The Soul Secret Land arises for various reasons. Sometimes it is due to too many remnant souls gathering together, causing a strange reaction, and then evolving into this realm.
Some are remnants of souls created by the fall of powerful soul-type beings.
Some of these Soul Secret Land are said to have fallen from the Fantasy Dimension, and their origins are diverse.
According to the information provided by the Lord of the Free City, this discovered Soul Secret Land belongs to the second type.
Furthermore, due to its long formation time, its internal rules have undergone bizarre changes, transforming it into an environment resembling a kind of supernatural tale.
In this Soul Secret Land, many rules and logics that are taken for granted in ordinary understanding become unrecognizable.
For example, drinking water doesn't quench thirst; instead, it makes you thirstier.
Conversely, eating soil can effectively relieve hunger and thirst, but it must be soil that exists on the ground; soil floating in the sky does not count.
The soul does not depend on the body for its existence; rather, the body depends on the soul.
Such examples are numerous and varied.
The change in rules has multifaceted effects, and for those about to enter this Soul Secret Land Soul Secret Land, danger seems to accompany them from the moment they step inside.
As the turbulence of the spatial teleportation subsided, Gustavo was greeted by layers upon layers of Mirage.
The tower, with its pointed roof, dilapidated state, and shrouded in gray-black dust, seemed to have someone imprisoned at its top, desperately waving their arms for help.
The swirling golden ocean resembled the Legend Sun Sea, yet at its center sank a cold crescent moon. Within that moon, a body made of flames struggled frantically, like a sealed Fire God.
The various strange and bizarre scenes are filled with a sense of depth, antiquity, mystery, and darkness, which inevitably reminds people of the ancient Savage era, a chaotic age ruled by Primordial God, ancient hatred, and ancient evil spirits.
"Go inside!"
A cold voice reached everyone's ears. It was the Lord of the Free City. As he spoke, his Death God's Scythe- like staff pointed forward, and then, the dreamlike illusions shattered one after another. These fragments formed a long tunnel whose destination was unknown.
The dark Mage looked at each other, then finally all turned to Gustavo, clearly wanting him to go first.
Adhering to the principle of never giving priority, Gustavo pretended not to see anything. So, the helpless black Mage had no choice but to push out a guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes into the passage.
Before entering the passage, the person kept turning back, looking reluctant.
No one knows what method these dark Mage used to confirm that the guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes was safe and sound. Finally, they filed in, with Gustavo in the middle of the lower group. This position was neither too far forward nor too far back, just right. If danger arose, he could use the others as shields to buy himself a chance to escape.
However, the peaceful journey ruined Gustavo's plans.
After crossing an invisible yet real barrier, Gustavo finally entered the Soul Secret Land.
Laugh!
He felt dizzy, and when Gustavo regained consciousness, he found that his body was floating in the sky, and had become hazy, as if it would vaporize and disappear at any moment.
"So what am I using to watch it now?"
After this question arose, he raised his hand and examined his arm.
The appearance remains the same, but the structure has changed.
How to put it? It's like the original right joint has become the wrong joint, and all the physical-based talents and abilities have disappeared, replaced by soul talents that can be clearly felt.
For example, the Soul Devourer.
"Right now, I feel like I can devour anything!" Gustavo murmured to himself.
Then, he looked up at the sky, his expression turning strange. That thing floating overhead looked so familiar!
Oh, so it's my own body.
"The roles of soul and body have been reversed?" Gustavo thought to himself, "It seems this is part of the rules of the Soul Secret Land."
The soul rules over everything.
"However, the Illusory Light Mask truly lives up to its reputation as a replica of the Miracle Creation Platinum Mask. Even here, my physical and spiritual form remains humanoid, without the slightest change." Twisting his body, Gustavo nodded in satisfaction. It was best not to expose himself; concealing the true form of the Dragon-Hunting Spider was the best course of action, as it would save a lot of trouble.
After figuring out the basic situation, Gustavo glanced at the empty space around him, shrugged, and strode forward.
It seems that everyone was automatically separated after entering the Soul Secret Land.
Although Gustavo is currently in a spirit state, strangely, he feels no different from when he is driving a physical body, and the feeling of being grounded is exactly the same.
As you journey onward, the environment of this Soul Secret Land leans towards darkness, mystery, and eeriness. A constant murmur of whispers echoes in your ears, a sound that penetrates the very soul, instilling a sense of unease deep within.
For other people, figuring out their own situation would require multiple experiments.
But for Gustavo, it doesn't have to be so complicated.
He opened the information panel directly, scrolled down, and came to the status section.
[Status: Your willpower is being eroded by the Dark Rhythm. Current erosion progress: 0.12%. When the erosion progress reaches 10%, you will enter a berserk state. Additionally, for every 10% increase in progress, you will randomly acquire another negative emotional state. After the erosion progress reaches 50%, a willpower test will be performed every minute. If the test fails, you will completely lose your mind and become Nightmare Soul Beast driven by instinct!]
"Nightmare Soul Beast?" Gustavo paused, his expression turning serious. According to the information he knew, Nightmare Soul Beast generally only appeared in the Fantasy Dimension.
"Could it be that this Soul Secret Land wasn't born from the fall of a powerful being, but rather fell from the Fantasy Dimension?" Gustavo wondered to himself. "Or perhaps a combination of both?"
The Fantasy Dimension is one of the three known dimensions of the Astral Realm.
The other two dimensions are the Material Dimension and the Elemental Dimension.
The Material Dimension is the world in which normal life forms exist, including countless real planes, Void bodies, and so on.
The Elemental Dimension is also known as the Natural Elemental Dimension, the Magical Energy Dimension, or the Dark Energy Sea.
The three dimensions span countless worlds, are interdependent, and none can be dispensed with.
If this Soul Secret Land truly fell from the Fantasy Dimension, it likely contains many resources that the Elven Plane does not have. Thinking of this, Gustavo's pupils lit up.
Roar!!
Just as Gustavo was lost in thought, a roar came from the side, and visible black ripples spread out in a trumpet shape, with black mist spreading wherever they passed.
His soul trembled, Gustavo instinctively made a dodging motion. After a few blinks, he avoided the attack and crouched on a withered old tree not far away, staring intently at the attackers who had appeared below.
Its glossy black fur, its gaping maw dripping with saliva, and its two pairs of scarlet, savage, and irrational pupils instantly made Gustavo realize the beast's identity: the Nightmare Soul Beast!
"Heh, we've only just entered and we've already encountered a Nightmare Soul Beast. Judging by the situation, these things aren't uncommon in the Soul Secret Land."
Roar!!
Nightmare Soul Beast won't give Gustavo time to think; they are savage beasts devoid of reason, their minds filled only with Slaughter and madness.
A dense, iron-sand-like dark aura swirled around its body as the Nightmare Soul Beast, resembling a black panther, pounced once more. But this time, Gustavo showed no intention of dodging. He had already realized that this Nightmare Soul Beast was far weaker than himself!
Her fair little arm rose, her chubby little hand clenched, and she threw a punch. With a thud, like the beating of a drum, terrifying power poured out. The next moment, the Nightmare Soul Beast was sent flying backward, scraping deep marks on the ground. After struggling for a moment, it died motionless.
"So fragile!" Gustavo muttered, but he wasn't surprised.
Because of his Soul Devourer talent, his soul strength is comparable to that of Legendary being, and even stronger than most Legendary.
In the Soul Secret Land, the soul and body of all people are reversed on the level of existence; simply put, the body is composed of the soul.
In this way, the stronger the soul, the stronger the fighting power in the Soul Secret Land.
In other words, here, Gustavo's fighting prowess is comparable to that of Legendary.
Therefore, let alone a mere Nightmare Soul Beast, even if ten or eight of them came, they could sweep everything away.
Gustavo jumped down from the tree and came to the side of the Nightmare Soul Beast that looked like a black panther. He casually tore off a piece of flesh from its thigh, frowned and examined it for a moment, and then threw it into his mouth.
Pure black blood flowed from the corner of his lips, creating a stark contrast with his fair skin; the scene looked extremely eerie and terrifying.
"The taste is actually not bad!" After chewing a couple of times, Gustavo's eyes gradually lit up.
He had initially thought these Nightmare Soul Beast wouldn't taste good, but to his surprise, they were incredibly delicious.
"Moreover, the environment here actually allows me to greatly mitigate the drawbacks of my Soul Devourer talent," Gustavo muttered to himself.
[Soul Devourer] Active - Devours the souls of other creatures to increase its own soul strength and randomly strips away some of the other creature's soul information.
Note: This ability should not be used frequently on souls of the same rank, otherwise the soul may be contaminated by distracting thoughts. It can only be activated again after the soul of the prey has been completely digested and absorbed.
Normally, after consuming the souls of other beings, a being will enter a state of digestion.
However, in the Soul Secret Land, due to the change in rules, the soul becomes a substantial existence like the physical body. In this way, he can quickly absorb souls and expel impurities from his body through secret techniques that can only be used by the physical body, such as "Star Swallowing Technique".
Moreover, this opportunity might allow them to further refine the Star Swallowing Technique, enabling it to accelerate the digestion of souls.
"What a wonderful place!" Gustavo was overjoyed. The speed at which he devoured souls increased, which not only allowed him to complete the soul talent he envisioned faster, but also enabled him to directly modify the [Advanced Gene Warehouse] here. This would allow it to Containment gene fragments while also integrating soul information fragments. If the Star Swallowing Technique could also be upgraded in the same way, it would be a triple win!
With that thought in mind, Gustavo happily devoured the Nightmare Soul Beast on the ground, quickly consuming it completely.
[Predator] Extracts gene fragments.
[Soul Devourer] increases soul strength and extracts soul information.
While the [Gene Warehouse] Containment fragments of soul-type genes, it also attempts to integrate some soul fragments under Gustavo's control for deep modification.
In this way, the entire Nightmare Soul Beast was utilized almost perfectly by Gustavo, without any waste.
"Too few. One Nightmare Soul Beast isn't enough for me. I need more." Gustavo licked his lips, a chilling green light emanating from the depths of his pupils, and the terrifying aura of Void Predator spread out.
Three days later!
In the center of the canyon, more than a dozen Nightmare Soul Beast of various shapes lay sprawled on the ground, while Gustavo gasped for breath, his body covered in wounds.
"Phew, I didn't expect these beasts to come looking for me. It seems they want to devour me. Is this one of the rules of the Soul Secret Land?" Gustavo thought to himself as he sat down, pulled over a Nightmare Soul Beast that looked like a deer, and started eating it.
As he frantically devoured Nightmare Soul Beast these past few days, his soul strength soared every moment, and his combat power exploded. At the same time, the attraction of these Nightmare Soul Beast also grew stronger.
This isn't the first time they've been besieged.
"Moreover, the Nightmare Soul Beast that come to besiege me are getting stronger each time, but their strength is still limited, as if they are deliberately being offered up for me to devour."
As Gustavo devoured the flesh, his mind raced, but unfortunately, he knew too little to draw any valuable conclusions.
"Forget it, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. If I can't handle it myself, I'll just call my parents. When it comes to connections, who am I afraid of?"
Thinking of his parents behind him, Gustavo straightened his back immediately, his worries vanished, and he continued eating without a care in the world.
After devouring all the Nightmare Soul Beast in one gulp, Gustavo let out a burp and used his Star Swallowing Technique to quickly digest the soul essence. At the same time, his pores opened, expelling a large amount of dirty soul impurities.
The powerful soul force formed a substantial pressure that spread in all directions. After reaching a certain critical point, it paused for a moment before suddenly surging, as if breaking through a bottleneck.
"Legendary Tier Three soul strength!"
Gustavo opened his eyes, feeling the power surging within him; the feeling was indescribably exhilarating.
However, before he could rejoice for long, black mist surged from the ground, followed by rows of pointed-roof houses, dilapidated and decaying yet retaining a sense of former glory and grandeur.
Gustavo tried to run the moment he sensed something was wrong, but it was no use. His body seemed to be imprisoned in a small space, unable to go far. When everything settled down, he found himself in an unfamiliar palace.
"Land of Nightmares!" Gustavo gritted his teeth, recognizing the location.