Chapter 359: Resurrection

Absolute darkness and nothingness.

Consciousness was like being thrown into an abyss where even time did not exist; all perception, thinking, and sense of existence were completely stripped away.

Then—

Pain!

The excruciating pain at the soul level, like billions of red-hot steel needles piercing into every corner of consciousness simultaneously, tearing and pulling him forcibly out of that absolute "nothingness"!

"Argh!!!"

Jie Ming opened his eyes suddenly, but only saw a blur.

He struggled subconsciously, until his pupils refocused, only to find himself floating in a liquid with a faint ghostly green glow.

His body was soaked in viscous liquid, his mouth and nose were covered by a respirator, and his limbs felt a strange sense of weakness and powerlessness.

He was in a huge glass culture tank.

After the initial excruciating pain, his perception recovered rapidly.

Through the transparent liquid, he saw rows of similar culture tanks standing like cold tombstones in the dim space.

Only the tiny indicator lights on the edge of the tank body, indicating the operating status, emitted a lonely light, reflecting the sleeping human silhouettes inside the tanks.

The moment his consciousness completely woke up and he began to struggle—

Hum—

Soft white light suddenly lit up from top to bottom, dispelling all darkness and illuminating the entire space as bright as day.

This was a huge laboratory with a strong sense of the future.

The dome was high, and the walls with cold metallic luster were embedded with countless screens with constantly flowing data.

Various precise and complex mechanical arms were suspended in mid-air or fixed on brackets quietly, and the air circulation system made a low humming sound, carrying the fresh smell of disinfectant and some kind of nutrient substrate.

Everything here was in good order, full of a high-tech feeling.

The nutrient solution in the tank body was being absorbed by his body at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if a parched sponge had encountered water.

The extreme weakness was rapidly fading, and strength was condensing again in his limbs and bones.

He reached out, tore off the respirator on his mouth and nose somewhat roughly, and greedily breathed the air remaining in the tank body, which carried the smell of nutrient solution.

Click.

The reinforced glass cover in front slid open an exit silently.

Jie Ming supported his still soft body, stumbled out of the culture tank, and fell onto the cold, smooth metal floor.

Viscous nutrient fluid slid off his naked body, forming a pool of water on the floor.

"Hoo—hoo—" He lay on the ground, gasping for breath.

It was not just a physiological need, but an instinctive reaction to surviving a disaster.

Until this moment, the extreme sense of fear of being instantly "erased" hit his mind like a late tsunami, bringing a cold shudder that almost suffocated him.

But the cold air inhaled into his lungs, the powerful beating of his heart in his chest, and the solid feeling from his limbs were all clearly telling him—

He was still alive!

Jie Ming looked up, looked around at this familiar laboratory partition, and instantly understood what had happened.

Substitute Doll! (Chapter 164)

The life-saving item that his mentor, who was stern but valued him highly, had forcibly stuffed into his hands when he went to the living plane years ago—a one-time miracle item made with extremely precious "causality reversal" and "soul anchoring" technology.

It could forcibly reverse causality when the host encountered an instant-death effect, and forcibly transfer the soul to a pre-set clone body cultivated based on the host's genes and spiritual imprint to resurrect!

He immediately looked inward into the depths of his soul.

Sure enough, the complex imprint that was originally branded on the soul origin like an exquisite cloth doll was now covered with cracks, its light dim, and it was slowly dissipating.

A chill mixed with luck made cold sweat soak his back instantly.

He survived, but that fear of facing "non-existence" was real and unforgettable.

Jie Ming quickly checked his own state.

His spiritual power was active and full, without any loss.

Although the Nascent Soul in his dantian seemed a bit withered, that was a manifestation of excessive spiritual power consumption during the resurrection process.

But fortunately, the foundation was solid, and he did not fall out of his realm.

This clone body was perfectly cultivated with his own cells, and his essence, energy, and spirit were of the same origin. Except for the initial weakness, there was no rejection or discomfort.

"It's just the emptiness after spiritual power exhaustion—rest will restore it." Jie Ming breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt a burst of regret.

"It's a pity—the 'adaptive evolution' resistance brought by the 'Body Tempering Method,' I'm afraid it all disappeared with the destruction of the previous body—"

Body strength could be re-tempered by spiritual power, but those special resistances against various energies, environments, and even mental influences were precious wealth accumulated after countless dangers, I'm afraid—

The moment this thought arose, a sudden change occurred!

The slight tingling in his brain caused by excessive mental power consumption was easing and disappearing at an astonishing speed.

At the same time, the lingering sense of physical weakness was also rapidly dissipating like a receding tide, replaced by a familiar sense of power and abundant energy.

This feeling—it was clearly the powerful resistance to the "weakness" state produced by the body after the "Body Tempering Method" was cultivated to a deep realm!

"Could it be—" Jie Ming's eyes burst with unbelievable joy, "These resistances—did not disappear because of changing bodies?!"

He perceived carefully and finally confirmed it was correct.

Not just weakness resistance, he could vaguely feel that the body's tolerance to high temperature, low temperature, toxins, and even a certain degree of mental interference was the same as before he "died"!

"I didn't expect—this body-refining technique to be so mysterious?!" Jie Ming was shocked in his heart.

The "adaptive evolution" brought by the "Body Tempering Method" seemed not only to act on the flesh but also to be branded on his life origin or soul to a certain extent.

Even after changing the shell, these "achievements" of evolution were still retained!

This was simply an unexpected joy!

He gasped a few more times, feeling the power returning to his body rapidly, and then stood up.

The viscous nutrient solution made him feel uncomfortable all over. He glanced around and confirmed that this was the "Biological Management and Biological Storage Partition" under Mentor Clark's laboratory.

"It seems that Mentor Clark put the resurrection body of the Substitute Doll here." He understood in his heart.

Before he could think more, the space beside him twisted invisibly, like water ripples.

The next second, Mentor Clark, who was wearing a meticulous black wizard robe, slightly bald, and had a stern and ancient face, had already appeared in the laboratory.

Clark's eyes, which seemed to be able to see through everything, swept over Jie Ming and stayed on him for a moment.

Sensing his rapidly recovering state and the Substitute Doll imprint dissipating at the soul level, his face still had no expression, but he nodded imperceptibly, and the originally slightly tight shoulder line relaxed a little bit.

"It seems you encountered a very difficult enemy." Clark's voice was flat and waveless, without concern.

But Jie Ming knew that this was already the way this mentor expressed concern.

Jie Ming nodded, still having lingering fears: "Almost didn't come back."

Clark "hmm"ed and said faintly: "It's good to suffer a loss. Remember this lesson, and in the future, you need to know how to weigh and hibernate more, and think three times before acting."

Jie Ming, however, grinned, revealing a tired but sharp smile: "Mentor, this time—I might not have suffered a loss. If I'm lucky, I might even bring back a first-class merit."

Clark was surprised when he heard this, rarely twitching his eyebrows that were always tightly locked.

But he didn't ask for details, just waved his hand to indicate: "If you can walk, leave here with me, you need to make a formal report."

"Yes, Mentor."

Jie Ming looked down at his naked body covered in mucus, stretched out his finger, and outlined a simple transmutation array phantom in the air.

A faint spiritual light mixed with residual mental power flashed, and the nutrient solution attached to his body rapidly decomposed, reorganized, and deformed, turning into a clean and well-fitting gray wizard robe in the blink of an eye, covering him.

Following Mentor Clark, through the space teleportation array inside the laboratory, light and shadow flowed, and Jie Ming stepped onto the familiar and solid land of Nuolun No. 13 Academy again.

Without any delay, even without time to feel the complex mood of returning to the academy, Jie Ming immediately applied for a laboratory in the academy.

He closed all external contacts, mobilized all his mental power, and organized his nine-year experience, observation, and reasoning in that strange plane, including his alliance with Lei Ke, the investigation of the front line, the direct confrontation with "Justice," and the complete intelligence on the "Mind Realm" and the artificial intelligence "Justice" and its core logic, into a detailed and top-secret report.

Through the magic network terminal stored in the space in his body, this report carrying all the secrets of that plane was sent directly to the supreme command of the Expeditionary Force targeting that unknown plane.

It is conceivable that this report will cause what level of shock and attention among the high-level command.

Jie Ming stood in the laboratory, looking at the deep and boundless starry sky through the huge crystal window.

He knew that next, it would be the stage for those Tier 8 existences standing at the peak of wizard civilization.

With the intelligence he provided, Tier 8 wizards could completely launch precision strikes against "Justice" itself.

It could be said that the result of this plane war was already doomed.

However, that was not a battle he could participate in with his current ability, so Jie Ming didn't intend to go back immediately.

His task was completed.

Looking at the starry sky, he felt a complex emotion that was hard to describe for that huge plane trapped by "beautiful wishes," and for that sage who held utopian ideals but created such a cold reality.

But no matter what, he came back alive and brought back the truth. ===== CHAPTER 360 =====