Chapter 72: Fusion Essence Body

A gunshot echoed.

The hall instantly fell silent. The Awakened Warriors were not afraid of ordinary firearms, but as the highest military commander present, Commander Du stood high on the service platform in the hall, firing a warning shot, which made many Awakened Warriors close their mouths.

At this moment, Advisor Tao and others had already returned to the building, having gathered over a hundred Awakened Warriors. The hall was already overcrowded, with everyone in a chaotic state, each holding their own opinion.

Commander Du loudly said, "I, as the highest commander of the group, reiterate that the person in the red armor, whom everyone has been talking about, is indeed the key figure in this operation—Mr. Chu Yunsheng. I have already restated this many times! This is the last time I will explain it!" He looked at his watch and said, "Regarding Mr. Chu's abilities, I believe we will soon have an answer."

The first to speak was a lean old man who immediately raised his voice and asked, "Commander Du, this is precisely what we are most worried about. Although I have not personally witnessed the battle of the Awakened Warrior in red armor, many people here have. From their descriptions, the Red-Armored Warrior is indeed very powerful, so much so that most of us can only look up to him. However, don't forget that in your plan, he needs to face the Flame Monsters, not those flesh worms or the red-eyed monsters. Although the Red-Armored Warrior is formidable, he seems to be only capable of hunting one or two flesh worms alone. This level of strength, I believe, is not enough to resist the more powerful Flame Monsters!"

Immediately, someone echoed his words, saying, "That's right, I support this old man. I personally witnessed the Red-Armored Warrior's hunt of a flesh worm. Although his abilities are indeed very impressive, I don't think that level is enough to deal with the terrifying Flame Monsters. We had a glimmer of hope that Mr. Chu, who wears a gray cotton coat, might be a being beyond the Red-Armored Warrior. Although your military has revealed that Mr. Chu is the Red-Armored Warrior, Mr. Chu has never come forward to explain, so we still held onto this hope. If your military thinks that bringing out the Red-Armored Warrior will convince us to join the plan, it is a blatant deception to send us to our deaths!"

"I disagree with your words!" A woman with an infant wrapped in front of her interrupted, "I have also seen the Red-Armored Warrior's battles, but I think you haven't observed carefully enough. That person is the only one I have seen who, when using a sword, shows no ice or fire elemental fluctuations; when using a pistol, can emit fire energy; and later, when using a bow, can shoot ice energy arrows. Has anyone here ever seen an Awakened Warrior who can use both ice and fire energy simultaneously! So, I believe and support Commander Du. Mr. Chu, who is the Red-Armored Warrior, will certainly be able to deal with the Flame Monsters!"

...

Commander Du did not expect that their concerns were not just about Chu Yunsheng's abilities, but also the long-rumored Red-Armored Warrior was being questioned again. Even if it was confirmed that Chu Yunsheng was the Awakened Warrior in red armor who had been active in the mist, it would only make these people feel that they had gained a powerful ally, not the key figure to combat the Flame Monsters.

These people had survived multiple crises in the Mist City and were very shrewd. They would not be willing to risk their lives. Commander Du could only hope that Chu Yunsheng would come out to calm the situation. Otherwise, if these people dispersed, with his limited manpower, he would be unable to destroy the nine mist sources.

However, after Chu Yunsheng returned, he locked himself in his room and had Yao Xiang guard the door. Commander Du had already sent Advisor Tao to urge him several times, but to no avail.

At this moment, Chu Yunsheng was worriedly sensing the abnormal changes in his essence energy. He did not have the legendary ability to internally observe his body, so he could only feel these changes through the flow of essence energy in his body.

He was not sure if he had already entered the Second Heaven realm, but he felt that there seemed to be layers of barriers between the essence energy and his body, which were gradually being broken down. Then, the essence energy fused with his body in a way he had never experienced before.

If the essence energy was previously just "residing" in his body, now it seemed to be integrated with his body. This process was very slow, advancing bit by bit.

Various strange sounds from his internal nerves were transmitted to his auditory system, making Chu Yunsheng feel like a castle being destroyed layer by layer by countless essence energy armies.

Although there was no pain, the feeling of fragility made him dare not use the Essence Absorption Talisman to directly infuse essence energy. He was afraid that too much essence energy would instantly cause his body to collapse!

Chu Yunsheng could only calm down and slowly absorb new essence energy from the outside, in sync with the progress of the essence energy in his body. After three hours, the essence energy that had been gradually advancing and fusing with his body finally stopped.

When he checked his condition again, he finally found that it matched the early Second Heaven realm described in the ancient book. The concentration of essence energy had greatly increased, and even with a slight movement, he could feel the immense power contained in the essence energy. The integration of essence energy with his body was no longer a simple storage relationship but a state of mutual fusion, as if the essence energy had become a part of his body.

According to the ancient book, this state was not yet complete in the early stage. He needed to continuously use the cultivation methods provided by the ancient book to thoroughly transform his body into a Fusion Essence Body, until he reached the peak of the Second Heaven realm and broke through to the Third Heaven realm.

The nature of the essence energy in his body had also changed significantly. Originally, the essence energy absorbed from the world did not undergo any special changes, merely residing in his body. Whether he infused it into the Thousand-Cleaving Sword or the Ice Arrow, it remained the original, pure essence energy. He was merely using the power of the essence energy, like a tool.

Now, the essence energy first fused with his transformed body, and the re-emerging essence energy seemed to carry his life force, becoming a part of his body. It was much easier to control. He now realized that with the same amount of essence energy, the power he could unleash in the First Heaven realm was far less than what he could feel now!

The ancient book's predecessor had detailed explanations in the cultivation notes. This qualitative change in essence energy would become more evident as the cultivator's body further transformed, until it reached the peak of the Second Heaven realm, where the original essence energy from the world would be completely converted into the cultivator's own essence energy, with its power reaching the peak of the Second Heaven realm.

The first benefit of the change in essence energy was not the enhancement of his abilities, but the ability to inscribe Third Rank Essence Talismans. These high-level talismans, which must be based on the cultivator's own essence energy, were something Chu Yunsheng had longed for.

More importantly, all the original essence talismans could now be upgraded to the Third Rank level, no longer being single-use items that would be discarded after use. This would greatly reduce the massive waste of his essence energy.

Next, the battle armor and the Thousand-Cleaving Sword. After Chu Yunsheng re-refined them, the battle armor, cleansed by his own essence energy, became half as thick, looking more flexible and lightweight, but its protective ability was significantly enhanced. The Thousand-Cleaving Sword also expelled a large amount of impurities. Chu Yunsheng added all the blade legs of the Red-Armored Bugs provided by Commander Du to the refinement of the Thousand-Cleaving Sword, barely maintaining its size without significant changes.

With the addition of the blue mist from the red-eyed monsters, which could absorb essence energy, the Thousand-Cleaving Sword now required only about half the essence energy it used to to slay a Red-Armored Bug.

Against the Flame Monsters, the Thousand-Cleaving Sword's ability to disrupt essence energy was crucial, as the monsters were mostly composed of pure essence energy.

Next, Chu Yunsheng silently recited the sword combat techniques recorded in the ancient book, which he could now understand, even though he had already memorized them thoroughly.

In the small room, it was inconvenient to practice the combat techniques, so Chu Yunsheng leaped up. He wanted to go out and find a monster to test the long-awaited power of the sword combat techniques.

He then thought: The Awakened Warriors in the hall have always wanted me to prove my strength as a basis for cooperation. This is a good opportunity to test and resolve the issue at the same time!

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