A group of pitch-black figures emerged like specters, encircling Feng Lin and his two companions tightly. Sharp fangs jutted out like blades, their crests as hard as shields, and their bodies twisted like demons, standing guard around the alien queen like royal guards, willing to sacrifice themselves to the death. Over twenty alien praetorians closed in, the apex force of the hive, bringing immense pressure to bear on Feng Lin and the others. Even without any supernatural energy, these formidable creatures boasted life forces exceeding 70, a terrifying prospect. Feng Lin was inwardly startled. The xenomorphs were truly biological weapons—relying solely on reproduction to birth such horrifying beings was beyond imagination.
Screech! The alien queen’s massive body writhed, emitting a piercing cry. The entire hive trembled. Facehuggers, runners, drones… led by the praetorians, surged forward like a tide, intent on drowning Feng Lin and his team. Sinister shadows flickered in the darkness, licking their claws, lurking and ready to pounce, to tear the succulent flesh to shreds and devour it greedily.
“Finish this quickly!” Feng Lin exchanged a glance with the others, making an instant decision. The hive was fully roused; there was no need for stealth anymore. Countless xenomorphs were awakening from hibernation—if they delayed, escape would become impossible. Without holding back, the three charged straight for the alien queen. The queen shrieked, and the xenomorph army swarmed to block them.
*Enlarge!* Feng Lin gripped his iron staff tightly, pouring his psychic energy into it. The staff rapidly grew in his hands, and with a simple “Sweep the Legions,” it struck with overwhelming force. Three stalkers creeping in for an ambush were instantly crushed into paste. Their ability to blend with the environment was laughably useless against Feng Lin’s all-pervading psychic power.
*Might of the Ares Clap!* Ares made her move, pressing her palms together before her chest. Behind her, her aura churned violently, coalescing into a colossal humanoid statue whose hands slowly came together. *Crack! Crack!* The palms, like massive walls, squeezed inward, catching xenomorphs and pulverizing them into pulp. Ares shielded Yana tightly behind her, her aura solidifying into the statue’s shell. Wherever her attacks landed, xenomorphs were smashed to bits, her ferocity unmatched.
Feng Lin and Ares struck relentlessly, but the hive, as the xenomorphs’ stronghold, spawned endless monsters that couldn’t be wiped out. “Someone has to hold off the xenomorphs while another assassinates the queen! Otherwise, these creatures are infinite, and if we drag this out, we’ll be trapped and killed here,” Yana said, seeing the situation clearly, her voice low. But then silence fell among them. The plan was simple and sound, but who would do it? Assassinating the queen was perilous—one misstep meant death. Even Ares, usually reckless and battle-hungry, stayed quiet. It wasn’t fear; her sister Yana lacked combat strength and couldn’t defend herself, so Ares had to stay close to protect her.
“I’ll do it,” Feng Lin said calmly, breaking the stillness. The Greek sisters’ eyes widened in surprise. They’d always seen him as cold and rational, never expecting him to volunteer. This mere interstellar cultivator—where did he get the nerve to attempt assassinating a small alien queen, equivalent to an elite early-stage cultivator? Was he reckless, or did he have some hidden ace? *You’re overthinking it.* Though he couldn’t read minds, their astonished expressions told him enough. Feng Lin smiled faintly, confident in his judgment. This small queen might have the combat power of an early interstellar cultivator, but he’d fought many such foes, with a life force of 218—nothing to fear. Even if he couldn’t win, escaping should be easy. He wanted to see what the alien queen was capable of.
Having grasped the principles of Mythological Deduction and Induction, Feng Lin had an epiphany. Walking the mythological path required not only mastering genetic power but also aligning one’s heart with it to unleash the full potential of mythological genes. Sun Wukong’s life, in a thousand words, boiled down to three: Fight! Battle! Triumph! These thoughts flickered through his mind. Without hesitation, Feng Lin barked, “Clear a path for me!” Ares didn’t hesitate, striking instantly.
*Spear of Ares!* Ares grasped the air, her aura extending into a pitch-black spear that she thrust fiercely, like the legendary war god Ares charging on a chariot, piercing through all. The xenomorph praetorians lunged like demons, claws sharp, tongues shooting out like spears. *Pfft!* Though formed from intangible aura, the spear was razor-sharp. It pierced through the xenomorphs’ mouths, skewering them like candied hawthorns. Ares’s face flushed as she strained, hurling the impaled xenomorphs aside like a ancient strongman, clearing a path through the horde. “Go!” she roared. *What a brute of a woman!* Even Feng Lin was startled by her savage power. But there was no time for awe—opportunity wouldn’t wait. He leaped like a nimble monkey, soaring ten meters high. Channeling all his strength into his hands, he raised the iron staff, his body arching like a bow, like the monkey king wreaking havoc in heaven, bringing the staff down to shatter the alien queen.
*Boom!* The staff’s weight was immense, like a heavenly pillar collapsing, crushing everything, the air groaning under the pressure. *Roar! Roar! Roar!* Cries erupted from all sides. Seeing their queen threatened, the xenomorphs surged forward, using their bodies as shields. “Get lost!” Feng Lin’s brows shot up as he slammed the staff down. *Crack! Crack!* Xenomorph carapaces shattered under the staff’s weight, their bodies reduced to pulp, but they managed to block his strike. Countless xenomorphs flooded in. Feng Lin spun his staff into a whirlwind, flinging them away, charging alone toward the queen.
Hidden in darkness, the queen revealed her true form as he approached. In the damp, cold environment, a tentacled monster lurked, grotesque and hideous, its tentacles woven into a web supporting its massive body. A bulging reproductive ovipositor on its abdomen writhed, as if something alive was about to burst out. *Screech!* Sensing danger, the queen shrieked, its tentacles lashing out, coated in viscous, foul fluid. Feng Lin instinctively struck with his staff, but the tentacles were supple, coiling around it like pythons, refusing to let go. A tremendous force surged, gluing the staff in place, preventing it from falling. Feng Lin’s face reddened as he struggled against the queen’s strength, but it was immense and unending—even he couldn’t match it. Startled, he quickly shrank the staff to break free. But the queen’s tentacles wrapped around it again, no matter its size, clinging relentlessly. In their first exchange, Feng Lin was humbled, his unstoppable staff technique rendered useless. No wonder this queen was born at the elite cultivator level—even without combat skills, her innate life force made her no easy prey for ordinary interstellar cultivators. Defeating her in one blow was utterly unrealistic.
“Change!” Feng Lin focused his mind, and the divine iron shrank into a long blade in his hand. Staff and sword techniques differed, but ancient martial arts derived from weapon combat could be reverted. The Eight Trigram Palm, for instance, evolved from such roots. Feng Lin reversed the Eight Trigram Palm with his blade, hacking and slashing in simple strokes, but the sheer power behind them was devastating, cutting the queen’s tentacles and splattering acidic blood that dripped to the ground, reeking foul. A few drops landed on him, burning like fire. The queen’s blood was far more corrosive than a normal xenomorph’s. Activating his stone monkey genes, Feng Lin’s body hardened like rock, resisting the acid as he thrust his blade at the queen’s abdomen—the soft reproductive ovipositor, her weak point.
The queen’s body was ten meters long, the ovipositor taking up most of it, making her sluggish. Attacked at her vital spot, her eight claws lashed out, her mouth emitting an unbearable high-pitched screech as her fangs bit down. *Clang!* Claws met blade. The claws were severed, crashing to the ground, but the blade’s momentum was halted. Enraged by the pain, the queen’s remaining tentacles and claws flailed wildly, intent on tearing apart the human who had wounded her. Feng Lin retreated swiftly. As the mother of all xenomorphs, the queen shared their traits—immobile but deadly, her tentacles and claws forming a grinding mill of flesh. Falling into it meant doom. A cloud of mist rose beneath Feng Lin’s feet, lifting him into the air as he danced nimbly, seeking openings. The queen’s tentacles and claws swung endlessly, never touching him, driving her into a frenzy.
*Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!* The massive ovipositor beneath her abdomen writhed, suddenly birthing octopus-like creatures that flapped their wings like bats, coated in acidic fluid—a variant of facehuggers. A dense swarm, like a dark cloud, descended. *Hum!* The air vibrated. Feng Lin’s psychic energy surged, forming invisible hands that crushed the facehuggers into pulp, their acidic blood splattering everywhere. But the queen’s ovipositor churned ceaselessly, like an endless production machine, spawning more flying facehuggers to surround him. His psychic energy drained rapidly, locking them in a stalemate—a test of raw power.
*Crack! Crack!* The queen used her tentacles to scoop up the crushed facehuggers, stuffing them back into her mouth to chew and replenish energy. *Recycling?* Feng Lin cursed inwardly, finding the queen incredibly troublesome. *This is a small queen with no combat ability?* Though just a reproductive machine, her powerful physique and astonishing life force made even instinctive resistance terrifying, causing him no end of trouble. *Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!* Suddenly, his psychic energy slackened, his assault slowing. The flying facehuggers surged through the gaps, piling onto him layer by layer, burying him in a writhing mountain of flesh. Trapped, Feng Lin felt his face smothered by sticky, rotting meat, corrosive fluid flowing over his body. The facehuggers extended sharp proboscises, drilling to enter him. But he knew the danger—once inserted, they’d implant eggs, turning him into a host for a chestburster. He pushed his stone monkey genes to the limit, sealing every pore, orifice, and sense, becoming a seamless stone figure, leaving the facehuggers no entry point.
“Break!” Feng Lin refused to be constrained. Gathering his power like magma in a volcano, he erupted, sending the facehuggers flying with a blast of air and force. He lunged again at the queen, resuming the battle. The queen crouched low, tentacles flailing, claws sharp and relentless, like a demon’s dance, clashing with his iron staff with metallic *clangs*. Xenomorphs swarmed from all sides. Feng Lin fought the queen one-on-one, each collision sending him stumbling back from the immense force. The ten-meter-tall behemoth’s size and innate strength pressed him heavily. Dodging her grasping tentacles, he used his staff to shatter approaching xenomorphs while closing in. *Thud! Thud! Thud!* The staff struck the queen’s hard carapace, making dull sounds but failing to inflict real damage. Feng Lin’s expression grew grim. The queen fought purely on instinct, already fearsome, and her armored shell made breaking her defense a nightmare.
*Screech!* Enraged by the relentless attacks, the queen’s ovipositor churned, birthing more monsters that ran and pounced instantly. Feng Lin stood undaunted, staff in hand, like the legendary stone monkey—toughened through a hundred refinements, indestructible, sweeping through the horde with unmatched might. *Stone monkey versus alien queen!* Against this生化 horror, Feng Lin held no advantage in size or strength, but the fiercer the battle, the more his fighting spirit swelled. Gradually, he grasped the essence of the Battle Sage: Fight to battle… Battle to triumph!