"Die!"

With a flick of her arm, the long spear shot out like a bolt of lightning. A black glint flared to life, instantly tearing through the void and aiming straight for the black serpent’s pair of crimson eyes.

However, in the next moment...

Just as the spearhead was about to strike, the serpent’s head tilted away by a hair’s breadth. The Black Spear struck the scales on the black serpent’s neck, sending sparks flying like meteors.

A tremendous shockwave spread out, churning the surrounding void and causing it to continuously shatter and collapse.

SWISH!

The slit on the black serpent’s forehead cracked open slightly, but it did not fully open.

ZZZT!

A black ray shot out, directly piercing through the arm Mother Earth was using to hold the long spear.

In an instant, the pierced hole expanded.

Mother Earth’s arm melted like a candle, instantly detaching from her shoulder.

Seizing the opportunity, the black serpent that was Hu Qi lunged forward. Its massive body slithered and coiled, wrapping tightly around Mother Earth.

The serpent’s body continuously slid and tightened, its immense constricting force rendering Mother Earth almost immobile.

Noticing this, the mass of octopus-like tentacles beneath Mother Earth’s body instantly latched on.

At the same time, a vast, ink-black mist seeped out from the suckers, penetrating, enveloping, and attempting to cause Erosion to the gaps between the serpent’s scales.

From a distance, the two were almost completely engulfed and fused within the black mist.

But for Hu Qi, this was nowhere near enough to break the defense of the Black Scales on his body.

"Mother Earth, why are you so weak? And to think I was being so careful!"

Hu Qi’s voice rang out. It wasn’t mockery, but a kind of disappointment—disappointment in the power Mother Earth had displayed.

Even so, as he spoke, his coils tightened ever further, not slacking in the slightest. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Yet, how could Mother Earth be weak? In the end, it was only because Hu Qi was too strong.

In this situation, attacks that could casually shatter an asteroid hundreds of kilometers wide landed on the black serpent Hu Qi had become, only managing to kick up a few sparks, as if merely scratching an itch.

The chilling black mist, which seemed to absorb light and possessed extreme corrosive power, couldn’t break through the defense of his scales at all.

No matter how she struggled, it was futile, like a caged beast.

KRAKOOM!

Suddenly, terrifying, blinding bolts of lightning erupted from the black serpent’s body, continuously flashing, jumping, and bursting forth. This was the Divine Power of Ten Thousand Thunders, capable of controlling Thunder Power.

Wielded with Hu Qi’s current strength, its might was terrifying.

The moment the lightning touched the black mist, it obliterated it.

Furthermore, the tentacles that had been latched onto the serpent’s body went limp.

At the same time, a sword projection formed from his Divine Soul slashed out.

This blow sent Mother Earth’s consciousness into a brief stupor.

Seizing the moment, Hu Qi no longer hesitated. His serpentine maw snapped open, unleashing his Spirit Devouring Talent at full power.

Instantly, his maw seemed to transform into a terrifying, bottomless black hole that devoured even light.

He lunged down, swallowing Mother Earth’s massive, beautiful head in one gulp, followed by the rest of her body.

Realizing she was being swallowed, the black tentacles beneath Mother Earth’s body thrashed wildly, like bolts of black lightning, continuously lashing out from all directions to strike the black serpent’s head.

Each strike carried immense power, making the void tremble slightly and sending ripples spreading outwards.

However, the black serpent’s head was as hard as a rock; the tentacles’ attacks couldn’t inflict any substantial damage.

After realizing it was useless, the thick tentacles gave up their assault.

They quickly changed tactics, wrapping tightly around the entire serpent’s head like demonic black hands.

The tentacles arched like numerous arms, clawing at the serpent’s maw, pulling with frantic force, trying to drag Mother Earth’s body out.

They twisted and pulled relentlessly.

During this, they spewed out a large amount of thick, black mist once more.

But it was all for naught.

The black serpent was unfazed by any of it.

The black mist had no effect on him whatsoever.

The terrifying suction force of his gulp pulled Mother Earth’s body deeper and deeper.

Before the black serpent’s absolute power, Mother Earth’s struggles seemed so small and feeble, like a lone boat in a raging storm.

During this process, it was as if time itself had frozen, with only the terrifying sound of the giant serpent swallowing echoing through the void.

...

「On Earth Star.」

Whether it was ordinary people or the Qi Dao Grandmasters and Refining God Venerables who knew the inside story, all of them were looking up at this scene.

All had fallen into a deathly silence.

There was no other reason. The scene was simply too shocking, too unbelievable.

That black serpent had actually swallowed such a massive monster whole.

SPLAT!

In the streets, Lei Bao casually slapped a Lower-Rank Black Blood Species into a paste.

The skin on his face twitched.

"Fuck! How fucking savage!? And why does that lightning look so much like my Thunder Gate’s Ten Thousand Thunders?"

’If I’m not mistaken, that woman with the tentacled lower body must be the so-called Mother Earth.’

’That chilling aura, so similar to a Black Blood Species, is practically identical.’

’But now, a being like that was just... swallowed?’

’Are you kidding me?!’

’And what the hell is this black serpent? Could it be... him?’

Lei Bao was not the only one with such doubts.

...

「Above Xuanqing Temple.」

Xuanqing’s figure was also looking up at this scene.

The clear light around his body fluctuated constantly, revealing the turmoil in his heart.

He had considered that Hu Qi could defeat Mother Earth, either driving her away or killing her.

But he had never imagined that the victor would be decided so quickly, let alone that Hu Qi would actually prepare to swallow his opponent whole.

He had never, ever expected this level of ferocity.

...

Just as everyone watched in stunned disbelief, in the void, Mother Earth’s figure—a full third the size of Earth Star—had vanished.

Only the black serpent remained where she had been.

At this moment, a huge bulge had appeared on the black serpent’s neck.

The giant bulge throbbed and rippled, as if something inside was struggling violently.

Then, the massive bulge slid down toward its belly.

Unconcerned, Hu Qi glanced at Mother Earth’s enormous severed arm floating in the void, opened his mouth, and with a single inhale, swallowed it as well.

As for the Black Spear, it had already dissipated, seeming to be not a physical object but something condensed from her power.

After doing all this, Hu Qi glanced in the direction of Earth Star.

His battle with Mother Earth had been very brief, and due to the distance, it hadn’t caused any damage to the planet.

After confirming this, he withdrew his gaze and sensed Mother Earth still struggling inside his stomach.

Maintaining the true form of the Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent, he began to coil his body.

As he moved, his body wound tighter and tighter, contracting into a gigantic serpentine ball.

Seen from a distance, he looked like a planet, coiled up in the void.

After finishing all this, Hu Qi closed his eyes, activated the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture, and began to digest the Mother Earth he had swallowed.

Mother Earth was different from the Food Masters he had devoured before.

To digest her completely would still require some time.