Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 98 Secret Cultivation, Deep Dive into Pressure

At the edge of the first layer of the abyss, a spaceship, entirely gray and white, seemingly adorned with bony wings, suddenly accelerated as it sliced ​​through the writhing flesh-and-blood mother wall.

The barren land and sparse vegetation along the way receded rapidly, the curvature of the ground constantly dropped, becoming steep and precipitous, until the dark and deep tunnel, which was almost vertical and as steep as a cliff.

The feather ship suddenly swooped down, and a murky current of gray and black mixed together suddenly emerged from the void, enveloping and entwining the feather ship.

Looking out from inside the cabin of the feather ship, all you could see was complete darkness.

Hunzhen hesitated briefly, then extended his telekinetic tentacles out of the cabin.

Suddenly, terrifying black smoke crashed against the sealed windows of the cabin.

The black energy failed to invade, being blocked by the protective layer of the feather ship. However, a powerful will was not blocked and directly attacked Hunzhen's mind.

boom!

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the chaotic energy that swirled like an ouroboros surged violently before finally subsiding completely after a long while.

"It's a shock to willpower!"

Hunzhen was astonished and surprised.

This so-called deep-diving pressure is not only the almost tangible attack of black gas, but also carries an extremely terrifying impact on will!

"If my understanding of the laws weren't so profound, I probably would have exhausted my mental energy by now!"

I was filled with genuine emotion.

Having cultivated in Chaos City for thirty years, in the Primordial Universe for one hundred years, and through more than 30,000 simulations and over thirty epochs, his willpower was considered excellent among Domain Lords. However, compared to his exaggerated comprehension of the laws, it became a weakness.

Even so, his soul defense is not something that can be easily shaken by any level of willpower attack.

Roughly estimated, the will-shaking impact of the deep-diving pressure in the first layer must be at least at the level of a World Lord.

"Whether it's possession, future battles, or the possibility of descending to the inner layers, I must strengthen my willpower and soul defense techniques."

Hunzhen pondered to himself.

During his time in the Genius Battle, he focused some of his efforts on willpower training and achieved considerable success.

However, once he entered Chaos City to cultivate, he basically neglected this part of his studies.

Five months have passed since the simulation entered the Abyss of Purgatory. During this time, the simulation has focused on comprehending the laws, while also inheriting the benefits of the soul potion from Zabudo. Some of the simulation attempts have also been used for material inheritance to enhance the degree of evil aura invasion.

Having just tested the waters, Hunzhen decided to divert some of his energy to allow the simulator to focus on willpower training.

"Let's first raise our willpower to the limit of the World Lord level. Raising our willpower and cultivating the Soul Amplification Secret Technique complement each other. Raising our willpower to the limit of the World Lord level will make cultivating the Soul Amplification Secret Technique much faster later on."

"Then there is the soul defense secret technique I specialize in, the Ouroboros Wheel Lock."

This is a secret technique that Hunzhen began cultivating shortly after the simulated human entered the top 1000 during the Genius Battle. However, at that time he had only exchanged for the first part, and after entering Chaos City... he was still unable to exchange for the complete version.

This soul defense technique, based on time and space, is of a high level; the second part below Immortality alone requires tens of thousands of points.

The middle section can withstand soul attacks at the level of a Marquis or Immortal, requiring 800,000 points. However, this secret technique is within the discount range, and Hunzhen's discount amount increased again after becoming a registered disciple of Chaos City. After the simulator barely managed to exchange for it, that simulation could be described as bankrupting them.

As for the final chapter, it's a secret technique at the King-level, requiring nearly 100 million points even after a discount. You couldn't afford it even if you sold your simulator.

However, Hunzhen hasn't even finished cultivating the first part yet, so considering the second part is a bit too ambitious.

Cultivating the "Ouroboros Wheel Lock" can also temper one's will, but the effect is only average. Fortunately, there are many secret techniques in the virtual universe treasure trove. With Hunzhen's current authority, he quickly found a secret technique suitable for beings below the Immortal level to cultivate after a short search.

Although consciousness and will cannot be steadily improved through normal cultivation and enlightenment, both the "Ouroboros Wheel Lock" and the secret techniques that Hunzhen is currently searching for are essentially equivalent to actively using secret techniques to refine the soul, thereby indirectly increasing the strength of will. It's like how someone who constantly endures illusion attacks gradually develops immunity.

"Hmm? This secret technique..."

However, upon seeing the creator of this secret technique, Hunzhen couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"Lord Huanmeng, isn't that the old woman?!"

After a brief moment of surprise, Hunzhen felt that it was entirely reasonable.

Those who specialize in illusions must naturally temper their will.

If one's will is weak, one may even suffer the backlash of the illusions one has created. Therefore, illusionists are all people with strong wills.

His teacher, Aisa, is known as the Dream Marquis, and his will must exceed his own strength level, reaching the level of a king!

"I could certainly ask Aisa for some advice. To be honest, it's been quite a while since I last paid my respects to him."

Hunzhen pondered to himself.

With the help of the simulators in his training, he became somewhat lax, and coupled with his recent busy schedule, he even forgot about Aisa's existence!

Since he was comfortably inside the feather ship at that moment, Hunzhen thought that since it was a coincidence, he might as well take advantage of it and immediately entered the virtual universe.

"Teacher Aisha, come out and teach!"

Upon entering the manor within Yuxiang Mountain, Hunzhen immediately shouted to the sky, silently adding in his mind, "Old man, come out and give me some gold coins!"

"Shouting, shouting! All you do is shout! Kid, don't you know how to respect your elders?"

Accompanied by an angry rebuke, a tall figure appeared.

As a teacher specially appointed to the members of the Primal Secret Realm, Aisa must maintain a divine consciousness within the Hunzhen Manor at all times.

This shout naturally brought most of her consciousness back to her senses.

However, normally, members of the Primal Realm would send a sincere email before requesting guidance from their teacher.

But Hunzhen knew that Aisa wouldn't care about such trivial details, so he naturally skipped this step.

"Come on, you haven't contacted me for so long, and now you suddenly want my advice. Something must be bothering you!"

For some reason, Hunzhen felt that Aisa's gaze towards him held a hint of resentment.

What's even stranger is that it wasn't just simple resentment; there seemed to be a hint of relief mixed in as well.

Even as a specially appointed teacher, Aisa, who was granted the title of Marquis and was immortal, had no right to know that Hunzhen had been accepted as a disciple by the Lord of Chaos City.

But who is Aisa? Over the years, she has been the one who has been observing the changes and growth of Hunzhen at the closest distance in Chaos City.

Hunzhen's current understanding of the laws is so accurate that his judgment probably surpasses that of the Nine Swords Venerable.

It's easy to guess that Hunzhen has probably already become a disciple of the ruler of the universe or even a higher-level figure.

So even though Hunzhen hadn't come to her for advice for a long time, Aisa already knew what was going on.

My disciple has already spread his wings and soared high; in the future, he may even reach heights surpassing his own.

So no matter what, no matter the reason, since he was still willing to come back and specifically ask her for advice, Aisha was very happy and gratified.

For Hunzhen, Aisa's status was also extraordinary.

Thirty years—a period far exceeding half of his life in this world.

Such a long period of companionship and dedicated teaching—she's not made of clay, after all. Seeing Aisa, I felt a sense of being a teacher, friend, and mother all at once, as if I were facing a slightly special elder.

It is precisely because of dependence and trust that they act somewhat recklessly and without restraint.

Upon hearing Aisa's inquiry, he replied directly, "Is 'The Record of Illusory Heart Refining Soul' a secret technique you wrote? I want to learn it."

He knew Aisha's personality well; she was an elder with a sharp tongue but a kind heart, so he didn't hide his thoughts.

"The Record of Soul Refining in Illusory Hearts?"

Upon hearing this, Aisa frowned: "What's wrong? You were doing so well on the path of the Controller, and now you want to take on the role of an Illusionist?"

"No, I want to temper my will."

Hunzhen pointed to his forehead.

"will?"

The latest novel is first published here!

Aisa raised an eyebrow, and suddenly, a terrifying surge of will rushed towards Hunzhen.

His hair stood on end, yet he remained unmoved.

Aisa nodded slightly and said, "His willpower is comparable to that of an ordinary ninth-level Domain Lord, or even a World Lord whose willpower cultivation is slightly lacking."

As he spoke, he frowned and glared at Hunzhen: "Your willpower is so weak; you should be focusing on comprehending the laws of nature. Why are you rushing to temper your will? You've got the priorities backward!"

Hunzhen did not synchronize his real-world life level. In addition, Aisa was an experienced person who knew that most of the core members of the virtual universe were currently engaged in cultivation missions and adventuring in the secret realms of the universe. Naturally, Aisa still thought that Hunzhen had universe-level strength.

Hunzhen had no intention of explaining this.

He glared at her and snorted, "Are you going to teach me or not?"

Aisha rolled her eyes. "Teach? If you dare to learn, I dare to teach!"

Just as she said during her argument with the Nine Swords Venerable, Aisa disdains interfering with her disciples' paths. She will offer guidance and suggestions, but as long as her disciple expresses his determination, she will immediately disregard her previous words and do her best to be the most competent teacher.

"Haha, I knew it! You're the best, teacher."

Hunzhen looked at Aisa with beaming eyes. This kind of teacher might not be the most perfect, but who wouldn't want a teacher who completely supports them?

On a whim, he casually used his authority to pick a large bunch of flowers from the manor—or rather, to carry a whole flowerbed—and presented it to Aisa.

boom!

The flowerbed was smashed to pieces by a single slap from Aisa.

"Don't give me all this fancy stuff."

A cold smile crept across Aisa's face: "You're just thinking of getting it for free because I'm the original author, aren't you?"

"hey-hey."

Hunzhen was not ashamed of Aisa's revelation, but rather proud, revealing two rows of white teeth.

"I know you're most likely in a secret cosmic realm right now. I won't force you to come every day, but at least once a month, so I can see your progress!"

"Yes, Teacher Aisa!"

The teacher and student then ended their greetings.

Aisa's lips curled slightly, sweeping away the signs of age on her face and instead exuding a confident and domineering aura.

"Now... let's begin the lesson!"

As for Hunzhen's boast of "At the end of the teacher's way, who is the peak? Upon seeing Aisa, the way becomes empty," which led to Aisa, enraged, completely circumventing the rule against attacking within the Yuxiangshan Manor, and giving him a severe beating, that's another story.

……

The feathered boat flew continuously for more than seven days before the slope gradually eased, rapidly decreasing from a near 90-degree vertical angle to a 60-degree acute angle.

The endless darkness gradually faded, and the world began to show faint colors.

Hunzhen tested the pressure with his mental power and found that the pressure of deep diving still existed, but it had been reduced to less than half of its peak.

Outside the spaceship, in a long, deserted passageway, various strange and precious materials appeared.

It has coral seas as beautiful as diamonds, special minerals that are both soft and incredibly resilient, and unique ice crystals that freeze flames...

Hunzhen quietly used the search capabilities of the virtual universe to investigate. The most ordinary of these items could be sold for hundreds of billions of universe coins in the original universe, and the rare materials, if packaged up and taken away in their entirety, would be worth nearly a Hunyuan unit.

Although for him now, things of this caliber are no longer of any interest.

However, for ordinary domain lords or even world lords, this is considered an extremely precious treasure!

Moreover, Hunzhen realized a startling reality—this was only a product of the interlayer between the first and second layers of the abyss!

With just a little imagination, one can foresee what treasures might be buried in the deeper layers with even higher energy density.

Whoosh!

Just as Hunzhen was shocked by his own conjecture, the most heavily guarded and topmost cabins on the feather ship suddenly opened, and several streams of light flew out from them.

Even without using telekinesis to investigate, one could deduce that those individuals were the escorts on this transport ship, possessing the strength of a Domain Lord.

Hunzhen had no intention of competing with them for these materials, but instead carefully observed their reactions to the pressure of deep-sea diving in this abyss passage.

It was somewhat similar to when he had previously tested her with telekinesis, but there were some differences in the details.

Whether it was due to the obstruction of the feather ship or not, after these people left the feather ship, the black aura that attacked them ignited directly on their bodies.

Needless to say, at this moment they must have also encountered the same mental shock that Hunzhen had once experienced.

While resisting the pressure of deep diving, these domain lords frantically plundered the area.

"It's pretty much what I guessed. This deep-diving pressure consumes both soul power and Force power simultaneously. It means it impacts and wears down the soul, while the black mist, or rather the black flames, directly burn the Force power."

"The greater the energy consumption, the stronger the pressure during deep diving seems to be. The faster they gather materials, the greater the pressure they experience during deep diving. However, overall, the rate of increase in energy consumption is still not as fast as the rate of increase in their gathering efficiency. If I have to fight while enduring the pressure of deep diving in the future, I will have to take this factor into account."

Hunzhen observed, constantly updating and summarizing the intelligence.

Half an hour after the feathered ship set sail, the domain lords finally returned to the ship, each one of them exhausted.

"Hmm, the pressure of the deep dive between the first and second levels is still within the range that the Domain Lords can withstand. I asked Xingluo before, and at this slope, they've basically traversed most of this abyss passage. If they fly within the abyss passage at their lowest energy consumption rate, even the weakest among them can hold out until they leave the passage. However... I doubt many Domain Lords would want to endure such hardship all the way, and seeing how they all clearly had enough energy but still deliberately returned to rest before setting off again, it's hard to say that directly enduring this deep dive pressure for a long time wouldn't have any side effects. So, the rumor I heard before that 'Domain Lords don't need feather ships' can basically be considered mostly a rumor, or just some city lords boasting to bolster their own prestige?"

As the light grew brighter, approaching the brightness of the first floor during the day, it signaled that the passage was nearing its end.

The rarity and value of materials within the passage have decreased dramatically.

The domain lords only went out three times before giving up completely.

Finally, the feathered ship reached the end of the abyss passage.

(End of this chapter)