Chapter 39: The Sea of Divine Sense

At the bottom of a deep, secluded canyon.

"Where have I ended up now?"

A middle-aged man gripped a golden long spear, his internal energy surging as he warily surveyed his surroundings with utmost vigilance.

"I never imagined that those Nascent Soul old monsters would cause such a massive commotion with their fight. Even from hundreds of miles away, I was caught in the blast. If I had known, I should have hidden further away. Then I wouldn't have ended up in this mess."

Several formation flags were inserted around him, their golden light swirling to form a defensive barrier. Waves of spiritual light pulsed outward, firmly protecting an area several dozen feet in diameter.

Suddenly, his gaze landed on a cave not far away.

"There's a cave here too? I wonder what's inside..."

Before he could finish his sentence—

BOOM!

An overwhelmingly powerful pressure erupted from within the cave, carrying an endless chill that swept outward like a tidal wave.

The middle-aged man's entire body stiffened, and his breathing grew heavy, as if an invisible giant hand was squeezing his throat.

"This aura... could it be... a Nascent Soul cultivator!"

The thought flashed through his mind. The very next second, his guess was confirmed.

A mass of deep cyan mist churned out of the cave at an incredible speed, coming to a halt in midair in the blink of an eye. That suffocating pressure was precisely emanating from this mist.

The middle-aged man subconsciously tightened his grip on the golden spear, silently retreating two steps as his Adam's apple bobbed. His whole body trembled. He felt as though some terrifying entity had seen through him completely, leaving no secrets hidden.

The moment the cyan mist appeared, it wasted no time.

Within the mist, a streak of cyan cold light suddenly blazed to life.

BOOM—!

A pillar of cyan flames shot out from it, and wherever it passed, cyan fire spontaneously ignited. The golden defensive formation was as fragile as paper, easily pierced through as spiritual light scattered and formation flags exploded one after another.

The middle-aged man's pupils shrank to pinpricks. He sprang backward, trying to flee deeper into the canyon.

But the cyan pillar of fire showed no mercy. It lightly traced a line ahead of his escape route. Instantly, rocks shattered and debris flew everywhere. Deep cyan flames erupted from the rubble, forming a towering wall of fire that firmly blocked his retreat.

The middle-aged man screeched to a halt, terror flooding his eyes.

"Such terrifying power... and this is just a casual strike from a Nascent Soul cultivator!"

Just then, a hoarse, eerie laugh suddenly came from behind him. The sound was sinister, as if drifting up from the depths of hell, making his skin crawl with goosebumps.

The middle-aged man knew something was terribly wrong. He whipped his head around—

The moment he turned, he found himself staring directly into a pair of glowing, spectral eyes.

Those eyes possessed an unfathomable magic. The middle-aged man's mind went hazy, his consciousness dragged into an endless abyss. The world spun before him, and his surroundings began to warp and twist uncontrollably.

When he came to his senses, he found himself standing in a deep, dark passage. Darkness stretched out in both directions, with no end in sight.

On either wall, deep cyan flames ignited one after another, extending forward into the distance.

"Where is this...?"

The middle-aged man nervously scanned his surroundings, trying to mobilize his internal energy, only to find he couldn't summon a single drop. The golden long spear in his hand was also gone. At this moment, he was nothing more than a complete ordinary mortal.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the terror in his heart, and looked toward the direction where the flames were lit. Gritting his teeth, he shuffled forward step by step.

He hadn't gone far when the deep cyan flames that had illuminated the path ahead began to extinguish one by one from the far end, slowly moving back toward him. The area ahead plunged back into pitch-black darkness, accompanied by waves of bone-chilling cold.

The middle-aged man's soul nearly fled his body in terror. He fixed his gaze ahead.

In the direction where the cyan flames had vanished, a bitterly cold cyan mist was surging toward him. Wherever the mist passed, the stone walls were coated with frost, accompanied by a creaking, crackling sound of freezing. The cold seemed intent on freezing both his body and his soul together.

Without a second thought, he turned and bolted into the darkness behind him.

He ran faster and faster, not daring to pause for even a moment. The bone-piercing cold behind him seemed to have already licked at his back. The chill grew thicker all around, and even the stone walls ahead began to be covered in thick layers of frost.

Just as he was sinking into utter despair—

A streak of cyan light suddenly appeared ahead.

The moment that cyan light emerged, his soul trembled once more. His vision blurred, and the world spun again.

When he found solid ground beneath his feet once more, he was somehow standing on a massive black stone wall. Endless darkness still surrounded him.

Above his head, that streak of cyan light continued to shine, radiating a faint, cold aura. An invisible pressure instantly enveloped his entire body, pressing down on his shoulders like a great mountain, causing him to shake uncontrollably.

"Hahaha—"

A laugh that didn't sound human came from within the cyan light, echoing through the vast empty space.

"Good lad. To still be standing under this old man's divine sense pressure, you've got some guts."

The middle-aged man forced down his fear, his brow furrowed as he kept his eyes fixed warily on that cyan light.

"Senior, as a mighty Nascent Soul cultivator, what business could you possibly have with this insignificant Golden Core junior like me?"

The moment he finished speaking—

The cyan light above his head suddenly expanded, covering the entire stone wall, blazing so brightly it was impossible to keep his eyes open. The middle-aged man couldn't help but raise his hand to shield his vision.

The light slowly receded, and an even more massive pressure surged forth.

High above, a colossal elder's apparition slowly manifested. It was draped in a deep cyan cloak, its upper body floating against the stone wall, its eyes blazing with eerie light as it looked down at the man below.

Its gaze was like that of someone examining a completely insignificant ant.

Wave after wave of powerful divine sense energy crashed against the young man surnamed Gu's sea of consciousness like a raging tide, splitting his head with pain as if thousands of needles were simultaneously stabbing into his brain.

"This is a Nascent Soul cultivator's... sea of divine sense?!"

The young man surnamed Gu's pupils shrank. He snapped back to reality in an instant.

He had once read about this in a fragment of an ancient tome: A Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator could materialize their divine sense, dragging another person's soul into their self-constructed sea of divine sense. Within it, they controlled everything—suppression, intimidation, life and death were all determined by a single thought.

The headache gradually faded. He slowly rose to his feet, still trembling. He cast his gaze back at the massive cyan apparition, the last shred of hope in his heart completely gone.

The hoarse voice came again, this time carrying an unquestionable command.

"Young man surnamed Gu, hurry up and reveal your true form! Release your Soul-Eating Insects and let this old man have a look!"

The voice boomed and echoed, shaking the entire cliff wall, as if the whole world trembled at its sound.

The young man surnamed Gu's brow furrowed tightly. A flash of insight struck his mind, and he suddenly seemed to think of something. He quickly spoke.

"Might I ask, Senior, are you the Grand Ancestor of Soul Wraith Island, Grand Ancestor Jiuyou?"

"Heh. Since you know this old man's identity, why haven't you done as I, the Grand Ancestor, commanded?"

The moment those words were spoken, the young man surnamed Gu felt his vision blur once more. The surrounding scene began to rapidly fade, melting away like ice and snow.

When he finally steadied himself and looked up, he found he had returned to that deep, secluded canyon.

The formation flags lay scattered all over the ground. The golden defensive formation was already in complete shambles. The lingering warmth of those deep cyan flames still hung in the air.

His eyes were full of lingering fear. Cold sweat had soaked his back. That suffocating sensation, that mountain-like pressure, those glowing eyes that seemed to see through the soul—all of it still clung to his mind, refusing to dissipate.

He gasped for breath, instinctively touching the spirit beast pouch at his waist.

The Soul-Eating Insects were still there.

But he had no idea what Grand Ancestor Jiuyou truly wanted from him...