CHAPTER 355: CHAPTER 316: MISSING A GOOD OPPORTUNITY

A centipede dies but never falls.

This saying refers to the tenacity of an insect’s life force; even when cut into pieces, it doesn’t die immediately.

Gao Xuan, to preserve the integrity of the Thought Sensing Body, only stopped after slashing through Starlight’s body.

According to the records in the Book of All-Knowing, the Mechanical Battle Cicada will absorb the Thought Sensing Body, converting it into its own War Spirit. This is how the Mechanical Battle Cicada can be activated.

What Gao Xuan found surprising was that the Thought Sensing Body absorbed by the Mechanical Battle Cicada still retained part of its consciousness. This was very problematic.

Starlight had its own independent consciousness. If his consciousness occupied the Mechanical Battle Cicada, then it would become a marvel of Starlight, having nothing to do with Gao Xuan anymore.

Such a change was not recorded in the Book of All-Knowing.

However, none of this mattered. Gao Xuan wasn’t a child who needed to step-by-step follow an instruction manual.

When unexpected situations arose, he relied on his experience and wisdom to make immediate judgments. This was not a time to retreat.

The Six-winged Celestial Cicada chirped loudly, and Gao Xuan’s consciousness delved into the core of the Mechanical Battle Cicada. The Celestial Mandate Sword Intent continuously vibrated.

The consciousness of Starlight that occupied the Mechanical Battle Cicada was immediately shattered under the vibrating Sword Intent.

After his body was slain by Gao Xuan, most of Starlight’s consciousness dissipated. The Mechanical Battle Cicada absorbed all the energy of the Thought Sensing Body. What remained was a fragmentary consciousness, instinctively trying to seize the Mechanical Battle Cicada.

Faced with Gao Xuan’s Celestial Mandate Sword Intent, Starlight’s residual consciousness couldn’t hold on.

Gao Xuan drove the Celestial Mandate Sword Intent back and forth, conducting a thorough sweep of the Mechanical Battle Cicada on a conscious level.

The Mechanical Battle Cicada itself had no consciousness and couldn’t resist Gao Xuan’s Celestial Mandate Sword Intent.

Once Gao Xuan was sure that Starlight’s consciousness was completely eradicated, his spiritual consciousness then entered the core of the Mechanical Battle Cicada.

The core of the Mechanical Battle Cicada was of an incomparably complex structure. Starlight’s residual consciousness had actually only occupied the surface layer of the core.

From the perspective of spiritual consciousness, the core of the Mechanical Battle Cicada was a myriad of interlocking gears. These gears exuded a metallic texture, and their precise assembly rendered them full of industrial beauty.

The gears and various transmission devices were not entirely real substances. Instead, they manifested as energy when the Mechanical Battle Cicada was activated.

Without the guidance of a map from the Book of All-Knowing, Gao Xuan’s consciousness wanted to break through the complex structure and would have to engage in a hard battle with the Mechanical Battle Cicada’s own energy.

Now, Gao Xuan was like someone holding a labyrinth map, capable of following the safest path through the many complex structures of the Mechanical Battle Cicada, straight to the core.

The core of the Mechanical Battle Cicada was a mass of crimson flame, shaped like a human heart. The flame flickered rhythmically, like a heart beating.

This core connected to the deep layers of the Sea of Source Power, and with each beat, it could draw immense Source Power from the Sea of Source Power, providing vast energy to the Mechanical Battle Cicada.

The Mechanical Battle Cicada was rapidly recovering its power and vitality.

Gao Xuan knew he couldn’t wait any longer; his spiritual consciousness landed directly on the Flame Core.

The blazing power of the Flame Core was more terrifying than a fiery flame, causing Gao Xuan’s Divine Soul to tremble with intense pain, as if his entire Divine Soul was about to be burned through by the scorching power.

The indescribable agony was like having his Divine Soul torn into strips and then roasted and pierced with needles. Gao Xuan’s consciousness nearly collapsed on the spot.

In his two lifetimes combined, he had never experienced this level of pain.

One must know that human perceptive abilities have limits. Human consciousness also possesses self-protection capabilities, and under excessively intense pain, a person would directly short-circuit and restart.

Gao Xuan’s spiritual strength was too strong, and having established the closest Divine Soul connection with the Mechanical Battle Cicada’s Flame Core, he directly bore the impact brought by the Flame Core.

If Gao Xuan so wished, he could have passed out to protect himself in this way.

The issue was that while the Flame Core and his Divine Soul were interconnected, it also transmitted a large amount of information. At this moment, he absolutely needed to keep his consciousness clear.

Missing this information, he might not be able to leave a spiritual mark on the core, nor control the Mechanical Battle Cicada.

To not withstand the power of the Mechanical Battle Cicada meant one was unqualified to control it.

In fact, the sharp pain only lasted a few seconds, but for Gao Xuan, it seemed as long as a millennium.

During the extreme pain, he had to maintain a calm demeanor to process all the information.

Once the pain subsided, Gao Xuan’s spiritual mark finally established a connection with the Flame Core.

The Mechanical Battle Cicada vibrated its wings with a clear sound and landed on the Six-winged Celestial Cicada.

The originally golden Six-winged Celestial Cicada now seemed as if it had been sprayed with a layer of black metallic coating. Its external lines appeared more rigid and sharp.

To be precise, it seemed as if the Six-winged Celestial Cicada was wearing a custom-made Black Iron Armor.

The small Six-winged Celestial Cicada surprisingly now exuded an aura of fierce dominance.

The successful fusion of the Mechanical Battle Cicada with the Six-winged Celestial Cicada allowed Gao Xuan to breathe a sigh of relief.

He had worked so hard for this moment.

Gao Xuan was too exhausted even to check the various powers and transformations brought by the Mechanical Battle Cicada. He slumped to the ground, like a completely depleted old man, his mind blank.

The pain earlier was so terrifying it nearly broke his will.

If given a second chance, he wasn’t sure if he would still choose the Mechanical Battle Cicada.

Without personally experiencing such pain, one cannot comprehend how terrifying it truly is.

People often feel troubled by ordinary and boring matters. In reality, these emotional changes don’t hold a candle to true agony.

Some always think they can conquer any pain, but that’s because they’ve never truly tried to endure real pain.

After experiencing the soul-wrenching pain of having one’s Divine Soul torn apart, although Gao Xuan’s body suffered no damage, his spirit was almost on the brink of collapse.

Thus, after catching his breath, he had no desire to do anything.

While Gao Xuan sat lazily on the ground in a daze, the substrate structures damaged by the battle began to rumble and quake violently.

The soil layer above the Crystal Cave collapsed with a roar, but Gao Xuan remained unmoving, allowing himself to be buried by the soil and rocks.

The Celestial Dragon Eye naturally transformed into Source Breath, drawing enough energy for Gao Xuan’s body.

The Celestial Spirit Battle Armor naturally bore all the pressure, protecting Gao Xuan’s body.

For ordinary people, a mass of earth weighing billions of tons would be certain death. For Gao Xuan, this earth posed no threat.

Compared to the concentrated energy wielded by the powerful, no matter how vast, such natural forces could barely threaten a strong individual.

Gao Xuan now had only one thought: "I’m so tired, I want to sleep..."

Then, he truly fell asleep.

In the battle with Starlight, Gao Xuan had expended every ounce of effort. Being struck by the Mechanical Battle Cicada depleted his spiritual power severely.

When he finally relaxed, he naturally drifted into slumber.

The violent underground tremors transmitted all the way to the surface. Many combat personnel within Raccoon City felt a slight sensation of vibration.

The surveillance satellites in the sky, using high-definition optical lenses, also detected strong vibrations beneath Raccoon City.

Using the Light Computer calculations, the epicenter was even pinpointed.

Within minutes, Yu Canghai received a detailed technical analysis.

In the command room, a large light screen displayed the structural changes of the ground using virtual animation images.

Yu Lingji assessed, "It must be a strong force battling that disrupted the ground structure, causing the earthquake."

She suggested, "Uncle, it must be Gao Xuan fighting the Insect Race. If we drop a nuclear bomb centered here, Gao Xuan is dead."

However, Yu Canghai had some doubts; basing the judgment solely on an earthquake analysis to determine Gao Xuan’s location seemed a bit rash.

Moreover, the epicenter was located tens of kilometers underground, making it difficult to deploy a nuclear bomb to such depths.

A nuclear bomb outfitted with a special warhead can penetrate ten kilometers into the Earth’s crust, but that’s the limit.

In this case, only robots and manual deployment can be used.

Seeing Yu Canghai hesitating, Yu Lingji suggested, "Why not activate the Space Fortress Main Cannon?"

Yu Canghai asked, "Can you be certain Gao Xuan is there?"

Looking at the tracking map, Yu Lingji said, "Gao Xuan hasn’t moved, he should be within this area."

The accuracy of the tracking map isn’t high, with a margin of error of about ten to twenty kilometers.

Yu Lingji could only determine Gao Xuan’s general vicinity, unable to pinpoint an exact location.

However, she felt this location was already sufficient, as Gao Xuan was clearly stationary.

The tracking map is limited: it can be used only three times a day, and this was already the second time.

Yet, Yu Canghai was unwilling to take the risk; activating the Space Fortress Main Cannon was easy, but failing to kill Gao Xuan would alert him.

The Space Main Cannon is precise enough to hit targets the size of a basketball from hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

The problem lies in the main cannon’s precision being too concentrated, with a very limited impact range. Without precise coordinates, it’s difficult to hit Gao Xuan.

After some thought, Yu Canghai said, "No matter what, Gao Xuan is bound to head to the central plaza of Raccoon City. At that time, a nuclear bomb launch would be foolproof."

Yu Lingji felt a bit helpless, thinking Yu Canghai was too conservative.

Nonetheless, Yu Canghai was the commander and also her elder. Regardless of her reluctance, she could only obey orders.

Yu Lingji reluctantly stared at the unmoving red dot on the map, wondering what Gao Xuan was doing.

"Is he injured? That’s why he’s not moving?"

Regrettably, her uncle had no desire to test it out.

After a few minutes, the red dot on the tracking map slowly disappeared. Yu Lingji could only sigh helplessly.

She had a gut feeling they had missed a good opportunity!