Chapter Thirty-Nine: Consumed Alive

Clang, clang, clang...

Just as Wang Changsheng was cultivating, a series of sounds reached his ears, emanating from within the array. Wang Changsheng immediately awakened from his practice, frowning.

“Wasn’t this supposed to block all disturbances?” he muttered inwardly.

He opened the array and walked out onto the deck, where not a soul was present. Yet, Wang Changsheng saw the Cloud Vessel breaking through the boundary of the realm!

“So we’ve arrived at our destination,” he said.

The array on the Cloud Vessel should have isolated all interference, so it must be notifying the passengers ahead of arrival at the Shen Heaven Realm. Returning from the Cheng Heaven Realm, Wang Changsheng was likely the only passenger aboard. Now, only he could witness this marvel of the boundary being breached. Still, he remained vigilant—he could not afford a repeat of last time when the vessel was stranded for days.

Boom!

The Cloud Vessel broke through the boundary, arcane lights swirling in the starry void. Before Wang Changsheng could react, a gray aura rushed into his body, entering directly into his mind.

“Again...”

He had no time to respond before his consciousness was dragged into his own mind.

Wang Changsheng immediately noticed that, unlike last time, the gray aura quieted down upon entering his mind, no longer darting about wildly.

“What’s happening?” he wondered.

Cautiously, his consciousness approached the gray aura.

Bang!

The instant his consciousness touched it, a blast sounded—not a physical explosion, but the overwhelming information contained within the gray aura threatened to shatter his awareness.

Seizing the moment before he was submerged, Wang Changsheng withdrew his consciousness, and the flood of information gradually receded. In the end, there was not a trace of the information left in his mind.

“What is going on?” he thought, his brow furrowed as he sensed the gray aura lingering in his mind.

The sheer volume of information had nearly destroyed his consciousness, yet once he withdrew, nothing remained! This was the first time Wang Changsheng had ever experienced such a phenomenon. Moreover, the gray aura seemed to have taken up residence in his mind and refused to leave.

Slowly opening his eyes, Wang Changsheng saw that the Cloud Vessel was still breaking through the boundary, the arcane lights continuing to swirl.

“Just a moment passed?” he wondered.

This time, he felt as though he had spent much longer in his mind than before. The previous incident had delayed the vessel’s journey, so he expected another setback, but discovered that they were still in the starry void, the vessel still breaching the boundary.

In other words, what felt like a long passage of time was actually just an instant?

Even so, with several days left before arrival, Wang Changsheng was in no hurry. He returned to his quarters, sat cross-legged, and once again immersed his consciousness into his mind.

“What exactly is this?”

Sensing the gray aura within, Wang Changsheng’s expression grew grave.

At all times, one's mind is a crucial domain. Should one’s consciousness collapse within, the person becomes a soulless husk. Now, with a gray aura invading his mind, Wang Changsheng could not help but feel fearful.

“What is this now?”

As Wang Changsheng pondered, another gray aura shot out from his dantian, rushing toward the gray aura in his mind.

Detecting a familiar essence from the aura emerging from his dantian, Wang Changsheng instantly recalled—it was the same gray aura he had comprehended in the Temple of Arcane Arts.

Back then, this aura had shown him visions of the starry void endlessly shattering and reforming. He had thought it some remarkable divine art, but despite countless attempts, gained nothing from it.

He had assumed the aura vanished when the temple disappeared, but unexpectedly, it had lain dormant in his dantian. Now, with his mind invaded, that aura surfaced as well.

Confused and anxious, Wang Changsheng watched the two gray auras entwine, eventually merging into one.

“What is happening?” he thought, now truly alarmed.

One gray aura was daunting enough—now there was another? Wang Changsheng was at a complete loss, and what troubled him further was his reluctance to probe the aura. The previous attempt had nearly destroyed his consciousness.

Now, with two merged, the information must be even greater. He dared not touch it!

“What on earth have I gotten myself into?” he thought, near tears.

He refused to believe he was some lucky soul struck by fate. It was said that within the starry void lay powerful arcane arts, unattainable even by true cultivators on the Golden Core path. Wang Changsheng did not believe he had such a destiny.

With the gray aura invading his mind, even if it held powerful arts, he dared not approach, fearing his consciousness would collapse at a touch.

What he wanted most now was to expel the gray aura.

“If I can’t even touch it, how do I drive it out?” he lamented inwardly.

His mind was his own domain—how could it be occupied by this gray aura?

Even as the Cloud Vessel docked, Wang Changsheng found no way to expel it.

“Forget it, I’ll find Second Uncle and see what’s going on!”

He resolved to seek help. Unable to solve it himself, he knew only his Second Uncle could assist—someone he trusted, and the most accomplished cultivator he knew.

Upon disembarking, the cultivator collecting the fare treated Wang Changsheng with unusual warmth, leaving him anxious.

As he stepped down, Wang Changsheng surveyed his surroundings—it was not the place he had departed from. Yet the dense spiritual energy in the air assured him this was indeed the Shen Heaven Realm; such richness could not be found in the Cheng Heaven Realm.

But where exactly was he?

Wang Changsheng was utterly unfamiliar with the Shen Heaven Realm, clueless as to his location. Towering peaks soared skyward; from the mountaintop, Wang Changsheng gazed at the mist shrouding the mid-slopes, troubled.

Fortunately, he was no child. In this strange land, the first priority was to find a town, return to civilization, and learn about his surroundings.

Following a mountain path down, he entered a forest.

Roar!

No sooner had he entered than a mighty roar echoed, and Wang Changsheng saw in the distance a colossal beast bellowing.

“What kind of monster is this...” Wang Changsheng started.

The beast resembled a wolf, but he was certain he had never seen a wolf of such size.

Without hesitation, he unleashed his fastest speed—quicker than when escaping Li Fusheng’s pursuit—and fled in the opposite direction.

It wasn’t the size that frightened him, but the aura of power emanating from the beast—it rivaled or surpassed cultivators at the fifth or sixth level of the Open Meridian Realm. Against such a creature, Wang Changsheng’s only option was flight.

After half an incense stick’s time, he finally stopped, gasping for breath, his face pale with lingering fear.

“Thank heavens, it didn’t chase me!”

He slumped to the ground—here, even random beasts could kill him. The Shen Heaven Realm was far too dangerous; no wonder it was said that Open Meridian cultivators without backing could not survive here.

“Hm? What’s moving?”

As he sighed, he felt a faint tremor beneath him. Wang Changsheng looked puzzled.

A piercing screech suddenly rang out, shaking the heavens, and Wang Changsheng felt his body abruptly rising.

“Damn! Damn!!”

He lunged toward the nearest tree. Regaining his composure, he looked back and was utterly stunned.

A massive serpent rose from the earth. If his estimate was correct, it was thirty feet long!

Thirty feet!

The serpent had been hidden underground, camouflaged by dead branches and leaves; Wang Changsheng had no inkling he had been sitting atop its head.

He had disturbed the serpent’s rest—or perhaps it had been lying in wait for prey, and Wang Changsheng had wandered right into its path.

The serpent opened its gaping maw and lunged at Wang Changsheng in the tree.

Even from a distance, he could smell the stench of decaying flesh from its jaws, nearly making him retch.

“Run!”

Suppressing his nausea, he darted in the other direction.

Boom!

The serpent’s massive body crashed down on the tree, snapping it instantly. Its jaws closed right where Wang Changsheng had just stood.

“Am I cursed or what?” he thought, wasting no time as he sped away. He had only one thought now: escape this hellish place as fast as possible.

He had just evaded a wolf-beast, only to stumble into a giant serpent’s lair. Wang Changsheng was truly at his wit’s end. He’d heard Shen Heaven Realm was unsafe, but never imagined danger to be this dire—any random monster was beyond his ability to resist!

From the wolf’s den to the serpent’s nest—was he destined to be devoured here?