Chapter 324: Resistance
Several days later, Zhou Ming, who originally possessed a handsome and noble appearance with a mysterious aura, now resembled a gravely ill patient.
Faced with Spider Queen Iliss’s entanglement, Zhou Ming had already exhausted every method he possessed, yet he still could not remove the methods she had left behind.
“Could it be that my Transcendent Path is going to end here?”
At this moment, Zhou Ming’s heart was filled with extreme irritation, while his clear black-and-white eyes were suffused with bloodshot redness.
The fury within his heart caused him to fiercely swing his right hand. The powerful force instantly stirred up violent airflow, making the third floor of the stone tower seem as though a storm had erupted.
“My lord, what happened? Or is the food from these past few days not to your liking?”
Catgirl Aina noticed that her lord had not touched a single bite of her meals over the past few days, so she came intending to inquire about the situation.
Yet upon seeing the scene before her, she could even sense Zhou Ming’s irritable emotions enveloping the third floor of the stone tower like a gloomy rainy day.
“It’s nothing. You may leave.”
Unwilling to explain further, Zhou Ming immediately issued an order for Aina to withdraw.
“Yes.”
Just as Aina was preparing to leave, the Little Pink Mushroom unexpectedly ran out.
Over the past few days, it had truly felt as though every day lasted a year, trembling in fear and constantly worried about provoking the increasingly irritable Zhou Ming.
After all, as an existence born within an illusionary realm, it possessed an exceptionally keen perception toward the emotional states of living beings.
The emotions Zhou Ming currently suppressed resembled a volcano on the verge of eruption, capable of devouring his rationality at any moment.
Sensing Aina’s arrival, the Little Pink Mushroom hoped the other party could take it away from this place.
“Wow, what a cute little thing. My lord, is this your new Beast?”
Aina was already extremely familiar with the Beast Taming System, but she still casually asked.
Just as the emotionally agitated Zhou Ming was about to erupt, a flash of inspiration suddenly surged through his mind.
Beast… Little Pink Mushroom.
Aina’s question seemed to make Zhou Ming think of something. The muddled and lifeless eyes instantly burst forth with excited light.
“Haha, Aina, you’ve truly helped me tremendously.”
Zhou Ming instantly appeared beside Aina. His intensely excited mood caused him to grab her and fiercely kiss her once.
Faced with the sudden “attack,” Aina’s mind instantly went blank.
Although Zhou Ming had sealed the bloodline attraction between them, Aina had not forgotten the memories from before. Her snow-white cheeks instantly flushed crimson.
However, before she could react, Zhou Ming had already grabbed the Little Pink Mushroom and directly rushed toward the library on the fifth floor of the stone tower.
Seeing this, Aina immediately puffed up her cherry-like lips in dissatisfaction, seemingly unhappy about Zhou Ming taking advantage of her before running away.
Yet at this moment, how could Zhou Ming possibly have the mood to care about Aina’s feelings?
Because after Aina’s reminder, Zhou Ming instantly thought of how to deal with the methods Spider Queen Iliss had left within his body.
After arriving at the fifth-floor library of the stone tower, Zhou Ming immediately searched through all of his research regarding spiritual consciousness, along with the related knowledge he had obtained from Blue Star Academy.
Without caring about his appearance, Zhou Ming directly sat cross-legged on the floor and began flipping through the materials.
As for the Little Pink Mushroom that had been brought over, it did not dare move recklessly and could only squat obediently nearby.
Meanwhile, Zhou Ming was currently pondering how to remove the methods left behind by Spider Queen Iliss.
The other party had descended upon Blue Star through a divine statue using merely a strand of consciousness, meaning the methods she could use were limited.
If she could directly control him, she would not have needed to employ methods similar to curses.
Given his current condition, the other party had at most left behind an extremely difficult-to-detect imprint within his spiritual consciousness.
However, given the immense disparity in strength between the two sides, even a mere imprint was not something Zhou Ming could resolve.
But now he possessed the anomalous existence known as the Little Pink Mushroom. It was an existence with the potential to evolve into a Ritual Spirit or even a Demigod. In terms of status, it was extremely close to Iliss.
Furthermore, the Little Pink Mushroom itself was an illusionary lifeform, making it naturally adept at spiritual illusions.
If he could transform it into his Beast, then he would have a chance to utilize its special abilities.
Of course, Zhou Ming had no intention of using Spiritual Seed contracts.
Although his Spiritual Seeds had already shattered, they originated from the same source and still maintained invisible connections with one another.
This was also why contracting different mutated animals created invisible rejection effects, to the point where after controlling several creatures of differing species, it became impossible to continue implanting Spiritual Seeds to control additional Beasts.
Even implanting Spiritual Seeds into creatures of the same species would gradually create influence as their numbers increased, because even creatures of the same race possessed subtle differences.
That was why Zhou Ming had originally implanted all his Spiritual Seeds exclusively into the single race of Ironthread Snakes.
Now, if he additionally contracted the Little Pink Mushroom — an existence completely different from the Molting Snake — then regardless of whether the Spiritual Seed implantation succeeded or not, it would inevitably contaminate his Molting Snake bloodline.
With Zhou Ming’s current knowledge and vision, he had developed his own understanding regarding the use of Spiritual Seeds to control Beasts. It was merely a method of using the false to cultivate the true.
How to control a Beast was not the core issue. How to utilize external power to strengthen oneself was what truly mattered.
In other words, how to control the Little Pink Mushroom was unimportant. What mattered was how to borrow its abilities to assist himself.
While flipping through the materials, Zhou Ming gradually formed a plan in his mind based on the inspiration that had flashed through his thoughts earlier.
As the Molting Snake Emperor, he possessed supreme authority over the Molting Snakes and all subordinate bloodlines. He could even freely control the thoughts and will of the Molting Snakes implanted with Spiritual Seeds.
If he used his snake swarm as the foundation and constructed a dreamscape similar to an illusion using their spiritual consciousness, then allowed the Little Pink Mushroom to inhabit it, he could indirectly control the creature.
It was similar to how he could not directly control flowing water into different shapes, yet could instead create containers of various forms to make the water assume the shapes he desired.
This method could not completely control the Little Pink Mushroom, but it could establish a symbiotic state between the Little Pink Mushroom and the dreamscape of the snake swarm.
He only needed to use this symbiotic state to not only guide the Little Pink Mushroom into his own consciousness but also resolve its survival issue.
With the Little Pink Mushroom’s special characteristics, once it found the methods left behind by Spider Queen Iliss, he would be able to rid himself of her influence.
Although this plan did not guarantee one hundred percent success, it nevertheless allowed Zhou Ming to see a sliver of hope.
Furthermore, based on the state Spider Queen Iliss had displayed on Blue Star, he refused to believe she could truly exert the abilities of a Demigod.
At most, she had relied on certain Demigod characteristics to suppress him through rank superiority, causing him to be unable to resolve her methods.
However, if he truly removed the methods she had left within his spiritual consciousness, then he would have genuinely offended a Demigod-level existence.
“A Demigod? So what if it’s a Demigod if it dares obstruct my path?”
Thinking of Spider Queen Iliss, Zhou Ming raised his head and looked toward the void, determination filling his eyes.
Whether for the sake of pursuing the pinnacle of power or as the emperor of a race, he would absolutely never accept a fate of enslavement.
No matter who the other party was.