141: Chapter 141 Testing the Stone with One's Own Body, Glimpsing the Netherworld

This stone, obtained from Uncle Chen's grocery store and suspected to be a residue of contamination from the Old Factory District, was currently the only accessible physical medium directly related to the "heterogeneous existence" in the Old Factory District. It had previously resonated with abnormal activity, proving its "sensitivity." Actively engaging in deep contact with it, while highly risky, offered the greatest potential rewards—not only could it provide a more intuitive understanding of the nature of that "corrosive" energy and test his own Mental Energy and energy resistance, but it might even allow him to parse more essential information about the "existence" beneath the Old Factory District, or perhaps find a way to utilize or counter its power. This was a "mock battle" where he faced the core of the greatest threat at the minimum cost (a single stone). Of course, he had to be fully prepared with defenses and set strict termination conditions.

Night fell once again, and the abandoned Warehouse was pitch black, with only the distant city lights casting distorted patches of light through the broken windows. Ling Ye sat cross-legged in the darkest corner, placing the metal box before him. He did not open it immediately, but instead first performed a deep "Star Visualization," condensing and purifying his mental will to construct the "Eternal Star" within his Sea of Consciousness. It emitted a constant, cold radiance that illuminated his entire conscious space, making it clear and bright. At the same time, he circulated his "Qi Membrane," forming a thin but painstakingly maintained orderly cycle on the surface of his body.

After making preparations, he took a deep breath and opened the metal box.

The black stone lay quietly inside, its surface gleaming with a greasy, dull luster in the dim light, no different from what he had seen during the day. But the moment the box opened, Ling Ye's "Spiritual Sense" captured that faint, discordant "residual information" inside the stone, which seemed to "wriggle" slightly, like a startled viper.

He extended the index finger of his right hand, hovering the tip about an inch directly above the stone without making direct contact. Then, using his "Spiritual Sense" like the finest scalpel, he cautiously "probed" toward the stone, bit by bit.

The moment of contact—Hum!

It felt as if countless cold steel needles had pierced into Ling Ye's consciousness along the link of his "Spiritual Sense"! Countless fragmented, chaotic "information shards" filled with negative emotions and distorted perceptions surged in frantically, like a dam bursting!

Cold, deathly silence, despair, greed, hatred for all "life," and a frantic tearing at "Order"... all sorts of indescribable, pure intentions of "evil" and "chaos" instantly assaulted his mind!

The radiance manifested by "Star Visualization" fluctuated violently, almost being swallowed by this filthy torrent! The "Qi Membrane" on his body also emitted an unbearable "wail," on the verge of collapse!

Ling Ye let out a muffled groan, his face instantly turning deathly pale, and veins bulged on his forehead. He gritted his teeth, frantically driving his Mental Energy to keep the core of his "Star Visualization" from extinguishing, while simultaneously pushing the "parsing" and "filtering" functions of his "Spiritual Sense" to the limit. He was no longer passively enduring, but actively "dismantling" the chaotic information pouring in.

He "saw":

—Deep underground, where no light reached, cold, blue-black "rock strata" slowly wriggled like living creatures, emitting a suffocating chill.

—Sharp drill bits spun frantically, attempting to penetrate the rock strata, only to shatter and melt, emitting desperate, metallic wails.

—A blurry figure (perhaps the master craftsman Old Zhao mentioned) approached, reached out, and touched the cold rock; then, as if a canvas drained of color, his entire body rapidly turned grey and withered, the last gleam in his eyes replaced by endless cold and emptiness.

—A massive, ghostly "tentacle" flowing with viscous darkness flashed deep within his consciousness, covered in dense, pale spots like compound eyes.

—A shriek that acted directly on the Soul, filled with pain and tyranny, identical to the one heard in the early morning, but clearer and even more... "close"!

—Countless twisted, incomprehensible symbols and fluctuations, like the "whispers" of some otherworldly existence, attempting to erode and assimilate all orderly information they touched.

The information was complex and chaotic, filled with intense mental corruption. Had Ling Ye not been prepared, and had his "Star Visualization" and mental will not been sufficiently resilient, he would likely have lost control of his mind by now, assimilated by this corruption, and become insane or catatonic.

He endured the intense pain and nausea at the level of his Soul, struggling to strip away relatively "objective" fragments of perception: the "cold, inert" nature of that energy, the way it "extracted" life force, its preference for "eroding" orderly structures, and the fact that there seemed to be some extremely faint, yet truly existing, chaotic "will" or "instinct" within it.

He attempted to guide a trace of his own mental will, weak to the extreme and purified by "Star Visualization," back along the link of his "Spiritual Sense" to "infuse" the stone, trying to "soothe" or "parse" its core structure.

However, the moment his will touched that tiny glimmer (the source of contamination) at the very core of the stone—a sudden change occurred!

The glimmer inside the stone suddenly flared brightly! It was not the dull blue-black he had perceived before, but a deep, absolute darkness that seemed capable of devouring all light, yet in the center, a cold, eerie blue starlight flickered!

The feeling of this starlight... was strangely, subtly, and twistedly similar to the stellar rhythm emitted by the "ancient ring" ancient ring in the depths of Ling Ye's memory! It was as if it were starlight of the same Origin, completely corrupted and alienated by endless death and cold!

At the same time, a suction force far exceeding what he had felt before—bone-chilling and filled with an intense desire to "devour"—erupted violently from the core of the stone, frantically draining Ling Ye's Mental Energy and life force along the "Spiritual Sense" link! Even the "Qi Membrane" on his body was instantly torn apart and devoured!

"Not good!" Warning bells rang wildly in Ling Ye's heart! This stone was not just a residue; its core actually contained a sealed, extremely faint, but high-essence "heterogeneous existence" Origin! His attempt to parse it was like probing an oil depot with a match, instantly triggering its instinctive, frantic backlash!

He wanted to cut off the "Spiritual Sense" link, but found the suction force to be incredibly viscous; his Mental Energy felt like it was stuck in a quagmire, making it difficult to break free! And the loss of life force made him feel waves of weakness and cold!

At the critical moment, a fierce look flashed in Ling Ye's eyes! He did not try to break free again; instead, he steeled his heart, stopped resisting the suction, and poured all his remaining Mental Energy into "Star Visualization" in a desperate gamble!

The object of his "Visualization" was no longer the abstract, eternal stars, but—the "Ancient Ring" Ancient Ring! That ring which had brought him through Transmigration, contained the Legacy of Venerable Star-Fall, and now existed only in his memory and the mark on his Soul!

He desperately recalled every detail of the "ancient ring" Ancient Ring, every pattern, especially the ancient runes upon it that contained the principles of stellar birth and death, and Reincarnation! Using his own unyielding "Gatekeeper" will as the core, and mixing in his attachment to "life" and his obsession with "Guardian," he forcibly outlined and condensed these memory fragments within his Sea of Consciousness!

A fragmented, illusory, yet pure, ancient, and vast starlight-emitting phantom of a ring appeared with difficulty, bit by bit, at the center of his Sea of Consciousness, right at the light core of the "Eternal Star"!

Once this phantom appeared, although blurry and dim, it naturally emitted a supreme rhythm belonging to the "Star Gate" and "Reincarnation," transcending that of ordinary stars! Although weak, its status was extremely high!

It happened in a flash!

The moment the "Ancient Ring" phantom appeared—the absolute darkness erupting from the core of the black stone, carrying the corrupted starlight, suddenly stalled as if it had encountered its natural nemesis! The terrifying suction force also instantly ceased!

Immediately after, a slight but clear "crack" sound came from inside the stone, as if something had shattered. The eerie blue starlight suddenly extinguished, and the absolute darkness quickly faded, returning to the dull, greasy appearance it had before, only the discordant "residual information" inside seemed to have completely dissipated along with the extinction of the starlight.

Clatter. A fine crack appeared on the surface of the stone, running through the entire thing. It no longer emitted any special "information" or energy fluctuations, becoming a truly ordinary, somewhat ugly black stone.

"Pfft!" Ling Ye violently spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning a bruised purple. Covered in cold sweat as if he had been fished out of water, he collapsed weakly to the ground. His Mental Energy was nearly exhausted, his life force severely depleted, and his head throbbed as if it were about to split open.

But he was still alive. And, at the last moment, he had "seen," and he had "remembered."

He had "seen" the confrontation between the corrupted starlight and the "Ancient Ring" phantom, perceiving the subtle connection between the two—a connection of the same Origin yet in opposition.

He had "remembered" the cold essence at the very core of that "heterogeneous existence" energy, which carried the connotation of a "dead star," as well as its absolute hatred for and desire to devour "life" and "Order."

More importantly, the process of forcibly visualizing the "Ancient Ring" phantom in the face of life and death, while exhausting, seemed to have inadvertently touched the depths of his Soul, reaching a deeper connection with the mark of that ring. Although the phantom dissipated quickly, that feeling, that vast and ancient rhythm belonging to "Venerable Star-Fall" and the "Reincarnation" Star Gate, had left an indelible mark on his consciousness.

He knew he had just walked before the gates of hell. But he had also turned a misfortune into a blessing, gaining an unprecedentedly profound understanding of his enemy and himself.

After gasping for a long time, Ling Ye struggled to sit up, looking at the black stone on the ground that had completely "died," his eyes complex.

He carefully placed the shattered stone back into the metal box and closed it. It might be worthless now, but keeping it served as a warning.

Then, he struggled to crawl to his backpack, took out the last tube of high-energy nutrient paste and a little water, and forced himself to swallow them. Afterward, leaning against the cold wall, ignoring the weakness and sharp pain in his body, he forced himself into the deepest, restorative meditation.

He needed time, and he needed energy, to repair the trauma caused by this "mock battle."

But after this battle, some of the fog in his heart had already dissipated.

The "thing" beneath the Old Factory District, the "Ancient Ring" Ancient Ring, the "Star Gate," and his own Transmigration and Reincarnation... indeed, there existed some inextricable connection that transcended this world!

And the storm that was about to come (and perhaps had already begun) was likely far more than just a disaster for a community or a city.