Chapter 109: Counter-Devour


    Han Ming closed his eyes, once again channeling his magical energy into the spherical core within him. Gradually, his magic enveloped the core, intertwining with a wispy, ethereal white light that flowed back into his body.


    Through internal vision, Han Ming observed the small light cluster. He knew it was the soul of the water demon, or more accurately, a demon spirit. The spirit, devoid of any consciousness, opened its eyes aimlessly, surveying the interior of Han Ming''s body. The vortex of Han Ming''s own core rotated slowly before the spirit, capturing its attention. Gently, the spirit drifted towards the core.


    "What''s happening? Why does this demon spirit have its own consciousness?" Han Ming was terrified as he saw the spirit moving towards his core. This was not supposed to happen. According to the magical texts he had studied at the academy, when a beast''s soul enters one''s body, it should be completely devoid of consciousness. One only needs to refine it slowly, erase its residual consciousness, and reshape it with one''s own magical energy to create a new spirit under one''s control. But now, this spirit clearly retained its consciousness and was heading straight for his core.


    What should he do?


    Panic set in as Han Ming realized the potential danger. If the spirit devoured his core, it would be a disaster—a complete reversal of the intended process. Desperately, he drew a stream of magical energy from his core, directing it towards the spirit. However, the spirit seemed to sense the danger and swiftly dodged the magical attack.


    Angered, the spirit glared at Han Ming''s core with a fierce light in its eyes, its mouth moving as if speaking, though no sound was heard. Han Ming, unable to hear anything, grew increasingly anxious.


    "Damn it!" Han Ming tried to expel the spirit from his body, but it dodged his every attempt, refusing to be captured. Instead, the spirit retaliated by shooting a faint white thread towards Han Ming''s core. The thread pierced through the magical vortex and began to entwine around the core.


    Han Ming felt a sudden blockage in his magical energy flow, and the rotation of his core slowed down. "What the hell is this?" he muttered in frustration. He quickly grabbed four magic crystals, channeling a large amount of energy into his body to counteract the spirit''s influence.


    The energy flowed into the magical vortex, but the refining process was nearly twice as slow as usual. The core, now replenished with energy, vibrated faintly, trying to break free from the spirit''s threads. Seeing this, the spirit shot another thread, firmly binding the core and completely halting the vortex''s rotation.


    Han Ming''s eyes snapped open in horror. "This is bad! I can''t feel any magical energy!" His core was now under the spirit''s control, and the magical vortex had stopped, cutting off his source of magic.


    "What do I do? What do I do?" Han Ming''s mind raced. The magical texts he had read only described how to absorb a beast''s soul, not how to deal with a demon spirit. He was at a loss.


    What did this spirit want? Was he going to lose his ability to use magic forever? The thought nearly made him faint. He had come to the wild forest to absorb the core of an extreme cold magical beast to cultivate the Water God''s Technique. Now, not only was his magic sealed, but his core was also being controlled by the spirit.


    Han Ming tried to activate his core''s energy again, but it was completely unresponsive. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his head. He quickly focused inward and saw the spirit using the threads to siphon his magical energy for itself.


    "Damn it! The spirit is trying to devour my core!" Han Ming realized. "But my current strength is too low to separate my soul and fight it. What can I do?"


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    As Han Ming felt his magical energy being drained, his core was slowly being pulled towards the spirit. Just then, footsteps echoed from the nearby dark forest. Three ordinary-looking men and a strikingly beautiful woman emerged.


    "Rin, look, we''ve reached the edge of the wild storm. Once we cross it and enter the wild fire prison, we''ll definitely find a high-quality fire-type beast core for you," one of the men said.


    "That''s right, Rin. We''ve come all this way for you. Once you have the beast core, you must choose one of us as your boyfriend," another added.


    The woman, Rin, showed a hint of impatience. "Alright, alright, I get it. I promised that if you three help me absorb a fourth-tier beast core, I''ll choose one of you as my boyfriend. I won''t go back on my word, so relax."


    The two men beamed with joy, while the third remained silent, casting a cold glance at the others.


    "Hey, Rin! Look, there''s someone over there!" one of the men suddenly exclaimed, pointing towards Han Ming, who was sitting motionless in the shadows.


    Rin followed his gaze and saw a dark-skinned, plain-looking man sitting still, seemingly unaware of their presence. "Let''s check it out, but be careful," she said.


    The three men immediately formed a protective circle around Rin as they cautiously approached Han Ming.


    Hearing their footsteps, Han Ming grew anxious. "Damn it, why are these four showing up now of all times?" he thought. His core was being pulled closer to the spirit, which now wore a sinister smile.


    "Laugh all you want, you bastard!" Han Ming fumed internally, but he was powerless to stop the spirit. He had tried every method he knew, but nothing worked. Despair began to creep in.


    The group reached Han Ming. Rin coughed lightly, but Han Ming remained unresponsive. "What''s he doing? Even if he''s asleep, he should sense our presence. No ordinary person could make it this far into the wild storm," Rin mused.


    "Ahem! Excuse me, sir, what are you doing here?" Rin asked politely.


    Han Ming didn''t move.


    The taller of the three men frowned. "Hey, didn''t you hear Miss Rin? How dare you ignore us!"


    Rin shot him a glare and circled Han Ming, her eyes narrowing in thought. "It seems like he''s refining a beast core, but I don''t sense any magical energy. Could he be a warrior?"


    The men nodded in agreement. They had already noticed the lack of magical energy around Han Ming. He must be a warrior.


    Han Ming was frantic, silently pleading that these four wouldn''t touch him. He was at a critical juncture, and any disturbance could cause his magical energy to go haywire, potentially destroying his core.


    Meanwhile, the spirit had pulled Han Ming''s core halfway towards itself. The spirit''s smile grew more twisted as it prepared to yank the core the rest of the way and devour it. But suddenly, it felt a wave of unease and looked around.


    From all directions, a thick black mist began to converge, surrounding the spirit. The spirit screamed, flailing its arms and shooting silver threads at the mist. But as soon as the threads touched the mist, they sizzled and vanished.


    "What is this?" Han Ming was equally puzzled. Where had this black mist come from? He couldn''t recall it ever being in his body.


    As the spirit struggled against the mist, its grip on Han Ming''s core loosened slightly, allowing the core to retreat a bit. The mist also receded somewhat.


    The spirit, realizing this, tried to pull the core again, but the mist pressed forward once more. Enraged, the spirit yanked the core towards itself, but the mist completely enveloped it. The edges of the mist touched the spirit''s form, causing it to scream in agony. Its body flickered, as if on the verge of disappearing. Terrified, the spirit released the core, and the mist retreated.


    This tug-of-war continued: the spirit pulled, the mist advanced; the spirit released, the mist retreated. It became clear to the spirit that it couldn''t devour the core without being consumed by the mist.


    Frustrated, the spirit let out a piercing shriek that nearly ruptured Han Ming''s eardrums.


    At this point, Han Ming began to piece things together. Back when he first arrived in this world, Catherine had mentioned that his body had a natural resistance to magic, combat energy, and anything else foreign to Earth. His blood had even temporarily suppressed Catherine''s magical energy, showcasing the strength of this resistance.


    After merging part of his body with Vior''s, Han Ming had gained some of this world''s human traits, allowing him to practice magic. Over time, he had almost forgotten about his inherent resistance.


    Now, as the spirit attempted to devour his core, it was essentially trying to strip away a significant portion of his otherworldly traits. This triggered the resurgence of his Earthly attributes, causing his body to reject and expel anything foreign—including the demon spirit.


    Realizing this, Han Ming breathed a sigh of relief. At least his core was safe.