206: Re-entering the culinary world

Towering ancient trees rose from the ground, their leaves layered so thickly that they almost completely blotted out the sky, with only sparse, mottled spots of light managing to struggle through.

The moment one stepped into the Domain of the Gourmet World, the most direct sensation was the omnipresent, terrifying gravity that far exceeded that of the Human World, acting like invisible giant hands firmly gripping every inch of the body.

With a slight thought from Lin Luo, a layer of warm and solid multicolored halo surfaced on his body, steadily neutralizing the gravity applied to him and the erosion and pressure brought by various extreme environments permeating the air.

Compared to his initial disheveled struggle when he first fell into this place, he now appeared to handle it with ease.

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

The scalp-numbing sound of dense wing-flapping suddenly rang out from all directions! Several giant insects, comparable in size to small helicopters and shaped like dragonflies but with hideous mouthparts and compound eyes, pounced boldly from the thick foliage like sharks sensing blood, their speed so fast they left trails of afterimages in the air!

Lin Luo's eyes were calm. Facing the giant insects pouncing close, he simply flicked his finger casually.

Swoosh!

A condensed, needle-like multicolored light shot out instantly, piercing with incomparable precision through the exact center of the lead insect's hard head!

The giant insect's momentum came to an abrupt halt as it fell stiffly downward. However, it didn't even manage to hit the ground—

Shua!

Behind Lin Luo, it was as if countless translucent, milky-white light strands suddenly extended out like nimble, living tentacles, lightning-fast as they tightly entangled the falling insect corpse along with the other pouncing giant insects!

The light strands slightly contracted and wriggled.

In just a moment, those entangled giant insects were like ice cubes thrown into a furnace, shriveling and shrinking at a visible rate until they finally turned into flying ash and scattered!

Pure and majestic life Origin Qi and energy were greedily absorbed and purified by the milky-white light strands, turning into a warm current that continuously poured into Lin Luo's body.

Within his Dantian, that slowly rotating Five-Color Core suddenly brightened; its volume seemed to grow by an imperceptible sliver, and its rotation became even more smooth and powerful.

"As expected of the Gourmet World..." Lin Luo felt the growing power within him, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. "Just the insect-type beasts on the outermost periphery have life Origin Qi several times stronger than the same types in the Human World."

He did not linger, continuing his descent toward the depths below the Life Waterfall Pot. However, the brief battle and energy fluctuations just now had clearly disturbed the true 'residents' of this primordial jungle.

Hiss! Crack! Screech—!

More giant insects of various forms and staggering sizes, and even some strange arthropods, crawled out, leapt, and pounced from the branches of the giant trees, the backs of leaves, and even the humus layer on the ground!

Some sprayed corrosive mucus, some brandished sickle-like forelimbs, and others relied on numbers to form a terrifying insect tide, surging toward Lin Luo like a cloud blotting out the sun!

Facing this siege that would have been enough to kill an ordinary Gourmet Hunter instantly, Lin Luo didn't even pause his footsteps.

The protective halo around him flickered slightly. The next moment, countless even finer and swifter milky-white light strands centered on him, silently sweeping, piercing, and entangling in all directions like a blooming flower of death!

Puff, puff, puff, puff...!

Dense and faint sounds of piercing and absorption rang out.

The surging insect swarms were like they had crashed into an invisible, greedy giant net.

Wherever the light strands passed, the insect bodies instantly shriveled and disintegrated, turning into countless grayish-white scraps and powder that fell from the sky like trash, raining down a bizarre 'insect corpse rain' in the dim forest.

From beginning to end, not even the corner of Lin Luo's clothes was touched.

The Five-Color Core inside him continued to surge, his blood rushing like a river, transporting the continuously absorbed and transformed pure energy to every part of his body.

Fighting and absorbing in this primordial and tyrannical environment, the aura radiating from his body also underwent a quiet change—it had a few less 'rules' of the Human World and a bit more of a pure and powerful 'primordial' flavor that faintly harmonized with the environment of the Gourmet World.

He was like an efficient and cold harvesting machine, steadily advancing, constantly 'feeding,' and growing stronger in this danger-ridden yet nourishment-filled outer jungle of the Gourmet World.

Roar—!!!

A deafening roar suddenly exploded, accompanied by heavy footsteps that shook the earth and mountains, as a behemoth like a moving small hill crashed brutally into Lin Luo's line of sight!

It was a giant ape of terrifying size, covered in needle-like fur with muscles bulging like piled rocks. With every step it took, the ground shook violently, and the surrounding ancient trees trembled.

Its giant eyes, red as lava, were locked dead on Lin Luo. Clearly, the aura on Lin Luo—which was out of place with the surroundings yet exceptionally powerful—made it feel a strong threat!

Without any testing, the giant ape let out a tyrannical howl. Its thick, pillar-like forearms swung up, and its millstone-sized fist, carrying a terrifying whistle that tore through the air, smashed down toward Lin Luo's head like a real mountain! Before the fist wind even arrived, the ground below could not withstand the heavy pressure and sank down.

Lin Luo's eyes narrowed, yet he actually didn't dodge!

With his feet rooted and his waist and horse stance unified, he also threw out his right fist. Multicolored light condensed intensely on his knuckles as he met that sun-blotting giant fist without any fancy tricks!

Boom—!!!!

The moment the two fists collided, it was as if two meteors had crashed head-on! A peerlessly violent shockwave exploded in a ring from the point of impact, sweeping in all directions like a physical ripple!

The surrounding ancient trees, several men's embrace wide, were fragile before this power. They emitted tooth-aching cracking sounds one after another and collapsed with a bang, kicking up a sky full of dust and wood chips.

Amidst the dust, Lin Luo's figure was as steady as a rock. Conversely, the giant ape's massive body seemed to have been struck hard by an invisible giant hammer; it let out a muffled roar of pain and stumbled backward repeatedly, each step treading deep footprints into the hard ground. It had clearly suffered a great loss in the pure contest of strength.

However, the danger was far from over!

At the very moment Lin Luo traded punches with the giant ape and his figure paused slightly—

Swoosh—!

A fishy wind attacked from behind him at an incredibly fast speed!

A terrifying beast, no less in size than the giant ape and possessing three hideous tiger heads, had somehow crept close silently. Seizing this fleeting gap, a giant paw capable of shattering mountain rocks struck Lin Luo's back with a sharp whistle that tore through space!

Bang!

Lin Luo was sent flying like a cannonball, instantly snapping several giant trees that had not yet fallen, shooting toward the depths of the dense forest in the distance.

Fortunately, the protective halo around him had never dissipated.

That warm multicolored light brightened fiercely the moment it suffered the heavy blow, acting like a highly elastic and tough sphere to perfectly absorb, disperse, and neutralize most of the impact.

Although he was sent flying, Lin Luo only felt a huge thrust on his back and a slight vibration in his internal organs, but he suffered no substantial impact damage.

Tumbling in the air to shed the force, Lin Luo's gaze was like lightning as he instantly locked onto the attacker—that Three-headed Giant Tiger! The eyes on its three heads all flashed with cruel and cunning light. Clearly, its intelligence was not low, and it knew how to cooperate and ambush.

"Seeking death."

Lin Luo's eyes turned cold. While in mid-air with nowhere to push off, he simply raised his right hand calmly, joined his fingers into a hand-blade shape, and lightly slashed downward in the direction of the Three-headed Giant Tiger below.

The movement was understated, even somewhat casual.

However—

Hum—!

The air dozens of meters above his head suddenly distorted, compressed, and condensed! A giant energy blade dozens of meters long, composed entirely of highly condensed multicolored energy, instantly materialized! The blade's body was brilliant with flowing light, yet its edges were so sharp they seemed able to cut through space, radiating a chilling will to sever everything!

Following the downward motion of Lin Luo's hand-blade, this giant multicolored energy blade slashed down in synchronization!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Three tooth-aching crisp sounds almost overlapped!

The blade light flashed and vanished, faster than the limit of visual capture.

The next moment, the Three-headed Giant Tiger's three high-held heads, which were brewing the next pounce or roar, simultaneously showed a bloodline at the necks as smooth as a mirror.

Pfft—!

Three fountains of blood rose into the sky like erupting volcanoes! The three massive tiger heads were separated from the body almost at the same time, the fierce light in their eyes instantly freezing and dimming. The massive headless tiger corpse stiffened in place for a moment before crashing to the ground, kicking up even more dust.

An instant kill!

From being ambushed and sent flying to turning back with a mid-air blade strike to decapitate it, the entire process took only a breath.

Lin Luo floated to the ground, his body untainted by a speck of dust. He didn't even spare a second look at the tiger corpse spraying hot beast blood, merely shifting his thoughts.

The protective halo flickered slightly.

Countless translucent milky-white light strands once again extended out as if they were alive, precisely entangling that massive tiger corpse that had just lost its life yet still contained staggering blood and life essence.

The light strands wriggled and contracted, emitting faint sucking sounds.

The Three-headed Giant Tiger's powerful body shriveled at a visible rate, its fur losing its luster as the flesh and blood essence were rapidly extracted and purified, turning into the purest torrent of energy that continuously poured into Lin Luo's body.

The Five-Color Core in his Dantian emitted a joyful hum, its rotation speed increasing, and its volume seemed to become more solid and grow a sliver larger. An even more powerful, more primordial sense of wild power began to flow and settle within Lin Luo's limbs and bones.

He raised his head, casting his gaze back toward that Black-furred Giant Ape that had just steadied itself and was looking over in shock and uncertainty, his lips slowly curling into a cold yet burning arc. However, to Lin Luo's surprise, that fellow actually fled in a panic.

No longer delaying, Lin Luo's figure flickered, turning into a blurred multicolored light as he followed the faint, almost non-existent trace of Toriko's aura, rapidly tracking deeper into the outer reaches of the Gourmet World.

His speed was extremely fast, weaving through the sun-blotting primordial jungle like a ghost, avoiding many unnecessary troubles while also 'cleaning up' a few blind, proactive beasts that bumped into him, turning them into nourishment to sustain himself.

After traveling for an unknown amount of time, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed!

The dense and gloomy primordial forest was cut off as if by a blade, and the front opened up suddenly as he unexpectedly stumbled into a completely different region—a boundless, scorching landscape!