Chapter 41: Trapped for Five Hundred Years
Inside the cave within the Zijing Mountain Range, only Linley and the purple juvenile beast remained.
"When I entered this cave just now, it was clearly empty. I'm absolutely certain there was no purple juvenile beast here. How did it suddenly appear without me sensing anything at all?" Linley's heart was filled with disbelief, but no matter how hard he found it to believe, this was reality!
The one he now faced was the leader of the countless Zijing monsters—that tiny purple juvenile beast.
"What should I do?" Linley pondered how to escape.
The walls and floor of this massive cave all faintly shimmered with purple light. Even if he used his Earth Travel technique, he couldn't break through this barrier and merge into the rock.
There was no way to flee!
"Hey, kid, what are you thinking about? You're not still planning to escape, are you?" The purple juvenile beast's clear eyes fixed on Linley, a slight smirk curling at the corner of its mouth. "Give it up. Once, there was a very powerful highgod—probably at what you call the Seven Star Demon level—but in front of me, even he had to behave!" The purple juvenile beast raised its little head and said.
Linley was secretly shocked. Even a Seven Star Demon wasn't a match for this purple juvenile beast?
"My name is Linley. May I ask who you are?" Linley's tone became more respectful.
The purple juvenile beast deliberately cleared its throat and said, "Listen carefully. My name is Lei Si Jing. I've roamed the outside world before, fought in the Abyssal Hell, and I was a great commander there!"
"Abyssal Hell commander?" Linley felt confused.
What kind of place was the Abyssal Hell?
He had once read that book introducing the geography of the Infernal Realm, but he had never heard of any place called the Abyssal Hell.
"You don't know about the Abyssal Hell?" The purple juvenile beast's eyes widened, then it nodded in sudden understanding. "Oh, right. You're only a midgod. Even many highgods don't know about that place. It's normal for you not to know... Hmph, talking to you is a waste of breath. You don't even know what being an Abyssal Hell commander means, hmph!"
This purple juvenile beast was very displeased.
Linley could only force a helpless smile. He didn't know anything about it. Why was this beast named Lei Si Jing saying all this?
"How should I punish you?" The purple juvenile beast stood upright, its chubby little paw stroking its chin as it paced back and forth inside the cave, looking deep in thought. "Play the stone-smashing game? Like last time, smashing him to death in the end?"
Linley's heart trembled.
The stone-smashing game? Smashing to death in the end? Linley could fully imagine what this purple juvenile beast might do.
"No, that's no good." The purple juvenile beast muttered to itself as it paced back and forth. Listening to its muttering, Linley felt a chill run down his spine.
"This Lei Si Jing is nothing more than a terrifying creature with incredibly powerful strength but the heart of a mischievous child," Linley thought with dread. He looked down at the ground, where purple light faintly flowed.
This was just a thin layer that Lei Si Jing had casually spread over the walls and floor without any visible effort. Yet Linley couldn't budge even a trace of that purple light. From this alone, Linley knew how powerful this purple juvenile beast was. Besides... he had also seen it in action, easily killing a powerful highgod.
"Right now, I've only sent my Earth God clone here. My strength is far too weak," Linley lamented inwardly.
The divine power of the Sovereign and his weapons were all with his main body. The Earth God clone had none of them. Right now, he had no means of resistance at all.
"This purple juvenile beast..." Linley carefully studied it. Its appearance was very similar to the Zijing monsters. Its entire body was purple, and its head and back were covered in numerous spikes—108 spikes in total. The Zijing monsters had the same feature.
Suddenly, the purple juvenile beast's face lit up with excitement, and it jumped up joyfully. "Haha, I've got it!"
Then—
The purple juvenile beast's expression froze. It muttered a few words under its breath: "Can't even let me have my fun." Then it looked up at Linley, its face turning cold. "Kid, I'm really annoyed right now, so I'm going to take it out on you. Hmph, if you're too useless, I'll kill you."
"Mr. Lei Si Jing, you don't even care about Seven Star Demons. Why bother with a midgod like me?" Linley sensed something bad was coming. This purple juvenile beast probably had no good intentions.
The purple juvenile beast snorted. "Shut up! Damn it, if I hadn't been ordered to stay in the Zijing Mountain Range for eons without leaving, who would care about a midgod like you? You may be weak, but you're still a living being, and you can keep me entertained." As it spoke, the purple juvenile beast flipped its little paw, and a black stone emitting a faint purple glow appeared, floating in front of it.
Linley couldn't help but stare at the black stone.
The black stone was very small, only the size of a finger joint, but it radiated a purple light. A strange aura emanated from it.
"Go!" The purple juvenile beast waved its little paw.
The black stone floated above Linley, and then 108 streams of purple divine power shot out from it, falling like chains. These 108 streams of purple divine power, all emanating from the black stone, formed an arc and gathered again at Linley's feet. The 108 curved streams of purple divine power thus formed a sphere, with Linley at its center.
"Haha, let's begin!" The purple juvenile beast grinned.
Instantly, the 108 streams of purple divine power began to flash rapidly, becoming impossible to distinguish. All Linley could see was a spherical purple light curtain around him, with himself trapped inside.
"Crackle..."
Inside the purple sphere, purple light flickered like sparks.
A strange force was born.
"Ahhh!" Linley curled up in pain, floating at the center of the purple sphere. A bizarre crackling sound echoed as his skin and bones were crushed and pressed into his body.
Linley clearly felt the purple light curtain generating a strange repulsive force. Every part of the curtain produced this repulsion, all directed at his entire body.
From all directions, the force pushed against Linley.
It felt as if he were being compressed inward, as if trying to crush him into a ball. This terrifying compression brought extreme agony.
"This Lei Si Jing is completely insane," Linley cursed inwardly.
He struggled to look up. About two meters above him floated that black stone. The source of the purple light curtain was this stone.
"Kid, normally, you'd be dead for sure. But today, I'm feeling generous." The purple juvenile beast looked at the purple sphere and Linley, who was being continuously compressed inside. "The divine power I've attached to that black stone can sustain this gravity space for about ten thousand years. If you can escape from it within ten thousand years, I'll spare your life. But if the divine power runs out and you still haven't escaped, then I'll..." It extended its chubby little paw, "Kill you!"
Inside the purple sphere.
Even his bones were being crushed by the pressure. The intense pain made Linley's entire body convulse, but he still managed to hear what the purple juvenile beast said. He struggled to roar, "Gravity space? This is gravity space? Impossible!!!" Under the terrible repulsive force, it was hard for Linley even to open his mouth.
But Linley was baffled. He had never heard of a gravity space producing repulsive force.
Gravity space should produce a terrifying attractive force!
"Yes, this is gravity space. One of the six profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth. Nothing is impossible!" The purple juvenile beast snorted. "Of course, this is a gravity space formed by fusing the two profound mysteries of Earth Pulse and Gravity Space, with some special applications added... Let me give you a hint. To get out, just take that black stone."
Having said that, the purple juvenile beast lay down on the ground. Then it lifted its little head and stared at Linley. "Oh, and even if it hurts, don't make a sound. If you wake me up, I'll kill you."
Linley had no choice but to endure the agony in silence, not daring to make a sound.
After saying that, the purple juvenile beast lay down and began to sleep. Soon, soft snoring could be heard.
"Zzz... Zzz..."
The faint snoring echoed through the cave.
Linley was in agony. The repulsive force was no less than the terrifying suction of the Zijing Mountain Range. It pressed against his entire body, causing excruciating pain. And this body couldn't undergo dragonification like his main body.
Such pain, and he couldn't even make a sound, while the purple juvenile beast slept beside him.
"This is pure torture!" Linley cursed inwardly, but soon he forced himself to calm down. "What I need to do now is get out of this purple sphere. To do that, I have to take that black stone." He looked up at the black stone floating above, radiating purple light.
"But the repulsive force is too strong. I'm pinned at the center of the sphere and can't move at all," Linley thought bitterly.
Then, gritting his teeth, he tried to reach his right hand upward.
"Crack!" The powerful repulsive force from above slammed his right arm back onto his shoulder, shattering both his arm and shoulder.
"Let's see if Earth Element can work." Linley tried again.
He experimented over and over, trying every method, but he couldn't resist the repulsive force. It was simply too strong.
"It seems there's only one last option," Linley thought, forcing himself to stay calm.
In magic, if one understood the Gravity Spell, and if someone else cast a gravity field, as long as the caster's skill in that area was inferior, one could counteract the gravity.
"This repulsive force is so strong because it's formed by fusing the two profound mysteries of Earth Pulse and Gravity Space. If I can fuse these two mysteries, I should be able to counteract this repulsive force and take that black stone." Having made up his mind, Linley set aside the physical pain and immersed himself in the Laws of the Earth.
He had only just begun to understand the profound mystery of Gravity Space.
But he had already mastered Earth Pulse.
Linley threw himself fully into comprehending and fusing these two profound mysteries. However, both Gravity Space and Earth Pulse were extremely difficult mysteries, and this would undoubtedly take a very long time.
"Boss, your Earth God clone has been caught by that purple beast?" Bebe asked urgently. "What should we do now?"
Delia was also anxious and worried.
"There's no other way," Linley shook his head and looked at Delia. "Delia, I can't stay with you for now. My main body must also fully immerse itself in comprehending the Laws of the Earth, working together with my divine clone."
Delia nodded quickly.
Linley's divine clone was facing a life-or-death crisis. How could Delia be selfish enough to ask Linley to stay with her?
"Ten thousand years?" Linley thought to himself. "Does this Zijing monster think I can't fuse these two mysteries in ten thousand years?"
Linley's main body immediately began to cultivate as well. At the same time, his main body continuously absorbed the soul essence from the Zijing crystals, steadily strengthening his soul.
Because his soul was so powerful, his main body's comprehension and deduction speed slightly surpassed that of his Earth God clone. With one main body and one clone fully immersed in comprehending the Laws of the Earth and deducing the profound mysteries...
"Fusion. How exactly do I fuse Earth Pulse and Gravity Space?" Linley's understanding of Gravity Space kept improving, but when it came to fusion, he hadn't even begun. Sitting cross-legged in the distance, Linley's main body was growing worried.
"The boss has been cultivating for nearly five hundred years. Why isn't there any reaction?" Bebe said.
"Don't worry. Linley will definitely succeed." Over these five hundred years, Delia had gone from initial worry and anxiety to now, though still concerned, she had come to accept it.
Because Linley had also said that if the worst happened, he would only lose an Earth God clone.