Chapter 86: Undercurrents Beneath the Surface and the Advancement of the Sea of Consciousness
The armored vehicle drove into Panshi City, and the heavy alloy gates slowly closed, shutting out the scent of scorched earth permeating the wasteland.
The news of the special squad's return, covered in dust and blood, quickly reached the war zone command center. This mission had successfully uprooted the source of the psychic toxins that had been continuously eroding the city's cultivators, destroyed the nodes of the four-layer continuous illusion array, and resulted in the survival of all members. In recent rift missions, this could be considered a rare, major victory.
The entire squad first entered the recuperation area for Sea of Consciousness examinations and wound treatment. On the screens of the medical pods, the Sea of Consciousness waveforms pulsed slowly, confirming one by one that no one had sustained permanent damage on a mental level.
After the rest period, the war zone held a commendation meeting.
The Grand Marshal arrived in person. His gaze swept over the neatly standing seven-member squad as his steady voice echoed through the hall: "In the No. 3 Rift mission, you accomplished a goal that was nearly impossible. The Ancient Progenitor's psychic toxins almost silently dismantled our grassroots combat strength. It was you who ventured into the land of death and severed the poison source."
He paused, his gaze settling on Lin Yan. "Lin Yan, your judgment of the nodes' resonance patterns and your methods of mental fortitude were the keys to breaking this deadlock. Your path of combining ancient martial arts with the Sea of Consciousness has opened up a brand-new approach for us to fight against the scaled race."
Lin Yan bowed slightly. "It is the result of the entire squad's coordination. I merely did my duty."
Jiang Tao, Old Chen, and the rest of the squad members all received merit badges awarded by the war zone, and their material and cultivation resources were upgraded accordingly. The rewards were substantial, but no one became arrogant because of it. Everyone knew in their hearts that this victory was only temporary. The Lizardmen alien race underground had not been defeated; they had merely dived deeper into the darkness to gather strength.
After the meeting ended, the few of them walked out of the command hall together.
"News from the monitoring station," Jiang Tao said in a low voice. "All detectable psychic signals of the scaled race beneath the entire wasteland vanished overnight. They were not destroyed; they were actively retracted, sinking completely into the deep rock strata."
Old Chen gripped the long knife at his waist, his brow furrowed. "Completely hidden? The quieter it is, the more unsettling it becomes. Right now, we have no idea where they are or how many underground tunnels they've dug."
"This is exactly the effect the Ancient Progenitor wants." Lin Yan gazed at the gray, hazy wasteland beyond the high walls of the bastion. "It makes us lose our target, forcing us to wait passively. We can only continuously fortify our defenses and conduct passive monitoring, consuming manpower and resources. Meanwhile, it comfortably gathers its great army underground, opening passages leading to the six major bastions. When the time is ripe, it will strike simultaneously."
For the next period, the squad entered a phase of rotating rest and self-cultivation.
During the day, Lin Yan would still go to the training ground to polish his ancient martial arts boxing and short-blade combat, while attempting to simultaneously operate his Sea of Consciousness during actual combat simulations. In the past, he was accustomed to extending his psychic threads outward to probe and sever links. Now, he practiced "inner guarding" much more.
He wove a fine psychic web within the core of his Sea of Consciousness, much like the internal protective force in ancient martial arts. Once subjected to psychic spears or illusion impacts, this web could buffer and divert the attacks first, significantly reducing the impact on his mind. This method consumed very little energy and was highly suitable for long-term resistance against the scaled race's psychic tactics.
He also repeatedly reviewed the combat records of the four-layer nodes in the No. 3 karst cave, documenting the energy flow patterns of the four-node cyclic network and deducing more ways to break them. In case he encountered multi-node linked illusion arrays again in the future, he could find the resonance window faster.
In his spare time, he would also exchange views with Jiang Tao on the differences in Sea of Consciousness cultivation. Jiang Tao's fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness excelled in its robust power, suitable for taking psychic impacts head-on; Lin Yan's third-tier Sea of Consciousness excelled in precision and restraint, adept at precisely severing links and guarding the mind. The two approaches had their respective advantages and disadvantages, and by learning from each other, both progressed rapidly.
Meanwhile, the war zone was also vigorously advancing various contingency plans.
Engineering troops massively deployed deep psychic detection arrays beneath the foundation of Panshi City's walls, no longer limiting monitoring to the shallow rock strata. The R&D department accelerated the improvement of detection instruments, attempting to penetrate the thick rock strata to capture the faint vibrations and psychic fluctuations of deep underground tunnels.
At the same time, the Sea of Consciousness cultivation manuals began to be revised, incorporating Lin Yan's approach of "mind fortitude and precise thread control" as an elective course for elite cultivators. Frontline garrison units also began to organize simulated training against continuous illusions in batches.
However, the underground world remained completely silent.
On the monitoring screens, the psychic waveforms deep in the wasteland remained perfectly flat, without any anomalies. It was as if the Lizardmen scaled beasts, the secondary priests, and even the Ancient Progenitor itself had never existed. This dead silence weighed heavily on the hearts of all the high command of the war zone.
In the combat room of the command center, the Grand Marshal stared at the massive 3D model of the wasteland rock strata, his fingertips resting on the estimated trajectories of the six underground tunnels.
"Our biggest shortcoming right now is the inability to confirm the location and scale of the tunnels," a staff officer reported, standing beside him. "The detection depth of our instruments is limited, and the deep rock strata block signals. Rashly sending squads deep into super-deep rifts is equivalent to delivering them directly into the Ancient Progenitor's home court."
The Grand Marshal nodded slowly. "We cannot blindly send people to explore and waste our elite forces for nothing. Continue to deploy the detection arrays and step up the training of the special squads. Once we catch any trace of the underground tunnels, we must obtain the intelligence immediately."
On the terrace of the recuperation area, the setting sun pierced through the gray air above the bastion, casting a dim light.
Lin Yan sat cross-legged in meditation, the inner qi of his ancient martial arts slowly flowing around his body, and the core of his Sea of Consciousness unfolding steadily. After several life-and-death battles, his third-tier Sea of Consciousness had been tempered to be even more condensed. He had already touched the threshold of the fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness.
But he was not in a rush to force a breakthrough.
When breaking through the Sea of Consciousness, the most taboo thing is impetuousness and rashness. The Ancient Progenitor was hibernating and gathering strength, and the day of the general offensive was imminent. He had to make his foundation solid enough to avoid leaving any hidden dangers.
Old Chen walked over and sat beside him, handing him a bottle of water. "Still training? Recently, everyone feels that things have been much more peaceful. Many garrison members have even let their guard down. The monitoring screens are completely quiet, and it's easy to get the illusion that the alien race has already retreated."
"Calmness is merely an illusion." Lin Yan slowly opened his eyes and gazed into the depths of the earth. "Beneath the darkness, countless scaled beasts are waiting quietly in the underground tunnels. When all the passages are fully connected, the decisive battle will begin."
Deep underground, in the resonance rock cave, the Ancient Progenitor lay in the center of the pool. Countless psychic threads extended to the underground tunnels outside the six major bastions, receiving intelligence on the excavation progress from various locations. Wide underground tunnels were continuously extending through the rock strata, quietly approaching humanity's six bastion cities.
Large numbers of high-tier scaled beasts had matured in the massive underground breeding pools and stood in neat, silent lines. Secondary priests guarded each tunnel node, silently accumulating psychic power.
The Ancient Progenitor's thoughts echoed silently throughout the vast underground network.
"Continue excavating. Nurture our vitality and wait quietly for the day of the general offensive. When the six major bastions are simultaneously besieged by the beast tide, humanity's doomsday will arrive."
Darkness spread silently. A great war capable of annihilating human bastion civilization was quietly brewing underground.
End of Chapter.
The news of the special squad's return, covered in dust and blood, quickly reached the war zone command center. This mission had successfully uprooted the source of the psychic toxins that had been continuously eroding the city's cultivators, destroyed the nodes of the four-layer continuous illusion array, and resulted in the survival of all members. In recent rift missions, this could be considered a rare, major victory.
The entire squad first entered the recuperation area for Sea of Consciousness examinations and wound treatment. On the screens of the medical pods, the Sea of Consciousness waveforms pulsed slowly, confirming one by one that no one had sustained permanent damage on a mental level.
After the rest period, the war zone held a commendation meeting.
The Grand Marshal arrived in person. His gaze swept over the neatly standing seven-member squad as his steady voice echoed through the hall: "In the No. 3 Rift mission, you accomplished a goal that was nearly impossible. The Ancient Progenitor's psychic toxins almost silently dismantled our grassroots combat strength. It was you who ventured into the land of death and severed the poison source."
He paused, his gaze settling on Lin Yan. "Lin Yan, your judgment of the nodes' resonance patterns and your methods of mental fortitude were the keys to breaking this deadlock. Your path of combining ancient martial arts with the Sea of Consciousness has opened up a brand-new approach for us to fight against the scaled race."
Lin Yan bowed slightly. "It is the result of the entire squad's coordination. I merely did my duty."
Jiang Tao, Old Chen, and the rest of the squad members all received merit badges awarded by the war zone, and their material and cultivation resources were upgraded accordingly. The rewards were substantial, but no one became arrogant because of it. Everyone knew in their hearts that this victory was only temporary. The Lizardmen alien race underground had not been defeated; they had merely dived deeper into the darkness to gather strength.
After the meeting ended, the few of them walked out of the command hall together.
"News from the monitoring station," Jiang Tao said in a low voice. "All detectable psychic signals of the scaled race beneath the entire wasteland vanished overnight. They were not destroyed; they were actively retracted, sinking completely into the deep rock strata."
Old Chen gripped the long knife at his waist, his brow furrowed. "Completely hidden? The quieter it is, the more unsettling it becomes. Right now, we have no idea where they are or how many underground tunnels they've dug."
"This is exactly the effect the Ancient Progenitor wants." Lin Yan gazed at the gray, hazy wasteland beyond the high walls of the bastion. "It makes us lose our target, forcing us to wait passively. We can only continuously fortify our defenses and conduct passive monitoring, consuming manpower and resources. Meanwhile, it comfortably gathers its great army underground, opening passages leading to the six major bastions. When the time is ripe, it will strike simultaneously."
For the next period, the squad entered a phase of rotating rest and self-cultivation.
During the day, Lin Yan would still go to the training ground to polish his ancient martial arts boxing and short-blade combat, while attempting to simultaneously operate his Sea of Consciousness during actual combat simulations. In the past, he was accustomed to extending his psychic threads outward to probe and sever links. Now, he practiced "inner guarding" much more.
He wove a fine psychic web within the core of his Sea of Consciousness, much like the internal protective force in ancient martial arts. Once subjected to psychic spears or illusion impacts, this web could buffer and divert the attacks first, significantly reducing the impact on his mind. This method consumed very little energy and was highly suitable for long-term resistance against the scaled race's psychic tactics.
He also repeatedly reviewed the combat records of the four-layer nodes in the No. 3 karst cave, documenting the energy flow patterns of the four-node cyclic network and deducing more ways to break them. In case he encountered multi-node linked illusion arrays again in the future, he could find the resonance window faster.
In his spare time, he would also exchange views with Jiang Tao on the differences in Sea of Consciousness cultivation. Jiang Tao's fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness excelled in its robust power, suitable for taking psychic impacts head-on; Lin Yan's third-tier Sea of Consciousness excelled in precision and restraint, adept at precisely severing links and guarding the mind. The two approaches had their respective advantages and disadvantages, and by learning from each other, both progressed rapidly.
Meanwhile, the war zone was also vigorously advancing various contingency plans.
Engineering troops massively deployed deep psychic detection arrays beneath the foundation of Panshi City's walls, no longer limiting monitoring to the shallow rock strata. The R&D department accelerated the improvement of detection instruments, attempting to penetrate the thick rock strata to capture the faint vibrations and psychic fluctuations of deep underground tunnels.
At the same time, the Sea of Consciousness cultivation manuals began to be revised, incorporating Lin Yan's approach of "mind fortitude and precise thread control" as an elective course for elite cultivators. Frontline garrison units also began to organize simulated training against continuous illusions in batches.
However, the underground world remained completely silent.
On the monitoring screens, the psychic waveforms deep in the wasteland remained perfectly flat, without any anomalies. It was as if the Lizardmen scaled beasts, the secondary priests, and even the Ancient Progenitor itself had never existed. This dead silence weighed heavily on the hearts of all the high command of the war zone.
In the combat room of the command center, the Grand Marshal stared at the massive 3D model of the wasteland rock strata, his fingertips resting on the estimated trajectories of the six underground tunnels.
"Our biggest shortcoming right now is the inability to confirm the location and scale of the tunnels," a staff officer reported, standing beside him. "The detection depth of our instruments is limited, and the deep rock strata block signals. Rashly sending squads deep into super-deep rifts is equivalent to delivering them directly into the Ancient Progenitor's home court."
The Grand Marshal nodded slowly. "We cannot blindly send people to explore and waste our elite forces for nothing. Continue to deploy the detection arrays and step up the training of the special squads. Once we catch any trace of the underground tunnels, we must obtain the intelligence immediately."
On the terrace of the recuperation area, the setting sun pierced through the gray air above the bastion, casting a dim light.
Lin Yan sat cross-legged in meditation, the inner qi of his ancient martial arts slowly flowing around his body, and the core of his Sea of Consciousness unfolding steadily. After several life-and-death battles, his third-tier Sea of Consciousness had been tempered to be even more condensed. He had already touched the threshold of the fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness.
But he was not in a rush to force a breakthrough.
When breaking through the Sea of Consciousness, the most taboo thing is impetuousness and rashness. The Ancient Progenitor was hibernating and gathering strength, and the day of the general offensive was imminent. He had to make his foundation solid enough to avoid leaving any hidden dangers.
Old Chen walked over and sat beside him, handing him a bottle of water. "Still training? Recently, everyone feels that things have been much more peaceful. Many garrison members have even let their guard down. The monitoring screens are completely quiet, and it's easy to get the illusion that the alien race has already retreated."
"Calmness is merely an illusion." Lin Yan slowly opened his eyes and gazed into the depths of the earth. "Beneath the darkness, countless scaled beasts are waiting quietly in the underground tunnels. When all the passages are fully connected, the decisive battle will begin."
Deep underground, in the resonance rock cave, the Ancient Progenitor lay in the center of the pool. Countless psychic threads extended to the underground tunnels outside the six major bastions, receiving intelligence on the excavation progress from various locations. Wide underground tunnels were continuously extending through the rock strata, quietly approaching humanity's six bastion cities.
Large numbers of high-tier scaled beasts had matured in the massive underground breeding pools and stood in neat, silent lines. Secondary priests guarded each tunnel node, silently accumulating psychic power.
The Ancient Progenitor's thoughts echoed silently throughout the vast underground network.
"Continue excavating. Nurture our vitality and wait quietly for the day of the general offensive. When the six major bastions are simultaneously besieged by the beast tide, humanity's doomsday will arrive."
Darkness spread silently. A great war capable of annihilating human bastion civilization was quietly brewing underground.
End of Chapter.