Chapter 048
Chapter 48: Star Dome Visage
Wang Jie felt an immense pressure, the temperature unbearably cold, and his skin began to numb. This was the place.
He stood still, letting the pressure compress his entire body, feeling it in his flesh, imprint energy, and spirit.
The surroundings were pitch black.
Occasionally, something brushed against him—slippery and sticky, the sensation sending a chill through his entire being.
Wang Jie stood like a stone pillar at the bottom of the sea.
After some time, he slowly rose, gasping for breath. His body was covered in numerous fine wounds from creatures that had accidentally brushed against him, and there were fragments of stone and debris as well.
Humans were truly insignificant.
Even he couldn’t imagine the kind of force required to destroy the entire Blue Star. And to destroy Blue Star was one thing, but to control it was another level entirely.
He continued.
Over the next few days, he repeatedly sank deeper into the sea to cultivate, staying longer each time. The most noticeable change was that his body felt lighter, more resilient, and his control over his strength became more refined. His imprint energy also felt more stable.
After performing exercises at the seabed again, his strength increased.
Seventy-two times.
Though it wasn’t much, it was enough to excite Wang Jie.
Finally, it had increased again. The limit was being broken. He was glad—there was a way forward.
He continued to sink.
One thousand one hundred meters.
One thousand one hundred twenty meters.
While Wang Jie trained at the bottom of the sea, the effect of the slaughter stone outside began to manifest.
Mutated beasts at the ten-imprint level began appearing near various major bases, and more were showing up.
The trial takers were increasingly active.
Some of them no longer wanted to help the Blue Star bases.
Days passed.
Wang Jie performed exercises at the seabed for the second time, and his strength rose to seventy-two times. During this session, he spotted a mutated octopus quietly lurking at the sea’s bottom.
Boom.
A massive wave shot up into the sky from the sea’s surface, catching the attention of the Southern Nation base.
Moments later, the huge mutated octopus was thrown out of the water and landed on the beach.
Wang Jie emerged from the sea, and countless marine creatures began falling from the sky like raindrops.
He approached the mutated octopus and kicked it.
The enormous mutated octopus was sent flying by the force of his kick.
This scene was relayed back to the Southern Nation base, leaving everyone stunned. It looked like an ant lifting a mountain—so exaggerated. The shock of it was unlike anything from a fight.
Having dealt with the mutated octopus, Wang Jie turned back toward the sea.
This scene was transmitted to other bases, and morale surged. The stronger Wang Jie became, the more likely Blue Star could be preserved.
As for the trial takers, those who were previously unwilling to act quietly resumed their efforts.
It wasn’t that they believed Wang Jie would win, or feared him, but they saw him growing stronger. The stronger he became, the longer the trial could be delayed. For their own sake, they needed to act as well.
Wang Jie sank deeper, reaching one thousand five hundred meters.
The increase in power represented a transformation, allowing him to dive even deeper.
The outside world had no idea just how deep he had gone.
In the Mountain City, atop the altar, the air was thick with the stench, but Shu Mu Night was unfazed. He could sit in the skies or stand on the ground.
A giant mutated eagle came rushing toward the altar, and Shu Mu Night suddenly turned his head. The mutated eagle swiftly changed direction and fled at even greater speed.
Shu Mu Night withdrew his gaze and looked at the drone ahead.
“You can challenge me again if you wish, in deference to the Armor One Sect. I still won’t kill you. Let me see if you’ve made any progress.”
This was directed at Wen Star Ru and the others. The rest were not worthy.
Wen Star Ru and the others, scattered across various bases, watched as Shu Mu Night sat on the rotten, foul-smelling corpse, their faces grim. This man’s arrogance was beyond measure.
Golden Hill base was hit by a beast tide.
They had thought that after the insect tide, there wouldn’t be another beast tide, but it came anyway, led by a giant ape wielding a huge mutated tree as a weapon, using it like a staff and even displaying staff techniques.
Thankfully, Insect Xuan drove it back again.
They intended to kill the giant ape, but it was cunning and managed to escape with the cover of a few other ten-imprint beasts.
Insect Xuan’s mood was heavy as he relayed the message to the Southern Nation base’s Insect Ruo Ruo: Be cautious of mutated creatures.
Since Armor One Sect had pinned its final hope on Blue Star’s mutated beasts, it was clear they had their reasons. While no breaking star stage creatures would appear, some mutated beasts could house imprint energy equivalent to the breaking star stage.
In the starry sky, at Armor One Sect, the gaze of many disciples focused on two images—one was Shu Mu Night, who, despite only sitting there, captivated everyone’s attention at all times. The other was Chu Yao.
They had been searching for someone from the Death Realm. At first, they couldn’t find him, but after Chu Yao met Wang Jie, they confirmed his identity.
Death Realm, one of the Corpse Sect’s hundred coffins.
This person’s influence was not much smaller than Shu Mu Night’s. Shu Mu Night relied on his personal influence, while this person had the backing of Death Realm.
As for Wang Jie, they were curious about him, but they couldn’t see anything outside of the trial takers.
Their curiosity about Wang Jie was no less than their curiosity about Shu Mu Night.
“Reporting to the Sect Master, the Star Dome Visage people are here, requesting to interview Senior Sister Xiliu.”
Xi He remained calm. “Interview Xiliu? I think they’re here to interview about the trial. Let them wait.”
“Sect Master, it’s clear the outside world already knows part of the trial’s details. Hiding it may no longer be practical.” An elder named Wen Si Yuan walked in, speaking slowly.
Xi He looked at him. “I’ve always been curious about who would be the first to speak on this. I didn’t expect it to be you, Elder Si Yuan.”
Wen Si Yuan was an elder at Armor One Sect, assisting the Sect Master in managing the entire sect.
“It’s not really about speaking on it. The more we hide, the more speculation the outside world will have. Some are already saying that Armor One Sect has already begun building the bridge, but attributed it to the currently recovering Shu Mu Night, hiding the true fact that the bridge-building method is in play. This rumor doesn’t bode well for us. Armor One Sect cannot become a target.”
Xi He remained silent, gazing calmly at the surface of the lake.
“Another point—the influence of Star Dome Visage, Sect Master, you’re well aware of it. Doing them a favor now may pay off in the future,” Wen Si Yuan added.
Xi He sighed deeply and nodded. “Let them come.”
Wen Si Yuan smiled and nodded in agreement.
Under the sea, Wang Jie stood like a stone sculpture, unmoving.
It had been eight days since his last exercise. The next time would be the longest interval since receiving the wristguard.
At this moment, he had reached a depth of one thousand six hundred meters.
Though only a hundred meters deeper, the pressure was growing exponentially. It wasn’t as easy as before.
He slowly raised his head and saw numerous marine creatures swimming, many of them emitting the faint energy of the ten-imprint level.
The effects of the heaven stones being thrown down were becoming more evident.
He even felt the presence of creatures with immense imprint energy, surpassing even those of the chosen prodigies. As for Shu Mu Night, there was no visible display of imprint energy from him.
The ten-imprint level might be the limit of Blue Star’s realm, but it was not the limit of the creatures capable of holding imprint energy.
Imprint energy, known as lock force in the universe, had its pros and cons. Wen Zhao had told him that its advantage was that it could be absorbed quickly and used immediately, unlike starforce, which required time to absorb, train, and fuse.
But the downside was that its limit was locked.
Wang Jie didn’t know what his limit was. He only hoped he could prevent Blue Star’s destruction.
The sound of exercise reached his ears.
He sighed with relief, fearing that he might not be able to continue and that his hope of growing stronger would fade.
Seventy-five times.
It wasn’t much, but it was still an increase.
As long as there was an increase, that was enough.
There were only ten days left until the one-month deadline.
Wang Jie’s greatest gain in these days wasn’t just an increase in strength, but the ability to integrate his power under the pressure of the deep sea. The most obvious external manifestation was that he could now control the size of his Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger, with less noticeable changes. Its power, however, remained as strong as ever.
At this moment, the pressure on the various bases of Blue Star was immense.
Ten-imprint mutated beasts kept appearing, and if it weren’t for the trial takers, all the bases would have collapsed. Even Bai Yuan, guarding Upper Capital City, could not do much.
In Mountain City, mutant vines swept across the sky like green serpents toward Shu Mu Night.
Each mutant vine was lined with blood-red spikes.
Imprint energy visibly boiled over the vines, twisting the very air. The seething air currents penetrated the sky, and drones captured the scene, relaying it to the major bases.
Countless people watched in shock as the imprint energy surpassed all living creatures. It was overwhelming.
Humans were not like mutant vines. Such a vast body naturally contained an enormous amount of imprint energy, surpassing any current human on Blue Star.
Shu Mu Night opened his eyes. “Imprint energy isn’t the difference,” he said. Raising his hand, he grabbed one of the mutant vines, and the spikes failed to pierce his body.
With a shake of his arm, an invisible force spread through the vine, and with a thunderous crack, the vine shattered into pieces.
He released his grip, and the vine was completely destroyed.
Looking toward the east, he said, “In one month, how much progress will you make? I’m looking forward to it.”
The commotion in the outside world had no effect on Wang Jie. Given his current position, no one could contact him, even if they wanted to.
No matter how much danger the bases faced, the greatest threat to Blue Star would always be Shu Mu Night.
Wang Jie himself abandoned all distractions and stood at the bottom of the sea.
Eight more days passed.
He performed his exercises.
His strength increased to seventy-seven times.
In his previous battle with Shu Mu Night, his power had been fifty times. Now it had grown to seventy-seven. This was a significant change, especially in his application of strength.
Only two days remained.
It was not enough time for another exercise.
Wang Jie looked ahead at the deep, dark seabed, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was standing in the field.
The Starry Finger technique had not been planted yet; he was just one will away from completing it.
The second field still had no idea what to plant. He had tried many things, but nothing worked.
Wang Jie stood in the first field, wondering if he could plant something else while cultivating Starry Finger. As he thought, his hand tightened around the slender crab claw, and based on his days in the sea, he instinctively used his sword technique.
He hadn’t forgotten the cut from Shu Mu Night—the one that split his Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger.
He didn’t expect to fight that blow in the short term, but at least he hoped for the strength to stand against it. That hope rested in the field.
Wang Jie swung the crab claw, mimicking the currents he felt in the sea, striking again and again. At first, there was little effect, but as time passed, the movements grew smoother until, at a certain moment, the shadow of the sword technique landed.