Chapter 28

Chen Hai, regardless of whether they were human or demon, did not know what a Rākṣasa demon body was. He vaguely knew that Zuo Er had implanted something important into the puppet avatar's mind, but he had no time to investigate further. He dared not show any signs of weakness and could only pretend to be controlled by some mysterious and irresistible will, just like the other Rākṣasa ghosts, moving slowly toward the stone valley where the temple had sunk, trying to lag behind as much as possible.

Zuo Er seemed to have fallen into a deep, eternal sleep, and there was no longer any response from the puppet avatar's mind.

Although Zuo Er had said that the Rākṣasa ghosts had low intelligence, Chen Hai believed that Zuo Er was referring to those with a similar size to his puppet avatar. However, the Rākṣasa giants, which were often over eighteen meters tall, did not seem to have low intelligence at all.

Chen Hai tried to stay as far behind as possible, keeping a distance from these giants who could crush him like an ant with a single step. If he were to reveal any weakness, he would surely die without a trace, and no Rākṣasa blood refinement secret technique would save him.

Climbing a stone cliff about three to four hundred meters high, Chen Hai finally saw the full view of the Blood Cloud Wasteland. It was densely packed with Rākṣasa ghosts, covered in a blood-red membrane, like blood corpses. He couldn't tell how many thousands or tens of thousands had been resurrected by the Great Array of Rebirth in the Blood Cloud Wasteland.

At this moment, Chen Hai's puppet avatar was not so noticeable. As long as he moved a bit more slowly, he was almost indistinguishable from the thousands of Rākṣasa ghosts around him.

About fifteen to sixteen Rākṣasa giants, each over thirty to forty meters tall, had already gathered in the valley where the temple had sunk. However, they had not found the temple. They seemed to be discussing something, but their agitation and fury filled the air with a sulfuric smell.

The lower-level Rākṣasa ghosts seemed to be directly influenced by this agitation and fury, often fighting and biting each other.

In the stone valley where the temple had sunk, one Rākṣasa giant picked up two long golden bones, like spears, and thrust them into the hard rock layer on the ground.

Chen Hai still didn't understand why the ground remained intact and hard after the temple sank underground.

The power of that Rākṣasa giant was terrifying. When the golden bone spears were thrust into the ground, the entire wasteland shook as if an earthquake wave was spreading across the surface. Chen Hai saw the granite-like rock layer at the bottom of the temple valley crack open with a terrifying fissure over a hundred meters long and seven to eight meters wide!

Chen Hai cursed in his heart, thinking that the power of these Rākṣasa giants must be measured in tons of TNT.

The golden bone spears held by the Rākṣasa giant were extremely sturdy, showing no damage even after such a violent impact.

The Blood Cloud Wasteland was scattered with many such golden bones, but even a piece as long as a regular spear or halberd weighed several tons, far beyond the control of a puppet avatar at the martial soldier level.

Chen Hai didn't expect these newly resurrected Rākṣasa giants to be so discerning, picking up these golden bones as weapons.

The actions of this Rākṣasa giant quickly influenced the other Rākṣasa ghosts, who seemed to believe that the temple was hidden underground and could not have disappeared without a trace. They began to use various tools to dig into the stone valley.

Seeing countless Rākṣasa ghosts digging with broken bones or their sharp fingertips, Chen Hai felt both strange and anxious, unsure how deep Zuo Er had hidden the temple underground.

From Zuo Er's tone, it seemed that the temple was not completely safe from exposure. Chen Hai didn't know what would happen if the temple were exposed or what he should do next...

For over half a month, millions of Rākṣasa ghosts dug into the stone valley where the temple had sunk, excavating about two to three thousand meters deep, but they still hadn't found the temple.

Chen Hai breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't dare cut off his connection with the snake bracelet for fear of revealing any weakness. He could only pretend to dig the hard stone ground along with the other Rākṣasa ghosts on the outskirts of the temple valley.

After half a month, the mysterious will controlling the Rākṣasa ghosts seemed to weaken. The resurrected Rākṣasa ghosts became increasingly agitated, and some began to leave the temple valley, heading deeper into the Blood Cloud Wasteland.

At this point, Chen Hai dared to control his puppet avatar to move to the outskirts of the temple valley, hoping to stay as far away as possible from the Rākṣasa giants, which were over eighteen to thirty meters tall.

Before this, Chen Hai had been active near the temple valley. Now, as he left the temple valley, he realized that the Blood Cloud Wasteland was much larger than he had imagined. Everywhere was desolate, with cracked earth and boiling lava, the air filled with a sulfuric smell, and blood-red clouds covering the sky, resembling the hell described in legends.

As Zuo Er had said, the lower-level Rākṣasa ghosts began to kill each other.

The further they moved away from the temple valley, the more these lower-level Rākṣasa ghosts seemed unable to suppress their murderous instincts. Slaughter was everywhere, and the surviving Rākṣasa ghosts began to eat the flesh of those they had killed, leaving piles of broken bones with remnants of flesh, creating a terrifying scene...

Chen Hai feared that if his soul continued to remain in the Blood Cloud Wasteland, he would go mad. However, he didn't dare easily cut off his connection with the snake bracelet, fearing that his puppet avatar would be discovered and devoured by other Rākṣasa ghosts.

According to Zuo Er, a part of his soul was now integrated with the puppet avatar, making it a true extension of himself. He didn't know how severe the injury would be if the puppet avatar were devoured, but it would be a devastating blow, possibly halving his lifespan and leaving his soul damaged.

After a month, Chen Hai found a small cave in a distant ravine, far enough from the temple valley, where only his puppet avatar could fit. He used a sharp and sturdy bone spear to pry two large rocks to seal the entrance, then finally cut off his connection with the snake bracelet, returning his soul to the Dao Academy in Iron Stream Ridge.

Returning to the Dao Academy in Iron Stream Ridge, Chen Hai felt as if he had just emerged from drowning, sitting under a tree by the stone pond, gasping for breath, trying to drive the apocalyptic scene of the Blood Cloud Wasteland from his mind.

Hearing the commotion, Ge Tong and Zhou Jingyuan approached, both surprised and relieved.

"You finally woke up. We were so worried, thinking something had gone wrong with your cultivation..." Zhou Jingyuan said, clutching his chest, looking relieved.

Not to mention junior Dao soldiers, even Spirit Realm cultivators rarely meditated for such a long time.

Chen Hai had previously used the excuse of meditating to immerse his soul in the Blood Cloud Wasteland for only half a month, which was already the limit for junior Dao soldiers.

This time, however, he had stayed in the Blood Cloud Wasteland for nearly two months.

Even without cultivation, a physical body could not survive without food or water for two months, reaching the limit of what the body could endure.

Chen Hai felt an indescribable weakness, his internal essence and energy long exhausted. His hands, crossed in front of his knees, were bony, and looking at his reflection in the water of the spirit pond, he saw that his once plump body was now emaciated, his face deeply sunken, just skin and bones...

Chen Hai hadn't expected it to be so severe. He thought that if his soul hadn't returned from the Blood Cloud Wasteland, his physical body would have been ruined, and his soul would have been trapped in that hopeless and dark wasteland forever.

In theory, his soul should have been able to connect with his physical body through the snake bracelet, but the atmosphere in the Blood Cloud Wasteland was too bloody and oppressive, and no one had entered the Medicine Garden, so he hadn't noticed the changes in his physical body.

Chen Hai took two Essence Pills, and the medicinal power spread as warm currents through his limbs, making him feel slightly better. He weakly said to Ge Tong and Zhou Jingyuan, who were worried, "I was deeply immersed in martial arts and didn't realize I would meditate for so long, causing you both to worry."

Ge Tong and Zhou Jingyuan were extremely shocked, wondering what profound technique could make Chen Hai so engrossed that he didn't even notice the changes in his body.

"Fearing that the Cai family's disciples might disturb your cultivation, Ge Senior Brother has been guarding the courtyard for two months without rest, worried about any accidents," Zhou Jingyuan said.

Although Ge Tong was from a humble background, he was a Purple Robe disciple in the Dao Academy, a position of high status. Chen Hai had no prior agreement with him, but Ge Tong had put aside all other matters to protect him for two months, a true sign of a genuine friend.

"Thank you, Senior Brother," Chen Hai bowed to Ge Tong, "Although my seclusion was dangerous, I managed to truly comprehend the 'Fish Transforming into Dragon' secret form taught by the strange person, and I have also cultivated the Foot-Jueyin main meridian. Please don't refuse..."

Chen Hai had previously taught the Tiger Crouching form to Shen Xiu, Zhou Qingyun, and others, hoping to form alliances with Zhou Jingyuan, Shen Kun, and others to avoid being isolated in the Dao Academy.

The Tiger Crouching form was a combination of two basic martial arts secret forms, involving the cultivation of the Foot-Shaoyang and Hand-Shaoyang main meridians. As a foundational martial arts technique, it had advantages that ordinary profound techniques could not match, but it wasn't particularly precious, and its power was less than the Five Tiger Secret Fist when fully cultivated.

Chen Hai had known Ge Tong for several months and knew that Ge Tong had successfully opened three main meridians to become a Purple Robe disciple in the Dao Academy. However, opening the Spirit Sea with just three main meridians was extremely difficult, so Ge Tong planned to open the Foot-Jueyin fourth main meridian and then try to advance to the Spirit Realm.

Cultivating the Foot-Jueyin main meridian involved the core of the heart and the cultivation of the Dantian, located in the brain. Once opened and refined by true essence, there was a high chance of opening the Spirit Sea, but it was much more difficult than cultivating the Foot-Shaoyang and Hand-Shaoyang main meridians.

Under normal circumstances, Chen Hai would never teach the 'Fish Transforming into Dragon' form, which involved the cultivation of the Foot-Jueyin main meridian, to anyone else.

The 'Fish Transforming into Dragon' form involved four basic martial arts secret forms and was the most complex combination Chen Hai had comprehended in the Blood Cloud Wasteland over the past half year. Chen Hai's internal essence was several times more abundant and refined than that of a junior Dao soldier approaching the Profound Realm. Even so, to fully perform the 'Fish Transforming into Dragon' form, he would have to drain all his essence.

This was almost the limit of what a Purple Robe disciple in the Dao Academy could achieve.

At this moment, Chen Hai realized that since he could not advance to the Profound Realm for the time being, it would be better to fully support Ge Tong in breaking through his bottleneck and advancing to the Spirit Realm.

To establish himself in the Taiwei Sect, besides relying on Chen Lie, helping Ge Tong, who was a man of deep loyalty and righteousness, achieve a high position in the Dao Academy would be beneficial in every way.

This was similar to Zhou Jingyuan's investment in him.