Chapter 157: Chapter 154: Frenzied Slashes of Sword Qi, Deified Overnight
His vision switched in an instant.
Within the gray mist, the twisted masses of light and shadow became distinct.
He made a grasping motion with his right hand, and a wisp of silver-gray Sword Qi flickered uncertainly at his fingertips.
An octopus-like Spirit Body waved its ethereal tentacles, lunging toward him, thick with cold malice.
"Too slow."
In Han Feng’s current Perception, the creature’s movements were laughably sluggish.
SWOOSH!
The Sword Qi at his fingertip shot out, precisely slicing through the Spirit Body’s core.
There was no sound of a physical impact, only a faint sizzle, like a hot knife cutting through grease.
The Spirit Body was still in mid-air when the sharp Sword Qi instantly vaporized it into two halves.
As it disintegrated, a few specks of colorful, fluorescent light drifted out.
Han Feng was quick. With a burst of suction from his palm, he pulled all of the fluorescent specks into his body.
An icy torrent surged up through his meridians and slammed into his mind!
[Spiritual Strength +0.5]
Han Feng’s heart hammered a little faster as he watched the data flash on the panel.
’A perfect grinding spot!’
But he didn’t let the ecstasy go to his head.
A buffet might be delicious, but eating until you burst could kill you.
He casually dispatched two more weak Spirit Bodies that drifted near.
This time, the cool sensation flooding his mind was mixed with a faint, sticky feeling.
Han Feng’s brow twitched, but he didn’t stop. He continued to swing his sword.
The fourth, the fifth...
By the time the eighth Spirit Body dissipated under his sword, the sticky sensation suddenly intensified.
The malicious whispers, previously suppressed by [Heart Clarity and Nature Seeing], sharpened without warning.
The scene before him suddenly distorted.
The dark cave walls transformed in his eyes, becoming a giant, fanged mouth that was silently closing in on him!
’It’s here!’
Alarm bells screamed in Han Feng’s mind.
’This is the price!’
[Heart Clarity and Nature Seeing] was only at the Basic Level, after all. It could weaken the contamination, but not grant complete immunity.
’I’ve eaten too much and can’t digest it.’
A wave of nausea welled up from the depths of his soul, rising like stomach acid into his throat.
"Brother Meng, pull me back!"
Han Feng roared.
In truth, he didn’t need to shout. Wang Meng, who had been watching him like a hawk, had already noticed something was wrong.
Just a moment ago, a flicker of confusion and terror had crossed Han Feng’s eyes.
The muscles on Wang Meng’s arms bulged as he put his back into it!
BANG!
Han Feng was yanked backward, stumbling two steps upon landing before collapsing onto his butt.
"What happened?"
Zhang Hao rushed over immediately.
Han Feng waved his hand. His face was pale, and his forehead was beaded with cold sweat.
"Just... overstuffed. I’ll be fine after a bit."
He didn’t explain further, immediately sitting down cross-legged.
The flight helmet on his head was buzzing loudly; the "Resonant Calming Module" was running at full power.
Waves of an electric-like current were sorting through his chaotic Spiritual Power.
The venomous ravings entrenched in his mind were being ground down and pulverized by this force.
The cost was also clearly visible.
In the slot on his helmet, the luster of the three Spirit Coins was dimming at a visible rate.
’This isn’t Cultivation, this is just burning money.’
Han Feng winced at the expense.
But he knew that without the module’s assistance, without this money-burning insurance policy, he would probably be writhing on the ground in a psychotic breakdown by now.
「Half an hour later.」
The dizzy, bloated feeling in his head finally subsided.
Han Feng opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.
’Three Spirit Coins and half an hour of rest in exchange for 5 points of Spiritual Strength and 2 points of Sword Bone progress.’
He quickly did the math in his head.
Expensive.
But worth it!
As long as he could get stronger, what did a price like this matter!
For the rest of the night, Han Feng became a tireless killing machine.
Strike, kill seven or eight Spirit Bodies.
Retreat the moment his spiritual load reached its breaking point.
Use the helmet and rest time to forcefully digest the Spiritual Contamination.
Then, strike again.
Over and over.
Each cycle was accompanied by the consumption of Spirit Coins and the excruciating pain of his soul being torn apart.
By the latter half of the night, the others in the cave had grown somewhat numb to it.
They watched Han Feng charge into the darkness time and again, only to be dragged back time and again.
Their initial shock had transformed into a kind of awe, as if they were watching a monster.
"Does this guy have a death wish?"
Fan Jian muttered to himself from his corner, staring at Han Feng’s slightly bluish face.
"He doesn’t have a death wish."
Zhang Hao said, his expression complex as he wiped his long saber.
"He’s staking his life on this."
"Some people become powerhouses not just because of Talent, but because they’re ruthless enough with themselves."
「4:00 AM.」
The deepest dark before the dawn, the moment the gray period was about to end.
Han Feng returned to the cave once more.
This time, he didn’t sit down. Instead, he leaned against the rock wall, his body swaying uncontrollably.
The whole world was spinning before his eyes.
Twelve consecutive hunts pushed to the absolute limit.
Though his spirit had grown wildly, it had also reached the verge of collapse.
The "overstuffed" feeling was growing stronger. His brain felt like it was stuffed with a tangled mess of thread, and even his thoughts became sluggish.
He shook his head hard, trying to get rid of the dizziness.
"Han Feng, you’re not in good shape."
Su Yue walked over and handed him a Concentration Potion.
"Thanks."
Han Feng took the Potion and chugged a large mouthful. The Potion’s coolness cleared his head a little.
"I’m fine, just a little indigestion."
He forced a smile, then closed his eyes.
His Perception Field spread out subconsciously.
One meter, two meters...
Ten meters...
Twenty meters!
At that moment, Han Feng froze.
Without him even realizing it, his Perception range had explosively broken through the thirty-meter mark!
And the clarity was frighteningly high.
Within his Perception, Wang Meng, who was dozing thirty meters away, was no longer a blurry humanoid silhouette.
He could "see" every beat of the heart in Wang Meng’s chest.
He could "see" the path of Qi Blood rushing through the thick blood vessels beneath his skin.
He could even clearly "count" the few whiskers of stubble sprouting from Wang Meng’s chin.
Omnidirectional, no blind spots.
Even the paths of dust motes drifting in the air were rendered in perfect detail.
This feeling of being in complete control was indescribably wonderful.
In a fight, this meant he could predict an opponent’s every move and precisely lock onto every weak point in their defense.
’Is this the benefit of a qualitative change in Spiritual Power?’
Han Feng was ecstatic.
He immediately called up the system panel.
[Sword Bone Transformation Progress: 91.5/100]
[Spiritual Strength: 265]
The results of a single night were nothing short of terrifying!
His Sword Bone was about to fully form, and his Spiritual Power had skyrocketed by more than sixty points.
But he also knew this was his limit.
Now, if his concentration wavered even slightly, all sorts of strange auditory hallucinations would pop into his head.
Just now, for a split second, he had even mistaken the Potion Su Yue handed him for a hand grenade.
If he kept going, he was afraid he’d actually go insane.
’Can’t get any greedier.’
Han Feng took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the greedy impulse to charge in one more time.
