Chapter Seventy-Nine: Turbulent Currents of Space

The slaughter continued. More than a dozen Cangyue wolves attacked from behind, several high-tier wolves silently crawling through the grass. Liu Junhuai did not unleash his Sky Blaze Incineration Technique again; the flames were too ferocious, and after several bursts, the pack had been frightened off. He leapt upward, merging his second transformation and slashing downward, true essence force sharp as blade light sliced through the encroaching wolves, severing a few in two.

It seemed the thick scent of blood only further agitated the wolves’ savage nerves. More Cangyue wolves flanked the edges of the fire, encircling him. The explosion of true essence force from the first transformation shattered the pack, yet Liu Junhuai ignored those on the other side, rushing into the dispersed wolves, wielding the Five Elements Chaos Blade with abandon, sending severed limbs and torn flesh flying.

Thus, with the first transformation’s blade opening the way and the Five Elements Chaos Blade reaping, after a fierce charge, seven-tenths of the wolves had fallen under Liu Junhuai’s hand. At that moment, a long howl resounded, and the remaining wolves began to retreat. A head wolf, nearly two zhang long, leapt from above the sea of fire and landed before him.

It was a sixth-tier head wolf, watching as its followers died, its eyes now crimson, baring its teeth as violent energy seeped from its mouth.

At last, a worthy opponent. Liu Junhuai gripped his Five Elements Chaos Blade calmly, gazing into the head wolf’s eyes, gradually entering a state beyond self. All movement around him slowed to an unnatural crawl.

He felt an unexpected joy—he had unconsciously entered a state he had never experienced, a marvelous sensation as though the entire world was within his grasp.

At that moment, the head wolf, after storing its power, finally moved. Its body arched, four paws launching it like lightning toward Liu Junhuai. Even before its body arrived, the fierce wind from its mouth whipped toward his face.

Yet in Liu Junhuai’s eyes, this speed was exceedingly slow. As the wind approached, he sidestepped, letting the wind slash past his cheek; he could even see a strand of his hair sliced off, spiraling to the ground.

Next, the head wolf’s gaping maw reached him, its movements unfolding like slow-motion. Liu Junhuai pointed at the wolf’s head—one strike, one kill, piercing through in an instant. Before him flashed the wolf’s bewildered, helpless gaze.

With a heavy thud, the head wolf’s corpse hit the ground, snapping Liu Junhuai out of his trance.

He hurriedly tried to re-enter the state beyond self, but could not succeed.

Seeing their leader fall, the Cangyue wolves finally felt the terror of death. Amid a chorus of howls, the pack scattered and fled.

Calm again, Liu Junhuai realized the immense gains from this battle. The accidental entry into that wondrous state was unprecedented in countless cultivation sessions. That feeling of unrivaled dominance was exhilarating—he had instantly slain a sixth-tier demon beast, equivalent to the Golden Core stage. It felt almost like a dream.

If he could enter that state at will, he wouldn’t claim invincibility in the cultivation world, but at least he wouldn’t need to flee from opponents several tiers above.

He quickly accepted that he could not regret what was an unexpected gift; such a state could not be forced, only gradually understood.

This battle also deepened his comprehension of the Nine Transformations Heart Method.

The first transformation, Fragmented Blade, was best suited for group battles against low-tier enemies, especially effective in mass slaughter. The second transformation, Unity Condensation, was vastly more powerful, but its greatest use was in killing high-tier opponents; though it could penetrate more, its attack was a single linear strike.

The Five Elements Chaos Blade, however, was both offensive and defensive, capable of all-around assault and even surprise attacks, far superior to the Shadow Blade’s escape technique.

Seeing night had fully fallen, Liu Junhuai climbed toward a tall mountain.

His spiritual sense ignored the darkness, and everything around him was within his range, allowing him to travel unhindered.

He ascended the mountain because its highest peak concealed a steep cliff, halfway up which there was a hidden cave entrance. Yet this cave seemed to possess a restriction, blocking Liu Junhuai’s spiritual perception.

His spiritual sense was repeatedly obstructed by the restriction, making him realize that advancing his Heavenly Eye was imperative.

After a night of climbing, he finally reached the cliff before dawn.

Standing atop the cliff, distant mountains appeared as vague silhouettes, wave after wave rising and falling.

The abyss below was bottomless, ominous and terrifying, like a gaping maw ready to devour him.

After resting and adjusting his breath, Liu Junhuai leaped down the cliff, using several protruding points for leverage, quickly reaching the cave entrance.

He carefully cleared the rocks blocking the entrance, cautiously squeezing his body inside. The passage was extremely narrow, forcing him to inch forward bit by bit.

Whenever the passage narrowed further, he widened it with his palm force, crushing the rock. His breathing was not hindered; on the contrary, each foot forward felt more unobstructed, heightening his curiosity.

Crawling forward for dozens of yards, his storage ring was filled with crushed rock fragments. At last, he sensed a vast, ancient presence ahead.

Crushing the final obstructing stone, he entered a cavern filled with spatial turbulence.

The noise within was chaotic—sometimes rushing like a stream, sometimes howling like wind through a canyon, with intermittent cracking and screeching friction.

Fragments of stone swirled through the void, occasionally striking Liu Junhuai’s face, causing ripples in his protective true essence.

These fragments were sometimes drawn into countless small whirlwinds within the void, vanishing instantly.

Liu Junhuai extended a strand of spiritual sense, attempting to grasp a tiny whirlpool, but it was refracted away before reaching it.

Startled, he activated his Heavenly Eye, probing the void. Though he still couldn’t see through the spatial turbulence, he could vaguely discern countless mirror-like, smooth, transparent cross-sections crisscrossing the void, while the flying stone fragments ignored these surfaces entirely.

Another tiny whirlpool drifted near. Liu Junhuai reached out to catch it, but was shocked as his fingers passed through a cross-section—the skin instantly dried and aged, the effect rapidly spreading.

Horrified, he withdrew his arm, rolling up his sleeve to inspect it. His elbow was covered in withered, wrinkled patches, layered like the dried husk of a grapefruit.

Terrified, he desperately circulated his true essence to nourish the shriveled limb, but it had no effect.

At this moment, he felt an urgent desire to see the old steward; this situation far exceeded his understanding, and for the first time, Liu Junhuai felt genuine despair.

But being within the Myriad Phenomena Tower, he was still far from the steward.

Panicked, he retreated to the cave wall, racking his brain for a solution. Unconsciously, hours passed.

He considered leaving to seek the steward’s advice, but his intuition insisted the answer lay here.

After trying everything, he resolved to place his hope in the Heavenly Eye.

He activated it again, probing the spatial turbulence, swallowing a drop of spiritual liquid and frantically revolving the golden sphere in his consciousness.

Gradually, he entered a state of emptiness and detachment, staring blankly at the void.

In this unconscious perception, his pupils began to merge; the spatial turbulence before him blurred, transforming into a mass of white light.

This white light continuously expanded and contracted, morphing into various shapes. After a long while, it settled, fading to transparency, slowly becoming a mirror-like plane.

As the golden sphere spun wildly, images appeared within the mirror: endless treasures in a tomb, dancing nude beauties, plates piled with delicacies, fields strewn with corpses and smoke, his mother’s smiling face, grotesque monsters...

He did not know how much time passed. Suddenly, the mirror shattered, the images vanished, and a fierce pain surged in his consciousness, accompanied by vertigo. Liu Junhuai collapsed, sinking into unconsciousness.