Absolute Destiny Game.

Chapter 608 The Vanished Boss
Just as the massive body of the Ferocious Fang Slayer completely disintegrated in the thunderstorm, transforming into a sky full of dissipating demonic energy, the grand system announcement once again resounded throughout the entire world of "Old Land," echoing in the ears of all online players:

[World Announcement: Player [Hidden Moon with the Wind] has successfully defeated the World Boss [Fierce Fang Slayer (Demon Lord)], earning 15000 Salvation Merit Points! His heroic deeds will be recorded in history!]

Xiao Jie's merit points surged another 15000, and he casually opened the merit ranking list. At the top of the list, next to the name "Hidden Moon Follows the Wind," was a staggering number—30597 points! This widened the gap between him and the second place to an almost hopeless distance, and the ranking list seemed to have become his personal stage for a moment.

"Not bad efficiency." Xiao Jie nodded in satisfaction, his gaze shifting to the scattered loot below, glowing with various colors. The kiting tactic, which had consumed a great deal of time and energy, had finally paid off. The world boss's loot was still generous; four items radiating an orange glow lay quietly on the scorched ground, waiting to be picked up.

He descended from the clouds and began to tally the harvest.

The first item was a pair of grotesque, perfectly curved scimitars. The blades had a dark metallic sheen, but a faint blood-red light flowed along the edge, clearly transformed from the impressive claws of the Fierce Fang Killer.

【The Twin Blades of Heaven's Slaying (Dual Blades/Legendary)】

Attack power: 63 (cut) x 2.

Weapon Effect 1: Tear Blade. Your attacks will ignore part of the target's physical defense and have a very high chance of inflicting the "Deep Tear" effect, causing continuous bleeding damage; there is a moderate chance to trigger "Armor Penetration," greatly reducing the target's armor value; there is a small chance to directly cause the "Limb Severing" effect, temporarily or permanently disabling the function of a limb on the target.

Weapon Effect 2: Hunting Gods. Increases all damage dealt to units with traits such as "Divinity," "Celestial Spirit," and "Buddha's Light" by 25%. Your attacks have a chance to penetrate the energy shields and spell resistances of such targets.

Item Description: Forged from the most powerful pair of claws of the Ferocious Fang Slayer, imbued with its murderous aura of hunting countless lives and its deep-seated hostility towards higher beings. When combined, the twin blades unleash a torrent of killing intent, making them weapons for slaying gods and immortals. When used in pairs, attack speed is increased by 10%, and there is a certain chance to trigger a follow-up attack.

"Good stuff!" A hint of appreciation flashed in Xiao Jie's eyes. Dual swords are a relatively rare weapon type in the game; one can be wielded in each hand, offering both offense and defense, and is highly versatile—one of the ultimate dreams for dual-wielding players. He had also immersed himself in swordsmanship in the past, and seeing it now, he couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement. Unfortunately, since embarking on the path of the Myriad Transformations Immortal, his fighting style had long since shifted to manipulating laws, harnessing the power of heaven and earth, or transforming into human form; opportunities for close-quarters combat and wielding swords were indeed few and far between.

“No wonder I was instantly killed just now…” He looked at the special effects of the [Hunting Gods] and suddenly realized, “The special effects of these swords are simply designed to hunt down 'gods' like us! It seems that the Demon Star Tower and its minions harbor great malice towards immortals and gods.”

The name "Fierce Fang Kills Heaven" suggests that it was likely a weapon specially trained by the master of the Demon Star Tower to target 'anti-immortals'.

The second piece was an extremely bizarrely shaped suit of armor with a biological feel. It had a dark red bone-like texture all over, with thick shells covering the joints. There was even a strange, heart-like structure in the center of the breastplate that was slightly pulsating. It was clearly the transformation of the incredibly hard exoskeleton of the Fierce Fang Killer.

【Armor of Ferocious Beast Bones (Legendary/Chestplate)】

Defense +98.

Spell resistance +68.

Equipment Effect 1: Elemental Resistance. When receiving damage from spells of the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth), there is a 50% chance to gain a "high resistance" effect, directly reducing the damage by 90%.

装备特效2：狂兽生机。当你的生命值低于30%时，自动触发一个相当于你最大生命值15%的护盾，并每秒恢复最大生命值2%的血量，持续10秒。冷却时间5分钟。

Item Description: This armor, forged from the essence of the ferocious beast Shitian's exoskeleton, possesses not only extreme physical defense but also astonishing magical resistance due to its innate aversion to the five elements. This armor embodies the indomitable fighting spirit of a ferocious beast, capable of unleashing its potential in times of crisis to protect its master's life.

“No wonder this thing was so hard to kill. It was as hard as a tortoise shell. It took me half an hour to take it down with lightning magic.” Xiao Jie stroked the cold bone spikes on the armor, feeling the powerful blood energy contained within and its natural repulsion to the five elements. “Just from the properties of this armor, you can see how troublesome it was in life.”

The third item was a bead about the size of a fist, perfectly round, with what appeared to be dark red magma slowly flowing inside, radiating a violent yet pure demonic power—it was the demon core of the Fierce Fang Killer.

[The Demon Core of the Ferocious Fang Who Slays Heaven (Materials/Legend)]

Usage: It can be used as the core main material for refining high-level pills or powerful magic weapons.

Direct consumption: ? ? ? ? (Warning: Forcibly consuming this if one does not possess a demonic bloodline or whose physique does not meet the standards may result in serious consequences such as bloodline contamination, physical deformities, and mental confusion.)
Item Description: Legend has it that this is the inner core condensed from the cultivation of the demonic master, Fierce Fang, who slays the heavens. It contains his purest primordial demonic power and ferocious fighting spirit. [A treasure for tempering the body and refining weapons, but also a poison that bewitches the mind and disrupts the spirit.]

Looking at the demon core, Xiao Jie hesitated for a moment. He had considered leaving it for An Ran, but the Fiend Fang Shitian was so powerful that the remnant demonic spirit and violent will contained within its demon core must be extraordinary. An Ran's strength was still shallow, and her temperament had not been tempered enough. Using it rashly would probably not only be useless, but she would also be corrupted by it, and might even have her mind affected by the demonic thoughts, with unimaginable consequences.

"Fine, I'll refine and absorb it myself, extracting the purest part." Xiao Jie made a decisive decision.

He didn't bother looking for a quiet room or setting up any formations. For immortals, heaven and earth can be their furnace, and their thoughts are their true fire. He simply sat cross-legged on a charred rock, held the restless demon core in his palm, and began circulating the Demon Refining Technique.

This was the first time he had refined a demon core since becoming an immortal. His immortal power probed in slightly, and he immediately sensed the extreme complexity of the spiritual energy within the demon core. Multiple different attributes of demonic energy, conflicting and even devouring each other, violently converged with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, almost indistinguishable from one another, forming an extremely unstable energy mixture.

This monster's inner core is indeed very wicked.

If one were to forcibly absorb it, it would inevitably lead to impure immortal power, and might even trigger inner demons. Xiao Jie couldn't help but admire his past self when he was still a mortal. Back then, he was truly fearless, daring to draw all sorts of chaotic spiritual energy into his body, and it was truly lucky that he didn't suffer a qi deviation.

Now that he was an immortal, his spiritual senses were incredibly sharp, and his immortal power was even more refined and concentrated. He could easily distinguish the attributes, purity, and potential dangers of the various spiritual energies within the demon core. He carefully manipulated his immortal power, like the most precise scalpel, meticulously separating and organizing the violent and chaotic energy within the demon core, one by one.

He slowly guided out the purest wisp of spiritual energy, merging it into his own immortal energy for assimilation and absorption. The rest of the energy, which was too violent, filled with negative emotions, or had conflicting attributes, was directly rejected, allowing it to turn into wisps of green smoke and dissipate into the world.

At the same time, Xiao Jie's divine sense penetrated deep into the core of the demon core and indeed captured a trace of a powerful, chaotic, and violent demon spirit's lingering will. He immediately activated the soul-refining secret technique he had learned from the "Netherworld Records" in the past, and like flipping through a diary full of blood and slaughter, he peeled away and examined the information fragments contained in these lingering wills one by one.

Most of them were fragments of memories about how to infiltrate, track, kill, and tear apart prey, as well as some combat techniques and methods of exertion based on physical instincts. For Xiao Jie, who had already reached a higher level, these crude killing techniques were of little value.

"Hmm? This feeling... is interesting." Suddenly, he let out a soft exclamation, his divine sense locking onto a fragment of memory that wasn't about specific techniques, but rather about some kind of instinctive perception. He carefully extended his finger, his fingertip shimmering with divine light, and with a gentle pull, extracted this relatively complete and pure instinctive imprint from the chaotic remnants.

The instant he completed this operation, a series of system notifications rang in his mind:
[System Notification: You have refined the [Fierce Fang Slayer Demon Core], absorbing a trace of pure spiritual energy from it. Your maximum spiritual energy value has been permanently increased by 360 points.]

[System notification: You have gained 13579 experience points.]

[System Notification: You have refined and mastered a rare skill, [Life Sensing], from the remnant spirit of the Fiend Fang Slayer.]

Xiao Jie hurriedly checked it.

[Life Sensing (Biological Instinct/Passive)]

Effect: You possess an extraordinary sensitivity to life force. You can clearly sense all living entities within a certain radius around you (expanding with your mental attribute), regardless of whether they are in stealth, invisibility, disguise, illusion, or any other concealed or disruptive state. All sensed living entities will be marked in real-time on your minimap and in your conscious perception as dots of varying brightness and color.

Skill Description: The Ferocious Fang Slayer is an ultimate hunting machine meticulously modified by the master of the Demon Star Tower. This ability is its core talent for tracking and locking onto prey, stemming from its extreme ability to capture the fluctuations of life's essence, approaching the level of law, thus allowing it to ignore most conventional methods of concealment.

"Not bad!" Xiao Jie's eyes lit up as he carefully experienced this newly acquired instinct. Although it couldn't directly increase attack or defense, its auxiliary role in actual combat, especially when dealing with stealthy enemies or complex environments, was practically a divine skill! "No wonder this thing could detect me in stealth mode so quickly; it turns out it's relying on this almost bug-like perception ability."

The fourth item was an old acquaintance—another slightly pulsating demonic star blood core radiating an eerie red light. It seemed this thing was standard equipment for every demonic being, the core vessel through which the demonic star bestowed upon them the power of evolution.

It has to be said, defeating world bosses is incredibly satisfying! Xiao Jie collected his four loot items one by one, feeling delighted. Each and every one of these drops was top-tier, providing a significant boost even to his current immortal-level strength. Whether it was the equipment effects, the value of the materials, or the skill acquisition, they far surpassed those of ordinary monsters. "Keep it up, next one!" Having tasted success, Xiao Jie was full of motivation and immediately mounted his cloud, heading towards the location marked on the map for the third world boss—the territory of the ruler of the Abyss Clan, [Aogu Zi]. It was a giant turtle monster skilled in aquatic warfare, with a shell harder than refined steel.

However, to Xiao Jie's surprise, when he arrived at the area polluted by the demonic power of the Claw-Binding Beak, a place interwoven with swamps and deep pools, following the map, he found that the huge figure that should have been conspicuously lying in the middle of the swamp, like a hill, had disappeared!
"Hmm? Could it have gone into the water, or is it hiding in the mud?" Xiao Jie initially thought the BOSS had used the environment to conceal itself. He immediately activated the newly acquired [Life Sense] skill, his powerful perception sweeping across the entire swamp area like radar waves.

One lap, two laps... Apart from the numerous elite and small monsters rolling in the mud and swimming in the deep pool, emitting bright or dim life spots, there was no sign of the world boss's overwhelming, sun-like life force!
"Strange... Can this BOSS really run away from home?" Xiao Jie frowned slightly, a hint of doubt rising in his mind. He didn't dwell on it too much, after all, there were still four BOSSes to choose from. "Never mind, let's go check out the next one first."

He turned and flew towards the lair of the Riftwing Clan's king, the Howling Wing King—a solitary peak towering into the clouds. That was the Riftwing prodigies' stronghold, and the Howling Wing King should have been circling the summit at all times, patrolling his territory.

As a result, they came up empty-handed again! On the lonely peak, only a large number of flying monsters were circling and screeching, but there was no sign of the BOSS whose wingspan covered the sky.

Xiao Jie's heart sank. He quickened his pace, heading straight for the next one...

I searched all the strongholds of the several demonic masters in one go, and they were all empty!

The remaining five world bosses, as if by prior arrangement, all mysteriously disappeared from their original lairs!

Xiao Jie stood on the empty, massive stone throne of the Ape Demon King, which was filled with various crude weapons and bones, his brows furrowed.

"Could it be that the system detected that I started hunting world bosses prematurely, interfering with the normal flow of the event, so it made an emergency adjustment and 'hid' these bosses?" This was the most likely explanation that came to mind first. "That's it, if I were to kill all seven bosses before the event officially started, what would be the point of the 'Final Battle' event 24 hours later?"
If players don't have a world boss to fight, then this event will be a disappointment.

Of course, there is another possibility: "Or perhaps there is some unknown connection between these monstrous beings and their masters? The successive deaths of the Abyss King and the Fierce Fang Killer made the remaining five sense a deadly threat, so they took the initiative to hide and wait for further instructions from the master of the Demon Star Tower?"

Regardless of the reason, the result is the same—he can no longer easily "defeat" the BOSS as before.

"Damn it!" Xiao Jie couldn't help but curse under his breath, feeling a surge of frustration. Just then, the ape-destroying demons around him, who were restless because their thrones had been usurped, roared angrily and surged out from behind rocks and caves in all directions, attacking him.

Xiao Jie, who was looking for a way to vent his frustration, didn't hold back and activated the White Dragon Dharma Form.

It soared into the sky.

Dragon Thunder Control Technique - Mighty Thunder!
In an instant, thunderclouds gathered above the solitary peak, and countless blazing white lightning bolts poured down like a torrential rain, covering the entire area. Thunder roared, electric snakes danced wildly, and hordes of ape-destroying demons were reduced to charred remains in the lightning, while experience points surged into Xiao Jie's body like a tidal wave.

Just after clearing out this wave of monsters, a flash of white light suddenly appeared on Xiao Jie's body—

Upgraded!
He was startled and quickly checked his status. Sure enough, his level had increased from 47 to 48.

"Oh no!" Xiao Jie's expression changed slightly. He immediately looked at his most important attribute—his progress in cultivating to become a Myriad Transformations Immortal.

[Myriad Transformations Immortal Cultivation Progress: 81%]

“I’m level 48 now. I can level up to the maximum level of 50, and then I can level up two more times. Based on my previous experience, each level up will increase my cultivation progress by about 4%-5%.” He quickly calculated in his mind, “That means if I level up to 50 normally, my cultivation progress will only reach about 90% at most.”

To advance from a Loose Immortal to a True Immortal, one's cultivation progress must reach 100%!

"I'm still at least 10% short! To be on the safe side, it would be best to increase my cultivation by about 12%." Xiao Jie felt the pressure. "It seems I can't just kill monsters to level up anymore, otherwise it would be really embarrassing if my level was maxed out but my cultivation wasn't."

He calmed down and carefully reviewed and summarized the current methods for improving his Myriad Transformations Immortal cultivation:

The first method is leveling up. Each level increase will naturally lead to an increase in cultivation level, which is the most stable and primary method. However, he must now control his level and cannot easily reach the maximum level of 50.

The second method involves visualizing divine or celestial beasts. For example, the Golden Crow or the Giant Kun (Peng). Successfully visualizing just one of them can instantly boost one's cultivation by about 5%-10%. Unfortunately, such beings are extremely rare and very difficult to find.

The third method is visualizing all things. This is the fundamental cultivation method of the Immortal of Myriad Transformations. Mountains, rivers, rocks, birds, beasts, flowers, birds, fish, and insects can all be visualized. However, this method is very slow to improve one's cultivation. Each successful visualization usually only increases one's cultivation by 0.01% to 0.1%. Moreover, the most crucial point is that Xiao Jie had recently visualized almost every common plant, animal, and natural object he could think of in order to improve quickly, and he was now facing a "material shortage."

At this moment, seeing that although the surrounding area had been cleared out, a large number of monsters of various shapes were still surging in from afar, Xiao Jie suddenly had an idea!
"These monsters...aren't they ready-made, brand-new objects of contemplation?!"

The visualization technique used by the Immortal of Myriad Transformations to enhance cultivation follows the principle of "type," meaning that each different creature or thing provides a cultivation experience upon the first successful visualization.

These monstrous creatures came in all shapes and sizes, and many were biological variants he had never encountered before. Didn't this mean that each new type of monstrous creature could provide him with a valuable visualization experience?

"Let's do it!" Xiao Jie made a decision immediately. Since the demonic masters were all in seclusion anyway, he might as well take the opportunity to improve his cultivation.

He once again used his invisibility technique, concealing all his aura, and like a patient naturalist, began to wander through the various places in Canglin Prefecture where demons resided, conducting "superficial contemplation" of those demons of different forms. He did not seek to deeply understand their fundamental laws or acquire their transformative supernatural abilities as he did when contemplating the Golden Crow or the Giant Kun; he only sought to quickly capture their external forms and basic characteristics, obtaining the minimum amount of cultivation experience.

This method has proven to be feasible!
[Visualization successful (Evil Winged Vulture), Myriad Transformation Immortal cultivation increased by 0.02%!]

[Visualization successful (Multi-Eyed Lurker), Myriad Transformation Immortal cultivation increased by 0.01%!]

[Visualization successful (Exploding Fire Beetle), Myriad Transformation Immortal cultivation increased by 0.03%!]

[Visualization successful (Shadow Wolf), Myriad Transformations Immortal cultivation increased by 0.02%!] ...

Although each improvement is minuscule, mostly fluctuating between 0.01% and 0.03%, the sheer number of monstrous beings is overwhelming! Dragonblood Clan, Fang Clan, Abyss Clan, Rot Insect Clan, Flying Feather Clan, Heart-Stealing Clan, Ape Extinction Clan... Under the seven major clans, there are hundreds of subspecies and mutants with different forms and functions.

Xiao Jie spent two whole days scanning the area. During those two days, he practically traversed every gathering place of prodigies in Canglin Prefecture, acting like a highly efficient scanner, "collecting" every kind of prodigy he could encounter.

After visualizing almost everything he could, Xiao Jie opened the status bar and finally showed a relieved smile.

[Myriad Transformations Immortal Cultivation Progress: 93%]!
"Phew—finally done!" He let out a long sigh of relief. Two days and nights of non-stop "monster-grinding" meditation had yielded remarkable results. "Now, I only need to level up two more times to reach the maximum level of 50, and my cultivation progress will break through 100%, enough for me to advance to True Immortal!"

A huge weight was lifted from Xiao Jie's shoulders, and he felt much lighter. Although the BOSS was gone, the gains of the past two days were, in some ways, more valuable than defeating two BOSSes. He looked up into the distance; now, all he had to do was wait for the final battle event to officially begin.

However, before that, it seems there's still one person whose head needs to be claimed.

Xiao Jie sent a private message to the Divine Calculator Demon.

(End of this chapter)