Absolute Destiny Game.

Chapter 632 Black Liquid Experiments and the Taming Dilemma

Xiao Jie's spiritual consciousness gradually gathered in the void space of "the universe within the belly," and once again coalesced into a clear image of himself.

He hovered silently in mid-air, looking down at the scene below. Compared to the desolate and empty primitive state with only piles of rocks half a month ago, this dimensional space that belonged to him had now completely changed.

To facilitate long-term, systematic observation and experimentation with these eerie black liquids, Xiao Jie undertook a major overhaul of this "internal universe".

He used his magical powers to pulverize and reshape the scattered boulders, creating large tracts of flat or undulating land.

It also draws in a large amount of clear water from the outside, creating several lakes of varying sizes and winding streams.

Furthermore, with the magical power of "nurturing plants," it gave rise to vast expanses of lush green flowers and verdant forests.

Today, the "belly of heaven and earth" has become a miniature world showing signs of life. Although the overall area is still not very large, with a diameter of only a few dozen miles, it is small but complete, with all kinds of basic landforms such as plains, hills, water areas, and woodlands, and has begun to take shape as an ecosystem.

To ensure the safety and controllability of the experiment, Xiao Jie used his immortal power and rocks to further isolate and divide the area into dozens of independent, enclosed zones separated by thick stone walls.

Although these black liquids were extremely aggressive, they fortunately seemed to lack any subjective will, acting entirely on instinct and showing no reaction to barriers constructed of inorganic materials like rocks and soil. Therefore, Xiao Jie used his immortal magic to create dozens of tireless and absolutely obedient rock golems to handle daily cleaning and maintenance, as well as the most crucial task—safely transporting and isolating these dangerous black liquids according to instructions.

Hundreds of black liquid clumps of varying sizes were placed in different stone chambers or specific outdoor areas by Xiao Jie according to the experimental plan for observation and testing.

For the past two weeks, Xiao Jie has entered this space every day, devoting a great deal of energy to conducting various experiments on the black liquid. The experiments have yielded promising initial results, but a critical bottleneck has also been encountered.

Xiao Jie snapped his fingers, and a thick hardcover notebook and a fountain pen appeared out of thin air, hovering in front of him.

The notebook opened automatically, revealing numerous experimental records and observations written in clear and neat handwriting:

[Experiment Log, Part 2]

Date: Day 3 of observation.

Based on previous preliminary tests, no autonomous consciousness was found in the black liquid itself. Its behavior pattern is closer to that of primitive single-celled organisms or some kind of rudimentary collective consciousness, showing a pure, instinctive desire to devour organic life.

After feeding and devouring the venomous snakes, wolves, tigers, and other wild beasts conjured by demonic power on the first day, an astonishing phenomenon occurred when I entered this space a second time—some of the black liquid exhibited a clear 'mimicry'! It was no longer a pool of shapeless slime, but spontaneously transformed into the shapes of the creatures it had devoured, such as snakes, wolves, and tigers…

Although their shape is remarkably lifelike when stationary, they instantly revert to irregular black liquid tentacles when they attack.

However, I keenly noticed that these black liquid mimics, in their non-aggressive state, seemed to vaguely inherit and exhibit some basic behavioral habits of the organisms they devoured. Based on this, I boldly speculate that during the process of devouring organisms, these black liquids likely absorbed, analyzed, and integrated the organism's genetic information, and on this basis, gradually underwent targeted gene expression and morphological transformation.

I decided to continue feeding different black liquid mimics to the same type of wild animals, separately and continuously, to observe the stability of their mimicry and the evolution of their behavioral patterns, thereby confirming my hypothesis...

[Experiment Log, Issue 3]

Date: Day 4 of observation.

My hypothesis has been initially proven successful! The mimics, continuously fed the same species of wild animals, became increasingly stable in form, richer in detail, and more and more like the creatures they were constantly consuming. They even began to exhibit more complex predatory and resting behaviors. I officially numbered fifteen of the most stable and successful mimics (1-15) as long-term observation samples. The other black liquid clumps remain sealed as basic experimental material for future use…

[Experiment Log, Issue 4]

Date: Entering the fifth day of observation.

Today I used the 'Enlightenment' spell on number 5 (the wolf-shaped mimic), successfully granting it a system-recognized health bar and monster name [Black Spot (Mimic Beast)]. Therefore, it can be concluded that the unenlightened raw black liquid is not considered an independent [unit] by the system, but rather regarded as a "fragment of a demon star's corpse."

I tried using 'Taming' on the newly awakened #5, but the system prompted 'Target's Wildness Level is too high; cannot be tamed.' It seems I need to find a way to lower its inherent Wildness Level or increase its affinity. Perhaps I can try more awakening and taming attempts under different conditions; maybe different individuals and different feeding methods will yield different results…

[Experiment Log, Issue 5]

Date: Day 6 of observation.

Another failure. I tried using the Beast Taming Technique on multiple transformed mimics, and without exception, all attempts failed. These black liquid mimics seem to harbor a deep-seated hostility towards me; as soon as I get close enough, they immediately go on alert and attack without hesitation.

The 'Enlightenment' spell can theoretically increase the initial affinity of the enlightened creature towards the caster, but its effect on this type of Black Liquid creature is negligible. All enlightened Black Liquid creatures are in a hostile red-name state.

The success rate of animal taming remained consistently 0%. A method to increase favorability or reduce hostility must be found. To increase sample diversity, I added fifteen more mimics of different forms (numbers 16-30) as experimental subjects…

[Experiment Log, Issue 6]

Date: Seventh day of observation.

I've decided to try creating a humanoid mimic. The reason those beast-like forms are untamable might be because their intelligence level is too low to communicate effectively and understand commands.

If the target were to devour a more intelligent human, it should theoretically become a humanoid mimic and potentially inherit a higher level of intelligence. To increase its affinity with me, I decided to use clones created by my 'cloning technique' to feed it.

However, to avoid any uncontrollable accidents, I decided to create a large number of low-level clones that have no magical power and only basic mobility as feeding material...

[Experiment Log, Issue 7]

Date: Day 8 of observation.

The first humanoid mimic (number 37) was successfully cultivated. Its outline is vaguely humanoid, but the details are rough and the facial features are unclear.

Initial observations suggest that its intelligence level is not significantly higher than in its beast form, and it still maintains a strong hostility towards me. I suspect that the root of this black liquid creature's hostility towards a specific target likely lies in my participation in the siege and eventual killing of the Demon Star's true form.

These black liquids, as derivatives or fragments of the demonic star, seem to possess some kind of deep-seated 'muscle memory' or a mark of hatred. Continue feeding them to more low-level clones, observing the evolution of their intelligence and humanoid features…

[Experiment Log, Issue 8]

Date: Day 10 of observation.

Finally, we have achieved some progress! Test subject number 28 (tiger form) is the largest, most perfectly mimicking, and exhibits the strongest strength and speed among all the test subjects so far.

Its health bar is displayed as ???, and its level is a whopping 55. If successfully tamed, it could definitely become an extremely powerful battle pet. I feel that even ordinary immortals would find it very troublesome and difficult to deal with a creature possessing some of the characteristics of a demon star.

The only problem is that the possibility of taming it remains slim. Some of my previous guesses may have been wrong or incomplete. This black liquid seems to harbor a natural and intractable hostility towards all life forms, launching attacks immediately, as if its sole purpose is to devour and destroy.

After continuous feeding, Subject No. 37 (humanoid) has been able to utter some indistinct syllables and has a rudimentary language ability, but its intelligence level is still not ideal and its logic is confused.

Subject 66 (bear-shaped) remains unremarkable, exhibiting unstable form and chaotic behavior. Never mind, if it still doesn't respond positively in the next enlightenment experiment, just proceed with the destruction process to save resources…

[Experiment Log, Issue 15]

Date: Day 18 of observation (today).

"Experimental Diary, Issue 15: Today we will attempt to enlighten and tame a new batch of test subjects. We hope to achieve a breakthrough this time, at least creating a successful test subject capable of basic communication and with reduced hostility..."

Xiao Jie looked at the notes in his notebook and muttered to himself, summarizing his plans for the day. The pen automatically and smoothly copied his words onto a new page of the notebook.

Xiao Jie had already formed a clear idea in his mind on how to utilize these black liquids: First, by feeding specific kinds of wild beasts (or humanoid clones) over a long period of time in a targeted manner, he could induce the black liquids to exhibit stable and specific mimicry reactions.

Then, the mature mimicry is given "enlightenment" to endow it with intelligence, transforming it from "corpse fragments" into "units" that are officially recognized by the system.

Finally, use "Beast Taming" on the mimic that has become a "unit" to try to tame it, with the ultimate goal of making it a summon or pet that you can control.

If successfully tamed, theoretically one could possess a powerful pet with some of the characteristics of a demon star! This thing is incredibly versatile, capable of mimicking almost any creature, and its combat power is absurdly strong, especially its ability to absorb energy and physically transform. Getting one would definitely boost one's overall combat strength significantly!

However, while the idea was appealing, reality proved harsh. The biggest challenge came when it came to taming the wild beast.

He slowly descended from the sky. In the experimental area below, most of the black liquid was currently in a state of isolation and sealing. He had previously conducted three rounds of formal enlightenment and taming experiments, each time enlightening three to five different mature experimental subjects, covering various forms such as tigers, wolves, eagles, apes, and snakes.

Without exception, all the black liquid creatures that were enlightened immediately went berserk and launched a frenzied attack on him, making it impossible to communicate with them in any way, and the beast taming technique failed repeatedly.

However, Xiao Jie did not give up hope. He knew that the path of scientific research (or rather, metaphysical experiments) was never smooth sailing; failure was the mother of success, and each failure eliminated a wrong option and accumulated valuable data. "Let's start with test subject number 28 first," Xiao Jie thought. This was a rather large black liquid aggregate, with a volume of two cubic meters, and its mimicry form was a jet-black, muscular tiger. It was also among the first batch of black liquid aggregates to show a stable mimicry reaction, making it a "veteran" among all the test subjects, and the only surviving and best-performing one from the first batch.

In order to maximize its potential favorability or reduce its hostility, Xiao Jie persisted in using the skill 'Feeding Beasts', feeding it tiger-shaped monster phantoms of the same kind for a full half month.

Xiao Jie arrived at a closed experimental area specifically used for enlightenment and interactive testing. It was a spacious, enclosed stone chamber constructed of thick rock.

"Bring in Subject 28." He gave the command to the rock golem guarding outside through his divine sense.

The heavy stone door slowly opened, and a rock golem carefully pushed an iron cage in, inside which was the black tiger mimic.

The puppet placed the iron cage in the center of the room, then quickly withdrew, and the stone door closed again.

Xiao Jie took a deep breath, formed a hand seal, channeled his immortal power, and pointed at the black tiger in the iron cage:
Immortal Technique - Enlightenment!

A soft golden light shot out from his fingertips, entered the black tiger's forehead, and disappeared instantly.

The tiger's massive body trembled slightly, and its previously empty, dark eyes blinked, revealing for the first time a lively light like that of a real creature. At the same time, its name and health bar appeared above its head.

【Black Fiend (Mimicry Beast)】: Level 55 Innate Spirit, Health Points: ? ? ? ? .

"I know you can understand me now," Xiao Jie said, trying to keep his tone calm but with an undeniable air of authority. "I am your creator and your master. Submit to me, offer your loyalty, and I can grant you greater power and a wider space to live; otherwise..."

"Roar--!!!"

A roar filled with violence and destructive desire abruptly interrupted Xiao Jie's voice! The fleeting glimmer of light that had just appeared in the black tiger's eyes was instantly replaced by a ferocious crimson gleam! It suddenly reared up, its massive body unleashing an astonishing speed disproportionate to its size, executing a classic tiger pounce, sweeping through the air with a gust of wind! Its speed far surpassed that of any tiger in nature, almost transforming into a black lightning bolt!
"Damn it! Another failure!" Xiao Jie cursed inwardly, speechless. After feeding him for so many days, was he really not tame at all?
His reaction was extremely fast; almost the instant the tiger pounced, his protective magic was activated.
Immortal Technique - Mystic Tortoise Armor Technique!

Buzz! The tortoise shell shield, composed of countless hexagonal transparent spiritual lights, instantly appeared, completely protecting Xiao Jie.

Bang! A dull thud! The black tiger slammed its head into the solid shield. The enormous impact caused its simulated tiger head to instantly disintegrate, reverting to a pool of splashing, writhing black liquid that clung to the edge of the shield like mud.

But in the next instant, the black liquid quickly flowed back and condensed, returning to its tiger form once more.

It raised its two front paws high, and the tips of those tiger paws transformed into terrifying, obsidian-like claws that gleamed with a chilling light! It then began to tear at the Xuan Turtle's armor with a frenzy!
Sizzle! Sizzle! The ear-piercing tearing sound rang out. The Xuan Turtle Spirit Armor, which was strong enough to withstand several punches from Wu Qingyue, was under the frenzied attack of these strange black claws. Its spiritual light flickered violently, and its surface was instantly covered with deep, crisscrossing claw marks. It looked like it was about to give way and shatter completely!
Wow, this thing is really powerful! Its physical attack power is comparable to that of an ordinary immortal.

Unfortunately, they could not be used by me in the end.

Immortal Technique - Blazing Heavenly Fire!
Xiao Jie dared not be negligent. A pair of golden crow wings made of blazing flames suddenly appeared behind him, and with a flap of the wings, a torrent of scorching fire that seemed capable of melting metal and stone slammed into the black tiger that was right in front of him!
"Awooo—!" Under the extreme heat, the black tiger's entire body immediately emitted thick, pungent black smoke, and it let out a painful howl.

This black liquid was not invincible and could not withstand extreme temperatures. It immediately abandoned its attack, and its huge body rapidly contracted and deformed. In the blink of an eye, it curled up into an irregular black sphere, just like the original demon star. Thick frost, exuding a chilling aura, quickly condensed on the surface of the sphere to resist the continuous burning of the blazing sun fire.

Xiao Jie continued to output his immortal power, burning for a full ten seconds, until the black sphere froze him into a huge black ice block.

With a thought, Xiao Jie made a grasping motion with his right hand, and a large hammer, its body gleaming with golden light and its design ancient and heavy, appeared out of thin air.

This large hammer was specially crafted by Xiao Jie to deal with these troublesome experimental subjects. The main material was the 'Li Huo Xuan Jin' that Ma Yuan had given him. Although it was not imbued with any special supernatural powers, its material itself was extremely hard and heavy, with excellent energy conductivity, making it virtually indestructible.

Combined with his extremely yang and powerful blazing fire, this mature mechanism can be used to quickly destroy the defenses of these experimental subjects.

Although these experimental subjects possessed some of the characteristics of the demon star and were exceptionally resilient, they were ultimately just fragments of water without a source or a tree without roots, and their power was limited.

"Hit me!"

Xiao Jie swung the golden hammer and smashed it down hard!

boom--! ! ! ! ! ! !
With a deafening explosion, the enormous ice sphere, along with the black substance at its core, was smashed and shattered! It was instantly blasted into more than a dozen frozen black fragments of varying sizes, scattered all over the ground. The surface ice quickly melted, revealing the black liquid beneath, which was writhing slightly and trying to reform.

"Separate and seal them away, label them 'Derivative Fragment No. 28'." Xiao Jie put away the golden hammer and gave the order to the rock golem guarding outside.

Several rock golems immediately pushed open the stone door and entered, quickly placing the dozen or so still slightly trembling black fragments into specially made stone boxes and carrying them away from the laboratory.

Xiao Jie has discovered that these black liquids seem to possess a near-immortal quality, making them extremely difficult to kill or annihilate completely. Once this transformed, mimicking beast is physically defeated, and the scattered black fragments melt, it reverts to its original, unconscious form of black liquid. Moreover, each fragment is an independent entity capable of restarting its "life" cycle. It needs to be fed new food to reactivate the mimicry reaction, but it will be completely unrelated to the original "Black Fiend," essentially a complete re-encoder.

That is why his experiments could be repeated.

“The experiment continues,” Xiao Jie said, catching his breath. “Bring in test subject number 37.”

Soon, the rock golem brought in the next test subject. This time, it was the black humanoid mimic, number 66.

To nurture it, Xiao Jie fed it dozens of his low-level clones, making its humanoid features very distinct, with clear outlines and well-defined limbs. Moreover, its overall shape, whether by coincidence or due to absorbing a large number of Xiao Jie's clones, bore a five or six-point resemblance to Xiao Jie himself. Watching a dark, humanoid object that looked remarkably like itself, slightly contorted, its faceless "face" blankly observing its surroundings, truly gave one a very eerie and wondrous feeling.

Immortal Technique - Enlightenment!

Xiao Jie cast the spell again, and golden light entered the head of the black humanoid figure.

A flash of light, and the blurry areas on the black humanoid face quickly became clear, forming recessed outlines resembling eyes, a nose, and a mouth. A faint but undeniable spiritual light, belonging to an intelligent being, appeared in its eyes. Above its head, a name and a health bar also appeared.
【Faceless (Mimicking Beast)】: Level 42 Innate Spirit, Health Points: ? ? ? ? .

"Can you understand what I'm saying?" Xiao Jie asked cautiously, with a hint of expectation in his voice.

The black humanoid stiffly turned its neck to face Xiao Jie and replied in a strange, intermittent voice, as if it were friction: "I can understand."

There's hope! Xiao Jie was overjoyed. He had finally encountered someone with whom he could communicate! This was undoubtedly a huge step forward! However, his gaze swept over the other person's head, and the name was still a glaring red, indicating that the hostile relationship had not changed.

“Very good,” Xiao Jie tried to guide, “Listen, I am your creator, in a sense, I am your ‘father.’ I am your master, and you must obey me. As long as you obey my commands, I can give you anything you want—more food, a safer environment, even greater power. But if you disobey me and refuse my will, then you will be completely destroyed, just like those disobedient experimental subjects before. Do you understand what I mean?”

The black humanoid, known as the "Faceless," remained silent for a moment, seemingly processing Xiao Jie's words. Then, it raised its "head," its blurry face "gazing" at Xiao Jie, and a clearer, yet more unsettling, growl escaped its throat:

"Eat...eat...eat!"

Xiao Jie frowned: "What do you want to eat? I can prepare it for you."

"Eat you!" The faceless creature suddenly let out a sharp roar and pounced forward!
"Damn it! It's happening again!" Xiao Jie was completely speechless. So it really didn't work?

Gale Technique!
He raised his hand and waved it, and an invisible, fierce current of air instantly formed, striking the charging black humanoid figure like a heavy hammer, sending it flying backward and crashing heavily into the stone wall behind it with a muffled thud.

"Hey! You should be able to tell that you can't beat me at all, right? There's a huge gap in strength between us, so there's no point in resisting!" Xiao Jie tried to persuade the other party with reason.

The black humanoid figure struggled to its feet from the ground, its twisted body creaking. Ignoring everything else, it let out another low growl and relentlessly pounced on Xiao Jie, sharp black thorns transforming from the tips of its arms.

"Do you even have any intelligence? Can't we have a proper conversation? What do you want? Or do you want to be destroyed by me, or do you not want to live?" Xiao Jie continued to try to communicate while easily dodging the attacks.

"Eat...eat...eat! Eat—you—!" The black humanoid seemed to only know this one sentence, and its attacks became more frantic and chaotic, completely driven by instinct, and its speed increased.

"Fuck! Eat, eat, eat—eat your sister!" Xiao Jie's patience finally ran out. It seemed that communication was completely ineffective.

Immortal Technique - Blazing Heavenly Fire!
Platinum flames erupted once more, engulfing the onrushing black humanoid.

Then, unsurprisingly, the other party turned into a block of ice.

Take this hammer blow—BOOM!

The golden hammer fell again, smashing the struggling, twisting black humanoid into pieces.

Watching the rock golem re-enter to clean up, seal, and take away the fragments of "Faceless," Xiao Jie felt somewhat frustrated. He flew into the air, looking down at the various mimicry test subjects isolated in different areas below, still clueless about how to truly tame these powerful yet hostile black liquids.

"Alright, let's call it a day. Let's go eat and recharge." He shook his head, temporarily putting his worries aside. "Perhaps... I could consult some other knowledgeable immortals to see if they've encountered something similar, or if they have any special solutions."

With a sense of frustration and a new direction for thought, Xiao Jie's spiritual avatar slowly dissipated and withdrew from the "Inner Universe" space.

(End of this chapter)