dmims Chapter 4: Secluded Cultivation
Chapter 4: Secluded Cultivation
"Faster! Faster!"
Hong roared at himself inwardly, using all his strength to dash through the narrow maintenance passage. The countdown behind him, each number pounding on his nerves.
Just as he lunged out of the passage and rushed towards the canyon crevice.
"...3, 2, 1".
"Self-destruct procedure... complete."
"boom".
A shockwave struck from behind. Hong's body slammed uncontrollably against the canyon wall dozens of meters away, then crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"puff."
A sweet taste rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs. His vision went black instantly. Debris rained down from above, striking his back. The sound of an explosion echoed through the canyon, and the entire earth trembled.
Hong gritted his teeth, using the broken half of the gun to support his body, and looked back with difficulty.
The entrance to the Class B ruins he had just escaped from had vanished, replaced by a collapsed area sealed off by boulders. Thick clouds of dust billowed into the sky, engulfing the area.
He was still shaken, and a layer of cold sweat seeped out from his back.
If I had escaped a few seconds later, I would probably be buried under the rocks by now, with not even a single bone left.
"S-level clearance... Meteorite Star... You're really going all out."
He muttered a curse under his breath, but couldn't help but smile.
He dragged his badly injured body, staggering away from this place of trouble. His injuries were severe: a fractured left arm, several broken ribs, and internal organs had been concussed. But he didn't care; on the contrary, he was somewhat excited.
He traveled through the mountains of the Australian continent for three days.
Finally, they found a natural cave hidden by a waterfall on a secluded mountainside.
The cave entrance is narrow, but the interior is spacious and dry, with a tributary of an underground river flowing through it, providing a clean water source. It's a safe place, a good place for seclusion.
Hong painstakingly used the silver-white alloy plate he tore from the ruins armory to block the inside of the hole, leaving only a tiny gap for observing the outside world.
After doing all this, he finally relaxed, plopped down on the ground, and gasped for breath.
The cave was quiet, with only the sound of flowing water.
He took out the dark, ancient-looking spear and the rhombus-shaped chip containing the secrets of light from his bag and placed them in front of him.
In the darkness, his eyes shone with an eerie light, filled with longing and obsession.
Whether or not I can become the real Hong depends on this moment.
With the genetic energy guidance technique obtained from the chip, the previously scattered energy within his body finally had a trajectory to follow.
Following the instructions of the guiding technique, he sat cross-legged with his palms facing upwards.
This time, he was no longer relying on his senses to explore; he could clearly see faint wisps of cosmic energy converging from all directions and slowly seeping into his body through his skin.
Under the guidance of the technique, the energy began to circulate along specific meridian routes within his body.
He circulated the Qi again and again.
He could feel every cell in his body yearning for nourishment.
Muscle fibers become stronger under the surge of energy, and bone density slowly increases. A tingling, itchy sensation emanates from the broken left arm and ribs, indicating that the body is rapidly repairing itself.
A month later, his injuries were fully healed, and he was even stronger than before he was injured.
He stood up, stretched, and his joints cracked and popped. He casually threw a punch, the force of which created a soft popping sound in the air.
"Not enough... far from enough."
Hong looked at his fist and muttered to himself.
He then focused his attention on the incomplete set of light-based gun techniques.
Although this set of marksmanship was incomplete, the penetration, speed, and vague rudimentary form of a domain contained within it opened a new door for him.
Inside the cave, he practiced day and night, wielding that dark, long spear.
He only practiced one move—the thrust.
This is the most detailed explanation of a move in the incomplete manual of light techniques.
At first, he only pursued speed. The spear thrust out, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.
However, the manual states that the core of the light is not simply speed, but rather the ability to concentrate all the body's strength and mental will at a single point on the tip of the spear, thereby creating a penetrating force.
He started to try.
He stood there, closed his eyes, and felt the weight of the spear again and again, feeling the connection between the spear and his body.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes again, his entire demeanor had changed.
He slowly raised the spear in his hand and thrust it out unremarkably at a granite slab fifty meters away.
There was no wind, and no momentum.
The dark spear thrust out without causing the slightest ripple.
next second.
"puff."
A soft sound.
A hole, about the thickness of a finger, appeared on the hard granite, smooth as a mirror and bottomless. A chill emanated from the hole.
While Hong was engrossed in his cultivation, news reports about mutated beasts around the world had transformed from sporadic reports into overwhelming live broadcasts of disaster.
That great rebirth that swept the globe began.
After an unknown amount of time, inside the cave...
Around Hong's body, cosmic energy had condensed into a visible mist. His genetic energy had accumulated to the peak of the ninth level of the apprentice level.
His body could no longer hold a single ounce of energy.
A bottleneck stood firmly in his way.
"Why... why can't we break through?"
Hong sat cross-legged on the ground, his face pale and his forehead covered in sweat.
He repeatedly attacked that invisible barrier, but each time he was bounced back, and his meridians were even damaged as a result.
He knew that the leap from apprentice level to planetary level was a leap in life level. It was difficult to achieve through arduous training alone.
A sense of frustration and resentment welled up inside him. Time was running out; if he couldn't break through to the planetary level before the Great Nirvana, all his previous efforts would be greatly diminished.
"No... there must be a way."
He forced himself to calm down, his mind racing to recall every word from the fragments of the Light Manual.
Suddenly, a detail he had overlooked came to mind.
At the end of the manual, there is an inconspicuous diagram with two words written next to it: "Light Guide".
This move has no explanation of any attack method, only a complex posture and an obscure description of energy guidance, saying that it is a means of drawing upon the light of the source when energy is exhausted.
At the time, he thought it was a desperate move, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
But now, a thought arose in his mind.
Could this be the opportunity for a breakthrough?
A resolute glint flashed in his eyes as he decided to take a gamble, stood up, and struck that strange pose known as Light Guidance.
Then, he did something crazy.
He poured the genetic energy that had accumulated to its peak within his body into the dark spear in his hand.
"Buzz—".
The spear vibrated violently in his hand, its buzzing sound almost piercing his eardrums. The spear was no longer dull and lifeless; instead, a faint ray of light burst forth from within.
The ray of light traveled along the gun barrel and instantly spread to Hong's arm, which was gripping the spear tightly. Then, in a mysterious manner, it rushed into his body in reverse, forcefully guiding the surging genetic energy within him to begin circulating in reverse.
"Ughhhhh."
An indescribable, excruciating pain followed.
Hong felt as if his body was being torn apart, and every cell was exploding.
That seemingly indestructible bottleneck shattered under the impact of this external force.
A higher level of cosmic energy surged wildly into his body.
Under the onslaught of this violent energy, his body was undergoing reconstruction. His bones were broken inch by inch and then instantly healed, his meridians were widened several times over, and his blood became scalding hot.
Everything in the cave calmed down.
Hong slowly opened his eyes, a flash of light passing through them. He could feel the power surging within him.
He can see the energy flowing in the air, hear the flow of underground rivers hundreds of meters away, and even smell the fresh scent of moss under waterfalls.
He opened his palm, and with a thought, rays of light emerged from his palm, intertwining and merging to form a sphere of light.
"Planetary level...it's finally done."
"Hmm? This is a domain?"