176: Chapter 176 Foundation Building Preparations

Eight hundred zhang deep in the Yunmeng Great Swamp, it was pitch black and freezing cold.

Bone-chilling cold currents, mixed with the stagnant, pitch-black miasma that had accumulated over years, rushed madly along the underwater currents, scouring the hard basalt walls.

The water pressure was heavy as a mountain; ordinary refined iron would be crushed into a pile of slag within a few breaths in such an abyss.

Deep within the basalt walls, inside a hidden Immortal Cave completely encased in special titanium-carbon alloy and energy-absorbing gel, the water rippled slightly.

Gu Shen's tall, upright figure slowly solidified from the void.

His feet stepped onto the dry refined iron floor. The Thousand Faces mask adhered to his face, completely concealing his aura. Without active and careful probing, others would be unable to detect anything amiss. All around was silent; not a sound stirred.

With a wave of his large sleeves, eleven Demon Bone Iron Guards in full matte black armor thundered into Formation around the Immortal Cave.

Their heavy tonnage landing caused the refined iron floor to emit a dull groan.

Through the gaps in their chest armor, the faint blue glow of the miniature fusion batteries could be seen slowly circulating. The eleven Iron Guards were like eleven shield walls, filling the small, cramped Immortal Cave, constructing an airtight barrier of heavy metal.

"Form up."

Gu Shen's expression was calm as he wiped his finger across his Storage Ring.

The main and auxiliary Formation Flags of the Xuanming Heavy Water Array, which had been scattered by the Black Flood Dragon earlier, all flew out, transforming into several streams of light, precisely pinning themselves deep into the basalt nodes at the eight compass points of the Immortal Cave.

Although the Formation Plate had some damage, it was still usable, and the drainage circuits at the base of the Formation remained clear.

Gu Shen flicked his sleeve, counting out thirty-six Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and flicked his fingers repeatedly.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

All thirty-six Spirit Stones were embedded into the spirit-gathering grooves at the core of the Formation Plate. The pure spiritual power was instantly drained, and dazzling azure Formation patterns lit up on the surface of the Formation Plate.

Hum~~

A deep, thick layer of blue, rippling light shield rose with a boom, hugging the inner wall of the titanium-carbon alloy.

This Formation borrowed the terrifying kinetic energy formed by the eight-hundred-zhang deep water outside. The stronger the water pressure, the more violent the water-elemental spiritual energy drawn by the Formation became, and the more indestructible the resulting isolation barrier was. Physical shielding combined with the Formation's isolation turned this square inch of space into a physical black box completely cut off from the world.

Gu Shen stood in the center of the Formation Plate, his gaze falling upon the mechanical spider on his shoulder.

"Crab, self-check all global parameters. Cut off all active transmission ports for sonar and microwave radar, and switch to absolute silent passive monitoring mode." Gu Shen's voice was low and hoarse as he issued the highest level of concealment order.

The mechanical spider's eight limbs quickly retracted, turning into an iron clasp that clamped tightly onto Gu Shen's collar in the blink of an eye. The light on its detection head instantly dimmed, retaining only a faint, barely perceptible glimmer.

"Understood, Master. The underlying hardware has locked the active detection circuits; the silent monitoring module is online at full power."

Crab's mechanical electronic voice traveled along Gu Shen's collarbone into his eardrum, revealing the absolute rigor of data computation, "The physical isolation rate inside and outside the Immortal Cave is currently one hundred percent.

The external water pressure reading is stable, and no large cold-blooded heat sources have been detected approaching. We are completely invisible on both physical and electromagnetic levels."

Gu Shen nodded slightly, walked to the dry prayer mat in the deepest part of the Immortal Cave, and sat cross-legged.

Within his Meridians, dark cyan mana slowly circulated. The Dark Gold Thunder Bone emitted a fine resonance deep within his flesh, devouring all excess heat from his body.

At this moment, the rear base was secure, the guardian Iron Guards were reset to their Peak, and the surrounding Formation was as stable as Mount Tai.

It was time for a Breakthrough.

Gu Shen's eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze like a torch. His right hand reached into the deepest part of his Storage Ring, and two incredibly heavy boxes landed steadily on the bluestone table before him.

The box on the left was a Spirit-Sealing Iron Box made of heavy lead several inches thick mixed with special Shelter steel, its surface densely branded with several Yin-Locking Formation patterns.

The one on the right was a millennium-old sunken wood jade box, warm to the touch and emitting a faint, refreshing fragrance of vegetation.

These two supreme treasures were the ultimate foundation, obtained only after crossing two worlds and enduring countless schemes and bloody battles.

"Screech."

Gu Shen acted decisively; Geng Metal sharp Qi spat from his fingertips, directly prying open the Yin-Locking Talisman on the surface of the heavy lead iron box.

Accompanied by the heavy sound of the mechanism springing open, the lid opened.

Whoosh—

A burst of high-frequency radiation mist, appearing in a deathly grey-blue, instantly surged out from the bottom of the box.

The originally mild air inside the Immortal Cave dropped several dozen degrees in an instant, and a thick layer of black frost instantly condensed on the surface of the bluestone table.

In the center of the bottom of the box, a fist-sized, irregular polyhedral crystal floated silently.

[nirvana nuclear crystal].

Inside the crystal, it seemed as if a micro-star constantly undergoing birth and destruction fusion was sealed. Interwoven within the blinding grey-blue light were the violent destructive kinetic energy of nuclear fusion and the long-accumulated Death Qi of Wasteland alienation.

As soon as this object appeared, layers of metal oxidation patches grew on the surrounding refined iron walls, and the Law of Destruction was wantonly displayed.

Gu Shen's expression did not change; his left hand formed a sword finger and he took the opportunity to pry open the millennium-old sunken wood jade box on the right.

Click.

The lid slid open, and an anomaly, diametrically opposed to the cold deathly silence on the left, erupted with a boom.

A pure, vast, and thick, almost tangible vitality of ten thousand zhang of spring water burst forth from the jade box. The azure Formation light throughout the Immortal Cave surged violently under the scouring of this vitality, and a strange fragrance that made one's pores relax permeated the air.

At the bottom of the jade box floated a fist-sized, emerald-colored gelatinous substance resembling top-grade kongqing spirit marrow.

[kongqing spirit marrow].

This mass, which had condensed the core Origin of Essence Spirits that had breathed the essence of heaven, earth, sun, and moon for ten thousand years, had cyan Qi flowing within, endless and unceasing, emitting an auspicious halo interwoven with imperial yellow and azure.

With both treasures out, the balance of this small space was instantly shattered.

Sizzle—!!!

The grey-blue destructive Death Qi on the left and the emerald extreme Yang vitality on the right collided with a boom at an extremely close distance.

Without any external force to drive them, two extreme Origin powers formed an energy storm visible to the naked eye above the table. Grey-blue frost and dark green phantoms of vital vines crazily entangled and bit each other in mid-air.

The air emitted a harsh, tearing sound as if it couldn't bear the load, and the titanium-tungsten black armor on the bodies of the twelve nuclear-powered Demon Bone Iron Guards nearby emitted a low-frequency resonance.

"Master! Warning!"

The iron clasp on his collar vibrated crazily, and Crab's voice carried the tremor of computed data, "The energy readings above the table are breaking through critical values in both directions! The radiation decay constant on the left is forcibly erasing the cell division telomeres on the right, and the biological polymers on the right are attempting to assimilate the heavy metal ions on the left! These two substances are absolutely mutually exclusive in their physical properties!"

Gu Shen turned a deaf ear, his hands resting flat on his knees.

He knew the background of these two exotic items all too well. The kongqing spirit marrow represented the ten-thousand-year extreme vitality under the Heavenly Dao order of the Cultivation World, containing the extreme Yang Origin; the nirvana nuclear crystal represented the ultimate destruction of fission out of control in the desperate Wasteland technology, containing the extreme Yin death-evil.

The traditional Foundation Establishment of the Great Yu Cultivation World involved choosing an exotic item of heaven and earth with a compatible attribute, swallowing it into the Dantian, and using the Laws of the Heavenly Dao to build a foundation platform.

Gu Shen insisted on going against this principle.

"Heavenly Dao exotic items are the chains of the herder, while practicing the Wasteland crystal alone easily damages one's intelligence."

Gu Shen's withered fingers gripped his knees tightly, and the Dark Gold Thunder Bone emitted a high-pitched ringing inside his body, shattering all the frost and scorching heat approaching his body.

"Since I possess the resources of both worlds, I must use these two items as each other's Cauldron, with birth and death in one body. I will forcibly forge that dual-world Dao foundation that leaps beyond the shackles of the Heavenly Dao."

Gu Shen closed his eyes, and the AI Crystal deep within his brow pulsed at high frequency.

Multi-threaded parallel calculation was fully activated, and dozens of absolutely calm control zones were instantly segmented in his mind.

The first thread locked tightly onto the dark cyan poisonous mana of the Longevity Art, drawing it all to the periphery of the Dantian to construct the first line of defense;

The second thread drew upon the thunder-magnetic essence of the Bone Refining Art, densely covering his internal organs and the inner walls of his Meridians to form an indestructible physical protective layer;

The remaining threads were like tens of millions of high-precision sensors, precisely locking onto the two masses of supreme treasure Origin that were crazily eroding each other above the table.

The preparation had reached its limit. All sunk costs had been invested.

This gamble of life and death, it all comes down to today.

Gu Shen suddenly opened his eyes, and a cold light interwoven with deep blue and dark gold flashed in the depths of his eyes. His hands transformed into two invisible giant hands, one left and one right, grabbing the two violently incomparable exotic Origin masses with extreme seasoned skill.

"Come."

Gu Shen's chest heaved, emitting a low, hoarse intake and exhalation.