Free Web NovelChapter 473: Chapter 259: Extraordinary Adaptation; Deep Sea Entrance
Another half an hour passed. Time for a breath.
Another half an hour. Another breath!
After refreshing his air three times and still not reaching the bottom, Cheng Zongyang started to feel a little panicked.
His limit was nearly 10,000 meters! And while his proficiency with his Adaptation Talent had been gradually increasing during the descent, it wasn’t by much—only one point every five minutes.
This was also related to the adaptation intensity.
The adaptation intensity from the surrounding environment was low, causing his progress to slow.
But as he passed 9,000 meters and continued his descent after the third breath, the rate of his adaptation changed!
It went from one point every five minutes to one point per minute. This was more than enough to demonstrate the importance of environmental intensity.
But that wasn’t Cheng Zongyang’s concern.
He had only 900 meters left before hitting his absolute limit. If he still couldn’t reach the bottom within the next thousand meters, he would have to consider entering the Wilderness World to train his Adaptation Talent to a new level before coming back out.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Cheng Zongyang, who had slowed his descent, was drawn to a bright light off to his right. His heart instantly leaped!
In the sunless depths of the sea, it was like being in a dark, sealed room, with nothing but the faint bioluminescence of a few tiny microorganisms.
Cold, dark, lightless, and silent!
But here, he actually saw a bright light, like the glow of an exit at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
Small, yet intensely bright!
’Could this really be the entrance?’
Delighted, Cheng Zongyang swam in its direction.
As the stationary ball of light grew larger, Cheng Zongyang’s excitement mounted.
At this depth, only he and a few incredibly powerful Cultivators could travel to and from the seabed. He estimated the pressure here was so immense that even a Cultivator in the Essence Refining and Qi Transformation Realm would be crushed flat.
Watching the light grow ever larger, Cheng Zongyang actually let out a sigh of relief.
’As long as I can get a feel for that world and find a safe place, I can set up a Teleportation Array.’
But just as he was picturing this new world and wondering how he would learn about it, he noticed the bright light abruptly shift.
He thought he was hallucinating and stopped to stare at it for a long moment. When it remained still, he continued swimming forward.
But the very next moment, the ball of light began to sway from side to side, then shot rapidly toward Cheng Zongyang!
As Cheng Zongyang felt the shift in the current and saw the light rapidly expand in his vision, his expression changed.
Before he could even escape into the Wilderness World, a powerful current enveloped him. He was sent tumbling through the darkness, buffeted and slammed around until finally, the space around him compressed. It was as if he had entered somewhere.
It didn’t take a genius for Cheng Zongyang to realize he had just encountered a massive Sea Beast!
He had been swallowed by a giant Sea Beast! That light, the one that looked like the entrance to a tunnel, must have been coming from the beast itself.
A light like that in the dark depths would naturally attract countless creatures.
Instantly, the image of a peculiar fish surfaced in Cheng Zongyang’s memory—a Lanternfish!
The kind with a glowing "lantern" on its head!
Since he had only been swallowed and wasn’t in any immediate danger, Cheng Zongyang decided against entering the Wilderness World for the moment.
Then, he was flushed along with the seawater into a pool of foul, reeking stomach acid. The instant he fell in, Cheng Zongyang immediately erected a barrier of True Qi, shielding his body from the Sea Beast’s gastric juices.
Inside the massive, equally sunless stomach, an idea occurred to Cheng Zongyang. He grinned. ’Perfect. I was just wondering how I’d manage the final leg of the descent. I’ll just have to use you for a test run!’
He entered the Wilderness World and retrieved two items.
A Tier One Enchanting Talisman and a Tier Two Beast Control Talisman.
He couldn’t pull a Sea Beast that had already gained sentience directly into the Wilderness World. So, he figured he would use an external method to try and control this rare creature for his own temporary use.
The Tier Two Beast Control Talisman could temporarily control a single creature of Tier Two or below for only fifteen minutes.
The Tier One Enchanting Talisman could only briefly mesmerize a target, with the duration depending on the target’s mental fortitude.
He’d bought a good number of these Talismans when the marketplace first opened, since even a Martial Artist like him could use them. There were many different kinds, too. He just never imagined he’d have a use for them today.
He tore the Enchanting Talisman, which automatically ignited, and pressed it against the stomach wall.
Cheng Zongyang nodded in satisfaction as the Enchanting Talisman melted into the stomach wall and vanished.
Soon, he felt the Sea Beast’s body begin to lurch violently.
Seeing his chance, Cheng Zongyang quickly made his way up the esophagus and into the creature’s mouth.
The enormous mouth was nearly a hundred meters wide, a testament to the Sea Beast’s astounding size.
He hadn’t even sensed its presence before it swallowed him in the blink of an eye. He must have swum right into its mouth without realizing it. Had it been one of those Innate Experts, even if they could dive this deep, they would have likely met their end.
There wasn’t much flesh inside the mouth, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that this spot provided a direct path to the creature’s brain.
With the beast’s mind now in a state of chaos and confusion, any resistance to his control would be minimal.
Cheng Zongyang held the Talisman in his hand. He let a drop of his own blood fall onto the Beast Control Talisman, activated it with his True Qi, and pressed it firmly against the Sea Beast’s palate.
Soon, the Beast Control Talisman also melted into the Sea Beast’s palate.
After about seven or eight breaths, Cheng Zongyang felt a faint connection form between himself and the Sea Beast. At the same time, he could feel its struggle.
