423: Chapter 423 Mental Breakthrough to the 60-Point Limit

Beneath the crimson canopy, the battle had reached a white-hot fervor.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

A tiny human figure was swinging his fists directly at the colossal eyeball that obscured the entire sky.

This should have been a scene of a mantis trying to stop a chariot, but at this moment, it presented a magnificent spectacle of a Mortal shaking a deity.

Fang Cheng's entire body was burning with scarlet-gold flames.

Beneath his bronze-colored skin, the bulging veins twisted and flowed like molten lava.

His taut muscles were even more like a body of red-hot steel, erupting with unimaginable power.

The scorching, bright flames danced wildly with his punching movements, as if they wanted to burn a hole through this dome of heaven.

One punch.

A hundred punches.

A thousand punches.

Ten thousand punches...

In an instant, the space in front of him was completely filled with boundless fist shadows.

Every single fist shadow dragged a scarlet-gold flame tail behind it, as solid as burning meteorites.

Wherever the fist shadows reached, space was distorted and torn apart, emitting a continuous series of sonic booms.

They were no longer mere shadows, but the ultimate condensed will of destruction, the pure power to shatter the Law.

Tens of thousands of "meteors" formed a Heaven-Defying upward storm, launching a fearless bombardment from a tiny individual toward the supreme existence.

The massive crimson eye was finally no longer indifferent, the coldness deep within its pupil being replaced by shock and anger.

In response, countless tentacles shot out abruptly from the crimson iris.

Those tentacles were condensed from the purest Chaos and malice, each as thick as a mountain range, whipping and cracking the earth, lashing all things as they danced.

Like the embodiment of divine punishment, carrying the will to crush everything, they met that scarlet-gold storm of fist shadows.

However, in this space constructed by consciousness, Fang Cheng's fist speed had long surpassed the shackles of thought, and even transcended the limits of time.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap——

The sharp, rapid sonic booms eventually merged into one, transforming into a terrifying roar capable of tearing the firmament apart.

Countless fist shadows and flames converged in a single instant, bursting forth with incomparably dazzling light, as if a scarlet-gold scorching sun had suddenly risen!

The scorching light and waves engulfed the massive eyeball, along with the tens of thousands of tentacles whipping out wildly, shattering, burning, and dissolving them completely.

A violent energy hurricane swept through the entire crimson space.

Creak!

A crisp, extreme cracking sound echoed across the sky.

After enduring countless heavy blows, the giant eye's sclera finally cracked open with a clear fissure, oozing dark red fluid from the pitch-black crack.

Following that, the second and third cracks spread rapidly, until hundreds and thousands of scars covered its surface.

Like a piece of crimson porcelain about to shatter completely.

Fang Cheng's gaze narrowed, gathering his full Battle Intent to deliver the final fatal blow.

At that very instant, a dark red stream of light flew in from beyond the heavens without any warning.

That was a spear condensed from vital blood and resentment, which abruptly pierced through the spatial barrier and crashed hard into the crack-filled massive eyeball.

Boom——

The explosion sound of the impact was drowned out in the roar of the sky-filling fist shadows, appearing silent, yet it became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The entire crimson space vibrated violently with this blow, and countless ripples spread out.

The sky, the earth, the fog, everything began to turn transparent, rapidly fading like reflections in water.

Fang Cheng's final charged punch thus landed entirely on empty air.

The crimson space before his eyes was rapidly fading into illusion, silently slipping into the endless darkness.

"It disappeared again?"

Fang Cheng's motion of hovering in mid-air abruptly froze, his pupils sharply contracting.

The next second, his consciousness returned to his body like a tide.

The lingering echoes of the fierce battle had not yet dissipated.

Roaring sonic booms seemed to still echo in his ears, yet before his eyes was already a silent living room.

The city lights outside the window were blocked by the curtains, casting only a faint beam of light through the gap, outlining the vague contours of the furniture.

The huge contrast between reality and consciousness left Fang Cheng dazed for a moment.

He sat cross-legged in the darkness just like that, letting his heartbeat gradually calm down from its frenzy.

After a long while, he muttered softly:

"That's not right, that last hit just now doesn't seem like something I threw..."

Recalling carefully, although his attention at the time was entirely focused on the crimson eye, he still captured a momentary abnormal fluctuation.

Judging by the trajectory of movement, that red light looked more like energy from the outside world.

Fang Cheng furrowed his brows slightly, a trace of doubt in his heart.

Did it accidentally collide with some evil thought drifting everywhere in the conscious world?

Or was someone targeting his coordinates and deliberately launching a mental attack?

Or perhaps it was the mental ability user hiding in the Noah Building who controlled the crimson eye, carrying out a retaliatory measure because the Inner World was destroyed?

But these guesses all seemed to not hold water.

The target of this external consciousness attack was clearly the crimson eye, rather than him, the "chief culprit" who had lashed out fiercely at the crimson eye.

In a sense, during that brief instant, he and this unknown force reached a tacit agreement due to a common enemy.

Fang Cheng pondered for a long time, and finally shook his head.

If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't think about it too much for now.

At this moment, a strong feeling of dryness and thirst surged from deep within his throat.

He immediately got up, walked over to the refrigerator, took out a large bottle of iced cola, tilted his head back, and chugged down more than half of it.

The cool, sweet liquid slid down his throat into his stomach, suppressing the inner heat a bit.

Nearly 24 hours had passed since he swallowed the crimson eye, and the negative effects were still continuing.

Fang Cheng could not feel hunger at all now, replaced instead by a lingering feverish heat and thirst.

As for the mental problems, they had not been completely eliminated either.

Just moments ago, he had wanted to continue practicing Meditation to carry out deep self-purification.

Who would have thought that as soon as his consciousness sank, those thoughts filled with desires of slaughter and devouring would suddenly pop up, aggressively dragging him back into that bizarre crimson space.

When Cultivating Meditation by the seaside in the early morning, although he relied on the Flame of Spirituality to temporarily solve the problem of mental pollution, that crimson space was not actually completely destroyed.

Instead, just like this time, it instantly turned to illusion at the last critical moment and fled into the darkness.

Fang Cheng vaguely had a feeling that the residual consciousness of the crimson eye seemed to have merged deep into his Soul.

Usually unnoticeable, once he entered the Meditative state, it would quietly emerge, wrapping around his consciousness like countless tentacles, constantly stirring up the hidden negative emotions of violence, greed, and others deep within his heart.

Just like the "Heart Demon" spoken of by ancient practitioners, it hid in the shadows, constantly peering and watching, waiting only for the original owner's mind to relax in order to disrupt cultivation and devour their sanity.

Fang Cheng guessed that this situation should be related to the level of consciousness.

Lin Chuqiao had once talked to him about knowledge regarding psychology.

Human consciousness was like a huge iceberg, and the "surface consciousness" that could be perceived daily was merely a tiny corner exposed above the sea surface.

Beneath the sea surface was the immensely vast and profound "subconscious".

It was like a gloomy Secret Realm, storing all the experiences, suppressed desires, and primitive instinctive impulses of a human individual from the beginning of birth to the end of life.

And this dark side located in the ocean of consciousness naturally became the hiding place for "foreign objects".

For example, the mysterious blue phantom that had appeared before, the residual consciousness of the crimson eye at this moment, or the Power Of Will residue accumulated inside the golden bumpa bottle.

Although their essence was absorbed by himself, those "Impurities" that could not be completely purified by the Flame of Spirituality fell like sediment to the very bottom of the ocean of consciousness.

Compared to the previous direct outbreaks of mental pollution, their influence was now weakened, but they had become more covert and elusive.

Like a time bomb deeply buried in the consciousness, slowly accumulating strength, waiting for the day it detonated.

Fang Cheng rubbed his swollen glabella, closing his eyes to rest his mind for a moment.

The battle on the level of consciousness did not consume much physical strength, but the loss of spiritual energy was exceptionally severe.

After all, in that crimson space, he had to rely purely on his spiritual will to face the giant eyeball that almost blocked out the sky.

Speaking of which, that "assist" flying in from beyond the heavens just now seemed to have caused a certain degree of injury to the crimson eye in terms of effect.

It had genuinely done him a favor.

The room was dead silent.

Just as Fang Cheng was concentrating and pondering, the subtle sounds around him were also clearly transmitted into his ears.

Gurgle, gurgle.

That was the faint sound of the refrigerant flowing internally after the refrigerator compressor stopped working.

But Fang Cheng suddenly noticed something was wrong.

His five senses seemed to be undergoing some marvelous change.

His hearing became sharper; he could even capture the sound of the jumping spider's appendage bristles rubbing against the floor as it crawled in the corner of the wall.

His sense of smell was likewise magnified. Apart from the faint damp moisture in the air, there was also a wisp of a faint, salty, fishy smell.

That was the breath unique to sea salt and tides blowing from the seaside across two blocks.

Even his sense of touch transcended common sense.

Clearly the doors and windows were tightly shut, yet his skin could clearly perceive the airflow generated inside the room due to temperature differences, gently brushing past like a feather.

As for vision...

Fang Cheng slowly opened his eyes.

The darkness before his eyes was not dispelled thereby, but he "saw" the wind.

The trajectories of those naked-eye-invisible air currents flowing in the dim light now presented themselves vividly in his field of vision, resembling transparent little snakes slowly swimming about.

This marvelous sensory perception could previously only be briefly experienced when entering deep Meditation.

But now, he had long left the Meditative state, yet this feeling had not dissipated, resembling an inborn instinct.

As if on the level of consciousness, he had crossed a critical threshold.

The entire world thus became vibrant and three-dimensional.

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and pulled back the curtains.

The city night view outside the window unfolded like a scroll.

On the beach two kilometers away, a few tourists were strolling, their leisurely expressions clearly discernible on their faces.

Further away, the mottled walls of the white abandoned lighthouse on the cliff emitted a hazy fluorescent glow under the moonlight.

All of this did not use Eagle Eye Vision, yet all the details were vividly clear, as if close at hand.

Extending his line of sight further forward, crossing Qingshui Bay, several ships were scattered across the sea surface like ink dots.

One of the luxury yachts was docked in the middle of the sea nearly eight kilometers away, its deck brightly lit.

Fang Cheng's pupils contracted slightly, and then he activated Eagle Eye Vision.

The image in his field of vision instantly magnified.

His gaze easily penetrated the window glass of the yacht's second-floor bedroom, where a sultry scene was unfolding inside.

A balding middle-aged man was embracing a woman wearing a bikini, his hands wandering mischievously.

The subsequent scenes were somewhat unsuitable for children.

Fang Cheng withdrew his gaze, having no interest in continuing to watch.

In the darkness, his eyes were bright and glowing. Thinking of something, he immediately opened the stat panel.

The light blue light screen quietly unfolded before his eyes.

[Strength: 60]

[Agility: 60]

[Physique: 59]

[Spirit: 60]

His gaze fell on the Spirit attribute column, and when he saw the number "60", Fang Cheng secretly thought:

"As expected..."

Defeating the crimson eye once more on the level of consciousness and purifying its pollution allowed his spiritual energy to further condense and grow, and his will also became firmer.

Reflected on the panel stats, it was naturally an increase in numerical values.

Fang Cheng nodded slightly, and although he felt gratified by this, he was not surprised.

This was a matter of course; even without this accident, relying on unremitting daily Meditation, he could grind through this threshold.

What made him even more excited was that by now, among the four attributes, three had successfully broken through the limit barrier of 60 points.

Only the final Physique remained!

Fang Cheng's thoughts shifted slightly, his gaze sweeping across the scrolling prompt information of attribute and experience increases on the panel.

Suddenly, he paused on one of them.

[Boxing Experience +30]

Fang Cheng's eyes flickered slightly.

Battles on the level of consciousness could actually also increase combat skill experience?

Recalling the scene in that crimson space, when he executed "Infinite Combo", his fist speed could be said to have almost no upper limit.

Relying solely on a raging Battle Intent, he pushed his physical endurance to an unprecedented Peak.

Even completely transcending physical limitations, unleashing power and speed dozens or even hundreds of times surpassing the limits of the flesh.

That hearty, exhilarating feeling of shattering the entire space was something that could never be experienced in the real world.

It seemed that every time he beat up the crimson eye, it was equivalent to conducting a limit combat training session in the spiritual space.

"That's not bad either."

Fang Cheng's lips curved up slightly.

As for those hidden negative effects?

At worst, he would just beat it up a few more times.

Xishan, Xiao Family ancestral temple.

Inside the ancestral hall, it was as quiet and solitary as ever, the candlelight burning quietly.

"Puff——"

Xiao Linye, sitting cross-legged on the futon, shuddered violently, his complexion instantly turning from red to cyan, a trace of blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth.

He abruptly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with shock and disbelief.

The secret art had suffered a backlash!

Remaining in his mind was still the terrifyingly extreme final scene from just now.

Originally following the guidance of a vague sense, he successfully tracked down that wisp of consciousness fluctuation belonging to "White Owl".

Just as a trace of joy rose in his heart, he condensed all his spiritual energy into a blood-curse spear and stabbed it fiercely forward.

Who would have thought that the end of the passage was not the frail Soul he expected, but a giant-eyed monster as huge as a crimson sun, unimaginable in scale.

He didn't even have time to make any reaction.

Bang!

That feeling was like a high-speed train crashing head-on into a solid mountain.

Accompanied by a deafening roar akin to a train wreck and a mountain collapse, the tracking thought instantly vanished into nothingness.

His consciousness spun dizzyingly, instantly being bounced back into his body.

This is... White Owl's power?

No!

Xiao Linye breathed slightly, suspicion and uncertainty filling his eyes.

That huge red eyeball was clearly the Dharma manifestation displayed by the "crimson eye"!

But... why?

He had clearly locked onto White Owl's consciousness fluctuation, so how could it connect to the crimson eye?

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he thought of a possibility.

Could it be that the guy called White Owl had already been completely devoured by the crimson eye, becoming a part of it?

"Hmph!"

Figuring this point out, the shock on Xiao Linye's face slowly receded, replaced by a touch of sarcasm:

"Overestimating your capabilities, a taboo wondrous item like the crimson eye—is that something a Mortal like you could lay your hands on..."

Xiao Linye's face finally brimmed with a smile, wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Since it was confirmed that the crimson eye had not been destroyed, then next, he only needed to arrange manpower to secretly search for its traces in Dongdu.