Chapter 436: Chapter 423: Seed of Shadow
Inside the Different Space, time itself seemed to grow thick and viscous.
The still-shaken group were all meditating to regulate their breathing and calm their Pet Beasts.
But in the corner, Luo Yuan’s condition hadn’t improved. In fact, it was getting worse.
He clutched his head, his body trembling uncontrollably. A suppressed, animalistic whimper escaped his throat.
His Pet Beast, a Tidal Jellyfish that should have been elegant and transparent, now floated restlessly beside him.
The others exchanged glances. Someone in the group had a Healing Pet, but it was low-level—only a Two-star.
High-star Level Healing Pets were monopolized by a few major families. A Two-star pet could only offer basic healing. Supplemented by an Elixir, it was just enough to quiet Luo Yuan down.
His Pet Beast was soon affected as well. The erratic, flickering blue-purple fluorescence of its body gradually softened, no longer flashing so dimly.
Gu Ming appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but his mind was already immersed in the system interface.
A bullet comment flew into his line of sight.
「The group’s medic performs a simple treatment on the deputy head of the Cultivation Technique Class.
「However, after making eye contact with the ’Terror Executioner,’ psychological trauma has already set in. A ’Seed of Shadow’ may have begun to sprout.」
Suspicion pricked at Gu Ming. He immediately opened his eyes, his sharp gaze fixed on Luo Yuan.
The system’s message gave Gu Ming a vague sense of crisis.
’Seed of Shadow?’
’What does it do?’
He stood up and walked quickly to Luo Yuan’s side, a perfectly measured look of concern on his face.
"Luo Yuan? How are you doing?" he asked, motioning for the students trying to comfort Luo Yuan to relax.
Luo Yuan had just taken an Elixir to stabilize his Spiritual Power. His condition had improved slightly, and he was more lucid.
"I... I’m fine."
Luo Yuan waved his hand weakly.
He trembled all over at the mere thought of those hollow eyes inside the black, misty shadow.
At the same time, Gu Ming secretly used his Divine Sense to connect with Mianmian, employing her powerful Perception to scan Luo Yuan’s jellyfish Pet Beast.
However, after a thorough scan, Gu Ming frowned slightly.
’Strange!’
His physical inspection revealed nothing. Other than some minor internal injuries from its rampaging Mana, the jellyfish showed no external, tangible wounds to its Spiritual Power.
And there was certainly no trace of the "Seed of Shadow" the system had mentioned.
’Either that seed doesn’t exist...’
’Or Mianmian and I are at a level too low to perceive it.’
"Teacher Huo."
Gu Ming turned to Elder Huo, who had been monitoring the world outside. His voice was grave, yet tinged with uncertainty.
"Do you feel like something’s wrong with Luo Yuan and his jellyfish?
"It doesn’t seem like the simple aftereffects of a Spiritual Shock. It’s more like... they’ve been ’contaminated’ by something."
Upon hearing this, Elder Huo carefully scanned Luo Yuan and the jellyfish again with his Divine Sense.
After a moment, he shook his head and said grimly,
"The Memory Essence here is chaotic. The aftereffects of a Spiritual Shock can manifest in countless strange ways.
"Student Luo Yuan’s mind has been severely damaged, which in turn caused his Pet Beast’s Mana to run rampant. It’s uncommon, but not impossible.
"I haven’t perceived any contamination from an external spiritual imprint."
Gu Ming was taken aback.
’An Eight-star Beastmaster couldn’t perceive it. Could I be wrong?’
’No.’
Compared to Elder Huo, Gu Ming trusted the system’s description more.
Even though the system could be unreliable at times.
It was precisely because something from the Future Perspective didn’t align with reality that it was more likely to trigger a bug, allowing the supposedly non-existent "Seed of Shadow" to traverse time and space and be planted inside the jellyfish.
’I can’t be wrong about this.’
The more Gu Ming thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
But the time wasn’t right. With no evidence to back up his claims, Gu Ming couldn’t convince Elder Huo.
The delayed nature of this future event also meant Elder Huo couldn’t yet perceive it.
Gu Ming couldn’t press the issue, so he suppressed his anxiety and said in a low voice,
"Perhaps I’m just being overly anxious."
Elder Huo nodded in approval. "It’s always good to be cautious."
He didn’t criticize Gu Ming, instead offering a word of encouragement.
Although his Divine Sense hadn’t detected anything, when dealing with a local Fierce Beast that could survive in the high-pressure spiritual environment of the third sublevel, it was never wrong to be careful.
Upon hearing this, a few others who were still uneasy spoke with Luo Yuan and also used their Divine Sense to check him over.
The result was predictable.
Not one of them could find anything wrong.
This made the others shake their heads at Gu Ming’s so-called intuition.
It seemed that Gu Ming, the king of intuition, wasn’t always right after all.
His credibility took a small hit, but Gu Ming didn’t care.
All he cared about was exploring the Yichuan Ruins and making it out alive.
Having successfully acquired the geographical information of the third sublevel and the physical data for the "Terror Executioner," an idea began to form in Gu Ming’s mind.
’Since we can’t leave right now, I might as well use the time for Cultivation. I’ll enter the Dream Space and run multiple simulations.’
To prevent the "Seed of Shadow" from suddenly sprouting and inflicting unforeseen harm on the group, he discreetly gestured to Lu You.
She understood at once and quietly drew near.
In this sealed Different Space, for the two of them to hold hands while cultivating in a corner, even if only for practice, would inevitably look overly intimate, almost like a couple.
The thought made Lu You’s mind race and her cheeks grow slightly warm.
Gu Ming, however, didn’t give it a second thought and simply reached out to take her hand.
Lu You trembled slightly, letting out a soft hum of acknowledgment as she followed him to a corner and sat down.
Before she even had a chance to calm her racing heart, the familiar, tide-like hypnotic sensation washed over her. It was like a physical memory, passively pulling her into Gu Ming’s Dream Space. Their Pet Beasts naturally followed.
Once inside the dreamscape, Gu Ming immediately said in a grave tone,
"I can sense something hidden within Luo Yuan’s Pet Beast—something no one else can perceive."
Puzzled, Lu You asked him what he was basing this on.
Gu Ming shook his head.
"It’s just a feeling, something I sensed when I opened the Dream Space... It’s probably related to dreams themselves."
He offered a vague explanation.
Then, with a Mental command, he simulated the surroundings, recreating the third sublevel and the exact location where they had first entered this space.
Using the data recorded by the system, he then coalesced a phantom of the "Terror Executioner" to act as a sparring partner.
A few seconds later, a blurry, distorted black shadow materialized in the field. Its form was too indistinct for Gu Ming to capture with his naked eye.
Yet, when the Pet Beasts met its "gaze," they all felt an involuntary shudder that came from the depths of their souls, completely extinguishing any will to fight.
Gu Ming himself felt an immense pressure, like a collapsing mountain, crush his fighting spirit with just a single glance.
Even when he forced himself to use Ultimate Thought, generating the courage and Divine Sense to face his fear, he could only barely suppress the terror long enough to encourage his Pet Beasts to attack.
A few seconds later, the attacks landed, and the Pet Beasts charged forward.
But the battle was still a completely one-sided slaughter.
The being in the black mist just casually waved a hand, and the Pet Beasts were sent flying like kites with their strings cut. They crashed heavily to the ground, utterly powerless to resist.
It was important to remember that the system was simulating the Terror Executioner’s strength as close to reality as possible.
It would be unrealistic for Gu Ming to have the system deliberately lower its strength to match that of Cyan Treasure and the others.
After all, the final battle would inevitably require Elder Huo to hold the line against the real entity.
Therefore, Gu Ming changed his strategy. He stopped making his Pet Beasts train relentlessly against this invincible phantom.
Instead, he shifted the focus of their training to Luo Yuan’s jellyfish Pet Beast.
If the hidden thing inside it were to erupt, they could use the situation to buy Elder Huo time to react.
Following this line of thought, Gu Ming formulated a clearer and more foolproof plan for the training ahead.
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