Chapter 306: Spatial Slash and Temporal Body

Once again back in the initial room, the surrounding Bai Yu shimmered with a cold, clear luster.

Fang Can leaned casually against the jade wall beside Hearing Liu Qingmeng, his mask reflecting cold light.

His knuckles rhythmically tapped the hilt of the Purple Plum Sword at his waist as he teased in a leisurely tone.

The black-robed old man squinted his cloudy eyes and said grumpily, "Seems the two who left first didn't fare well either.."

The brocade-clad youth suddenly stepped sideways between the old man and Fang Can, his moon-white brocade robe rippling without wind: "Young Master Fang, how do you propose we cooperate?"

"Very simple: I will lead you to the safest spot to descend until we escape this countless array of matrices." Fang Can stood beside Hearing Liu Qingmeng, speaking from the passage.

"If you truly possess this ability, on what grounds do you lead us? State your demands plainly." The black-robed old man from the Five Demons Sect spoke in an unfriendly tone.

"I can perceive the danger level of every door; aside from our initial room here, every other room contains danger."

Fang Can explained, "In that case, rather than recklessly charging through trials yourselves, let me guide the way while you descend to scout ahead for me, clearing this stage first."

The youth's intentions were utterly unmasked, yet everyone understood that if such an ability truly existed, they would indeed be willing to scout the path.

"For instance, the room you just returned from: if I and Senior Liu had attempted it together just now, it would have been far more dangerous than any other, yet you only lost four Third-Transcendence cultivators before retreating. Could you tell me what was inside that room?" Fang Can asked.

After the black-robed old man recounted what had happened, Fang Can finally understood.

Had he and Hearing Liu Qingmeng entered just now and replicated the 【Charming Blue Film】, the ensuing battle scene would have been terrifying; anyone below Fourth-Transcendence would be instantly slain in a single glance.

"After you entered that other room just now, did you feel your power further suppressed and restrained by a Sixth-Transcendence prohibition?" Fang Can asked.

"No, the suppression level is the same as in this room." Lu Zi Yi replied.

"Then it seems you were merely wandering within the same matrix layer." Fang Can said indifferently.

"What does that mean?" a martial artist asked.

"Every room here is ten meters square, and they are interconnected matrices."

As he spoke, Fang Can condensed a multi-layered Rubik's Cube shape in his palm as an example:

"The arrangement of rooms should match the shape of the cube in my hand; I am simply unsure how many rooms exist along each row and column of this matrix."

"I have already tested the spatial area of these six teleportation gates, flipping up, down, front, back, left, and right; I just passed through the left gate and arrived on the next layer."

"How do you know it was the next layer?"

A martial artist instinctively asked, "These cubes are indestructible and identical in form; there is no way to distinguish where we have gone."

"It is the degree to which power is suppressed."

A Fourth-Transcendence cultivator pondered, "As we enter deeper from this Yongle Dadian, the further inward we go, the closer we are to the surface below, and the more wrapped we become by Sixth-Transcendence prohibitions."

Following his hint, everyone recalled the Yongle Dadian's exterior appearance, resembling an inverted, intricate pagoda.

"Therefore, the more our power is suppressed, the closer we are to the Yongle Dadian's depths, and the nearer we are to the next stage."

Only then did they notice that after the youth previously confirmed their power remained unchanged, he was certain they were merely wandering within the same layer.

"So... shall we cooperate? I will guide the way while you take turns scouting ahead." Fang Can asked with a smile.

The several Fourth-Transcendence cultivators present exchanged glances, then nodded in compliance without objection.

After all, if this ability were genuine, even if Fang Can were to take the risks, they would not agree otherwise.

With the deal struck, a smile appeared on the face behind Fang Can's mask:

"Let us go. Since we can return, it means each teleportation gate leads to a fixed location. First, come with me to the next layer; the threat there has already been dealt with."

As Fang Can spoke, he walked toward the left teleportation gate; behind him, numerous Fourth- and Third-Transcendence cultivators hesitated briefly before following Fang Can in unison toward the gate.

As the space shifted, everyone immediately felt their inner power suppressed once again.

The Fourth-Transcendence cultivators' mental images dropped to Third-Transcendence, while Third-Transcendence cultivators fell to only First-Transcendence levels; clearly, they were closer to the surface below, walking the correct path.

【36】 The crowd, now accustomed to power suppression, directed their gaze toward a pile of ash not far away; the manner of death matched Xiang Hongtu's.

The crowd, already accustomed to suppression by power, turned their gaze to a pile of ash not far away, its manner of death identical to Xiang Hongtu's.

"From here on, who will scout ahead first?"

Fang Can pointed to the teleportation array swirling with radiant light at the dome: "I can sense this is the path to the lower layer, but it requires at least three Fourth-Transcendence cultivators to stabilize it."

Following Fang Can's direction, the Fourth-Transcendence cultivators hesitated, uncertain who should scout.

Just then, everyone felt their inner mental images suddenly thaw like spring ice, with layers of shackles receding.

The previously suppressed power was now gradually recovering, returning to the level of the upper layer within a brief moment.

"The spatial orientation has changed." The youth Fourth-Transcendence cultivator's expression shifted: "The position of the room we occupy has changed; we have moved upward."

"Not only space... the destination of every teleportation gate has also changed; this is likely the rule of this stage."

Fang Can, sensing the varying dangers behind each gate, said:

"From now on, we may ascend one layer at regular intervals; if we do not accelerate our descent to the lower layers, we fear we will never reach the bottom."

"The teleportation gate to the lower layer is now on the right, and the difficulty has been raised to a level where anyone below Fourth-Transcendence will surely die." Fang Can asked, "Have you not yet decided who will go?"

"I will." The youth-looking Fourth-Transcendence cultivator volunteered, then immediately, under everyone's gaze, his body vanished into the teleportation gate.

The instant the youth stepped into the new room, invisible ripples suddenly spread from the void, and countless spatial cracks erupted like a spiderweb.

Within this ten-meter-square sealed chamber, tens of thousands of transparent blade-rays bloomed from nothingness, weaving a net of heaven and earth.

Transparent cracks appeared and intersected in space, then suddenly contracted.

'Spatial Slash?'

The youth's pupils suddenly constricted, and a desire to retreat arose in his heart.

Although he considered his physical body's hardness unparalleled under heaven, he had never before encountered such spatial slashes.

Brocade fragments fluttered like butterflies as the youth's form became streaks of light and afterimages. Movements at ten times the speed of sound resonated with air explosions within the narrow chamber as he desperately avoided the lethal threats surrounding him.

Yet within this confined space, these slashes were both swift and dense.

Even with desperate maneuvering, he could not evade them; he could only strive to avoid vital points, helplessly watching as the spatial slashes easily sliced through his brocade sleeves.

Clang—

A clear, resonant sound rang out as the omnipotent-cutting spatial slash struck the youth's body, emitting a hum.

Then slash after slash of spatial attacks continuously divided the youth's body, yet only the humming sound of metal striking metal emerged.

Though his clothing kept tearing apart, the youth's physical body hadn't suffered the slightest damage.

The entire process lasted several breaths. The youth, who had endured tens of thousands of strikes head-on without so much as a single white scratch left behind, slowly let out a breath of relief.

It seemed spatial slashes couldn't cut his time-paused physical body either.

(End of chapter)