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Chapter 637: UFO
🕑 Added 2025-09-19 13:00:22 +0000 UTCAlthough Tianyi said he would halt his exploration into the Nine Hells Abyss, he stepped into the devilish lair once more. This time, he was not garbed in a devilish guise.
He still used a realm conduit, but he had an extra layer of protection. It was not the Phenex Body, but a newly created “angel” of Tianyi’s own design. It didn’t have an organic form and resembled a UFO from science fiction. The metallic sheen contrasted greatly against the dim darkness of the abyss.
It was a rudimentary angel, and many of the parts came from disassembled angels, along with some processed materials from the Nine Heavens Universe. Of course, it also had a secret that he didn’t plan on hiding—at least not for long.
Tianyi had not come up with a name for it yet. He thought about using Valkyrie, but they already existed in the Thorson System, and taking that name would only bring trouble.
The UFO angel’s body was like a beacon in the dark Nine Hells Abyss, attracting the attention of the nearby devils. The devils swarmed the radiant invader. It wasn’t obvious because of the dim light, but those countless devils appeared like cockroaches scuttling toward one point. There were even some that flew.
Although Tianyi did not fear them, the countless devils coming toward him still disgusted him. The countless barrels aimed at them. Brilliant and crackling bullets burst out of them and shot down the incoming devils, leaving smoke in the air or craters on the ground.
It was an indiscriminate attack. It seemed impressive, but the actual number of confirmed hits was less than ten. However, the hit rate increased the closer the devils came. Many devils chickened out and turned tail once they saw the devastation wrought or narrowly survived, but more continued their reckless charge, their minds corroded by the abyss.
The bullets were created from condensed lightning. Because of its purity, it dealt simple and direct damage that could only be offset by targeting the lightning element or withstanding it. Tianyi only planned to use his mastery over the Law of Lightning for this excursion, and just like when he fought the Concealed Emperor, he wanted to use the pressure of battle to break through.
After reaching their destination, the lightning did not dissipate and remained on the cratered ground. Any devil who walked within a hundred meters would be immediately chained by lightning, constantly shocked until the energy powering the bullet disappeared.
Although the lightning bullets remained, some gained a dark tint from the pervading devilish energy, but Tianyi cared not. He continued to shoot lightning bullets like he had endless energy—which he did. Once the devils reached a kilometer from the UFO, the accuracy of the bullets increased to over fifty percent.
The UFO remained stationary even as the devils rushed onto it like little ticks. Their claws slashed at the argent form, leaving only sparks behind. They bit and clawed at the metal but could not damage it at all. The more cunning devils tried to find a seam or opening to enter the machine.
A few even attempted to climb into the barrels, but all they got for their trouble was a mouthful of lightning, which resulted in their heads bursting like watermelons. The more scheming devils used the corpses of their brethren to stuff the barrels, hoping to clog them up and cause damage.
Tianyi continued to calmly shoot bullets of lightning, even as more devils reached him. When it felt like almost all the devils that saw him had reached the appropriate range, he began the next phase of his attack. The orb situated at the bottom of the machine lit up. It revealed a brilliant blue light that crackled with yellow. A condensed sphere of lightning descended from the orb, causing it to dim.
The lightning sphere moved very slowly, at least in comparison to the bullets. Many of the devils unable to reach Tianyi jumped out of the way. Some even had the leisure to leave a mocking giggle. They didn’t laugh for long.
Once the lightning sphere reached the ground, it exploded. The streaks of lightning burst out and connected with the bullets, which had transformed into relay points, forming a lightning net. The net attacked everything that was not lightning or part of the ground. That naturally included the devils. They were turned into charcoal and disappeared into dust.
The devils on the ground were the first to bear the brunt of the lightning web, but the devils in the air or on the UFO were not spared either—especially when Tianyi shot more lightning bullets, which instantly turned into relays and connected the web on the ground, forming a lightning net of heaven and earth.
Devilish shrieks pervaded the air, and some mimicked the cries of a wounded beast or child, but Tianyi had no mercy. He continued to bombard the devils. Clear that they were no match for this metallic foe, the devils retreated. They had no choice. Even though Tianyi would point the barrels at them, they had to flee. If they stayed, even the devil with the thickest skin would eventually turn into charcoal.
The devils left, but Tianyi did not. He halted his offensive and waited. A few devils were hiding outside the range of the previous bombardment, but Tianyi’s purpose was not them. He continued to observe the contamination effect of the devilish energy on his created lightning.
The lightning persevered valiantly. It did not lose energy like it would in the True Nothingness. That wasn’t exactly true. The energy sustaining the lightning was depleting at a fast rate, but the surging devilish energy was replacing the used-up energy, tainting the lightning. After a while, Tianyi found his control over the lightning weakening, and eventually disappearing altogether.
The tainted lightning gained a black and poisonous sheen. It clumped together and formed a pseudo-egg. The egg split into two parts, and eight legs poked out of the smaller half. It was a spider—a fuzzy spider made of pure devil lightning.
The devil spider did not possess higher intelligence and instantly jumped high into the air and attacked Tianyi. The eight legs clung to the UFO, and the contact released electric shocks. Tianyi remained unfazed by the shock. Since he created the angel’s form to release electric attacks, it also had high lightning resistance. Even the corruption of the devilish energy from the devil lightning was not as strong as the regular version.
Tianyi did not want to leave behind any hidden dangers, so he chose to kill the newborn devil spider. The saucer-shaped body spun. Its form blurred into a disc as it did so, but the devil spider hung on. However, that would be its downfall, as lightning spikes emerged from the edge, creating a chainsaw effect from the rotation.
The devil shrieked and split into several chunks. The chunks wriggled and tried to merge into one again. After all, it was an energy creature, and physical attacks should not deal much damage—but Tianyi had already thought of that. So the chunks could not merge into one again, and without a core, the devil merged with the surrounding energy, becoming strands of devilish energy, only with the lightning attribute.
After making sure the devil spider did not respond, Tianyi left. The UFO still drew attention, but it wasn’t as loud as when it first descended. Those who did not know fear and attacked it were obliterated. After a few battles, Tianyi realized that no amount of combat on the first level would improve his mastery over the Law of Lightning, even if he purposely attracted attention.
So he descended to the lower levels. He also encountered members of the All Pantheon Alliance who had taken the devil-culling mission. From his knowledge, most only traveled to the first, second, and third levels. Going to the fourth and beyond was not prohibited but gravely warned against.
A few of them noticed the UFO and tried to contact it, but Tianyi ignored them all. He had to admit their bravery. Even if it was obvious that he was not related to the devils, what if he was a powerful devil in disguise? Granted, such devils did not roam the upper floors, and the chances were slim.
He did not want to connect this form with his identity. And he had just bought a bunch of angels and production methods, which increased the likelihood of exposure. Perhaps if he were in a more playful mood, he would have contacted them with a made-up identity, like a high-ranking member of the Machina System or the like. Unfortunately, he was not in the mood.
And so, reports of an unidentified flying object appeared in the All Pantheon Alliance.
Tianyi repeated his actions on the second and third levels. This time, he made sure not to create another devil spider. Compared to blood-and-flesh lifeforms, energy was much more easily corrupted into devils. Thinking back, of all the energy-type devils he encountered, few had sapience. Perhaps it was a trade-off.
Only when entering the fourth level did Tianyi stop and rest. The argent sheen of the UFO dulled into a dark blue, one that matched the underside of the third level. The monsters on the fourth level took several shots to kill. Not that Tianyi minded them, but it seemed like small fries would not help him achieve the divine level of the Law of Lightning. He wanted a tougher opponent like the false Marquis Phenex.
He continued his journey through the Nine Hells Abyss. The encroachment of the devilish energy did not deter Tianyi, and he did not stop to release the devilish energy like he did with his two realm conduits.
Tianyi built the UFO angel like humans built a diving suit or space suit. It was made specifically to resist the devilish encroachment. In times of yore, angels were more tools than lifeforms. This made it hard for the Nine Hells Abyss to tempt them. Even if an angel were filled with devilish energy, it would still carry out its prime directive.
The core of the UFO angel was still a Realm Core. Tianyi had cut off the Phenex prefix from the name since it would be used for more than just the Phenex Body. Unlike the angelic Phenex Body, the UFO angel had two energy cores. One was for the Realm Core, and the other was empty. No, Tianyi did not intend to use two Realm Cores for one angel. The second energy core was for the absorption of devilish energy.
The UFO’s inner frame and guns were connected to the Realm Core, while the outer armor, with more surface area, was connected to the empty core, which was made from a material that could store devilish energy. Some devilish energy would still slip into the inner frame, but the bulk of it would be absorbed by the armor. Not only that, Tianyi also connected some barrels to the secondary core.
It could condense the devilish energy into a bullet and shoot it. It was as powerful as the lightning Tianyi activated from the inner frame, but it lessened the contact. The process was akin to pressing a button and activating a cannon.
Tianyi had not found a better method to utilize the devilish energy for now. He did not want to have direct contact with it, and this discharge could reduce the energy absorbed by the UFO, theoretically extending the time it could stay in the Nine Hells Abyss.
That said, it would still take more testing to ensure its viability. Tianyi did not think the devilish energy would be so simply expelled. Who knows—it may take much more effort to expel devilish energy from inanimate objects than from creatures of flesh and blood.
His journey took him through the fifth level, and he soon found himself on the sixth level again. Unlike the previous time, there were no devils guarding the entrance. It didn’t surprise Tianyi. He took the same entrance as he had the first time. Unless Dantalion wanted to continue the ruse, it’d be stranger if his devil legion were stationed at this entrance.
The reason Tianyi chose the same entrance was because of the information he had gotten from interrogating those avian-type devils. Rather than choose a random entrance and grope in the dark, wasn’t it more reliable to choose a tried-and-true path?
The UFO flew toward the nearest abyss lord’s territory. To Tianyi’s disappointment, the abyss lord was so-so. It was even weaker than the amnesiac Chunsang. He killed it after learning the territory of the nearby abyss lords. Because he did not intend to hide his presence or pretend to be a demon, he did not take the corpse into his inner realm and left it behind after scattering the remains to the wind.
Two abyss lords later, Tianyi came to the fourth abyss lord. This one was much more promising, as it had fishlike devils swimming through the air like patrols. At the center of the territory were some giant starfish. Perhaps a biological castle?
