Chapter 560: Leaping Between Heaven and Hell (II)
Lin Zheyu examined the storage pouch taken from Zhu Tong'en and revealed a satisfied expression. "There are fewer spirit stones than I have, so he's even poorer than me. But these dharma artifacts are quite good, each one a fine piece. They should sell for a decent amount of spirit stones."
Zhu Tong'en had long lived on the edge of death and would not carry many spirit stones. However, he had prepared plenty of powerful dharma artifacts. Selling them would still fetch a considerable amount of spirit stones.
Lin Zheyu was currently quite poor. To prepare sufficient resources for this round of cultivation, he had nearly exhausted all the spirit stones he previously obtained. After being out here for so long, he had finally gained some income.
Lin Zheyu played with the tracking compass, smiling as he joked. "So it really was that old fellow Fan Hongwei who sent him in. He probably thought I'd been in here too long and was worried I might run into danger. That old guy is unexpectedly kind-hearted. Thanks for sending me a rocket. It'd be even better if you sent a few more."
The position marked on the compass overlapped exactly with Lin Zheyu's current location. This was truly an excellent place. Golden Core realm cultivators could not enter. No matter how many peak Foundation Establishment realm cultivators were sent in, he was confident he could handle them with ease. No matter how many Fan Hongwei sent, they would merely be delivering themselves to him.
Zhu Tong'en's appearance was nothing more than a small diversion. Lin Zheyu quickly cast it aside. Playing with the compass, he pushed his spiritual sense and martial perception to their limits, trying to see if he could use it to locate the tracking mark on his body.
Time passed slowly. After studying it for half a day, Lin Zheyu still could not find any trace of the tracking mark on himself. That old fellow Fan Hongwei truly lived up to being from a major power like Soaring Cloud Pavilion and having cultivated in the Immortal Dao for centuries to possess such formidable tracking methods.
Lin Zheyu put away the compass without disappointment, as he had already expected this outcome. "Still no good. Looks like I'll have to wait until I open the spirit divine repository before trying again."
In the dark void, black winds raged and howled past. Lin Zheyu hid here for nearly ten hours. Only after noticing that the number of yaos outside had decreased did he cloak himself again in purple-black energy and slip out.
Time always passed quickly when cultivating. After that brief interlude, Lin Zheyu returned to his routine of hunting and capturing yaos, studying demonic patterns, and using Origin Force to strengthen himself.
Lin Zheyu was very patient and had no hurry to leave. The yaos living within the purple-red magma greatly intrigued him. He even considered staying here for a while longer after advancing to the Divine Repository realm. These yaos, with their gorgeous scales and powerful physiques, were not the strongest he had encountered, but after weighing various factors, they were among the most suitable for him.
Most importantly, there were many of them. This underground purple-red magma was their habitat. For other suitable yaos, Lin Zheyu would not be so fortunate as to find their dwelling places. The abundance of yaos provided him with ample subjects for research, allowing him to delve deeper into the principles of the demonic patterns.
While Lin Zheyu was busily capturing yaos and studying demonic patterns in the demon realm beyond the space-time node, Fan Hongwei, waiting outside, had grown extremely impatient. His brows were tightly furrowed as he stared toward the space-time node, irritation building within him, his usual air of immortal composure gone.
Five days had passed. Zhu Tong'en had entered the space-time node five days ago. Not only had Lin Zheyu not come out, but there was no news from Zhu Tong'en either. If not for the vague signals transmitted through the tracking mark, confirming that the martial artist named Xiao Yu was still alive, Fan Hongwei would have believed Xiao Yu had already died in the demon realm.
What's going on? What exactly happened? Is he trapped in some dangerous forbidden zone? But why can he stay in the demon realm for so long? After all this time, how is that kid still alive? Could it be that the forbidden zone contains some treasure that sustains him?
And what about Zhu Tong'en? He's been inside for so long; why hasn't he come out either? Could he also be trapped like that kid? Fan Hongwei frowned slightly as he pondered inwardly.
Later, he sent more people in. This time, however, worried that the place where Lin Zheyu was trapped was too dangerous, he did not have them search for him. Instead, he sent them into the demon realm to observe the situation. All of them returned safely. The demon realm beyond the space-time node had indeed become more active, but there were no major changes.
Thus, in Fan Hongwei's view, Lin Zheyu was indeed trapped in some dangerous forbidden zone. Suddenly, his expression shifted slightly. The Spirit Resonance Sphere in his storage pouch received a message, catching him off guard.
"Senior Fan, Zhu Tong'en's son has come asking about his father's whereabouts. He wants to know who killed him. His son says his father..." Fan Hongwei looked at the message in the Spirit Resonance Sphere, his expression turning to surprise as he said, "Dead?"
Fan Hongwei's brows furrowed even deeper. "His soul flame went out five days ago. Which means Zhu Tong'en died on the very day he entered the space-time node? Is there something wrong in the demon realm, or does that martial artist named Xiao Yu possess some special secret? Heh... It's been a long time since I've seen such an interesting junior. Let me see how long you can last in there."
A cold smile curved at the corner of his lips.
He decided to keep waiting. Whether Xiao Yu died inside or eventually came out, Fan Hongwei wanted an answer. If he died, so be it. But if he truly returned alive, that would be interesting. For a mere Divine Repository martial artist to remain in the demon realm for so long and come back alive, he must carry a tremendous secret. Even Fan Hongwei could not help but be tempted by such a secret.
***
Within the chaotic dark void, black winds howled, stirring up the violent rule energy and sending it rampaging in all directions. Below, in the turbulent energy lake, a dazzling, terrifying golden light suddenly erupted. The golden radiance burst from the depths, piercing through the black waters and dyeing most of the lake's surface in gold.
From within the energy lake came thunderous roars, interwoven with a deep, pounding rhythm like thunder itself. It was the sound of a heartbeat. A tremendous transformation was taking place within Lin Zheyu. Vast waves of mysterious energy surged endlessly from his body, sweeping up the energy within the lake and pouring it back into him in a violent reverse flow.
Lin Zheyu's face twisted in agony, his tightly shut eyes veined with terrifying bloodshot lines. Within his body, the power of the Yellow Springs, a force of death itself, rampaged and destroyed everything in its path. His aura sank lower and lower, nearing true death, almost devoid of life. Then it slowly recovered, its vitality surging back to its peak in an instant. This cycle repeated over and over. The process was unbearably painful, worse than death itself. Even with Lin Zheyu's formidable will, enduring it was exceedingly difficult.
After a few breaths, Lin Zheyu slowly opened his eyes. A trace of confusion flickered within his bloodshot gaze. The Netherworld Yellow Springs power contained within the Netherworld Cold Spring had tormented him to the point of near delirium. He felt as if he had died countless times, only to be forcibly restored to peak condition by Origin Force. The entire process was like being flung back and forth between hell and heaven.
"Huff..." Lin Zheyu let out a long breath. It stretched deep and steady, as if he were expelling every trace of negativity from within.
After recovering slightly, a lingering fear surfaced in Lin Zheyu's heart. Tsk, it felt like I died countless times. My spirit almost collapsed.
Relying on the near-immortal nature of Origin Force, he had made slight modifications to the Yellow Springs Nirvana Scripture, making his cultivation method extremely violent. The speed was indeed far faster than the original technique. Within the consciousness space, Lin Zheyu truly could not die. More precisely, his body could not die. But mentally, he had come dangerously close to completely breaking his spirit.
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