After killing that newly born Hollow, Lin Sheng spent nearly another week exploring this area.
During this time, he devoured quite a few Beast-form Hollows lacking intelligence, including one that looked like an alien. His own body size had also grown to about four meters.
However, he also discovered a slight difference between himself and other Hollows. He actually did not have a Hollow hole. Could it be because he was not hollow?
Well, it is true that I am not "hollow" in the mental sense, but whether I am physically "empty" or not, who knows? I cannot exactly check right now!
Lin Sheng quickly stopped worrying about this issue.
Not having a Hollow hole was actually a good thing for him. After all, having such a black hole on his body would have made him feel quite uncomfortable.
As Lin Sheng grew stronger, he gained a rough understanding of this area.
This area was basically the territory of newly born Hollows, making it relatively safe.
But just as he had reached this conclusion, reality cruelly proved him wrong.
Three powerful waves of Reiatsu surged toward him, and one of them even made Lin Sheng tremble with fear.
Carefully crawling up a sand dune, Lin Sheng peeked over it. In the distance, three dark figures were walking toward this area.
"Bozz, why are there so few newly born Hollows around here lately? You have not been sneaking bites, have you?" asked one of them, a rather large Humanoid Hollow, accusing the Beast-form Hollow beside him.
"How could I dare, Lord Kane? I would not even if you gave me a hundred times the courage!" the Beast-form Hollow named Bozz hurriedly explained.
He knew very well that the Giant Hollow Kane questioning him was the ruler of this birthplace, while he, Bozz, was merely in charge of managing this area for Lord Kane.
Thinking that no one would dare to challenge Lord Kane's authority here, he had slipped into the living world to feed on some souls and had only just returned.
But in just these few days, the number of newly born Hollows in his assigned area had dropped drastically. And it just happened to coincide with Lord Kane's hunting period. If his explanation was not satisfactory, his life was probably over.
"Roar!"
At that moment, a newly transformed Hollow pounced toward them.
But before Bozz or the others could react, the Giant Hollow named Kane casually swung his hand and killed the newly born Hollow.
So strong!
Watching from afar, Lin Sheng gulped.
But what happened next puzzled him. That Humanoid Hollow named Kane actually picked up the mask of the dead newly born Hollow and began eating it. Moreover, Lin Sheng did not see any blue Reishi floating out.
Only after Kane finished devouring the mask did the corpse scattered on the ground slowly dissipate into the air.
What is going on?
This scene left Lin Sheng bewildered. Could it be that my method of absorbing Reishi is different from others?
But I will have to study this later.
For now, it is better to get away from here. Judging by the situation, that Giant Hollow named Kane is probably the ruler of this area.
And his strength is likely immense. After all, based on Reiatsu alone, I am not even a match for the two beside him.
Lin Sheng did not hesitate any longer. He began to slither away, preparing to quickly distance himself from this dangerous place.
But even with such caution, the Humanoid Hollow named Kane seemed to sense something.
This highlighted Lin Sheng's lack of experience. Hollows who reach a certain level of power can release a technique known as "Pesquisa".
If Lin Sheng had remained still, relying on his minimal Reiatsu signature, Kane might not have noticed anything unusual. Unfortunately, Lin Sheng was unaware of the "Pesquisa" ability.
"There is a Reiatsu fluctuation moving away nearby!" Kane released his perception and quickly sensed the direction Lin Sheng was fleeing.
"Go after it. Whether it is this guy or not, bring him back!" Kane ordered the two beside him.
"Yes!" The two Beast-form Hollows immediately broke into a gallop, chasing in the direction Lin Sheng had fled.
"Huh?"
Lin Sheng, who had already slithered a fair distance away, felt a prickling sensation on his back, as if danger was rapidly approaching.
"Could they have discovered me?"
Lin Sheng glanced back and muttered gravely. He immediately changed direction and sped away at his fastest pace.
But the sense of danger behind him did not fade. Instead, it grew increasingly intense. Finally, he felt two faint but distinct Reiatsus rapidly closing in.
"Not good. They really are after me!" Lin Sheng exclaimed anxiously.
The pursuers behind him were much faster. At this rate, a battle seemed unavoidable. But there were two of them and only one of him. The odds of victory were extremely slim.
Suddenly, Lin Sheng sensed several Reiatsus colliding ahead. It turned out that several newly born Hollows were fighting among themselves.
A gift from heaven. If I can devour the Reishi from these newly born Hollows, I might not guarantee a win, but at least my chances will improve.
With that thought, Lin Sheng hesitated no longer and charged directly into the battlefield of the fighting newly born Hollows.
His strength gave him a clear advantage over them, and there was no coordination among the newly born Hollows either. Before long, streams of blue Reishi merged into Lin Sheng's body.
His body, which was already over four meters long, began to grow again, finally stopping after reaching five meters.
This evolution not only increased his size, but also brought vague, inheritance-like memory fragments into his mind.
"Could this be… a Cero?"
As the images in his mind gradually became clear, Lin Sheng cried out in delight. He seemed to have mastered an incredible skill.
Cero, as the name suggests, is a beam-like flash of Reiatsu released after being highly compressed. However, it is a technique that only Menos Grandes or higher-level beings can use.
Lin Sheng's current strength was completely incomparable to that of a Menos Grande, yet he had somehow mastered Cero, a skill exclusive to them.
"Now I will not have to keep hiding and running anymore!"
Learning Cero gave Lin Sheng immense confidence. He stopped thinking about how to escape and instead began considering how to defeat his pursuers.
The switch between prey and hunter often happens in an instant. As he waited, he could not help but recall the story of "Waiting by the Stump for a Hare".
Soon, Lin Sheng's thoughts were pulled back to reality. A Dog-shaped Hollow and a Leopard-shaped Hollow were slowly closing in on him.
"You little pest, you sure can run. You have given us brothers quite the chase!" snarled the Dog-shaped Hollow through gritted teeth. He was Bozz, the overseer of this area.
If they failed to catch the culprit this time, Lord Kane would definitely not let him off.
"It seems there was a fight here!" The Leopard-shaped Hollow noticed that the Reishi in the area were somewhat disordered and cautiously looked around. Fortunately, there were no other Hollows present.
"This guy looks like a newly born Hollow that just appeared. Let us just grab him and hand him over to Lord Kane!" Bozz said dismissively.
In this area, aside from Lord Kane, there were no other Commander-level Giant Hollows. Among the Powerful Hollows, the Dog-shaped Hollow Bozz was no weakling, which explained his attitude.
Powerful Hollows are stronger than newly born Hollows, and their defining characteristic is their possession of intelligence.
Giant Hollows are even stronger than Powerful Hollows. They are the strongest beings below the level of Menos Grandes. In birthplaces, they are usually referred to as Commanders, hence the term "Commander-level".
The Leopard-shaped Hollow nodded. It seemed he also did not believe there was anything nearby that could threaten them.
Immediately, the two Hollows began to flank Lin Sheng from the left and right.