A Few Hours Later, Near the Temple on the Back of the Skyveil Behemoth
Fang Mo, followed by two dwarves, was slowly approaching the outer area of the GBL cult.
"Is this the Skyveil Behemoth?"
As they walked, the Summon excitedly observed the surroundings, "It's really spectacular. I didn't expect that apart from Apostles, other creatures could have such enormous bodies. Arad is indeed a magical place."
Yes, having received the message earlier, Fang Mo forcibly brought the two of them to the back of the Skyveil Behemoth.
Though it felt large in the game, it wasn't until he actually landed on the head of the Skyveil Behemoth that he realized how truly colossal this magical whale was.
In the game, the Skyveil Behemoth is a regional dungeon. It includes areas like the Outer Temple Wall, Dendroid Jungle, First Spine, Second Spine, Silver Night, Purgatorium, Chamber of Blood, and dungeons like Jungle and the Goddess Temple. Overall, players are always causing trouble in the temples built by the GBL cult.
According to Fang Mo's previous thoughts, no matter how absurd the scale of the GBL cult might be, it couldn't be larger than a city. So he thought this magical whale would be about the size of a city.
But after flying over, he discovered that its size was almost comparable to a country. Due to the Skyveil Behemoth often moving, much of its surface was covered in smooth scales. Only a small area in the center of its back was relatively flat, accumulating sand and soil over the years, allowing the GBL cult followers to build temples there. This was the area explored by players back then.
Because of this, Fang Mo had underestimated the true size of the creature.
"Incredible."
Thinking of this, Fang Mo couldn't help but sigh, "If I remember correctly, the last time I saw a whale this big was the Star-Skin Swallow Whale in the Fecal Sea of Maggots..."
"What's that?" the Summon asked curiously.
"Oh, it's a type of cosmic whale," Fang Mo explained briefly. "It originated from a comic by Sun Zha, a super-giant creature that swims in the universe, absorbing cosmic energy and creating void feces..."
"Can't you watch something normal?" Before Fang Mo could finish, Xiao Yao kicked him in annoyance, "I already felt nauseous today, and now you bring up this nonsense."
"Nauseous?" Fang Mo looked at her with concern, "What's wrong?"
"I don't know," Xiao Yao shook her head, "I felt a salty taste in my mouth after waking up from absorbing dimensional information this morning, and brushing my teeth didn't help."
"Well..." Fang Mo looked a bit guilty upon hearing this and quickly changed the subject, "Maybe the dimensional information was too overwhelming, causing some mental strain... After all, it's your first time mastering another dimension. This is normal. I felt a bit dizzy when I devoured Dormammu. Oh, by the way, how's your dimension now?"
As he spoke, Fang Mo handed her a wild strawberry, "Here, eat a couple to calm your nerves... I mean, to ease the dizziness."
"It's manageable, I've basically mastered it," Xiao Yao said, taking the wild strawberry and eating it. "The nature of that space is as I guessed. It's indeed a dimension added by a tech module."
"Nature?" Fang Mo asked curiously, "What nature?"
"You wouldn't understand," Xiao Yao rubbed her temples, feeling better after eating, and patiently explained, "It's something like a virtual space... an artificial dimension, good for use as a lathe and laboratory. It could also be used as a weapons arsenal."
"Like the Gate of Babylon from Gilgamesh?" Fang Mo asked after thinking for a moment.
"Something like that, but with better uses," Xiao Yao said, pulling out an advanced rapid particle disintegration gun. "Look, like this, it can store attacks in advance."
She opened her left hand towards the gun's muzzle and pulled the trigger a few times. Several white particle beams shot out, and simultaneously, a deep black hole appeared in her white palm, absorbing the beams instantly.
"The virtual space contains no matter or energy, almost an absolute vacuum. Even time needs me to assign it, so if I adjust the parameters, whatever goes in will come out unchanged, with no change in initial velocity."
Saying this, Xiao Yao casually waved her hand towards the distance.
"Like this."
A flash of black light appeared in her palm, and several beams shot out, instantly blasting a small hill into pieces.
"Damn, the Mouth of the Yellow Spring," Fang Mo recognized it immediately without needing further explanation, "Professor Zu's Ghost Eye Yellow Spring Heaven, right? Okay, okay, next time you fight the Twelve Demon Gods, remember to borrow my power. I just unlocked the White Earth..."
"Good, as long as you understand," Xiao Yao smiled and turned her head away.
"Alright," Fang Mo wiped his face, unsure of what else to say.
The explosion seemed to have been too loud, making the ground tremble. The Skyveil Behemoth let out a deafening low roar, and the whole area started rising rapidly.
Despite its huge size, the Skyveil Behemoth was surprisingly timid. In the storyline, it got startled and flew erratically just because the Apostle Lotus teleported onto its back, causing widespread panic across the continent.
Hilder exploited this fear, spreading rumors that Lotus was controlling the Skyveil Behemoth to crash into the ground, aiming to destroy the entire Arad continent. In fear and anger, the foolish adventurers rushed onto the Skyveil Behemoth and killed Lotus.
Of course, this was in the story. With Fang Mo now targeting them, Hilder would have no chance to pull any tricks. If she dared to show up, she'd have to die. So Lotus was definitely Fang Mo's target.
However, Fang Mo still needed to think carefully about how to deal with Lotus.
The optimal solution would certainly be to feminize this guy, but the problem is he hasn't unlocked the feminization module yet, and the feminization core has been eaten by the little Ender Dragon. It's definitely not coming back out, so that path is temporarily blocked.
Aside from this option, the remaining choices are to either domesticate it or turn it into a weapon.
However, as for a tentacle sword… it doesn't seem like something you could use in battle. Instead, it feels more like a peculiar tool used only at night.
Meanwhile, Fang Mo was daydreaming.
On the other side, perhaps due to noticing the changes in the Skyveil Behemoth or hearing the explosion, a dense array of footsteps soon sounded from the surrounding forest. A large group of fanatics then rushed out, encircling them.
Both Fang Mo and Xiao Yao are infamously known as the Fourth Calamity. They were not scared at all by this encounter.
However, the local native, Summon, was different. She seemed a bit nervous seeing this horde of bizarre fanatics, instinctively stepping back two steps: "Hey? You... what are you all..."
Taking advantage of this moment, Fang Mo also observed the surrounding fanatics.
These people were mostly dressed in light purple robes with long sleeves, each keeping their hands tucked inside the sleeves in a prayer-like gesture, and wearing hoods that covered almost their entire bodies.
Even their faces were concealed by strange metal masks.
For some reason, their peculiar attire made them look extremely eerie, and combined with their rapid breathing, they exuded a sense of madness and weirdness.
"These people… seem to be followers of the GBL cult, right?"
Summon was clearly a bit panicked, instinctively glancing at Fang Mo: "Why do they look so strange?"
"What are we here for?" Fang Mo asked, sighing in exasperation.
"You said we're here to fight apostles," Summon replied. "But they aren't apostles..."
"Obviously," Fang Mo rolled his eyes. "What kind of Demon World native are you? Don't you even know the apostles' intel? Long-leg Lotus, also known as Seyuri, or Professor X Octopus. Do you understand the weight of this title?"
"Ah?" Summon was stunned by this.
"Alright, Huahua," Xiao Yao calmly explained, "Lotus can control minds, and these followers are probably already insane. Just fight your way through them."
"Oh, I see..." Summon realized. "Should I start summoning then?"
"Of course."
Fang Mo, eager to show off, especially since Xiao Yao had just arrived and hadn't seen her contracted monsters: "Don't dilly-dally, this time we'll rely on you to clear the way."
"You..."
Summon bit her lip, seemingly wanting to say something.
But before she could, the GBL cult followers suddenly screamed and charged at them.
"Ahhh!!!"
Seeing them rush forward, Summon became visibly anxious.
She struck the ground with her staff and activated her skills.
As the summoning circle lit up, a gigantic golden fist the size of a car flew over, smashing several approaching followers. A cracking sound followed as their bones were shattered.
Then, with a few loud thuds, a massive golden figure emerged from the dust.
It was a towering golem, several stories high, seemingly made of gold, adorned with large rubies, looking extremely magnificent. However, it appeared to lack legs, moving forward by supporting itself with its arms, making a dull sound.
"???"
Just as Fang Mo expected, Xiao Yao was stunned upon seeing this: "What... is this? A Gold Platon?"
"Keep summoning, don't stop."
Fang Mo laughed, casually swatting away some GBL followers, while also urging: "I won't step in this time. If you get torn apart, don't blame me. There are tentacle monsters everywhere here..."
Hearing Fang Mo's words, the young mage began frantically summoning other creatures.
First came the elemental spirits: Revos, Yaderan, Ice Nace, and Serentek, each bound by chains of contract, floated out one by one.
Then, more summons appeared in flashes of white light.
There were burly blue dragon men wielding tridents, gloomy ancient doll masters, and armored dark knights with light swords, all appearing around her.
Although the Skyveil Behemoth's dungeon is higher level than Sky City in the game, this is the real Arad Continent. These magical beings have guarded Sky City for thousands of years. How could they not handle a group of crazed cultists?
Under Xiao Yao's bewildered gaze, these magical constructs began to assault the cultists.
The Gold Platon punched and sent groups flying, while the Heaven Expellers slashed down one after another, lightning occasionally striking, mowing down the fanatics like wheat.
But this wasn't the end.
The young mage, squeezing out her last bit of mana, cried: "Come forth, Sieghart!"
With her call, a figure made of pure light slowly appeared behind her.
"Master, I am your most loyal servant."
Light Castellan Sieghart raised his hand, gathering light against the cultists. In a flash, a light cannon fired, instantly silencing the area.
The power of the light cannon was terrifying, vaporizing the followers in front, punching through a temple, and penetrating what seemed like a mountain, finally crashing into another temple.
As a rumble echoed from afar, something seemed to awaken.
A vast mental force quickly spread, covering the temple area with a slight sense of inquiry.
Sensing this mental force, Fang Mo instinctively looked up, smiling and greeting: "Hey, Lotus."