124: Strength skyrocketed

After handing over the body of the Man in Black to the specialist sent by Hou Wu, Zhang Sheng did not linger for a moment and immediately dove into Cultivation.

However, very quickly, all the Cultivators within the Secret Realm noticed something unusual—the concentration of Spiritual Qi within the Secret Realm was plummeting at a terrifying speed!

The rate of decay was almost visible to the naked eye.

According to Zhang Sheng's calculations, the total amount of Spiritual Qi contained in this Secret Realm, if converted into refined Spiritual Qi value, was around one billion, which could support him in condensing at most one hundred spirit suns.

As it turned out, in less than half a day, he had already refined ninety percent of the Spiritual Qi in the Secret Realm!

At this moment, above his Dantian Qi Sea, one hundred and twenty-three spirit suns hung high, emitting terrifying Spiritual Qi fluctuations that were heart-palpitating.

The Primordial Chaos Heavenly Art also rose with the tide, advancing into the Proficient Realm.

"If I continue to Cultivate like this for another week, I might be able to push this Cultivation Technique to the Transcendent Realm," Zhang Sheng calculated in his mind.

After draining the Spiritual Qi of this Secret Realm, Zhang Sheng rushed without pause to the second nearby Secret Realm.

Unexpectedly, he happened to run into Song Xian here—or to be precise, a Clone of Song Xian.

The other party was also devouring the Spiritual Qi of the Secret Realm like a whale.

Song Xian was likely the only person on Earth to have cultivated the Primordial Chaos Heavenly Art to the Transcendent Realm.

The Cultivation Technique operated on its own, refining Spiritual Qi, and the Qi Sea naturally produced spirit suns.

Therefore, he did not need to focus on performing the great circulation, but was instead distracted by Cultivating another Spell—the very Moon Slash provided by Zhang Sheng.

Judging by his spellcasting speed and power, it had clearly already reached the Proficient Realm.

The two exchanged glances from afar, tacitly understanding each other, then each occupied a side and continued to Cultivate.

But soon, Song Xian's brows furrowed tightly.

"The surrounding Spiritual Qi... why has it become so thin?"

He looked up in confusion, only to see a massive, suffocating vortex of Spiritual Qi hanging in the sky.

The vortex was like a greedy giant mouth, frantically devouring the Spiritual Qi for a hundred miles around, making the Spiritual Qi around him pitifully thin!

"What a monster!" Song Xian cursed inwardly. "If I can't afford to provoke him, can't I at least hide?"

He moved, instantly flying a hundred miles away. "Now it should be quiet!"

However, just a moment later, his brows furrowed even deeper.

The feeling of drastic fluctuations in Spiritual Qi concentration returned, and what was worse, the peaks and valleys of each fluctuation were significantly shifting downward.

This meant that the total amount of Spiritual Qi within the entire Secret Realm was depleting at an alarming rate!

"Could it be... Zhang Sheng?"

Although he was extremely unwilling to admit it, his reason coldly told him: Who else could it be but him?

"Zhang Sheng, oh Zhang Sheng... has the gap between us really reached such a level?" Song Xian smiled bitterly and helplessly,

no longer hesitating, he transformed into a stream of light and flew directly out of this soon-to-be-depleted Secret Realm.

He had to seize the initiative and head to the next Secret Realm.

...

Previously, a blue-grade Jade Slip provided by Hou Wu recorded the key to breaking through to the True Fetus Realm.

The next Realm after the Divine Breath Realm was the True Fetus Realm.

Although there was no definitive method for the Breakthrough, the three treasures of "essence, Qi, and spirit" were the Foundation.

Top-tier Cultivators without exception tempered all three to the limit, then supplemented it with the secret method of condensing the True Embryo, only then could they successfully break through the Realm.

"For Body Refining, I have the Nine Tribulations Secret Codex. Currently, the blood and Qi contained in my crimson heart palace are already extremely vast. Once the Divine Breath Chapter reaches Perfection, it should be no problem.

For Qi Refining, I have the Primordial Chaos Heavenly Art, a top-tier Cultivation Technique that has been passed down.

The only thing is Mental Energy..." Zhang Sheng examined himself,

"Whether it is the Mysterious Spider Thought Binding Method or the Spirit Condensing Art, although they have been cultivated to the Perfected State, their grade is clearly far inferior to the first two."

"Forget it, I will first focus all my effort on cultivating the Primordial Chaos Heavenly Art and the Nine Tribulations Secret Codex to Perfection.

If my Mental Energy is still a weak point... then I'll just Cultivate a few more Cultivation Techniques and win by quantity!"

Zhang Sheng stopped worrying, calmed his heart and focused his mind, fully operating the great circulation to continue refining Spiritual Qi.

At the same time, inside a top-tier laboratory in Huaxia.

Several top scientific researchers wearing white lab coats were dissecting and analyzing the body of the Man in Black that Zhang Sheng had sent over.

"Professor! Professor!" An Shenhu, a researcher in the testing room, rushed into the dissection room with an excited face. "The DNA analysis results are out! There's a major discovery!"

"Xiao An!" The professor pulled a straight face. "How many times have I emphasized this to you? This is a restricted laboratory area; loud noises and rash behavior are strictly prohibited! If you do this again, don't come back!"

"I'm sorry, Professor!" An Shenhu immediately bowed his head to apologize, his voice trembling with a hint of lingering fear.

Having experienced the edge of life and death in several Secret Realm crusades, the nightmares of those Yao Beast roars and sharp claws tearing through bodies haunted him every night, making him realize who he truly was—he could not overcome his deep-seated fear of battle and death.

Eventually, relying on his SS-Rank Talent "Eye of True Penetration," he left the First Cultivation University and transferred to this top-tier research institute.

Here, his Talent received unprecedented attention. This recognition ignited all his passion, causing him to pour all his energy into scientific research.

"Alright, tell me about your discovery." The professor's tone softened.

An Shenhu immediately looked up, his eyes flashing with the excited light of a researcher: "Professor, in the DNA sequence of that Man in Black, a full one percent has undergone an unknown mutation!"

"One percent?!" The professor's eyes narrowed. "Xiao An, are you sure?"

"I am sure! The data has been synchronized to your terminal." An Shenhu confirmed.

The professor quickly browsed the data, his expression grave: "Such a high proportion of mutation... from a genetic level, although he possesses a human form, he is essentially no longer human. The question now is... what exactly is the external manifestation of this mutated gene?"

He looked at An Shenhu, showing approval, "Well done, Xiao An. I will apply to my superiors for a Cultivation Technique Jade Slip for Mental Energy as a reward for you."

"Thank you, Professor!" An Shenhu was incredibly excited, "I will definitely work twice as hard!"

"Wait," the professor called out to him, his gaze full of expectation, "From today on, you will be my assistant. This place needs your eyes."

An Shenhu bowed deeply, his tone incomparably solemn: "Yes! Professor, I will never betray your trust!"

Subsequently, under the professor's leadership, the team launched a more in-depth experiment on this "non-human" body. In addition to traditional scientific researchers, the team also included Awakened ones with special Talents like An Shenhu.

The intelligence department's preliminary investigation also provided feedback: The Man in Black was a Cultivator from the Korea, with no family or friends, and his tracks and movements showed no obvious abnormalities.

...

In less than half a day again, the second Secret Realm also declared the depletion of Spiritual Qi.

Inside Zhang Sheng's Dantian Qi Sea, over two hundred spirit suns were suspended, glorious like a blazing sun and galaxy, yet they only occupied a corner of the Qi Sea.

The road to reaching Perfection in the Divine Breath Realm was still long and arduous.

Not to mention that with the in-depth Cultivation of the Nine Tribulations Secret Codex, the Qi Sea space was still continuously expanding, and the number of spirit suns it could accommodate would only increase.

Stepping out of the Secret Realm, Zhang Sheng flew in the direction away from Huaxia without hesitation.

The Secret Realms around Huaxia should be left to the local Cultivators.

Once the resources of the existing Secret Realms were fully developed, it would be the time for him to accelerate the arrival of new Secret Realms.

He calculated that by then, the Primordial Chaos Heavenly Art should have reached the Transcendent Realm, and could operate on its own without ceasing.

His Smart Terminal vibrated, delivering the first round of the research report on the body of the Man in Black.

The core conclusion of the report: All his cells possessed the bizarre characteristic of devouring and digesting blood, and that one percent genetic mutation was the root cause that endowed him with this ability.

The research institute gave it an extremely fitting name—Vampire.