I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield

Chapter 687: Chapter 504: Mokkala, the Frozen Throne

The icy pool in the depths of the ice cave emitted a ghostly blue silence, its waters so cold they pierced to the bone, even the air was filled with tiny shards of ice.

Suddenly, a splash erupted on the surface of the pool, and a man dressed in black emerged, struggling desperately to surface. Just as he was about to cry out for help, several pitch-black tentacles shot out like venomous snakes, wrapping tightly around his limbs and neck.

It was a demon resembling a squid, its entire body covered in a slimy black membrane, with tentacles bearing fine barbs that dripped with pale green poison.

It dragged the man back into the depths of the pool, its massive body clinging tightly to him, the black membrane suctioned onto his skin like a vacuum.

The sound of "sizzle" came from the point of contact, and the man could clearly feel his Spiritual Energy being aggressively drained, his meridians gnawed at by invisible mouths, causing his whole body to convulse in pain.

"Let me go! Help—!"

The man struggled desperately, his fists pounding the slick body of the demon only to sink into its soft flesh without leaving a single mark. His screams gradually weakened to whimpers, the weakness from the loss of Spiritual Energy crashing over him like waves, his limbs quickly withering, his once-flushed cheeks losing their color, his gaze shifting from initial fury to terror, to numb despair.

The tentacle around his neck tightened slightly, cutting off his final breath, his struggles diminishing until his arms fell weakly, his pupils completely dilated.

The demon released its grip, and the man’s body floated lifelessly in the pool, having lost all vitality.

Around the demon, the Demonic Qi surged severalfold, its body swelling under the black membrane, its originally murky complex eyes glowed with a scarlet hue, its mouth split into an exaggerated arc, revealing dense knife-like fangs, exuding cruel delight.

Just then, a muffled "boom" echoed, and the bottom of the icy pool suddenly shook, the waters violently churned, pushing outward.

A stone platform partially buried in ice gradually became exposed.

At the center of the stone platform lay a fist-sized piece of flesh, entirely black, covered in wrinkles, as if dried for millennia, emitting elusive traces of Demonic Qi.

Nourished by the Demonic Qi, the shriveled flesh slowly unfurled, red light flowed beneath its surface, quickly becoming plump and firm, as if instantly revived.

In the next second, the flesh broke free from the invisible suppression of the stone platform, transforming into a stream of black-red light, precisely shooting into the body of the squid demon.

"Roar—!"

The demon let out a deafening roar, the pool exploded open, the tremendous shockwave shattered the surrounding ice walls.

Its aura surged in an instant, the tentacles grew thicker, the barbs ignited with ghostly green demon flames, even the air scorched and twisted.

It reached out, grabbed the floating corpse of the man, and lifted it to its mouth.

The "crack, crack" of bones breaking reverberated sharply in the silent ice cave, the bright red blood coursed down its tentacles, dropping onto the ice, instantly freezing into dark red beads.

The demon devoured ravenously, the scarlet in its complex eyes blazing ever more fiercely, its breath becoming stronger with every bite of flesh.

Moments later, the man’s body had been completely consumed, only a few threads of torn cloth floated in the pool.

The demon shook its tentacles, turned and crawled out of the icy pool, the wet black membrane leaving sticky trails on the ice surface.

It paused, the scarlet in its complex eyes gazing towards the cave entrance, sensing something, its mouth twisting open, its body contorting, slowly crawling towards the exit of the ice cave.

...

Within the ice valley, the cold wind howled, carrying bits of ice, the gray-white ice rocks stood like they were cleaved by knives, and only the giant wooden statue towering in the center, a hundred meters high, radiated a vitality that clashed sharply with the ice valley.

The wooden statue was carved from unknown ink-colored hardwood, its grain coiled like dragons, its eyes embedded with two luminous Green Crystal Stones, locking firmly onto the mountain-like demon below.

It resembled a giant bear, covered entirely in oozing black scales, its mouth and nose spewing foul Demonic Qi flames, each step splintering the frozen ground.

"Suppress!"

Above the wooden statue, a clear shout rang out. Dongfang Qi clad in a blue robe, pinched intricate magic seals with his fingertips, and the ink-colored wooden statue moved.

It raised a hand as immense as a house, the palm’s pattern glowed with faint green light, and before it descended, numerous bowl-sized, thorn-covered vines shot out from the ground, like living creatures they coiled around the demon’s limbs and neck, instantly weaving a dense web of vines over it.

"Roar—!"

The demon roared in pain, the Demonic Qi flames surged abruptly, attempting to burn away the vines, but these tendrils caught fire yet didn’t burn, instead they tightened even further, the barbs embedding deeply into the gaps in the black scales.

As the wooden statue’s palm descended with the sound of howling wind, madness flashed in the demon’s eyes, its full body Demonic Qi erupted violently, as its muscles burst, breaking several vines, its sturdy right fist swathed in pitch-black demon light, meeting the giant palm of the wooden statue head-on.

"Boom—!"

At the instant of collision between giant fist and palm, an immense shockwave exploded, the ice peaks on the valley walls shattered in response, the echoes resonating like thunder, endlessly within the valley.

The demon felt an irresistible force surge up its arm, its bones creaking under the pressure, its whole body like an ant crushed by a boulder, pinned to the ground by the wooden statue’s palm.

The frozen earth collapsed instantly, forming a giant pit several meters deep, and from the wooden statue’s palm surged endless pale green Energy, repeatedly pounding the demon’s body like a hammer.

The demon roared wildly, its Demonic Qi blasted out in a black mist from its body, yet it was firmly suppressed by the wooden statue’s Spiritual Light.