Chapter 166: Mask and Slumber
Chen Rui slowly opened his eyes, only to feel a little drowsy in his head, like he had overslept. A cluster of glowing stones at the top of the cave came into his eyes. They emitted a soft light like magic lamps. It seemed that there were still many people nearby.
Glorfin, God-Eating Mask, the Star Devouring… It seems like I have a dream. Oh right! Athena!
He woke up suddenly and propped himself up. Several people around him were surprised. Tim, Sog, and a few taurens surrounded him.
Chen Rui saw everyone looked alert. He blurted out, “Where’s Athena?”
Tim was immediately relieved and nodded to the crowd, signaling them not to worry. He said, “It truly is a miracle! You really aren’t being controlled by the mask! Otherwise, your first sentence would not be asking about Miss Athena.”
“Tell me, how’s she doing?” Chen Rui stood up anxiously.
“Miss Athena’s condition is not life-threatening. She is just in deep sleep, but she hasn’t woken up yet.” Tim reassured Chen Rui a little bit. He learned from Tim that not only Athena but Dodo had also fallen into a deep sleep. It was probably a result of digesting the spirit-devouring demonic fly. In the battle with Glorfin, Queen Medusa had died. Lysa replaced her mother to continue leading the Medusa Tribe. Lysa initially had Demon King-level powers, but due to her pregnancy, her strength had regressed. At present, the Medusa Tribe was still considered stable.
“This time you saved the entire underground world. Without you, we would all be dead, but it’s a pity that the queen and Lusa…” When he mentioned Lusa, Tim sobbed. Chen Rui patted his shoulder. “Everything is in the past now, Tim. You still have Lysa as well as the unborn child. You must be strong.” Tim nodded. Chen Rui now felt that there was something strange on his face. It was a mask, but for some reason he couldn’t remove it. He exclaimed, “Tim, the mask on my face…”
“That’s right, it’s the ‘God-Eating Mask’. We tried a lot of methods, but couldn’t take it off. Everyone was worried that you were being controlled by Glorfin. Luckily Earth Elemental King told us, you must have used your magical powers to defeat Glorfin. The earth elementals that were being controlled previously have all regained consciousness, and the demonic flies were automatically self-destructed.”
Chen Rui nodded. He faintly remembered that before he lost consciousness, Glorfin’s will had been completely swallowed by the black hole. However, he didn’t know how to remove this “God-Eating Mask”.
The elite earth elemental, Sog came over. He suddenly crossed his hands and knelt on one knee. “Chen Rui, I wanted to kill you when you put on the mask. Please forgive my recklessness and ignorance.”
After asking about the situation, Chen Rui helped Sog stand up. “Your actions at the time were normal. Now, we are all safe. This is the most important thing. Everyone is a friend; there is no need to worry about the past.”
Sog nodded in excitement. At that moment, Chief Tauren Delong, Torre and the others came as they heard the news. They walked in front of Chen Rui. When they saw the mask on his face, they were slightly stunned. They then beat their chest forcefully, “Friend! You’re finally awake!”
“Delong, my friend!” Chen Rui also beat his chest forcefully, and then saluted to Torre and the others.
“Is Athena still not awake yet? I want to see her.”
Delong nodded and said, “She is in the Earth Palace. The Earth Elemental King is casting some power to protect her now. Let’s go together.”
“Protection power?” Chen Rui was taken aback. He clearly remembered that after Athena’s life was burnt up, he fed her the newly exchanged resurrection potion and longevity potion just in time. The resurrection potion was the potion grandmaster’s greatest achievement. As long as one’s life didn’t end and the body was intact, one can be revived within 24 hours; and the longevity potion could also make up for the lifespan problem that burning up life might cause. However, why hadn’t Athena woken up yet?
Chen Rui was anxious. He walked out of the cave. In the Tauren’s Den, the Earth Palace was still in its original place. Chen Rui quickly walked into the palace and saw Athena’s body lying on a stone platform. Her body was faintly glowing. There were several earth elementals sitting next to the stone platform. One of them had a whole body of natural armor; he was the Earth Elemental King.
As soon as Chen Rui walked into the King’s Chamber, the Earth Elemental King felt it. He crossed his hands and bowed to him. “Sir Chen Rui, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you on behalf of all earth elementals. The earth elementals will always remember your kindness.”
The Earth Elemental King had a special heritage. He could easily speak the common language of the Demon Realm. Chen Rui did not dare take the Demon Overlord-level powerhouse’s courtesy lightly and hurriedly returned the bow. The Earth Elemental King looked at him for a while and nodded: “That man’s energy has really disappeared completely. I want to ask, how did you destroy him?”
Chen Rui explained gently that Glorfin was engulfed by a unique talent in his body by a strange combination of circumstances.
The Earth Elemental King groaned. “You have incredible abilities, but the Demon Overlord-level will is not so simple. You might experience some special influence. You need to train continuously to surpass yourself until you reach the peak of the powerhouses.”
Chen Rui’s heart was all on Athena, so he didn’t care too much. He said, “Your Highness, thank you for your reminder. May I ask what’s wrong with my companion? Why hasn’t she woken up yet?”
On the stone platform, Athena was lying quietly. Her chest rose and fell evenly. Her beautiful face looked extraordinarily serene, like a sleeping baby.
The Earth Elemental King replied, “She has just advanced to the Demon King level. While still not yet adapted to her new powers, she had consumed all her life battles. Fortunately, she was brought back to life with the help of the special potion. It was only due to exceeding the limit that it triggered a mutation. She will probably be in this deep sleep for a long time. After she wakes up, her strength will reach new heights. However, this mutation is quite dangerous. There is a chance that she might lose all her power or even endanger her life.”
Mutation? Is it the medicinal power of the devil fruit? Or is it the inheritance of the mutated bloodline? Chen Rui frowned tightly. This should be a great opportunity, but how can I help Athena going through the dangers associat with it? Although I can redeem the resurrection potion after completing the three-star evolution, the resurrection potion canould only be used once on the same person. I have to think of a way!
The Earth Elemental King then said, “Unfortunately, my elemental heart is broken. I only have four days of life left. Otherwise, under the protection of my Earth Power, I can guarantee that she won’t be in danger.”
Chen Rui’s eyes lit up. He asked, “His Royal Highness, I have the best resurrection potion. Can it restore your elemental heart?”
Earth Elemental King did not know how many years he lived underground. Although he inherited knowledge of his element, he still knew nothing about the outside world, However, Tim was different. He previously heard about the resurrection potion from Glorfin. At that time, the situation was urgent, so he didn’t care. Now, after receiving Chen Rui’s confirmation, his heart was shocked. Tim naturally knew what the black potion represented, and what the resurrection potion represented. The appearance of this potion would have a great impact on the Demon Realm. He looked at Chen Rui with obvious awe in his gaze.
The Earth Elemental King shook his head, “Elementals are formed by elements in nature. Unlike ordinary Demon Realm creatures, we cannot use the power of the potion. Although the resurrection potion represents the highest level of potion achievement, it still cannot repair a broken elemental heart.”
“How exactly can I repair the elemental heart?”
The Earth Elemental King replied, “One of the conditions is the fountain of life that you collected. If the fountain of fife can continue to exert its original vitality, plus the Earth Source and the requiem fruit, then the broken elemental heart will slowly restore.”
“The fountain of life is no problem; it can definitely exert its original effect. What is the Earth Source and the requiem fruit?”
The Earth Elemental King said, “The Earth Source is the condensed essence of the Earth Power, which can help the creatures of the earth grow and recover quickly. It can repair the cracks in the elemental heart. The formation of the Earth Source takes a long time. I have some here, but it is not enough. Requiem fruit is a special kind of rare fruit that has a strange soul power. It gathers scattered souls. Its juice is the key to finally polymerize the elemental heart.”
The Earth Source can help the creatures of the earth grow and recover quickly? Chen Rui had an idea and asked, “Can the His Royal Highness show me the Earth Source?”
The Earth Elemental King nodded. Some strange crystal fragments appeared in his hands. Chen Rui took one piece to have a look. A faint mist appeared in his hands, and it actually prompted that it could be transplanted. After obtaining the Earth Elemental King’s consent, he used 10,000 auras to transplant this crystal into the Star Garden.
Star Garden prompt: Unknown species. Each unit matures in nine days. It can mature repeatedly. It consumes magic dust every day. Current status: Flying.
In other words, there were currently 2 units, and 2 units grew every ten days. They could be harvested repeatedly as well. It was just that the Earth Elemental King only had four days left to live. There was not enough time.
“I don’t know if this magic dust can replace the role of the Earth Source?” Chen Rui took out a handful of powder and asked the Earth Elemental King.
Earth Elemental King carefully looked at the dust in his hands. There was a faint wonder in his voice, “This powder doesn’t seem to have any power, but as an earth elemental, I can feel the specialness inside it. This wonderous energy is similar to the Earth Source. It should be able to be used as a substitute. However, their purity is too low. Their power is not enough to meet the requirements of repairing the elemental heart.”
Hearing the last sentence, Chen Rui’s heart suddenly sank. The purity is too low… He suddenly remembered some prompts in Star Garden. These dust were just “level one magic dust”. He remembered there was a condition of upgrading the pivotal fairy, “level two refined dust”. Could this be…
“In terms of purity, I might have a way!” As Chen Rui said, he took out a crimson fruit with the size of a goose egg. “Is this the requiem fruit?”
“Very strange energy…” Earth Elemental King took the fruit. His eyes were flashing with surprise. “Can I try it?”
“Of course!”
He cracked open the aura fruit. The juice filled with aura gradually seeped into the Earth Elemental King’s hands. After a short while, the Earth Elemental King’s closed eyes opened. “Clearly, this is not a requiem fruit.”
Chen Rui felt a pang of regret in his heart. Of course, he couldn’t be that lucky to carry everything required. The Earth Elemental King’s next words gave him some hope. “To fully repair the elemental heart, I need the requiem fruit. However, this fruit of yours has a different kind of magical power. If you can provide enough high-purity magic dust and this fruit, plus the fountain of life, although it cannot repair the elemental heart, my life should last until the your companion wakes up.”
Chen Rui tried his best to control the excitement and nodded. “I will restore the fountain of life in the Tauren’s Den first, and then I will try to improve the purity of the magic dust. As for the fruit… how many are required?”
“The preciousness of this fruit is no less than the requiem fruit. Just give me ten is enough. As an earth elemental who is very familiar with the earth and plants, I can feel that the fruit is extremely fresh, as if it has just been picked.” The Earth Elemental King revealed a wishful light. “Everyone has their own secrets; I won’t ask further. Maybe you can really make miracle happen again. Regardless of whether the elemental heart can be repaired, you are forever a friend of the earth elementals.”
Chen Rui took out ten aura fruits, bowed to the Earth Elemental King and then left. In addition to restoring the fountain of life, he also has an important test he had to conduct on the magic dust immediately. This was related to whether Athena would be able to survive the mutation period.
Next, Chen Rui spent 100,000 auras to transplant the fountain of life from the Star Garden and placed it in the original “puddle” in the Tauren’s Den. Currently, the puddle no longer had that light yellow crystal light, and the size of the fountain of life was five or six times larger than before it was kept in Star Garden.
Seeing the taurens cheering and jumping, Chen Rui smiled slightly at Delong. Without staying, he returned directly to the resting cave and entered the Super System.
The first thing that he saw was the “Sun as the center of the galaxy” boot screen, which was beautiful and peaceful. After fighting Glorfin, Chen Rui had understood that this space was not just good-looking. It was just as Glorfin said, it must be a spiritual realm, or more accurately, a small universe in his consciousness.
In this space, there was one thing hovering quietly, it did not seem to be affected by the gravity of the planet.
This is a mask, “God-Eating Mask”!
But it was just the “God-Eating Mask”. Glorfin’s consciousness had completely dissipated, only leaving behind one of the seven Demon Realm artifacts that was as famous as the Sword of Fallen Angel and Dark Shadow Cape.
Chen Rui tried, but he couldn’t store it into the storage space. He couldn’t use “Star Devouring”. Perhaps this was why the “God-Eating Mask” couldn’t be removed from his face.
Glorfin’s Demon Overlord willpower was so powerful. Although it was devoured by Star Devouring, it couldn’t be “digested” for a while. It could only be stored in this space to be slowly absorbed for his own use after today .
Chen Rui did not try to deal with the “God-Eating Mask” again. Now he had more important things to do. As he was struck with inspiration, he already appeared on the throne of the Galaxy Divinity Temple.
He obtained a legendary artifact? Can he control it or he would be controlled by it?