Volume 22, Chapter 4: The Sealed God (Part 1)
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Taking a deep breath, Xiao Wenbing's mind entered a state of perfect tranquility in the next moment.
He released his divine sense and extended it once more. However, this time it was different. He was not trying to comprehend the source of energy here, but rather he was beginning to gradually grasp and attempt to control the powerful energy here.
All the landscape elements here are directly transformed from energy, which makes them appear all the more powerful.
Although he didn't know who had stopped him, he was certain that person was the owner of these energies.
Without knowing the person's background or whether he was good or evil, Xiao Wenbing naturally hoped to seize control of these energies from him.
A powerful force of consciousness gradually seeped into the energy, constantly scanning and analyzing it in the mind, revealing the complete secrets of the energy's origin.
After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Wenbing finally let out a long sigh and awoke from his meditative state.
Although it was his first time encountering this wondrous energy, Xiao Wenbing, who had already comprehended the power of heavenly thunder and the five elements, still managed to truly grasp its mysteries after a certain period of time.
Of course, given his current level of understanding, he only has a basic grasp of it. However, at this level, this energy can no longer cause him any harm.
They stretched out their hands, emanating a magical energy from which they shared the same origin.
The scenery before my eyes suddenly changed; everything on the ground melted away in an instant. Whether it was towering mountain peaks or lush bamboo forests, everything vanished into nothingness and was carried away by the wind.
A strong wave of consciousness emanated from ahead, and Xiao Wenbing immediately noticed it, realizing even more clearly that this was the person who had set up the restriction.
Although his eyes were closed, he could still see with his inner eye that there was a strange object in front of him. The object was somewhat similar to Shabir, but only similar.
At least Shabir was still a cloud of black mist, but this thing didn't even have black mist; it was practically just a remnant of consciousness.
"Who are you?" Xiao Wenbing asked, full of curiosity.
"I am God."
"Are you a god?"
"Yes, I am the great God."
Xiao Wenbing curled his lips into a cold smile. What an arrogant fellow.
In his perception, this guy's energy was extremely weak, like a candle flame that could be extinguished at any moment, without any intimidating power.
But to dare impersonate a deity, this guy is far too audacious.
"You are a god. Then do you know who I am?"
"You are an immortal."
Xiao Wenbing was slightly taken aback, not expecting this guy to actually have some insight. However, he smiled slightly and shook his head, saying, "No, I am the ancestor of the Divine Land."
"..."
A surge of rage came from ahead. But Xiao Wenbing didn't take it seriously. Anger without the backing of strong power was just a complete joke.
In Xiao Wenbing's perception, this consciousness fluctuated constantly, like a rapidly beating electrocardiogram, always expressing the person's intense anger.
"You... how dare you insult the great gods!"
"Great?" Xiao Wenbing laughed heartily. He sent out a divine thought, which rushed towards the other party with powerful energy.
The faint consciousness before him was clearly aware of its predicament, and it vanished as soon as Xiao Wenbing sent out his divine thought.
The space here was vast, seemingly boundless. And this consciousness was like a fish in water, slippery and unpredictable. Therefore, no matter how hard Xiao Wenbing tried, he could not close the distance between them.
After a long pause, the consciousness seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said, "This ignorant junior dared to insult the gods; he will surely be punished by heaven."
As soon as he spoke, an indestructible, massive steel wall appeared before Xiao Wenbing. The dark, solid wall seemed to have existed since time immemorial, inspiring awe in all who beheld it.
"Condemn you my foot!"
Xiao Wenbing roared angrily, seemingly oblivious to the changes before him, and charged forward without hesitation.
His divine sense struck the massive steel wall with tremendous force, but a strange thing happened: his divine sense did not split or spread; instead, it merged into the wall.
The terrifying steel wall in front of him seemed to be nothing more than a ripple in the water, and his divine sense passed right through it.
Of course, after passing through the steel wall, Xiao Wenbing's divine sense was delayed for a moment, only about one-tenth of a second, but it was still pulled a little further away by that consciousness.
However, Xiao Wenbing was not discouraged at all. He was determined and relentlessly pursued the guy behind him, not letting up for a moment.
It wasn't that he enjoyed being unreasonable. Rather, he had already realized that the space here was quite strange, seemingly formed by some kind of force, and that force was the energy that constituted the illusion.
Although he had come into contact with and mastered the source of this energy, and thus could move freely in this space, he was clearly still far inferior to that consciousness.
He was far inferior to others in both his understanding and application of this energy. If he was a primary school student who had just learned addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, then the other person was a university professor who was proficient in advanced mathematics. The two were not even on the same starting line.
However, the reason he was able to gain an absolute advantage in their confrontation was because the energy they possessed was not on the same level.
In fact, Xiao Wenbing was already starting to believe what the other party said.
Only deities who have completely mastered the power of the source of energy can wield energy with such unparalleled skill.
However, for some unknown reason, the energy of that consciousness was extremely weak, far inferior to that of the Turtle God, and even to that of an ordinary cultivator.
Under such circumstances, it would be a huge mistake for Xiao Wenbing not to make good use of the situation.
Each obstacle that consciousness placed in space delayed Xiao Wenbing's divine sense for a moment. However, after several hours, the distance between them not only did not increase, but gradually decreased.
With each energy barrier Xiao Wenbing overcomes, he gains a deeper understanding of the origin of that energy. And as his mastery of energy increases, his speed also increases.
That consciousness may belong to the divine. But a divine being who has lost power cannot exert extraordinary energy.
For someone unfamiliar with the source of power, he could certainly be invincible, but for Xiao Wenbing, who had already mastered this source of energy, he was gradually falling into a disadvantageous position.
After all, without a powerful backing, everything is just a mirage and cannot be relied upon.
Just like a three-year-old child with no hands, when facing fully armed special forces, no matter how intelligent he is, he has no chance of survival.
That consciousness clearly realized its predicament. It desperately used all its abilities to create countless calamities in this space, but as Xiao Wenbing became more familiar with energy, it finally had nowhere to turn.
The powerful divine sense transformed into an invisible hand, reaching out to grab the wisp of divine sense in front of it.
At this point, Xiao Wenbing no longer wanted to kill him, but rather to capture him and find out exactly where he was and why he had ended up in such a miserable state.
But this plan didn't work out. Just as the giant hand was about to seize the consciousness, a soft "poof" was heard, and the wisp of divine thought turned into a wisp of smoke, then vanished without a trace in the space.
Completely astonished, Xiao Wenbing withdrew his divine sense and instantly revealed his true form. Could this guy actually be dead?
I was filled with a deep sense of sorrow. I never imagined that this deity would actually have some backbone, preferring to self-destruct rather than fall into the hands of others. Did he not know the principle that it is better to live a wretched life than to die a good death?
Shaking his head, Xiao Wenbing's only interest in this energy space was that extremely faint consciousness. Now that the consciousness had dissipated, there was no need for him to stay here.
He sighed. After all that effort, it had all come to nothing, a wasted joy. He dispersed his spiritual senses, his body transforming into a gentle breeze, ready to leave this energy space.
However, he suddenly stopped just as he reached the edge of the energy space.
A familiar feeling welled up in his heart, and Xiao Wenbing frowned. In his heart, there seemed to be a trace of doubt, as if he had forgotten something.
He searched aimlessly in the space for a while, then his eyes lit up. He had figured out the reason.
This energy space is most likely created by that consciousness entity. If that consciousness entity dies, then how can this space still be preserved?
He snorted coldly; he had almost been fooled.
He once again unleashed his divine sense, searching the space thoroughly. However, the result this time surprised Xiao Wenbing even more.
He did sense the existence of this wisp of divine thought, but only sensed it, because this wisp of divine thought had already transformed into countless individuals and completely merged into this space.
If one possessed immense power as a backing, then of course one could do this. But this consciousness's energy was extremely weak, yet it was still able to achieve this—a feat he could only dream of.
By this point, Xiao Wenbing was completely convinced.
This consciousness, or rather its predecessor, was indeed a deity in name and in fact.
Volume 22, Chapter 5: The Sealed God (Part 2)
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"come out."
The cold voice echoed in the space. It was not a pleasant feeling to be mocked, and Xiao Wenbing did not try to suppress his anger.
The wisp of consciousness remained silent, as if it had lost all power and did not react at all.
With a cold snort, Xiao Wenbing said, "If you don't come out, then I will make you vanish forever."
His threat seemed to have some effect, and the wisp of consciousness finally spoke.
Because the entire consciousness had merged with the space, the voice came from all directions, as if countless people were shouting at the same time. It was quite powerful.
"The gods will not vanish; you cannot destroy me."
"Is that so?" Xiao Wenbing sneered, "If the gods cannot be dispelled, then how did you end up in such a state?"
The consciousness remained silent for a long time, but Xiao Wenbing showed excellent patience at this moment, without the slightest sign of agitation.
"Are you sealed away?"
"Exactly."
"Who sealed you here?" Xiao Wenbing asked curiously.
"I was fighting another god, and we were both severely injured, which is why I am trapped here."
"A lose-lose situation? Don't try to glorify yourself. In the end, you lost, otherwise, how could you have lost even your original form?"
"Although I lost my physical body, he cannot erase me." After a moment of silence, the consciousness spoke ambiguously. However, it also indirectly admitted that it was because of its defeat in the battle against another deity that it suffered such a miserable end.
Xiao Wenbing's divine sense circled the space twice before he asked, "Was it because that god was eventually exhausted that he couldn't destroy you?"
"No." Upon hearing this question, the consciousness was clearly extremely surprised: "You are also someone who has comprehended the origin of power. Don't you even understand this principle?"
Xiao Wenbing's face flushed slightly, a rare sight for him. He coughed and said, "I only recently grasped the power of the origin of energy, so of course I don't understand."
The consciousness fell silent again, but this time the silence was brief before it began to explain: "Every being capable of cultivating to the level of a deity has mastered at least one fundamental energy source. As long as this energy has not completely disappeared from the world, the fundamental energy will not vanish, and the deity cannot perish."