CHAPTER 812: CHAPTER 422: CROSSING THE CRITICAL THRESHOLD

As for the mental issues, they have not been completely resolved.

Just now, he intended to continue practicing meditation for deeper self-purification.

Who would have thought that as soon as his consciousness sank, that thought filled with a desire for slaughter and devouring suddenly emerged, forcefully dragging him back into that eerie blood-red space once again.

During his meditation practice by the seaside at dawn, although he temporarily solved the issue of spiritual pollution by relying on his spiritual fire,

that blood-red space was actually not completely destroyed.

Instead, just like this time, it instantly dematerialized at the last moment and fled into the darkness.

Fang Cheng had a vague feeling that the consciousness residues of the Deep Red Eye seemed to have already integrated into the depths of his soul.

Ordinarily imperceptible, yet once entering the meditation state, it quietly emerges, intertwining with his consciousness like a vine, constantly arousing hidden violent, greedy, and other negative emotions within.

Just like what ancient cultivators referred to as the "Heart Demon," lurking in the shadows, always watching, just waiting for him to relax his mind, to disturb his cultivation and devour his reason.

Fang Cheng speculated that this situation probably had to do with the level of consciousness.

Lin Chuqiao once shared with him some knowledge about psychology.

Human consciousness is like a massive iceberg, the "explicit consciousness" detectable in daily life is but a tiny tip emerging above the water.

Below the surface lies an immensely vast and profound "subconscious."

It is like a dark abyssal trench, storing all experiences, repressed desires, and primitive impulses of human individuals from birth to the end of life.

And the dark side of this consciousness naturally becomes the hiding place for "foreign entities."

For instance, the mysterious blue phantom that once appeared, the residue of consciousness of the Deep Red Eye at this moment, or the wish power residues accumulated in the Golden Benba Bottle.

Their essence, although absorbed by himself, the "impurities" that cannot be completely purified by spiritual fire settle like sediment at the bottom of the sea of consciousness.

Compared to the previous direct eruptions of spiritual pollution, now they are less impactful but become more hidden and elusive, like time bombs buried in consciousness.

Fang Cheng rubbed his swelling brow, closed his eyes to rest a little. The battle on the consciousness level is not very physically demanding, but it takes an exceptionally intense toll on spiritual energy.

After all, in that blood-red space, he has to rely on pure spiritual will to face the gigantic eyeball that obscures the sky.

To the point of pushing fist speed, solely through the fiercely burning battle intent, to a level unimaginable in reality.

That sudden "assist" from afar just now seemed to have inflicted some degree of damage on the Deep Red Eye.

It indeed did him a favor.

Inside the room, silence reigned.

As Fang Cheng concentrated his thoughts, faint sounds from his surroundings entered his ears with clarity.

Gurgle, gurgle.

It was the faint sound of refrigerant flowing after the fridge compressor stopped working.

But Fang Cheng suddenly sensed something was off.

His five senses seemed to be undergoing some sort of wondrous transformation.

His hearing became more acute, allowing him to hear the sound of a jumping spider’s limbs rubbing against the floor in the corner.

His sense of smell was similarly amplified, detecting a faint scent of sea salt drifting from the coast, amidst the slightly humid air.

His skin could clearly perceive extremely subtle changes in the indoor air currents.

As for his vision...

Fang Cheng slowly opened his eyes.

The darkness before him was not dispelled, but he could miraculously "see" the wind.

Those air currents invisible to the naked eye, their flow trails in faint light,

were now vividly outlined in his vision, resembling transparent, slowly swimming little snakes.

This incredibly clear sensation of the five senses was previously something he could only temporarily experience during deep meditation sessions.

But now, even outside the meditation state, he could genuinely control this perception.

It was as if, on the consciousness level, he had crossed a critical threshold.

The whole world became vivid and three-dimensional because of this.

Upon thinking this, Fang Cheng walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and pulled open the curtains.

The city’s nightscape unfurled like a painting.

He looked towards the beach two kilometers away, where some tourists were strolling.

Further in the distance, on the cliff, that abandoned white lighthouse stood strikingly in the moonlight.

Even without using the "Eagle Eye Vision," every detail was as clear as if it were right before him.

His gaze extended further; a few ships were floating on the sea.

One luxury yacht anchored over six kilometers out at sea, its deck illuminated.

Fang Cheng’s pupils slightly constricted, the scene instantly magnified.

Through the window glass of the yacht’s second-floor bedroom, he clearly saw an amorous scene.

A balding middle-aged man was embracing a woman in a bikini, whispering sweet nothings, their actions ambiguous.

The following scenes weren’t suitable for children.

Fang Cheng retracted his gaze, uninterested in continuing to watch.

In the darkness, his eyes shone brightly as he thought of something, then immediately opened the panel.

The light blue screen quietly unfolded before him.

[Strength: 60]

[Agility: 60]

[Constitution: 59]

[Spirit: 60]

His gaze fell on the Spirit Attribute, which had astonishingly reached 60 points, and Fang Cheng thought to himself:

"As expected..."

Once again defeating the Deep Red Eye on a consciousness level, purifying its corruption, allowed his Spiritual Energy to further consolidate and strengthen, while his will became even firmer.

This was naturally reflected in the enhancement of the panel attributes.

Fang Cheng nodded slightly, feeling quite pleased, though not very surprised.

This was a matter of course, and even without this unexpected incident, he could have worn down this threshold through persistent daily meditation.

What excited him even more was that out of the four attributes, three had now successfully broken through the 60-point limit.

Only the last one, Constitution, remained!

Fang Cheng’s thoughts subtly shifted, and his gaze swept over the notification information showing the gradual increase of Spirit Attributes and Skill Experience during the battle.

Suddenly, his gaze paused on one piece of information.

[Boxing experience +20]

Fang Cheng’s eyes flickered.

The consciousness-level battle could actually improve Fighting Skills’ experience?

He recalled the feeling he had when executing the "Infinite Continuous Punching" in that blood-red space.

The speed of his punches was increasingly fast, with seemingly no limit.

Ultimately, he completely exceeded the physical limitations of the real world, unleashing power and speed tens, hundreds of times stronger than his real self.

The exhilarating feeling of blowing up the entire space was something that could never be experienced in reality.

It seems that every time he punched the Deep Red Eye, it was equivalent to conducting an extreme combat training session in the Spiritual World.

"That’s not so bad, then."

Fang Cheng’s mouth slightly curved upwards.

As for the hidden negative effects?

At worst, just punch the Deep Red Eye a few more times.

..................

West Mountain, Xiao Family Ancestral Temple.

The ancestral hall was, as usual, silent and tranquil, with candle flames gently burning.

"Puff—"

Xiao Linye, who was sitting cross-legged on the mat, suddenly trembled violently, his complexion turning from red to blue in an instant, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

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

The secret technique had suffered from backlash!

In his mind, the terrifying scene just moments ago still lingered.

Originally, following a mysterious sensation, he had successfully traced the consciousness wave belonging to the "White Owl."

As a sliver of joy arose in his heart, he gathered all his Spiritual Energy into a Blood Curse Spear and viciously thrust it.

Unexpectedly, at the end of the channel was not the fragile soul he had envisioned, but a gigantic red-eyed monster like a blood-colored sun, too massive to imagine.

He didn’t even have time to react.

BAM!

The sensation was like a high-speed train crashing headlong into an unbreakable mountain.

His proud Spiritual Attack crumbled like an egg before it.

The notion of pursuit instantly dissipated, his consciousness spun, and he was immediately bounced back into his body.

Is this... the power of the White Owl?

No!

Xiao Linye panted heavily, his eyes filled with uncertainty.

That massive red eyeball was clearly a manifestation of the "Deep Red Eye"!

But... why?

He had clearly locked onto the consciousness wave of White Owl, so how did it link to the Deep Red Eye?

Suddenly, his eyes brightened as he considered a possibility.

Could it be that the fellow called White Owl had already been completely devoured by the Deep Red Eye and become a part of it?

"Hmph!"

Understanding this, the shock on Xiao Linye’s face gradually faded, replaced by a trace of cold mockery.

"Foolish thing, the Deep Red Eye is such a forbidden artifact, not something a mere mortal like you can meddle with..."

Xiao Linye finally smiled and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Since it was confirmed that the Deep Red Eye was not destroyed, the next step was to secretly arrange for people to search for its traces in the East Capital.