Chapter 166 - One Hundred and Sixty-Six: Pressure

Chapter 166: Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Six: Pressure

Volume Two: The Devil Must Pass Through Hell

Liu Zai Hang stood there with both hands raised.

But almost immediately, he—and everyone else—felt an enormous pressure descend upon their bodies.

It forced them involuntarily to their knees, making them brace themselves against the ground with their hands.

Scarlet King and Ikalat, however, remained standing with ease.

Wei Xia Mo asked:

"How can the two of you stand under this enormous pressure!?"

Ikalat answered:

"This is the pressure of the Second Dimension."

"Don’t resist it."

"It’s trying to adapt your bodies to its existential, qualitative, and quantitative superiority until you officially become beings of the Second Dimension."

Lin Yuan tried to stand.

But the pressure immediately intensified, crushing him violently against the ground.

They could all feel the tremendous heat and pressure bearing down upon their bodies.

Scarlet King continued where Ikalat had left off.

"Don’t try to resist the pressure."

"Let it enter your bodies so it can improve your endurance and elevate you to the superior state of this Dimension."

At that moment, something different began happening inside each of their bodies.

[At the Eleven Pressure Points]

At one of the pressure points, there was a gate.

At another pressure point, there was another gate.

Every pressure point contained one.

But only one of the gates was currently open.

Once their resistance ceased, the Dimensional Adaptation Energy began flowing toward one of the gates beside the already-open one.

It began pressing against the gate, attempting to force it open.

The energy struck it—

rebounded—

then struck it again.

Outside, Liu Zai Hang struggled to speak beneath the crushing pressure.

"But you still haven’t answered the question!"

"How are you two still standing!?"

Scarlet King shrugged.

"Ikalat’s fundamental adaptation originates from the Eternal Dimensions, so the Second Dimension’s adaptation pressure can’t affect him."

"As for me, my connection to the Dao was severed."

"So the adaptation doesn’t affect me because I’m no longer a complete cultivator."

Meanwhile, Lin Yuan felt his gate open slightly.

The pressure on his body immediately weakened.

"Scarlet... what are these gates located at the pressure points where Qi flows through a cultivator’s body?"

Scarlet King rubbed his chin.

"They’re called Adaptation Gates, and they’re considered part of talent."

"But they don’t replace the fundamental talent system."

"They complement it."

"You’ll notice that only one gate is currently open because you came from the First Dimension."

"The moment you open the second gate, you’ll adapt to the Second Dimension."

"Each gate represents one Dimension."

"And the wider a gate opens over time, the greater your talent, adaptation, and superiority within that Dimension become."

"Whenever one of those gates opens, there are twenty-two smaller gates inside it."

"Those are called the Development Gates."

"They’re responsible for developing your talent."

"However, some gates may already be open and later close."

"A new gate might open."

"Or you may have no open gates at all."

"If you open every gate along with all of their Development Gates, you’ll obtain the Blessed Veins."

Scarlet King looked toward the three.

"Now, each of you sit in a meditative posture and help the pressure open your gate."

The three sat beside one another and began circulating Qi through their bodies, assisting the pressure in forcing their gates open.

Each circulated their own Qi through their cultivation veins.

Their energy began striking the gates from within.

The two energies merged—

their own Qi and the Dimensional Adaptation Energy—

and battered the gates simultaneously.

The first to open his gate was Liu Zai Hang, due to his deeper understanding of energy control compared to the other two.

His gate opened to 48%.

He was finally able to stand, though he still felt a slight heaviness pressing against his body.

"Alright."

"This is much better now that the gate is open."

"But I can still feel a little pressure on my body."

Ikalat replied:

"Good."

"Refine your Ti Yuan Energy."

"That slight pressure will help you develop it."

"The pressure remains because your gate hasn’t opened completely."

"You should try to open it fully later."

Liu Zai Hang thought:

(I’ll need to enter seclusion later and open the gate completely.)

After hearing Ikalat, Wei Xia Mo thought:

(Hmm... developing Ti Yuan Energy?)

(I’m already under enormous pressure, so why not develop it now?)

Wei Xia Mo immediately began refining his energy while opening the gate at the same time.

He developed his Ti Yuan Energy while continuing to force the gate open.

Meanwhile, Lin Yuan’s gate opened to 79%.

He stood up and immediately felt significantly better.

"This feels refreshing."

"Especially the feeling of the Second Dimension’s Qi."

"It’s purer, denser, and many times better than the Qi of the First Dimension."

"It feels like I’ve been born again."

Scarlet King looked around with both hands behind his back, his hair moving gently in the light breeze.

Then he turned after coming up with a suitable plan.

"Gentlemen, I have a plan that will bring us considerable benefits."

Everyone looked toward him.

Wei Xia Mo, however, continued cultivating.

Scarlet King continued.

"First, we need to reach the nearest village or city."

"Then we obtain a map and information about the Dimension."

"After that, we’ll live under the strongest power in the Second Dimension."

"Then you’ll learn the rest of the plan."

"But for now, the plan is to rob any caravan we encounter on the way so we can obtain Second Dimension resources and survive for several days."

"All the Primordial Stones we currently possess combined probably aren’t worth more than ten Red Primordial Stones from the Second Dimension."

"Everything within a Dimension differs in terms of power."

"Even the ground we’re standing on right now."

Scarlet King’s plan consisted of three pieces:

The theft piece.

The research piece.

The hiding piece.

There was also a fourth piece he did not mention.

It remained inside his mind.

In this life—

he needed to go to Hell in order to obtain what he desired.

Lin Yuan looked at him and pointed a finger.

Then he turned toward the rest of the group.

"Is he joking?"

"And I’m not helping you rob a caravan."

"I’m a good person!"

He folded his arms across his chest and raised his head.

For Lin Yuan, the matter was more about morality than personal benefit.

Everyone else in the group placed themselves first and others second.

He was the opposite.

Ikalat chuckled lightly.

"Actually, what he said is completely correct."

"Everything within a Dimension is affected by qualitative, quantitative, and existential superiority."

"Even the ground we’re standing on right now... Liu Zai Hang might only be able to create a large crater in it even if he used his full strength."

"While in the First Dimension, he could destroy an incalculable number of universes."

"And all the resources of the Mortal Dimensions combined wouldn’t even be worth a single Red Primordial Stone from the Seventh Dimension."

He looked toward Lin Yuan, his grin widening.

"As for robbing the caravan, then don’t come."

"We’ll go ourselves."

"But don’t expect to even smell a trace of whatever we obtain."

As far as Ikalat was concerned, if Lin Yuan refused to participate, why should they share the resources with him?

He was his friend.

His sworn brother.

But when interests were involved—

there was no brother.

No friend.

No loved one.

There was only—

myself.

As Lin Yuan and Ikalat began arguing, Scarlet King stood some distance away, calmly watching them without expression.

The only thing visible on his face was the slight downward curve of his lips, almost like a straight line.

He simply observed the scene.

As Lin Yuan kicked Ikalat in the stomach while the two argued, Scarlet King remembered how lively he himself had once been when he first became acquainted with Rebirth.

Back then, he had never feared death.

The quarrel between Lin Yuan and Ikalat reminded him of the arguments between himself and Chu Xiao—

his former and first wife.

She would argue with him whenever he entered a battle that threatened his life.

And he never cared.

He remembered something she once told him.

"My stupid, reckless darling."

"You might not care about your own life, but someone else might—even if they know you’ll come back."

She had smiled faintly and pinched Scarlet King’s cheek hard.

Scarlet King thought about those words for a moment.

Then he smiled and whispered:

"True."

"Now everyone cares about me because of my treasures, my knowledge, or the bounties on my head."

"What an irony of fate."

Liu Zai Hang suddenly snapped his fingers, interrupting Scarlet King’s thoughts.

"Why don’t you use the Primordial Stones you obtained from the Immortal Shrine Inheritance?"

Ikalat answered immediately:

"That would be stupid."

"It would reveal that we possess extremely valuable resources."

"And from higher Dimensions on top of that."

"That would attract all kinds of greed toward us."

"And we don’t want that."

Revealing resources from the Seventh Dimension or below was already extraordinarily dangerous.

If word leaked out, all of them could become targets throughout the entirety of the Mortal Dimensions.

Wei Xia Mo finally stood up.

His gate had opened to 58%.

He was pleased with the result, especially after improving his Ti Yuan Energy.

A broad smile spread across his face.

"This feeling is incredible."

"There’s nothing else like it."

"And I don’t think I could ever get tired of it."

Ikalat chuckled.

"Really?"

"Well, do you know that the moment you ascended to the Second Dimension, you gained the ability to develop your Path, improve your Dao Marks, refine Dao Insects, cultivate Ti Yuan Energy and Ling Li, and many other things?"

"Things that will make the First Dimension feel like nothing more than the bottom of a well inside an infinite world."

Inside the pearl, Scarlet King suddenly sensed movement.

He immediately realized that Tian Sha Gong Zhu had awakened.

He contacted her directly.

(Princess, you finally woke up?)

Inside the pearl, Tian Sha Gong Zhu opened her eyes and rose from the ground.

"Hmph!"

"This princess is still recovering from the poison, but I’m much better now."

"At the very least, I can maintain consciousness."

"What happened while I was asleep?"

Scarlet King replied:

(A lot happened, and I don’t have the energy to explain it.)

Outside, Scarlet King looked around.

Then he turned toward the three.

"You won’t be able to fly until you completely adapt to the Dimension."

"So we’ll fly."

"You three hold tightly onto the tentacles."

Scarlet King was capable of flight thanks to the Kunpeng’s ability.

And here—

it was proving extraordinarily useful for transportation.