold, sense of order that transcended matter! It instantly overwhelmed the destructive energy waves condensing from the sentinels' guns, even briefly dispelling the spiritual pollution of "emptiness" emanating from the deep space rifts!

The remaining mycelium covering the stele, washed by the dark starlight and ancient will, was like snowflakes exposed to a stellar storm. It instantly emitted a shrill "sizzling" sound, twisting wildly and turning into ashes! The tips of the mycelium that pierced Pei Du's back were directly "frozen" and annihilated by the dark starlight!

The "thorny shackles" that bound Pei Du were forcibly broken with the active "cooperation" of the ancient stone tablet's will!

"What?!" The sentry's cold electronic voice showed a clear fluctuation for the first time, with an inexplicable astonishment! The energy flow gathered at the muzzle was instantly disordered!

And at the moment the mycelium shackles broke, Pei Du's huge body suddenly stumbled forward and broke away from the stone tablet! But he did not fall! He slowly stood up with a heavy feeling as if he had been reborn!

At this moment, his appearance changed drastically again!

The dark grey skin covering his entire body seemed infused with stardust, embodying a deep, dark silver hue tinged with faint, astral light. The cracked lava lines of the past were replaced by more complex, mystical dark golden lines, flowing across his body like cosmic veins, exuding a cold sense of order. The twisted thorns embedded in the left side of his face were replaced by slender, sharper "stardust thorns," carved from obsidian and dripping with stardust. They no longer appeared hideous and painful, but instead radiated majesty and power like a mysterious crown ornament. His once turbid, seething left eye now glowed the pure hue of deep space, swirling with swirls of stardust! The edge of his remaining right eye, a dark golden vertical pupil, was also tinged with a shimmering starlight. His brutality was replaced by a deeper, colder will.

The most striking thing was his right arm! The massive, black, keratin-covered bony claw had vanished! In its place, an arm composed entirely of fluid, liquid metal and stardust! The arm's form remained imbued with power, but its lines were more fluid and mysterious. Dark gold and faint blue energy circuits flowed across its surface, and its fingertips were sharp as star shuttles! While his left arm still retained its humanoid outline, the skin had turned dark silver, and dark gold energy circuits glowed faintly beneath the skin.

A powerful, cold pressure, seemingly derived from the very laws of the universe, spread out like an invisible tide, centered around Pei Du! Standing there, he was no longer the out-of-control, destructive beast he had been before, but more like a king from ancient myth, ruling over the stars and thorns!

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!