Chapter 496: Lei Ousi

"Then… esteemed elder."

Fang Xing looked at the old man, a faint smile appearing on his face—as if the man's appearance was no surprise at all.

After all, besides the Dark Divine Spirit, a Secret History worm had also perished here, and its death most profoundly affected the Secret History Divine Spirit.

And it was within the Aether Realm—of course he would come!

Moreover, perhaps other divine spirits had likewise cast their gazes here!

But Fang Xing felt no fear: "What do you have to give me?"

After all, he had just eliminated a great enemy for the other.

Just by observing the Crow Shadow's actions, it was clear it bore ill will toward the Secret History Divine Spirit.

Fang Xing did the work—he naturally deserved payment.

Otherwise, don't blame him for taking it himself.

"Naturally."

The old man adjusted his glasses, then suddenly snapped off one of his fingers and offered it to Fang Xing.

Fang Xing accepted it without hesitation, and in an instant, the finger shimmered and transformed into a crystal, within which countless Secret History worms burrowed.

If the previous crystal had been the divine essence of the Dark Angel, this one was the divine essence of a Divine Spirit!

How many times more precious was it? A thousandfold? Ten thousandfold?

Fang Qiong glanced at it once, and immediately felt a flood of Secret History secrets surging into her mind.

Among them were ancient Lan-era languages and arts… court secrets… even secret incantations and forbidden rituals…

The torrent of historical knowledge overwhelmed her, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.

"Hmm. This is precisely what I need—I'll accept it without ceremony."

Fang Xing calmly took the worm-crystal, clearly very satisfied.

In the future, he intended to ascend to the position of God-Over-Gods—he would certainly need to study the essence of the Six Gods.

Now that the Dark Divine Spirit was imprisoned by him, and the Secret History Divine Spirit had already severed a portion of its essence for him…

He had already completed one-third of the progress!

The remaining four? Either scare them, or charge straight at them… with the authority gained from imprisoning the Dark Divine Spirit, he had a very good chance of completing them easily!

'Next, naturally, I'll push the Six Void Art to Master-level perfection… then, I'll devour the essence of the Six Gods and become the true 'Sun' Aether Divine Spirit!'

'No matter where the Creator is preparing what… as long as I achieve this, he will surely die!'

Fang Xing's heart surged with excitement.

If he won this struggle for fate and Dao, the rewards would be incalculable!

…

Time flew like a shuttle.

In the blink of an eye, decades passed.

Black Ring City.

Inside a mineral factory.

Boom! Boom!

The massive furnace roared like a beast's maw, continuously swallowing various fine ores.

Beside the boiler, several figures, utterly blackened from head to toe, swung their shovels nonstop, dumping vast quantities of coal into the furnace.

From dawn till dusk, they never stopped.

Only when the whistle blew and another shift arrived to relieve them did Old Benson finally exhale, wiping his face with a towel.

On his face, coal dust and sweat were hopelessly mixed, indistinguishable.

Even the towel was blackened through and through.

Dragging his exhausted body out of the factory, some of his coworkers nearby were too worn out to speak, while others still managed a few words.

"Did you hear? John died…"

"So soon? He'd only been here two years!"

"They say he got black lung disease…"

Old Benson didn't flinch, hugged the paper bag containing black bread, and returned to his room.

"Cough… cough…"

In the next instant, a violent tearing sensation shot through his lungs, causing him to cough uncontrollably—blood spattered from his mouth.

"I… am I going to die too?"

Old Benson wasn't old—he was under forty—but he had worked in factories for over twenty years.

In this era, that was remarkable; he had earned the nickname "Immortal Benson," though mostly as a dark joke among his coworkers.

Old Benson didn't know why—he simply had extraordinary vitality. He'd nearly died several times from illness, yet always survived.

But this time… was this truly the end?

"Cough… cough… this life… it's over… but no!! I must live! I will live!"

Old Benson didn't know why his will to survive was so fierce.

He barely propped himself up on the table, preparing to find the powdered medicine hidden beneath his pillow—sold to him by a wandering witch, said to be made from white bat crystal sand and special herbs, dried and ground into powder, capable of curing many diseases.

But…

His body had clearly reached its limit—he stumbled, the world spun violently, and he collapsed heavily.

Thud!

Old Benson's skull struck the ground, and his vision went black.

At this threshold between life and death, an unusual light erupted within his eyes.

"I… Illusion…"

"I've been dragged into the Dao Struggle by a mere ant…"

"I am Old Benson… no, I am Lei Ousi… a Grand Master of the Fa-Zhen Realm…" "Damn it… this reincarnation took so many years to awaken."

Old Benson slowly rolled over and sat up, gasping heavily: "The mortal body… is far too frail."

As for the witch's medicine, one whiff told him it was pure fraud.

"No! I haven't won yet—meaning that worm still lives! I must not only survive, I must gain power! This world, having received my investment… must contain transcendent power!"

Old Benson—no, Lei Ousi—his expression turned fierce.

Suddenly, his expression shifted; he curled his right index finger and tapped his forehead three times.

In Lei Ousi's vision, a deep blue ocean appeared before him; from its depths, a bubble rose, breaking the surface.

It burst, revealing a cluster of text:

【Suffering torments my body, my inspiration leaps into dreams… I need a key to pass through the invisible gate…】

【Slice open the skin of the real world, and let the hidden things surge forth…】

…

"So… the extraordinary secrets lie within?"

Lei Ousi fell into thought.

This ocean and its bubbles were his own "golden finger" he had crafted.

Though the final technique the worm had used surpassed even his imagination, creating a world was his inherent right.

He could still afford to create a few conveniences for himself by investing more.

'Given the difficulty of awakening in this world, that worm should not yet have awakened… after all, his rank is far weaker than mine… yet he truly survives… could he have been reborn into a wealthy merchant's or noble family?'

At this thought, Lei Ousi grew restless.

He must gain transcendent power as soon as possible!

Fortunately, his golden finger had exactly that function.

This ocean was the subconscious sea; each bubble that surfaced represented a guidance.

Interpreting the guidance and following it could grant him what he desired.

Moreover, the ocean's function extended beyond this—but only after he entered the transcendent realm would more secrets reveal themselves!

"Beneath the real world lies a transcendent realm… clearly, this world's transcendent power is hidden, concealed by the authorities."

Lei Ousi, being a Grand Master of the Thirteenth Realm, understood this swiftly.

"To access the transcendent, one must enter through dreams… through a certain gate within dreams?"

"Fortunately, the threshold is low."

Lei Ousi felt relieved—given Old Benson's complete lack of savings, his wages barely covered weekly expenses, and his landlord frequently came to demand rent—if he needed vast sums of money, he might as well hang himself or switch careers to banditry, a far more promising profession.

"Dreams? Though I haven't yet touched the transcendent, my control and subconscious are supreme—I can still exert special influence within dreams…"

Lei Ousi forced himself to swallow the coarse black bread, finishing every bite, then drank a cup of water. His body was ill—he needed nourishment and rest.

Moments later, he lay on the bed and drifted into sleep: "Too bad… the 'Deep Sea' only gives one hint at a time."

…

Within the dream.

Everything was bizarre and surreal.

Lei Ousi gathered his mind and manifested himself within the dream: "Indeed… controlling the subconscious is no challenge for me."

He looked around and saw a ruined factory: "Next… I must find the invisible gate, and enter the transcendent world."

Lei Ousi, as a Fa-Zhen Grand Master, possessed vision and insight far beyond ordinary beings.

With guidance, he wasted no time—using his dream as a foundation, he entered the Aether Realm, becoming a so-called "Wanderer."

BOOM!

In an instant, heaven and earth changed.

In the Aether Realm, bizarre scenes more surreal than dreams were everywhere; six pure lights constantly shrouded the high heavens.

Above the six pure lights floated a solitary celestial body of pure white, eternal and motionless.

"Ah… the taste of transcendence."

A flicker of delight passed through Lei Ousi's eyes: "Just let me get used to it, and I'll surely…"

"Illegal wanderer, how dare you enter the Aether Realm without authorization?"

At that moment, a female bald figure suddenly flapped her wings and descended from the sky, fixing her gaze on Lei Ousi.

"Transcendent…"

Lei Ousi's heart stirred—he sensed the danger in this bald woman: "What illegal wanderer?"

"The Aether Realm is now under our Vajra Sect's control—it is our territory… you wandering here without permission counts as 'illegal wandering'…"

The bald woman studied Lei Ousi for a moment, then showed a look of pity: "You… you seem to know nothing about the Hidden Realm. You're just a poor fool who stumbled in by accident."

"Y-yes…"

Lei Ousi feigned helplessness: "I—I'm just a coal shovel worker. I don't even know how I got here."

"No matter. Occasionally, mortals arrive here through dreams. I'll take you to our Heart Division's Dharma King. Once she confirms your status, everything will be fine."

The bald woman grew somewhat friendlier.

"Heart Division… Dharma King?" Lei Ousi truly didn't understand.

"Yes. Our Vajra Sect has six divisions, each led by a Dharma King. In our Heart Division, it is the 'Luminous Dharma King' who commands all—she decides if you live, and you live; she decides if you die, and you die!"

The bald woman explained as if it were obvious.

(End of Chapter)