Chapter 642: Harsh (II)
In the Southern Barbarian Region. Deep within a desolate mountain wilderness, Lin Zheyu pushed the Earth Shrinking Technique to its absolute limit, burning through his blood qi energy at an astonishing rate. The Woo Family's bloodline curse still lingered within him, so he dared not waste a moment.
Something is definitely wrong with this world. The moment I left the secret realm, my affinity with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth weakened dramatically, Lin Zheyu thought.
The difference was striking. He had sensed it the instant he stepped out of the secret realm. Not only had his affinity for the Great Dao diminished, but even with both feet planted on the ground, he could no longer feel the vast, abundant Earth Power that had filled the secret realm. In fact, the Earth Power within the land itself was only marginally denser than the already sparse spiritual qi permeating the world.
Fortunately, Master Qiong Yun had the foresight to leave behind the Primordial Chaos Pool. Otherwise, cultivating as a Shamanic cultivator in the current state of the world would have been impossible, Lin Zheyu thought with quiet relief.
Previously, he had been undecided between pursuing shamanic arts or continuing along the path of martial cultivation. He had seriously considered abandoning martial cultivation altogether to focus on shamanic arts. After all, it was an unimaginably powerful path. At its peak, a shamanic cultivator could rival terrifying beings like the Chaos Gods and Demons. Its latent potential far surpassed anything martial cultivation could hope to match.
In comparison, martial cultivation was barely worthy of carrying its shoes. But now, after experiencing just how hostile this world's cultivation environment was to Shamanic cultivators, Lin Zheyu finally understood why the once-supreme Shamanic Clan had declined from the pinnacle of power and vanished completely.
No wonder the Shamanic Clan, once unrivaled in this world, ultimately declined and disappeared. There's no chaos origin energy, barely any Earth Power, and the world itself actively rejects their cultivation. The environment is simply too hostile. Lin Zheyu shook his head helplessly.
He tried activating his natal shamanic pattern, only to be met with an overwhelming force of rejection. His body wavered as he was nearly forced out of his state of merging with the void. Shaking his head with a bitter smile, he abandoned his fantasy of one day becoming a chaos god or demon. For the foreseeable future, martial cultivation remained the path best suited to him.
Even if the cultivation environment for shamanic arts is terrible, the manuals Master Qiong Yun left behind are treasures beyond measure. Once I remove this bloodline curse, it'll be time to enter seclusion again, Lin Zheyu thought.
With a flick of his wrist, the purple ring he had taken from Woo Yiyan appeared in his hand. It felt cool to the touch. As he examined it more carefully, he realized it seemed to be crafted from a unique crystalline material.
Being able to kill Woo Yiyan this time was genuinely a stroke of luck. If we hadn't been inside the Shamanic Clan inheritance secret realm, he probably would have escaped. Next time I run into cultivators with backgrounds like his, I'd better avoid making enemies if I can. They're simply too difficult to kill, Lin Zheyu thought to himself.
People like them had far too many life-saving measures. Looking back on the battle, Lin Zheyu knew that if it had taken place outside the secret realm, he would not have had the confidence to kill Woo Yiyan. Unfortunately for his opponent, there were no 'what ifs.' In the end, Lin Zheyu had been the one left standing.
All that could be said was that Woo Yiyan had been extraordinarily unlucky, and perhaps a little too confident. Had he not entered the secret realm and attempted to ambush Lin Zheyu there, Lin Zheyu truly would not have been able to keep him from escaping. The two talismans Woo Yiyan carried were undeniably powerful. However, talismans of such overwhelming might were poorly suited to martial artists. Activating them required considerably more time than it would for an immortal cultivator.
To activate both powerful talismans simultaneously, Woo Yiyan needed more than thirty seconds. The preparation time was long, but their effects were astonishing. Coupled with a defensive dharma treasure like the Grand Purple Crystal Ring, that lengthy activation time was hardly a drawback. The Grand Teleportation Talisman, in particular, could instantly tear through spatial restrictions and transport Woo Yiyan thousands of kilometers away.
Combined with the Heaven-Deceiving Talisman, even if an enemy happened to pursue him in the correct direction, they would still be unable to detect him. The Heaven-Deceiving Talisman had been created by a great expert who derived its principles from the ancient Heaven-Deceiving Formation and inscribed them into a talisman with extraordinary concealment abilities. Once activated, its effects lasted for a full hour.
For that entire hour, no one, short of a cultivator with exceptionally gifted innate talent, could detect him. Even a peak Nascent Soul realm cultivator would be fooled. With those three measures working in concert, Woo Yiyan stood an excellent chance of surviving even against an opponent in the peak Nascent Soul realm. Unfortunately for him, the person he encountered was Lin Zheyu. Worse still, he had encountered Lin Zheyu inside the Shamanic Clan's secret realm immediately after Lin Zheyu had inherited the clan's inheritance.
His luck truly couldn't have been worse. The Grand Teleportation Talisman was indeed absurdly powerful. Although it could tear through spatial seals, it was incapable of breaking through the inheritance secret realm Qiong Yun created at the height of his power. That was why Woo Yiyan had desperately tried to stall for time. Buying time was never the real objective. His true plan was to lull Lin Zheyu into lowering his guard, then use a Phantom Body Talisman to create an illusory clone and deceive him.
After that, he would activate the Heaven-Deceiving Talisman and the Grand Teleportation Talisman, quietly slip out from the protection of the Grand Purple Crystal Ring, and finally leave the secret realm under the talisman's concealment to make a clean escape. It was a well-crafted plan, the best one Woo Yiyan had managed to devise in such a short time, and the one he believed had the highest chance of success.
Yet he still failed. Wielding the Heavenly Eye and the bone talisman, Lin Zheyu's perception inside the secret realm had reached an unprecedented level. More importantly, he had studied the incomplete Heaven-Deceiving Formation and even incorporated its principles into his own cultivation technique as part of his martial divine patterns. As a result, the Heaven-Deceiving Talisman was virtually useless against him. All that could be said was that Woo Yiyan's luck had run out. His fate had been sealed from the start.
Suddenly, the Grand Purple Crystal Ring in Lin Zheyu's hand began to vibrate violently, trying to wrench itself free of his grasp.
Lin Zheyu tightened his grip on the purple ring, a hint of surprise crossing his face. "What an impressive trick. It can actually be recalled from afar."
With a single thought, the purple ring vanished and reappeared in a void filled with gray, mist-like energy. This was the space inside the Primordial Chaos Pool. The moment it entered, the Grand Purple Crystal Ring immediately fell silent and floated motionlessly within the void.
Just as I thought. This Primordial Chaos Pool is quite remarkable. It can even block the remote recall of a dharma treasure. I wonder if it can also conceal heavenly secrets. That might be worth testing, Lin Zheyu mused.
He had yet to fully master the Primordial Chaos Pool and could only use it in the most rudimentary fashion, as though he possessed nothing more than temporary access. To truly control it, he would need to reach the Body Fusion realm of the shamanic cultivation system.
Before leaving the secret realm, Lin Zheyu had been fairly confident of achieving that. But after witnessing just how hostile this world's cultivation environment was toward Shamanic cultivators, his confidence had begun to waver.
I wonder if using Origin Force to enhance the Eight Desolations World-Suppressing Art would allow my consciousness space to simulate an environment suitable for shamanic cultivation. In principle, it should be possible. The only question is what kind of energy can serve as the source for using Origin Force to enhance the Eight Desolations World-Suppressing Art, Lin Zheyu pondered.
His spirit and spiritual soul were now exceptionally powerful. Even while traveling at full speed, he could effortlessly split his attention and think about other matters. Had the Heavenly Dao shackles within his body not mutated and extended into his sea of consciousness to bind his soul, Lin Zheyu felt he might already have been able to project his soul from his body and wander freely through the world.
After roughly an hour of nonstop travel, Lin Zheyu finally sensed an intense surge of demonic qi. About twenty kilometers ahead lay the demon god barrier. This was genuine Nine Nether Sect territory, not the recently occupied Southern Barbarian Region that had once belonged to Great Wei. The Nine Nether Sect had ruled this land for a very long time.
The space-time node within this demon god barrier had appeared long ago and was now firmly under the Nine Nether Sect's control. Upon arriving outside the barrier, Lin Zheyu came to a halt. He took out three Divine Power Crystals from his storage pouch while circulating the Heaven-Deceiving Art to its fullest. Since the demon god barrier was controlled by the Nine Nether Sect, infiltrating it unnoticed required using Divine Power Crystals in conjunction with a secret technique.
Lin Zheyu's aura steadily diminished until not the slightest trace of it remained, as though he had ceased to exist altogether. His figure flickered and melted into the void. Stepping forward with his right foot, he passed through the demon god barrier. Dense demonic qi rushed toward him, accompanied by the demons' endless roars. Feeling the rich demonic qi, Lin Zheyu's lips spread into a faint smile.
The demonic qi here is incredibly dense. It looks like this space-time node is of a rather high level, Lin Zheyu thought.
Concealed within the void, he slipped through the hordes of demons and the Nine Nether Sect cultivators locked in battle against them. Yet not a single person noticed his presence.
This will do. Finding a demonic river rich in pure demonic qi, Lin Zheyu plunged into it with a splash.
At a single thought, vast quantities of demonic qi poured into his body. The Yao Transformation began operating as the divine patterns covering his body rapidly turned purple-black, then broke apart. Endless torrents of demonic qi merged into the decomposed foundational patterns, condensing into entirely new demonic patterns.
Crackle... Crackle...
A series of crackling sounds echoed from within Lin Zheyu's body as his frame rapidly expanded. His flesh gradually transformed into that of a yao.
***
While Lin Zheyu was transforming into his yao form, two purple figures sped from afar toward the entrance of the inheritance realm, landing where the Woo Family martial artists had been buried.
Lin Zheyu had known the Woo Family would inevitably trace their way here, so he had not wasted precious time destroying the bodies. At the time, his highest priority had been to race against the clock, locate the nearest space-time node, absorb enough demonic qi, and use Yao Transformation to remove the bloodline curse afflicting him.
"This is the place," the woman said calmly. She stomped her right foot against the ground, and the three buried corpses of the Woo Family martial artists burst up from beneath the earth.
"Mm. Woo Shuo's energy imprint is still here," the fifth elder said. His hands rapidly formed seals as his bloodline powers surged. Activating a secret technique, he began sensing the aura of the bloodline curse.
Narrowing his eyes, the fifth elder pointed toward the direction Lin Zheyu had escaped. "He fled in this direction. Let's go!"
The bloodline curse itself served as the perfect tracking mark, though it became difficult to detect if the target was too far away or forcibly suppressed its presence. Even so, the Woo Family had other means of finding anyone branded by their bloodline curse. Every enemy marked in this way left a distinct trail imprinted upon the world wherever they fled. By following those lingering traces, the Woo Family could pursue them all the way to their destination.