Chapter 255: Methods to Disrupt the Death Substitute

“The Death Substitute becomes ineffective under three circumstances: first, when the substitute is destroyed; second, when its creator forcibly revokes the binding with the user; third, under celestial calamity…”
As Wu Hai conveyed this information to him, Ye Feng’s anxious heart finally settled. “Are you sure it’s only ineffective under these three conditions?”
“The secret texts only record these three points, though there are some derived conditions. As for being ineffective under celestial calamity, in fact, a few attacks similar to celestial calamity can have the same effect. If an opponent’s attack can lock onto the soul, preventing damage from being transferred, then the Death Substitute will become ineffective,” Wu Hai explained.
“You mean soul attacks?” Ye Feng still didn’t fully understand what Wu Hai meant by an attack that locks onto the soul.
“No, ordinary soul attacks can still transfer damage,” Wu Hai shook his head. “But if the attack includes soul locking, then the Death Substitute cannot take over, making it ineffective. Only those with great powers can achieve soul locking. I doubt even the entire heavenly realm has such people.”
“In that case, that’s perfect!” Ye Feng was finally at ease. He had stored all his substitutes in the storage cabinet in the Virtual Realm. Even Ed couldn’t open it without his permission, so there was no need to worry about them being destroyed. Moreover, the Death Substitute he used was automatically generated by the Virtual Realm—there was no creator, nor could its binding be forcibly revoked. As for the third point, soul locking, Ye Feng didn’t think Dil, who was weaker than him, had such abilities. Even if he did, Ye Feng could easily kill him before he could strike.
“Thank you for the information. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go pack my things!” Ye Feng waved at Wu Hai.
“Hmm, I’ll also organize a farewell party for you tomorrow!” Wu Hai remained enthusiastic.
“No need. I’m not fond of crowds! Besides, there’s no need to trouble everyone,” Ye Feng immediately declined Wu Hai’s offer.
“I see…” Seeing Ye Feng refuse, Wu Hai stopped pressing him.
After returning to his cottage, he organized the items inside. “Dil probably won’t come tomorrow either. But I’ll stay another day and leave after the treasure is unlocked the day after that.”

“Boss, why don’t we leave now?” Bernard seemed excited. “Didn’t the clan patriarch say he wouldn’t be coming?”
“Although what the old patriarch said is likely true, let’s wait until after tomorrow, the last day!” Ye Feng smiled. “It’s better to be cautious. I just don’t know what that guy Dil is up to.”
After obtaining the technique to break through the Death Substitute from Wu Hai, Ye Feng no longer worried about the incident where the old patriarch asked Wu Tong to convey to him about the great disaster. As long as the Death Substitute wasn’t broken, he wouldn’t be in danger. After all, he had bound a hundred substitutes to himself at once last time, and there were still over eighty left unused—equivalent to having over eighty lives.
“Xiaoyu, Xiao Bei, how has your strength improved recently?” Ye Feng asked. “Everyone going on this treasure hunt is among the strongest in the entire cultivation world. There will surely be many who are at the Lingxian level, and even the weakest ones should be at the Xian level. If your strength isn’t enough, you’ll get killed!”
“Boss, there’s no need to mention Xiaoyu’s strength—there are probably few in the cultivation world who can match him,” Bernard said with a smile. “Although I’m only at the early Xian level, I can handle those at the later Xian stage or sixth-tier scattered immortals without much trouble. Even if I encounter someone at the Lingxian level, I won’t be instantly killed. I have thick skin, plus earth-based defenses. My preliminary estimate is that if the opponent is at the early Lingxian level and doesn’t have an immortal weapon, they probably can’t kill me, and I certainly can’t kill them either. The outcome might be a draw.”
“If we encounter enemies, we’ll definitely take care of them first before helping you. All you need to do is avoid being killed instantly. But it shouldn’t be too dangerous—there aren’t many in the cultivation world who are above the Lingxian level. If we meet eighth-or ninth-tier scattered immortals, Xiaoyu, Lilith, and Kastedio will step in. By the time it’s your turn, it will most likely be seventh-tier scattered immortals at most,” Ye Feng nodded.
“By the way, boss, Xiaoyu and I have invented a combined move!” Bernard said excitedly.
“A combined move? What is it?” Ye Feng looked at the two beasts in surprise.
“It was Xiaobei’s idea. For the same target, he first freezes them, then I burn them with fire, creating an explosive effect—much more powerful than using elemental attacks alone,” Xiaoyu credited the idea to Bernard.

“Two elements that repel each other when brought together do indeed cause intense explosions.” Ye Feng nodded. “Xiao Bei, I think your combination of light and dark elements will yield the best explosive effects. The extreme repulsion between these two elements is unmatched by any other.”
“I use light and dark elements less often. Although they are the main elements in my body, their offensive and defensive powers aren’t very significant. I’ve recently developed a new defensive technique that combines earth and water elements. I’ve named it ‘Frozen Earth’!”
“It sounds pretty good,” Ye Feng said with a smile.
“Yes. I first infused water elements into earth elements, then rearranged and combined them. Eventually, I found the strongest combination method. After combining them, I cooled the water elements drastically, resulting in defense effects many times better than before. As for the light and dark elements you mentioned, I need to study them further.” Bernard acted like a scholar, possessing an innate talent for using elements that most people couldn’t match.
“As far as I know, light and dark elements are very special. You should study their usage more!” Ye Feng said with a smile.
“Boss, you can take a look at our results first!” Xiao Yu said with a smile. “Xiao Bei and I have also experimented with our combined technique many times.”
“That thing must be extremely destructive. If you conduct experiments on this planet, the Witch Tribe will probably drive us away.” Ye Feng could imagine the power of such a technique.
“We only experimented on a few nearby barren planets, not here! Boss, come and see the effects.”
“Alright!”
The two beasts teleported Ye Feng above a planet. The planet wasn’t very large, only about two to three times the size of Earth. But to Ye Feng’s astonishment, one-third of the planet seemed to have been bitten off by a giant mouth, leaving a huge crater filled with charred debris.
“Is this the effect of your technique?” Ye Feng gasped. He hadn’t expected such power.
“This is the one with the best combined effect!” Bernard scratched his head awkwardly.
“This level of attack already exceeds the power of the Spirit Immortal realm…” Ye Feng nodded. “Not bad!”

“Xiao Bei’s ice is still just ordinary ice, and my fire is just regular fire; the explosive effects they produce are limited. If he can control the Heavenly Blood Soul Blue Ice and I can successfully master the Extreme Heavenly Fire, the explosions produced by both will be dozens of times stronger than this,” Xiao Yu added.
“That’s true,” Ye Feng nodded.
“Covering one-third of this planet’s surface is already the limit of my strength. My ability to control elements still needs further improvement. Of course, I also need to find a way to enhance the quality of the elements,” Bernard clearly wasn’t satisfied with the current results.
“Xiao Yu, since you can improve the quality of elements by consuming substances with extreme attributes, is there any way to help Xiao Bei as well?” Ye Feng asked.
“The only way I currently know to improve the quality of elements is through cultivation, and progress is indeed very slow,” Xiao Bei was also dissatisfied with his own progress.
“They should be able to do it through element nurturing!” Xiao Yu offered her suggestion. “I know they cultivate by absorbing free-floating elements, which definitely makes progress slow. There are two aspects to improve: the method of absorption and the external environment.”
“For the method of absorption, I can find him a special cultivation technique to speed up the absorption process,” Ye Feng nodded. “As for the external environment, that means creating an environment rich in elements, which will also speed up his absorption.”
“My inherited memories mention that magical beasts other than wild beasts work this way, and environmental stimuli can be applied appropriately. He can only control ordinary water-type elements right now. Since he’s at the level of an immortal, we can create an environment of Heavenly Blood Soul Blue Ice to force his elements to upgrade. Of course, this process will be quite painful,” Xiao Yu nodded.
“I also have records of this method in my inherited memories. But our physical strength isn’t as robust as that of wild beasts; it’s difficult for our bodies to leap directly from ordinary elements to heavenly elements. Moreover, Heavenly Blood Soul Blue Ice is the most aggressive water-type element in the heavenly realm—something even those at the Absolute Immortal level wouldn’t dare to touch lightly.”
“Haste makes waste. I plan to start with the Weak Water in the cultivation world and gradually upgrade my abilities,” Bernard thought carefully.
“I can get Weak Water,” Ye Feng smiled. “I can fetch a bucket for you and then immerse you in it, right?”

“This is one method. Actually, aside from water attributes, I have other abilities that also need improvement. I really don’t know why I inherited so many attributes in the first place. If there were only one, it wouldn’t be such a hassle.”
“You have so many attributes; I can’t even envy you!” Xiao Yu said gloomily. Only a very few wild beasts possess multiple attributes, and they are the peak races among wild beasts. “As far as I know, the most terrifying of wild beasts, the Devouring Beasts, are those with all attributes. When they reach the ultimate level of cultivation, they can even reverse time and space. They are the ones at the top of the wild beast hierarchy.”
“Reverse time and space…” Xiao Yu’s description left Ye Feng and Bernard utterly astonished.