Chapter 53: Relentless Calamities and the Liquefaction of Spiritual Energy

The entrance to the relic unexpectedly opened right within the war zone, accompanied by spatial distortions. The high-ranking leaders—Feng Shouyi, Qin Xiong, and the Desert Wind King, Nangong Aoshu—were the first to learn of these developments. Each responded swiftly. At this moment, Nangong Aoshu, a supreme powerhouse, did not immediately enter the relic. Instead, to prevent the disaster from affecting the war zone, he single-handedly resisted, delayed, and shattered the calamities erupting around.

Regrettably, the freshmen participating in the combat trial could not witness this feat. It was as though they existed in another realm, oblivious to the profound changes unfolding. But had they seen it, the scene would have engraved itself in their memories forever.

Though the disasters were sudden and localized, not naturally accumulated over time, the sight of nearly a dozen tornadoes, each hundreds of meters high, obliterated by Nangong Aoshu’s force remained indescribably terrifying. Newly formed hail clouds spanning miles across the desert were dispersed by his winds. Sandstorms sweeping toward the zone were redirected by the storms he conjured.

When human strength reaches such extremes, it becomes almost incomprehensible. Even the mighty Blazing Heaven Blade, who slew the Fire Flood Dragon and broke through to a new level after enduring divine lightning, could not match the awe of this display. Nangong Aoshu’s dominance—ruling over several small nations and integrating them into China despite external pressures—testifies to his unparalleled power.

Meanwhile, inside the war zone, the wildlife reserve continued as usual. Nearby freshmen noticed nothing amiss; neither did the teachers and military personnel hovering overhead. Although outside, strange phenomena and bizarre disasters proliferated, within, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Observant individuals, however, noticed the sky turning yellow, as if a layer of sandy haze had spread. Most dismissed this, given the desert surroundings and frequent odd weather.

Lin Qingyun emerged from a tree hollow, paying no heed to others, accelerating toward the core area. As he moved, he fervently channeled the Eight-Nine Profound Yang technique—the spiritual energy within the yellow mist was far richer than usual.

In the core area, the yellow mist began to condense into raindrops. Few ventured here; only Nangong Lingyue and a handful of bold, aggressive students pressed forward. When the rain soaked them, they immediately sensed something unusual.

“This isn’t right. The rain feels like primordial spiritual energy, and it’s almost liquid…” Nangong Lingyue was astounded. She absorbed the liquid energy with her technique, feeling as if she were breaking through her realm with the same liquid spiritual energy her father had once prepared.

“What’s happening here?” She tried to contact the command center with her wrist device, only to find it had lost all function. Her father had surely investigated this place—could it be the work of a great demon? Spatial anomalies? The emergence of a relic? Or the birth of a treasure?

At that moment, Nangong Lingyue considered countless possibilities. Yet, since she’d already verified the liquid spiritual energy was harmless, she continued to frantically absorb and cultivate.

As the most ferocious and relentless among them, she seized the opportunity, thinking only of strengthening herself. Unexpectedly, the bottleneck that had trapped her loosened, and she broke through.

Even as she struggled to believe what was happening, more anomalies appeared in the war zone. Many witnessed beasts charging at them, only to vanish abruptly. Friends seemed within reach, but the distance between them grew inexorably.

Others realized their cultivation techniques were advancing rapidly. Teachers who lost contact with the command center also sensed something was amiss, and activated emergency protocols, gathering students as quickly as they could.

In an abandoned factory, Chao led a group of more than ten, their strength and coordination enabling them to slay numerous beasts, so long as they avoided the dominant packs. When Chao noticed the factory grounds had expanded, and several teammates were unreachable no matter how she called, she realized something was wrong.

Panic spread, but Chao immediately sought a vantage point to assess the situation.

“What do we do? The wrist devices don’t work…”

“A spatial anomaly—could the relic be opening here?”

“Damn, let’s get out, quick…”

Most chose to retreat, trying to return by familiar routes. But Chao remembered the map Lin Qingyun had shown her, recalling the paths in her mind. She reminded the others; those who agreed followed her, and she moved decisively in the direction Lin Qingyun had indicated.

Similarly, Chu Qing acted upon Lin Qingyun’s instructions as soon as she sensed the anomaly.

With restless beasts and strange changes, most in the war zone began to sense something was wrong. Some hid cautiously, some retreated swiftly, while the boldest continued hunting.

Lin Qingyun, too, let himself go. With spatial distortions rendering all modern technology useless, he no longer worried about attracting attention. At full speed, he soon approached the area where spiritual energy rained in liquid form. He wasted no time; whereas the average freshman could not store such primordial liquid energy, he could.

He summoned the Creation Pill Furnace, strapped it to his back, and used its storage space to collect vast quantities of liquid spiritual energy. Ruthlessly, he even summoned a whirlwind to draw in more.

This phenomenon would not last long; he gathered as much as possible. His mastery of wind magic, while not as destructive as Nangong Lingyue’s, sufficed for this purpose.

As he collected more liquid spiritual energy, its concentration elsewhere noticeably declined.

“Hm?” The young Daoist Chi Ziyang, holding a Bagua mirror, glanced at the sky. The energy that had been stable now seemed drawn away, leaving much less behind.

Nangong Lingyue felt it, too, and began to observe her surroundings for the cause.

Song Yichen, who had long since stolen clothes and recovered from most of his injuries, covered himself with earth and watched warily.

A chorus of howls, hisses, and roars echoed through the area, signaling the presence of three beast factions: the wolf pack, snake colony, and sand lizard horde. Their kings, once at the seventh or eighth level of the Heart Realm, now evolved rapidly with the influx of liquid spiritual energy.

The wolf king, snake king, and sand lizard king all saw the chance to ascend to true demonhood. Beasts, still bearing the name, could, upon becoming demons, soar through the skies, shed their bonds, and most importantly, take on human form.

Imprisoned in this place, they knew death was inevitable. But with the world transformed, a chance to become demons was worth any risk—they devoured energy without hesitation.

Even when humans entered their territory, they ignored them, until the sudden depletion of liquid spiritual energy. Unable to understand, they blamed the nearby humans.

Enraged, the three beast kings unleashed their packs. Wolves, snakes, and sand lizards surged toward Nangong Lingyue, Chi Ziyang, Song Yichen, and others.

On Lin Qingyun’s side, hundreds of sand lizards, each five or six meters long, charged at him. A dozen among them rivaled the sixth level of the Heart Realm in human terms. The rest were nearly as strong. Even the top-ranked students like Nangong Lingyue and Chi Ziyang would struggle to wipe out a faction in less than ten days.

Ordinary teams would only have a chance if they banded together in large numbers.

Lin Qingyun had no interest in slaying them for ranking points. He knew that soon, greater upheavals would render these threats trivial. Now, his priority was to gather liquid spiritual energy, not waste time on beasts.

“You think this belongs to you just because you tasted a bit? It’s all mine. Whoosh…”

Lin Qingyun now revealed his true advantage: artifact flight. Rising into the air, he wielded a refined mid-grade flying sword. Most Heart Realm cultivators could not sustain flight for long—they lacked the defensive power to balance attack and defense, and risked becoming easy targets.

But Lin Qingyun had ample pills, spiritual power far above his peers, and now, bathed in liquid spiritual energy, he had no fear of exhaustion.

Though high-level Heart Realm practitioners could fly, few did so in combat, lacking the speed and protection needed. In the air, they could not support multiple artifacts or shield themselves with energy barriers, making them vulnerable.

But in this unique environment, Lin Qingyun need not worry. He quickly ascended, evading the sand lizard horde, circling briefly. The surroundings had changed so much that even if the beasts could fly, they would struggle to catch him—and none here could.

“Hm…” As Lin Qingyun soared above, collecting liquid spiritual energy even faster, he spotted a distant, familiar figure.

Thunder rumbled, and the ground below began to crack. The liquid spiritual energy diminished further, and the space seemed to overlap with another dimension.