Chapter 00082: Looking Down (Thanks to Ning Ricardo for being the master)
# Looking Down (Thanks to Ning Ricardo for being the master)
Chapter 82
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 82: Looking Down (Thanks to Ning Ricardo for being the master)
Thus, bit by bit, carefully and cautiously, Ji Jue edged toward the border of the defensive realm.
He took three steps forward and then retreated two, tentatively dipping one foot in, then both, and finally… his whole body, along with the cart, stepped inside.
Nothing happened.
The darkness, towering like a sheer cliff, began to part in the center, clearing a path for him.
One might even imagine that if it had a mind of its own, it would hang a banner saying “Welcome Home, Master”...
With no fuss, no turbulence, he had entered!
Not only Ji Jue, but the two shadows sneaking in behind him also froze in place, glancing at each other in confusion.
“What is going on?”
“Could it be that too many people rushed in ahead, and there’s no energy left now?” another whispered.
In the moment they snapped back to reality, they stood tall and walked toward the center.
Then… they screamed and fled in utter panic as they were bombarded by thunder and flames.
Following that, the darkness roiled, and with a howl, everything was cleaned out.
Silence reigned.
In the deepest part of the dark, a heavy door lay shattered, collapsing to the ground.
Debris was strewn about in the equally devastated lobby, looking as though it had been struck by a violent hurricane, with countless signs of explosions still faintly tinged with blood and charred remains.
“This is too reckless!”
Ji Jue caught a whiff of an eerie burnt smell in the air, forcing himself to suppress the urge to gasp.
Did someone really plow their face straight into the bushes?
This was the heart of the workshop, the workshop of the sages...
Detecting the faint remnants of spiritual circuits in the air, Ji Jue could almost feel how over-the-top the traps and defenses triggered by those earlier intruders were.
After four hundred years, the security of the center had diminished significantly, yet it was still powerful enough to crush him a few hundred times.
Just entering the doorway had already made Ji Jue contemplate turning back.
After all, crushing those destined ones, who hadn’t even reached the stage of reincarnation, would be child’s play for a sage.
Any real defenses would definitely be set up at a level equal to their own...
To expand the workshop's reach and control the entire rift, she had stripped away almost everything that could be sacrificed or omitted, leaving only a bare minimum.
With things like this, he completely couldn’t understand what she was thinking!
Once they stepped into the center, even the ghostly worker ball that had been lazily observing stopped slacking off.
It disassembled from Ji Jue’s arms, emitting a gentle blue light that faintly enveloped them, helping to shield them from the workshop's surveillance and detection.
Ji Jue’s authority allowed him entry through the door, but who knew what internal management rules existed? If something went wrong and triggered an unusual mechanism, it would be disastrous.
【Stealth Procedure Initiating—】A mechanical voice droned on: 【Element Collection Complete, Loading Analysis Sequence, Load Complete, Spiritual Perception Activated】
In an instant, it was impossible to discern just how dramatically the internal workings of the ghostly worker ball altered.
With the weaving of various blessings, the overall outline and structure of the workshop center materialized in Ji Jue’s mind, directly showcasing effects formed from the blessings of transmutation and ether.
Spiritual Perception—able to visually and perceptually observe all changes, movements, and operating trends of spiritual essence, as if a coloring agent had been poured into clear water, making everything crystal clear...
There was no time to teach Ji Jue about what colors and symbols represented which noble virtues or types of spiritual transformations.
It was as if an entire thick manual filled with explanations was crushed and crammed into Ji Jue’s soul, forcibly embedding memories until his vision went dark.
When he opened his eyes again, the world had transformed entirely.
Every tremor and tumult lay within his sight.
“Come, let me see—”
Ji Jue grinned, letting out a sound that every chosen one on the ether path would make, then… he felt himself go blind.
Light!
Excessive brightness flashed before him, blinding him, as if a thousand flashbangs had detonated at once.
The overwhelming amount of information and impact struck his forehead like a hammer.
Fortunately, with the operations and shields of the ghostly worker ball, that brilliance was soon reduced to a faint glow.
Then, it was as if a curtain had been pulled back; the vibrant scene hidden behind the blinding light finally unveiled itself.
What appeared to be merely a grand hall from the outside revealed an astonishingly vast space inside, continuously shifting and expanding.
Like a living being, endless transformations unfolded.
It was as transparent as glass, shimmering with glimmers of spiritual essence and noble qualities everywhere.
Through the barriers of the walls, Ji Jue could see fierce flashes of light erupting in every corner of the center, whether from the natural fluctuations of the circuits running or from the destruction and resistance of the intruders.
Unable to hold back, Ji Jue inhaled sharply several times.
“You all truly have your own unique skills!”
It was like a safety officer on their first day at the construction site, gazing up at each extraordinary and bizarre scene, too wild to bear to look directly at.
Some bluntly crashed against the center’s defenses, others, like the wealthy scion, relied on numbers and weaponry to exploit and dismantle things, while some flew around like headless flies, and others even packed golden decorations from the walls into bags...
It was as if red-hot iron balls had been suddenly thrown into a pool of water, igniting a boiling reaction of spiritual essence, turning the tranquil depths into a menacing scene.
Among these, the most eye-catching was a whirlpool of mixed colors, transforming into a pitch-black torrent of spiritual essence that looked terrifying, constantly changing its form!
In that moment, the torrent rampaged throughout the center, even preying on other intruding chosen ones.
Normally, after just one glance, their signals vanished completely, swallowed by that thick, dark mass...
He couldn’t figure out how such a bizarre thing came to be!
【Spiritual Essence Analysis Completed—Determined to be, Dragon Sacrifice Society】
The moment the ghostly worker ball gave this judgment, Ji Jue felt darkness envelop him again.
What the heck, it’s you again!
Why are you everywhere!?
Ji Jue shivered in anger, unable to fathom why such a tremendous bomb had suddenly dropped into the pond.
Was it possible that the old ghost Lawrence finally won the resurrection match?!
Especially when he saw the reference level number marked by the ghostly worker ball...
Eighth stage?!
What nonsense is this?
Having crossed the calls and transformations to reach the reincarnation stage, he was already three major realms above Ji Jue, who had barely stepped through the door!
No, how did they get in? Didn’t they say this round is restricted?!
Boom!
In a moment of distraction, a powerful shock erupted, as if an invisible tide swept past.
The ground shook and skies trembled.
Not just at the center and below; it was as if the entire rift was experiencing unprecedented turmoil, continuing to break and crack.
The ceiling above the center split quickly… The sea of spiritual essence boiled with rumbles and disrupted rainbows.
Faint bell tones echoed.
As if an illusion, they reverberated in the ears of every soul.
The vast center shook violently, its internal structure swiftly changing, almost like a living maze that expanded again, evolving into endless structures and transformations!
Literally, the world turned upside down.
Ji Jue nearly found himself slammed into the ceiling, but soon the ceiling spun back down to his feet, as he and the little cow panickedly clung to the inverted floor, staring in terror and squeaking loudly.
It was fortunate that Ji Jue was quick on his feet, catching the prophet who had fallen out of the cart.
“What’s going on?”
He looked around in shock: “This scene feels like something straight out of an old horror movie I’ve seen before.”
“It’s merely adaptive change, hardly a defensive program,” the prophet said calmly. “Fluid alchemy is the art of material compatibility with essence. Under external stimuli, the center expands its domain and alters its internal space to maintain its original function. You can view the entire center as a living space, constantly in flux. All sequences prepare for a reboot. Our time is running short.”
“What do we do next?” Ji Jue scanned his surroundings, where stairs were rising and falling, and doors appeared and vanished along the walls: “Are we supposed to open a mystery box?”
“Do you think a mercury fish would take the stairs with a map?” The prophet seemed to chuckle. “The center is a continually changing lock, and all intruders who fail to grasp its rules and essence will be trapped in infinite modifications. Fluid alchemy is the key—Ji Jue, you must learn to look down, not up.”
“Huh?”
Ji Jue looked down, only seeing the constantly changing patterns on the floor, utterly befuddled.
“Not just any down, but looking ‘down’ in essence. Ignore the superficial representations, bypass the materiality, and pursue the essence. To look upward leads to complexity and distance; to look downward allows you to seize the quintessence. One is form, the other is spirit.”
The prophet spoke slowly, “Form and use are paths of chaos, while spirit and truth provide pure essence—don’t let those chaotic applications and theories confuse you. Retrace the essence, adjust the essence, control the essence; this is the true core of fluid alchemy.”
Ji Jue stood frozen, dazed, gazing at the spiritual perception before him.
Countless flashing lights changed and danced, rising and falling, intertwining, the entire world moved like constellations in the night sky, as if invisible hands controlled everything, descending from unseen heights and effortlessly managing all.
Including himself.
The center, the underground, and the entire rift—the invisible threads wove like fine strings, entangling themselves between those unseen fingers, issuing predetermined commands, causing infinite changes and extensions with just a slight adjustment.
From one to all.
The invisible fluid intertwined into countless currents.
Being caught within would only lead to confusion and disorientation.
But to break free and look at the bigger picture, one must—【look down】!
Down.
“... So, I'm not here to find a road.”
Ji Jue murmured, as if a spark of clarity suddenly burst through his mind: “I’m here to let the path reveal itself at my feet, right?”
To control the workshop, to make way for himself.
So simple.
But unfortunately, he couldn’t do it.
He wasn’t a sage; he was far from the mastery stage, practically overestimating his abilities.
“So, perhaps reversing the application would work as well.”
Ji Jue whispered decisively, causing the prophet's expression to pause slightly, words he intended to voice halting mid-sentence, staring back in astonishment.
For the first time, he realized this terrifying talent, unseen for four hundred years.
Certainly, for Ji Jue, an inexperienced novice, attempting to control the workshop was highly unrealistic.
But he could control himself!
Through fluid alchemy, interfering with himself, making himself a part of the center, truly engaging in the operation of the center...
Even to genuinely integrate into it!
For others, this might also seem like a far-fetched dream.
But for a mechanic descending from the heavens, it was merely a breeze!
In fact, it only took an instant...
With a snap of his fingers, the mechanic had already captured the great stirring resonating throughout the entire rift, not for communication or domination, but as a part of the entire workshop; Ji Jue had seamlessly melded himself into it with the authority granted by the old furnace.
An indescribable, horrifying roar erupted within Ji Jue’s skull, echoing the sound of the world turning, even if it was just a ripple of the aftermath, it still weighed heavily upon him.
But as blood seeped from his mouth and nose, Ji Jue’s eyes grew increasingly bright.
From the observation in spiritual perception, everything in tumult became surprisingly clear, intricate operations appeared as if they were self-evident, laid bare without pretense.
The operations of countless rooms—contracting, expanding, being born and destroyed—became as clear as day.
He felt like dust, passively rotating within a colossal cube.
Yet now, the cube had revealed a sliver of its mystery, exposing the inner workings behind it...
Crack!
In the midst of the fierce vibrations, a fissure suddenly appeared on the rotating wall opposite, exposing intricate structures consistently changing behind it, revealing a narrow passage whose end remained unknown.
“Hold on tight, Little An.”
Ji Jue neglected to wipe the blood from his nose, laughing heartily as he turned the throttle: “We’re hitching a ride!”
The engine roared.
They rushed forth, diving into the darkness!
Sorry for the late update.
Currently, my temperature has some intermittent fluctuations, but the headache is gone.
After overcoming the major symptoms, I’m now tormented by countless minor ones; it feels like there's not a single good spot on me, and it's so uncomfortable.
(The chapter is complete)