Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 198 Stars
A colossal creature, resembling an octopus, lay sprawled on the beach, its enormous tentacles swaying unconsciously.

No one knows what these twisted aliens are thinking, not even they themselves. These behemoths born in the secret realm are, by nature, synonymous with chaos.

Even those alien species that have established themselves in the present world in their previous lives have only limited intelligence. To high-level superhumans of the same level, they are nothing more than pieces of meat waiting to be slaughtered.

Even so, it's still quite astonishing that a fifth-tier individual, along with several fourth-tier individuals, would attempt to hunt down a sixth-tier mutant.

If these were the extraordinary individuals from Su Xun's previous life, they would surely scoff at the group's overestimation of their abilities. In their eyes, this was tantamount to courting death.

However, the group of extraordinary individuals who came in with Su Xun did not question Su Xun's orders much. They walked with firm steps, having developed complete trust in Su Xun's commands over such a long period of time.

If he says he can do something, then he definitely can.

The battle was about to break out. The frightened behemoth swung its mountain-like limbs, and its tentacles, which were hundreds or even thousands of meters long, slammed down on Su Xun and the others.

"Om-"

The first floating cannon flashed, and a nearly transparent stream of spiritual energy swept across the sky, colliding with the enormous tentacle.

It did not immediately sever the tentacle; the jet weapon had already shown some ineffectiveness against higher-level aliens and was not as efficient as it was against lower-level zombies.

Even so, it still caused a huge wound on it. Just by sweeping across it, a wound several meters deep appeared. For that tentacle, it was a rather horrific wound, which made the giant beast feel pain and quickly retract it.

"careful!"

Su Xun gave a soft shout, and the group of people quickly scattered. The next moment, a beam of light with a faint red hue suddenly struck the spot where they had just been standing.

In a short while, the group of fourth-tier superhumans had already approached the giant beast's main body.

"Climb up!" Su Xun shouted again, and with a leap, he flew up, his whole body clinging to the giant beast's body.

No longer relying on wind power for short-distance flight as before, he can now directly use spiritual energy to react on himself, breaking free from the earth's constraints in a more flexible and faster way. This is also one of the hallmarks of a fifth-tier transcendent being. At this stage, they can truly achieve flight in a more 'transcendent' way.

Aside from him, the other fourth-tier superhumans displayed their unique abilities. Some used their own strength to jump up, while others, like Xiao Zhenru, used their mental power to "pull themselves up" and throw themselves directly up.

Upon touching the beast's true form, many extraordinary individuals unleashed their respective abilities. In Xu Zhao's hand, a massive weapon was constructed from a hazy white mist, which he used to leave gashes on the beast's body. Yin Danyi, on the other hand, simply moved about on the beast's body, his robes becoming the sharpest weapon, with long, thin grooves splitting open behind him. In an instant, he became the person who caused the most damage, second only to Xiao Zhenru.

A group of people jumped and leaped on the giant beast's body, but the beast couldn't do anything to them. It was as if a group of nimble insects had landed on people, jumping around, but they couldn't hit them.

Soon, the overwhelmed behemoth began to retract all its tentacles, clearly intending to completely envelop itself in order to crush the 'insects' that had inflicted so many wounds on its body.

But at that moment, with Su Xun's help, Xiao Zhenru also arrived at the top of the giant beast's head.

Seemingly sensing the approaching danger, the giant beast became increasingly frenzied, shaking its body wildly and lashing out with several tentacles toward the two of them. However, with their combined efforts, the two managed to either block or dodge the attacks.

Several floating cannons lit up simultaneously, and a stream of light containing powerful destructive force opened a tiny gash on the monster's head. Compared to the thousands of meters tall alien, this wound was less than being pricked by a needle.

This wound immediately rendered the alien species powerless, and its constantly waving tentacles fell off one after another.

"It's a pity we can't take it out, otherwise this mutant could have produced quite a few spiritual energy crystals."

Su Xun felt a little regretful, and the other extraordinary individuals who had gathered also agreed.

If we do the math, a single Tier 6 mutant can produce at least tens of thousands of standard-sized spirit energy crystals. Although they aren't very pure, they're worth at least ten million revival coins.

The group of people were just sighing and lamenting, completely unaware that they had just accomplished a groundbreaking feat of fighting against a higher-level opponent, and had even beaten their opponent so badly that they had almost no chance to fight back.

After regrouping the group, Su Xun looked towards the sea behind him.

The pale red sea in the secret realm, which was called the Floating Sea by the extraordinary beings in the past, is not a true sea, just as the illusion of perception is not simply fog, but in a sense a symbol of depth. "Let's go."

Su Xun said something and walked into the sea first, as if the seawater in front of him did not exist.

The group exchanged glances and followed. Tao Yue was a little too heavy to walk, so Xiao Zhenru lifted her up again.

"Hey—" she struggled for a moment and said angrily, "I can walk by myself!"

"I'm not afraid of encountering danger." Xiao Zhenru smiled, enjoying the rare opportunity to openly bully this little girl.

When you first encounter this seawater, you can feel the touch of water, but once a group of people actually enter the water, that feeling disappears.

We had only walked a short distance here when, looking up again, the so-called water surface was no longer clearly visible, and the surroundings were dark. After taking a few more steps, stars appeared overhead.

This is the 'descent' in the secret realm. They are heading deeper and have entered another space. There are still some buildings in the distance. Compared with the previous layer, these buildings seem more dilapidated, but also more realistic. The chaotic and piled-up situation has been greatly reduced.

The deeper you go into the secret realm, the more realistic, or rather, the more deceptive, the more it becomes, as if you have entered another real world. But upon closer inspection, you can discover many anomalies hidden within.

The starry sky above at this moment is completely different from the outside world.

High-level experts once tried to explore those stars in the sky, only to find that they were nothing but unattainable illusions. No matter where one was, the distance between those stars and the person observing them was always the same.

Or rather, they are not products of three-dimensional spacetime, but rather projections of something onto people's perception. What do they represent? This question remains unknown, both in past and present lives.

If the secret realm is a fantasy of human civilization, a product of the spirit influencing reality, then why would humans fantasize about a completely unfamiliar starry sky?

If this place is completely disconnected from the outside world, truly another world, then it's impossible to explain the intricate connections between many things here and reality.

The secret realm holds countless hidden secrets, and perhaps the truth behind the Great Cataclysm lies within it.

Here, the number of alien species has decreased significantly; at least those first and second-tier beings are nowhere to be seen, and the surroundings are eerily quiet.

Su Xun raised his head and pondered quietly.

The deeper he went into the secret realm, the more gaps appeared in his memory. Although some of his past life experiences could still provide some reference, he couldn't completely trust those experiences.

Turning her head, she saw Yin Danyi standing beside her, seemingly lost in some kind of memory.

"Do you remember anything?"

Although the two had become familiar with each other, Su Xun had not forgotten the mystery surrounding the other party. As someone with a memory gap like himself, Su Xun had always paid special attention to all of the other party's actions.

Yin Danyi shook her head: "I just feel like I've been here before, but I can't remember anything specific."

Su Xun nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

It's normal for him to have been to this place. Even if he really only traveled that long distance through the secret realm to reach Haiqu, he would definitely have passed through this level.

This wasn't much useful information, and Su Xun turned his head back to Tao Yue.

The oracle bone in her hand was so shiny it looked like a light bulb, and she covered it with her clothes, not daring to take it out.

Noticing Su Xun's gaze, she said, "I feel like we're almost there, the direction is very clear!"

(End of this chapter)