Chapter 480: Chapter 480

Regardless of what this beast was, the Divine Deer’s expression shifted as it focused on the sword leaf. “Star-Splitting Sword Intent. The Void Grass?”

“What’s going on? Why is it holding the Void Grass?” Squirrel God was equally baffled.

“No, it’s not the Void Grass. However, the power it’s using is unmistakable. It’s the Star-Splitting Sword Intent of the Void Grass,” The Divine Deer said.

Manager Ying said calmly, “See? With Squirrel God’s seal, my messenger has no issues. Just sending out two familiars is enough to handle this. If he deployed his full team, it’d be a crushing victory. This is a familiar that evolved to have a Sword attribute. It’s far more suited to wield sword intent than the Void Grass.”

The Divine Deer and Squirrel God were dumbfounded.

Sword attribute? Since when did that exist? And this messenger wasn’t just casually sending out familiars. His familiars wielded the purest Star-Splitting Sword Intent, and its sword energies fused seamlessly into a combo skill. These two familiars were likely bound by kinship. They’re an incredibly synchronized duo!

“To suppress a Legendary alone... That dog he contracted is extraordinary. I’ve never heard of the Sword attribute.” Squirrel God grew solemn.

Perhaps, under its seal, even without the timekeeper’s aid, this divine messenger could defeat the fox. Meanwhile, Lu Ran had no intention of fighting fair. His second summoned familiar joined the fray. Although Captain Doofus had wounded the fox with hundredfold energy compression and Star-Splitting Sword Intent, Lu Ran could tell it was only a scratch.

Under psychic reinforcement, the fox’s wounds weren’t healing quickly, but they were closing steadily. He’d assumed this nine-tailed fox would be like Manager Ying and Baby Cloud, each tail representing a different attribute.

However, he was overthinking it. This was just a nine-tailed fox that specialized in Spirit power. It showed no signs of composite attributes but just raw Spirit prowess honed to an extreme.

“It’s not like Manager Ying, but more like that deceitful fox worshipped by Lin Nian’s ancestors... Though at most, they’re distant relatives. That fox only had one tail and served as a guardian totem for human tribes. It’s very different from this clan. Regardless, taking this thing down should secure an SSS score. I’m just waiting to claim the rewards now.”

Although it didn’t have nine attributes, Manager Ying also specialized in the Spirit attribute, so any resources dropped would still be useful.

As Lu Ran pondered, a shield-wielding dragon descended from the sky. Lu Ran had opened the summoning array at maximum altitude, and Sudden Death King came crashing down like a meteor, shield-first, onto the nine-tailed fox.

By the time the fox looked up, all it saw was a derpy, smug face mocking it.

The Divine Deer and Squirrel God also looked up.

Wait, another Legendary?

First, it was slashed by Captain Doofus, and then crushed by a meteor impact. The fox roared in fury from within the dust cloud. In its rage, it strained against Squirrel God’s chains, cracking them slightly. Its level was rebounding from 50 toward 60.

Simultaneously, its massive tails whipped at the shield, sending Sudden Death King flying back toward Lu Ran. It steadied itself while Captain Doofus swapped in, delivering another slash.

At the same time, a defensive halo pulsed around it. Sudden Death King had shared its formidable defense with Captain Doofus. Now, even tankier, Captain Doofus’ expression turned maniacal as its body expanded mid-charge.

The nine-tailed fox swung a massive claw, clashing against the swordgrass, creating a dazzling light. However, before the clash could be resolved, a giant wooden fist descended from the void, smashing the fox’s head into the ground. This time, the damage was far—its skull was crushed.

An entire wooden hand pinned its head down, belonging to a wooden giant even larger than the fox. The giant had materialized out of nowhere, its shoulder occupied by a humanoid plant figure calmly observing the scene.

Next, Six-Path Flower activated the Beast Path and Hungry Ghost Path, attempting to enslave the fox while draining its life force. The nine-tailed fox screamed again. Amid its screams, Lu Ran’s surprised voice rang out.

“That’s it? That was easier than expected. Of course, it’s thanks to Squirrel God.”

Lu Ran had sent out three familiars in succession, overwhelming the Nine-Tailed Fox God without giving it a chance to fight back.

The Divine Deer and Squirrel God were baffled.

Three... three Legendaries?

Their pupils shrank as they stared at Six-Path Flower, recognizing something unbelievable. The arrogant demeanor of the humanoid flower on top of the Wooden Asura was identical to that of the Six-Path Reincarnation God they remembered.

“This is the Six-Path Reincarnation God, resurrected from the river of time. See? I told you my messenger would handle it,” Manager Ying said nonchalantly.

The Divine Deer and Squirrel God fell silent.

Fuck, this is a problem. Since when could a timekeeper pick people up from the river of time? This doesn’t add up!

After the battle, the Nine-Tailed Fox God was defeated. Looking at the fallen fox, Lu Ran glanced at the Divine Deer, who hadn’t had a chance to act, and felt a bit cheated.

He wanted to ask, Divine Deer, if I gouge out its heart, can you heal it back to full health?

That way, they could harvest multiple rounds of resources.

“A Legendary being has fallen. Quick, check what its Legendary core is,” Squirrel God murmured, gazing at the lifeless fox with mixed emotions.

Typically, Low or Intermediate Legendaries had one Legendary-grade core organ. This nine-tailed fox might not be strong, but it shouldn’t lack one.

Under Lu Ran’s direction, Captain Doofus swapped its swordgrass for the Hell Bone Sword and began dissecting the fox. Upon seeing this, the Divine Deer and Squirrel God stiffened again.

They stared at the sword spirit, sensing something familiar about the bones encasing it. It was almost like the divine bones of the Wind Dog God. As Stellar Moon’s keepers, they’d interacted with most of its Legendaries.

Soon, the Nine-Tailed Fox God was fully dissected. Its core organ was, unsurprisingly, its heart. Besides the heart, Lu Ran figured its most valuable part was its lingering soul. This was premium material. If it were refined into supplements, it could accelerate the creation of his soul clones.

Under the Divine Deer and Squirrel God’s bewildered stares, Captain Doofus extracted the fox’s lingering soul, which Lu Ran promptly stored in a Soul-Restraining Bottle. After upgrading his flame mastery, Lu Ran had refined the bottle to Epic grade. It was now capable of preserving the fox’s soul temporarily.

This dissection-and-soul-harvesting routine made the Divine Deer feel that, rather than a divine messenger, Lu Ran resembled a messenger of the Death Dragon’s kin.

They shot Manager Ying another questioning look.

Just how did you train this messenger?

[Name: Heart Crystal]

[Description: Legendary-grade resource. The heart of a nine-tailed fox, brimming with intense psychic energy. Consuming it subjects the user to a drastic baptism. If one can endure it, they are granted 100% chance of acquiring quasi-Legendary psychic power, with a small probability of awakening Legendary potential.]

“Well?” The Divine Deer asked.

Lu Ran shook his head. “It’s not ideal. Although the effects are impressive, there are side effects. Still, it’s decent. Just not suitable for direct consumption. I’ll see if I can remove the drawbacks.”

He’d never tried cooking Legendary-grade resources before. His previous attempts only involved Epic-grade materials from Legendary beasts.

With Squirrel God and the Divine Deer’s help in this ascension realm, he might obtain several Legendary resources. It was worth experimenting.

“Lord Divine Deer, Lord Squirrel God, to help the timekeeper recover quickly, let’s hunt the Taotie and Qiongqi next!”

“What’s the rush? Let me rest for a few days. Sealing is exhausting. I need a nap.” Squirrel God couldn’t help but complain.

“Huh?” Lu Ran was taken aback.

It needs rest? At its age, how could it sleep so easily?

Squirrel God’s need for downtime was unexpected. Lu Ran had unconsciously treated its projection as a hunting tool. However, if it only needed a few days’ rest per Legendary, that was practically being a workaholic. No wonder the Space Dragon had chosen to nurture Squirrel God.

A few days’ rest wouldn’t hurt. Lu Ran could use the time to consume the fox and cultivate a new soul clone. That way, he’d be better prepared to hunt stronger Legendaries with Captain Doofus later.

With Squirrel God’s help, Low Legendaries weren’t satisfying enough. This was the perfect chance to bag at least an Intermediate Legendary.

The outside of ancient Lu Village became their temporary resting spot. After hunting the nine-tailed fox, Lu Ran was confident the ascension mission was in the bag, so he stopped worrying about it and focused on helping Manager Ying reach Legendary.

As the timekeeper, Lu Ran cared deeply about it, and so did the rest of his team, especially #18.

“What is it? Did you make progress on the heroic spirit research?”

#18 lowered its head. “No... Limitless City’s totem projections are too realistic. I can’t decipher anything, but I think my research direction is correct. Just like with the Elemental Life Creation Device back then, we’re only missing a core energy source.”

“You mean...” Lu Ran was stunned.

#18 clenched its fists. “Back then, we broke through the technical bottleneck using Six-Path Flower’s limit-breaking essence to create elemental life. Now, for creating heroic spirits, my research shows that the three key components are faith energy, undead energy, and time energy.

“That’s why I asked you to find Time-based resources to awaken the Time attribute. It’s all for better research. However, even with the Time attribute, I can’t guarantee 100% success. The concept of heroic spirits is still too fantastical. It’s beyond what a Superior Overlord like me can grasp. If we had the blood of a powerful time-based lifeform as an energy source, there’s hope for a heroic spirit revival machine!”

Lu Ran’s eyes gleamed.

“Six-Path Flower and Dark Crow both once unified Time energy. I tried using their stored fluids and blood as energy sources, but the machine failed. However, I think Manager Ying’s blood might work wonders.

“This only occurred to me after learning it’s the timekeeper’s reincarnation. The resources it gave Baby Cloud even took priority over the Kunpeng Feather during evolution. That means its bloodline, even in this life, holds incredible power. It’s evident in its unique clones!”

Lu Ran nodded. “I get it. You don’t have Manager Ying’s blood samples, right? Leave it to me. I’ll drain a couple of buckets for you.”

#18 was thrilled at the prospect of obtaining its dream energy source. With the timekeeper’s blood, creating heroic spirits no longer seemed impossible.

After chatting with #18, Lu Ran sought out Manager Ying, who was currently using its lost memories as an excuse to pry Stellar Moon’s hidden history from the Divine Deer. In other words, gathering intel.

On Blue Planet, as a mere Overlord, it couldn’t even get an audience with the kin. However, now, with its timekeeper background, Manager Ying’s boldness knew no bounds.

Manager Ying bid farewell to the Divine Deer and approached Lu Ran, smirking. “Divine Deer, hold on. My messenger needs me. What’s up, Lu? Is it dinner time? Keep up the good work. Once I truly regain my power, I might even officially appoint you as my messenger. I don’t mind you being the Divine Deer’s messenger, too.”

Lu Ran scoffed. “Don’t forget that right now, you’re still the head of the Intelligence Department in the Beastmaster Empire. When you recover, I expect my imperial seal to be upgraded to the Legendary grade.

“Anyway, I’m here for something else. #18 hit a roadblock in its heroic spirit research. It’s stuck without a top-tier Time energy source. Since you’re the timekeeper’s reincarnation, which is basically the second-greatest Time-based entity, hand over two buckets of blood.”

“I disown you! Get lost!”