Chapter 116: The Self-Evolving Radiated Monster

Crack!

Moon Child snapped a tree root as thick as a man’s waist with a single kick, bringing the three of them to the creature's location. It then crouched down, allowing the trio to climb off its shoulders, and delivered a heavy punch to the monster's head, instantly plunging the beast, which had been on the verge of waking, back into unconsciousness.

Feeling it wasn't quite secure, Charles had it land a few more blows. Only when the monster's head was bloodied and covered in large, swollen welts did it finally stop. Charles possessed a layer of formidable defense, but neither Lyle nor Firefly did; if they were to be injured by the creature's death throes, the price would be too high.

Charles walked over to inspect it curiously. The creature had cyan, lion-like manes on its head and a pair of dark red eyes. It was three meters long and resembled a giant gorilla, with forelimbs far more robust than its hind limbs. It bore claws half a meter long, resembling sharp blades. The edges appeared polished and razor-sharp; upon closer inspection, one could see the subtle, serrated texture along the blades, designed to maximize tearing damage.

Charles was astonished to discover that this monster possessed no trace of a Totem Beast's aura. It was a radiation monster that had achieved evolution on its own!

"Interesting. It seems there is a True God Sect branch here," Charles said, a smile curling the corners of his mouth.

This place was over ten thousand miles away from the Source Gate. The diffusion of Source Power was nowhere near enough to facilitate spontaneous evolution; the only explanation was the presence of a Life Tree sub-body here. The primary function of these sub-bodies was to interconnect with one another, forming a web that transmitted the energy of the Source Gate everywhere—a global network known as the Sky Net.

The Life Tree sub-body constantly emitted life energy, a mysterious substance converted from Source Power that benefited the survival, reproduction, and even the evolution of living beings. What baffled Charles, however, was why such a terrifying, evolved radiation monster would exist if a branch of the sect was already established here. Were they not afraid that this monster’s slaughter would attract the powerful figures of Morent?

Honestly, Charles admired the audacity of these people. This island was less than two hundred miles from Morent, effectively building a branch right under the city's nose. With the ten third-tier powerhouses stationed in Morent, any one of them could come over and completely annihilate the site. The True God Sect’s high-end strength was severely lacking; their number of third-tier Spirit Masters was far below that of the two great empires or Atlant, and they couldn't even compare to a city like Morent.

Consequently, in the early stages, they had to hide and skulk about; once a branch stronghold was discovered, it meant the loss of personnel and resources. However, once the Sky Net was initially activated, their high-ranking members each received a fruit from a Life Tree sub-body, known as a "Life Orb." With this treasure, they gained control over several semi-totems, allowing them to finally stand a chance against other factions.

Furthermore, these lunatics did not hesitate to catalyze countless radiation monsters, using massive, surging energy to force them into evolution—even ultimate evolution. In the later stages, they even birthed wild Divine Beasts! That Divine Beast would go on to wreak havoc in the future, razing two human cities guarded by third-tier Spirit Masters and slaughtering millions.

It was worth noting that once the Sky Net was initialized, the rights to use any external Life Orbs would be revoked, effectively "bricking" them. This meant that if Charles could never acquire the relevant "passwords" of the True God Sect, his Colorful Pinecone would become completely unusable in the near future. This would mean that all the Totem Beasts he had painstakingly cultivated would lose their connection to him, threatening his own safety and causing his strength to plummet.

Setting that aside for now, Charles was troubled by how to deal with this monster. Even an evolved radiation monster could be converted into a semi-totem, but it required a massive amount of Source Power—far more than the Source Crystals he had brought with him could provide. Converting ordinary creatures only took one or two crystals, but he had never attempted it with an evolved monster.

To be safe, Charles didn't hesitate. "Eileen,岚, could you lend me some of your Source Crystals?"

"Of course, you can have all of mine," Eileen said, quickly pulling out her pouch and emptying dozens of crystals into his hand.

The young man standing nearby nodded as well. "Certainly. I’ll keep a dozen for emergencies, and you can have the rest."

"Thanks—you should head off for a moment," Charles said with a smile. With a thought, he commanded Moon Child to grab the boy and carry him far away.

"Hey, hey! Let go of me! What are you doing?" the boy cried out in alarm. But in Moon Child's grip, he was like a helpless chick, unable to resist as he was forcibly removed.

After watching him leave, Eileen said worriedly, "Charles, the dream I had came true. Linda and the others were indeed killed by these monsters. However, in the vision I saw, this specific monster wasn't there."

"Oh? Tell me more," Charles said, his brow furrowing as he realized the situation was becoming increasingly complex.

"In the vision, it was a swarm of bizarre insects, larger than humans, and so dense I couldn't count them." As she spoke, Eileen began to tremble slightly, clearly shaken by the horror of those creatures.

Charles reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling. "It’s nothing, just a bunch of trash. With me here, you have nothing to fear."

"Yeah. Are you planning to turn it into your semi-totem?" Eileen asked, nodding.

"Yes. This monster seems to have great potential; after all, it’s a creature capable of independent evolution."

Charles placed the Colorful Pinecone on the creature. He didn't hide his actions from her; after all, since she could see the future, she would inevitably see related visions sooner or later. It was better to inform her now and deepen the bond between them. In any case, revealing such a vital secret was a sign of absolute trust.

Multicolor light swirled as the Source Crystals turned into powder. The monster on the ground began to struggle violently, but Firefly leapt onto its head, using a mental shock to instantly subdue it. Once over a hundred crystals had been consumed, the conversion finally ended. A new 3D image appeared on the translucent interface before him:

"Unnamed Totem: Special Totem, Evolved, Upgradable. Ultimate Evolution success rate: 45%. Evolution points required: 16. Abilities: Stealth, Ambush, Death Hunt."

What interested Charles most was that its evolution success rate was far higher than other totems, clearly indicating it had already completed its first evolution.

Next, he had the creature follow far behind while he sat on Moon Child’s shoulder, heading toward the suspicious spot he had spotted through the Iron-Feathered Hawk. Upon arriving, he was astonished to see a pitch-black pit filled with glowing red dots. Looking closer, he realized those red dots were eyes—the eyes of hideous, insectoid monsters!