62: Chapter 62 The Hunter Team

The cold command of "Purge - Five Elements," like a pebble cast into a deep pool, stirred up subtle yet impossible-to-ignore ripples within that secondary outpost node of the "Shadow of the End."

Several twisted spatial portals opened quietly and closed soundlessly, as if they were merely an illusion.

Yet the cold aura contained within—originating from the same source as the previous "Apostle" but purer, deeper, and more dangerous—had already shot off like an arrow from a bowstring, silently streaking toward the depths of the Heavenly Ruins, toward the region shrouded by the chaotic five-colored light screen.

Five Elements Barrier, core meditation chamber.

Lin Wan sat cross-legged on a Chaos Jade Marrow cushion, his body enveloped in a slowly rotating cocoon of Spiritual Qi that had almost solidified and possessed the color of Chaos.

Inside the cocoon, a five-colored nebula swirled, and faintly visible within was a foot-tall Chaos Nascent Soul, sitting upright with hands forming seals, the Dao Seed at its brow shining brilliantly, echoing the mark on Lin Wan's own brow.

He was at the critical moment of breaking through to the Nascent Soul Great Perfection.

Within his Dantian, the Chaos Nascent Soul had grown to a foot and a half, its Infant Essence condensed like mercury and heavy as a mountain; every breath it took caused the vast Five Elements Ancestral Qi within the chamber to pulsate in rhythm.

His insights into the Dao of Five Elements Returning to Ruins, his touch upon the Laws of stars and the Void Realm, and his understanding of the true meaning of the Reincarnation of "Life" and "Death," "Existence" and "Non-existence," flowed like a trickling stream into the lake of his mind, making the Dao Seed mark increasingly profound. The Nascent Soul's features became clearer and more majestic, faintly possessing a trace of an otherworldly, supreme Dao charm that seemed capable of creating heaven and earth.

"Crack..."

In the ethereal void, it felt as if something had shattered, and yet, it also felt as if something had reached Perfection.

The Dantian Nascent Soul suddenly trembled! The five-colored nebula swirling on its surface instantly retracted, transforming into a layer of Chaos-colored, jade-like, glowing treasure light that covered its entire body.

The Nascent Soul did not grow any larger, but its aura underwent a qualitative leap! It became more condensed, more vast, and deeper, like a chaotic star containing a Universe within.

Nascent Soul Great Perfection, achieved!

At the very moment his cultivation broke through and his aura surged, the Five Elements Guixu Dao Seed at Lin Wan's brow seemed to be stimulated by some intense force; it shone with brilliant silver light, suddenly detached from his skin, and floated three feet above his head, spinning rapidly!

On the Dao Seed, those originally slightly blurred mysterious patterns representing the Five Elements, Returning to Ruins, the Void Realm, and stars now became unprecedentedly clear and bright. They connected and combined with each other, faintly forming a more complex, more primal, three-dimensional phantom array diagram that seemed like the true image of the Great Dao!

Meanwhile, on the ceiling of the meditation chamber, the Chaos Five Elements Wheel connected to the core of the barrier seemed to sense the anomaly of the Dao Seed. It suddenly accelerated its rotation, erupting with even more brilliant chaotic five-colored radiance. A condensed beam of Five Elements Ancestral Qi, containing supreme Dao charm, descended from the center of the wheel and connected with the Dao Seed above Lin Wan's head!

"Hum—!!!"

The Dao Seed, the wheel, and Lin Wan himself formed a perfect cycle of energy and Dao charm between the three!

Massive amounts of purer, higher-tier Barrier Origin power surged madly into the Dao Seed through this connection, and after being tempered and transformed by the Dao Seed, it fed back into Lin Wan's Nascent Soul and Physical Body. At the same time, a portion was fed back to the Chaos Five Elements Wheel, making the wheel's rotation smoother and more agile, and its connection with Lin Wan became tighter and deeper.

At this moment, Lin Wan felt as if he had completely merged with the entire Five Elements Barrier! The barrier was no longer an external object, but an extension of his body, a part of his "Dao."

He knew every palace, every Spiritual Vein, every Restriction, and even the flow of every wisp of Five Elements Ancestral Qi within the barrier like the back of his hand; with a slight movement of his mind, he could trigger and control them.

His understanding of the Dao of Five Elements Returning to Ruins and his mastery of the various Formations and Legacies of the barrier also instantly elevated to a whole new level.

"Is this... the preliminary completion of the 'master recognition' and 'binding' to the Five Elements Barrier?" Lin Wan realized in his heart.

Previously, he had only gained the barrier's preliminary recognition and partial authority. But now, as his cultivation broke through to the Nascent Soul Great Perfection, the Five Elements Guixu Dao Seed underwent a transformation, finally reaching the minimum threshold to achieve a deeper, almost "life-bound" Fusion with this ultimate war construct of the Five Elements Sect.

Although there was still a long way to go before he could fully control and unleash all of its power, especially the "Return-to-Void Secret Treasury" that required Soul Transformation cultivation to open, it remained far out of reach.

But at this moment, he could already mobilize most of the barrier's defensive, offensive, and auxiliary functions, and could treat it as an offensive-defensive, mobile, Grotto-Heaven-level "Lifebound Treasure"! Its significance was no less than a several-fold surge in his strength!

"Good! With this, my confidence in dealing with those lackeys of 'the end' is much greater!" Lin Wan thought, feeling encouraged, and slowly restrained his aura.

The Dao Seed above his head, having absorbed enough Barrier Origin power, retracted its silver light and sank back into his brow. However, its form was now more solid and profound, and the Dao charm it emitted was even more vast and supreme.

The Chaos Five Elements Wheel also returned to its normal rotation speed, and the descending beam of light slowly dissipated.

He opened his eyes, chaotic radiance swirling within his pupils, as if scenes of heaven and earth being created and stars being born and dying flashed by, before returning to a deep calm.

His aura was now firmly stabilized at the Nascent Soul Great Perfection, and moreover, it was the top-tier Nascent Soul Great Perfection with an unimaginably solid Foundation, Infant Essence condensed to the extreme, and an understanding of the Great Dao far surpassing his peers!

He was truly only a line away from Soul Transformation.

"It is time to come out of seclusion. I wonder how Senior Brother Han and Fellow Daoist Liao Chen are progressing."

Lin Wan rose to his feet. With a slight movement of his mind, he sensed that Han Lingtian and Liao Chen were still in their respective meditation chambers, cultivating diligently. Their auras were stable, they had each made progress, and it seemed they were also on the verge of a Breakthrough.

Just as he was about to send a voice transmission to ask, his brow suddenly furrowed!

At the very moment his cultivation broke through and he initially bound the barrier, that sense of near-oneness with the barrier allowed his perception of the barrier's perimeter to reach an unprecedented level of sharpness.

Just a moment ago, he had clearly "captured" that outside the "boundary membrane" of the Five Elements Barrier, about three thousand li away in that gray fog region belonging to the edge of the ancient battlefield, there appeared several extremely subtle, yet unusually "regular" spatial fluctuations—fluctuations completely different from the natural spatial turbulence of the Heavenly Ruins!

These fluctuations were extremely obscure; had he not been bound to the barrier and his perception increased drastically, he would have been unable to detect them. Their frequency and characteristics were vaguely similar to the fluctuations when that previous self-destructing flying boat opened a "portal," but they were more Advanced and stable.

It was the side of "the end"! Moreover, those who had come this time were likely not just one flying boat, and not just one "Apostle"!

"They are here!" Lin Wan's eyes turned cold, and with a flash, he appeared on the platform below the barrier's core control hub—the Chaos Five Elements Wheel.

At the same time, he sent a Divine Sense transmission that instantly reached where Han Lingtian and Liao Chen were in seclusion:

"Senior Brother Han, Fellow Daoist Liao Chen, come to the core hub immediately! There is an enemy attack, and it is extraordinary!"

Han Lingtian and Liao Chen in their meditation chambers were awakened almost simultaneously. Sensing the gravity in Lin Wan's tone, they did not hesitate, immediately ending their cultivation and transforming into streaks of light, shooting toward the core hub.

A few breaths later, the two arrived beside Lin Wan.

"Junior Brother Lin, what happened?" Han Lingtian asked urgently, his hand already gripping his heavy sword.

"Amitabha, Fellow Daoist Lin, is it those lackeys of 'the end' who have returned?" Liao Chen also looked grave.

"Correct, and this time, they are likely the 'elite,'" Lin Wan said in a deep voice, while mentally communicating with the Chaos Five Elements Wheel.

The wheel's light swirled, projecting a clear light screen in front of them that displayed the real-time scene within a three-thousand-li radius outside the barrier.

In the light screen, at the edge of that gray-fog-filled ancient battlefield, three twisted, unstable spatial ripples were slowly calming down.

Where the ripples dissipated, three... shuttle-shaped warships were revealed! Their style was similar to the previous self-destructing flying boat, but they were larger, with more ferocious designs, smoother lines, and their entire bodies were covered in a deeper, matte black coating that seemed to absorb all light!

Each warship was over thirty zhang long, with a bow sharp as a spear, and on both sides were several pairs of flexible, rotating secondary cannons and detection arrays that resembled insect limbs and shimmered with a dark metallic luster.

The surface of the hull was also inscribed with that twisted, inward-rotating dark vortex emblem, only it was larger in size, the patterns were more complex, and it emitted an even colder pressure.

Even more heart-stopping was the fact that these three warships did not immediately approach to scout like the previous flying boat. They were suspended in the void about two thousand five hundred li from the barrier's boundary membrane in a triangular Formation, and between them, there seemed to be some kind of invisible energy link, faintly forming a triangular array.

On the surface of the warships, those dark detection arrays flickered slightly, clearly conducting a more comprehensive and covert long-range scan.

"Three of them... and they look more than a notch stronger than the previous one," Han Lingtian said with a grave expression.

"They seem to be setting up an array, or... waiting for something?" Liao Chen observed.

Lin Wan's gaze was sharp as he stared intently at the light screen. He could feel that the aura emitted by these three warships was colder and more dangerous, and the energy reactions contained within them far exceeded that of the previous "Apostle" flying boat; each one likely possessed terrifying firepower capable of threatening a Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator.

Moreover, their current Formation and behavior were clearly more professional and methodical, by no means comparable to that lone-acting "scout" from before.

"A 'Hunters' squad, huh..." Lin Wan muttered to himself. From the fragmented information he had forcibly read from the remnants of the previous "Apostle" using the power of the Dao Seed, he had vaguely learned that within the "Shadow of the End," there existed combat units with different functions.

Among them, those responsible for tracking and hunting down high-value targets were the "Hunters." It seemed that he, this "Five Elements Dao Seed Inheritor," had already been listed as a "high-value target."

Just as he was pondering, the three black warships seemed to have completed their preliminary long-range scan. On one of the warships, which was slightly larger and located at the apex of the triangular Formation, a point of scarlet light suddenly lit up at the bow.

Immediately following, a high-energy particle beam, only as thick as a thumb, condensed to the extreme, showing an interweaving of dark red and pitch black, and seemingly capable of piercing through everything—silently and soundlessly, yet faster than thought, crossed the distance of two thousand five hundred li in an instant and slammed heavily into the boundary membrane of the Five Elements Barrier!

"Zzz—!!!"

The moment the beam struck the boundary membrane, it did not trigger a violent explosion; instead, it emitted a teeth-grinding, sharp screech, like strong acid corroding metal!

At the point of impact on the boundary membrane, the chaotic Five Elements light flickered and oscillated violently. On its surface, there appeared a tiny, needle-tip-sized, yet exceptionally deep indentation, its edges charred and corroded!

Although this indentation was instantly repaired and smoothed over by the Five Elements Returning to Ruins power circulating within the boundary membrane itself, this scene made the pupils of Lin Wan and the other two constrict!

"It can actually cause visible damage to the boundary membrane?!" Han Lingtian gasped.

The detection and contamination from those "Apostles" before hadn't caused such an obvious reaction from the boundary membrane.

"The penetrative and corrosive nature of this attack is far superior to before." Liao Chen also looked solemn.

Lin Wan's gaze was icy. This strike was a probe and a show of force. The enemy was demonstrating their military might and testing the defensive strength of the barrier.

Judging from the results, the enemy's attacks could indeed pose a certain threat to the boundary membrane. Although the damage from a single attack was negligible, if they attacked continuously, or if they possessed more powerful means of attack, it was hard to guarantee that problems wouldn't arise.

"We cannot just sit here and take a beating." Lin Wan's thoughts raced, and he instantly took control of the barrier's defense and counterattack System. "Since they are attacking from a distance, then we... will also show them what we're made of!"

He pressed his hands into the air, and his Chaos Infant Essence surged wildly into the Chaos Five Elements Wheel before him.

The wheel suddenly accelerated its rotation, and at its center, the Five Elements region shone brilliantly!

"Five Elements Rotation, Returning to Ruins as the Blade—Geng Metal Void-Rending Cannon, fire in unison!"

Following Lin Wan's command, on the boundary membrane outside the barrier, corresponding to the direction of those three black warships, dozens of blinding golden spots of light suddenly lit up!

Each spot of light was the muzzle of a powerful "Geng Metal Void-Rending Cannon" hidden behind the boundary membrane and integrated into the barrier!

"Hum——!!!"

Amidst the piercing hum, dozens of Geng Metal Void-Rending Cannon beams, as thick as water buckets, dark gold in color, containing countless fine spatial cracks within, and exuding an invincible sharp aura, tore through the Void Realm like dozens of golden lightning bolts, firing furiously toward the three black warships suspended in a triangular Formation twenty-five hundred li away!

The power of each cannon beam was comparable to a full-force strike from a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivator. Dozens fired at once were enough to instantly severely injure or even kill a Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator!

Moreover, the spatial cutting power contained within the beams had an extremely strong destructive effect on both physical entities and energy shields.

Facing this sudden, dense, and fierce counterattack, the three black warships seemed to have anticipated it.

They did not panic; the dim light on the surface of their hulls suddenly brightened, and a thicker, deeper, pitch-black energy shield that seemed capable of devouring all light instantly expanded over the hulls.

At the same time, as if they had practiced it countless times, the three warships simultaneously executed evasive maneuvers, their speed instantly skyrocketing as they traced three strange, unpredictable trajectories through the Void Realm, attempting to avoid most of the cannon fire.

However, the cannon fire Lin Wan controlled was not a simple saturation barrage.

With the help of his control bound to the barrier, as well as the Five Elements Guixu Dao Seed's keen perception of energy and space, he precisely fine-tuned the trajectories of these dozens of cannon beams, faintly forming a three-dimensional interlocking web of fire, sealing off most of the enemy's evasion space.

"Boom boom boom boom——!!!"

The majority of the Geng Metal Void-Rending Cannon beams slammed heavily into the pitch-black energy shields of those three warships!

This time, there was no silent annihilation. Violent energy explosions bloomed on the surface of the pitch-black shields, emitting blinding golden and black light!

The shields oscillated violently, dense ripples spreading across their surfaces, even faintly indenting inward, clearly bearing immense pressure. But, they still did not shatter!

Their defensive power was far superior to the light membrane of that individual "Apostle" from before.

However, under such dense firepower, the evasive maneuvers of the three warships were completely disrupted, and their Formation appeared momentarily scattered.

One of the warships on the flank, which seemed to have been "cared for" with particular focus, had its shield light significantly dimmed, and its hull vibrated slightly; it had clearly suffered non-trivial damage.

"It's effective!" Han Lingtian clenched his fist.

"Although their defenses are strong, they are not impregnable. By concentrating our firepower, we can break them." Liao Chen also saw the trick.

However, there was no joy on Lin Wan's face. He clearly felt that this round of salvo from the barrier had consumed a considerable amount of energy.

Yet the enemy had merely had their Formation disrupted and suffered some light injuries; they were far from being critically damaged. Moreover, the enemy had clearly tested out a portion of the barrier's firepower.

As expected, after the three black warships stabilized their Formation, they did not immediately launch a second round of attacks.

The crimson light at the bow of the main warship lit up again, but this time, instead of firing a beam, it emitted an invisible, more condensed, and more eerie detection wave, which instantly swept across the boundary membrane, seemingly analyzing the energy properties, trajectories, and the barrier's energy response to the previous cannon fire.

At the same time, the other two warships slowly adjusted their hulls, and several larger, strangely shaped cannon muzzles slowly extended from their broadsides, aiming toward the barrier.

Inside the muzzles, a more violent, more ominous energy glow, interwoven with dark red, pale white, and pitch black, began to converge.

"They are analyzing our attack patterns and preparing a more powerful counterattack." Lin Wan's gaze was icy. "We cannot give them the chance to prepare at their leisure. Senior Brother Han, Fellow Daoist Liao Chen, you two control the 'Yi Wood Spirit-Entangling Net' and the 'Mystic Ice Sealing Array' on the left and right sides of the barrier to interfere with their mobility and energy convergence. I will control the main cannon and give them a heavy blow!"

"Understood!" Han Lingtian and Liao Chen immediately agreed, their Divine Sense sinking into the barrier control nodes that Lin Wan had temporarily assigned to them.

Although they could not wield it as easily as Lin Wan, they could still manage to control some fixed defensive and interference Formations.

"Yi Wood Spirit-Entangling, Myriad Spirits Binding—Activate!"

"Mystic Ice Sealing, Freezing the Void Realm—Activate!"

Following their manipulation, countless thick, flexible, verdant-glowing, and seemingly living "Yi Wood Spirit Vines," as well as vast swathes of deep-blue "Mystic Ice Absolute Cold Qi" exuding a bone-chilling cold, suddenly extended from both sides of the barrier's boundary membrane.

Like a spreading plague, they rapidly spread and enveloped the area where the three black warships were located! The spirit vines attempted to entangle and bind the hulls, while the cold qi attempted to freeze space, slow their movements, and interfere with their energy circulation.

"Five Elements Returning to Ruins, Myriad Laws Return to One—Li Fire Heaven-Burning Cannon, Mystic Water Soul-Eroding Wave, prepare!"

Lin Wan directly mobilized two mixed-attribute attack Formations within the barrier that possessed greater power but also required longer charging times.

On the Chaos Five Elements Wheel, the regions representing "Li Fire" and "Mystic Water" flashed brilliantly.

In front of the barrier, two even larger cannon muzzle phantoms slowly condensed; one surged internally with terrifying flames of dark red that seemed capable of burning up the stars, and the other rippled with dark, mysterious water waves that seemed capable of eroding the Divine Soul and corrupting all things.

"Fire!"

Just at the moment when the three black warships were slightly delayed by the spreading Yi Wood Spirit Vines and Mystic Ice cold qi, and their broadside cannon energy convergence was also disrupted, a cold light flashed in Lin Wan's eyes, and he ferociously launched the attack he had been charging!

"Boom! Hum——!!!"

A dark red Heaven-Burning fire pillar, over three zhang in diameter and resembling a fire dragon emerging from its lair, and a silent, dark Mystic Water wave that seemed capable of devouring all light, fired furiously toward the three black warships in a pincer Formation from the left and right!

Wherever the fire pillar passed, space twisted and heat waves scorched the sky; where the water wave swept by, the Void Realm silently annihilated, as if even Divine Sense would be corroded and devoured.

Just in terms of raw power, these two attacks had faintly touched the threshold of Soul Transformation! Even a Nascent Soul Great Perfection Cultivator would not dare to take them head-on.

The three black warships clearly felt the fatal threat as well. The crimson light on the main warship flashed wildly, as if an emergency order had been issued.

The pitch-black shields on the surfaces of the three warships instantly connected into one, transforming into a larger, more solid, triangular-pyramid-shaped energy shield, firmly protecting the three ships within.

At the same time, they abandoned continuing to charge their broadside cannons, pouring all energy into defense.

"Rumble——!!!"

The Heaven-Burning fire pillar and the Soul-Eroding water wave slammed heavily into the triangular-pyramid-shaped pitch-black shield almost simultaneously!

An indescribable, terrifying explosion instantly engulfed that part of the Void Realm! Blinding light and violent energy turbulence, mixed with the corrosive aura of "the end" and the purifying power of the Five Elements Returning to Ruins, clashed and annihilated madly, forming a short-lived, destructive energy vortex over a hundred li in diameter!

Even the boundary membrane of the barrier in the distance was struck by the aftermath of this explosion, causing it to oscillate violently and flash chaotically.

The Yi Wood Spirit Vines and Mystic Ice cold qi controlled by Han Lingtian and Liao Chen were instantly torn to shreds by the aftermath of this explosion.

The energy turbulence slowly subsided, and the light dissipated.

It could be seen that at the location where the three black warships had been, the triangular-pyramid-shaped pitch-black shield had already vanished.

All three warships were in a wretched state. The main warship, located at the tip of the triangular pyramid and having borne the main impact, had its hull covered in charred and corroded marks, with armor ruptured in many places, emitting hissing black smoke.

One of its broadside secondary cannons had been blown away, the light of the entire warship had dimmed by more than half, and it was teetering on the brink of collapse.

The other two, although relatively less damaged, had their shields completely shattered, and their hulls were equally scarred; they had clearly also lost most of their combat capability.

"We succeeded!" Han Lingtian's face showed joy.

"Amitabha, this strike should be enough to severely injure them." Liao Chen also breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Lin Wan's gaze was locked tightly onto the main warship that had suffered the most damage but had not immediately exploded or fled.

He sensed that inside that main warship, a more icy, more profound, and more... "living" terrifying aura was slowly awakening and rising!

That was not the aura of the warship itself, but... some kind of more powerful individual existence hidden inside the warship, belonging to the side of "the end"!

"Careful! They... still have a trump card!" Lin Wan shouted sharply. At the same time, without hesitation, he once again activated the Chaos Five Elements Wheel, preparing to launch the next, even more violent round of attacks, seeking to completely annihilate them before the enemy could fully react.

But, it seemed... it was already too late.

On that broken main warship, in the center of its hull, a piece of the thickest armor slowly slid open to the sides. It revealed a deep, dark entrance that seemed to lead to another dimension.

Immediately following, a figure slowly... stepped out from that entrance.