In Lin Yi's impression, the Devouring Beast was an extremely powerful entity in the comics, but he had heard that it was much weakened in the movies.
The official description of it was this—the Devouring Beast is one of the most terrifying creatures in the Marvel Universe, a "label" that often appears in Baidu Baike.
Lin Yi said to Zi Ji, "Damage 624357, Golden Junior Level, your reward is a Devouring Beast."
"A pet?"
Hearing Zi Ji's question, Lin Yi laughed, "You can consider it a pet, but this pet is not ordinary; you could even say it's terrifying... Let me release it first."
Hearing Lin Yi describe it this way, Zi Ji felt a momentary panic.
Rewards involving living creatures had appeared before, but Lin Yi had never used the word "terrifying" to describe them.
Moreover, this was a creature with damage exceeding six hundred thousand and at the Golden Junior Level; the Pet Roulette was merely at the Black Level.
So when she heard Lin Yi was going to release the Devouring Beast, Zi Ji instinctively backed away, and not just her—the others below the stage also stepped back, subconsciously thinking it was a huge creature, like the Golzine Behemoth, which was also a Golden Junior Level reward.
Lin Yi picked up the Golden Light Sphere in his hand, and instead of throwing it up, he tossed it toward Zi Ji's feet, making Zi Ji nearly jump away in fright. To her surprise, the Golden Light Sphere landed on the ground and turned into a... an orange cat?
Zi Ji's eyes widened nearly as big as ping-pong balls, her astonishment clearly visible.
"Could there be some mistake... There are cats in Soul Land; we've seen them. There are not only domestic cats but also wild cats, and even Cat-Type Spirit Beasts," Zi Ji said as she looked at the orange cat on the ground, unable to hold back her comment.
"Meow~"
The orange cat on the ground opened its mouth to respond, stood up, raised its tail, and rubbed around Zi Ji's calf in a very affectionate manner.
This made Zi Ji even more convinced it was just an ordinary house cat, especially since there was a bell around the cat's neck that jingled as it walked.
Lin Yi said, "There's no mistake, this is the Devouring Beast. The Devouring Beast's manifestation form is a cat. If it chooses, its mouth can extend countless tentacles to swallow everyone present."
The people who heard this suddenly froze.
It was Zi Ji who broke the silence, "Eat... eat people?"
Lin Yi curled his lips, "It has a magical stomach that links to the Myriad Heavens and Planes. Any creature swallowed by the tentacles will be randomly transported to a plane not belonging to Soul Land."
A small Magical Modification had been made by the System here.
The original setting was that the Devouring Beast's stomach linked to parallel universes, which the System had changed to the Myriad Heavens and Planes.
Zi Ji was shocked.
After all, she had just returned from a very terrifying plane to Soul Land.
She quickly asked, "Can it transport to planes like the one where the East Sea Dragon Palace is located?"
Lin Yi nodded, "Yes, its stomach is connected not only to multiple planes but also to multiple parallel timelines of different planes."
Zi Ji's complexion turned to one of shock—it was practically an endless ticket for plane travelling!
But Lin Yi's next words doused her with a cold bucket of water.
"I know what you're thinking, but if you get swallowed and go to another plane, there's no way back the same route. If you are swallowed, the Devouring Beast can indeed follow you to another plane, but if you want to return, you can only have the Devouring Beast swallow you over and over again to try. There may be a chance to return here, but it's more likely you'll never come back."
Lin Yi paused, then added, "And I believe that once you're swallowed, you wouldn't want to experience it a second time."
Zi Ji felt as if Lin Yi could hear someone's innermost thoughts, his words were that terrifying. Trembling, she asked, "Why... Why is that?"
"Try it and you'll know. You can issue commands to your Devouring Beast, and it will understand. Besides, I will grant you the chance to return the same way you came once,"
Hearing Lin Yi's words, Zi Ji felt reassured.
But when she realized that the little kitty was not a free ticket for plane traveling, but rather a one-way ticket of no return, she couldn't hide her heartache...
Wait, where is the little kitty??
Zi Ji turned around and saw that the Devouring Beast had jumped off the platform at some point and was now circling around Zhu Yun and Dai Ben.
It wasn't affectionately snuggling up to them but rather, like a sovereign, scrutinizing Dai Ben and Zhu Yun, who both possessed Tiger-Type Martial Souls.
What's going on?
"Meow~"
The Devouring Beast meowed, and at the same time, a phantom of the White Tiger Martial Soul twisted atop Dai Ben's body. The White Tiger Martial Soul seemed to be in great fear, and the roar it emitted had a tone of pleading for mercy.
As for Zhu Yun, she appeared somewhat nervous, but there was no sign of her Martial Soul revealing itself.
Then, the Devouring Beast, with its tiny cat steps, approached Zhu Yun. It opened its mouth and made a hissing sound like a snake when suddenly, a black tiger's head with strange patterns emerged as a shadow behind Zhu Yun.
The Dark Evil Tiger coolly stared at the Devouring Beast, its crimson eyes locking with those of the creature.
Everyone was dumbstruck by this scene.
After a minute of the tiger and cat "adoringly staring" at each other, the Devouring Beast indifferently turned around and walked back to the platform to find Zi Ji, while the shadow of the Dark Evil Tiger Martial Soul retreated back into Zhu Yun's body.
The entire event seemed as though nothing had happened.
But Zhu Yun knew she was so nervous that her back was soaked with sweat.
It was obvious from that moment the terror of the Devouring Beast was enough to make the White Tiger Martial Soul tremble, yet it appeared to hold its own in terms of imposing presence against the Dark Evil Tiger.
"Thump."
Zhu Yun turned her head, only to see Dai Ben had already collapsed onto the ground, his face covered with sweat.
It seemed he had felt the pressure just as much.
The Devouring Beast returned to the platform and settled beside Zi Ji. Even though it looked cute, Zi Ji dared not touch it.
She calmed herself for a moment, cleared her throat, and said to the orange cat, "You, swallow me."
"Meow?"
The Devouring Beast cocked its head, looking at Zi Ji with confusion.
Lin Yi clearly heard it let out a questioning "meow," which almost made him burst out laughing.
Perhaps the little kitty was thinking, I've made all the preparations to devour everything for my master, and then my master comes up and says, "Please swallow me!"
Meow meow meow???
Zi Ji emphasized again, "You heard me right, swallow me."
The Devouring Beast's pupils dilated and then contracted, seriously staring at Zi Ji for a long while before it backed away and opened its mouth.
In that moment, Zi Ji saw the most terrifying image she had ever witnessed in her life.
She finally understood why Lin Yi had said that once you've experienced it, you wouldn't want to go through it a second time...