Dormancy

Those terrifying waves of perception, representing death and annihilation, hovered deep within Guixu like the Sword of Damocles hanging overhead. They prowled and swept through the area for a long time before finally retreating unwillingly and fading away. But Jingtian knew they had not left Guixu. They had merely expanded their search to deeper or more remote regions. Sea God Island's hunting party, like the most patient of hunters, was combing through every inch of this dead zone of life for corners where their "prey" might be hiding.

Jingtian maintained his near-"Stone" state of mimetic assimilation, not daring to make the slightest movement. Time flowed at an almost frozen pace amid such extreme oppression and silence.

One day, two days... one month, two months...

The hunting party's investigations were not continuous. They would focus on searching one area before moving on to the next, with intervals in between. During those "safe periods," Jingtian continued using that sliver of Poison Source core spirituality to passively and excruciatingly slowly absorb Guixu's deathly energy. He used it to sustain that faint spark of life and attempted to use the energy like the finest scalpel, little by little repairing the most fatal wounds within him—the wounds involving the cycle of his life essence.

The process was painful and hopeless. Guixu's deathly energy was filled with inertia and the meaning of finality. Using it to restore vitality was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst. Its efficiency was appallingly low, and it came with constant coldness and an erosion that reached all the way to the soul. But Jingtian had no other choice. This was the only "water source" in this desperate situation.

A year passed amid endless darkness and torment.

The hunting party seemed unable to find any clear clues in this area, or perhaps they believed that Poison Beast had already died deeper within Guixu. Their searches gradually became less frequent, and the areas they investigated slowly shifted outward. Yet Jingtian still did not dare let down his guard. He knew how sharp a Title Douluo's senses were. One careless mistake would mean eternal damnation.

He began trying to control that tiny fragment of Poison Source Spirituality with greater precision. Rather than merely absorbing energy passively, he attempted to "guide" Guixu energy, prioritizing wounds that affected his basic ability to move—such as the muscles and nerves connected to his tentacles, as well as the core pathways that maintained his basic Soul Power circulation. At the same time, he carefully began "filtering" and absorbing relatively less violent, less inert free energy particles from his surroundings to replenish his nearly depleted Soul Power reserves.

In the second year, his condition improved by an extremely slight degree. His most fatal injuries basically stabilized and no longer worsened. Two severely injured tentacles regained some sensation and weak control. His Soul Power recovered a tiny amount. Although he still could not even perform the most basic poison arts, he had at least emerged from a state of complete "suspended death," allowing him to think more complex thoughts and make subtle adjustments to his body.

He began making use of the properties of Guixu's deathly energy, combining them with his understanding of Poison Erosion, to construct a more stable and concealed "environmental camouflage layer" over his body. This was not simple mimicry. He adjusted his aura, Soul Power fluctuations, and even life radiation into a state of near-perfect resonance and unity with Guixu's deathly surroundings. It required an ultimate understanding and control of both energy and environment. The process was difficult and progress was slow, but it was the key to surviving in this deathtrap.

In the third year, when the hunting party's presence had almost completely vanished from this region—perhaps they had turned elsewhere or temporarily withdrawn from Guixu—Jingtian finally completed the initial "camouflage layer." At this point, so long as he did not actively release Soul Power or poison, even a Soul Douluo investigating at close range would find it difficult to distinguish him from a genuine Guixu rock or energy deposit, unless they touched him directly or conducted a deep soul scan.

More importantly, after three years of painstaking, almost self-torturous recovery and adaptation, his injuries had finally recovered by roughly thirty percent. His cultivation stabilized at the sixty-thousand-year level—far below his peak, but it had stopped declining and was slowly rising again. His Soul Power had recovered by around twenty percent, enough to support basic movement and low-intensity activity. Although the Poison Source remained depleted, that fragment of core spirituality seemed to have undergone an indescribable change after three years of continuously "inhaling and exhaling" Guixu's deathly energy. It had become more condensed and profound, as though its understanding of "poison" and "deathly silence" had deepened another layer. Two heavily injured tentacles had recovered fifty percent of their function, while tiny, fragile buds of flesh had sprouted from the roots of his other two severed tentacles.

He had finally crawled back from the brink of death and regained the basic ability to act and protect himself.

It was time to leave this damned place.

But his destination was not an immediate return to the Western Silent Sea Abyss.

After three years of life-and-death hardship and contemplation, Jingtian's thinking was exceptionally clear. In his current state, with sixty thousand years of cultivation, twenty percent Soul Power, unhealed injuries, and an unrecovered Poison Source, crossing the endless Deep Sea to return to the Western Silent Sea Abyss would be a dead end if he encountered any powerful Sea Soul Beast or human patrol along the way. Not to mention whether Sea God Island still had ambushes or surveillance waiting near the Western Silent Sea Abyss.

He had to obtain the Soul Bone, but only if he lived long enough to claim it and had the strength to assimilate it.

First, recover my strength. At the very least, I need to restore my cultivation to over seventy thousand years, recover most of my Soul Power and Poison Source, and become proficient in the Guixu Assimilation concealment technique I comprehended over the past three years. Jingtian silently set his goal. Then, on the way back, I'll find suitable targets, hunt, devour, replenish what I've consumed, and test my restored combat strength.

First, he needed to leave this energy-scarce, deathly silent region in Guixu's depths and head toward its outer regions, where energy was relatively more "active"—though still chaotic and dangerous. Those places remained perilous, but at least strange creatures adapted to Guixu's environment could be hunted there, providing life essence and Soul Power replenishment. Moreover, the energy turbulence in the outer regions would better conceal his tracks.

Having determined the direction—relying on his faint perception of Guixu's energy currents and his vague memories of the route he had taken while fleeing—Jingtian began to move.

He no longer charged about with the same violent frenzy as before. Instead, like the most cunning ghost of the Deep Sea, he activated his Guixu Assimilation camouflage to its fullest extent, keeping close to rock walls and the shadows of ravines. Using the natural disturbances of the energy currents, he moved silently toward the outskirts. He was not fast, but he was safe and concealed.

Along the way, he did indeed encounter some Guixu creatures. There were Shadow Leeches, shaped like shadows and capable of blending into darkness to launch ambushes; massive Energy-Devouring Ancient Turtles, which fed on rocks and energy debris and possessed astonishing defenses; and swarming Mind-Bewitching Demon Insects that released chaotic spiritual fluctuations...

At his peak, these Guixu creatures, at most equivalent to outsiders with twenty or thirty thousand years of cultivation, would not have posed any threat to Jingtian. But in his current condition, any battle could cause unnecessary commotion and even expose his whereabouts.

He avoided them with all his might, detouring whenever he could. When he truly could not avoid them, he used lightning-fast methods, mobilizing the portion of Soul Power and Poison Erosion strength he had recovered while taking advantage of his familiarity with the environment to kill swiftly! He did not seek spectacle—only the fastest possible end to the battle, devouring their essence before immediately fleeing and erasing the traces.

The life essence of these Guixu creatures was extremely strange, filled with inert and chaotic properties. Absorbing it was inefficient and required more effort to refine. But every little bit added up. Combined with the energy he slowly drew from the environment, Jingtian's cultivation and Soul Power began recovering at a visible pace—at least compared to the previous three years.

Half a year later, when he finally reached Guixu's outer region, where energy currents were even more violent but areas containing familiar Deep Sea auras had begun to appear, his cultivation had recovered to sixty-five thousand years. His Soul Power had recovered to forty percent, his Poison Source to thirty percent, most of his injuries had healed, and his new tentacles had grown to around one-third of their full length.

He found a hidden reef cave half-enveloped by a violent energy vortex and temporarily made it his refuge. The energy here was relatively chaotic and could interfere with detection. It was also close to the outskirts, making it convenient for him to observe movements outside and occasionally go out to hunt stronger, more conventional Sea Soul Beasts that had strayed from the normal Deep Sea into the edge of Guixu.

He began deliberately hunting Sea Soul Beasts over fifty thousand years old. Although he still needed to carefully arrange traps, exploit the environment, and even use the partially recovered Dan-Devour—an extremely costly ability he would not use unless necessary—every successful hunt and devouring greatly accelerated his recovery.

At the same time, he constantly honed his Guixu Assimilation technique and attempted to fuse some properties of Guixu's deathly energy into his own poison. His progress was slow, but he could sense that his poison had gained a hint of "Silence" and "Wither," becoming even more difficult to detect and dispel.

Another half year passed.

When Jingtian awoke from a deep cultivation session, Soul Power surged through his body like a great river. The dim glow of the Poison Source was deep and restrained, while all eight tentacles—two of them newly grown and already more than halfway mature—contained terrifying strength as they unfurled. He knew—

His strength had basically recovered!

Cultivation: seventy-two thousand years (slightly improved)!

Soul Power: eighty percent recovered!

Poison Source: seventy percent recovered, with improved quality after fusing a trace of Guixu's deathly properties!

Dan-Devour: may be used cautiously, but its consumption remains immense.

Concealment: mastered Guixu Assimilation, greatly improving concealment in complex and chaotic environments.

Injuries: basically healed. The new tentacles have fully grown and are even tougher.

It was time.

It was time to return to the place where the dream had begun and obtain that ancient Scorpion Tail Soul Bone—the item that would allow his poison arts to undergo another qualitative transformation and give him the capital to truly contend against peak experts!

Jingtian slowly swam out of the cave where he had sheltered. Dark purple rings flowed beneath the faint light of Guixu's outskirts, and his cold gaze—his perception—turned toward the Western Silent Sea Abyss.

Three years of lying low, surviving in a place of death.

Now he returned bearing hatred, and his venomous fangs would be sharper than ever.

Western Silent Sea Abyss, I'm back.