Super Gene

One of the creatures was clad in steel armor, and it wielded a greatsword shrouded in green light. It was the armored phantom that Moment Queen once had authority over. Now, it was doing battle with a black skeleton. It wielded a weapon that looked like a bone itself, or some sort of horn. It wasn’t easy to discern what it was at first glance, but it viciously fought against the armored phantom. When the strange weapon in the skeleton’s hand collided with the phantom’s greatsword, it wasn’t damaged. Evidently, it was far tougher than Han Sen’s Flaming Rex Spike.

The armored phantom saw Han Sen from afar and ran off, abandoning its fight against the skeleton. It didn’t stop, and it just ran and ran until it was out of sight.

The skeleton had never seen Han Sen before, so it wasn’t aware of the power he possessed. It ran towards Han Sen with its weapon raised, aiming to clobber its new target over the head.

The little angel appeared in front of Han Sen, and her transparent greatsword was swung to assail the bony fiend. The creature’s attack was so hard that she was knocked back two meters. Having its first attempted attack blocked, the skeleton didn’t waste any time switching targets.

Han Sen did not go to help the little angel, and he just stood there watching its energy flow. Much to his delight, he learnt that it was a second-generation super creature.

But after watching for a while, he felt bored. The powers of a second-generation super creature no longer thrilled him, and aside from their element and how they were used, they all seemed to be the same.

After learning many second-generation super creature energy flows, he started to realize how most were useless to him. His strongest skill was Sonic-Thunder Punch now, and the combination of those two elements proved far more effective than the energy flows he had learnt from any other second-generation super creature.

Han Sen knew the reason for this, however; he was in the Second God’s Sanctuary. The energy flows he could simulate were all the same, and only allowed for a power that did not exceed the unlocking of the first gene lock.

If he entered the Third God’s Sanctuary, he could most likely simulate the power of super creatures that had unlocked seven of their gene locks. Something like that was sure to be extraordinarily powerful, and worthy of getting excited about.

Han Sen’s Dongxuan Sutra was a super Qi Gong, but the extent of its power was capped like every other skill here. Just like Jadeskin, only one of its gene locks could be opened. The usage of both of those skills were different, yes; but the power of both were practically the same.

The question of which Qi Gong was stronger would all be down to how many gene locks could be opened.

He would have to go to the Third God’s Sanctuary to unravel and grasp the full power of the Dongxuan Sutra. No matter how many skills and powers he could simulate, it did not matter much if they were all capped to a single gene lock.

Dongxuan Sutra could only simulate the energy flow an opponent had. They couldn’t be upgraded, so it was unnecessary for him to learn each and every one.

Han Sen believed the most useful energy flows he had learnt were Sonic-Thunder Punch and Aero; but he also believed the energy flow of the armored phantom was sure to be up there with his best. Light Son of God’s energy flow was also quite useful, taking into account the incredible speed boost it gave him.

And in regards to Moment Queen’s energy flow, although he could simulate it, his body couldn’t handle the ability of teleportation. Using it was sure to result in suicide.

Once his fitness was higher, he’d be keen to try it out, though.

The skeleton continued to fight the little angel, so Han Sen summoned Moment Queen so that she might help her kill it. But the skeleton was cunning, and when it saw Moment Queen coming towards it, it quickly dug underground to escape.

The little angel drove her sword a few meters deep into the earth, but hit nothing. Its flight was a success, and she had no idea where it had now gone to.

"Never mind, then. Let’s just go find the Empty Vine." Han Sen used his dongxuan aura to scan the ground below, and couldn’t find a trace of the skeleton either. It appeared to be long gone now.

Han Sen continued walking, and when he saw the Empty Vine, he froze.

He thought it’d just be a vine that had writhed its way up a craggy cliff face. But when he saw it, he felt as if he had never been so wrong.

The vine was massive. It was like a grand pillar, wreathed around itself. It extended upwards like a tower towards heaven. It was so high, its top pierced the clouds above, obscuring how tall it truly was.

Han Sen saw it from afar, and he noticed something else. The armored phantom was climbing it, and not far below it, the black skeleton had resurfaced and was chasing it up.

They were going at a hurried pace, and before long, they had both passed through the lofty clouds.

"This is the Empty Vine? That’s a big vine. How much fruit grows there? Do you think we’ll have to fight for the fruit?" Han Sen asked, while looking at the leaves and flowers.

If each flower bore one fruit, the amount that would grow would seem limitless. And if so, there’d be no need for anyone or anything to fight to obtain one. He believed a thousand creatures could eat their fill without hassle, if that was true.

"That is only the vine’s root," Moment Queen said coldly.

"Root? Since when do roots grows leaves and flowers?" Han Sen looked at her with an unconvinced face.

Moment Queen continued walking towards the vine, and as she went, she said, "This is the root of the Empty Vine. As we climb, you will eventually see the vine pierce through a floating island that rests above the sea of clouds. Above the island is the true body of the vine and the life it bears. The fruit will ripen soon, so we best hurry."

Han Sen nodded and followed Moment Queen over to the Empty Vine. The vine was like a fried dough twist, that extended all the way up to the clouds high above. It was wide enough to drive a truck up its side, presuming the truck did not answer to gravity.

Han Sen summoned his Golden Growler and rode up, seeing as there was so much space.

It was an interesting experience, and after climbing a few hundred meters, the view of the lands below was rather magnificent.

"Moment, how long until the fruit ripens? Do you think the Devil-Blood King is here yet?" Han Sen enquired, as he ascended.

"It should be ready in about two days, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Devil-Blood King has already arrived and taken over the best vantage points on the floating island," Moment Queen explained.

"If there is another two days to go, what is the rush? Let us climb slowly." While Han Sen said this, he suddenly heard a bird.

Han Sen turned and looked, and he saw a black-flame phoenix shoot through the clouds from the south.

"Isn’t that the black-flame phoenix from the Black Desert? If that thing was willing to fly all this way here, I wonder how many other creatures are there up top?" Han Sen suddenly thought of something else, as well. "If the black-phoenix is here, I wonder if the green kirin is here, too?"