Chapter 64: Quasi-Saint Level, Mysterious Energy Wall

Everything returned to calm, and his condition had also been restored to its optimal level after the recent improvement! Looking around at the gloomy surroundings once again, Rod stepped forward.

The longer he stayed in this place, the more alarming discoveries he made. It was here that he sensed certain mental disturbances, and it was also here that they originated. Such things couldn’t appear out of nowhere—Rod suspected there must be a close connection between this and the cave.

Moreover, the elements in this place were truly strange, with an extremely unreasonable distribution. Yet, it somehow existed so peacefully, which was thought-provoking. It seemed there were more and more secrets hidden here. Rod felt he was increasingly unable to see through this place clearly, which only strengthened his resolve to keep moving forward. Many things needed to be further verified here! Otherwise, retreating now would surely be the greatest regret of his life.

Stepping on the damp ground, Rod carefully released his mental energy. At this moment, his mental energy had undergone a tremendous transformation and improvement after the recent enhancement. As soon as it was released, Rod could clearly perceive his surroundings—everything was as clear as day, with not the slightest movement going unnoticed.

With light steps, Rod moved forward silently, leaving no trace. The dark cave became eerily quiet, as if no one had ever been there.

He made it all the way without incident, encountering no problems or troubles at all, which puzzled Rod. Logically, such a place shouldn’t be completely safe or so peaceful—it should be full of dangers and magical beasts! Yet, everything seemed to be the opposite.

After what seemed like an eternity, Rod’s mental energy suddenly trembled! His expression turned serious instantly as he stopped in his tracks, gripping Anlong tightly. He stood still, carefully observing his surroundings.

After passing through the winding cave passages, Rod felt he had arrived at a cave that resembled a room! He tried to extend his mental energy forward, but as soon as he did, he sensed a barrier less than three meters ahead. This barrier not only prevented his mental energy from going any further but also generated a powerful counterforce the moment it came into contact with his mental energy, pushing it back.

If it weren’t for his quick reaction in pulling back in time, his mental strength might have been shattered under the impact of that force, turning him into a fool! Such power was utterly terrifying! It was precisely because of this that Rod’s expression changed drastically as he stopped moving forward, frowning as he looked around.
He carefully extended his mental strength outward bit by bit, not daring to go any further. In just a short while, he was able to see the surroundings clearly. He found himself at the end of a cave passage. Looking back, the winding passage seemed to end right beneath his feet.
Now that he had reached this end, an invisible barrier suddenly appeared ahead of him. What lay beyond the barrier was unknown, but Rod had a feeling that enough preliminaries had been done, and it was time to get to the point. Finally having arrived here, he felt a mix of tension and excitement.
What was inside was unknown, but Rod knew his destination must be nearby. The summoning he had felt must have come from this direction. More importantly, perhaps all the secrets he wanted to know could be found here.
With this thought, a fanatical expression appeared on his face. He had already checked the surroundings earlier and found them safe, so he chose a clean spot. Rod quickly sat in seiza position and began to cultivate. He wanted to restore his combat energy, mental strength, and overall condition to their best before entering this mysterious place. After all, he wasn’t aware of the mysterious situations inside, and there might be many dangers, so he needed to be prepared. Moreover, with that defensive barrier containing mysteries within, he couldn’t afford to be careless.
Mobilizing all his combat energy and with the help of his mental focus, Rod gradually summoned the fire elements around him, gathering them and directing them toward himself.

It had been unknown how many days he had been in this cave. Rod alone remembered that it had been no less than three days just of moving forward. During these three days, aside from the first day when his cultivation happened by some inexplicable chance and he improved, on the other two occasions Rod had to exert tremendous effort to gradually gather fire elements. Each attempt at cultivation was extremely difficult! The time spent merely on gathering elements was unimaginably long, yet only a small amount could be gathered each time. Fortunately, he hadn’t encountered any battles these past few days, so his combat energy wasn’t depleted much, allowing him to barely make up for it. Even this makeshift recovery required a great deal of time and effort, thanks to his abnormal affinity for elements, as well as his ability to sense and gather them—he was someone who had signed an elemental contract through unity with nature.

Rod had no doubt that if it were anyone else, they would be unable to gather any elements at all and would have no chance of recovery. Their combat energy would simply be completely drained in such an environment!

By now, Rod had somewhat understood why this place posed no danger and why everything had been so peaceful along the way. The reason was simple: the journey itself was the greatest danger. Those with insufficient determination, weak abilities, or lack of resolve would never reach this point—either they would retreat on their own or die here; there were no other possibilities. Along the way, Rod had seen many traps filled with bones, though they were all from magical beasts. Thinking of this, Rod became even more worried about unknown dangers. If the entrance path was already so difficult, what about the actual area beyond the energy wall? It was hard to imagine.

Taking a deep breath, he had to put aside distractions and focus on gathering fire elements. After spending who knew how much time and effort, Rod finally managed to gather some fire elements. Fortunately, their purity was sufficient, allowing him to restore his strength.

Feeling the impact of the pure fire elements and witnessing the recovery of his combat energy, a hint of satisfaction appeared on Rod’s face. Moments later, when it was over, excitement showed on his face.

This was his fourth attempt at cultivation since entering this place. Each of the four attempts had brought him surprises and excitement. Of course, the first attempt was the greatest, and although the following three weren’t as good as the first, they were still quite impressive!

Every time he practiced, he could feel that after the collision and fusion of pure fire elements, some impurities in his original combat energy were expelled or disappeared, leaving his combat energy more or less pure. Especially today, right after finishing his practice, he finally took the last half step toward the quasi-saint level! Everything was in place; his combat energy now met the requirements, and everything came naturally as he stepped forward! It had only been a few days!

This once again amazed Rod—such speed was truly terrifying! He had only been in this place for at most a month, yet everything had happened so quickly! Even if he gained nothing else from this journey, Rod felt it was worth it.

Reaching the quasi-saint level further enhanced Rod’s strength at just the right time. Entering this rank gave him more confidence and a better chance of survival in this mysterious place—truly a lifeline in desperate times.

With a cold gaze, Rod retracted his mental energy, knowing he couldn’t recklessly attack the energy wall with it, as it would only harm him—something he had learned from previous attempts.

Rod roughly guessed that the energy wall might have a counter-effect on mental energy, so he withdrew it and focused on unleashing his entire body’s combat energy. He carefully took steps forward, gradually approaching the energy wall.

As he got closer, Rod felt it becoming increasingly difficult with each step. An invisible force pressed against him, seemingly trying to push him back, while his body’s weight surged instantly—from five times to ten times, a hundred times, and now nearly five hundred times!

Rod could hear the friction and trembling in his bones, as if continuing forward would cause him to collapse into blood instantly!

At this point, Rod had pushed his combat energy to its limit. In such an environment, it was impossible to form a combat energy body, which could have provided some defense, but the elements here wouldn’t allow it.

Seeing the energy wall just three steps away, knowing he could enter after just three steps, Rod wasn’t willing to give up. Gritting his teeth, he unleashed all his combat energy without hesitation. Instantly, he seemed to be surrounded by flames, with intense fire burning fiercely. His combat energy sprayed out as if it were tangible. At this moment, Rod began to burn and spray his combat energy, disregarding the cost, just to reduce the pressure and keep moving forward.

As the combat energy burned and erupted, the pressure-induced sense of burden did indeed lessen slightly for a moment. A sense of relief flashed through his mind before it tightened again. Under such conditions, the combat energy was consumed at an astonishing rate, leaving him with little time to last. He had to enter the energy barrier as soon as possible, while also praying that he wouldn’t encounter any danger ahead—otherwise, he was doomed.