Chapter 400 - 275: High-Level Energy Crystal (2)

Chapter 400: Chapter 275: High-Level Energy Crystal (2)

This was a refined specialization that emerged only when the art of Beast Taming became highly advanced. It was also an extremely profound field that could be classified under Nurturing.

’Although I can’t find a Lord Level Energy Core or a Wood Core Night Nether City, there are plenty of Star Core Fragments.’

He instinctively glanced up at the three nearby Star Cores, his eyes burning with desire.

Switching to Egg Pancake’s interface, he saw several food items listed below.

[1. Lord Level Energy Core...]

[2. Red Radiance Fruit Honey Glazed Giant Rock Pork: A delicious, meticulously prepared meat dish rich in Fire and Earth Elements. Suitable for most flesh-and-blood Soul Beasts, excluding porcine types. Boosts a Soul Beast’s morale, enhances its constitution, and accelerates the recovery of Physical Strength and Spiritual Energy.]

...

All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm—

[1. Lord Level Energy Core...]

[2. The hearts of all flesh-and-blood Soul Beasts]

[3. Flower of Decay: A flower that grows in the Netherworld. Consuming it gradually improves control over Dark Energy.]

Fei Lin—

[This Soul Beast has reached its maximum level. It is recommended to first break through to the Lord Level before unlocking its recipes.]

He quickly flipped through the interface for each of his Soul Beasts. Not only did they all have their own special food, but there were even suitable recipes for himself.

[1. Starlight Broth: A delicious broth made by simmering the brain of a Starlight Race Beast Master. It enhances Spiritual Power and increases Star Force Affinity.]

[2. Grilled Savage Blood Steak: Enhances one’s constitution. Long-term consumption can gradually raise one’s racial limit.]

...

Aside from a few items, Han Ning had never heard of, let alone seen, the vast majority of these foods.

’One thing at a time. The top priority right now is to help Fei Lin evolve.’

’Perfect. There must be a spatial fissure between the Main World and the Netherworld. When I’m there, I can also try to absorb the Power of Void near the fissure.’

After Fei Lin reached the limit of the War General Level, two evolution branches appeared:

[Count of Pain: Primary Attribute: Spiritual Energy. Element: Dark. Talent: B]

[Silent Watcher: Primary Attributes: Agility, Power. Support Attribute: Spiritual Energy. Elements: Dark, Curse. Talent: B+]

Perhaps because Fei Lin had a solid foundation, the materials required for her to evolve into the B+ Talent Silent Watcher were half as difficult to obtain as the materials needed for Egg Pancake’s evolution.

Based on his analysis of the information gathered from the Abyssal Rock Ant, the Dragon Blood, and the Hexagon Race, Han Ning concluded that even if Fei Lin took the path of the Silent Watcher, they could gather all the necessary materials with their current resources.

Therefore... he chose the second evolution path for Fei Lin without any hesitation.

Most of the materials for Fei Lin’s evolution had been collected over the past six months. The only thing missing was the eye of a Soul Beast called the Death Shadow.

This Soul Beast lived within the Netherworld. If its eye was removed from the Netherworld, it would dissolve into a cloud of Energy after about half an hour, making it extremely time-sensitive.

Hom had once advised him that it was best to wait until his Spiritual Power reached Tier Four before entering the Netherworld as a Spiritual Body. Doing so would significantly reduce the danger. If he entered with the strength of a Tier Three, he risked his physical body withering and his spirit collapsing.

Furthermore, upon entering the Netherworld, powerful flesh-and-blood Soul Beasts like Egg Pancake and the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm would be severely suppressed by its rules. Therefore, the only Soul Beasts he could deploy were Yin Yi and Fei Lin.

...

After taking some time to arrange matters in Night Nether City, Han Ning wasted no time in heading to the entrance of the Netherworld.

He had already taken a backseat in his role as the study group’s deputy leader, handing over all personnel organization duties to Leon and Academician Zhou Mingkai.

As expected of a leading expert in his field on Blue Star, Zhou Mingkai had raised his Spiritual Power to Tier Three in just half a year, surpassing nearly 99% of his peers.

Furthermore, his mastery of Spiritual Arrays far surpassed others; even Han Ning and Leon fell slightly short. Only Hom and Sage had a deeper understanding.

Zhou Mingkai’s achievement proved one thing to everyone yet again: the more knowledge a person possessed—or rather, the more developed their brain was—the faster they could advance their Cultivation of the Spiritual Meditation Technique.

However... once he reached Tier Three, even the exceptionally talented Academician Zhou’s Cultivation speed slowed down. Overall, his progress still couldn’t compare to the cheat-like speed of Han Ning.

...

The so-called entrance to the Netherworld was located right beneath Night Nether City, so there was no need for a long, arduous journey. He just had to follow the path detailed in the records left behind by the Alataku People and explore downwards.

Han Ning found a remote corner far from the teaching area and, with the help of Egg Pancake’s digging ability, headed straight down.

"SQUEAK, SQUEAK!"

Earth Element roiled around Egg Pancake’s claws like churning mud. Like a relentless digging machine, it burrowed swiftly into the earth.

The underground beneath Night Nether City was even more silent and decrepit than he had imagined. Aside from a few scattered Soul Beast skeletons, not a single Soul Beast lived there.

Only wisps of dense Dark Energy surged from the depths, bringing with them waves of a sinister chill.

About half an hour later, with a final, violent churn from Egg Pancake, the surrounding hard rock suddenly collapsed downward, revealing a wide space below.

Clearly, the Alataku People had been here before and had left something behind.

Han Ning’s gaze shifted, looking more than a hundred meters away.

A circular "altar" constructed entirely from Soul Beast remains stood silently in the pitch-black environment.

Of course, with his current spiritual level, he could see his surroundings with perfect clarity even without a single speck of light.

The ground had long since been stained a dark black by blood.

In the center of the altar, a two-meter-tall, irregular "fissure" emitting a hazy white light hung suspended in the air.

A faint, gray mist seeped from the fissure, slowly dissipating into the air.

’The entrance to the Netherworld?’

Seeing this fissure, Han Ning recalled what Hom had once said.

The area around a naturally formed Netherworld fissure was always dangerous.

This fissure, however, was clearly the work of the Alataku People. The surroundings were unnaturally quiet, devoid of any living creatures.

’If this is the Shallow Abyss, then a Netherworld fissure should mean this is basically the bottom of the Abyss. Any deeper... and I’d be in the Star’s core region. But... the Insect Continent is a special, isolated landmass shrouded in mist. Can it really lead to the Star Core Region?’

Limited by his current knowledge, Han Ning felt that if it really did lead to the Star Core Region, wouldn’t that mean he could travel to other places through the Star Core without having to sail across the surface? There had to be a hidden catch he wasn’t aware of.

Reading between the lines of what Hom and Sage had said, he inferred that the Purple Crystal World was likely a vast planet, not one of the unique, multi-layered Great Worlds from fantasy novels.

"Good work, Egg Pancake. Go get some rest. I’ll leave the rest to Yin Yi and Fei Lin."

Han Ning patted Egg Pancake’s head, recalled it to his Soul Beast Space, and then summoned Yin Yi and Fei Lin.

"CHIRP~ Okay, Egg Pancake is going to sleep now!" Egg Pancake gently nuzzled its master’s palm before vanishing in a flash of fiery light.

"Yee!"

The moment she appeared, already riding atop the Star Dream Unicorn, Fei Lin was immediately captivated by the aura of death emanating from the Netherworld fissure.

The Star Dream Unicorn snorted and carried its rider swiftly over to the fissure.

Fei Lin’s eyes widened as if she had just encountered the most exquisite delicacy, and she took a deep breath of the emanating mist.

The aimlessly drifting gray mist instantly formed a thin stream that she inhaled.

’This gray mist is rich with Death Energy. It’s a flavor Fei Lin enjoys.’

Han Ning didn’t stop Fei Lin, nor did he rush inside. Instead, he approached the fissure under Yin Yi’s protection.

He gazed at the fissure, which swirled slowly like a vortex, obscuring any view of what lay within. He sent out his Spiritual Power, forming a great net that resembled a "Bird Cage," and cast it into the fissure.