Chapter 96 - 94: An Exclusive Way to Get Stronger
Lin Ye’s steps grew ever lighter as he ventured deeper.
He moved like a stone melting into the night, devoid of presence or warmth. Only his eyes, still bright in the darkness, scanned every inch of his surroundings, alert for any potential danger.
A terrifying, deathly silence hung in the air.
It was the silence of a vacuum, left behind after all life had been utterly purged.
Before long, Lin Ye came to a halt.
He crouched behind a half-collapsed low wall, his silhouette merging perfectly with the shadows of the ruined structure.
In the distance, at the end of a street several hundred meters away, a massive, grotesque silhouette prowled slowly through the darkness.
It was one of the two Fusion Monsters.
Its form was even more imposing than when Lin Ye had glimpsed it from afar. Each movement sent a slight tremor through the ground beneath it.
Merely watching it from a distance was enough to stir a primal fear, an instinctual dread.
Lin Ye held his breath.
Level 17.
Just one level higher than him.
But Lin Ye knew this monster was what the system would judge as an ’elite’—a special variant.
Its strength couldn’t be judged by its Level 17 status alone.
Lin Ye looked away, ceasing his observation.
His purpose on this trip wasn’t to directly challenge the two Fusion Monsters.
After personally experiencing the power of a Vein Opening Realm Martial Artist, Lin Ye’s goal had become clearer than ever.
He had to refine his Qi and Blood as quickly as possible and break through to that realm!
And in all of Dongjiang City—or anywhere else he knew of—there was no cultivation sanctuary more suitable for him than the abandoned chemical plant.
Lin Ye retreated silently, choosing a more circuitous and concealed route that took him far around the two Fusion Monsters’ patrol area.
「Two hours later.」
The familiar silhouette of the chemical plant once again appeared in Lin Ye’s line of sight.
Thanks to his previous scouting trip, Lin Ye was already intimately familiar with the terrain and its potential dangers.
He moved with the agility of a cat, weaving between the factory buildings.
His infiltration was several times faster than his last attempt.
Soon, the furnace workshop, shimmering with an eerie, faint blue light in the darkness, was just ahead.
Lin Ye came to a stop.
He could feel an invisible force field enveloping the area ahead.
’I wonder if it’s because I’ve invested all my recent attribute points into Spirit.’
The last time he had merely approached this place, he had felt dizzy, and his ears had rung incessantly.
This time, however, that physical discomfort was gone.
In its place was an even more bizarre experience.
It wasn’t simple spiritual pressure.
Instead, it was a sensation that even Lin Ye couldn’t quite describe.
It was as if taking a single step forward would cause ten thousand different voices to erupt in his ears simultaneously.
Countless pieces of chaotic, fragmented, and illogical information would forcibly flood his mind, like a burst dam.
Lin Ye didn’t press forward recklessly.
Instead, he repeatedly probed the edges of the area.
Eventually, he found a nearly perfect spot.
It was a triangular space created by three massive storage tanks, a location that was well-concealed and easily defensible. Even if a mutated beast were to attack, Lin Ye would be able to react instantly.
Most importantly, the Source Energy concentration here was at a delicate equilibrium.
It was high enough to ensure efficient cultivation, yet low enough that the pressure on his mind was reduced to a tolerable level.
Lin Ye sat cross-legged and slowly closed his eyes.
Once he entered a meditative state, Lin Ye activated the unique perspective of his Source Energy Detection.
In an instant, the world before his eyes transformed.
Countless Source Energy Particles, shimmering with five-colored light, filled every inch of the air, as dense as a swarm of fireflies on a midsummer night.
The density of these light specks was several, even tens of times greater than in the school’s Gravity Chamber!
It was so dense that Lin Ye didn’t even need to actively circulate his Cultivation Technique. Just by breathing, countless Source Energy Particles scrambled to enter his body through every pore.
Lin Ye’s mind sank into a state of total immersion.
He guided this pure, immense energy, circulating it through his body along the pathways of the Five Qi Guiding Formulas.
The very instant his Cultivation Technique began to circulate, a system notification eagerly chimed in his mind.
[You have cultivated the Five Qi Guiding Formulas and gained 3 experience points!]
[You have cultivated the Five Qi Guiding Formulas and gained 3 experience points!]
[You have cultivated the Five Qi Guiding Formulas and gained 3 experience points!]
...
Now that his Cultivation Technique had hit a bottleneck, the experience gained was once again halved.
Even so, the notifications were coming much more frequently than before.
Lin Ye could clearly feel his body being refined by Source Energy at an unprecedented rate.
His surging Qi and Blood felt as if it had been mixed with a highly effective catalyst, and was undergoing a wondrous qualitative transformation.
In the depths of cultivation, time lost all meaning.
When the first faint ray of dawn pierced through a hole in the factory roof, illuminating the dancing dust motes, Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes.
He let out a long, turbid breath.
The night of cultivation was over.
Lin Ye immediately checked his attribute panel.
[Level: 16 (5829/18400)]
His experience had jumped from 2,109—where it was just after he reached Level 16—to nearly six thousand overnight!
He had shot up from 11% to 31% of the way through Level 16!
’It’s so fast.’
’Even with the penalty, this is still an incredibly fast cultivation speed.’
’I bet this is even more efficient than tirelessly hunting mutated beasts all night!’
More importantly, Lin Ye carefully assessed his physical condition.
Aside from some mental fatigue due to intense concentration, he felt nothing unusual.
There were no signs of poisoning, nor any feeling of weakness.
His body felt better than ever.
But Lin Ye didn’t dare let his guard down.
Lin Ye skipped school that morning.
He spent some money to schedule a full-panel physical at the most reputable private medical testing facility in the city center.
「One hour later.」
Lin Ye walked out the door holding a detailed printout of his report, which included over a hundred physical metrics.
All indicators were completely normal.
He was in perfect health.
Most importantly, his bloodwork showed not the slightest trace of residual toxins or any other harmful substances.
Walking along the bustling street, feeling the warm sunlight on his skin, Lin Ye was now almost certain.
’The Source Crystals... to everyone else, they’re a deadly poison to be avoided at all costs. But for me, apart from that bizarre spiritual assault, there are no adverse effects.’
’And even that final negative side effect... as long as my Spiritual Power is strong enough, I’ll eventually be able to ignore it completely!’