Chapter 681, Taking the Initiative

Translator: Silavin

 

Upon the grey-brown earth, faint grey mist drifted slowly with the gentle breeze, creating a hazy world that gave one a mysterious feeling.

 

It seemed as though in this world, even time itself had lost all concept.

 

Somewhere on this land, a figure walked steadily forward, his direction pointing straight toward the depths of this realm. This person was none other than Qin Yichen!

 

The current Qin Yichen appeared far more resolute and restrained than when he had first entered.

 

“This should be close to the depths of the Legacy Realm, right?” Qin Yichen raised his head, sweeping his gaze around the surroundings as he murmured silently to himself.

 

Along this journey, the attacks from ‘Spiritual Bodies’ he encountered had become increasingly frequent, and moreover, the strength of those ‘Spiritual Bodies’ had grown ever more powerful.

 

Even previously, he had encountered a ‘‘Spiritual Body’ that possessed a trace of conscious thought. Had he not discovered it in time, he would have nearly fallen victim to a sneak attack.

 

As he ventured deeper, the sensation transmitted by the Master Craftsman’s Hammer became increasingly intense.

 

“*Haaa…* this place really isn’t as simple as one might imagine…”

 

Qin Yichen’s advancing steps suddenly halted. Before him, about three meters away, within the grey mist, a figure vaguely stood proudly.

 

Immediately, Qin Yichen’s pupils constricted.

 

This figure was somewhat different from the ‘Spiritual Bodies’ he had encountered before.

 

Those ‘Spiritual Bodies’ were all condensed from Spiritual Energy, but this figure gave Qin Yichen the feeling that it was an actual person standing there.

 

This figure appeared quite aged, with flesh that had taken on a wooden appearance. Upon its surface were crack-like fissures resembling tree bark, but most unsettling of all were its eyes.

 

Black as ink, without the slightest trace of spirit, they appeared extremely horrifying.

 

Moreover, from the bark-like cracks on its body, wisps of black energy faintly seeped through.

 

This was no longer Human, but more like… a Demon!

 

*Whoosh!*

 

Like a phantom, this figure flashed and suddenly appeared before Qin Yichen, its withered palm emanating black energy reaching directly for him.

 

“Ugh…” With Qin Yichen’s reaction speed, he only managed to retreat one step before being seized by this figure.

 

The palm emanating black energy gripped Qin Yichen’s neck tightly, its long, sharp fingernails piercing into his flesh as wisps of black energy seeped into Qin Yichen’s body through his neck.

 

These actions occurred in a single instant. Qin Yichen only felt his neck tighten, and his entire body felt as though it were suffocating, completely unable to breathe. Then, a bone-chilling aura penetrated him, causing an involuntary shudder.

 

In that instant, he suddenly felt as though something had stabbed his soul like a needle, and an indescribable pain spread throughout his entire body.

 

Simultaneously, from his neck, black energy spread wantonly… across his chest, his cheeks, continuing to spread.

 

In this moment, Qin Yichen finally understood why so many of the Mo Clan who entered here could never return.

 

The strength of this Demonic figure before his eyes was so high that it had probably surpassed the Martial Emperor Realm.

 

Moreover, this was not even the deepest part of the Legacy Realm.

 

As the black energy seeped in, Qin Yichen soon discovered that this black energy was not spreading into his meridians or Dantian, but rather, was rushing toward his Knowledge Sea!

 

“What exactly is this thing?!” Detecting that those wisps of black energy were corroding his Spiritual Energy, Qin Yichen immediately felt his hair stand on end.

 

Perhaps this figure before him had become its current appearance precisely because it had been invaded by black energy, which had occupied its Knowledge Sea.

 

He did not resign himself to death.

 

Within his Knowledge Sea, he controlled his Spiritual Energy to resist.

 

*Bang! Bang! Bang…*

 

The collision between Spiritual Energy and black energy produced thunderous crashes. The violent tremors caused Qin Yichen’s eyes and nose to bleed, and even within his eyeballs, blackness began to spread.

 

This proved that his Knowledge Sea was falling, and his Soul was being corroded by the black energy.

 

If his Knowledge Sea completely fell, then he would become a walking corpse like the figure before him.

 

However, during these collisions, Qin Yichen discovered the weakness of this black energy…

 

Though he did not know what this black energy truly was, he could see that it corroded Spiritual Energy, yet it had one fatal weakness… it was superficially impressive but lacked substance!

 

Whether black energy or Spiritual Energy, both were ethereal, mist-like existences. To condense Spiritual Energy into shapes required sufficient control.

 

Controlling Spiritual Energy was a matter of one’s attainment in Spiritual Energy.

 

For instance, Understanding Realm mastery could initially condense mist-like Spiritual Energy, forming attack methods. However, attacks at this level were quite weak, and in terms of substance, were at most equivalent to wood.

 

Mastery Realm attainment was relatively much stronger, with substance equivalent to stone.

 

The difference between wood and stone was obviously vast.

 

At the Perfection Realm, the gap became even greater, with substance no less than steel weapons.

 

Where Spiritual Energy reached, it was like ten thousand swords firing in unison. Their killing power was something no one could ignore.

 

The mastery of this black energy before him was equivalent to steel weapons. From this, Qin Yichen could determine that this figure had previously been someone whose Spiritual Energy had reached the Perfection Realm.

 

However, having once been an Alchemy Saint, how could Qin Yichen’s Spiritual Energy attainment be merely at the Perfection Realm!?

 

Having understood the black energy’s weakness, Qin Yichen no longer panicked, maintaining steady defense within his Knowledge Sea.

 

Within his Knowledge Sea, his spiritual body remained seated cross-legged at the centre with eyes closed. At the edges, black energy rolled like attacking demons, quite terrifying.

 

However, this black energy was being held back.

 

Yet this was only temporary.

 

The black energy flowed endlessly like a flood, step by step forcing Qin Yichen to retreat continuously.

 

Clearly, though this figure’s attainment was only Perfection level, its realm far exceeded Qin Yichen’s.

 

Continuing like this, the fall of his Knowledge Sea was only a matter of time.

 

“I can’t continue being passive like this!” Qin Yichen decided to stop defending passively and planned to risk an attempt.

 

He devoted most of his energy to defending against the black energy’s corrosion, but condensed a needle-shaped Spiritual Energy attack, ready to strike.

 

“Go!” With his deep shout, the needle-shaped Spiritual Energy shot toward the rolling black energy like a flying sword.

 

*Hiss!* The black energy was sliced open like copper sheeting as the needle-shaped Spiritual Energy broke through the encirclement, directly shooting into the ink-black pupils of the figure before Qin Yichen.

 

*Thump!…* With a muffled crash from within that figure’s skull, it immediately began staggering about like a drunkard, lurching left and right before finally collapsing.

 

*Cough, cough…* Qin Yichen covered his neck, coughing violently while simultaneously retrieving several pills from his ring to consume, stabilizing his bodily injuries.

 

At the same time, he completely expelled all the black energy from his Knowledge Sea.