The deep-sea environment is completely different from coastal waters, giving rise to a unique ecological cycle with bizarre life forms. It appears lifeless here, but it’s far from safe—ancient Earth times already recorded traces of many terrifying sea monsters lurking in the depths.
Feng Lin had to be cautious. After adapting to the crushing pressure of 8,000 meters of seawater, he continued descending, reaching a depth of 10,000 meters.
The moment he stepped out of the cabin, excruciating pain wracked his entire body. It felt as though every inch of him was being crushed by mountains, his bones ground to powder, and a metallic sweetness surged in his throat. While the Stone Monkey gene could withstand direct, blunt force, the invisible pressure squeezed inward, penetrating his body, and his soft internal organs struggled to resist.
Feng Lin’s face flushed red. Holding his breath, he fully activated the Stone Monkey gene, greatly strengthening both his exterior and interior, barely managing to withstand the oppressive force. Even so, he felt the pressure from all directions compressing him into a tight ball, causing unbearable pain.
He quickly sat cross-legged, using his psychic power to churn the seawater and lift himself, floating and sinking, his mind sinking into a state as calm as an ancient well. He extinguished the spacecraft’s lights to avoid attracting the attention of unknown deep-sea creatures. His breathing grew longer and slower, gradually becoming silent, like an ancient sea turtle taking a single breath that spanned ten thousand years.
Though the outside was still, inside him it was a raging storm. His blood and energy churned like molten lava as he activated the method of refining essence into qi, fully digesting the nutrients stored within his body. Under the immense pressure, his muscle fibers snapped one by one, only to rapidly reassemble, undergoing a cycle of destruction and rebirth that made them tougher than before. If his body was once like steel, it had now become an alloy of unified interior and exterior, with strength flowing seamlessly throughout.
Having become an interstellar cultivator, Feng Lin had grasped the realm of power being like water, allowing him to perfectly control the strength in every part of his body. But that strength had always been scattered. Under this deep-sea pressure, it gradually coalesced into a single, unbreakable rope, moving at his will. When unleashed, it could release a force far greater than before.
Feng Lin’s body rapidly slimmed down, becoming lean and solid, covered in taut muscles, like a piece of stone tempered through countless hammerings—unyielding and hard to shake. After adapting to the pressure of 10,000 meters, he continued practicing his martial arts: the Vajra Demon-Subduing Fist, the Kunlun Great Hand Seal, and many other techniques flowed through his hands. His power converged into a single point, then burst forth instantly, the fierce force piercing through the water, creating visible cavities that shot outward. As he turned, his palms swirled, drawing currents of water that coiled around him.
In no time, Feng Lin moved faster and faster, his entire form becoming a whirlwind, churning up more and more seawater into a massive vortex that swept outward. His fists struck out, shattering everything around him. Any deep-sea monster that ventured too close was instantly pulverized into flesh. Eventually, the area he occupied became a dead zone, with no creature daring to approach.
Gene potential +32%, +32%, +32%...
Even without the aid of gene potions, under this immense pressure, Feng Lin’s gene potential growth rate was astonishingly fast. The only drawback was that he couldn’t sustain it for long. With his formidable stamina, he could only stay beneath 10,000 meters of water for about an hour before needing to return to the spacecraft to rest.
Feng Lin continued his relentless training day after day. Three days later, he gained another free primal gene point, raising his psychic gene enhancement to 4 points and his life force to 94.2. His cultivation speed had increased significantly compared to the previous days.
The boundless deep sea was a forbidden zone few could touch, filled with unknown terrors. Yet as he overcame his fear, Feng Lin’s psychic power grew rapidly, reaping endless benefits.
Pfft!
One day, while deep in training, his psychic instincts suddenly detected a three-meter-long deep-sea creature lunging at him like prey. He reacted instinctively, his hand claws tearing viciously.
Dragon Claw Hand!
His claws were fierce, shredding the attacking creature to pieces. Opening his eyes, he saw severed tentacles falling to the seabed—it seemed to be some kind of deep-sea squid. Feng Lin didn’t dwell on it and resumed his training, but soon felt something was off.
A ripple of unease stirred in his psychic power, and his spiritual awareness sensed immense danger, as if a great calamity was imminent. Feng Lin’s eyes snapped open, sharp and alert, scanning the darkness around him. He found nothing.
A breeze from an empty cave doesn’t come without cause! This sense of crisis was too strange; the fluctuation in his spiritual awareness couldn’t be coincidental. Feng Lin fully extended his psychic power. With his psychic gene enhanced to 4 points, his detection range reached four kilometers, and he immediately noticed something wrong.
Unbeknownst to him, all living creatures in the dark waters around him had vanished, as if the area had become a dead sea, devoid of life!
Realizing the danger, Feng Lin quickly moved toward the spacecraft.
Screech!
A roar suddenly erupted from the depths of the trench, piercing through the water and stabbing at his eardrums. A massive creature, a hundred meters in size, rapidly ascended like a giant island, charging at him with ferocious intent. It was a terrifying being.
What the hell is that?
Feng Lin’s psychic power materialized into a tangible wave, surging toward it. Normally, monsters, despite their immense vitality, had limited intelligence and fragile psychic defenses. Psychic attacks were the best way to deal with them, causing their minds to collapse and leaving them helpless. But this time, Feng Lin had met a tough opponent. His psychic power slammed into what felt like an iron wall, met by a flood of savage, mindless brutality.
The backlash sent a searing pain through his skull. The next moment, a thick, dark shadow lashed out at him. He instinctively crossed his arms in front of his chest, only to feel as if a mountain had crushed him. He was sent flying like a cannonball, his entire skeleton rattled and every inch of him aching.
One blow, and he was gravely wounded.
What kind of monster is this? Terror surged in Feng Lin’s heart, but there was no time to think. Gritting through the pain, his muscles trembling, he manipulated the seawater, spinning his body like a top to counter the recoil and stabilize himself. Like a barracuda, he shot toward the spacecraft.
If he could just get back inside, he’d be safe!
Boom!
The seawater shook!
Another thick, dark shadow whipped toward him.
A fierce determination rose in Feng Lin. He formed his fingers into a sword and thrust forward, turning his entire body into a blade, shooting out with unmatched sharpness, annihilating everything in its path.
Immortal-Slaying Sword Seal!
Ssshh!
He sliced off the tip of the shadow, severing a ten-meter-long squid tentacle that tumbled to the seabed, its foul blood drenching him, turning him into a bloody figure. The terrifying shadow roared in agony, its cries shaking the water and stirring up waves.
Now’s the chance!
Ignoring the stench of blood, Feng Lin swiftly closed in on the spacecraft and entered through the emergency hatch.
The spacecraft’s lights blazed on, revealing the true form of the monstrous creature. It was a terrifying beast resembling a squid with eight tentacles, its gaping mouth filled with jagged fangs like a black hole. The eight tentacles writhed wildly, each tip ending in a massive serpent’s maw, with snake tongues flickering in and out.
Feng Lin’s eyes widened in shock as he suddenly realized the monster bore a striking resemblance to the apocalyptic beast from Japanese mythology...
Yamata no Orochi!