svetikya Page 94
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Upon hearing that familiar voice, Smith turned around with a drastic change in expression, only to see Yi Shuihan smiling.
"It's you! How did you get here?" Smith exclaimed in disbelief, then his face lit up with excitement. "It's him! He's our target! Kill him!"
A few seconds later, nothing happened. Smith's excited expression gradually turned into surprise and doubt, and then into fear. He had clearly realized something.
Nordwa pulled out a gun from his waist and pulled the trigger at Yi Shuihan, an action that rekindled hope in Smith's eyes.
'bang bang bang'
But what happened next completely stunned Nordwa and Smith. Several bullets were floating in front of Yi Shuihan, the same number that Nordwa had fired earlier.
"My God! Is this a joke? Superpowers! He's a superpowered person!" Nordwa shouted in disbelief, pointing at Yi Shuihan. As a soldier, his knowledge was beyond that of ordinary people. He had even experienced several battlefields, which had toughened his nerves to an extremely high degree. However, seeing this completely illogical scene, he still couldn't control his emotions.
Smith, though also shocked, remained rational.
"My men should all be dead!" Smith took a deep breath and said slowly. He wasn't stupid. After so much time had passed and no one else had reacted, he could easily guess that they had all met with misfortune.
"Not bad!"
With the sound of the bullet hitting the ground, Smith's heart sank to the bottom of the sea. At this moment, he regretted it immensely. He had agreed to Zhong Aiguo's request to kill Yi Shuihan. This young man was simply a devil.
Chapter 246, The Purple Gold Chamber of Commerce Changes Hands
Nordwa realized what was happening and looked at his men. Upon closer inspection, he noticed something was wrong. Although his men were still in their original positions, their eyes had lost their luster, making them look like soulless puppets.
The loss of his close subordinates, with whom he had spent every day, nearly drove Nordwa to the brink of collapse. He was overwhelmed by endless regret and self-blame.
If these people had died on the battlefield, Nordva wouldn't have regretted it so much. After all, they came to this country for the war and for the country's interests, so even if they died, it would have been a worthy death.
But what's going on now? To be killed silently by someone, without even a fight, just a one-sided massacre—such a death is completely meaningless.
He wanted revenge, but Nordwa gave up when he saw the bullets on the ground. Now, his survival was in question.
"Sir, this is actually a misunderstanding. We are just here for a rehearsal." Smith tried his best to hide his emotions and act as naturally as possible.
"A misunderstanding!" Yi Shuihan chuckled. "Even if it is, so what? Let the misunderstanding continue."
“I’m willing to risk my life for money, I’m willing to pay any price.” Smith didn’t give up, and Nordwa, standing to the side, also felt a glimmer of hope.
Shaking his head, Yi Shuihan kicked Nordwa away. Nordwa's body crashed through three trees before finally hanging from a branch, its body pierced through.
"This is called hanging oneself from a southeast branch. I think it looks beautiful. What do you think?"
Smith's face turned pale, his lips moved but he couldn't utter a word. He was too frightened to speak by Yi Shuihan's brutality.
Why do you think I kept you until the end?
"Could it be?" Smith, being an elite sent by Britain, instantly understood Yi Shuihan's meaning. "If I tell you, can you let me go? If you don't let me go, I won't say a word."
"It seems you don't understand the methods of our Daoist arts!" Yi Shuihan's voice suddenly became deep, and an invisible spiritual fluctuation spread out.
"Tell me everything you know, your mission, and why you wanted to kill me."
Smith's gaze was blank, and he answered Yi Shuihan's questions like a robot.
A few minutes later, Yi Shuihan, having obtained what she wanted to know, finally learned about Smith's life.
"The Soul-Capturing Technique is actually quite effective against ordinary people."
Yi Shuihan couldn't help but sigh that compared to the Devil Fruits of the One Piece world, the power of magic was far more unpredictable and had fewer restrictions. As long as one's cultivation was sufficient, one could cultivate whatever one wanted without being confined to a single ability.
"Alright, the trouble is over, let's go!" Back where they were, Yi Shuihan didn't explain anything to Hua Ya.
In fact, Yi Shuihan originally planned to leave directly after dealing with Smith, since he felt that Hua Ya had no reason to stay by his side. However, since he had already made her wait, he decided to go back.
"I didn't expect that someone so old would still have such strong fighting power." Yi Shuihan looked at the two people who were engrossed in their activities not far away with surprise, but she couldn't bear to disturb their good time.
What Yi Shuihan didn't know was that Zhong Aiguo actually focused all his energy on business. It was only because Yi Shuihan killed his only son, cutting off his lineage, that he had the idea of having another child, which led to the current situation.
"Who?" Zhong Aiguo, who was already exhausted, suddenly tensed up and looked in the direction from which the voice came.
"What a show! I never expected that Elder Zhong would be so vigorous and powerful!"
Yi Shuihan smiled as he looked at Zhong Aiguo, whose face was gloomy, and his concubine, who was screaming in fear.
"Shut up." Seemingly finding his concubine's voice too noisy, Zhong Aiguo slapped her across the face, knocking her unconscious.
"Since you already know who I am and what I'm here for, I won't introduce myself. Don't worry, I'll help you reunite with your son. It's been so long, I'm sure you've missed him too."
Before Zhong Aiguo could react, Yi Shuihan unleashed a bolt of lightning, instantly turning his concubine into a charred corpse.
Zhong Aiguo was a great man, practically an emperor in the business world, yet he died such a tragic death, killed like a chicken. It was truly a cruel twist of fate.
Having dealt with Zhong Aiguo, Yi Shuihan didn't linger and went directly to the home of Fang Yuan, the second largest shareholder of the Zijin Chamber of Commerce.
“Zhong Aiguo is dead. I killed him. Captain Jiang from the police team was a good person.”
After speaking to Fang Yuan, Yi Shuihan vanished as if by teleportation.
"I believe Fang Yuan will be able to seize this opportunity! And if he's smart enough, he should take care of Captain Jiang."
Previously, Yi Shuihan had already learned some information about Fang Yuan, knowing that he was a true patriot, not a hypocritical patriot like Zhong Aiguo. Moreover, Fang Yuan's methods were no less than Zhong Aiguo's, and he even had the shadow of the military behind him. That's why he gave him face.
Yi Shuihan didn't hide it too much, so anyone with eyes could easily find out that he killed Zhong Aiguo with a little investigation. This also served as a deterrent. It's believed that once Fang Yuan found out, he would only consider Yi Shuihan more carefully, and at that time, Yi Shuihan's words would have an effect.
In fact, Yi Shuihan's thinking was not wrong. A few days later, the Zijin Chamber of Commerce changed hands almost without any turmoil, and Captain Jiang also left the police station and became the president of the Zijin Chamber of Commerce's capital city branch. It can be said that he rose to the top in one step and embarked on a life of wealth and honor.
Chapter 247, The Breakthrough Was Quite a Big Strike
Two months have passed since the Zijin Chamber of Commerce changed hands, and Yi Shuihan is now alone in the deep mountains 200 kilometers away from the capital.
"Phew, everything's OK. It's time to advance to the Void Returning stage."
Three days ago, Yi Shuihan left the capital and came to this desolate mountain forest because he felt that advancing to the Void Returning Realm was just around the corner.
He could advance in the capital, but Yi Shuihan's intuition told him that this advancement would be completely different from the past. It wouldn't be so quiet and would even cause quite a stir, which was why he had come to a place where he wouldn't be easily disturbed.
After three days, he finally adjusted his condition and his chances of advancing to the next round were 3%, so he began the process.
In the cultivation process, the first step is to condense the source energy, and then refine the spiritual energy into magic power. During the Qi Refining stage, one continuously condenses magic power. When one reaches the Divine Transformation stage, the magic power is condensed into liquid, and spiritual power begins to appear. As for breaking through to the Void Return stage, it is to condense the liquid magic power into a solid.
Achieving the Return to Emptiness stage is equivalent to creating the prototype of a Golden Core. At this stage, the soul will undergo incredible changes. Even if separated from the physical body, it can still survive normally and can even possess another body. However, possession cannot change lifespan, and further progress becomes extremely difficult after possession.
Returning to the Void and reaching the Dao means completely condensing the Golden Core, and finally passing through the Immortal Tribulation. Only after the Golden Core is baptized by the Immortal Qi can one become an Immortal.
He urged his magical power to begin solidifying, and Yi Shuihan's mind was completely focused on the breakthrough.
As Yi Shuihan began his breakthrough, a small vortex gradually formed around him, continuously absorbing the already limited spiritual energy from heaven and earth.
As time passed, Yi Shuihan was surrounded by layers of white mist, as if he were in a fairyland.
"Spiritual energy turns into mist!" If Feng Wuhen saw this scene, he would definitely exclaim in surprise. This is a spectacle that only appears when the spiritual energy is concentrated to a certain degree. It is almost impossible to see in this Dharma-ending Age. Even in ancient times, it could only be seen in some immortal caves.
In fact, this situation always occurred every time Yi Shuihan practiced Haki in the One Piece world. It was only in this world that it never happened because the spiritual energy density was too low. Unexpectedly, it reappeared when he broke through to the Void Returning Realm.
Yi Shuihan was unaware of everything happening in the outside world; he continued to compress his liquid mana, turning it into a solid.
An hour passed, and Yi Shuihan's breakthrough had not stopped, but the speed at which the spiritual energy vortex absorbed spiritual energy had decreased considerably, because the spiritual energy within a radius of a hundred miles had been almost entirely concentrated here, and it was unable to absorb spiritual energy from a hundred miles away.
Seemingly quite dissatisfied with this, the spiritual energy vortex underwent further changes, continuously increasing its suction force, and finally, an incredibly astonishing scene unfolded.
Starting from around Yi Shuihan, wisps of spiritual energy suddenly emanated from the earth. The land, devoid of spiritual energy, gradually turned into barren wasteland, and the trees and flowers on the ground began to wither at a visible speed.
The animals in the mountains and forests sensed unease and began to flee in all directions away from Yishuihan. The roars of wild beasts and the chirping of birds could be heard incessantly.
But they could not escape their fate. A wolf running on the ground visibly withered away, stumbled, and collapsed to the ground, never to rise again; an eagle in the sky suddenly lost all its feathers in flight and fell straight to the ground; a fish in the water had its eyes rolled back and floated on the surface...
It was as if the world was ending. Within a hundred miles of Yi Shuihan, there was a completely different world from the outside world. One step was heaven, and the other was hell.
It has to be said that Yi Shuihan's intuition was correct. Fortunately, he chose a remote, uninhabited mountain forest for his breakthrough. Fortunately, he was far enough away. Otherwise, if he had broken through in the capital, the capital might have been reduced to ruins, and millions of people would have died because of him. He would have had nowhere to cry then.
Countless lives have been lost because of him, but compared to the number of human lives lost, it is still much better.
If Yi Shuihan were to look at his attribute list at this moment, he would find that his merit points are decreasing at a rate of one point per second, and this rate is increasing over time.
Although they are not human, the fact that these plants and animals died because of the cold water of the Yi River, and that the earth withered because of the cold water of the Yi River, also diminishes one's merit.
Ultimately, all of this is caused by spiritual energy. Because it is the end of the Dharma era, the concentration of spiritual energy is too low. The amount of spiritual energy needed to break through to the Void Returning stage is far too much, which is why the practice of extracting spiritual energy from the earth occurs.
Of course, if it were someone else, they would not be able to continue after breaking through to the Void Returning stage, nor could they create such a commotion as Yi Shuihan, drawing spiritual energy from the earth and surrounding creatures to achieve their own breakthrough.
Besides being a late-stage Incarnation Realm cultivator, Yi Shuihan's actual strength had already reached the Black Iron 9-star level, which is why he was so domineering when he broke through.
It can be said that achieving the Return to Emptiness stage in the Dharma-ending Age is basically impossible. Only someone like Yi Shuihan, who possessed the combat power of a Black Iron 9-star without any cultivation, could break this shackle.
Logically speaking, simply condensing magical power into a solid state doesn't require so much spiritual energy; most of the spiritual energy is actually used for the transformation of the soul.
Two hours later, when Yi Shuihan's merit points had dropped to 10,000, his body suddenly trembled, and his aura surged wildly. He had finally broken through.
"Finally, I've broken through. Is this what they call returning to the Void? It's a truly wondrous feeling." Feeling his body, which was completely different from before the breakthrough, Yi Shuihan's lips curved into a beautiful smile.
"This is unprecedentedly powerful. I feel like I could take on a hundred of my pre-breakthrough self now."
"Huh? What's going on?" Yi Shuihan suddenly noticed the situation around him and was taken aback.
This was completely different from the scene he remembered. The earth was pitch black, the trees were withered, and the view was a scene straight out of hell.
After a long while, when Yi Shuihan finally realized what had happened, he felt extremely frightened, but at the same time, he was glad that he had chosen this place as the breakthrough point.
Chapter 248, The Dissipating Seal
"I've never heard of such a huge commotion when breaking through to the Void Returning Realm. If it were, there would definitely be some record of it in ancient times." After fully recovering, Yi Shuihan had a new thought.
If even a return to the Void can turn a hundred miles into wasteland, then the appearance of those who returned to the Void, or even merged with the Dao, must have turned the world upside down.
After thinking for a long time, Yi Shuihan could only attribute all of this to the end of the Dharma era, unaware that this was already very close to the truth.
Having broken through to the Void Returning stage, Yi Shuihan's strength has truly increased. Despite cultivating for so many years, his strength hasn't changed much compared to his time in the One Piece world.
Returning to the Void represents the Bronze level, so he has entered a completely new level. Moreover, Yi Shuihan feels that he is definitely much stronger than those who have just broken through to the Void level, since he is not a cultivator of a certain system.
"Fortunately, there's an attribute list that gives me a clear idea of my current strength." Yi Shuihan immediately checked his attributes.
Name: Yi Shuihan
Lifespan: 261000
Strength: Bronze 2 stars
Speed: Bronze 2 stars
Spirit: Bronze 3 stars
Merit Points: 8003
Overall character rating: Bronze 2 stars
Strength and speed directly jumped from Bronze 1 to Bronze 2, and spirit even jumped 2 stars to Bronze 3. It has to be said that Yi Shuihan is quite satisfied with these attributes.
His overall rating is Bronze 2 stars, but if he really gets the job done, even if he's Bronze 5 stars, Yi Shuihan is confident he can defeat him. In fact, Yi Shuihan can feel that he can now barely use Silver skills, although the burden is still very heavy.
Based on this calculation, as long as Yi Shuihan doesn't encounter anything particularly abnormal during the Bronze stage, he can basically protect himself without any problems.
"I wonder how my strength compares to that of a Dao Integration Realm expert?" If there weren't a suitable opponent, Yi Shuihan would really like to have a good fight.
After laughing for a while, Yi Shuihan suddenly cried out, "How is this possible? How come my merit points are so few, only 8003? Before, they were almost 100000. Did the system steal my merit points?"
Yi Shuihan couldn't help but be shocked, because these merit points were extremely important to him at the moment, as they were related to whether the system could advance further.
Fortunately, Yi Shuihan was not stupid. After thinking for a moment, he finally figured out the reason. Looking at the desolation around him, he smiled bitterly and said, "I have only myself to blame."
Once again, Yi Shuihan was relieved that he had chosen this place instead of the capital as his breakthrough point, and then he left the original spot and returned to the capital.
Not long after Yi Shuihan left, countless forces flocked to the scene. They were all shocked by the desolation of the hundred miles. Some said that demons had descended, others said that a drought demon had been born, and still others said that someone had angered the heavens and brought divine punishment upon them. Various versions of rumors emerged one after another, causing quite a stir.
Even foreigners joined in the fun. Some scientists, like sharks drawn by the scent of blood, came with great enthusiasm to study the changes, hoping to find the truth and gain fame.
However, all of this had nothing to do with Yi Shuihan. At this moment, he had already followed Feng Wuhen to the depths of a secluded mountain range.
"I don't know what's going on these past few days, but the spiritual energy of heaven and earth has suddenly decreased again, and it can already be felt. In the past, the rate of decrease was very slow, and you wouldn't feel much of it. The current density of spiritual energy is probably equivalent to more than ten years from now."
"Because of this, the seal can't hold for much longer. It looks like it's about to end, and it will completely dissipate within a few months at most."
Feng Wuhen complained in bewilderment, while Yi Shuihan, the person who caused all of this, smiled bitterly to himself and did not say that it was all his fault.
"I hope we can defeat the demon this time, otherwise..." Feng Wuhen said with a worried expression as he spoke of the demon that was still sealed.
This time, they came with nearly a hundred people, all of whom were at least at the early stage of Qi Refining. There were even acquaintances of Yi Shuihan, Uncle Jiu, Qiu Sheng, Wen Cai, and others. There were also about ten other people from the Maoshan Sect, as well as the Celestial Masters Sect, the Northern Frontier, and others. It was quite a grand occasion.
"Don't worry, this demon has been sealed for so many years and is no longer as powerful as he was in his prime. Even if his cultivation hasn't declined, I'll make sure he can't wreak havoc on the world." I just happened to have lost so many merit points, so I can make up for it.
Having broken through to the Void Reversal stage, Yi Shuihan was full of confidence in himself. He had the courage to fight even a Dao Integration cultivator, let alone an old demon who had been sealed away for so many years.
"Such a big mouth, don't be the first one to run away when the time comes." A sinister voice rang out.
"What's wrong with you people from the Northern Frontier? Are you here to cause trouble?" Hua Yu said with an unpleasant expression. Even at a time like this, they still couldn't unite and were mocking others. In his opinion, they were simply too unreasonable.
"Hmph, I don't need your special operations team to manage what I do in the Northern Frontier."