Chapter 433: Invitation

“Not bad at all.” Qimei, however, revealed a hint of admiration and laughed aloud. “You’re like me. Like your senior, Hei Yin. We were all the same when we were young!” He nodded, very satisfied with Lin Hui’s choice.

“If you want to do something, just do it. For people like us, the countless monsters in the torrent are idle every day anyway. If you don’t guide them, they’ll just destroy everything they come across. You might as well direct them toward a target you want to deal with.”

“Thank you for understanding, Teacher. So, what about joining forces with the other Calamities?” Lin Hui asked.

“You can do that if you wish. However, our Wind Calamity is a fundamental Source Calamity, different from the lesser ones. It would actually be a better choice if you could contact other Fusion Sects with the same Calamity attribute,” Qimei said.

“But I don’t know anyone like that. I do have acquaintances in Purgatory, which should make negotiations a bit easier,” Lin Hui said.

“That’s fine, too. Handle your own affairs. Purgatory, Extreme Cold Heaven, and Haiming are all considered lesser, derivative Calamities. Purgatory likely has the Drought Calamity behind it, Extreme Cold Heaven has the Cold Calamity, and Haiming has the Water Calamity. Pitting them against this… Endless Divine Domain… Interesting.” Qimei stroked his beard.

“In your opinion, Teacher, what power faction do you think we’re up against?” Lin Hui asked carefully.

“They’re not part of any faction,” Qimei shook his head. “If they had fused with any kind of Source Calamity, it would be impossible for them to possess a technique that allows them to manipulate other Powers of Calamity for combination experiments. Any Power of Calamity that can be freely and simultaneously manipulated by multiple sources can only be a derivative power.”

He paused for a moment before continuing.

“For a deep Fusionist of a Source Calamity like me, my body cannot tolerate any other Power of Calamity. The moment another gets close, it’s disintegrated. So… the other party is most likely some ambitious group trying to harness the Power of Calamity for their own use. They have some skill and have seen some results, but they’re still operating on a shallow level. That’s all.”

“Then what about that psionic energy monster?” A pale golden crystal he had previously refined appeared in Lin Hui’s hand.

Carried by a current of air, the crystal floated out and hovered before Qimei.

“This is…” Qimei caught it and examined it closely.

“It looks a bit like an Immortal Crystal Number Seven.”

“Immortal Crystal Number Seven?”

“Yes. There are many types of Immortal Crystals, hundreds of them in total. I’ve seen dozens myself. They’re naturally formed and usually only exist deep within a particular Calamity. It doesn’t have to be a Source Calamity; derivative Calamities can produce them too.” Qimei tossed the crystal in his hand.

“The so-called ‘immortality’ just means it can’t be destroyed by conventional means. If it encounters a Power of Calamity from an environment other than its own, it will still be dissolved.”

“Then what use do you see for it, Teacher?” Lin Hui asked.

“It’s just a framework. If you inject your own power into it, it’ll revert to its original state and you can use it as a disposable soldier to charge into the fray. It has no other use.” Qimei shook his head. “You can think of it as a reusable puppet.”

“I see,” Lin Hui nodded.

“Alright, leave it with me. I’ll refine it, strengthen it a bit, and add a sect insignia. It’ll be decent enough for a guard dog. You can come pick it up in about five days,” Qimei chuckled.

“Thank you, Teacher,” Lin Hui hurriedly bowed.

‘To be fair, ever since Qimei appeared, he’s really looked out for me.’

After leaving the Jiuxiao Sect, Lin Hui returned to the Sea of Consciousness. This time, he followed the connection he’d felt before, using the Sea of Consciousness to pinpoint the Duke of Purgatory’s general location.

The Sea of Consciousness was a convergence of the consciousness of all living beings, spanning countless worlds, dimensions, and planes.

Any being that developed consciousness, no matter what kind, was bound to leave a trace of itself here.

Therefore, pinpointing a location from here ignored all barriers.

By leveraging the Heart Source Demon Palace’s rapid movement within the Sea of Consciousness, Lin Hui could easily travel freely between various Realms.

「A little over an hour later.」

Lin Hui swiped a hand through the air.

He activated his authority over the Heart Source Demon Palace, tearing open a scorching, dark red rift filled with sulfurous flames.

The moment the rift opened, a massive amount of dark red magma gushed out, dripping onto the purple ground of the Sea of Consciousness and making a HISSING, scorching sound.

Lin Hui raised his hand, sensing the mark the Duke of Purgatory had once left for him.

“HAHAHAHA!! My luck is good today! Speak of the devil! I was just talking about you with a friend, and the moment your name came up, you reached out!” the Duke of Purgatory’s voice boomed from the other side of the rift.

Amidst the endless magma in the rift, a humanoid figure in black, filigreed heavy armor slowly emerged. Flames erupted continuously from within the figure. It was the Duke of Purgatory, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“I have a proposal for you. Don’t worry, it’s good news,” Lin Hui said with a smile.

‘Invading a new world together and carving up its resources is definitely good news.’

For the Fusion Sect, death and injury were never the fear; as long as the Calamity was unquenchable, so were they. What they truly feared was being unable to find the resources needed to maintain their own consciousness.

“Oh?” The Duke of Purgatory had a strong impression of Lin Hui. Although the man had unknowingly embarked on the path of Calamity fusion at first, he had later, step by step, relied on his own supreme insight to forge a heaven-defying path the Duke could never have imagined.

“I’ve discovered a promising new resource site. Interested in tackling it together? I can’t take it down alone.” Lin Hui was not yet a deep Fusionist, so he couldn’t revive through the Wind Calamity upon death. But the Duke of Purgatory was unaware of this and simply assumed that Lin Hui, like himself, had already fused completely with a Calamity.

“If even you can’t take it down, it must be tricky indeed. To be honest, I can no longer fathom your strength,” the Duke of Purgatory admitted frankly. “If even you are not enough…”

“Then perhaps I should find another partner?” Lin Hui said with a smile.

“No! In that case, I’ll have to use my main body. Besides, if that’s still not enough, I can always go find the Chaos Emperor,” the Duke of Purgatory also laughed.

A world that could tempt even a Wind Disaster Fusionist like Lin Hui was clearly ripe for the taking.

Lin Hui had heard of the Chaos Emperor, an ethereal, supreme being in Purgatory, said to rule over all and suppress all with his might.

‘This was his actual goal, anyway. If the Duke of Purgatory wasn’t strong enough, the power behind him would surely step up.’

Besides, he was quite familiar with the Power of Purgatory and a few others, making them easier to manage.

If he rashly switched to other powers, he would not only be unfamiliar with them but would also have to spend time learning their characteristics. All of that was a cost.

‘My sister can’t wait that long.’

Lin Hui immediately explained his situation to the Duke in detail.

“As for the operation itself, our forces will form the vanguard. My teacher will be on standby to provide support, and you can also dispatch your own powerful experts to handle any emergencies. The final spoils will be divided based on contribution.”

“From the sound of it, this Endless Divine Domain is indeed a juicy prize. Ruling over so many planets… it’s not much different from that great world we tried to take on before,” the Duke of Purgatory said, stroking his chin.

“Did you succeed last time?” Lin Hui asked casually.

“No… We were beaten back dozens of times before everyone finally gave up. The returns were too low. It wasn’t worth it,” the Duke of Purgatory said, shaking his head.

“That’s why this time I plan to contact several other powers, to launch a comprehensive, synchronized assault,” Lin Hui nodded.

“That won’t be easy. If we just open a gate like before, we’ll probably be pushed back immediately,” the Duke warned. “This world is quite powerful on its own.”

“That’s why we should take a more gradual approach. We’ll infiltrate it first. I’ve already found a safe way to blend in,” Lin Hui said with a smile.

‘The reversal of the Nether Acupoint, combined with the Heart Source Demon Palace’s projection method, plus the continuous, cross-spatial projection of the Source Disaster Power’s stellar energy—all these insights have fused together to form the special reincarnation Dharma Gate I’m now using.’

“We also have some effective concealment Dharma Gates. We can exchange notes when the time comes,” the Duke nodded. “We should be as stealthy as possible.”

“Agreed.”

After finalizing the arrangements with the Duke, Lin Hui turned his attention to locating Extreme Cold Heaven.

He was familiar with Extreme Cold Heaven because one of his own disciples was a preliminary Fusionist of it. He had long since mastered how to deal with and manage that type of power.

Soon, after guiding the Heart Source Demon Palace through the purple mist for some distance, Lin Hui sat cross-legged on the steps before the Demon Palace’s gate. He waved his hand again, tearing open the air.

A dark blue rift appeared abruptly.

A terrifying chill instantly surged from the rift as the Power of Calamity from Extreme Cold Heaven attempted to spread outward.

But Lin Hui waved his hand, using the Wind Disaster Power to immediately force it back.

This was different from Purgatory. There, he had an acquaintance, which made contact easy. In Extreme Cold Heaven, he knew no one of consequence.

Without hesitation, Lin Hui stepped forward and flew into the rift.

Relying on a novice Fusionist like his disciple was not enough to secure a partnership with Extreme Cold Heaven.

So, he had to go in person to find some of the heavy hitters.

The Wind of Surrounding faithfully enveloped him, protecting him from the encroaching, extreme cold.

Crossing the rift was like entering a frigid, underwater world.

Everything around him was dark blue, as if he were in the deep sea.

But upon closer inspection, Lin Hui determined that the dark blue wasn’t water, but an incredibly dense mist of extreme cold.

He judged himself to be floating in mid-air, surrounded on all sides—above, below, and around—by the dark blue mist.

‘Slowly searching for someone isn’t my style. I might as well just announce my arrival.’

Without hesitation, he slowly reached out, drew his Tai Chi Divine Sword, and held it level before him.

“Wind!”

BOOM!!!

In an instant, streaks of pale blue light, like rifts in space, flashed open behind him.

Generally, according to the progression of the Power of Calamity, invading a world required three stages.

The Infection Phase, the Fusion Phase, and finally, the Rift Phase.

However, a powerful expert could directly tear through the fabric of a world, shattering the limits of its Realm and skipping the first two phases to enter the Rift Phase directly.

This was exactly what Lin Hui was doing now.

WHOOSH!

A torrent of violent, blue Wind Disaster Power surged in, forcibly beginning to disintegrate the endless Extreme Cold Power behind Lin Hui.

The lower-tier Extreme Cold Power gave way before the Wind Disaster Power, and a large area around Lin Hui was quickly cleared.

The collision between the two types of Disaster Energy was incredibly fierce, quickly forming a ring-shaped blue ripple in the surrounding space.

However, this ripple neither expanded nor shrank, remaining in a state of equilibrium.

This wasn’t because the Wind Calamity was unable to expand further, but because Lin Hui was holding back. After all, he was just announcing his arrival.