Chapter 828 - 821: Nirvana

Chapter 828: Chapter 821: Nirvana

Zhou Yuanjue had formed a hypothesis, giving him a specific direction to test. Was it physical? Was it Energy? Or was it some other method of detection? He adjusted the circulation of his body and Energy, quickly ruling out both possibilities.

Suddenly, he recalled his journey from the safe house. Luluno, the Black Lava leader, had been incessantly chattering in his ear about Gegula’s powerful deeds and rumors. Gegula was notorious for his ferocity. It was said that almost none of the opponents he defeated were left with an intact corpse; they were practically hacked into countless pieces, leaving behind a scene of rivers of blood. He seemingly possessed some sort of ability to bypass the life protection mechanism, allowing him to maximize the devastation of his opponent’s body without triggering the fail-safe.

Thinking about it now, Gegula must indeed possess such an ability.

His organ resonance Domain acted like a radar, able to detect and provide feedback on the changes and flow of a certain life characteristic of the opponent. Through this, he could anticipate the opponent’s actions in advance, analyze their weaknesses, and even exert maximum control over the "scale" of his attacks—dismembering his opponents without inflicting fatal harm that would trigger the protection mechanism.

If this guess was correct, then everything seemed to make sense.

When his Tianji Seal anticipated the opponent’s move and initiated an evasive action, some sort of vital sign changed. This change was captured by the opponent’s ability, prompting the opponent to hastily alter his move.

Given that Gegula’s pure reaction speed was superior to his own, this was indeed an achievable feat.

However, although he roughly understood the type of ability his opponent wielded, the situation did not seem to improve. This did not appear to be an ability with obvious flaws. Given the opponent’s detection methods, defeating him seemed to rely solely on suppression through pure reaction speed—changing moves at the exact same time the opponent did and deceiving him with feints.

But right now, the opponent had him suppressed in terms of cultivation realm. Furthermore, to complement the execution of his ability, the path Gegula took was clearly focused on agility, reaction speed, and close-quarters combat, making it even harder to surpass him in his area of expertise.

SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!

As the battle continued, the smile on Gegula’s face grew increasingly terrifying, and the speed at which he swung his twin blades became even swifter and fiercer.

Wounds constantly appeared on Zhou Yuanjue’s body, and body parts were repeatedly severed. The Immortal Seal remained continually active, but this came at the cost of massive Energy consumption. If this continued, his Energy would run out, and he still wouldn’t be able to defeat his opponent.

In truth, Zhou Yuanjue’s hypothesis was infinitely close to the actual truth.

Gegula’s ability was not simply a core influence; his true ability was the perception of the Life Pulse. The organ in his chest possessed a function akin to emitting frequency bands, while his skin—along with the special patterns and tissues on it—formed a signal receiving Device. Through the vibration of his core chest organ and the feedback from his opponent’s body, he could clearly perceive the other party’s Life Pulse.

That was the most fundamental aspect of a living being. As long as life existed, it would inevitably emit fluctuations and information. This was an irreversible rule. A creature could control its own Energy and its own body, but it absolutely could not control its own life!

Therefore, this kind of perception was nearly impossible to shield against. Even someone like Bing Zhiyue couldn’t do it; the only thing they had over him was pure Power!

From the differences in the Life Pulse, he could determine the opponent’s state, weaknesses, and even the movements of their body! If an opponent couldn’t crush him in terms of reaction and speed, then he was virtually invincible! Thus, he had absolute confidence in defeating Zhou Yuanjue!

The reality also reflected this. Crushing his opponent with his superior realm, he held an absolute advantage in speed and reaction, which practically guaranteed his opponent’s defeat. It was merely a matter of how long Zhou Yuanjue could hold out; fundamentally, there was no difference.

SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!

His attacks grew faster and faster. However, the guy in front of him indeed had some skill. To think his body could continue to recover after enduring for so long—was this guy’s Energy reserve really that terrifying?

At first, Gegula had found it novel and exciting, but as the prolonged attack failed to take him down, this sense of excitement began to gradually fade, replaced by a surge of irritation welling up in his heart.

He thought, "I, Xuehe Gegula, an impressive ninety-fifth on the overall rankings, am actually failing to quickly take down a little brat who just recently crossed the First layer Transformation Boundary. If word of this gets out, what difference would there be between me and trash like Red Spider?!"

Under Gegula’s accelerated attacks, Zhou Yuanjue’s situation grew increasingly dire.

"Life Pulse?" Zhou Yuanjue muttered to himself. "It’s not entirely unbreakable. However, I haven’t used this kind of ability in a long time, and I don’t know if it will still work."

He knew he could not delay any longer. If this continued, he would lose any opportunity to strike back. The pressure imposed by a top one hundred expert on the overall rankings was truly considerable.

He thought, "Since your ability can sense the Life Pulse, what if I ’die’?"

Under the immense pressure, Zhou Yuanjue’s Spiritual Will slowly fell silent. Like a lamp running out of oil, his life gradually seemed to plunge into the abyss of death.

Within his Spiritual Will, a bright lamp flickered with a faint candle flame. Inside the flame, a Divine Bird gradually coiled its body, its aura growing weaker and weaker, as if it were slowly entering a state of Nirvana.

This was a technique Zhou Yuanjue had not used in a very long time: Divine Bird Nirvana.

This was an ability he had comprehended between life and death back when he first entered Saint Awakening and subsequently grasped the state of Yin Yang Unity.

In an instant, he severed all his bodily functions, condensing his Spiritual Will into a tight cluster. He entered a state of Nirvana, appearing as though he were dead, with his aura, Spiritual Will, and magnetic field vanishing entirely.

Between life and death lay a great terror. This state carried immense risks. It was a taut line; crossing this line meant death. Perhaps one would die silently and without a trace.

From beginning to end, Gegula had miscalculated one thing.

Perhaps, for the majority of True Realm Life, no one could control their own life aura, because no one would willingly lead themselves toward death. But for the Martial Artists who had surpassed the level of Earth Saint Awakening, this was not impossible. Weakness was an obstacle to progress, but at the same time, breaking through that weakness would bring extraordinary gains.

Which of the older generation of Earth Saint Awakenings hadn’t tempered themselves and advanced through the great terror between life and death? Their Spiritual Wills could easily act as the Sovereign of their bodies’ life and death.

Life was what one desired; death was what one despised. The desires of men were nothing more than life and death. But a true Martial Artist had to allow their own Spiritual Will to achieve transcendence over life and death, rising above them. They might not be as powerful as True Realm Life, but they enjoyed sufficient freedom in life.

Suddenly, Gegula’s attacks came to a halt. In that instant, he could no longer feel the other party’s aura. He couldn’t even sense the feedback of the opponent’s Life Pulse.