Mental Realm, Breakthrough!

West Side of the Town · Fifth Altar.

Feng Buzhi opened his eyes. Sweat soaked his body, which trembled and shuddered uncontrollably.

He had clearly suffered no injuries, yet his body refused to obey him.

After making the wish to witness the true Abyss, he had seen a glimpse of profound, pure black.

Then he had begun to fall, experiencing a weightlessness beyond anything he could have imagined.

In the briefest instant, he had gone from being completely still to falling at an indescribable speed.

He had been moving far too fast.

So fast that his consciousness seemed to split in two: one part remained where it was, while the other was dragged at high speed to a place infinitely far away.

His consciousness and body had seemed numb. All kinds of indescribable sensations flooded his mind: tearing, pain, cold, scorching heat, suffocation, stickiness...

Faintly, he seemed to have seen that pure black again.

After that, he remembered nothing.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself in his current state.

It took nearly half an hour before Feng Buzhi could just barely stand up. He was still drenched in cold sweat and was even showing signs of dehydration.

Feng Buzhi struggled to control his body, finally stopping its trembling. Then he gave a stiff smile.

It wasn't that he was unhappy or forcing a smile. He simply couldn't control his facial muscles properly, making his smile look awkward.

In fact, he was happy.

Because he had seen the true Abyss.

And the Abyss was very likely something akin to the Heavenly Dao in this world.

If he got the chance, Feng Buzhi intended to witness the true Abyss a few more times. His strength was weak for now, but after he grew stronger, seeing the true Abyss again might give him different insights.

Feng Buzhi sat cross-legged, gradually regaining control of his body.

Just then, Feng Buzhi suddenly noticed that something had changed.

He extended a finger. A strand of Mist was quickly drawn toward him, coalescing at his fingertip into a relatively dense ball of smoke. Then, unable to hold its form, the ball of smoke collapsed and dispersed.

His mental realm had broken through.

"So this is the realm beyond the Subtle Realm?"

Feng Buzhi murmured softly.

The Clear Mind Realm meant facing one's true self and understanding oneself. Once someone reached this mental realm, they could no longer be easily affected by ordinary Eerie Whispers.

The next level after the Clear Mind Realm was the Subtle Realm. Upon reaching the Subtle Realm, one could distinguish and perceive changes in the Weird, and to a certain extent, sense its fundamental nature.

At the ordinary Subtle Realm level, one could decipher the meaning of the Weird. Those who reached the late stage of the Subtle Realm could even gain the sonar-feedback ability, just like he had.

After the mental realm broke through the Subtle Realm and reached the next level, one gained the power to interfere with and draw in the Weird. Even if the Weird wasn't part of one's own body, one could still influence and control it to some extent.

The only drawback was that, having just broken through, his power to draw in and interfere was still very weak.

As Feng Buzhi pondered, he suddenly spotted a figure. It was the Shadow, who looked extremely anxious.

After his mental realm breakthrough, the range of his sonar detection had increased dramatically. He could now detect things within a radius of about 450 meters.

Feng Buzhi had an idea. He gently interfered with the Mist in the distance, turning a wisp into a soft breeze that lightly brushed against the Shadow.

The Shadow abruptly stopped. He suspiciously scanned his surroundings, then drifted toward Feng Buzhi's location, looking puzzled.

"So you're here. I've been looking for you forever. Didn't I tell you yesterday that Zhao Gang was giving a speech today? Are you really not going to watch? It's a big deal for this town. If you don't go, you're no Human."

"By the way, what are you doing here? Did you come to inspect the altar? I know your personality fairly well by now. How many altars have you inspected today? How many more are you planning to inspect?"

"Honestly, you should just listen to me. You've already reached the Subtle Realm. Just merge with the Weird. You..."

The Shadow had been rambling on for a while when he suddenly noticed something amiss and stopped speaking.

He noticed how battered Feng Buzhi looked. His expression was stiff and listless, and cold sweat still covered his body. He looked as if he had just been through a Deep Abyss Trial and put through the wringer.

The Shadow exclaimed in surprise, "Did you use this Abyss Altar to merge with the Weird? And then just finish a Deep Abyss Trial? That can't be right. Why did you suddenly start listening to people?"

The Shadow was both pleasantly surprised and relieved that Feng Buzhi had used the Abyss Altar to merge with the Weird.

This guy had finally done something a person ought to do.

Besides, seeing Feng Buzhi looking so battered gave the Shadow a deeply satisfying feeling.

Ever since he had met Feng Buzhi, Feng Buzhi had always done whatever he pleased, completely ignoring the Shadow's earnest teachings and heartfelt advice.

But now, Feng Buzhi had finally suffered a setback.

In the Shadow's view, Feng Buzhi nodded at him. "Yeah, I suppose I just got the urge. I came here and merged with the Weird. After that, my consciousness entered the Endless Abyss."

The Shadow smiled and comforted him. "The Abyss is a battlefield for hundreds of races. We Humans are naturally weak, so we're at a disadvantage early on. Don't take it too hard."

Feng Buzhi sighed. "Humans really are a bit weak."

In the Million-Player Battle Royale, he had encountered three humans. After the second stage, he hadn't seen a single one, which clearly showed how weak the Human Race was.

Seeing Feng Buzhi's sigh, the Shadow thought his words had upset him and immediately comforted him. "Don't lose heart. Things will definitely get better. Your mental realm is at the late stage of the Subtle Realm, and our Human Race has an affinity for the Weird. Your future is bound to be limitless. By the way, what was your Deep Abyss Trial? You're at the late stage of the Subtle Realm, so you should be able to tell, right?"

Feng Buzhi said, "My Deep Abyss Trial was the Million-Player Battle Royale."

The Shadow held his head and thought for a while. Some memories surfaced. "The Million-Player Battle Royale on the Fallen Plains? That has to be one of the most brutal trials before ascending in rank. No wonder you ended up in that state. Oh, I forgot to ask—which organ did you choose to merge with the Weird? Can you use it now?"

Feng Buzhi nodded. "I chose my skin as the Mutation Organ. As for its abilities, I've only mastered one so far: Steel-Hardened Keratin. I'm still not very proficient with it."

The Shadow nodded. "You didn't choose the brain, but skin is also a Mutation Organ with great potential for growth. Honestly, I was worried you'd ignore my advice and pick some bizarre Mutation Organ. If you'd had a sudden whim and picked armpit hair, for example, I wouldn't have known how to save you."

The Shadow's expression was full of relief. He saw that Feng Buzhi's fist and half of his forearm had turned a metallic silver. That must be the Steel-Hardened Keratin Feng Buzhi had mentioned.

Then he saw the Steel-Hardened Keratin move rapidly across Feng Buzhi's skin, smoothly and fluidly, as if Feng Buzhi had been practicing it for months.

The Shadow's expression turned strange. "Didn't you just say you weren't very proficient with this Steel-Hardened Keratin?"