Chapter 26: The Hidden Chamber

Little did Theo know that he had just become the prime target of a deranged inner disciple.

Right now, he had much bigger things to worry about...

Vault of the Abyss, Third-Tier Containment.

The aura of the Apex-Tier Bloodlines swirled through the cavern like a storm.

Any ordinary mortal, or even an elite inner sect disciple without specialized defensive arrays, would have their internal organs pulverized by the density of the pressure in mere seconds.

Yet the young man sitting cross-legged on the floor didn’t even flinch.

Through the shredded remains of his gray janitorial uniform, Theo’s skin shimmered with a dark luster.

"Inhale..."

"Exhale..."

Theo’s body was in the absolute final stages of a breakthrough.

Under the crushing weight of the Void Behemoth’s residual aura, the final impurities in his mortal frame were being forcibly squeezed out of his pores and instantly vaporized by his Primordial Abyssal Meridians.

He was a sword being repeatedly thrust into a cosmic forge.

Most disciples of the Silent Thunder Sect relied on expensive pills or years of brutal external conditioning to strengthen their flesh. But Theo was currently bypassing decades of bottlenecked cultivation simply by breathing in the most lethal room on the mountain.

Suddenly, the aura in the room intensified, reacting to the black hole forming in Theo’s center.

The luster on Theo’s skin grew incredibly dense, reaching a critical flashpoint.

His eyes snapped open, a predatory sharpness flashing in his pupils. He let out a long, forceful exhale.

Boom!

A shockwave of expelled air blasted across the vault, slamming into the wall opposite him and leaving a spiderweb of cracks.

A single breath had produced the force of a cannonball. If that exhale had hit a standard cultivator at the Body Cleansing realm, it would have shattered their ribs instantly.

Theo slowly rose to his feet, indifferent to his ruined clothes. He clenched his right fist, feeling the explosive power coursing through his veins.

[Notice. Physical density threshold exceeded.]

[Host has successfully completed a structural evolution!]

[Minor Purity Water Body has successfully upgraded to: Flawless Abyssal Physique.]

[Evaluation: Your flesh is now comparable to high-grade spiritual armor. You are immune to mortal poisons, standard elemental extremes, and low-tier impacts.]

Theo reached down and picked up a chunk of the shattered stone floor. He applied a tiny fraction of pressure with his thumb.

Silently, the incredibly dense rock crumbled into dust, slipping through his fingers.

"My base strength just skyrocketed," Theo grinned, dusting off his hands. "Even a demonic beast would probably break its own teeth trying to bite my arm right now."

He examined his hands under the dim light of the vault. His skin tone hadn’t turned gray or monstrous like Malakor’s. If anything, he looked perfectly normal, just devoid of any physical blemishes.

"Thanks for the free meal," Theo said, offering a salute to the core of the Void Behemoth resting on its pedestal.

Hum...

A faint resonance echoed from the pedestal, as if the ancient core was acknowledging his newly formed foundation.

Satisfied with his gains, Theo turned to leave. But as he walked past the very back wall of the cavern, his enhanced senses picked up an anomaly.

He stopped.

He raised a knuckle and tapped the dark stone wall.

"Hollow?" Theo raised an eyebrow.

Activating his Predator’s Eye, he noticed that the signature of this specific section of the wall was slightly colder than the surrounding rock, indicating an empty space directly behind it.

After a brief pause of consideration, Theo pulled his right arm back.

Boom!

Theo’s fist shot forward like a fired piston, unleashing the full might of his new Flawless Abyssal Physique.

The force blasted the seemingly impenetrable wall into a shower of gravel and dust!

"There really is a hidden room," Theo’s eyes lit up as the dust settled.