Chapter 31: The Greeting of the Villain
Chapter 31: The Greeting of the Villain
Cheng Lingyu had mastered the Magic Eyes, First Realm of Insight so swiftly due to his encounter with the phantom snake. By absorbing its soul-luring power, he naturally achieved completion of the Magic Eyes’ first realm.
He’d long realized this connection and wondered if absorbing more soul-luring energy from phantom beasts could help cultivate the Magic Eyes, Second Realm of Locking the Soul and Fixing the Spirit.
This daring idea brimmed with danger and uncertainty, demanding experimentation.
Qu Wei surveyed their surroundings, sensing the stone bracelet on her wrist emitting an aura that repelled approaching phantom beasts.
“Stay alert – something eerie here activated my bracelet’s reaction.”
At her warning, Jin Miaoyi, Miao Sanxu, and Fang Zhuqing immediately clustered around her.
Cheng Lingyu observed Qu Wei’s bracelet, noticing Spiritual Light swirling within its depths as strange energy pulsed outward.
“I’ll investigate that area. Wait here.”
Qu Wei cried out, “Be cautious! Don’t charge blindly!”
“My hide’s tough enough,” Cheng Lingyu retorted before vanishing after the retreating phantom beasts.
Miao Sanxu spat, “That fool’s courting death!”
Jin Miaoyi mused, “He seeks chances to boost his cultivation level rapidly.”
Fang Zhuqing countered, “We all seek opportunities here, but none throw away their lives like him!”
Qu Wei sighed. “He’s different – came alone, clearly harboring secrets.”
“Should we question him later?” Miao Sanxu proposed.
“Not unless he asks our stories first,” Qu Wei deflected.
Deep in the woods, Cheng Lingyu’s keen eyes spotted two spiritual grasses and three phantom beasts. Harvesting the plants, he stalked the creatures toward their lair.
Night veiled the Soul-Luring Forest in unnatural stillness. Undaunted, Cheng Lingyu soon provoked an attack from a phantom wolf – a beast with devastating attack power, its azure eyes blazing with soul-snaring malice.
Their first clash hurled Cheng Lingyu hundreds of feet backward. Blood gushed from his mouth as he nearly perished from the injuries.
“Such terrifying strength!” he gasped, grateful for his durable Physical Body that saved him from certain death.
The arrogant phantom wolf disappeared, then materialized before Cheng Lingyu. Soul-stealing radiance burst from its eyes.
Too late to evade, Cheng Lingyu activated his Magic Eyes. The wolf’s overwhelming spiritual force crushed his defenses, invading his Sea of Consciousness.
Yet Cheng Lingyu’s mindscape stretched infinitely silent, activating the mysterious Dreamless Technique. Though the wolf’s soul-snaring power dwarfed the phantom snake’s by tenfold, it found no boundaries – only endless void swallowing it like cosmic quicksand.
Moments later, Cheng Lingyu awoke to find the massive phantom wolf frozen statue-still. Seizing Fang Tian Bao Yin, he battered the beast’s skull relentlessly until it stopped twitching.
Splitting the wolf’s head with his Long Sword, Cheng Lingyu retrieved a phantom bead bearing three horizontal marks – different from the phantom snake’s bead.
“Can this thing really not be eaten?”
The phantom bead appeared milky white like a bone artifact, still warm.
Cheng Lingyu tried biting it with his teeth. To his surprise, the phantom bead shattered instantly, and he accidentally swallowed a small piece.
“Oh no, is this poisonous?”
He nervously checked his bodily changes, discovering the swallowed fragments had begun dissolving inside him.
“Edible after all?”
Cheng Lingyu wondered. Since it dissolved, maybe his body could absorb it?
If true, what effects would swallowing phantom beads cause?
Curious, he waited briefly. Detecting no poisoning symptoms, he gulped down the remaining fragments.
Though seriously injured, Cheng Lingyu hesitated to use spiritual herbs for healing wounds in this dangerous Soul-Luring Forest.
After consideration, he stuffed spiritual grass into his mouth. The bitter chew transformed into warm energy that soothed his injuries.
Advancing through shadowy woods, Cheng Lingyu reached an eerie clearing – barren ground radiating death.
His muscles tensed with primal dread. The Fang Tian Bao Yin in his palm quivered faintly, detecting some Threat.
At the clearing’s center lay an uncovered coffin in a pit. Cheng Lingyu’s sharp vision pierced the darkness, revealing its occupant:
A figure with tangled hair and worn clothes, features obscured. Though lifeless, it emitted a terrifying aura that chilled the soul.
No living person resembled this, yet no corpse could wield such dread.
Cheng Lingyu retreated cautiously without solving the mystery.
Suddenly, strange vibrations froze the area. Paralyzed, he watched in horror as the coffin-dweller’s eyelids opened.
Still no life detected, but those eyes held unparalleled sharpness that could shred minds.
Fortunately, Cheng Lingyu’s Dreamless Technique maintained eternal mental stillness. The probing gaze only encountered endless universe within his Sea of Consciousness.
Those sword-like eyes shattered the void upon opening. Time, space, and matter froze in absolute silence.
An indescribable sensation arose – like something dormant through countless reincarnations now reclaiming lost time.
The confinement force vanished abruptly. Profound eyes studied Cheng Lingyu, seeming to pierce his very Life.
“After endless cycles of reincarnation, I awaken now. Is meeting you my tribulation or fortune?”
The coffin’s occupant murmured deeply, their sounds echoing through trees.
“Y-you… who?” Cheng Lingyu stammered.
“Me? A coffin-dwelling villain.”
The reply carried icy arrogance without shame.
Cheng Lingyu’s heart pounded. Villains meant danger – this encounter boded ill.
“Our meeting’s eerie. Your future holds mystery. Destiny or disaster remains unclear.”
Under faint moonlight, the forest air thickened with sinister energy.
The coffin rose from the ground, pitch-black like charcoal, emanating an imperceptible dark glow.
“You… you… what are you doing?”
Cheng Lingyu panicked. Had this coffin suddenly flown out to kill him?
“I must depart. Consider this a farewell gift.”
Streaks of light converged from all directions, brightening the forest.
Cheng Lingyu gaped at seven radiant beams of Spiritual Light – seven low-grade spiritual herbs floating into his palm.
“This… this…”
He could scarcely trust his eyes, feeling trapped in some fantastical dream.
The Soul-Luring Forest contained only eight low-grade spiritual herbs. Having consumed one earlier, he now held the remaining seven.
Even with visual proof, Cheng Lingyu remained skeptical.
The obsidian coffin pulsed with eerie energy as translucent runes materialized in the night sky, weaving themselves into an ethereal and illusionary path resembling flowing time itself, stretching into the void.
The coffin’s occupant spoke no more. The dark vessel drifted along this mysterious river of time until vanishing at the void’s edge.
When both coffin and temporal river faded, tranquility returned.
Cheng Lingyu jolted awake, staring dumbfounded at the seven herbs.
After storing them in his Spirit Cloak Ring, he cautiously scanned his surroundings. “Had I known this villain’s power and generosity,” he muttered, “I’d have demanded high-grade spiritual herbs.”
Regret tinged his relief. Ordinary seekers struggled endlessly for herbs, yet this being summoned seven effortlessly – an outrageous display of power.
Collecting himself, Cheng Lingyu began retracing his path.
Qu Wei sighed with relief upon his safe return. “We’ve found temporary shelter nearby.”
The defensible location allowed rotating watches. As the weakest cultivator, Cheng Lingyu was ordered to rest while Miao Sanxu and Fang Zhuqing kept guard.
To heal his internal injuries, Cheng Lingyu employed sleep therapy. Within moments, he entered deep slumber, unconsciously absorbing surrounding energies.
Though most could only assimilate thirty percent of the Soul-Luring Forest’s energies, Cheng Lingyu devoured everything – visible and invisible. This anomaly soon caught Qu Wei and Jin Miaoyi’s attention.
Visually, nothing seemed amiss, but both detected faint airflow changes as energies converged on the sleeping youth. Exchanging bewildered glances, they remained silent observers.
After reaching the True Martial Realm, ten qi vortices had formed in Cheng Lingyu’s dantian, accelerating energy absorption hundredsfold. What previously required three days’ sleep now healed faster overnight.