Free Web NovelChapter 366: Chapter 359: The Eye of Destiny’s Reminder
[Unceasing Water.]
[Rank: 2]
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. The Unceasing Water is the second native wondrous item to appear on this planet, after the Creation Star Core.]
[At the end of the "Ordovician Period," the Unceasing Water ended its active phase and entered a period of dormancy, accumulating power in its slumber. After being accidentally awakened, the power it had amassed for countless years erupted from within. This triggered drastic climate change, massive floods, and the subsequent subsidence of continents, turning the world into the Endless Ocean.]
[As for how it was awakened, that seems to be another long story.]
[After the eruption, the Unceasing Water entered its "unceasing phase."]
[This is its final phase. It will now churn endlessly on the seabed, growing exponentially at a rate of 1% per year, with occasional eruptions.]
[Don’t underestimate that 1%. Over time, even the slightest increase becomes terrifyingly significant.]
[In the 30 years since the beginning of the Wandering Era, the total volume of seawater has already increased by 34%. Because of continental subsidence and the slow saturation and compression of the soil, the rise in sea level isn’t immediately obvious. But the exponential growth continues, and it’s getting faster!]
[Are you worried?]
[There’s a piece of good news.]
[With Mount Everest as the only water level benchmark, the Eye of Destiny has not foreseen a future where "Mount Everest is completely submerged."]
[There are two possible reasons.]
[1. The problem was resolved ahead of time.]
[2. The problem blew up ahead of time.]
[The specific reason is unknown; it’s possible that different branches of fate exist. Under extreme circumstances, the Unceasing Water could also crystallize, transforming into a "crystalline phase."]
[What rotten luck to be stuck with a wondrous item like this!]
...
[The Eye of Destiny believes you should focus on the present rather than the distant future. As you wished, the Ten Thousand Forms Kun has taken notice of you.]
[For millennia, it has played the role of a Hunter. But now, in this showdown between two masterminds, who will be the true winner? Who will be the real director?]
[Let’s wait and see!]
The information about the Unceasing Water proactively provided by the Eye of Destiny lined up with the "rules of horror" from not long ago. ’A 1% annual increase doesn’t seem like much, but over the long term, exponential growth is bound to trigger a qualitative change.’
When that time comes, it would be just as the rules stated:
[3. The overwhelmed Jiuzhou Platform will crack apart, and all creatures floating on the water’s surface will die.]
[6. Once the Unceasing Water on the Jiuzhou Platform begins to solidify, abandon the Jiuzhou Platform immediately and leave!]
’Once I’ve dealt with the Ten Thousand Forms Kun, I have to study that Source Water in depth. I need to figure out how to "scoop it out and plug the source." If necessary, I can leak some intel to the major King-level Wandering Ships.’
’We can pool our wisdom and efforts.’
’Oh, right. Breaking through the Great Fortune Boundary seems to require the Unceasing Water as a main ingredient. If I can use this opportunity to consume it, wouldn’t that kill two birds with one stone?’
’I don’t know if it’s feasible. After all, if you think about it, the entire world is made of the Unceasing Water.’
’Boldly hypothesize, carefully verify!’
’As for the Ten Thousand Forms Kun...’
’It really is just putting on an act.’
Shi Ming faintly revealed the power of the Fallen Sanctuary, but he firmly suppressed the sources of the Nine-Headed Sanctuary and the Extremely Evil Sanctuary. This was to prevent the Ten Thousand Forms Kun from sensing that its former colleagues had become a part of him. He even kept the power of the Destiny Light Cone, obtained from the Mobius Serpent, completely hidden, not drawing on it in the slightest.
If he scared the fish away and couldn’t defeat it via a backlash of fate, his only option would be to use "Soul-Burning Verse" to forcibly raise his Attack Power to 600 and break through its techniques with brute force.
But Shi Ming wanted to maintain his well-rounded development.
He didn’t want to ruin the balanced state of his stats.
If he used Soul-Burning Verse today, sacrificing the caps of his other stats to boost his Attack Power, he would be at a huge disadvantage later if he encountered a situation that required "Defense Power > 600" or "Physical Strength > 600." The stat reallocation from Soul-Burning Verse was irreversible. It was a trump card to be used only in critical moments, and Shi Ming didn’t want to play it unless he was at the end of his rope.
The Sun-Shooter continued its tentative ascent.
He projected an air of caution and trepidation perfectly, like a "thief" stealing eggs right under Kun Kun’s nose.
At this moment, both he and the Ten Thousand Forms Kun were actors with their own ulterior motives.
It was a contest of acting skills.
...
The Sun-Shooter finally surfaced to the edge of the seabed.
Like a bamboo shoot sprouting from the soil of the ocean floor, the streamlined canoe "cautiously" poked its "head" out. All around it were the petrified remains of the Amazon Forest’s most ancient trees, creating a shockingly epic sense of decay.
Above, however, was a fantastical and magnificent expanse of pale blue.
Of course, Shi Ming had no time to take any of it in before he felt the heavy pressure of fate descend. A magnificent Kun, a behemoth in the distance, blotted out his entire field of view. Its transparent barbels were like wings hanging from the sky, and its two eyes, cold and detached, were already locked onto him with the gaze of one inspecting its prey.
A mystical ripple strummed the strings of fate.
A net woven from a myriad of forms descended upon him.
The Ten Thousand Forms Sanctuary!
The Kun could no longer wait.
Shi Ming did not use the Black Tortoise Shield. He acted as if he were completely stunned, meeting the Ten Thousand Forms Kun’s gaze from afar. In this dreamlike seabed, it was a glance that spanned a thousand years.
WHOOOM—
A cry from the Kun echoed.
’To be honest, no matter how mystical the Ten Thousand Forms Sanctuary is, it still has to start its attack from the Sea of Spirit,’ Shi Ming thought. ’And right now, my Sea of Spirit is impregnable. My undetectably high stats and the defensive codex from the Hundred-Floor Celestial Tower make even Ah Jian’s Eternal Life Law completely ineffective against me.’
The Abyss Lord, on the other hand, when faced with the Eternal Life Law...
...would be hard-controlled for three seconds.
No matter how strong this Kun Kun was, it couldn’t possibly suppress a colleague like the Abyss Lord with the Ten Thousand Forms Sanctuary alone. ’Using the Abyss Lord as a benchmark for combat power, I have nothing to fear.’
Therefore, from the very beginning, Shi Ming had been confident and unafraid.
He had only one goal.
As expected, he fell, fully conscious, into the dreamscape the Ten Thousand Forms Sanctuary had created for him. He had a premonition that he could wake up in an instant if he so chose.
But the real prey had not yet taken the bait.
’Why wake up?’
He closed his eyes, as if truly asleep, and dreamt a beautiful dream—
Pale blue butterflies danced about. In this fantastical world, green wheat seedlings sprouted from the clear seabed. A crystal-clear river flowed past rows of log cabins under a visible blue sky with white clouds. Children caught fish and played with pebbles by the river, while adults played cards and chatted cheerfully under the shade of the trees.
This was a scene from Shi Ming’s childhood.
It was a soft spot buried deep within his heart.
It was also the life he longed for as an adult.
The Ten Thousand Forms Kun paid no mind to these details.
Its true form had already transformed into a butterfly and entered the dream. Next, it only needed to erode Shi Ming’s Sea of Spirit through the dream to usurp it, control Shi Ming’s future destiny, and thus complete its Ten Thousand Forms Sanctuary, allowing it to either completely control or "possess" this human.
The pale blue butterflies danced.
They began to infiltrate the depths of Shi Ming’s dream, like moths to a flame, one wave after another, eager and impatient.
The moment the first butterfly touched Shi Ming’s forehead, he opened his eyes.
