The house door remained closed for a full four hours.
When the heavy wooden door opened again, the chief left Biyou Village with a somber expression.
Immediately afterwards.
The whole world seemed to have been hit by a depth charge, and the ripples quickly turned into a raging storm.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The only place that could remain calm amidst this storm was probably Biyou Village.
Temporary workers sat around the old locust tree at the village entrance, the air filled with the sweet aroma of roasted sweet potatoes.
Have you seen the news? It's complete chaos outside.
Wang Zhenqiu waved his phone; the screen was playing footage of a protest that had broken out in a certain place.
"To be honest, it's more comfortable here. At least we don't have to hear air raid sirens Tenten."
Zhang Chulan, munching on a roasted sweet potato, glanced at Feng Baobao perched on a treetop. " Sister Bao'er, don't you think so?"
"Mmm, the sweet potatoes here are sweet."
Feng Baobao was whittling a tree branch with a dagger when she heard this. She looked up and suddenly pointed to the sky.
"Look, an airplane."
Following the direction she pointed, everyone saw several transport planes cutting through the twilight, speeding towards the southeast.
"It's obviously heading towards the East China Sea; I've seen it a lot these past few days," Old Meng sighed.
"What kind of spell did Hoshino cast on those guys? They moved way too fast," Zhang Chulan said with some concern.
Since Sister Bao'er's affair has already been revealed, it certainly can't be kept secret from the higher-ups.
I just don't know how things will turn out.
With the company surrounding them, he was confident he could escape with Sister Bao'er, but with the higher-ups pursuing them, he decided against it.
Now, we can only hope that what Hoshino offers is impactful enough to dispel their desire for immortality.
Who cares?
Upon hearing this, Wang Zhenqiu leaned back and lay down on the grass.
"Our mission is simply to protect Biyou Village. No matter how chaotic things get outside, it's none of our business."
The Black Pipe sneered, "Naive! I don't know what agreement that person reached with the higher-ups, but do you think this will allow us to hide here in peace?"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
Only the crackling of the fire and the distant barking of dogs made the night seem even more tranquil.
"If you ask me," Old Meng said, "The world is about to change."
"When I was teaching, I often said that history progresses in a spiral. I just didn't expect it to turn so quickly this time."
"..."
"Alright, alright, let's not be so sentimental. We'll just do whatever the boss says."
"Then tell me, what did Hoshino want to do by meeting with Lu Jin and Feng Zhenghao, two of the Ten Elders?"
"Who knows? Surely an 'immortal' wouldn't be interested in the Eight Extraordinary Skills!"
If you ask me...
That's not necessarily true.
Zhang Chulan watched his colleagues chatting quietly, showing no intention of joining the conversation.
However, that person does seem to have some interest in the Eight Extraordinary Skills!
The purpose of meeting with the two Ten Elders was most likely to obtain the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art and the Spirit Restraint and General Dispatch.
The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the floor of the quiet room.
Hoshino sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed, the four-colored mark between his eyebrows slowly swirling, reflecting a faint glow.
Two objects floated in mid-air in front of him.
On the left is the " Feng Hou Qimen " Qi Men diagram presented by Wang Ye.
Countless intricate runes outlined the shape of the Eight Trigrams in the air, each line containing the profound principles of heaven and earth.
On the right is the memory orb of " Old Farmer's Skill " handed over by Zhang Chulan.
Within the golden wisp of energy, one could vaguely discern images of Zhang Chulan cultivating, as well as deeper, primal memories originating from Feng Baobao.
" Feng Hou Qimen!" Hoshino murmured, lightly tapping the Qi Men diagram with his fingertips.
In an instant, the entire room seemed to be distorted by some invisible force, and the flow of time suddenly slowed down.
In Hoshino's perception.
The eight trigrams rearranged in his mind, and the four plates of Heaven, Earth, Man, and God unfolded beneath his feet.
For ordinary people to cultivate Feng Hou Qimen, they need to go through countless deductions and calculations, and may even go insane due to the inability to withstand the backlash.
But Hoshino is different. His soul has long transcended the mortal realm, and his divine nature allows him to directly understand the essence of Qimen Dunjia changes from an almost 'overlooking' perspective.
"Kan represents water, Li represents fire..."
His fingertips traced patterns in the air, the Bagua symbols moving as if alive, each line precise and accurate.
"I see."
The core of Feng Hou Qimen is not simply calculation, but rather "a thought moves the heavens and earth."
Wang Ye was able to manipulate the four plates at will because his mind was detached enough and unbound by worldly constraints.
As for Hoshino, his state of mind had long since transcended worldly concerns.
In an instant, the entire room seemed to freeze, even the falling dust motes stopped in mid-air.
Time seemed to be divided into countless tiny fragments, Hoshino could freely manipulate, adjust, and even...
"Reverse."
The next second, everything in the room began to reverse.
Dust rose again, candlelight went out and reignited, and even the night breeze blowing outside the window seemed to eerily rewind for a moment.
Unfortunately, these techniques are largely just for stomping noobs.
For those of similar strength, the weight of their destiny brought by their power is extremely high and very difficult to influence; it is more convenient to use it for their own benefit.
Thinking of this, Hoshino turned his head to the other side, touched the ball of light with his fingers, and the golden energy instantly merged into his brow.
In an instant, countless images flooded into his consciousness.
Zhang Chulan's cultivation process, Feng Baobao's internal Qi flow, and even... some of Zhang Huaiyi's insights.
Old Farmer's Skill is essentially the primitive application of 'Qi'.
Within the body, golden Qi began to circulate along specific meridians. Unlike the violent nature of Chakra, the Qi of Old Farmer's Skill's Kung Fu was gentler and more enduring, like the earth nurturing all things, endlessly regenerating.
"It's done! It was even simpler than I imagined."
The Qi began to condense, gradually transforming into a pure white phantom that hovered in his dantian.
The phantom was blurry, but its features were vaguely similar to Hoshino's. Fine Qi threads were wrapped around its body, closely connected to its soul.
At this moment, Hoshino possesses three types of energy of the same origin.
The Power of Creation by Divine Machine Hundred Refinements, the eight trigrams of Feng Hou Qimen, and the pure white Qi of Old Farmer's Skill.
The Power of Creation can analyze the structure of all things; Feng Hou Qimen can manipulate the rules of heaven and earth; and Old Farmer's Skill contains the source of endless life...
If they can unite, perhaps they can access a higher level of power.
As Hoshino activated his will, the three energies began to collide violently, bursting forth with dazzling light.
The space inside the room seemed to be torn apart, with countless tiny cracks spreading through the void.
Hoshino's brow mark flickered wildly, and four-colored energies surged within his body, attempting to maintain balance.
The Nascent Soul within the body opened its eyes, pressed its hands down, and pure white Qi lines spread out like a spider web, slowly binding the restless energy.
The Power of Creation began to flow along the Qi lines, gradually permeating the Bagua runes of Feng Hou Qimen Qi Men.
The runes were tinged with gold, and their originally fixed paths began to evolve on their own, becoming more dynamic.
"It really works!"
Just then, the Power of Jashin within him suddenly became restless, and black energy surged like a tide, attempting to break the balance.
"Good timing, this is a perfect opportunity to test the waters?"
Hoshino used the Feng Hou Qimen to stabilize his central palace and activated his nascent Nascent Soul to attempt to suppress the Power of Jashin.
At the same time, the mark between the eyebrows shone brightly.
The Priestess Power transformed into pale purple chains, intertwining with the Nascent Soul's energy threads, binding the Power of Jashin layer by layer.
The energy storm within Hoshino's body intensified.
The Qi threads of the Nascent Soul intertwined with the chains of the Priestess Power, briefly suppressing the Power of Jashin, but the chilling, corrosive feeling continued to assault his soul.
"Not enough... To completely suppress the Jashin, we need more power," Hoshino whispered.
But at least the route was correct.
The Eight Extraordinary Skills are indeed quite something; to some extent, they are stealing the rules of heaven and earth.
The combination of these eight elements might truly give birth to an unconventional immortal, much like Feng Baobao.
"It seems I must acquire the remaining Eight Extraordinary Skills as soon as possible..." Hoshino's thoughts gradually became clear.
"After all, only gods can defeat gods."
Empire, Behemoth Headquarters Building.
3:17 AM.
The gene laboratory on the seventh basement level of Behemoth was still brightly lit, with researchers in white lab coats recording data on the latest batch of test subjects.
"Subject A-742, after being injected with the Third gene therapy, showed a 300% increase in strength, but experienced a severe rejection reaction!"
"Experimental subject B-309 is completely out of control; the destruction process has been initiated!"
"Project ' Titan ' is progressing smoothly; muscle strength has reached 180% of the expected value!"
Dr. Carlson adjusted his glasses and quickly jotted down information on his tablet.
They have been doing this kind of work for many years.
Using live human experiments to push the limits of human genes and create the perfect 'super soldier'.
At this moment, the screen flashed its scarlet light again, indicating that another experimental subject had gone out of control.
Emma, the researcher beside him, said, "Doctor, I think the current plan is too radical. Shouldn't we pause it...?"
"Continue," Carlson interrupted without looking up, "And increase the dosage by 10%, and add a stabilizer."
"But this is beyond the safe limit!"
"I said continue, didn't you understand?" Carlson suddenly looked up, his eyes behind his glasses bloodshot. "Those people are going to inspect the first batch of finished products next week, we don't have time!"
If the final product cannot be submitted by then, they will face ruthless sanctions from the board of directors, including budget cuts and possibly even the disbandment of the entire project team.
Emma bit her lip, nodded, and turned to walk towards the incubation chamber area.
Here are hundreds of cylindrical incubation chambers, each containing a modified mutant.
Emma stopped in front of the last incubation chamber.
Inside the pod was an Asian girl who looked no more than fifteen years old. She had more than a dozen IV tubes inserted into her arm and monitoring electrodes attached to her chest.
"L-107," Emma murmured the number, her fingers unconsciously tracing the glass of the incubation chamber.
Suddenly, the girl opened her eyes, a glint of gold flashing in her black pupils.
Emma was so startled that she took a step back, almost knocking over the record board in her hand.
When she looked at the incubation chamber again, the girl had returned to calm, her eyes closed, as if what she had just seen was merely an illusion.
" Emma! What are you dawdling for?" Carlson's angry roar came from afar.
"Almost done, Doctor!" Emma hurriedly finished recording the information and left quickly.
And on the top floor of the Behemoth Building.
Inside the luxurious conference room, twelve board members sat around a long table.
A video is playing on the big screen, showing a muscular giant tearing through the armor of a tank with his bare hands.
"Gentlemen, this is our ' Titan ' project."
CEO Ward stood in front of the screen, a confident smile on his face.
"What about real-world data?" one of the directors asked.
Ward pressed the remote control, and the screen switched to a desert.
Five ' Titan ' are slaughtering a group of militants dressed in desert attire, looking as relaxed as if they were killing dogs.
Ward said proudly, "The higher-ups are very satisfied with our results and are prepared to invest an additional 20 billion."
Just then, security chief Jackson suddenly frowned as an urgent report from the security center came through his earpiece.
"Abnormal energy fluctuations detected on the seventh underground level! All monitoring footage is interfering! Wait... what is this... ah!"
The communication suddenly stopped, leaving only the piercing sound of static.
"What happened?" Ward looked at Jackson with displeasure.
Just as Jackson was about to answer, the entire building suddenly shook violently, crystal chandeliers swayed wildly, and famous paintings on the walls fell off one after another.
"Earthquake?" A female director grabbed the edge of the table in alarm.
"Impossible!" Jackson had already drawn his sidearm. " Behemoth Tower has a state-of-the-art earthquake-resistant system!"
He didn't finish his sentence.
The conference room door suddenly twisted and deformed, the heavy metal door creaking as if being kneaded by an invisible hand.
"Activate emergency protocols! Release all security-type mutants!" Ward frantically pounded on the red button on the table.
The alarm blared throughout the entire building.
In a special cell on the third basement level, thirty imprisoned mutants simultaneously opened their eyes.
The restraints automatically disengaged, but instead of going berserk as usual, the mutants stood quietly in place.
"What's going on? Why aren't they taking any action?" The security personnel in the monitoring room were in a panic.
Suddenly, all the surveillance screens went black at the same time, then flickered and revealed a figure with long gray hair.
Hoshino slowly looked up, across dozens of floors.
Despite the great distance, each director felt an invisible gaze fixed intently on them.
"Who... who is this person?" Ward's voice trembled.
As soon as he finished speaking, Jackson's sidearm suddenly began to rot, with the metal parts rusting and peeling off as if they had endured endless years.
He dropped his weapon in terror, only to find wrinkles appearing on his fingers and his face aging visibly.
No... no!
Screams erupted throughout the conference room.
The board members watched in horror as their bodies rapidly aged.
Some tried to escape, only to find their legs were withered and emaciated, and they fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
Ward slumped into his chair, watching helplessly as his panel turned transparent, revealing his veins and bones.
In an instant, the entire Behemoth leadership was wiped out.
In addition, hundreds of Shadow Clone have begun operations throughout the empire.
Half an hour later.
The chief received a message: Remember, you only have four months to show me the value of this planet.