291: Chapter 292 A Land-Based Immortal! Sweeping Through the Forbidden Zone

Tongshen Realm.

The seventh great Realm of the martial path.

In the game of his previous life, this was a massive watershed.

Before the Tongshen Realm, no matter how strong a Martial Artist was, they were still just a Mortal.

Once one enters the Tongshen Realm, they transcend the mundane, their Lifespan multiplies, and every movement carries the great power of heaven and earth.

Players jokingly referred to this Realm as "Land Immortal."

Lin Qi now stood at this threshold.

No, he had already crossed this threshold.

He carefully sensed the changes in his body.

His Physical Body could no longer be called a "Physical Body"; it was more like a "Dao Body" constructed from pure energy and Law. He felt that with just a thought, he could change his form at will, even turning into a wisp of wind or a drop of water.

The True Qi within his body had also completely disappeared.

Replacing it was a higher level of energy, residing in his Dantian, resembling a miniature galaxy slowly rotating. Lin Qi tentatively called it "Dao Source."

This "Dao Source" had infinite wonderful uses.

He could convert it at will into any power within the Five Elements, or into the purest physical force, and could even... directly use it to interfere with the Laws of reality.

For example...

Lin Qi raised his hand and lightly slashed at the empty air in front of him.

Chi la.

A pitch-black crack appeared out of thin air.

On the other side of the crack was a strange starry sky.

The Law of Space.

Previously, he needed to borrow the Sword Intent seed of Sword Saint Ye Qingtian to barely comprehend and use some techniques.

Now, he didn't need to understand it at all.

Because he himself was a part of the Law.

If he wanted space to crack, it had to crack.

This was the Tongshen Realm.

No reasoning, only "Me."

Lin Qi waved his hand, and the spatial crack slowly healed and disappeared.

He was very satisfied with his current state.

The gains from this seclusion exceeded his own expectations.

Not only did he successfully achieve a Breakthrough in his Realm, but he also figured out the essence of the System, mastered the divine skill "Source Matter Reconstruction," and incidentally saw through the bottom line of that mysterious person.

It could be said that in one month, he had done what others couldn't finish in a lifetime.

"It is time to go out."

Lin Qi calculated the time; from the start of his seclusion until now, it had been exactly one month.

No more, no less.

He had promised to save Sword Saint Ye Qingtian and resolve the curse for Instructor Su Qing; these things had to be done.

And that "tumor" hiding in the Eastern Rift Zone also needed to be excised.

He tidied up his simple luggage—actually, there wasn't much to tidy, just a change of clothes and the useless notebook of Zheng Wujiang.

He walked to the entrance of the cave and looked up.

Then, he took a step.

He didn't use the stairs, nor did he use any movement techniques.

He just walked normally, stepping into the Void Realm.

Like walking on flat ground.

Then the second step, the third step.

He walked as if on an invisible staircase, step by step, from the depths of the earth toward the surface.

When his figure appeared at the entrance of the Earth Fiend Cave mining area.

The retired special forces captain in charge of security was dozing off in the guard post.

Suddenly, he felt some movement outside.

He rubbed his eyes and leaned out to look.

Then, his entire body froze.

He saw a youth wearing a casual jacket and carrying a black backpack walking slowly out of the abandoned mine that was strictly forbidden to approach.

The youth was clean, without a speck of dust, looking just like a student who had just finished school.

But that indescribable aura made the veteran, who had killed people on the battlefield, feel his hair stand on end.

It wasn't Killing Intent.

Nor was it pressure.

It was a kind of... "presence."

An incomparably vast presence, as if the entire world centered around him.

"Who... who are you?"

The captain subconsciously raised the gun in his hand, but his hand was shaking.

He didn't know why he was shaking either.

Lin Qi glanced at him and smiled.

"Thanks for your hard work. Go tell Zhang Wei that I have finished my seclusion."

After saying this, he didn't wait for a reply; his figure flickered and simply vanished from where he stood.

It wasn't that his speed was too fast to see.

He literally, "vanished."

The captain stood stunned, maintaining the posture of holding the gun, and it was a full half a minute before he suddenly snapped back to his senses.

He swallowed hard, picked up the walkie-talkie, and shouted with a trembling voice: "Headquarters! Headquarters! The target... the target has appeared! Repeat, the target has appeared!"

...

Huichun Hall.

Zhang Wei was pacing anxiously in the office.

Thirty-six hours had passed since Instructor Su Qing departed.

According to the plan, Instructor Su Qing should have already infiltrated the outskirts of the D-3 Region.

But starting six hours ago, Chen Shu had lost contact with her.

All communication signals seemed to have been cut off by an invisible barrier.

This was not a good sign.

"How is it? Have you made contact?" Zhang Wei asked for the Nth time.

On the holographic screen, Chen Shu's eternally icy face showed a hint of fluctuation.

"No. The intensity of Law interference in the D-3 Region is three times higher than estimated. The signal amplifier Instructor Su Qing was carrying may have already failed."

"Damn it!" Zhang Wei slammed his fist on the table. "Where is she now? Send me the coordinates of the last location!"

"Unable to locate. The other party seems to have activated some kind of large-scale perception shielding. All of our reconnaissance satellites cannot penetrate that barrier."

Zhang Wei's heart sank bit by bit.

The worst-case scenario had happened.

Instructor Su Qing had lost contact.

In that place known as the "Death Forbidden Zone."

And there were only thirty-six hours left until the "heavens scourge" strike.

What to do?

What should he do now?

Send someone to support?

Even a top-tier Stealth expert like Instructor Su Qing had lost contact; sending anyone else would be sending them to their death.

Notify Zhao Shouzhen?

Zhao Shouzhen was far away in the capital; even if he was willing to help, he couldn't quench the thirst from afar.

Zhang Wei felt like his brain was about to explode.

For the first time, he felt such a deep sense of powerlessness.

In the face of a real catastrophe, the wealth and connections he prided himself on seemed useless.

Just when he was about to despair.

The office door was pushed open from the outside.

No knocking.

Zhang Wei was about to lose his temper and shout "Who the hell is so impolite."

But when he saw who it was, all his anger instantly turned into astonishment, and then into ecstasy.

"Seven... Brother Seven?!"

Zhang Wei's voice was shaking.

Standing at the door was the youth he had been thinking about day and night, whom he hadn't seen for a month.

It was the same casual jacket, the same black backpack.

But Zhang Wei swore he had never seen Lin Qi looking this good.

The feeling was like a peerless piece of jade that had been wiped clean of all dust, radiating a gentle light that one couldn't look directly at from the inside out.

"I'm back."

Lin Qi smiled at him, very easygoing, very kind.

But it was this smile that made Zhang Wei almost cry.

The backbone had returned!

All his anxiety, all his fear, vanished the moment he saw Lin Qi.

He felt that even if the sky fell, it wouldn't be a problem.

"Brother Seven! You're finally back!" Zhang Wei rushed forward, almost hugging Lin Qi's leg.

"Hmm, something happened?" Lin Qi's gaze fell on the blood-red holographic map in the center of the office.

His expression was very calm.

But Zhang Wei knew this was the calm before the storm.

He took a deep breath and, with the fastest speed possible, poured out everything that had happened over the past month like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

From the public opinion storm of "five billion views" to the closed-door meetings of the military top brass.

From the two losses of contact in the Eastern Rift Zone to the military's insane "heavens scourge" plan.

Finally, he spoke of Instructor Su Qing infiltrating alone to clear obstacles for him, and remaining out of contact to this day.

Zhang Wei spoke quickly and urgently, fearing he would miss any detail.

And Lin Qi listened quietly.

There was no change in expression on his face.

Neither angry nor surprised.

As if what Zhang Wei was saying was just an insignificant, unrelated matter.

Until Zhang Wei finished, panting as he looked at him.

Lin Qi slowly nodded.

"I know everything."

His voice was very soft, very faint.

Yet it made the temperature in the entire office seem to drop several degrees.

Zhang Wei and Chen Shu on the screen didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

They were waiting for Lin Qi's next sentence.

Waiting for his thunderous rage.

But Lin Qi just walked to the window, looking at the busy traffic of Tianhai City.

He watched for a long time.

Then, he turned around and said one sentence to Zhang Wei.

One sentence that made all the blood in Zhang Wei's body boil.

"Prepare the car."

"We are going East."