Chapter 36: Canglan

Gravity—this was currently Mo Wen’s greatest weakness.

It kept him from flying off this planet, just as it kept him from standing up. Mo Wen was unsure whether it was the power of another psionic user or some mechanical device, but pinned down and on the verge of being crushed to death, he had no way to deal with it.

He could feel the gravity intensifying. His bones would soon be pulverized, and his brain—which he was forcing to hold together through his own power—would be reduced to a puddle of mush. He would become a "puddle of Mo Wen." Aside from his Dreammaker Type VI, which possessed special material properties and might hold out for a little longer, the rest of him would die even more thoroughly than when Vanessa blew his head off.

He rejected death, but the mere refusal to die could not make a puddle of Mo Wen move.

So, was there any possibility of a counterattack?

The thought of a psionic counterattack flashed through his mind, but he could not find his enemy; they had used some method to shield his perception. Immediately after, the thought of how a puddle of Mo Wen could crawl faster or maintain combat effectiveness crossed his mind.

It was, frankly, a bit difficult.

Suddenly, Mo Wen noticed an anomaly in his "Spirit Root."

Calling it a Spirit Root was a misnomer; Mo Wen wasn't even sure what this peculiar organ—which had inexplicably appeared after he transmigrated to a certain world—was actually for, or if it was truly the kind of Spirit Root found in xianxia novels. He had only glanced at a tattered book in that world, discovered that the human physiological structure there was completely different from his own, and was then eaten by a passing minor demon. He had no cultivation techniques, nor had he ever cultivated, and in the worlds that followed, the Spirit Root had remained wilted and unresponsive.

But now, under the influence of Level 5 psionic energy and driven by his own will to survive, it underwent a change.

This change might not conform to the standard development of a Spirit Root, but life always finds a way.

Flocculent filaments grew rapidly. They pierced through his crumbling prosthetic body and even entwined around his brain, beginning a deep, meticulous adjustment of everything.

Sturdier, tougher, more powerful.

They infiltrated his shattered bones, replaced damaged organs, locked down the parts that were threatening to fly apart, and restored this broken shell to a state barely capable of functioning.

Then, Mo Wen stood up by his own will and walked.

The Spirit Root showed no further activity, but to this extent, it was enough. The range of the gravitational suppression was not large—only about two kilometers—and Mo Wen soon broke free from the area within a near-stagnant, super-accelerated state where he couldn't even calculate the multiplier, readjusting his power level to avoid self-destruction.

[Current Power Level: 4. Current Prosthetic Stability: 72%]

He was still about two-thirds of a life away from being truly dead, and in this fortress, there were still two or three things capable of killing him.

Ha, not bad.

Mo Wen did not complain and continued to search for his target. He could not find the source of the shielded danger, but he could completely destroy this fortress, using its detonation to annihilate everything that could harm him.

This massive fortress must have a matching energy source. Perhaps it was a miniature star, or an annihilation reactor filled with matter and antimatter, or perhaps, of course, some psionic-themed altar of burnt ashes.

As long as he found it...

"Domain: Canglan Forbidden Zone!"

Space shifted. Mo Wen felt as if he had fallen into the deepest part of the ocean. There was no light left in the surroundings, only profound seawater that buffeted him from the center, stripping away his ability to exert force and imprisoning him there.

Apart from the humanoid figure emitting Level 5 psionic energy ahead, there was not a single living thing...

No!

It wasn't the humanoid figure emitting Level 5 psionic energy; it was the surrounding water!

The humanoid figure, acting as if it were the true host, communicated telepathically with a feigned air: "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Canglan, an agent belonging to [The Group]."

"Hereby, I declare you guilty of multiple counts, including mass slaughter, destruction of public facilities, and obstruction of major human projects. I sentence you to 9.8 million years of imprisonment, and I shall be your jailer."

"I have achieved complete evolution, reaching the next step of humanity. My psionic power has transcended the conventional, allowing me to maintain a permanent Level 5 status without paying any price. Even the limitations of lifespan and mortality have been surpassed by me."

"Rest easy in this isolated zone and await the public trial after the project concludes."

All of it was a lie!

Mo Wen confirmed that for these enemies, if they could kill him, they would spare no cost. The talk of being isolated from the outside world and awaiting a public trial was all nonsense; this guy was just trying to stall for time while others gathered. And a "priceless" Level 5... the fact that he hadn't used a direct psionic shock to finish him off already implied there was a cost.

Just as the Libra had transformed into machinery, this guy in front of him had likely transformed into water.

Of course, he could also be a special organism, a fluid computer, or liquified psionic energy. He probably truly had no lifespan limit, and killing that humanoid conversation interface would be useless against his true form.

Perhaps only by evaporating all the liquid here could he escape.

Canglan looked at the restrained, immobile Mo Wen and smiled. "What? No words? Are you unwilling to speak, or do you have nothing to say? But I have quite a lot I'd like to tell you. If you can satisfy my little expectations, I wouldn't mind using some minor means to help you leave your cage a little sooner."

"You just happened to appear in the wrong place at the wrong time. As time passes, the unforgivable mistakes of today will be forgiven in a future where the victims are all dead. Your value is enough to make people tolerate the destruction you have caused thus far."

"So, first question, you..."

The lies should end.

[Current Power Level: 5. Current Prosthetic Stability: 21%]

From Power Level 4 to 5, even Mo Wen found it hard to judge exactly how many times he had accelerated, but he could clearly feel that he had touched a forbidden realm.

The time acceleration that had previously been limited to his own body could now be freely applied to any area within his perceptual range.

What could he do with this?

Just a moment ago, Mo Wen had been pondering the answer, but he soon realized that he didn't need to think deeply; he just needed to do it.

Mo Wen selected a mass of water and forced it to move at the same multiplier as himself.

The next moment, destruction descended.

Light, heat... whether it was Mo Wen, who had wrought the destruction, or Canglan, who had personally experienced it, neither could understand exactly what had happened.

Matter could no longer maintain its original form. It transformed into plasma, into a stream of charged particles. All the energy contained within erupted, accompanied by some even more terrifying, overwhelming power.

Even if his body was no longer confined to a fixed form, Canglan was likely dead. Mo Wen, for his part, had never expected he could cause such horrific damage.

Would he die along with him?

He wasn't sure if he could survive after obliterating Canglan; he only knew he had to keep moving forward and would never allow himself to give up.

But the confusion lasted only for a fleeting instant. In this space where the master was now dead, Mo Wen found a connection point back to reality.

Immediately after, Mo Wen’s psionic power tore open the channel and fell back into the fortress.

But the time Canglan had bought had already changed the course of the battle.