Chapter 288: Domain Expansion - Infinite Wind

In this era, where the ceiling was ruthlessly suppressed, the upper limit of every superhuman was locked to the same realm.

Yet every school and sect possessed their own trump cards, their equivalent of nuclear deterrents - Transcendent Means, along with the inheritances and records passed down from the golden age of superhumans.

So without a doubt, the only thing true experts could compete on was "complete mastery" - spell performance, curse power manipulation, and efficiency.

That represented not just their current combat strength, but also their carrying capacity once Transcendent Means were activated, and the combat power they could unleash.

When everyone was at the second Energy Level, gaps in such operational skill could perhaps still be compensated for through numerical advantage or sneak attacks. But once one stepped into the Transcendent domain, where the very essence of power underwent sublimation, these gaps in fundamentals and comprehension would be magnified infinitely.

And Wu Nuo...

He was, without question, the undisputed standout among them all.

As the most elite spell of the Secret State, [Thirty-Three Cavern Heavens] possessed absolutely terrifying spell performance. It could be called the strongest shield and the strongest spear, which was why it could crush this demon in combat. But its control difficulty was equally appalling.

Why was it that Wu Nuo's true realm was only the peak of the second Energy Level, yet he could match this demon without any inferiority in curse power manipulation?

The reason was simple.

Because there would always be those people in this world who, from the moment of their birth, were the very embodiment of "unreasonable."

Twenty years ago, on the day Wu Nuo was born, the curse power of the entire Wind Capital experienced a brief tidal surge.

Assassins sent by hostile forces only needed to take one distant glance at the infant still swaddled in cloth before they were frightened into fleeing by that inexplicable sense of pressure.

[Impermeable] - a spell with such hair-raising demands for fine curse power manipulation that others might spend their entire lives without even glimpsing the path to mastery. Even if they learned it, it would be extremely difficult to use in actual combat.

But he could maintain it perpetually in battle at nearly zero cost, using it simultaneously with offensive techniques.

Not only that, but the [Thirty-Three Cavern Heavens] inheritance also contained the [Spell Reversal] technique, which demanded extremely high curse power manipulation and was recorded as something that could only be attempted at the third Energy Level. He had mastered it with the same casual ease as drinking water or eating a meal during one casual attempt.

And even in Wu Nuo's own impression...

His curse power manipulation and efficiency were only surpassed by a single person.

Apart from that mysterious individual of unknown origin, no one in Wind Capital could surpass him.

And at this moment.

Watching that demon melt and reform once again under his slashes, Wu Nuo seemed to have finally lost his patience.

- How troublesome.

He raised his head, looking at the night sky that was pouring down torrential rain.

Whoosh -

Within his curse power perception, the flow of curse power inside this demon was extremely bizarre. It seemed as though something, like a gentle breeze, was continuously blowing in from all over Wind Capital.

It was definitely secretly brewing something.

This demon had never bothered to hide its intention to stall for time from the very beginning. It inexplicably refused to retreat despite death, clinging on like sticky candy, and had even started a livestream of unknown scope.

Clearly, the longer this dragged on, the more advantageous it was for the demon.

Wu Nuo's gaze sharpened.

- I can't let it drag this out any longer. I have to end this farce as quickly as possible.

But the problem was...

Even if he activated Spell Reversal and completed a full chant of the incantation, he probably couldn't guarantee a one-hit kill.

The spell carried by that [Acid Memory Device] truly posed no threat to him, but it had brought this demon formidable life-preserving abilities.

So, he needed to find a way to completely seal it in place, leaving it nowhere to flee.

Then... looking at it now, there was only one option.

A radiant glow suddenly lit up in Wu Nuo's eyes.

Even for someone like him, it was only now - having activated Transcendent Means to temporarily possess the rank of the third Energy Level - that he could attempt this possible ultimate technique.

[Domain Expansion].

It represented the extension of the caster's very soul, and the pinnacle sublimation of one's spell.

But should he really attempt it?

Right now, right here?

One had to know, according to those ancient records, that even true third Energy Level experts could almost never achieve a perfect domain expansion.

Because that was the privilege of a higher realm - representing the ability to transcend the world itself through one's own will and Truth.

With Wu Nuo's current third Energy Level realm, borrowed through the Sect Master's token, compounded by the suppression of the entire world, even if he successfully completed his conception, he could at most expand an incomplete domain prototype.

And even if he succeeded, after the domain ended, he would inevitably fall into a temporary state of overload shutdown due to the extreme strain of driving his curse power and spell beyond their limits.

At that point, even someone as powerful as Wu Nuo would see his combat strength plummet off a cliff.

Not to mention the risk of failure during expansion.

Facing such a troublesome and sinister ancient demon, the moment he showed an opening, Wu Nuo himself could even be in mortal danger.

But that was...

The thinking of a coward!

Wu Nuo stared at his opponent, the corners of his mouth curling high, revealing an extraordinarily arrogant smile.

- In the next minute, I'll slice your undying body into bloody chunks!

The next instant.

He stopped his sweeping arms mid-air, bringing his hands together before him in a virtual clasp, bending his index fingers and pinkies, folding them into his palms.

The Yama Demon Heavenly Palm Seal.

With the clasp of his fingers, an immense surge of curse power erupted from within him, as if it would tear the very sky apart.

Under near-overload conditions, [Thirty-Three Cavern Heavens] began operating at its absolute limit, driven by the surging curse power within his body.

His curse power wove spatial fluctuations completely different from anything before, through manipulation so exquisite it defied description.

The conditions of the barrier were inverted from inside to out.

Using the forward-rotation spell [Impermeable] as the barrier's unbreakable outer shell, sealing everything within.

Then using the reversed-rotation spell [Parting Wind] as the barrier's contents, filling the entire space.

Simultaneously using a single spell's forward rotation and reverse rotation, layering them together.

This was a virtual form.

In other words -

The prototype of a domain!

His voice spread outward: "Domain Expansion -"

"Infinite Wind!"

In that instant.

Under the stunned gaze of that deep green demon.

A massive gray semi-transparent sphere, with a radius of two hundred meters, silently expanded and condensed around Wu Nuo, enveloping the vast expanse of glowing green curse power and acid within.

The next moment, words that only the demon inside the barrier could hear rang out.

"We hit it off the moment we met, yet you must leave."

Though the words were elegantly phrased, they carried his signature arrogance and killing intent.

"Since parting is near... let me see you off."

In that instant, the demon's eyes - which had just widened in surprise at the domain expansion - bulged even further as it suddenly understood something.

After expanding the domain, he was now completing the full incantation chant, pushing the spell's output to yet another level?!