Chapter 162: Will Attack!
"I see it. I see it, Master," Orianna echoed Jiang Zhe's excitement.
Truth be told, being able to generate a gene amplification effect in a "special lifeform" with nearly 2,000 times the life gene level was truly remarkable.
Jiang Zhe knew this well, which was why he treasured every demon heart immensely.
"It's a pity though — demon hearts lose their effectiveness once taken out of the Abyss World. In terms of practicality, they still fall short compared to Bloodlock Crystals."
That was something Chiying had told him, and he had no reason to doubt it.
So he couldn't replicate what he did in the Bloodlock World — he had to use them on the spot, couldn't pack them up and take them away.
The idea he'd just come up with was right on target.
The Virtual Universe Company did, indeed, value Bloodlock Crystals more highly than demon hearts.
First, the chaotic will inside the demon hearts came from one of the strongest beings in the universe, even fiercer than the beast god will inside Bloodlock Crystals.
This made fusion extremely difficult. One slip, and you'd be turned into an idiot.
Second, both had the same effect — granting a hundredfold gene amplification.
But Bloodlock Crystals could be refined into Beast God's Blood, easily achieving the final effect.
Bloodlock Crystals were abundant! Few restrictions! Easy to fuse!
It was only because Jiang Zhe himself was special — he and the demon hearts were like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.
They completed each other!
His robust life gene level couldn't be roused by the lower-tier [Bloodlock Power] — he could only rely on the higher-tier [Demonic Power].
"Still got twenty-seven left…"
That referred to the ordinary duke-level hearts, which were now useless to him.
"Might as well put them away. Really makes it cheap for that little girl Chiying. I'll hand them over before we leave the Abyss World."
Jiang Zhe stored away the remaining ordinary duke hearts in a new world ring.
Then his gaze landed on the five perfect "grand duke-level" hearts.
"Let's continue. Now it's your turn…"
He sliced open his left palm. Using his mind force, he pulled a heart to press against the wound, letting it melt into a stream of energy and pour into his body.
As always, chaotic will rushed into Jiang Zhe's sea of consciousness.
And with more demon hearts fused, the impact of the chaotic will kept rising.
It was exactly like the situation with fusing Bloodlock Crystals.
This time, Jiang Zhe originally planned to keep crushing it with his lord-level will, but he noticeably felt some strain.
So he decided to take a different approach.
Time to get creative — to showcase his unique state of mind.
— Heaven and Earth are born alongside me; all things are one with me!
Through repeated clashes between his own will and the chaotic will, his will gradually withered. Fragments of his scattered will drifted into the invading chaotic will.
Then: tempering, merging, assimilating…
Unity of self and external world! No form, no self!
Among Earth's four giants, each represented a different path of mental state — none higher or lower than the other.
— If it had been Luo Feng, he would have simply solidified his will into a blade, slashing through, unstoppable, seeking total destruction with no room for compromise.
— If it were Thunder God, he'd resist the chaotic invasion with an untainted, childlike heart, untouched by corruption.
— If it were Hong, he'd embrace the chaos with his mind, in a way similar to Buddhist transcendence and deliverance.
Jiang Zhe dispersed his will to repeatedly temper the chaotic will, imprinting it with his own mark.
Then he drew close to it, merged with it, dominated it, devoured it — forming a new will state.
Eventually, his sea of consciousness was free of all foreign presence. Only Jiang Zhe's will remained.
What was once two distinct, opposing wills had now become one harmonious whole.
Jiang Zhe opened his eyes. In his gaze seemed to lurk all the original sins of the world: chaos, cunning, brutality, greed, slaughter…
A wave of will burst forth, rippling the void around him.
Standing by his side, Orianna frowned slightly, feeling distinctly uncomfortable, as if her spirit had just been struck.
A soul attack?
No — she didn't have a soul, she was immune to soul attacks.
Orianna rapidly sifted through the cosmic knowledge Jiang Zhe had shared with her, finally locking onto a possible target — a will attack!
Her expression filled with shock.
Her master had clearly told her that these "native lifeforms of the original universe" did not possess will techniques.
Throughout the entire universe ocean, from universe masters to universe strongest beings, even the Void True God progenitors of the two sacred lands, aside from the reincarnated god king Sitting Mountain Guest, none could unleash a will attack.
The "common sense" her master shared with her described it like this —
Taking a typical flesh-and-blood lifeform with all the elements: soul, consciousness, and will!
If the soul perished, of course it was utterly dead.
Consciousness was rooted in the soul. The stronger the soul, the stronger the consciousness generally. The weaker the soul, the weaker the consciousness.
When two strong beings fought… say an undying versus a domain lord, the gap in consciousness alone meant the weaker's soul would be crushed by sheer pressure, dying instantly.
Her master had once stared down a star-level wild beast in the Bloodlock World and killed it with a mere look — that was consciousness suppression.
Will, however, was different.
Will was transcendent.
Even with a weak soul and consciousness, as long as one's heart was strong, they could possess an incredibly powerful will. An extraordinarily strong will!
Earth's four giants were the best example.
Excluding her own master, that bug, Hong was the finest case.
As ordinary as Hong was, he still had near-lord-level will even as a universe-level being.
Upon reaching True God, Void True God, or even higher realms, will became ever more crucial.
When super powerhouses fell, their will could remain intact!
Yet even among the universe ocean's ancient civilizations, some super powerhouses could only passively resist with their natural will. They did not know how to actively wield it.
Will was something ethereal and elusive.
How could one proactively use will? Strike with it?
That was the so-called "will secret techniques."
Even Eternal True Gods couldn't comprehend it. Only a Chaos Master who controlled the Chaos Laws could gradually sense its mysteries.
Orianna pondered.
According to her master, the universe ocean had only two most dazzling will secret inheritances, both in Sitting Mountain Guest's hands.
They were: Sitting Mountain Guest's self-created "God Eye Secret Technique";
And the "Lieyuan Technique", scattered by a supreme being, known as the pinnacle of all source world will techniques!
Back to the point.
Orianna felt that what had just impacted her spirit was clearly a will shock, not a soul/consciousness shock!
"Master, just now…"
Orianna shared with Jiang Zhe her recent sensations.
By now, Jiang Zhe's eyes had completely lost the earlier sinister look, back to being clear and bright.
The true self alone remains!
Though he called it "unity of self and things, no form no self," he was no patchwork of incompatible wills.
Listening to Orianna's account, Jiang Zhe thought more deeply, and grew increasingly convinced it really had been a will attack.
His eyes widened, filled with delight.
— I just assimilated "chaotic will," and now I can actively use will?
Jiang Zhe felt dizzy, almost dreamlike.
He knew well that without having learned a will secret technique, even True Gods, Void True Gods, and Eternal True Gods couldn't do such a thing.
Here it's also important to distinguish "secret methods" from "secret techniques."
In the original, the moves Luo Feng created himself were all called "secret methods." As his strength grew, they'd become outdated and need replacing.
But "Duanmie","Donghua","Undying River","God Eye Secret Technique","Lieyuan Technique"… these were "secret techniques."
They could be used all the way from universe master to god king, their power never diminishing with strength — only growing ever more formidable.
"Whether it really is, still needs testing."
Jiang Zhe patted his cheeks, calming himself, then ordered, "Anna, go capture a few viscounts, earls, dukes, and marquises."
"Yes, Master."
Orianna set out with her mixed-element umbrella.
With the Candlelight clone inside, her [Abyss] control of time and space meant even captured marquises couldn't resist, laid out like fish on a chopping block for Jiang Zhe's experiments.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhe continued fusing "grand duke-level" demon hearts.
Second — fused!
Third — fused!
Fourth — fused!
Fifth — fused!
By the end, his stock was gone…
The surging chaotic will was assimilated by Jiang Zhe, and the demonic power completed its transformation of his body, forming gene amplification.
Looking inward again at his 181 "stars," the golden halos bore faint, ever-shifting secret patterns.
They couldn't solidify — like bubbles, vanishing at a touch.
Jiang Zhe could feel he hadn't reached his limit yet. He could keep fusing "grand duke-level" hearts.
"Demonic power, drive!"
Chaotic, violent aura surged out from within, a bloody halo covering his body. Two faint illusory demon horns sprouted on his forehead.
Jiang Zhe probed his current state carefully.
"Roughly boosted by… seventy percent? That's over 1.7 times the gene amplification, with a life gene level close to 3,000 times!"
In those bright eyes of his, the fire of ambition burned wildly.
"Six times! Six times! Six times!"
"No, I just need a 5.57 times gene amplification — then my true body can become a perfect gene lifeform."
"The grand duke hearts of the eight attributes — hopefully they all work for me…"
"And as for the evolution of will, I need to circulate the "Slumbering Dragon Method" to harmonize it… that'll wait till Orianna returns."
Jiang Zhe didn't have to wait long. Orianna soon came back with the test subjects, all held inside the umbrella's inner space.
Under the Candlelight clone's innate talent [Abyss], the surrounding time-space froze.
Trapped inside were thirty demon nobles ranging from viscounts (universe level) to marquises (domain lord), completely immobilized.
Jiang Zhe then used that pseudo "will attack" to stare at them.
His clear gaze instantly filled with malice — chaos, brutality, slaughter… all negative desires condensed into a tangible assault that blasted forth.
Universe-level demons — one look, dead!
Domain lord-level demons — one look, dead!
World lord-level demons — first look, spirit wilted; second look, mind chaotic; third look, turned into idiots!
Jiang Zhe continued testing on the marquises a few more times, but found the results "unsatisfactory," frowning slightly.
"This isn't right. I'm using will attacks — with my lord-level will, I can't even kill a measly world lord?"
"In theory, an undying army master faced with my lord-level will attack should be sweating buckets, right?"
Jiang Zhe scratched his head, growing a bit insecure.
He no longer dared treat this newly gained ability as a genuine "will attack."
Orianna, unlike Jiang Zhe, wasn't emotionally entangled, so she analyzed calmly and offered a different view.
"Master, it should indeed be a will attack. With just consciousness pressure or a soul attack, you couldn't have so easily subdued a demon marquis (world lord)."
"You're not using a will secret technique — just a technique you've grasped to perform will attacks. Compared to a secret technique, of course it's far less effective. It doesn't show the full strength of a lord-level will, which is perfectly normal."
"Also, I noticed your will attacks all relate to 'chaotic will.' Could it be you still lack enough of that chaos attribute within your will?"
"In other words, you may need to fuse even more demon hearts."
Prompted by Orianna's reminder, Jiang Zhe's thoughts cleared, and he stroked his chin.
"That makes sense. I should keep fusing demon hearts, assimilate more chaotic will, then see what happens."
"Anna, stand guard for me. I'm going to run the "Slumbering Dragon Method" to nourish my will."
"Yes, Master."
Orianna sealed the mechanical race ship, activated scanners, and maintained high alert — preventing any demon duke from disturbing her master's sleep.
Jiang Zhe lay down on the bed in the cultivation room, arranged his posture per the "Slumbering Dragon Method", adjusted his breathing, and let his consciousness drift far away.
Whether by coincidence or under the influence of chaotic will…
Jiang Zhe dreamed he had reincarnated as a pureblood demon born in the Abyss World.
Born from source blood, nurtured in a primordial blood pool, he was a domain lord at birth, with a life gene level of 140 times, inheriting the memories of many prior generations of pureblood demons.
Still with a thunder-time attribute — of the "Abyss Dragon Demon" lineage.
If Jiang Zhe's conscious mind were there, he'd have jumped for joy, ready to cause a storm.
...
In the dream, more than three hundred years quickly passed.
The Abyss Dragon Demon Jiang Zhe had become was now peak world lord, his life gene level rising to nearly 400 times through devouring hearts of his kin.
He secluded himself, preparing to comprehend the thunder origin law and break through to undying.
Then he planned to wipe out most of the worthless dukes in the Sixth Abyss, before heading to the Ninth Abyss to hunt powerful dukes with life gene levels over 70 times — continuing to raise his own life gene level.
Every pureblood demon, due to their extremely high life gene levels, was among the top hunters of the demon race — naturally drawing the vigilance and hostility of other demon lineages.
So Jiang Zhe's neighbors had long been eyeing him.
Before he could fully grow, nearly ten demon dukes tracked down his retreat and surrounded him, killing him on the spot.
The dream ended.
...
"Having experienced life as a demon, I feel much more at ease using chaotic will. My will is more complete — feels great."
Jiang Zhe climbed off the bed, stretched lazily, and sighed.
"Anna, how long did I sleep?"
"A total of 342 days," Orianna replied. "Master, your teacher, the Dark Lord, sent a message earlier, wanting to meet you."
Jiang Zhe panicked. "When was that?"
"223 days ago."
Jiang Zhe: ...
I'm screwed!
He'd left his teacher hanging for over half a year!
Jiang Zhe quickly logged into the Virtual Universe and transmitted himself to the Dark God Nation.
Hopefully his teacher, the Dark Lord, was still waiting for him.
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