Chapter 275: Talk it out with the Ethereals?

Not long after Ye Qingfeng used the Hollow Stabilization Scroll, the group from Hollow Section 6 successfully arrived at the Hollow entrance.

"Section Chief, something's not right. The Hollow's expansion has stopped."

Tsukishiro Yanagi was the first to notice something wrong, and after walking closer, she confirmed her suspicion.

"The Hollow stopped expanding?" Yuzen teased. "It couldn't be that it knew we were coming and shrank back in fear, could it?"

"Yanagi-san, hurry and start! I want to eat after we're done!" Soukaku shouted noisily.

"It is also a form of cultivation."

Hoshimi Miyabi said faintly.

Tsukishiro Yanagi sighed secretly; her heart was so tired.

"The problem is, the Hollow suddenly stopped expanding. Doesn't anyone think that's wrong?"

"No."

Yuzen said indifferently.

"The Hollow—is hungry!"

Soukaku's expression was serious.

"Cultivation."

Hoshimi Miyabi spat out the two words with an indifferent face.

"..."

Tsukishiro Yanagi was speechless. Of the four of them, not one had discovered the problem.

It's a Hollow! It suddenly stopped—!

No matter how you think about it, it's not right...

"No need for more words. Let's go in."

Hoshimi Miyabi supported the hilt of her sword with one hand and walked toward the Hollow with composure. Just looking at her walking posture, this person was terrifyingly strong.

"Bang—!"

A nice sound is a nice head.

A flash of confusion appeared in her bright eyes, and her fair forehead turned slightly red. Her dazed expression looked very silly, and at first glance, it was extremely cute.

It was as if she were saying, "What just happened?"

"Wow—Section Chief's performance is so realistic, I couldn't tell at all!"

Soukaku's eyes shone with golden light, and her small hands clapped rapidly.

"No, it's really impossible to enter."

Hoshimi Miyabi said truthfully.

"Section Chief—you say that as if the Hollow can lock its door."

Yuzen complained lazily.

Clearly, neither of them took Hoshimi Miyabi's reaction seriously, subconsciously assuming it was some kind of cultivation. After all, the idea of a Hollow not letting people in—was unheard of.

Ether and Hollows are in a state of coexistence. Ether erodes living organisms until they become Ethereals, and the biggest beneficiary is still the Hollow.

If a Hollow had thoughts, it would be dying for everyone to come in for a day trip.

Tsukishiro Yanagi didn't think so. Although Section Chief Miyabi was sometimes unreliable, one thing was absolute: she never lied.

She took two steps forward and tentatively reached out her palm. There was indeed a layer of obstruction. Unwilling to believe it, she increased the force in her hand.

It still couldn't be shaken by even half a bit.

"This is incredible!"

Seeing it for himself, Yuzen quickly stepped forward. It wasn't until he actually touched the invisible barrier that he completely believed it.

"This situation is too bizarre. It needs to be reported."

Tsukishiro Yanagi said.

"Indeed. Since ancient times, such a situation has never occurred."

Hoshimi Miyabi echoed.

Seeing that both the Section Chief and the Deputy Section Chief had spoken, the other two expressed their agreement—it was definitely not because one wanted to get off work early and the other wanted to go eat.

Tsukishiro Yanagi explained the general situation to the higher-ups. The other party showed great interest and gave a strict order for them to guard near the Hollow and find out the reason as much as possible.

Out of trust in Hoshimi Miyabi, they didn't send more combat personnel, as the Hollow could expand at any time, and with the strength of a certain Hollow Hunter, stopping the Hollow's expansion was just a matter of time.

However, for this unprecedented situation, relevant technical personnel would be sent.

"Next, we need to guard this spot and wait for the relevant personnel to come and investigate.

If the Hollow expands, we will continue our previous mission; otherwise, we will investigate the cause of this situation as much as possible."

"Understood."

Hoshimi Miyabi had no change in expression.

"Eh?! We have to work overtime—!"

"Doesn't that mean my dinner time will be infinitely delayed!"

The other two complained dissatisfiedly. Yuzen found a spot to sit down and slacked off openly, while Soukaku clutched her stomach and kept shouting "Hungry."

Hoshimi Miyabi stared fixedly at the Hollow, as if playing a staring contest with it. She persisted for a full minute before suffering a cruel defeat, but it didn't discourage her in the slightest; she gathered her spirits and continued the competition.

Tsukishiro Yanagi guarded the spot dutifully, needing to pay attention to the specific situation of the Hollow while also contacting the arriving personnel.

She was so busy she forgot herself. Just as she wanted to ask her three teammates about their progress, she swallowed the words back into her stomach.

It's fine... she's used to it... how is this not guarding outside the Hollow?

Unlike the leisure of the few outside the Hollow, the situation inside the Hollow could only be described as suffocating.

The Ether concentration kept exceeding one critical point after another, creating an area where anyone who stepped in would feel suffocated.

People with low Ether adaptability in this place would be covered in Ether crystals in less than half a minute.

Being in this area, it was only a matter of time before being eroded by Ether and becoming an Ethereal.

The original large group of Ethereals had disappeared without a trace, leaving only one Ethereal and Ye Qingfeng staring at each other.

All Ethereals below level 5 were gone, or rather, had turned into Ether particles and fed back into the Hollow.

Ye Qingfeng's legs felt like they were filled with lead, his knees trembling uncontrollably. The scenery before him began to distort and deform, and the ringing in his ears grew from distant to near, drowning out his own coarse breathing.

His mind was a blank slate; even the thought of resting took a few seconds to translate into action.

If his stamina value could be displayed, it would be infinitely close to zero. The fact that he hadn't fallen yet was entirely due to willpower.

The stinging pain from muscle spasms became an anchor for his sobriety, reminding him that he hadn't fallen yet.

Seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster is a biological instinct. Low or mid-level Ethereals wouldn't have such thoughts—they only had the urge to tear apart everyone in front of them. High-level Ethereals, however, were different; they retained certain biological instincts.

The higher-level ones might even possess humanity. This level 5 Ethereal opposing Ye Qingfeng clearly had a certain level of intelligence.

Like a patient beast, it chased its prey unhurriedly, waiting for the moment the opponent's stamina was exhausted to take them down in one fell swoop.

With full stamina and inside a Hollow, Ye Qingfeng's combat power could be infinitely close to level 6, but because the combat power gap for every level above 4 is too large...

To put it bluntly, Ye Qingfeng at full burst could only manage to not be entangled by a level 6 combatant for a moment; he wouldn't be killed in one hit.

When his stamina was exhausted and he couldn't control his Ether ability, his combat power plummeted. Without weapons, he barely reached level 3.

With his current stamina, wanting to defeat the Ethereal in front of him was a pipe dream.

【Can the host still hold on?】

"If that Ethereal that doesn't play by the rules could give me time to rest, I'd show it why flowers are so red!"

【It's over, it's over! You've started talking nonsense.】

"Can't hold on," Ye Qingfeng said, his mouth twitching as he answered truthfully. "I can't even run away now, let alone defeat it."

【How about the host talks it out with the Ethereal? See if it can wait for you to recover some stamina?】

"Hey—wait for me to rest a bit, how about we fight another three hundred rounds?"

Ye Qingfeng shouted to the Ethereal in a negotiating tone.

It, however, looked offended, roaring as it sprinted toward him. Its massive body carried a whistling wind, and it attacked him with a heavy, powerful punch.

Ye Qingfeng's pupils suddenly dilated, and almost instinctively, he lunged to the left, narrowly avoiding the blow.

(There's more tonight; let's see if I can finish writing it today???? ДO???) ===== CHAPTER 276 =====