When it came to merit points, Xu Yuan's interest waned significantly.
He had thought there would be some special benefits.
Although merit points were useful, they didn't hold much significance for Xu Yuan. First, the Blood God Legion didn't have any particularly attractive resources. Even rare metals had to be applied for and forged by the Federation before reaching the individual, and Xu Yuan clearly didn't need metals forged by others.
"I'm also interested in the current spatial passage. Let's go together."
Xu Yuan initially considered bringing Jiang Wuyue along but decided against it after some thought.
Yesterday, Jiang Wuyue hadn't seized the opportunity to break through to level seventy. Moreover, he had gained a substantial amount of stellar energy. It was best for him to stay in the camp and focus on breaking through in seclusion at this time.
"Alright!"
The two didn't dawdle and headed straight out of the camp.
In Long Yuxue's team, there were three other Soul Kings—two men and one woman.
When they saw Long Yuxue bringing Xu Yuan along, they were quite excited.
Everyone had witnessed Xu Yuan's performance yesterday.
With such a formidable person accompanying them, their mission would be much safer.
"Let's go!"
Long Yuxue signaled, and her four-member team dispersed.
Xu Yuan didn't have much experience with this kind of exploratory reconnaissance, so he hung back, ensuring he could act immediately if anything unexpected happened.
Upon reaching the entrance of the spatial passage, Xu Yuan couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Previously, the entrance to the Abyssal Passage was covered with a dense layer of black energy, exuding an oppressive and destructive aura.
However, the entrance has changed drastically now.
There was no longer such a vast amount of Abyssal energy, and even the concentration of Abyssal energy was far lower than usual, less than the ambient origin energy on Douluo Star.
"After previous Abyss Tides, the concentration of Abyssal energy within the passage wouldn't be affected, at least not to this extent. Clearly, this is a result of the recent anomaly," Long Yuxue said after entering the passage and sensing the environment.
"Indeed, soul power can be used here!"
The other team members also expressed their astonishment.
This was the first time they could manipulate their soul power so freely and easily within the Abyssal Passage.
One male team member even summoned his martial soul—a unique snow wolf with a snowflake-shaped mark on its forehead, possessing spiritual attributes.
Following behind them, Xu Yuan also felt the difference in the Abyssal Passage.
No resistance techniques were needed to maintain the flow of soul power or the embodiment of martial souls.
This rendered unnecessary the methods he previously prepared for the soldiers, which required the primitive dream space as a medium.
Now, any soul master could use their soul power without hindrance here.
However, just after taking a step forward, Xu Yuan's expression slightly changed.
The spatial elements here were extremely sensitive!
"Don't casually use soul power, and avoid making too much noise. The spatial elements here are very sensitive. Even our normal movements can affect the spatial elements. If we trigger significant spatial changes, it might disperse."
Xu Yuan reminded the other four.
The male team member who had summoned his snow wolf martial soul immediately changed his expression, quickly retracting his martial soul and restraining his soul power.
"Is it really that exaggerated?"
Long Yuxue turned to look at Xu Yuan, incredulous.
Zhang Huanyun had mentioned the chaotic spatial elements, but they hadn't expected it to be this chaotic.
Isn't this chaos?
This is already sensitive.
Why are the spatial elements here so sensitive?
"In fact, the sensitivity of the spatial elements here isn't necessarily a bad thing," Xu Yuan said. "If the entire passage becomes like this, I suspect that even if we go several hundred meters deep, we might not encounter Abyss creatures, at least not in large groups."
Unlike soul masters, Abyss creatures were composed entirely of energy, emitting intense energy fluctuations. Even standing still, they could be affected by the spatial fluctuations here.
Moreover, the violent fluctuations of spatial elements could cause more than just teleportation and confusion; they could also form sharp blades that cut through everything.
The former was manageable, but once the latter occurred, aside from a few spatial attribute soul masters and Abyss creatures, most other soul masters or Abyss creatures would be unable to resist.
"I think our primary goal should be to first determine the degree of sensitivity of the spatial elements here and how it changes with depth. This is quite important."
Xu Yuan's suggestion was unanimously agreed upon by the four.
"This is the spatial detector." Long Yuxue didn't dare activate the soul-guided device immediately.
She remembered Xu Yuan's warning that fluctuations in soul power might also disrupt the spatial elements.
"First, step out."
She instructed the other four to retreat a few steps, leaving the range of the Abyssal Passage.
After the four exited, Long Yuxue also stepped halfway out, activated the spatial detector, and then swiftly withdrew her arm and head from the spatial passage range.
Strangely enough, the boundary of the Abyssal Passage was extremely clear, with no buffer zone.
The sensitivity of the spatial elements was only within the passage.
The spatial detector operated normally, and the fluctuations of soul power inside did not cause excessive oscillations in the spatial elements.
Three minutes later, Long Yuxue and the others re-entered the passage range, turned off the spatial detector, and checked the data it had collected.
"The activity level of the spatial elements is too high, isn't it?"
Just the fluctuations from the soul power of the detector caused the surrounding spatial elements' activity level to reach the level of a Soul Sage fully exerting their soul skills.
"I'll first try to see if mental power can be used normally," Xu Yuan spoke.
In theory, mental power was a kind of illusory element. If it didn't actively affect the spatial elements, it shouldn't directly react with them.
However, as Xu Yuan extended his mental power, feeling the flow of spatial elements around him, he didn't dare to be too reckless.
"Even mental power naturally affects the spatial elements here."
At this moment, Xu Yuan could be very certain that this was the effect caused by his primitive dream space.
The illusory space had fallen into this real spatial passage and seemed to overlap with cosmic space, causing the Abyss laws to be unable to suppress the laws of the Douluo plane, placing both sides on an essentially equal footing.
This was only the current conclusion.
Xu Yuan still couldn't determine what exactly the entire passage had become.
"The impact of mental power on spatial elements is still relatively minor compared to our physical bodies and soul power. Additionally..."
Xu Yuan attempted to circulate his mental power while silently assessing the amplitude of the spatial elements' changes around him.
Simultaneously, he tried to control the surrounding spatial elements with his own mental power.
"It can stabilize somewhat."
At this point, he finally relaxed.
At least, when encountering danger, he could suppress the surrounding space with his mental power and then unleash his soul power.
Otherwise, using soul power to save himself while triggering spatial turbulence would make things even more troublesome.
"There's also the dream space."
A thought flashed in Xu Yuan's mind, thinking about the root cause of the anomaly here.
Since the primitive dream space merging with the original spatial passage caused this, could his dream space have any special effects here?
Although the primitive dream space wasn't closely linked to him, its essence was based on the dream space.
Thinking of this, Xu Yuan mobilized the dream space.
Of course, he didn't forget to stabilize the surrounding space with his mental power to prevent any unexpected fluctuations from the dream space.
As he released the dream space stored in his spiritual sea, Xu Yuan immediately sensed another realm.
"This is..."
He revealed a shocked expression.
At this moment, in his perception, the surrounding space seemed to merge completely with his dream space.
This was entirely different from summoning the dream space on Douluo Star in the past.
"The entire spatial passage is no longer fully real!"
Everything here was now half-real, half-illusory.
Thus, the spatial elements were exceptionally sensitive.
Xu Yuan was utterly astonished.
So, this place could be considered an excellent cultivation sanctuary!
"Yao Yao, your opportunity has arrived!"
Yao Yao hummed a couple of times from within the spiritual sea, expressing her happiness.
"Hmm~~"
"Huan Xing, you also have a chance. Here, you can directly feel the external cosmic space, which will greatly help you comprehend stellar energy."
Huan Xing ignored Xu Yuan lazily.
He was exhausted. What opportunity was there?
Xu Yuan wanted him to explore and develop five-element attribute soul skills, and now he wanted him to comprehend stellar energy.
Don't you know what kind of soul master you are?
Hmph, soul master!
Xu Yuan didn't care much about Huan Xing's indifference.
This guy had been like this ever since being overexploited. However, despite his indifference, he still did the necessary work.
After all, when Xu Yuan asked him to develop various things, he was a direct beneficiary. Moreover, Xu Yuan wasn't neglecting him; they worked together, and Huan Xing participated throughout, allowing him to directly control the developed five-element soul skills and continuously improve his comprehension.
Xu Yuan had a five-element rune that connected his Tianyuan Brush's first soul ring to the external world, thereby receiving nourishment from the external world and increasing the soul ring's duration, similar to the sealing character rune.
Huan Xing's development and understanding of the five-element soul skills allowed him to benefit from this rune.
With proper comprehension and nourishment, his duration was steadily increasing.
Precisely because of this, even though Huan Xing was exhausted, he still followed Xu Yuan's arrangements and worked.
"Shan He, don't idle either. The spatial elements here are so sensitive; it's great for you to feel spatial changes. Strive to master the soul skill of teleportation yourself, so you won't always need to rely on the replicated martial soul. Once you master the teleportation soul skill, we can further develop and attempt to master long-distance relocation."
Xu Yuan first arranged tasks for his numerous soul spirits.
Jue?
Jue didn't need Xu Yuan's arrangement.
He would find ways to seek things beneficial to himself.
For instance, now, Jue appeared in Xu Yuan's hand in a special form, interacting with the surrounding space.
True to his nature, Jue inherited Xu Yuan's talent in spear techniques. At this moment, he was fusing with the semi-real, semi-illusory spatial passage, seemingly trying to develop a spear technique that combined reality and illusion.
Xu Yuan secretly praised his good genetics.
"Xu Yuan, what's wrong?"
Long Yuxue noticed the change in Xu Yuan's expression.
"Nothing, there are mostly benefits here." Xu Yuan briefly summarized: "We can use soul power, the invasion of Abyss creatures is indirectly blocked, and the active spatial elements here provide an excellent environment for some spatial attribute soul masters."
Not only spatial attribute soul masters, but it was also clearly effective for any Super Douluo.
At the level of Soul Sage, one could start exploring natural elements, but it was merely altering their own soul power circulation to influence natural elements, achieving flight. Directly influencing natural elements generally required reaching the Title Douluo level. Afterward, Super Douluo began exploring spatial elements, and reaching a certain level provided an opportunity to break through to Limit Douluo.
There were many standards for breaking through to Limit Douluo, but they all converged on one ultimate aspect: comprehension of the universe.
After all, the Spirit Domain Realm, simply put, was when spiritual power formed its own domain.
Mental obstructions could hinder breaking through to the Spirit Domain Realm, but in fact, if one had a thorough understanding of the universe, it was entirely possible to break through the Spirit Domain Realm even with mental knots.
Thorough comprehension of the surrounding universe would naturally evolve one's spiritual power along with the soul master's insights, forming a domain.
"Continue exploring three hundred meters ahead, map out the nearby paths, then you can return," Xu Yuan said.
His range of perception through the dream space was extensive.
The dream space could perfectly integrate into this passage without worrying about triggering changes in spatial elements, instead helping Xu Yuan stabilize the space.
This meant Xu Yuan faced the lowest danger here.
Others, no matter how careful, might still accidentally trigger spatial changes and get lost.
If they went too deep and encountered a crisis where they couldn't act, even a few hundred meters could lead to death.
Long Yuxue had no objections but was concerned about another point.
"Going three hundred meters further, if we still don't encounter Abyss creatures, it can basically be declared that our pressure will significantly decrease."
The five continued deeper.
Since they were here to investigate the environment, they moved slowly, stopping frequently. Even though it was only three hundred meters, it took them a full two hours.
Every ten meters or so, Long Yuxue tested the activity level of the spatial elements and recorded the terrain changes.
"Hey!"
Long Yuxue pointed to the depths, where a dazzling light shone forth.
Xu Yuan squinted and looked ahead.
About a hundred meters away, a glowing point radiating intense stellar energy hovered in mid-air.
Was this the stellar energy accumulated in the primitive dream space yesterday that hadn't been fully retrieved?
Xu Yuan first thought of the stellar energy he hadn't completely reclaimed yesterday.
But after sensing it remotely through the dream space, he dismissed this guess.
"Xu Yuan?" Long Yuxue looked at Xu Yuan.
They had reached the three-hundred-meter mark. Should they check the situation of that glowing point?
Xu Yuan glanced at the other three and didn't stop them.
The five stopped testing the spatial activity levels and cautiously approached, trying to stabilize their soul power and avoid emitting strong fluctuations.
Upon nearing the glowing point, they finally saw its true form—a thumb-sized crystal. The crystal was irregular, resembling ice crystals formed from condensed water vapor, with spike-like protrusions radiating outward from the center.
"Such concentrated stellar energy," Xu Yuan's gaze sharpened.
At close range, he could sense the immense amount of stellar energy contained within the crystal.
"This should be a crystal purely condensed from stellar energy!" Long Yuxue judged.
She looked at Xu Yuan and asked, "Xu Yuan, can I take this crystal? Handing it over to the legion might give hope for research, as the previous Abyssal Passage definitely couldn't condense something like this. Clearly, it's related to this anomaly."
Xu Yuan frowned.
It wasn't that he disagreed with Long Yuxue's statement.
From around the stellar energy crystal, he sensed other changes.
"Don't touch it," Xu Yuan said gravely. "This crystal hasn't matured yet, and there's still a continuous influx of stellar energy."
"I understand that gathering more stellar energy will enhance the crystal's effect, but since there's condensation here, there should be condensation elsewhere too. We should take this crystal back for research. Getting initial results will benefit subsequent exploration," Long Yuxue said.
Xu Yuan shook his head.
"It's not that I'm regretful about disrupting the crystal's formation. This crystal is purely condensed from stellar energy. Do you know what that means?"
Long Yuxue was stunned, blinked, and shook her head in confusion.
The other three also shook their heads innocently.
Don't look at me; I'm not a good student.
"It means that the location of this crystal is an important energy node in this passage!"
Xu Yuan observed the surroundings.
In fact, he integrated the dream space into the surrounding space, carefully sensing the changes in the surrounding space and even the changes in the external cosmic space.
Sure enough, he discovered anomalies.
"If my guess is correct, the current spatial passage no longer belongs to either Douluo or the Abyss but exists independently in the universe, merely connecting our two planes," Xu Yuan said. "This space is constantly absorbing stellar energy, and this is a node where stellar energy accumulates and condenses into solid crystals."
Long Yuxue and her three teammates nodded, continuing to watch Xu Yuan.
"This is an important energy node, prone to intense energy reactions. Do you believe that if you take this crystal, the surrounding space will erupt?" Xu Yuan explained in simpler terms out of necessity.
Long Yuxue's eyes widened, and she took a few steps back.
Indeed, behind every opportunity lay danger.
If this seemingly tempting crystal were removed, what if the massive stellar energy no longer condensed into a crystal? If a large amount of stellar energy erupted from that node, the resulting energy fluctuations would cause the surrounding space to instantly become chaotic.
"Report this situation to the higher-ups and let the research institute send people to study how to remove this crystal for maximum benefit. Utilizing this node well should yield a continuous source of stellar energy."
Long Yuxue understood Xu Yuan's meaning and nodded excitedly.
Stellar energy itself was a rare energy, and cultivating with it yielded astonishing results. Every time the observation deck of the Tian Ding Starry Sky Soul Master Academy opened, they tried to let outstanding students enter for cultivation precisely because of this.
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