Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 231 Extraordinary Life, Blood Armor Possessing the Body!
The crimson gold entries stand out in the encyclopedia, representing power beyond the ordinary and extraordinary.

Moreover, compared to the naming of other sources of infection, as well as the name of the conch shell, the human name 'Tan Ming' stands out in the included entries.

Cheng Ye's eyes flickered slightly, and he focused his mind on the entry.

Page jump.

The first thing that popped up was the collected image, which was the two blood-red figures that he had just repeatedly shattered and finally turned into red aura.

The second image also shows withered grass and trees around the figure, clearly recording "Tan Ming's" power and traces of activity.

Below the image, lines of text slowly appeared:

【Tan Ming (Extraordinary Life)】

[Description]: Rumored to be a transcendent being from a previous era whose beliefs backfired upon him. After his death, his power did not dissipate but instead deeply merged with the underground soil of Shi Province, forming a unique pollution mechanism. This pollution is not actively aggressive; it only passively draws the life force from plants within its range, converting it into mineral elements and accelerating underground mineral formation.

[Current Impact Level]: None (This pollution only affects plant-related organisms)
[Currently Included Features]:
Vitality extraction (127%)

Vitality Transformation (135%)

Withered Armor (58.55%)

"Only three? And none of them are related to the extraordinary?"

Cheng Ye stared at the encyclopedia panel, momentarily stunned.

Compared to the luxurious and extraordinary characteristics of the Wanlingdi Falcon, the three sources provided by Tan Ming were actually less abundant than ordinary sources of infection.

The "Life Extraction" skill must be the one used by the blood-red figure who was lying on the ground earlier, absorbing the life force of the surrounding plants.

The name "Vitality Transformation" clearly indicates that it refers to Tan Ming's core ability to transform land and convert plant vitality into minerals.

As for the name "Withered Armor," it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the immortal regeneration ability displayed by the blood-red figure; it's more like some kind of defensive skill.

The only highlight is that none of these three characteristics have an asterisk (*), which means he can equip and use them freely, test their effects, and even upgrade their level and rank through characteristic fusion without being restricted by contamination.

Moreover, the speed at which it accumulates is simply outrageous. After only taking down two blood-red figures, the first two basic characteristics have already exceeded the 100% extraction limit.

"Could it be because these blood-red figures only carry a portion of Tan Ming's power?"

Cheng Ye's eyes flickered; this reason alone was not convincing at all.

After all, the complete characteristics of the Ten Thousand Orders Earth Conch can be collected from those crab people from time to time, but the blood-red figure is clearly a derivative of Tan Ming, yet it only left behind this little bit of information, which is really too strange.

To his even greater surprise, the collector labeled Tan Ming as a "transcendental life form."

Doesn't this mean that Tan Ming has already shed his human identity and, like the Vortex Turtle and the Flame, has become a completely new life form?
This discovery is astonishing enough, but now is clearly not the time to delve into Tan Ming's condition.

After a moment's thought, Cheng Ye decided to exchange for "Vitality Extraction" first to test its effects. If he could master this pollution skill, it would be equivalent to having another means to weaken the energy of the Myriad Order Earth Conch.

After all, the conch shell needs to maintain the life in the cave, and if the life is taken away, its energy level will naturally decrease.

Moreover, those blood-red figures are too stupid, they don't know how to maneuver and are easily surrounded and killed by the crabmen, but he is different. If his skills are really useful, his pollution speed will definitely be much faster than the shadow legion.

[Feature redemption successful!]

The skill available for exchange this time is: Vitality Extraction (Lv1; Excellent)

It's only Lv1, but the rating is excellent.

Cheng Ye was not surprised and immediately equipped the skill, focusing his attention on sensing it.

There were no illusions, only a faint sense of perception, as if one could vaguely "touch" some kind of energy around them.

Following this sense, he quickly moved to the unpolluted area of ​​life nearby and, imitating the blood-red figure, bent down and placed his palm on the ground.

Wow.

In an instant, that vague perception became clear, and the view seen with the left eye changed.

The once towering and robust trees, lush vines, and weeds have all transformed into luminous bodies formed from condensed green energy, and even the ground beneath our feet is tinged with a thick green halo, making the whole world seem to have become an "energy perspective".

"Is this the form of vitality?"

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the withered area behind him.

Sure enough, there was no trace of green energy on the withered grass and trees, only a few particularly thick trees with faint green light spots flickering at their roots.

Could it be that the conch shell is repairing this parched land?
A thought popped into his head, but he was immediately caught up in a new problem.

"How should we extract it?"

Looking at the green energy floating around him, Cheng Ye was at a loss for what to do.

There were no instructions or explanations for this skill; he could only rely on his senses to try it out.

He silently recited "extract" and "absorb" in his mind, and even tried to use his mind to "pull" the green energy, but the amount remained unchanged.

After trying several times without success, Cheng Ye immediately realized something and simply stood up to exchange for the life force conversion.

[Feature redemption successful!]

The skill available for exchange this time is: Vitality Conversion (Lv1; Excellent)

The effect is immediately apparent the moment both skills are equipped!
Although this vitality extraction is called extraction, it only allows him to sense the vitality of the surrounding plants.

Only when equipped with the life-conversion technique will those energies follow his thoughts and be drawn from the plants.

Wisps of green energy were quickly drawn from the large tree beside him. Cheng Ye tried to use his mind to send these green wisps outward, and the energy indeed dispersed.

But the next second, he was astonished to find that the scattered green energy was bound by an invisible wave, like a kite being pulled back, and returned to the trunk of the big tree, without losing even a trace of it.

"Hey, is this the power of the Ten Thousand Rings Conch?"

Cheng Ye narrowed his eyes.

Tan Ming's methods are astonishing, capable of preventing tens of millions of people in Shi Province from farming.

However, the fact that the Wanling Earth Conch was able to expand its life force right under his nose was clearly not only due to the isolation ability of the Magic Eye Sponge, but also because it had the ability to restrain these life forces.

Since there's no way to let the life force dissipate into the space, the only option is to absorb and utilize it ourselves, completely consuming the energy.

Cheng Ye reopened the Pokédex, his gaze sweeping over the densely packed trait entries before finally settling on the entry for "Green Treasure Bug".

Messenger of life!
The green treasure insect can also absorb life force and transform it into its own power, and even use this energy to transform into a silver treasure moth.

I wonder if this characteristic can be used to transform the life force I've extracted into a usable life force?

In addition, the "Withered Armor" also seems to consume energy, perhaps converting vitality into a defensive shield, which can be completely depleted within the space.

He turned to Rokuk, who was standing guard beside him. "I need to go out and prepare some potions. Do you want to come with me, or..."

The entire test lasted less than a minute, and Rokuk had already taken down four crabmen who had rushed over after hearing the commotion. The crabmen were also shrunk proportionally; although they were about forty centimeters tall, they were still easy for the Phase Three Inspector to handle as long as he wasn't surrounded.

"I'll stay here and continue to help Tan Ming's curse extract energy from the immortal artifact."

Rokuk shook his head and pointed to the depths of the cave. "These crab-men are clumsy, and the cave is spacious, so don't worry about my safety. It will be more efficient for us to split up. I'll go and investigate the location and information of the source of the infection inside. We still have plenty of time today to prepare."

“Okay!” Cheng Ye nodded, and the two quickly agreed to meet at noon on the high ground in front of the lake, and then hurriedly parted ways in the woods.

It's only 7 a.m. now, and there are eleven hours until 6 p.m., so there's plenty of time.

More importantly, Tan Ming sealed off the portal through which the crab people entered and exited, making the outside world completely safe.

As long as the Myriad Orders Earth Conch can be contained before the Immortal Realm erupts again, all dangers can be eliminated.

However, he did not dare to let his guard down. The situation was still under Falcon's control. What if Tan Ming's curse invaded further and forced it to self-destruct in desperation?
Following the sounds of battle, Cheng Ye, carrying two swords, rushed to the surrounding battlefield, where he killed more than thirty crab-men and smashed seven blood-red figures.

Only after the "Withered Armor" stats were maxed out and "Life Extraction" and "Life Conversion" reached 100% did he return to the portal and wipe out the nearly one hundred crabmen that the Demon Eye Sponge had sent to guard the vicinity.

"It's difficult to take action against these guys if they're all clustered together by the lake; it's much easier if they're spread out."

Cheng Ye muttered to himself, passed through the portal, put on his cotton-padded clothes, and rushed out of the cotton-padded room.

At this point, the collector still has 50% energy, just enough to redeem the new feature.

First, exchange for the Green Beetle's ability 'Life Messenger'.

[Feature redemption successful!]

The skill available for exchange this time is: Life Messenger (Lv1; Excellent)

"Huh, it's also excellent?"

Cheng Ye was slightly surprised, then redeemed Tan Ming's last trait. [Trait redemption successful!]

The skill available for exchange this time is: Withered Armor (Lv1; Rare)

"Rare grade?"

"Not bad!"

Looking at the zeroed-out energy level and the few remaining sponge tentacles.

Cheng Ye tried to hold back, but in the end he couldn't help it and laughed silently in his heart.

I really made a lot of money this time!
Wow.

Shrinking his body, the blade flashed repeatedly.

With a continuous supply of energy, the energy level increases rapidly at a rate visible to the naked eye.

After cutting off eighty tentacles and replenishing his energy, Cheng Ye didn't rush to exchange for new traits. Instead, he first merged "Life Extraction" and "Life Conversion".

These two skills are from the same lineage, and using them separately is awkward and takes up character slots.

As the encyclopedia page unfolds, two blood-red phantom figures appear and merge into one without any obstruction:
[The information fusion process has been completed. Fusion result: Rare]

The Civilization Collector has successfully recorded a new fusion skill: Life Drain (Lv1; Rare)

Two excellent-level skills were directly merged into a rare-level skill!

Cheng Ye was overjoyed and decided to strike while the iron was hot, fusing the Green Treasure Worm's "Life Messenger" and the newly fused "Vitality Absorption" again.

The illustrated book is opened.

The green gem-like insects appear harmless.

At the very beginning of the fusion, the blood-red figure's phantom was like a defeated army collapsing, completely powerless to resist being absorbed by the green treasure worm's phantom. In the end, fine blood-red lines appeared on the green treasure worm's body.

[The information fusion process has been completed. Fusion result: Rare]

The Civilization Collector has successfully recorded a new fusion skill: Lifebringer (Lv1; Rare)

"Tan Ming's special ability was completely absorbed by the Green Treasure Bug?!"

Cheng Ye looked at the panel prompts and was slightly taken aback.

If the green worm can continue to absorb life and grow into the silver worm moth, it will have a pollution capacity no less than that of a tidal wave, and the moth pollen it releases can easily infect unprotected humans.

Above the Silver Moth, there is an even more terrifying one, the Golden Moth, which is capable of reaching the level of a catastrophe.

Even in the records provided by Xin Huo Tong, there is an even higher level, comparable to the Destruction-level Infection Source, the Glowing Scaly Mother.

However, this evolutionary path is too long, and the amount of life energy required is astronomical.

In the barren Shi Province, not to mention the golden moth, even the silver moth is extremely rare.

But this also shows that the Green Treasure Bug has a very high potential ceiling, and it seems reasonable that it can easily absorb Tan Ming's characteristics.

After a moment's thought, Cheng Ye decided to strike while the iron was hot and fuse the "Withered Armor" with the newly fused "Life Messenger".

On the encyclopedia page.

The emerald worm phantom covered in blood-red patterns devoured the blood-red figure representing the "withered armor" without any pressure. The blood-red patterns on its body became denser and denser, and the original crystal-clear emerald texture gradually faded, turning it into a creepy bloodstone.

But the notification that popped up the next second completely stunned Cheng Ye:
The information fusion process is complete. Result: Perfect.

[The Civilization Collector has successfully recorded the new fusion skill: Tanming Messenger (Lv1; Perfect)]

"Wait... what is this thing?"

"Where is the messenger of life?"

Cheng Ye was somewhat bewildered. Clearly, during the fusion process, the Green Treasure Worm had the absolute upper hand and absorbed the Crimson Figure, but the final result was named after Tan Ming.

When he finally managed to fuse a perfect skill for the first time, he was actually a little lost.

What does this mean?
After being equipped, did he become Tan Ming's man?
However, seeing that there was no asterisk after the skill name, Cheng Ye breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Since the collector didn't warn of any additional side effects to this skill, you can confidently try equipping it.

"There's no time to recharge now, so I can only lend you some more energy."

Cheng Ye smirked and continued his relentless killing spree.

I don't know if it's because the remaining tentacles are all thicker, but each one provides significantly more energy.

After taking down only eighty tentacles, my energy level was fully restored.

Unfortunately, the Magic Eye Sponge now only has 150 tentacles left, which means it can only recharge once and a half more times.

"What a pity, I must have wasted a lot of energy by so crudely plundering the dissipated energy."

Cheng Ye couldn't help but mutter, "If we could connect a charging station inside it, the energy conversion rate might increase tenfold or even a hundredfold."

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, his body automatically rose to the surface, and after the tentacles on the surface subsided, he sank back underwater.

First, enlarge your body, squeeze through the huge opening in the cotton chamber, and take the bio-elevator to be transported to the front of the light gate.

"Wait, the crimson aura seems to be weakening?"

Cheng Ye stopped in his tracks. When he came in earlier, the crimson aura clinging to the light gate almost covered the entire gate.

But now, the top fifth of the area has become dim, and the blood-red patterns are even somewhat faint, as if they might disappear at any moment.

Is it due to the repeated entry and exit?

Cheng Ye stared at the light gate for a while, until a wisp of white aura drifted out from inside the light gate and intertwined with the blood-red aura. The two canceled each other out and dissipated, which completely dispelled the idea.

Yes, it is the conch shell!
Its ability is so great that it can even remove Tan Ming's curse aura?
This is too scary!

Cheng Ye's heart sank. Isolating Tan Ming and dispersing Tan Ming were two completely different things. The former was just passively hiding, while the latter meant having the strength to confront him head-on.

Will Tan Ming's presence be completely dispelled by nightfall?
A sense of urgency surged through him instantly, and without further observation, he quickly took off his down jacket and rushed into the portal.

As expected, while they were out there, another batch of crab guards "refreshed" the gate.

Perhaps because he killed too many people, the Demon Eye Sponge actually sent two fusion beings.

He was a head taller than him, over a meter tall, and his back had not four crab claws but six iron whips, making him look like a formidable opponent.

Cheng Ye didn't dare to linger in the fight. Relying on his doubled speed, he darted through the crab-like creatures, carving a bloody path and quickly retreating towards the lake.

But he hadn't run far when an invisible wave suddenly fell from the sky, wrapping around him like a mark. Guided by this wave, the crabmen who had been scattered all changed direction, and even more crabmen emerged from the shadows, gradually forming an encirclement.

"Is it the Magic Eye Sponge that noticed me, or the Conch Shell?"

Cheng Ye was somewhat surprised to be marked, but he wasn't too alarmed.

When he saw the blood-red figure being besieged, he guessed that the crab-man must have some kind of "guidance". Now he finally understands that it was this invisible fluctuation.

After flashing to an open area again, the panel opened, and the perfect-level 'Tan Ming Envoy' jumped into the skill bar.

In just a moment, the tracking fluctuation seemed to become more pronounced, almost completely enveloping him.

"Since you're so eager to pursue me, then I'm going to make my move!"

Cheng Ye smiled smugly, stirring up an invisible sense.

The next second, the field of vision was instantly filled with green vitality energy, and the surrounding trees, vines and even moss turned into glowing energy bodies.

With a sudden thought, he pulled, and a large amount of green energy was drawn out from the surrounding trees. The originally lush green trunks turned yellow and withered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At the same time, Cheng Ye tried to bind and absorb this energy into his body, but as soon as he had the thought, his whole body trembled.

Only a small sliver of life entered the body; the majority was sucked away by the greedy Shrinking Earth Giant Lice.

The remaining majority of life force remained outside the body, as if enveloped by an invisible force, refusing to dissipate.

He subconsciously looked down and found that the surface of his skin—no, to be precise, the surface of his obsidian armor—was exposed.

A thin, blood-red barrier had appeared on the outside of the armor, clinging tightly to it and emitting a faint red glow. It bore a striking resemblance to the blood-red figure seen earlier.

"Am I now a blood-red figure too?"

(End of this chapter)