readbooksol Chapter 316 Leviathan
Chapter 316 Leviathan
Nine hundred miles above the sky.
The air here is extremely thin, the temperature is extremely low, and the wind is as sharp as a knife.
Ordinary flying mounts or spells cannot stay here for long.
Looking down, the land below resembles a miniature sand table, with clouds spreading out beneath your feet.
Looking up, the sky is a deep, almost blackish blue, and the stars are exceptionally clear even during the day.
Several kilometers in front of Lin Tian, the scene in a certain space appeared unusually distorted and blurry.
The light there was refracted and bent unnaturally, like an invisible giant lens.
One can vaguely see that in the center of that distorted area, there is a "wound" about a hundred meters long and of varying width, constantly opening and closing, flashing with a ghostly blue and silvery-white light—that is the "Astral Rift".
The fissure is unstable, sometimes expanding to spew out fragments of starlight or strange energy flows; sometimes contracting as if to heal.
Ten relatively bright points of light floated in the air around the rift, arranged in an irregular ring. They rotated slowly, constantly drawing in the azure-silver astral energy from the rift and radiating soft starlight in all directions.
Those are the ten "energy nodes".
At the same time, Lin Tian's powerful mental energy also detected a cold, cunning, and predatory aura, like a shark in the deep sea, silently swimming in the vast airspace between the ten nodes.
It cleverly used astral energy and spatial distortion to hide itself. If Lin Tian's mental strength hadn't far surpassed that of ordinary people, and he hadn't been wearing the astral ring, he probably wouldn't have been able to discover it in advance.
【Astral Hunter Leviathan Lv.62 (Lord)】
[Status: Astral Stealth (Movement Speed +50%, greatly reduced presence, next attack damage +100%)]
This hunter has a streamlined body that resembles a combination of a manta ray and an octopus, covered with dark silver, light-refracting, fine scales. It is over fifteen meters long and has translucent energy membrane wings at the edges.
It has no eyes; at the front of its head is a huge suction cup mouth covered with spiral teeth, from which several flexible, barbed energy tentacles extend.
Its graceful yet deadly movement blends perfectly into the starlight and distorted space of the background.
Lin Tian hovered in the air, not making any rash moves.
A direct attack on the node would inevitably provoke a fierce attack from Leviathan.
Although not afraid, the disruption of nodes and the dust crystal condensation process will be quite troublesome.
His gaze swept over the locations of the ten nodes, his brain calculating at lightning speed.
"Ten nodes...dispersed...Leviathan's traversing path..."
A plan took shape instantly.
He didn't attack any node, but instead flashed away!
[Star Leap]!
His body transformed into a streak of light, not rushing towards the node, but directly towards the astral rift itself!
As it approached the rift, the violent and chaotic astral energy and spatial turbulence were enough to tear apart an ordinary level 60 powerhouse, but [All Laws Return to Flow] withstood the impact and, with the help of a refraction, appeared directly behind the first energy node—which happened to be the visual blind spot of Leviathan's current path and the farthest from it.
Lin Tian flicked his finger, and a condensed, needle-like beam of star power shot out, accurately hitting the core of the node!
Om-! ! !
The node trembled violently, and the highly compressed astral energy inside lost its balance, starting to go out of control and rampage!
The light on the node surface flickered and expanded rapidly!
It's now!
Lin Tian clasped his hands together and unleashed a torrent of Star Power towards the rampaging node. Combining his understanding of the rules of the stars, he forcefully intervened in the energy collapse process, guiding, compressing, and shaping it!
A low shout.
The node exploded with a deafening roar! But the energy of the explosion did not completely dissipate. About one-third of the purest astral essence, under Lin Tian's forceful control, instantly contracted and solidified at the center of the explosion!
A thumb-sized, deep blue crystal, seemingly sealed with specks of stardust, floated in the original node's position.
【Astral Dust Crystal (S-grade material)】: Quest item "Astral Dust Crystal" collection progress (1/10).
First one, got it! The whole process took less than two seconds!
Only then did Leviathan, the astral hunter roaming in the distance, suddenly realize what was happening!
Its lurking body suddenly appeared, its head turned towards the first node, and it let out a silent but space-shaking angry shriek!
It sensed the invasion of its "territory" and the fluctuations of its pure astral origin being taken away!
Its dark silver body suddenly swung, its membranous wings vibrated, and it transformed into a blur that was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye, rushing towards Lin Tian!
Its speed is astonishing, far exceeding that of lords of the same level!
The attack bonus during stealth mode has been triggered. Its sucker-like mouth, covered with sharp teeth, opens, and a concentrated beam of astral energy, powerful enough to tear through space, bursts forth first!
However, the moment the first dust crystal successfully condensed, Lin Tian had already activated the second [Star Leap]!
With a flash of light, he appeared near the second energy node on the diagonal, also choosing a blind spot in Leviathan's attack path.
Leviathan's energy beam missed its target, causing a chaotic flow of energy in the airspace.
Lin Tian followed the same method, snapping the node with a flick of his finger and instantly guiding the condensation.
Acquired the second [Astral Dust Crystal]!
Progress (2/10).
Leviathan was utterly enraged! It no longer remained completely stealthy; its body was fully revealed, radiating an overwhelming aura of ferocity. Its speed increased once more as it pounced madly towards Lin Tian!
Several energy tentacles, like deadly whips, tore through space and enveloped everything from all angles, while simultaneously spewing out even more powerful astral energy spheres from their mouthparts!
But Lin Tian used [Star Leap] to its fullest potential!
In this region filled with astral energy and spatial distortion, the skill's effect seems to have been slightly enhanced, with a shorter cooldown and more agile movement.
Like a swift darting through a storm, he always manages to evade Leviathan's ferocious attacks by the slightest margin, while precisely appearing at the optimal position for the next node.
The third one!
The fourth one!
The fifth one!
......
Lin Tian was like a ruthless and efficient harvester, toying with the enraged Astral Hunter while rapidly seizing node energy and condensing dust crystals.
Although Leviathan's attacks were fierce and powerful enough to threaten ordinary level 65 and above experts, they were all rendered useless by Lin Tian's ghostly movements and predictions.
Its speed advantage seemed pale and powerless in the face of Lin Tian's spatial teleportation.
When Lin Tian condensed the eighth dust crystal, Leviathan seemed to realize that he couldn't catch up with this cunning invader at this rate.
It suddenly stopped its pursuit, its massive body hovering near the remaining two nodes, emitting a series of rapid and eerie energy fluctuations.
Om-! ! !
The remaining two energy nodes, as well as the entire astral rift, began to vibrate violently at the same time!