Chapter 684: Zhang Yu’s Nascent Soul?
Watching Feng Yuhuan’s retreating figure and observing the environment of the 555th floor, Ping Han felt an overwhelming surge of excitement.
The thought of finally confronting Zhang Yu, his lifelong mortal enemy, and capturing this formidable foe… it stirred within Ping Han a long-dormant thrill he hadn’t experienced in ages.
“Zhang Yu… I can’t wait to see the look of utter shock on your face.”
They advanced through a labyrinth of pipes, using the power of the Evil God Ritual to evade surveillance systems.
Finally, they reached their target laboratory.
Sensing the shifting energies of the Spirit Realm around them, Feng Yuhuan said, “The Spirit Realm signals here are completely blocked. We’ve temporarily lost all external communication.”
Feng Yuhuan’s Bionic Eye twitched slightly, indicating that recording had begun.
“You two stay here. I’ll go in first to check if Zhang Yu is inside.”
Ping Han trembled violently at the suggestion. Fu Xinyao countered, “Let us come with you.”
Feng Yuhuan glanced at them both, his tone indifferent. “Once we’re inside, I can’t guarantee your survival.”
But Fu Xinyao believed that staying with this mysterious Nascent Soul was their safest option.
Ping Han, already driven to extreme and irrational behavior, was desperate to witness Zhang Yu’s capture firsthand.
Thus, they clung tightly to Feng Yuhuan’s shadow, stealthily following him deeper into the laboratory.
Relying on his own skills and the power of the Evil God Ritual, Feng Yuhuan, carrying Fu Xinyao, moved like a phantom in the darkness, constantly advancing.
As they ventured deeper, they sensed the spiritual energy in the air growing increasingly dense, swirling like layers of misty water that surged forward.
Sensing this, Fu Xinyao exclaimed in astonishment, “Such an intense surge of spiritual energy!”
Feng Yuhuan observed the traces of spiritual energy in the air and explained, “The Whale-Swallowing Breathing Technique inherently emphasizes the volume of breathing. If one can maintain a consistent rhythm within a certain range, the efficiency of the breathing technique can be further enhanced.”
“Judging by this concentration…” Feng Yuhuan gently brushed his hand through the misty spiritual energy, assessing, “Zhang Yu has been here for approximately five months.”
As he spoke, Feng Yuhuan continued forward, soon spotting a series of bizarre, large holes in the structure.
Staring at the various-sized openings in the walls, Fu Xinyao asked in confusion, “What are these?”
Her Bionic Eye scanned the flawlessly smooth edges of the hole, and she asked in surprise, “Did Zhang Yu cut this hole in the wall? Why would he do something like this?”
Feng Yuhuan’s gaze sharpened as he crouched before the meter-wide opening. “This is the mark of a Nascent Soul,” he said gravely.
Fu Xinyao gasped, “A Nascent Soul?”
Feng Yuhuan explained, “In ancient times, cultivators would refine their own Nascent Souls when breaking through to that realm.”
“But how could a Nascent Soul refined by a Golden Core Cultivator compare to one refined by a Nascent Soul or even a Spirit Transformation cultivator?”
“Especially in modern times, those who achieve the Nascent Soul Realm are the elite of the elite, academic overachievers with one-in-ten-thousand talent. It’s virtually impossible for them to break through using a self-refined Nascent Soul.”
“However, this creates a problem: the Nascent Soul is too powerful. Golden Core Realm cultivators need to practice and undergo various adjustments to control it.”
Feng Yuhuan and Fu Xinyao hurried forward, noticing the holes in the wall becoming smaller and fewer. Feng Yuhuan’s expression grew increasingly grave.
“During this cultivation process,” Feng Yuhuan continued, “the Nascent Soul often escapes its shell uncontrollably, wandering around the cultivator.”
“Because the Nascent Soul projects the cultivator’s instinctive consciousness, if not properly controlled, it will act erratically based on the cultivator’s stray thoughts.”
“Moreover, since the Nascent Soul is a highly concentrated mixture of a cultivator’s spiritual will, Magic Power, Gang Qi, and vital energy, even a slight collision… can cause significant damage to the surrounding environment.”
Fu Xinyao exclaimed in shock, “So you’re saying these marks were caused by Zhang Yu cultivating his Nascent Soul? Is he about to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm?”
Feng Yuhuan gazed at the holes in the wall, which gradually decreased in size from a meter in diameter to the size of a fist, and replied, “Perhaps.”
Fu Xinyao and Ping Han were both stunned by this revelation.
They vividly remembered Zhang Yu’s breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm just over a year ago. Could he really be on the verge of reaching the Nascent Soul Realm already?
The two secretly wondered, “Just how many resources has Myriad Laws poured into Zhang Yu?”
Meanwhile, Feng Yuhuan kept another thought to himself: the aura emanating from these Nascent Soul traces felt exceptionally unusual.
“What kind of Nascent Soul leaves such marks?”
“If Zhang Yu is given another year or two to develop, even I… might not be able to defeat him with absolute certainty.”
“Even this time…”
Feng Yuhuan had already prepared for the worst: “Perhaps… this time, we’ll only be able to bring Zhang Yu’s brain out.”
Moments later, the surrounding lights inexplicably dimmed, and the path ahead gradually plunged into complete darkness.
Within this darkness, a series of whistling sounds reached their ears.
The whistling was peculiar, as if a giant was repeatedly inhaling and exhaling massive volumes of air, drawing in great gulps before expelling them in violent gusts.
As they continued to sneak forward, Feng Yuhuan’s mind was plagued by a question: “Why are there no guards?”
“If they value Zhang Yu so highly, if they’re so desperate to keep him hidden… why haven’t they assigned anyone to guard this place? Do they lack trustworthy individuals… capable of guarding Zhang Yu here?”
Meanwhile, with each inhalation and exhalation, Fu Xinyao felt a powerful suction force surging forward, her long hair whipped wildly into the darkness by the gale.
Fu Xinyao thought with growing unease: “Is this… some kind of martial arts cultivation technique?”
“And… why has it become so dark here?”
“Where’s the light?”
Fu Xinyao instinctively activated her Bionic Eye, its internal mechanisms whirring to emit faint beams of light in an attempt to pierce the darkness.
But the next moment, her Bionic Eye widened in shock as she stared at the scene unfolding before her.
The faint beams of light, once emitted, seemed to be twisted and distorted by an invisible force, as if caught by an unseen hand in the darkness. With a swift whoosh, they vanished into the fathomless abyss, disappearing completely.
“What is this…?”
Feng Yuhuan remained silent, continuing forward. Soon, they spotted a figure floating motionless in the deepest part of the laboratory’s darkness, hands clasped together in prayer.
The eerie whistling sounds that echoed through the chamber emanated from the figure’s clasped hands.
One moment, a surge of energy erupted from the figure, sweeping outward in all directions.
The next, an invisible suction force pulled the swirling energy back into the figure’s hands.
The grand hall, which should have been as bright as day, was now shrouded in complete darkness.
The beams of light streaming down from the ceiling, like schools of fish, were all drawn into a swirling vortex of darkness between Zhang Yu’s clasped hands, vanishing without a trace.
“A perfect opportunity for a sneak attack.”
Watching Zhang Yu remain motionless, completely absorbed in his cultivation, Feng Yuhuan’s figure flickered, breaking free from his stealth mode as he launched a ferocious assault.
“This guy… he might have fully mastered his Nascent Soul and completed his breakthrough,” Feng Yuhuan thought grimly. “If I insist on bringing him out unharmed, and he gets a chance to call for help, not only will the mission fail, but I’ll be finished too.”
“In that case… I have no choice but to apologize.”
“Zhang Yu, from now on, I’ll have to go all out. I’ll completely destroy your physical body first, leaving you no chance whatsoever…”
As he spoke, Feng Yuhuan’s right arm underwent a violent transformation under the infusion of Magic Power, instantly morphing into a massive cannon aimed directly at Zhang Yu.
Level 40 Bionic enhanced with Level 40 Thunder Magic!
Military-grade daoist arts: Purple Heavens Divine Thunder Strike!
The violet thunderlight locked onto Zhang Yu and erupted with explosive force, hurtling forward at tens of thousands of kilometers per second. It converged with deadly precision on the area beneath Zhang Yu’s neck.
Feng Yuhuan was confident that his surgically precise strike would completely vaporize a Golden Core Cultivator’s body without harming the surrounding environment. By targeting the area below Zhang Yu’s neck, he intended to leave only Zhang Yu’s head intact.
As the thunderlight surged, it unleashed a cascade of sparks that crackled through the air, jolting Fu Xinyao and Ping Han. They felt their Bionics tremble violently, as if their internal mechanisms were about to malfunction.
Sensing the sudden surge of heat and spiritual energy, the two were even more shocked. “Even a mere wisp of this thunderlight nearly damaged our entire Bionics!”
“Zhang Yu is going to be killed in one strike, isn’t he?”
But then, an even more astonishing sight unfolded before them.
The raging thunderlight seemed to collide with an invisible vortex, instantly swirling into a high-speed spiral.
The originally blazing light transformed into slender strands, spiraling through the darkness before converging in Zhang Yu’s palm.
“What?!”
Feng Yuhuan, who had unleashed the attack, was even more shocked than Fu Xinyao and Ping Han. Only he truly understood the devastating power of his strike — even he himself couldn’t have withstood it unscathed.
At the same moment, Zhang Yu, who had been immersed in cultivation, opened his eyes and calmly gazed at Feng Yuhuan.
“Do you know why this place needs no guards?”
Feng Yuhuan heard only Zhang Yu’s first sentence before realizing the man’s mouth was still moving, but his voice had vanished.
Then, as if swept away by an invisible hand, every trace of light vanished completely. No matter how Feng Yuhuan strained his Bionic Eye, he could see nothing.
In the next instant, he lost all sensation of the outside world.
In the fathomless darkness, only his consciousness seemed to remain active.