Handling

Rustle, rustle...

In the darkness all around, it was as though countless ants were crawling about, producing a soft rustling sound.

The darkness and shadowy figures kept writhing without pause.

Suddenly, a point of blazing white light appeared in the darkness, instantly transforming into a massive blast ring. Roaring flames swallowed the entire laboratory!

Crack!

Strangely, the entire room was not burned away by the flames. Instead, like glass, it gave a crisp cracking sound before shattering outright!

The dim surroundings, writhing bodies, and terror lurking within the shadows all vanished completely. In their place were bright lights, flickering formations, and Lin Chen standing outside the laboratory, breathing slightly heavily.

It was as if all that strangeness just now had merely been an illusion born from a dazed mind.

But Lin Chen knew that it was absolutely not an illusion.

"Spiritual Sense." Lin Chen's face darkened completely, devoid of his previous ease.

According to the classics, the Spiritual Sense born in Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators could affect reality. Not only could it observe the environment outwardly and examine one's own body inwardly, it could even blind or influence the five senses of cultivators whose souls were inferior to theirs, causing them to experience all manner of hallucinations.

At best, such illusions could interfere with enemies in battle and cause them to lose. At worst, they could make others fall into one's own mental world, becoming slaves in spirit!

If hundreds of elite armored soldiers gathered together and paid any price, they could still forcibly kill a Qi Refining Stage cultivator. But once one reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, such a thing would never happen.

For even if you gathered an army of thousands upon thousands, a single glance from a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator could crush them. Unless someone of the same realm intervened, human-wave tactics would be utterly useless against them.

The reason for all this was that Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators had already completed the initial transformation of their souls. They could use Spiritual Sense to affect reality and wield all kinds of methods that were Unpredictable as Gods and Ghosts—locking onto souls from a thousand miles away, perceiving the minutest details, and more!

"If not for the fact that his breakthrough wasn't legitimate, coupled with the measures I left behind in advance still working, there really would have been trouble. But the situation doesn't seem optimistic even now..."

Lin Chen stared gravely at the scene inside the laboratory.

At that crucial moment, he had detonated the measures he had arranged beforehand without hesitation, blowing up the other party's head. Otherwise, who knew what might have happened!

The talisman he had placed at the back of Yu Man's head should, by Lin Chen's estimation, have had no trouble blowing away the other party's upper body. Even by a conservative estimate, it should have blown off his head.

But in the end, he had underestimated a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator's vitality. The blast had only blown away half of his head.

What shocked Lin Chen even more was that even half a head being blown away should have been a fatal wound, yet Yu Man stood back up as though nothing had happened.

Not only that, countless pieces of flesh were writhing around his brain, forming strand after strand of granulation tissue, as though repairing that enormous wound!

"That's impossible!" Lin Chen stared at him without blinking.

He could believe it if a Golden Core Stage Cultivator possessed such Restoration Ability, but for someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm to have it was utterly inconceivable to Lin Chen.

"Did I truly underestimate him... No, that's not right!" Lin Chen immediately noticed that while the other party's wound was healing, the rest of his body was rapidly shriveling, like a body dying of old age.

Moreover, the other party's aura was chaotic and unstable. Every part of his body was twitching wildly, while the blood from his wound had turned dark red and dry, congealing over the surface of his body.

Clearly, he was healing himself at the cost of his Life Origin.

Yet despite being in such a terrible physical state, he did not stop to tend his wounds. Instead, with half his head ruined, he trudged toward the door step by heavy step.

"He's... gone insane?!" Such utter disregard for his body, combined with the present circumstances, swiftly made Lin Chen think of this possibility.

Could it be that forcibly condensing spiritual qi of different attributes into a soul under the effects of Soul Nurturing Incense would drive the cultivator himself insane?

The thought flashed through Lin Chen's mind, but he immediately reined it in.

After all, none of that was the key right now. The key was that he had to find a way to deal with this Foundation Establishment Realm monster he had created with his own hands!

"Activate Level Three Destruction Protocol." Lin Chen retreated without hesitation.

A wealthy man's son did not sit beneath a crumbling hall. Naturally, he would not rush in to risk his life. Instead, he pressed a hand against the wall and directly activated the measures he had arranged in advance.

Before constructing the laboratory, he had naturally considered every possible scenario. The possibility of a test subject suffering an accident and exceeding the original estimates was naturally within his considerations as well!

Pfft!

Boom!

At once, countless streams of fire oil poured in from the four corners of the laboratory, splashing across every corner of the room. At the same time, one specially made iron door after another fell, completely sealing off the inside from the outside. Immediately afterward came the fire talismans responsible for ignition!

Boom!

Along with the sound of the flames explosively igniting came wave after wave of scorching heat that even the iron doors could not block!

"Is he dead?" Lin Chen stared at the laboratory separated by the iron doors, his expression not relaxing in the slightest.

For the laboratory's safety, Lin Chen had not set up the more terrifying white phosphorus fire, which was more effective against flesh and blood creatures. He had only used fire oil of ordinary power, so he could not confirm whether the other party would be burned to death.

"Heh, heh, heh~"

Just as Lin Chen remained on guard, he suddenly heard a thread of unceasing laughter, as though it were coming from an unimaginably distant place.

The laughter was miserable and chilling, carrying an indescribable strangeness. Its sound even grew larger and larger until, in the end, it seemed as though countless people were shrieking with laughter beside Lin Chen's ear!

"This is... a soul attack?!" Lin Chen's expression changed.

This laughter was naturally not real, but if he allowed the other party to continue influencing him like this and twisting his five senses, sooner or later he would be laughed to death!

"Damn it, he still isn't dead after all this?!" A trace of ruthlessness flashed through Lin Chen's eyes. Since that's the case, he might as well destroy this entire level of space!

With that thought, Lin Chen rapidly retreated backward while simultaneously activating the Level Two Destruction Protocol!

The Level Three Destruction Protocol destroyed a single laboratory. The Level Two Destruction Protocol annihilated an entire level of space, while the Level One Destruction Protocol destroyed every laboratory, completely severing any possibility of the test subjects escaping!

At that moment, as the mechanism activated, an endless stream of ash-gray powder began falling from the ceiling where Lin Chen had left, while copious black liquid flowed from the surrounding walls, covering the entire floor.

This was the otherworld's white phosphorus and fire oil!

Lin Chen swiftly left that level, yet the laughter by his ears seemed to be chasing him, weakening as he departed before gradually growing louder again!

Lin Chen rapidly climbed the stairs to the level above. Turning around, he fixed an ice-cold stare on the stairway entrance and slammed down a button.

"Die!"

Bang!

Boom!

The passage before him instantly collapsed. Countless boulders fell, followed by a continuous series of explosions from the entire floor below!

Screech!!!

In an instant, the eerie, sinister laughter by his ears abruptly turned into a terrifying shriek, like an iron nail being driven into Lin Chen's head!

He could even feel countless tentacles stretching out from the surrounding shadows, trying to forcibly control him into opening the passage before him and releasing it.

Lin Chen only felt a stabbing pain in his head, and even blood began seeping from his seven orifices.

Yet his face was as cold as iron, and a trace of biting killing intent appeared in his bloodshot eyes.

"It's nothing more than an experiment subject. It may have had a slight accident, but you think you can control me?! Go die!"

Screech—

As time passed, the shriek seemed to lose steam and gradually weakened.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Chen only felt his mind loosen, and his entire body collapsed straight onto the ground.

"Whew—"

Enduring the waves of stabbing pain in his mind, Lin Chen swiftly took out a stick of Soul Nurturing Incense and lit it. After taking a deep breath, the exhaustion and pain finally eased somewhat.

"The Experiments in this world are far too dangerous. One careless mistake, and you could lose your life." Lin Chen rubbed his brow and let out a heavy sigh.

He had merely conducted a Foundation Establishment Realm experiment, yet he had created such a monster—one capable of threatening his life. What was he supposed to do with Golden Core and Nascent Soul experiments later on?

"The current monster can still be dealt with using flames, but what if, when conducting a Spirit Transmutation Experiment in the future, I create an Immortal Undying monster Similar To a Daoist Primordial Spirit? What then?" The thought suddenly occurred to Lin Chen, and a shiver ran through his Whole Body.

But The problem is, these experiments could not be avoided. Otherwise, how could he comprehend the mysteries of the next realm through the records in the Classics alone?

Looks like I'll have to find a roundabout solution... Hmm, could I turn my ideas into cultivation methods and spread them around, letting other cultivators brave the dangers and perfect them for me before I take them back? That way, not only could I avoid similar situations, I could also harvest the wisdom of all living beings to chart my Future Path. A flash of inspiration suddenly passed through Lin Chen's In Mind, and he thought of this method.

"This is a viable method, but..." Lin Chen looked toward the collapsed passage beside him and sighed softly, deciding that he should deal with the situation at hand before thinking about anything else.