Chapter 128: Sea of Consciousness Integration
The dormitory window was narrow, allowing only a faint, fading twilight to filter in.
Lin Yan sat cross-legged in meditation, shutting out all surrounding noise as he sank his mind into his Sea of Consciousness.
That newly reborn core of his Sea of Consciousness hung quietly deep within his awareness. Unlike his former second-tier Sea of Consciousness, which spread outward into a thin net of perception, this was a solid, warm, yet sharply concealed luminous core. With a gentle mobilization, a wisp of perception as fine as a hair would stretch outward, reaching its furthest point over ten meters beyond the dormitory's outer wall. Once retracted, it could completely fold inward, sealing off all traces of psychic leakage; even the microscopic illusion web spores floating in the air would struggle to detect his psychic imprint.
Yet, this power was not tame.
Every time his perception extended outward, the core would emit a faint tremor, like a piece of iron just forged and tempered, still carrying the residual heat of the fire. The surge in power brought not only advantages but also a backlash that was difficult to control. The aftereffects of his overexertion in forcibly disrupting the priests' energy link in the wasteland tunnel were now slowly manifesting. A dull pain throbbed in his temples, and whenever he rushed to mobilize his Sea of Consciousness, the pain would intensify.
Instructor Wen's notebook lay open beside him, a line of clear handwriting on the page: The three weeks following a breakthrough are the danger period. The Sea of Consciousness is newly shaped, and its foundation is unsteady. Avoid frequently forcing psychic impacts or tracing back to break the web. If hidden injuries are left, every future promotion will be plagued by the backlash of old wounds. In severe cases, the Sea of Consciousness will slowly collapse, reducing one to a waste who lives forever trapped in illusions.
Lin Yan slowly retracted his wisp of perception, allowing the core of his Sea of Consciousness to return to stillness, no longer deliberately testing his limits.
He was in no rush to unearth the full power of his third-tier Sea of Consciousness. For now, his top priority was integration and stabilization.
He didn't know how long he had sat in meditation when a soft knock came from the door.
"Lin Yan?" It was Lu Heng's voice.
Lin Yan stood up and opened the door. Lu Heng held a paper dossier in his hand. He had already changed out of his combat suit into the standard gray-blue uniform of the war zone, his eyes carrying an exhaustion he couldn't entirely hide. The debriefing at the command center had taken a long time, and the fatigue of the battlefield still lingered on his face.
"I just came out of the command center and thought I'd drop by to check on you," Lu Heng said, stepping into the room and placing the dossier on the desk. "News from Old Guo: the wound has been debrided, and there is no fungal hyphae infection. But the shoulder bone contusion is severe; he won't be able to return to the squad for combat for at least a month."
Lin Yan nodded upon hearing this. "Fortunately, it wasn't worse."
"It's considered a narrow escape with his life. With any other injury, compounded by the illusion web infection, the outcome would be hard to say." Lu Heng paused, tapping his finger on the cover of the dossier. "This is a special observation record issued by headquarters for you. From today onward, after every mission and every Sea of Consciousness cultivation session, you must record your mental consumption and the tremor status of your Sea of Consciousness, and submit it to the war zone's psychiatry department regularly. You are now one of the few third-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivators on the Western Front, and you broke through under a killing formation meticulously set by the matrix. The war zone is keeping a very close watch on your condition."
Lin Yan picked up the dossier and opened it. Inside, densely printed monitoring items were detailed down to the distance of perception extension, maximum load of psychic impact, illusion resistance, and the frequency of Sea of Consciousness restlessness.
"There's one more thing," Lu Heng added in a low voice. "After discussions, the high command has adjusted our squad's upcoming schedule. For the next twenty days, we will not be assigned any high-risk wasteland reconnaissance or rift infiltration missions. Everything will be replaced by near-perimeter patrols around the bastion, illusion web spore clearance, and assisting in the Sea of Consciousness practical training of new recruits. The purpose is twofold: first, to give you ample time to stabilize your Sea of Consciousness; second, to lull the ancient lizard progenitors underground into a false sense of security, preventing them from figuring out your current upper limit of strength."
Lin Yan raised his eyes. "You're keeping me away from the front lines?"
"It's not being shelved; it's avoiding their edge," Lu Heng said solemnly. "The matrix has already confirmed that you've stepped into the third tier, and it knows your fighting style well enough. If you are thrown back into the depths of the wasteland now, it is highly likely to set up traps specifically targeting the third-tier Sea of Consciousness. We don't know how many hidden cards it still holds, so there's no need to voluntarily walk into its snare to test them. Once your Sea of Consciousness foundation is stable, we will reapply for high-risk missions."
Lin Yan understood the stakes behind this arrangement. The matrix could read his combat habits and weave illusions that precisely struck at his obsessions. Rashly stepping back into the net it had laid carried a far higher risk than before.
"I obey the arrangement."
"Also, tomorrow morning, go to the Sea of Consciousness Practical Training Hall at the Combat Readiness High School," Lu Heng added. "Instructor Wen heard that you successfully broke through and asked me to tell you to go see her. She wants to personally verify your Sea of Consciousness status and adjust your cultivation methods. She is a veteran third-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivator who suffered losses from the illusion web in the Southern Front rifts years ago. She knows better than anyone the pitfalls that newly broken-through cultivators are prone to falling into."
Mentioning Instructor Wen brought back memories of his days at the practical training base. Back when he was only at the second tier, he had repeatedly practiced gathering his Sea of Consciousness in the simulated illusion web pod. Instructor Wen had pointed out time and again his flaw of rushing to trace back and habitually taking the initiative to attack illusion web nodes. Without that training, in the deadly situation at Beacon Two, he most likely wouldn't have held out until the moment his Sea of Consciousness shattered and was reborn.
"I'll remember that."
Lu Heng didn't stay long. After reminding him a few times to rest assured, he turned and left.
The room fell silent once more. Lin Yan picked up a pen and paper and, following the items in the dossier, carefully wrote down today's Sea of Consciousness record: Completed breakthrough under high-intensity illusion web suppression. Severe mental overexertion. Unstable Sea of Consciousness core. Massive mobilization of power triggers dull headaches. Illusion resistance significantly improved; can accurately strip away false illusions of the illusion web.
After finishing, he closed the dossier, lay down on the hard board bed, and closed his eyes to rest.
Unconsciously, the scenes in the tunnel played back in his mind: illusions sweeping in from all directions, his master's figure beckoning to him within the illusion, the two sinister and desperate psychic waves of the priests, and the silent, vast, earth-like gaze of the matrix's consciousness.
The matrix had no emotions; it did not feel anger or anxiety. It was more like a massive thought network rooted in the earth, calmly observing, recording, deducing, and planning. Humans were its prey, and it merely continuously adjusted its hunting methods.
Lin Yan slowly exhaled.
For twenty-five years of invasion, humanity had been on the defensive, led by the nose by the rifts, scaled beasts, and priests. The bastions were cages, the wasteland was a hunting ground, and the boundless underground fungal hyphae were the eyes and ears of the ancient lizard progenitors spread across the earth.
Previously, he had merely been a soldier following the squad on missions, his goal simply to complete the task and survive. But after stepping into the third tier, he could see further. Through the layers of illusion web waves, he could faintly touch the complete command system hidden behind all the attacks.
He began to understand that to defend the bastions, merely holding the defensive line was far from enough. One day, humanity would have to take the initiative to walk into the depths of the rifts and face those high-tier ancient progenitors lurking underground, whose very names remained unknown to humanity.
The night passed peacefully.
The next morning, as the first light just spilled over the high walls of the bastion, Lin Yan had a simple breakfast and headed to the Sea of Consciousness Practical Training Hall at the Combat Readiness High School according to the address.
He had been to this area before. When he first arrived at the bastion, after registering and filing, it was here that he learned about the Sea of Consciousness cultivation system. Now, returning here, the corridors were still filled with boys and girls in practical training uniforms—the very same batch of Combat Readiness High School students he had met back then. Many carried combat protective gear and wore Sea of Consciousness warning bracelets, walking with hurried steps.
The interior of the training hall was divided into independent Sea of Consciousness detection pods. The outside of the pods was wrapped in an alloy shielding net used to isolate psychic waves. Instructor Wen was already waiting at the door of one of the detection pods.
She was in her early forties, with a few strands of white hair at her temples. Her eyes were calm and sharp, and her face carried the faint fatigue of someone who had dealt with the illusion web for years. Seeing Lin Yan approach, Instructor Wen's gaze swept over him. Her line of sight seemed to land on his body, but in reality, a wisp of extremely faint, gentle perception lightly touched his Sea of Consciousness.
Lin Yan didn't dodge; he relaxed his mind and allowed her to probe.
A moment later, Instructor Wen frowned slightly. "The core has formed well, but the foundation is unsteady, and the tremor frequency is high. You overexerted your Sea of Consciousness at the moment of breakthrough, leaving a slight stress-induced hidden injury. If you had stabilized a bit later, in another ten days or half a month, the hidden injury would have solidified, leading to endless future troubles."
"I already felt it yesterday; forcing the power causes headaches," Lin Yan said.
"Come in, enter the detection pod." Instructor Wen pushed open the pod door. "I'll use low-frequency stable waves to help you comb through your Sea of Consciousness, and simultaneously demonstrate the two core applications of the third-tier Sea of Consciousness: [Restful Concealment] and [Waveform Discrimination]. As for the tracing and disruption you are most skilled at, I forbid you from using it at this stage. For at least twenty days, you are not allowed to take the initiative to trace along the fungal hyphae veins to attack the opponent's energy nodes."
Lin Yan stepped into the detection pod. The door slowly closed, and the shielding net dropped, isolating all external psychic signals.
The light inside the pod was soft, and Instructor Wen's voice came through the communicator.
"The most common mistake many newly promoted third-tiers make is thinking that their strength has greatly increased after the breakthrough, making them eager to use their new power to tear apart the illusion web and slay priests. But you must remember: the second tier fights with perception and reaction; the third tier fights with restraint, discrimination, and endurance."
Low-frequency, gentle psychic waves slowly enveloped his Sea of Consciousness core, like warm water soaking a taut wound. The restless, trembling core gradually calmed down, and the dull pain slowly dissipated.
"The matrix is familiar with your tracing methods. It will specifically set up reverse psychic traps, waiting for third-tier cultivators to take the initiative to trace back. Once you dive into a fake vein, the opponent can instantly detonate a pre-embedded psychic explosive point, directly shattering your Sea of Consciousness core," Instructor Wen's voice drifted in slowly. "In the future, when encountering the illusion web, prioritize discrimination, prioritize evasion, and only consider disruption as a last resort."
Lin Yan closed his eyes, earnestly experiencing the rhythm of these stable waves, learning bit by bit how to guide his Sea of Consciousness core to slow its trembling and sheathe its sharp edge.
Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers beneath the Western Front wasteland, deep within Rift No. 79.
The two priests prostrated themselves amidst the matrix's fungal carpet, countless hyphae wrapped around their bodies. The failed hunting formation on the wasteland had been sealed away, and the matrix's consciousness was deducing a new plan in the long silence.
This time, the goal was no longer to silently infect and slowly grind down their mental state.
It had begun to weave a continuous illusion formation specifically targeting third-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivators. It would no longer rely solely on obsessions and regrets to create gentle illusion traps; instead, it would stack layered, nested psychic mazes. Once stepped into, even if one could see through the false illusions at a single glance, they would be trapped in an infinitely looping corridor of consciousness, slowly exhausting their mental power until it ran dry.
Deep underground, a new net had begun to be woven.
End of Chapter.
Lin Yan sat cross-legged in meditation, shutting out all surrounding noise as he sank his mind into his Sea of Consciousness.
That newly reborn core of his Sea of Consciousness hung quietly deep within his awareness. Unlike his former second-tier Sea of Consciousness, which spread outward into a thin net of perception, this was a solid, warm, yet sharply concealed luminous core. With a gentle mobilization, a wisp of perception as fine as a hair would stretch outward, reaching its furthest point over ten meters beyond the dormitory's outer wall. Once retracted, it could completely fold inward, sealing off all traces of psychic leakage; even the microscopic illusion web spores floating in the air would struggle to detect his psychic imprint.
Yet, this power was not tame.
Every time his perception extended outward, the core would emit a faint tremor, like a piece of iron just forged and tempered, still carrying the residual heat of the fire. The surge in power brought not only advantages but also a backlash that was difficult to control. The aftereffects of his overexertion in forcibly disrupting the priests' energy link in the wasteland tunnel were now slowly manifesting. A dull pain throbbed in his temples, and whenever he rushed to mobilize his Sea of Consciousness, the pain would intensify.
Instructor Wen's notebook lay open beside him, a line of clear handwriting on the page: The three weeks following a breakthrough are the danger period. The Sea of Consciousness is newly shaped, and its foundation is unsteady. Avoid frequently forcing psychic impacts or tracing back to break the web. If hidden injuries are left, every future promotion will be plagued by the backlash of old wounds. In severe cases, the Sea of Consciousness will slowly collapse, reducing one to a waste who lives forever trapped in illusions.
Lin Yan slowly retracted his wisp of perception, allowing the core of his Sea of Consciousness to return to stillness, no longer deliberately testing his limits.
He was in no rush to unearth the full power of his third-tier Sea of Consciousness. For now, his top priority was integration and stabilization.
He didn't know how long he had sat in meditation when a soft knock came from the door.
"Lin Yan?" It was Lu Heng's voice.
Lin Yan stood up and opened the door. Lu Heng held a paper dossier in his hand. He had already changed out of his combat suit into the standard gray-blue uniform of the war zone, his eyes carrying an exhaustion he couldn't entirely hide. The debriefing at the command center had taken a long time, and the fatigue of the battlefield still lingered on his face.
"I just came out of the command center and thought I'd drop by to check on you," Lu Heng said, stepping into the room and placing the dossier on the desk. "News from Old Guo: the wound has been debrided, and there is no fungal hyphae infection. But the shoulder bone contusion is severe; he won't be able to return to the squad for combat for at least a month."
Lin Yan nodded upon hearing this. "Fortunately, it wasn't worse."
"It's considered a narrow escape with his life. With any other injury, compounded by the illusion web infection, the outcome would be hard to say." Lu Heng paused, tapping his finger on the cover of the dossier. "This is a special observation record issued by headquarters for you. From today onward, after every mission and every Sea of Consciousness cultivation session, you must record your mental consumption and the tremor status of your Sea of Consciousness, and submit it to the war zone's psychiatry department regularly. You are now one of the few third-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivators on the Western Front, and you broke through under a killing formation meticulously set by the matrix. The war zone is keeping a very close watch on your condition."
Lin Yan picked up the dossier and opened it. Inside, densely printed monitoring items were detailed down to the distance of perception extension, maximum load of psychic impact, illusion resistance, and the frequency of Sea of Consciousness restlessness.
"There's one more thing," Lu Heng added in a low voice. "After discussions, the high command has adjusted our squad's upcoming schedule. For the next twenty days, we will not be assigned any high-risk wasteland reconnaissance or rift infiltration missions. Everything will be replaced by near-perimeter patrols around the bastion, illusion web spore clearance, and assisting in the Sea of Consciousness practical training of new recruits. The purpose is twofold: first, to give you ample time to stabilize your Sea of Consciousness; second, to lull the ancient lizard progenitors underground into a false sense of security, preventing them from figuring out your current upper limit of strength."
Lin Yan raised his eyes. "You're keeping me away from the front lines?"
"It's not being shelved; it's avoiding their edge," Lu Heng said solemnly. "The matrix has already confirmed that you've stepped into the third tier, and it knows your fighting style well enough. If you are thrown back into the depths of the wasteland now, it is highly likely to set up traps specifically targeting the third-tier Sea of Consciousness. We don't know how many hidden cards it still holds, so there's no need to voluntarily walk into its snare to test them. Once your Sea of Consciousness foundation is stable, we will reapply for high-risk missions."
Lin Yan understood the stakes behind this arrangement. The matrix could read his combat habits and weave illusions that precisely struck at his obsessions. Rashly stepping back into the net it had laid carried a far higher risk than before.
"I obey the arrangement."
"Also, tomorrow morning, go to the Sea of Consciousness Practical Training Hall at the Combat Readiness High School," Lu Heng added. "Instructor Wen heard that you successfully broke through and asked me to tell you to go see her. She wants to personally verify your Sea of Consciousness status and adjust your cultivation methods. She is a veteran third-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivator who suffered losses from the illusion web in the Southern Front rifts years ago. She knows better than anyone the pitfalls that newly broken-through cultivators are prone to falling into."
Mentioning Instructor Wen brought back memories of his days at the practical training base. Back when he was only at the second tier, he had repeatedly practiced gathering his Sea of Consciousness in the simulated illusion web pod. Instructor Wen had pointed out time and again his flaw of rushing to trace back and habitually taking the initiative to attack illusion web nodes. Without that training, in the deadly situation at Beacon Two, he most likely wouldn't have held out until the moment his Sea of Consciousness shattered and was reborn.
"I'll remember that."
Lu Heng didn't stay long. After reminding him a few times to rest assured, he turned and left.
The room fell silent once more. Lin Yan picked up a pen and paper and, following the items in the dossier, carefully wrote down today's Sea of Consciousness record: Completed breakthrough under high-intensity illusion web suppression. Severe mental overexertion. Unstable Sea of Consciousness core. Massive mobilization of power triggers dull headaches. Illusion resistance significantly improved; can accurately strip away false illusions of the illusion web.
After finishing, he closed the dossier, lay down on the hard board bed, and closed his eyes to rest.
Unconsciously, the scenes in the tunnel played back in his mind: illusions sweeping in from all directions, his master's figure beckoning to him within the illusion, the two sinister and desperate psychic waves of the priests, and the silent, vast, earth-like gaze of the matrix's consciousness.
The matrix had no emotions; it did not feel anger or anxiety. It was more like a massive thought network rooted in the earth, calmly observing, recording, deducing, and planning. Humans were its prey, and it merely continuously adjusted its hunting methods.
Lin Yan slowly exhaled.
For twenty-five years of invasion, humanity had been on the defensive, led by the nose by the rifts, scaled beasts, and priests. The bastions were cages, the wasteland was a hunting ground, and the boundless underground fungal hyphae were the eyes and ears of the ancient lizard progenitors spread across the earth.
Previously, he had merely been a soldier following the squad on missions, his goal simply to complete the task and survive. But after stepping into the third tier, he could see further. Through the layers of illusion web waves, he could faintly touch the complete command system hidden behind all the attacks.
He began to understand that to defend the bastions, merely holding the defensive line was far from enough. One day, humanity would have to take the initiative to walk into the depths of the rifts and face those high-tier ancient progenitors lurking underground, whose very names remained unknown to humanity.
The night passed peacefully.
The next morning, as the first light just spilled over the high walls of the bastion, Lin Yan had a simple breakfast and headed to the Sea of Consciousness Practical Training Hall at the Combat Readiness High School according to the address.
He had been to this area before. When he first arrived at the bastion, after registering and filing, it was here that he learned about the Sea of Consciousness cultivation system. Now, returning here, the corridors were still filled with boys and girls in practical training uniforms—the very same batch of Combat Readiness High School students he had met back then. Many carried combat protective gear and wore Sea of Consciousness warning bracelets, walking with hurried steps.
The interior of the training hall was divided into independent Sea of Consciousness detection pods. The outside of the pods was wrapped in an alloy shielding net used to isolate psychic waves. Instructor Wen was already waiting at the door of one of the detection pods.
She was in her early forties, with a few strands of white hair at her temples. Her eyes were calm and sharp, and her face carried the faint fatigue of someone who had dealt with the illusion web for years. Seeing Lin Yan approach, Instructor Wen's gaze swept over him. Her line of sight seemed to land on his body, but in reality, a wisp of extremely faint, gentle perception lightly touched his Sea of Consciousness.
Lin Yan didn't dodge; he relaxed his mind and allowed her to probe.
A moment later, Instructor Wen frowned slightly. "The core has formed well, but the foundation is unsteady, and the tremor frequency is high. You overexerted your Sea of Consciousness at the moment of breakthrough, leaving a slight stress-induced hidden injury. If you had stabilized a bit later, in another ten days or half a month, the hidden injury would have solidified, leading to endless future troubles."
"I already felt it yesterday; forcing the power causes headaches," Lin Yan said.
"Come in, enter the detection pod." Instructor Wen pushed open the pod door. "I'll use low-frequency stable waves to help you comb through your Sea of Consciousness, and simultaneously demonstrate the two core applications of the third-tier Sea of Consciousness: [Restful Concealment] and [Waveform Discrimination]. As for the tracing and disruption you are most skilled at, I forbid you from using it at this stage. For at least twenty days, you are not allowed to take the initiative to trace along the fungal hyphae veins to attack the opponent's energy nodes."
Lin Yan stepped into the detection pod. The door slowly closed, and the shielding net dropped, isolating all external psychic signals.
The light inside the pod was soft, and Instructor Wen's voice came through the communicator.
"The most common mistake many newly promoted third-tiers make is thinking that their strength has greatly increased after the breakthrough, making them eager to use their new power to tear apart the illusion web and slay priests. But you must remember: the second tier fights with perception and reaction; the third tier fights with restraint, discrimination, and endurance."
Low-frequency, gentle psychic waves slowly enveloped his Sea of Consciousness core, like warm water soaking a taut wound. The restless, trembling core gradually calmed down, and the dull pain slowly dissipated.
"The matrix is familiar with your tracing methods. It will specifically set up reverse psychic traps, waiting for third-tier cultivators to take the initiative to trace back. Once you dive into a fake vein, the opponent can instantly detonate a pre-embedded psychic explosive point, directly shattering your Sea of Consciousness core," Instructor Wen's voice drifted in slowly. "In the future, when encountering the illusion web, prioritize discrimination, prioritize evasion, and only consider disruption as a last resort."
Lin Yan closed his eyes, earnestly experiencing the rhythm of these stable waves, learning bit by bit how to guide his Sea of Consciousness core to slow its trembling and sheathe its sharp edge.
Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers beneath the Western Front wasteland, deep within Rift No. 79.
The two priests prostrated themselves amidst the matrix's fungal carpet, countless hyphae wrapped around their bodies. The failed hunting formation on the wasteland had been sealed away, and the matrix's consciousness was deducing a new plan in the long silence.
This time, the goal was no longer to silently infect and slowly grind down their mental state.
It had begun to weave a continuous illusion formation specifically targeting third-tier Sea of Consciousness cultivators. It would no longer rely solely on obsessions and regrets to create gentle illusion traps; instead, it would stack layered, nested psychic mazes. Once stepped into, even if one could see through the false illusions at a single glance, they would be trapped in an infinitely looping corridor of consciousness, slowly exhausting their mental power until it ran dry.
Deep underground, a new net had begun to be woven.
End of Chapter.