Pure Sky Laboratory, United Stellar Federation Fourth Colony Ship, Great Stellar Domain.
Inside the enormous laboratory, hundreds of men and women in white coats worked tiredly. Their research was deemed invaluable, as it was the sole reason the average human lifespan now exceeded two thousand years.
But that wasn't always the case, because just ages ago, during the primitive Immortal Dao Era, humans would sit cross legged, mediating for countless hours simply to absorb spiritual energy and gain a slight increase in longevity.
Now with the current advances in gene editing and cosmic technology, the human race has long surpassed such primitive acts.
And across the boundless Great Stellar Domain, they hunted aliens of immense spiritual essence—the most important ingredient in the genetic alteration of humanity.
Then, a sudden telepathic announcement rang through every mind in the laboratory, "Announcement! All current gene scientists are directed to proceed immediately to the Xenological Analysis Chamber. The primary objective, which was the successful capture and location of the Void Eroding Soul King, has been completed."
Immediately after the announcer finished, a wave of relief and euphoria swept through the researchers, as if they had just caught the largest and most priceless fish from the vast Ocean of Stars.
The scientists immediately began to file out of their stations and moved through the long corridor. Their steps had a nervous quickness to them, as the word of the Void Eroding Soul King wasn't something you absorbed casually. Even the veterans, the ones who had dissected star beasts the size of moons, kept their thoughts tight.
The Xenological Analysis Chamber sat at the heart of the ship. And with a 'hiss' sound, its door opened, revealing a cold hall that's ringed with containment pylons. And at its center floated a blue holographic-like spherical barrier, and Inside it rested the most prized specimen in the entire Great Stellar Domain.
This was the Void Eroding Soul King, a legendary Star Beast said to devour consciousness and spirit, a being believed to have been born from the catastrophic collapse of a dying star itself.
Its size was, surprisingly, not that all impressive, as It was only slightly longer than the tallest human. However, its spiritual essence was something else entirely. It was so pure, vast, and transcendent that the scientists knew that merely adding its essence to their gene enhancing pills would grant humanity a potential lifespan of not less than a million years.
Now looming in the minds of the genetic scientist was the idea of the Million-year Era. An era, if achieved, would make a never seen before achievement for the human race. It would surely ushered them into a realm of pure celestial threading.
Then,
**Skreee… krrrreeeEEE-OOOOUUULL…**
The star beast made a low rumble, almost like a dying engine trying to breathe, as it collided with the surface of the blue barrier.
Not frightened at all, and with a serious expression, the scientists knew the barrier was made from materials found only at the edge of a newly formed black hole. While they studied the star beast, they made notes on its light-purple body, tracing every detail they could see.
The beast's body resembled that of a typical scaled snake, one would find on any blue planet, but its skin looked cracked and old, as it had obviously traveled through storms of dust and radiation for ages. Its head was the most dangerous part, a wide mouth lined with long, hooked teeth that pointed inward, ready to pull anything straight into it. It had small, shadowed eyes that sat near the top of its head, barely visible, giving the creature a cold and distant look.
The scientists exchanged glances at each other, the excitement of the Million-Year Era shining in their eyes. They noted the creature's inert state, mistaking the low, rasping rumble for the harmless struggle of a captured animal.
But inside the skull that held the wide, hooked maw, behind the cold, shadowed eyes, the mind was never inert.
"I'M HUMAN. I'M HUMAN. I'M HUMAN...."
A mantra played in its mind, as if reminding itself of a long-lost humanity. But how was that possible? A star beast having sentient thoughts? A star beast playing an endless mantra to remind itself of a long-lost humanity?
The mantra itself was a reminder, something to hold onto before the endless void that sat inside the Void Eroding Soul King devoured it.
But the thought didn't belong to the star beast; it couldn't, because it belonged to Li Mo, a Transmigrator from an era when the blue planet inhabitants cultivated endlessly.
An era when martial artists soared through the skies atop flying swords, split mountains in half with a single chop, an era when the strong preyed upon the weak, an era of endless war between nations vying for control over portions of lands that were rich in spirit veins. An era when humans who couldn't break through their cultivation bottleneck would die, becoming victims of samsara, the cycle of rebirth.
And Li Mo was one of them. Dying after a meager lifespan of 230 years, his cultivation couldn't go any further past the Core Formation Stage, and as everyone who failed to achieve Nirvana, he was subjected to Samsara.
When becoming the Void Eroding Soul King, the first thought that flashed through Li Mo's mind was, "Heaven's curse! Why, out of all the majestic forms, did this Ancestor get reincarnated as such a lowly beast?! My back itches, my head hurts... What wretched luck! Truly, what wretched bad luck!"
But as the days passed, he noticed something peculiar. He began to see strange, metallic objects flashing through the endless void of space. Even worse, he realized he was drifting through space at incomprehensible speed.
"Wait... these surroundings, these dazzling lights! Could it be that this lowly form of mine is actually a disguise? Ha! I must have been reborn as an ancient celestial beast! Indeed, I possess great fortune! This Ancestor is now in the Celestial Realm!"
As he revelled in the thought of becoming a celestial beast, multiple warships began to surround him. Then,
Boom! A meteor was blown to pieces. Li Mo couldn't help but ask, "Am I being attacked?"
He saw the warships speedily closing the distance between them. Of course, he didn't know they were warships; at best, they could be the technology of the Celestials. But still, as someone who had mastered the comprehension of human intent, he could sense the killing intent emanating from those ships.
Li Mo didn't know he was the Void Eroding Soul King. If he did, he wouldn't be drifting through space trying to escape. To him, he believed himself to be prey, being hunted by the Celestials.
"Bad! Bad! I've become a celestial prey!"
Then, as everything happened so fast, he heard a chime sound echo in his mind.
Ding!
//Soul Devouring System//
Host: Li Mo
Type: Star Beast
Stage: Soul Devourer
System status: Currently inactive!
Evolution Points: 0 (rewarded by the system after consuming a specific amount of souls)
Soul Consumed: 0
Soul Consumption rate: 0/day
Body length: 290cm
Body Weight: 300kg
Strength: 85
Skin Hardness: 1912
Speed: 568
Spirit: 999,999,999,999
Skill: None
//Evolution Log//