33: Chapter 33: Everyone's stunned, ferocious beasts line up to commit suicide?!

This almost greedy thought flashed through Lin Yuan's mind.

He didn't pause for a single moment.

Taking a step forward, his figure completely vanished into the deep darkness leading to the sixth stage.

The scene switched in an instant.

It was no longer a cold alloy corridor, but a vast, dark, and damp cavern.

The air was so thick it felt like it could be wrung out, and there was an invisible weight that didn't act on the physical body but directly squeezed his consciousness, bringing a suffocating feeling like drowning.

Mental pressure!

Lin Yuan's mind focused.

In the mid-air of the cavern, nine massive, almost completely transparent creatures were silently floating.

They were shaped like jellyfish, with dozens of ribbons emitting a ghostly light hanging from their bells. Those ribbons weren't physical but were composed of pure telekinetic power; as they drifted slowly, they had already sealed off every inch of the cavern, cutting off all paths of retreat.

Almost the instant they appeared, information from the Fierce Beast Illustrated Guide automatically surfaced in Lin Yuan's mind.

【Species: Mirage Thought Jellyfish】

【Rank: Fourth-rank, Two-star (Origin Realm Two-star)】

【Abilities: Illusory Thought Entanglement, Mental Scream, True-False Doppelganger】

【Description: A mental-type fierce beast, extremely dangerous. The true body is hidden among nine doppelgangers. It excels at creating illusions and launching soul shocks, making it a nightmare for the vast majority of Origin Realm martial artists.】

In the instant Lin Yuan was digesting the information, the nine Mirage Thought Jellyfish seemed to receive a unified command.

Buzz—!

The telekinetic tentacles beneath their bells suddenly brightened, and an invisible mental wave, turning into an all-encompassing tidal wave, slammed fiercely toward Lin Yuan's sea of consciousness from all directions!

Illusory Thought Entanglement!

This single strike was enough to make an ordinary Origin Realm expert's consciousness collapse instantly, turning them into a walking corpse!

At this moment, Lin Yuan's consciousness felt a violent tearing sensation, as if it were being forcibly dragged into an abyss composed of countless twisted illusions.

However, just as this mental tsunami was about to submerge the core of his consciousness.

Deep within the sea of vegetation grotto-heaven, that strange scholar tree that had been silent and rooted upon the nether soil moved.

Netherworld Prison Suppressing Scholar Tree!

It sensed the provocation to its territory from the outside world!

The ash-gray trunk vibrated violently, and the patterns of tortured ghostly faces on the tree's body seemed to come alive at the same time, all opening their mouths in a silent roar!

A roar that did not belong to the physical world exploded within the depths of Lin Yuan's soul!

The mental tsunami that was enough to tear apart a Origin Realm expert, upon contacting Lin Yuan's sea of consciousness, was like hitting a bottomless abyssal black hole.

There was no resistance.

There was no blocking.

There was only devouring!

A frantic devouring from a higher rank!

All the invading mental energy was instantly dragged and absorbed by the roots of the prison suppressing scholar tree, turning into its own nourishment.

But this was only the beginning.

In the next second, an incredibly cold, chaotic, and deathly still horror of a will, filled with the sense of termination, surged back frantically along that invisible telekinetic link!

That was the will from the nether soil!

In mid-air, the nine Mirage Thought Jellyfish emitting ghostly light suddenly stiffened their massive bodies.

The ghostly light on their surfaces dimmed at a rate visible to the naked eye, and dozens of floating telekinetic tentacles instantly collapsed and dissipated.

The one that was slightly larger and had the brightest light twitched violently.

A clear crack appeared at the core of its transparent bell.

The true body was directly exposed!

The nine originally eerie and powerful Mirage Thought Jellyfish were now like marionettes with their souls snatched away, or like kites with broken strings, hanging rigidly and motionlessly in mid-air.

Their consciousnesses had been completely crushed by the backlash of the prison suppressing scholar tree.

Good opportunity!

Lin Yuan didn't even bother to finish that thought.

Whoosh!

Several emerald green streams of light shot out from around him, drawing fatal arcs in the air and piercing through the cores of those nine Mirage Thought Jellyfish with surgical precision.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

A series of barely audible sounds of liquid bursting.

The nine massive bodies, including the true body, simultaneously turned into a sky full of light specks and vanished into thin air.

Sixth stage, cleared!

Pale flames quietly emerged, wrapping around and devouring all those dissipating specks of mental energy.

The guixu black lotus spun frantically.

This time, an incredibly pure mental origin energy, completely different from before, was transformed, refined, and then entirely fed back into Lin Yuan's sea of consciousness.

Boom!

Lin Yuan felt as if some crystal wall in his mind had been violently burst open.

His entire sea of consciousness was expanding and solidifying at an inconceivable speed!

The invisible membrane leading to the level of 'Spiritual Master' was already covered in cracks under the wash of this majestic energy, becoming thinner than ever before.

He was just one step away!

...

Military Command Center.

The air froze.

Everyone maintained their previous postures, staring fixedly at the surveillance footage of Corridor 15. The shock on their faces was ten times more intense than when they saw Lin Yuan insta-kill the Rage Blood Berserk Gorilla!

What happened in the footage?

After Lin Yuan entered the sixth stage, he only stood in place for less than two seconds.

And then...

Those fourth-rank, two-star Mirage Thought Jellyfish, which would give any Origin Realm martial artist a headache, just... collectively disintegrated?

The whole process was so eerie it made one's skin crawl.

"What... what exactly did he do?"

A young officer's lips trembled as he finally couldn't help but cry out, his voice cracking.

"Why? Why did those Mirage Thought Jellyfish suddenly stop attacking? They even... even took the initiative to expose the core of their true bodies. Wasn't that just seeking death?!"

This question voiced the thoughts of everyone present.

They couldn't understand it.

In their understanding, this was simply suicidal behavior that violated biological instincts!

Yan Tianjin's face, which always wore a lazy smile, had now completely darkened.

He stood up and walked to the main control console. In those eyes that were always half-squinted, a blade-like sharpness appeared for the first time.

"Pull up the recording from just now."

His voice wasn't loud, yet it carried an unquestionable sense of command.

"Use the highest specification equipment for energy spectrum analysis, and slow down the playback to one percent! I want to see every detail clearly!"

The technician immediately began operating, his fingers leaving afterimages on the light screen.

However, just as everyone's attention was drawn to the playback analysis, the light speck representing Lin Yuan's progress on the main screen didn't pause at all.

After clearing the sixth stage, it only brightened slightly before charging toward the final stage with an indomitable posture!

That area representing the ultimate ordeal, which even Yan Tianjin believed was impossible to breach.

The seventh stage!