The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 108 - 97: Megalophobia, What Will He See This Time?

Chapter 108: Chapter 97: Megalophobia, What Will He See This Time?

Ever since coming to this world, Yang An had never felt such panic and dread.

Neither the Demon Fiends in Jiunan Town, nor the Gooey Insects on the Xiyue River, not even Elder Life Crane himself had ever made him this afraid.

Before this mountain, he felt his own insignificance.

But when the mountain revealed its true form, the shock of its endless expanse was overwhelming. An oppressive, suffocating pressure emanated from it, as if it could come alive at any moment.

In that instant, it wasn’t just his own smallness he felt, but the insignificance of all things.

Especially when he realized this mountain was no longer a mountain, but a person.

Yang An didn’t have megalophobia, but he was quite sure he was developing it now.

It wasn’t just Yang An. Even Mother Divination True Master, beside him, stared with a fixed gaze, her chest rising and falling as she took a deep breath.

"Let’s go."

Elder Life Crane spoke after only a cursory glance, then continued forward.

Mother Divination True Master hesitated for a moment, but still followed him.

Yang An stood frozen, hesitating.

’We’ve already reached the fourth level. Seeing the old monster’s lack of reaction, he’s probably planning to take us even deeper.’

He felt as if the behemoth before him could stir to life at any second. ’If we continue to the next level...’

Yang An didn’t know what would happen. His breathing had become heavy, and he felt like he was suffocating.

As if noticing Yang An standing rooted to the spot, the He Tou in front suddenly turned around.

"Little apprentice, if you can’t walk, your master can send you on ahead."

"..."

Yang An said nothing and quickly hurried to catch up.

However, just as he was about to pass the completely transformed Stone Stele, he paused for a moment, bracing himself before stepping past it.

HUMMM!

The surroundings plunged into darkness, and a heavy ringing filled Yang An’s ears.

He hurriedly looked up. The mountain before him had completely transformed into a colossal person, who was slowly lowering its head to look down at him.

The wind stirred the crimson mist, vaguely revealing the Miaohua Celestial Sect atop it, now completely split apart.

For it was no building, but the seven orifices of a gigantic face. The flesh was torn into several pieces, and he could almost see teeth like massive boulders within.

Two enormous eyes looked toward Yang An, and the foul wind stirred by the lowering head became a crushing pressure.

THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP—

Yang An’s heart hammered as if it would burst from his chest. He didn’t even dare to breathe.

Yet, just as the eyes were about to reach him, just as Yang An thought he was about to be crushed to pieces, everything vanished in an instant.

There was no face or orifices in the sky. The mountain before him was dead and motionless; it had never looked down at him. The folds of flesh, piled up like fatty meat, were right in front of them, waiting to be climbed.

’It’s really going to come alive...’

Yang An didn’t know why he could see these ever-changing visions. It happened every time he passed a Stone Stele. This was the fourth time.

He had a feeling that what he was seeing would soon come to pass. If they kept going deeper, it was highly likely.

’No! I have to do something! I can’t count on that old monster to save me if that happens.’

’I need to take control of my own fate.’

’But what can I even do?’

Lost in thought, Yang An still followed behind Elder Life Crane and Mother Divination True Master, stepping onto what used to be stairs but were now layers of fatty flesh.

The texture was elastic and soft, as if the slightest pressure would make him sink in. A wave of revulsion washed over Yang An.

As he stepped on the layer of fat, a thin film of greasy fluid oozed out, sticking to his shoes.

But he couldn’t possibly walk barefoot; that would only be more disgusting.

Suppressing his discomfort and fear, he noted their ascent was much slower this time.

After more than half an hour, they finally reached the end of this layer of flesh and saw the Miaohua Celestial Sect, shrouded in crimson mist, just ahead.

Just as he’d feared, it was a gigantic human head! It was identical to what Yang An had seen when passing the Stone Stele.

And the folds of flesh he was treading upon led directly into the head’s gaping mouth!

The mouth was nearly a hundred feet high, like a gateway to a dark abyss. The surrounding crimson mist was being exhaled from it.

The higher he climbed and the closer he got, the more Yang An felt like he couldn’t breathe at all.

Just then, dozens of figures flew out from behind the great mouth, seemingly from the nasal cavities.

These figures were no longer the people Yang An had seen on the previous levels; their appearances had changed completely.

Aside from their limbs, their upper bodies were clearly visible skeletons with scraps of rotting flesh clinging to them. Their internal organs had been replaced by dense clusters of black, fleshy lumps growing both inside and outside the bones.

Their faces had changed too. They were horribly ulcerated, with patches of skin seemingly stitched together, and their eye sockets were empty.

They flew out, their speech a blur of incomprehensible gibberish.

But Yang An knew they were undoubtedly asking for their identities, just like before.

But these creatures could no longer be called human; they were more like Demon Fiends. Yang An couldn’t sense their Cultivation Level, or even any sign of life. They were like dead things.

As always, Mother Divination True Master summoned a swarm of Gooey Insects, which lunged at the monsters.

These monsters were not as weak as the previous ones. A dozen of them grappled with the towering humanoid figure formed by the Gooey Insects, while the remaining dozens charged toward Yang An and the others.

Mother Divination True Master’s brow furrowed, and the meaty skirt beneath her trembled slightly. She clearly intended to act.

But just then, Elder Life Crane spoke softly.

"Don’t waste time."

As soon as he finished speaking, the He Tou let out a sharp cry that instantly echoed across the sky.

In mid-air, the monsters charging toward them, as well as those entangled with the Gooey Insects, all exploded under the He Tou’s piercing cry.

In an instant, countless chunks of flesh, gore, and pus rained down, scattering everywhere. Not a single one was spared.

Even the distant humanoid figure made of countless Gooey Insects disintegrated instantly, reverting to innumerable bugs. More than half of them burst into slime, while the remaining half fled back to Mother Divination True Master’s meaty skirt in fear.

The cry had been too sudden, like a clap of thunder right next to his ear, and it was deafeningly close.

Yang An, walking at the rear, didn’t even have time to react. It felt as if a great bell had been struck inside his head, and he nearly fainted on the spot.

He was fortunate to remain conscious, but he immediately felt a warm liquid trickle from his ears. Besides a ringing sound, he could hear nothing.

He was deaf...

At that moment, the He Tou seemed to have finished its cry. It slowly retracted its head, its face filled with sinister pride. Its long beak opened and closed as if speaking, then it turned to look at Yang An with a maniacal laugh on its face.

He couldn’t hear a thing. Besides the ringing in his ears, the entire world seemed to have fallen into a dead silence.

Yang An’s chest heaved. He fought back the impulse to rush forward and fight the He Tou, only to become the old monster’s food.

’Forget it. I’m not strong enough. I have to endure!’

His flesh-and-blood essence was completely depleted. He couldn’t activate Meat-Eating Life Nourishment to recover, so all he could do was endure the piercing ring.

With the flying monsters annihilated by the He Tou, Elder Life Crane continued upward.

Approaching the monstrously large mouth, Yang An already knew his fate and braced himself.

When the old monster grabbed him again and charged into the mouth, Yang An found they had not arrived in one of the Miaohua Celestial Sect’s great halls, but in a cavern of flesh and blood. They were clearly inside the behemoth’s mouth.

To Yang An’s surprise, however, the giant statue from before was still there!

But it was different from what he had seen before. The statue’s lower half was deeply embedded in the flesh, and its body was entwined with countless tendrils of flesh, holding it tight.

BANG—

Yang An exploded again.

When the pain vanished and his consciousness returned, sound once again flooded into Yang An’s ears. Mother Divination True Master’s Meat Egg had pulled him back from the brink of death, and it had also restored his deafened ears.

This should have been a joyous occasion, but Yang An couldn’t bring himself to be happy.

Because they had now arrived on the Fifth Floor!

Everything here had changed completely.

The sky was no longer the sky, the mountain was no longer a mountain, and the air was thick with the stench of rot and annihilation.

A bloated, corpulent giant sat motionlessly before them. Its head pierced the heavens. The phrase "propping up heaven and earth" was no longer a mere descriptor, but a literal description of the scene before him.

Yang An swallowed and took two steps back subconsciously. He had an increasingly strong feeling that this colossus could awaken at any moment.

’Don’t tell me we’re still going up?’

Beside him, Mother Divination True Master’s breathing grew ragged. Her pale face showed she was in no better state than Yang An.

"Senior... We’ve reached the Fifth Floor. The Miaohua Celestial Sect’s Forbidden Artifact Fragment is on this level. I must ask for your assistance, Senior."

"Rest assured. A mere fragment is beneath my notice."

"Thank you, Senior!"

Mother Divination True Master clearly breathed a sigh of relief.

’Forbidden Artifact Fragment?’

Yang An’s sharp ears caught the term. It sounded very important to Mother Divination True Master, but trivial to the old monster.

’What is that?’

While he was pondering this, Elder Life Crane had already taken the lead, heading toward the behemoth before them.

Although Mother Divination True Master’s face was also filled with dread, she followed him for the sake of what she sought.

Yang An had guessed right. They really were going to climb higher.

Fortunately, based on what Mother Divination had said, it seemed they would only be staying on this level and not going deeper, which made him sigh in relief.

’The mountain before us has completely turned into a giant, but it’s motionless like a corpse. There are no signs of it waking up, so we should be safe for now.’

He had no choice. Steeling himself, Yang An could only follow.

But as he neared the location of the original Stone Stele, he saw it had become a filthy, massive toe. He couldn’t help but hesitate again.

When he passed this spot on the previous level, he had seen the giant awaken and cast its gaze upon him.

’So this time, what will I see?’