Chapter 734: Enlightenment (II)
In an instant, vast mysterious energy surged forth, sweeping up the energy within the demonic lake and pouring into Lin Zheyu's body. The injuries he had sustained while breaking free of the third shackle healed completely, while the golden energy he had just consumed within his sea of consciousness was replenished at an astonishing speed.
After storing vast amounts of golden energy for so long, Lin Zheyu discovered that his sea of consciousness seemed to be undergoing a special transformation under its subtle influence. Originally, controlling the golden energy and guiding it into his sea of consciousness had been extremely difficult and slow. Now, however, it was becoming increasingly easy. His sea of consciousness was growing ever more receptive to the golden energy. Perhaps in another few years, the golden energy would be able to pass freely through the barrier of his sea of consciousness without any obstruction.
A few breaths later, Lin Zheyu slowly opened his eyes. With a slight movement, he burst out of the lake of violent law energy. Upon reaching the node's rift, Lin Zheyu stopped and reached into the Primordial Chaos Pool with his right hand, pulling out a vicious ten-meter-long yao.
The moment the yao appeared, it recovered from its listless state and unleashed a roar.
Lin Zheyu brought his palm down, causing the yao's head to burst apart with a muffled pop. Once deprived of its head, the yao fell still. Gripping it by the neck with his right hand, Lin Zheyu gave it a light swing and flung its body outside. After observing carefully for some time, he detected no powerful suction force from the outside, while the yao's body continued struggling and showed no signs of dying.
Lin Zheyu waited for roughly half a day before pulling the yao back inside. It was completely unharmed.
It seems that terrifying exotic beast has already left. That makes sense. So much time has passed since then, and no more yao have invaded from the demon realm. It would only be natural for the beast to have moved on, Lin Zheyu thought.
With a thought, magnificent scales covered his body, and the Primordial Chaos Pool appeared in his hand with a turn of his right palm. At the slightest disturbance outside, Lin Zheyu would immediately hide within it. Although he had not completely refined the Primordial Chaos Pool, its defensive power was still astonishing enough to withstand a single strike from a Void Cavern realm expert.
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No matter how powerful that deep-sea exotic beast outside was, surely it could not rival a Void Cavern realm expert.
Once he had made every preparation, Lin Zheyu breathed out softly and leaped through the node's rift.
Silence. An unprecedented silence. This was Lin Zheyu's first impression upon returning to Honggedis Trench. His powerful senses spread outward, yet he could scarcely detect the aura of any living creature within a radius of more than ten kilometers. The deep-sea plankton, plants, algae, and other life that had once inhabited this place had all vanished. It was difficult to imagine just how powerful the deep-sea exotic beast that had passed through here had been.
Honggedis Trench is even more dangerous than I imagined! I should leave first. It isn't safe to linger here...
Lin Zheyu stared at the lifeless scene surrounding the space-time node and could not help swallowing nervously. With a slight movement, he vanished from the spot, not daring to linger. Unless absolutely necessary, he had no intention of ever returning. This place was simply too terrifying.
***
A tall, powerfully built man shot out of the sea. After determining his bearings, he sped toward the Martial Realm. He had been away for so long that it was time to return to the Martial Alliance.
I'll send Fan Hongwei a message first and arrange a time to visit the Shamanic Clan Ruins with him, Lin Zheyu thought.
With a thought, a specially crafted communication jade talisman appeared in his hand. Since this world was ill-suited to the cultivation of shamanic arts, Lin Zheyu had only just reached the initiation stage of the Shamanic Dao. If he could deepen his understanding and comprehension of the Shamanic Dao and shamanic patterns, it would greatly enhance his strength.
I hope I gain something from this trip to the Shamanic Clan Ruins. Otherwise, I'll have to approach the fourth shackle through the barbarians' Totem Dao, Lin Zheyu thought.
His divine patterns also incorporated a small amount of knowledge from the barbarian totem system. However, throughout his cultivation journey, he had never fully cultivated a technique belonging to the Totem Dao.
A gentle breeze swept past, and Lin Zheyu's figure vanished. His speed was almost inconceivable, and his entire being seemed to merge with the void as he entered a wondrous state. Lin Zheyu had comprehended this special state from the Ethereal Shadow Concealment Art and the Demonic Flame Soul-Burning Crows.
In this state, he could draw upon the power of spatial laws to the greatest possible extent, raising his speed to an inconceivable level. Even compared to a Nascent Soul realm cultivator's short-range teleportation, it was only slightly inferior.
When passing the Evilheart Sect, Lin Zheyu stopped to observe its current situation from the shadows. After discovering that Cao Hongchang was devoting himself wholeheartedly to expanding the sect, he departed in satisfaction, leaving Cao Hongchang to manage everything.
This was largely why he had spared Cao Hongchang's life in the first place. Lin Zheyu had no desire to tie himself to the Evilheart Sect. All he wanted was a stable source of spirit stones and cultivation resources.
***
In the Martial Realm, at Yanwu City.
News of Lin Zheyu's return to the Martial Alliance soon reached the Woo Family. However, Lin Zheyu did not care. With his current strength, no one in the Woo Family could do anything to him unless their Deity Transformation realm ancestor personally intervened.
After returning to the Martial Alliance, Lin Zheyu visited some of his acquaintances there. Wang Zhengtian was absent. He and Nie Zhiyu had been transferred elsewhere by an expert from the Vermilion Bird Sect to carry out a mission together.
As for Bai Lin and the others, they were still undergoing trials and completing missions in the demon cave. With the great calamity approaching, every cultivator felt an intense sense of urgency. They were doing everything possible to increase their strength and improve their chances of surviving the calamity. Xia Ping, however, happened to be at the sect.
Lin Zheyu arrived at the Library Pavilion and cupped his hands in greeting. "Junior Xiao Yu greets Senior."
Whenever Xia Ping returned to the Martial Alliance and was not in seclusion, he spent nearly all his time in the Library Pavilion, where he frequently offered guidance to the Martial Alliance's younger members. He was a highly respected senior figure in martial cultivation.
Xia Ping opened his eyes and greeted him with easy familiarity. "You're here. Have a seat."
"Thank you, Senior." Lin Zheyu smiled and sat across from Xia Ping.
He took out the premium spirit tea he had wrangled from Wang Zhengtian last time and leisurely began brewing it. Whenever Lin Zheyu returned to the Martial Alliance, he would make time to visit Xia Ping if the latter was present and discuss martial cultivation with him. Every senior in the Martial Alliance who had cultivated to the limit of the Shackles realm and forged their own path of martial cultivation possessed insights from which Lin Zheyu could learn.
Among them, Xia Ping's many insights into the divine repositories interested Lin Zheyu the most. He would occasionally investigate the space hidden beyond the void within the divine repositories. Unfortunately, even after his spiritual Heavenly Eye had transformed, he had still been unable to make any further progress.
"Your strength continues to grow. I can no longer see through you at all." Xia Ping studied Lin Zheyu for a long while, his voice tinged with emotion, gratification, and anticipation.
"I still need to thank you for your guidance back then," Lin Zheyu replied modestly with a smile.
"Hehe, you're too modest. Are you still studying the three great divine repositories?" Xia Ping asked.
"Yes. I believe the three great divine repositories are an exceptionally important part of the human body and conceal immense treasures within them. If we can uncover their secrets, perhaps martial cultivation will be able to take a crucial step forward!" Lin Zheyu said solemnly.
He was not merely saying this to humor Xia Ping. Lin Zheyu genuinely believed it. The stronger he became, the more intensely he felt it.