64: Chapter 64: The Warmth Across Space 64: Chapter 64: The Warmth Across Space Zhang Xiaoman was also in much distress at this moment, although it might be because he had experienced similar situations many times, or perhaps due to the enhancement in spiritual power imparted by his cloak, he wasn’t as overwhelmed as Li Xiang.
However, a terrifying sense of crisis continuously lingered in his mind, and he felt goosebumps all over his body.
At this time, the Space Node’s pulsation became even more frantic.
In the horrified eyes of the two men, a huge arm covered in black scales suddenly extended from within, grabbing onto the edge of the light spot as if it intended to tear it apart.
As expected, a monster had come!
And the creature that arrived seemed to be terrifying!
While Zhang Xiaoman was shocked, he didn’t forget to strike first, immediately ordering his two Yellow Sand Soldiers to charge forward and attack it.
A clash of metal rang out, but the Long Spear, which could usually easily split a sapling, couldn’t even pierce the monster’s outer scales.
The recoil from the impact even pushed the two Sand Soldiers back several steps.
The monster seemed to have felt the provocation.
The arm wildly waved around on the spot, attempting to grab at the one who had just attacked it.
Under Zhang Xiaoman’s control, the two Sand Soldiers quickly retreated, but one of them was a bit too slow because of the close distance and had his Long Spear snatched away by the huge black hand.
The next moment, Zhang Xiaoman saw the two-meter-long Long Spear get crushed to pieces like sawdust in the black hand, and before he could be surprised, the purple Space Node shook again and forcibly squeezed out a head.
“Is this, is this a devil…”
By this time, Li Xiang had fallen onto the ground, completely taken aback.
Seeing the monster’s head, he felt as if his soul was being sucked out, his face filled with an expression of unspeakable terror.
The monster had a bizarre appearance, with a huge mouth filled with sharp teeth taking up almost two-thirds of its face.
It had no nose, no ears, and its two yellow eyes stood tall like those of a crab.
At this moment, upon seeing Zhang Xiaoman and the others, the monster’s massive mouth suddenly opened wide, issuing a steam-whistle-like roar, and its eyes extended forward on their stalks quite far out.
Zhang Xiaoman also felt extremely uncomfortable, much like the first time he saw the Shadow Demon on Lake Island, as if his mind was suddenly filled with endless terror, and his thoughts began to grow uncontrollable, a chaotic and frenzied emotion breeding within his heart.
“Is this… spiritual pollution…”
Zhang Xiaoman gritted his teeth and struggled to raise his hand to trigger and fire two Holy Water Bullets.
The monster, initially pushing its way out with great effort and about to reveal its other hand, was suddenly hit by the just-fired Holy Water Bullets, coincidentally striking its extended eyeballs.
The pain made it immediately retract its entire body back into the node.
Zhang Xiaoman was considering whether to directly use the hearthstone to flee, but unexpectedly, after taking two of his bullets, the monster simply ran away, and the pressure exerted on him also suddenly lifted, making him feel as if a heavy shackle had been removed.
By then, Li Xiang also started panting heavily, his body appearing drenched in sweat, having felt extreme difficulty even in breathing just moments ago.
Looking at the Space Node that had returned to normal, Zhang Xiaoman no longer had any thoughts of staying to farm monsters.
He wished he could immediately remove this node.
“That monster seems to have been temporarily scared off by me, I don’t know when it might come back, I must absorb it now… And although the Space Node could potentially provide me with a continuous stream of Monster Points, there’s a greater chance it might bring something I can’t handle at this stage.
If that’s the case, I’d be better off using it to exchange for points to boost my strength sooner rather than later.”
With that thought in mind, Zhang Xiaoman hurriedly took a few steps forward and stretched out his right hand, engraved with the Seven-pointed Star Array, initiating the absorption process.
An intense stabbing pain surged through him again as the Seven-pointed Star burst into a dazzlingly brilliant light.
The purple spots, engulfed by this light, began to fluctuate violently.
At that moment, the space around them visibly twisted, countless streams of purple energy flowing toward Zhang Xiaoman, drawn by the Array.
The small grove, under the illumination of these lights, instantly transformed into a dazzling, fantastical forest.
Enduring the severe pain in his hand, Zhang Xiaoman painfully awaited the complete absorption of the Space Node.
The time it took to absorb the Space Node was significantly longer than it took to absorb monster corpses, and higher points required even more time.
Zhang Xiaoman had already spent close to a minute on this, and seeing that the purple spots were getting smaller and smaller, he assumed it was almost over.
But just as he gritted his teeth and bore the pain, he saw something black appearing at the center of the purple spots.
His eyelids twitched, realizing instantly what it was.
“It’s that monster from before!
Zhang Xiaoman was immediately terrified, standing less than two meters from the Space Node, while the length of that arm alone already exceeded this distance.
Fortunately, he had shifted his position slightly before absorbing the Node.
Now, although that arm extended from the spot of light, it was at an angle about 30 degrees away from him.
“Can’t stop, can’t stop.
From this position, it shouldn’t be able to touch me, and I mustn’t let it escape.
Otherwise, if it guards this place afterward, I might have a hard time claiming this Node!”
With this thought, Zhang Xiaoman immediately ordered two Sand Soldiers to stand in front of him.
If that arm showed any signs of swinging toward him, they’d immediately step forward to block it for him.
Fortunately, as the Space Node shrank, the monster, though able to extend a black arm, could no longer probe half its body through like before, struggling in vain there but unable to stop the spot of light from diminishing.
Eventually, as the purple light lessened and the Space Node shrank to a certain size, it suddenly disappeared completely, leaving only the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground, which was the black monster’s arm segment.
“Ding, absorption of a small Space Node completed, points increased by 56.”
The familiar voice of the System echoed in Zhang Xiaoman’s mind, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief, having narrowly secured these points without incident.
Then, when his gaze inadvertently caught sight of his palm, he was somewhat surprised to find that the pattern of the Seven-pointed Star still faintly glimmered with a weak light.
Zhang Xiaoman immediately looked toward the severed arm lying on the ground, a flicker of excitement in his eyes.
“Who would have thought there’d be an extra gift here?
It’s hard to believe it crossed dimensions just to bring me warmth,” he mused.