Chapter 5: The "Strongest Quality Inspector" Mahoraga
After calming the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, Lin Xuan looked at the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger, then at Bei Bei and Tang Ya, who were motionless beside him.
Three Soul Rings—yellow, purple, and purple-black—rose beneath his feet.
"First Soul skills, Shadowy Infiltration."
As the words fell, the shadows beneath Bei Bei and Tang Ya rippled like water and swallowed them whole.
First Soul skills, Shadowy Infiltration, as the name suggests, can use shadows as a medium to enter the shadow World, traverse within it, evade damage, and store items, though there is no air inside, so one cannot stay long.
However, the traversal range is determined by the amount of Soul Power, and currently, Lin Xuan could extend this range to a radius of two hundred meters.
After sending Bei Bei and Tang Ya away, Lin Xuan clenched his fists into seals, his eyes sharp, muttering softly,
"Buru Bu... Yura Yura..."
Although Shikigami can only be controlled after being subdued, if it is merely 'for the purpose of subduing,' they can be summoned at any time.
However, there would be two outcomes then: first, successful subjugation, or second, being killed by the Shikigami.
Besides these, there was another possibility: the summoned Shikigami being killed by another entity. However, in that case, the subjugation ritual would become invalid.
There was only one reason for doing this, and that was'self-destruction'!
As Lin Xuan chanted softly, the surrounding light seemed to dim. Countless shadows merged into one, and several black Divine Dogs crawled out of the shadows, howling toward the sky around him.
As if welcoming the terrifying existence about to arrive.
"Eight-Handled Sword... Divergent Sila Divine General..."
"Mahoraga..."
"BOOM—!!!"
The moment the last syllable fell, an indescribable, massive pressure descended abruptly!
The space behind Lin Xuan violently twisted and expanded, and a giant shadow, towering like a mountain and tightly bound by layers of pale white bandages, materialized from the void!
It was nearly five meters tall, and just its silhouette exuded a bizarre aura blending sacred ritualism with pure violence.
"Snap... Snap... Snap..."
The grating sound of snapping bandages rang out continuously.
As the restraints were removed, Mahoraga's true form was completely exposed to the air.
Its entire body possessed a pallor that was neither living nor dead, with a lean and bizarre body structure.
The most striking feature was its head; instead of a normal creature's face, it only had a large mouth, with its eyes replaced by four pale wings.
And floating above its head was a massive Dharma Wheel... bizarre, sacred, violent, and inhuman!
Eight-Handled Sword · Strongest Quality Inspector · Divergent Sila Divine General · Mahoraga, officially descends!
"Now!"
Without hesitation, the moment Mahoraga fully manifested, Lin Xuan leaned backward and, like a diver, merged into the violently undulating shadow beneath his feet, disappearing from sight.
"Hey! Lin Xuan kid, should I... should I put it away?!"
The Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's voice was still shaken; it had also been startled by the sudden appearance of this 'monster,' but hearing Lin Xuan's command, it instinctively obeyed.
The vast mental force receded like a tide.
Almost simultaneously.
"Roar—!!!"
The Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger let out a roar of ultimate fury!
Its massive body completely broke free from its restraints, its lava-like blood-red eyes instantly locking onto the spot ahead.
However, the three tiny humans it expected were nowhere in sight.
In their place stood a pale giant shadow, quietly erect, with a Dharma Wheel above its head and its arms slightly spread.
The aura emanating from that giant shadow made even this top predator, possessing Evil God bloodline, instinctively feel a strong sense of threat.
No probing, no hesitation.
Mahoraga's gaze fixed on the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger. Its colossal body took one step, causing the ground to tremble violently, and it instantly appeared before the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger!
Its muscular, pale arms were raised high. As its arms swung down, the Demon-Slaying Sword tore through the air with a piercing shriek, slashing down toward the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger's head!
The Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger's pupils contracted sharply. It roared wildly, its surrounding gray-black evil energy surging, while simultaneously unleashing its wind-attribute power to the maximum.
Its massive body transformed into a blurry afterimage, narrowly shifting dozens of meters to the side!
"Rumble—!!!"
The Demon-Slaying Sword missed its target and struck the ground.
Where the blade passed, the earth tore open.
The Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger's blood-red eyes shrunk again, growing even more wary.
Mahoraga attacked again, its massive body vanishing from its spot, launching a relentless barrage of terrifying offensive moves like the most precise killing machine!
..."Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"
From the shadows beneath a tree, Lin Xuan suddenly burst out, gulping down huge mouthfuls of fresh air.
He then turned and looked through the dense forest toward the distance, where the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger and Mahoraga were fiercely battling.
In just a few minutes, that area had already been reduced to ruins.
The Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger truly lived up to its status as a descendant of the Evil God; being only ten thousand years old, it was already suppressing Mahoraga.
However, this was useless. Even though the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger had sliced Mahoraga into pieces with Wind Blades more than once, the next moment, Mahoraga would rush back into the fight completely intact.
Covered in blood, fearless of death, it was like a demon god.
"What the... Lin Xuan kid, what kind of thing did you summon?" Even Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was stunned.
How could this thing, which was neither human nor ghost, possess such tenacious vitality? It could reassemble itself even after being chopped into pieces?
"Heh, the truly outrageous part is yet to come."
Lin Xuan smiled slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes as he stared intently at Mahoraga, or more accurately, the Dharma Wheel slowly rotating above its head.
The first period of adaptation was almost over.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
As Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was wondering, it saw Mahoraga once again struck by the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger's Wind Blades and sharp claws.
However, this time the expected pieces did not appear. The attack only left countless shallow wounds on Mahoraga's body, and in an instant, it recovered completely!
"I... what..."
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm exclaimed, wearing an expression like it had seen a ghost.
Lin Xuan spoke to explain,
"Mahoraga's ability is very simple; it basically has only one: 'Adaptation'."
"Adaptation?"
"That's right, adaptation, adaptation to everything,"
Lin Xuan said slowly, "Any attack it suffers, given enough time, it can completely adapt to, rendering it totally ineffective against itself."
"If this time is extended, once it has adapted to all attacks, it will become a terrifying existence that can never be killed."
Lin Xuan shifted his gaze to the 'Demon-Slaying Sword' in Mahoraga's right hand.
Originally, this 'Demon-Slaying Sword' was specialized against Cursed Spirits; one strike would make even Sukuna hesitate to take it head-on.
After arriving in the Douluo World and undergoing Planar Modification, the Demon-Slaying Sword acquired an entirely new ability.
Defense Negation.
To be precise, it ignores any defense constructed by Soul Power.
Offense and defense combined, given enough time, Mahoraga would become completely invincible.
"..." Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was silent for a long time before barely managing to squeeze out from its shock, "...Impressive."
But immediately after, it realized something.
"Hey? Wait! Lin Xuan! Why are you still hiding here watching the show?! What if the fight between those two monsters spreads over here?!"
"Hurry up and run far away, recall this Mahoraga, and let's scram!"
"Can't leave," Lin Xuan shook his head.
"Can't leave?!" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's heart sank, a bad premonition rising sharply,
"What do you mean? Don't tell me once this thing is summoned, it can't be recalled?!"
"A Shikigami can only be summoned and recalled freely, just like an arm or a finger, after I have successfully tamed it."
Lin Xuan explained, "But the problem is, I haven't tamed Mahoraga yet."
"Oh... that's it?"
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, upon hearing this, actually relaxed,
"You scared me. If it can't be recalled, so be it. Just leave it here to fight that tiger to the death, and we can take the opportunity to slip away! Anyway, staying alive is what matters most."
"Not only that," Lin Xuan stood up, the Soul Ring beneath his feet pulsating, his hands rapidly forming seals,
"Once Mahoraga kills the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger, it will start hunting me. By then, either it dies, or I die—no exceptions."
"...6"
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was dumbfounded. So this thing, without being tamed, could only be used as a suicide truck?
Just imagining being chased by that thing made it shiver.
"So, whether the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger dies is not important to me, and whether Mahoraga dies is not important either."
The shadows beneath Lin Xuan's feet surged wildly, as if something was about to rush out.
"It's important to me that they *both* die."
As the words fell, a pale giant snake instantly rushed out from the shadows beneath his feet!
"Giant Serpent! Kill!"