The fifth paragraph describes how the simulated reality seems to limit the mental field, causing perception to become stagnant, as if submerged in water, greatly reducing its effectiveness. Even Ling Yun's extraordinary eyesight and hearing seem to be just like an ordinary person here, unable to see further or penetrate distant scenes.
Suddenly, Ling Yun stopped in his tracks, looking ahead warily.
Dozens of eyes with narrow, glowing green pupils slowly emerged from the dark air a hundred meters away. One after another, ferocious monsters, baring their fangs, appeared before Ling Yun.
Unlike the aliens in the first paragraph that simulated reality, the monsters here are significantly more ferocious and enormous, with bodies exceeding three meters in height, dome-shaped heads like Tyrannosaurus Rex, and disproportionately large mouths revealing sharp teeth. They make them look more like miniature versions of Tyrannosaurus Rex from the Cretaceous period.
With their powerful hind legs pounding the ground, the monsters charged towards Ling Yun. Ling Yun felt the earth beneath his feet trembling violently, and dust billowed everywhere where the monsters stomped, like a stampede of ten thousand horses.
Having had a simulated reality experience before, Ling Yun knew that this often meant the start of a barrier attack. The monsters generally only had powerful physical attack capabilities and posed no effective threat to Ling Yun, who possessed a mental force field. However, the difference in numbers would greatly deplete Ling Yun's special abilities, and the truly difficult and arduous battle was yet to come.
The heavy stomp on the ground sent invisible shockwaves traveling far and wide, striking precisely a long crack in the parched earth.
The ground churned like ocean waves, trembling violently. After the tremors subsided, the fissure widened into a massive chasm five meters wide and ten meters deep. The monsters, already charging, were caught off guard and roared wildly as they tumbled into the chasm in droves. With each dull thud, the immense force of their weight caused a monster to crash and shatter into a bloody mess, while those falling behind crushed those who hadn't been able to dodge, breaking their bones and tendons.
Ling Yun accelerated, leaping into the air ten meters in front of the ravine, soaring several meters high and gliding across the five-meter-wide ravine. Just as his body was about to fall, the dozen or so surviving monsters in the ravine suddenly opened their blood-red maws, and thick, dark green liquid shot out like arrows towards Ling Yun.
Ling Yun's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected these monsters to possess such attack methods besides simple physical attacks. The thick, dark green liquid was clearly highly poisonous. If he hadn't used the trench to trap them, it would have been difficult to dodge if the monsters suddenly spewed out the viscous liquid in close combat.
Telekinesis solidified into several invisible shields in the air, blocking the arrow-like venom. Although the venom had a strong corrosive effect, telekinesis was intangible and intangible, so how could it corrode? A hissing sound emanated from the air. Resisting the resistance, the venom, which had originally traveled in a straight line, scattered and splashed in all directions, like a poisonous rain.
Much of the venom splattered back into the trenches, splashing onto the venomous monsters' bodies. It sizzled and burned like sparks hitting dripping wax, corroding deep, bowl-sized holes into their massive forms. The corroded flesh quickly turned charred and rotted, without even a drop of blood flowing. For a moment, the trenches were filled with the monsters' screams of extreme pain.
Ling Yun suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of his hand. Looking down, he saw a tiny drop of venom had unknowingly landed on it, instantly corroding a gruesome wound. However, his mental energy field's automatic protection began to break down the toxin, and his incredibly powerful self-healing ability quickly took effect. The wound healed at a visible speed, and in the blink of an eye, the skin on the back of his hand was completely healed, as if it had been reborn.
Ling Yun clenched his fist. Every time he recovered from an injury, he had a strange feeling, as if something was growing inside him. It was very vague, yet he couldn't quite grasp it. After the battle with the ghost and the ability user who had been driven away by Gu Xiaorou, this strange feeling intensified. It was as if his power had suddenly increased significantly.
A pair of black, ghostly claws silently emerged from the ground beneath his feet, gently grasping Ling Yun's ankles. They slowly pulled him into the earth. The soft ground suddenly turned into flowing liquid, and in the blink of an eye, the earth had submerged Ling Yun's waist.
Chapter Sixty-Six, Paragraph Five: Simulation (2)
A dazzling white light suddenly flashed from Ling Yun's waist, and his slowly sinking body abruptly froze, as if he were wrestling with a colossal creature underground. Then, the ghostly claws gripping his ankles released their hold, and Ling Yun was launched into the air like a bullet. The earth suddenly split open, and a massive, pitch-black body leaped out.
This was a ferocious and terrifying humanoid creature, with a spindle-shaped head atop a thick neck. Its face was adorned with a pair of compound eyes like copper bells and a disproportionately large mouth with sharp mandibles. Its arms, reaching to its knees, were covered in black hair, the tips of which shimmered with a faint blue hue. Aside from its lion-like, bulging muscles, its dark black body, covered in spiderweb-like patterns, was not much different from a human's. However, several three-meter-long octopus-like tentacles sprouted from its chest and back, the tips of which were diamond-shaped, dark metallic spikes.
Several tentacles lashed rapidly in the air, emitting a powerful whooshing sound as they cut through the air. Ling Yun's pupils suddenly contracted, because he discovered that the tentacles on the back of the humanoid creature had suddenly become transparent and then slowly disappeared into the dark air. This was definitely not the humanoid creature retracting its tentacles into some part of its body, but rather the tentacles becoming invisible, and then delivering a fatal blow to the opponent at any moment from a place that was not visible to the naked eye.
This wasn't Ling Yun's biggest worry. Even invisible tentacles were clearly visible under the influence of his mental field. They were simply more difficult to deal with. What worried him was that since the humanoid creature could become invisible, it possessed far more than just powerful physical attacks; it must have other supernatural abilities. Undoubtedly, unknown supernatural abilities were far more threatening than the visible powerful physical attacks. One was directly visible, while the other remained hidden in the shadows.
A faint, cold light emanated from Ling Yun's elbow, extending along his arm and gradually expanding the surface until it formed a blade of light about half a meter long. A slight ripple slowly passed over the blade, instantly solidifying and becoming almost tangible wherever it touched. It looked as if Ling Yun was wielding two steel blades forged from fine steel.
This is the convenience and power of supernatural abilities; those with supernatural abilities can conjure weapons of any shape at any time without needing to carry them separately. The strength of a weapon is closely related to the supernatural ability; for example, Ling Yun's shuriken is no less hard than a real steel blade.
The humanoid creature, brandishing its tentacles, charged towards Ling Yun. Its massive body pounded the ground, creating deep craters and whipping up a deafening roar, much like a heavily armored tank. Despite its enormous size, weighing hundreds of kilograms, it possessed lightning speed and agility that seemed disproportionate to its size.
Ling Yun held his breath, his light blades crossed in a defensive stance before him, his gaze fixed intently on the humanoid creature. In his clear black and white pupils, the creature's reflection was being meticulously broken down into countless minute combinations of movements. Every step the creature took, every trajectory of its tentacles waving in the air, was precisely sensed. After hundreds and thousands of precise calculations in an instant, the data on the next possible action was transmitted back to Ling Yun's mind, allowing him to react and control it in a timely manner.
This is a new ability Ling Yun gained after entering the fifth stage of the simulation. As the price for having only one life, after Ling Yun skips a level and enters the fifth stage of the simulation, there is a greater than 70% chance that he will acquire an unknown and ominous supernatural ability out of thin air. The type of supernatural ability is randomly selected by the barrier. This means that if he masters a powerful supernatural ability, it will greatly increase Ling Yun's chances of survival in the extremely dangerous stage simulation.
The cultivation of supernatural arts is, of course, a gradual process. Gaining something for nothing, while seemingly providing temporary benefits, is ultimately short-sighted and greatly increases the risks of future cultivation. However, after skipping levels and entering the simulation phase, the ability to acquire supernatural arts out of thin air takes on a different meaning. It becomes a slight guarantee gained because Ling Yun has taken on enormous risks. After all, life is only once; if Ling Yun dies, everything is meaningless. But if Ling Yun survives, then he will be qualified to acquire these unknown supernatural arts.
Of course, unknown supernatural abilities don't necessarily equate to power, and a 70% probability doesn't guarantee Ling Yun will receive the reward. In Xiu Jie's words, luck is also a part of strength, and often, luck is even more important than strength.
If Ling Yun is unlucky enough to get nothing, then there's nothing to blame but himself for being unlucky.
At least for now, Ling Yun's luck seems pretty good. As the humanoid creature rushed over, Ling Yun had already accurately calculated its attack range. A massive amount of data, seemingly chaotic but actually strictly ordered, flooded into his mind, causing Ling Yun to feel a slight throbbing in his head.
The two tentacles retracted with lightning speed when they were still more than ten meters away from Ling Yun. The slender support pole, which was only three meters long, suddenly stretched forward and extended by several meters. The dark metallic spikes at the front opened up like starfish with five-pointed mouths. Finger-thick spikes suddenly shot out from the mouths and stabbed fiercely at Ling Yun's chest and forehead.
The two light blades struck the spikes without any fancy moves, producing a piercing metallic clang. A trail of clearly visible sparks erupted from the point of impact, scattering like stars in the dim twilight air. The spikes, struck by the light blades, did not break, but were deflected to the side and blocked by the blades.
Several more tentacles attacked with lightning speed, seven incredibly hard spikes rising and falling, relentlessly searching for an opening in Ling Yun's body. The tentacles whipped through the air, leaving countless afterimages and emitting a powerful whistling sound. The humanoid creature was now less than five meters away from Ling Yun, its disgustingly bright red compound eyes fixed intently on him, its pale blue ghostly claws outstretched, ready to deliver a thunderous strike at any moment.
The spikes at the tips of the tentacles attacked with incredible speed, ruthlessness, and precision; even the perception of a mental field could barely keep up with its speed. If Ling Yun hadn't possessed a newly acquired ability to analyze the humanoid creature's movements beforehand, he would likely already be dead from the onslaught of the seven spikes. And this was only the initial display of the humanoid creature's attack capabilities.
Clanging sounds filled the air. The light blade danced in Ling Yun's hands, a ball of cold light clashing with the ubiquitous spikes. Sparks flew continuously, each spike's sudden attack precisely blocked or cleaved by the light blade. As the fight progressed, Ling Yun's mastery of the new technique rapidly improved. The movements reflected in his pupils became increasingly detailed; the humanoid creature's tentacles moved more and more slowly in his eyes, and the light blade began to launch a counterattack.
Suddenly, the light blade in his left hand drew an arc, its edge even slicing through the air. The sharp sound of it cutting through the air almost pierced the eardrums. All the spikes were deflected by the light blade in an instant. One spike finally couldn't withstand the blade's slash and broke off from the tip of the tentacle with a clang.
A flash of cold light, and the right-hand light blade shot forward with lightning speed, aiming straight for the humanoid creature's neck, its speed even faster than the spiked attack. This was the strongest attack Ling Yun had ever unleashed since he began cultivating his supernatural abilities, surpassing his previous limits.
The humanoid creature took a slight step back, seemingly unable to dodge the attack from the light blade.
Chapter 67, Paragraph 5: Simulation (3)
Suddenly, Ling Yun's eyes sharpened, and he abruptly retracted the light blade in his right hand, turning around to slash at the air beside him. The light blade did not land on empty air, but instead sparked a burst of sparks, producing a clanging sound of metal striking metal.
A dark golden spike suddenly materialized in the air. With a slight crack at its base, it snapped completely, embedding itself in the ground like an iron rod with a thud. This was one of the invisible tentacles on the humanoid creature's back. Had Ling Yun's mental energy field not detected it in time, even if the light blade had pierced the creature's chest, Ling Yun would have been pierced by the invisible tentacle.
Ling Yun felt a slight numbness in his arm, and was secretly shocked by the humanoid creature's immense strength. Since his mental field was no longer effective in protecting against the spikes' lightning-fast attacks and powerful force, and releasing a protective barrier would inevitably reduce his attack power, Ling Yun relied more on his superior speed and combat skills to fight the humanoid creature. His invisible telekinetic abilities remained hidden, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment.
The humanoid creature opened its massive, fang-filled maw and let out an extremely hoarse and unpleasant roar. Just as its invisible tentacles were about to unleash another attack, they suddenly froze, as if bound by a thousand-pound weight. Ling Yun's telekinetic power condensed into invisible ropes, linking together all the invisible and not-invisible tentacles, binding them together. This telekinetic rope restricted the distance between the tentacles, preventing them from swinging freely as before, and Ling Yun could also use his telekinetic power to determine the tentacles' movements.
Only then did Ling Yun truly appreciate the immense usefulness of telekinesis. Only with meticulous and precise control could telekinesis be broken down into countless thin, hair-like straight lines, which could then spiral together to form thicker ropes. After repeatedly winding these ropes several times, the telekinesis would condense into several invisible ropes with extremely complex yet incredibly strong structures. These condensed ropes would be several times stronger than ropes created directly through telekinesis.
Ling Yun's exquisite control allowed him to complete all of this in a short time, all thanks to the meditation and cultivation he underwent within the second layer of the barrier.
The humanoid creature roared, baring its teeth, its powerful tentacles flailing and pulling desperately, trying to tear the invisible rope of telekinesis to shreds. The mental field originated directly from Ling Yun; if the telekinetic rope were severed, Ling Yun would inevitably suffer a backlash and be severely injured. However, the invisible rope, only as thick as a teacup, remained taut despite repeated powerful pulls, its spiral structure making it, though formed from the finest strands of mental energy, possess the strongest resilience.
Without hesitation, the light blade shot out again, aiming straight for the humanoid creature's neck. These powerful creatures often possess incredibly strong physical defenses; even piercing through it wouldn't necessarily cause effective damage. Only by attacking its vital points could a real threat be posed. And the neck is the weak spot of almost all creatures.
A pale blue ghostly claw shot out with lightning speed, grabbing the incredibly sharp light blades in both hands. Ling Yun immediately felt as if the light blades had pierced into a tree trunk; whether he continued his attack or withdrew, he could not shake the opponent's immense strength. The light blades, capable of cutting through steel and iron, could not harm those eerie ghostly claws in the slightest.
Ling Yun was both shocked and furious. With a flick of his wrist, the two light blades instantly shrank into two dazzling orbs of light within the ghost claw. Suddenly, silver flames burst forth from within the orbs. The instantaneous release of intense heat caused the ghost claw to sizzle.
The humanoid creature immediately released the ball of light; its pale blue ghostly claws had been scorched red and purple by the silver flames. A large area at the center of the claws had been charred and blackened. But then a flash of blood-red light appeared, and the ghostly claws instantly returned to their original color.
The ball of light shrank back into Ling Yun's hand, forming two light blades once again. However, these blades were now covered with a layer of burning silver flames, making it appear as if Ling Yun was wielding two imposing fire swords.