Chapter 1069: "Under the Sea"
The leg-gnawing giant, whose vertical eye was filled with blood-red
threads, wasn't actually real. He was, in essence, a strong emotion
produced by a particular living creature.
The emotions that originated from having a deep impression had entered
the subconscious. It spread from one's island of consciousness to the
surrounding illusory "sea," before slowly settling and forming a mark.
It wasn't possible for all of its emotions and consciousness to
ultimately settle down as the foundation. Most of them would be washed
away with time by the "seawater." Only extremely intense and repeated
experiences would remain.
And once it formed a mark, it would be a drop of water in the sea of
collective subconscious which would then affect living creatures of the
same species in its surroundings. It would be a shared, ancient "memory"
carved into one's pulse.
Therefore, not only was the phantom image of the giant blurry, but it
also had many mistakes caused by the subjective aspects of the mind.
Normally, it wouldn't result in Leonard and Audrey being unable to look
straight at it, confusing their spirituality and breaking down their
minds. However, the madness that came with it---an extreme sense of
horror that stemmed from an unknown person---seemed all so real. It
could contaminate every living creature's Body of Heart and Mind, Astral
Projection, and even Soul Body!
This was the essence of the danger in the sea of collective
subconscious. It didn't stem from the strength, level, and status
itself, but from the emotions and feelings that were generated and
imprinted there.
Of course, if one were to encounter a "mark" left behind by a high-level
creature or deity, they could directly see some type or multiple types
of Mythical Creature forms. However, the result was definitely nothing
rosy. One would either have a mental breakdown or go crazy. Otherwise,
they would be completely contaminated by the deity or high-level
creature's emotions and feelings---their outcome would ultimately be
completely unpredictable.
All in all, in this sea of collective subconscious, the style of combat
was different from the outside world. Sometimes, the more anxious one
was at trying to destroy the illusory figure, the more likely one would
be contaminated by their stirring emotions.
It was precisely because of this that when Klein saw the 7-8-meter tall,
grayish-blue giant rush over, he immediately took the initiative to
control his emotions.
Then, he used "Illusion Creation."
The target of "Illusion Creation" was Leonard and Audrey.
In the eyes of these two Sequence 5 Beyonders, those 2-3-story-tall
giants no longer had the madness and violence that left one trembling
from one's heart. Everything seemed normal and ordinary.
Therefore, before those extreme feelings could truly contaminate them,
Leonard and Audrey remained very calm, without showing any emotional
fluctuations.
Then, with one hand in his pocket, Leonard reached out with his right
hand and slightly opened his mouth.
Having become a Spirit Warlock, he originally wanted to use the first
spirit---a Terror Banshee---that he sealed in his tooth with the help of
the archbishop. It was a powerful spirit world creature with a beautiful
face and rotting body. It had a pair of huge eagle wings and was good at
draining the consciousness of others, injecting feelings of terror in
them. However, he quickly remembered that not only was he in an Astral
Projection form, but he had also been cleansed by the gray fog. How
could there be other spirits still "on him."
He had no choice but to use a Soul Assurer's powers, turning his green
eyes deep and quiet.
The giant shadow instantly slowed down as if it was soothed.
At this moment, Audrey calmly spread her arms wide and used Placate.
An invisible wind blew past, and the giant figure seemed to pause as it
instantly weakened the contamination around it.
During this process, Klein took out the bronze cross that had many sharp
spikes. As he opened the bottle containing his blood, he poured a few
drops onto it and solemnly said, "Light!"
Brilliant, pure, and flawless light burst out, and amidst Klein's
fluttering black trench coat, the giant phantom was drowned by the
light.
The grayish-blue giant melted away almost immediately.
One of the main powers of the Unshadowed Crucifix was to cleanse and
purify lingering spiritual imprints!
This was the reason why Klein brought this Sealed Artifact along.
And when he used the cross from the ancient sun god, Klein dispelled the
illusion, allowing The Star Leonard and Justice Audrey to "see" the true
appearance of the giant to enrich their experiences in such matters.
Although it didn't even take a second before the giant phantom was
drowned by the endless light, Audrey and Leonard still felt dizzy. An
irresistible sense of fear surged from deep within their hearts, and
they almost broke down.
This state didn't last too long, as Audrey instinctively used Placate to
calm her emotions before treating Mr. Star's and Mr. World's psychological
problems one by one.
"How scary...Is this a giant at the demigod level?" When the light
dissipated, Audrey looked around and sighed.
In that instant, she had a deeper understanding of the sentence:
"Do not look directly at God!"
Even at the saint level, the remnant impression a demigod leaves behind
in a memory can't be "seen" directly, let alone a real deity?
Leonard was also experienced. He laughed self-deprecatingly and said,
"Sequence 4 is indeed a qualitative change in life's natural order.
However, that wasn't very scary. It wasn't as intense as when I was
facing a pregnant woman."
Is the essence of a poet to boast? At that time, you could still control
yourself, but you were almost on the verge of breaking down just now...
However, if Megose gave birth to that child, we would probably lose
control and turn into monsters just by looking at her... As Klein
lampooned Leonard, it stirred up some memories as he sighed poignantly.
"Was that pregnant lady a demigod?" Audrey asked curiously.
"No." Leonard shook his head. "But she was pregnant with an evil god's
spawn."
Is that so... Audrey didn't ask further. She knew very well that the
adventure and exploration hadn't ended, and that wasting time wasn't an
option.
She then looked at Gehrman Sparrow, who was wearing a black trench coat
and holding a bronze cross and small metal bottle, and said with a
smile, "Thank you for affecting our senses.
"Uh, where should we go next?"
As an experienced Spectator, it wasn't difficult to determine the fact
that she had received Mr. World's help from making a comparison.
Klein controlled himself from subconsciously furrowing his brows, and he
looked around.
"Doesn't this sea of collective subconscious have a core region to it?"
"No." Audrey shook her head seriously. "Wherever there are living
beings, there's a sea of subconscious. There's no such thing as someone
who's more important and lofty. This illusory sea won't really stir, and
the situations within the different areas will depend on their actual
surroundings. We call it a 'precipitating effect.' To put it simply, the
sea of collective subconscious of Loen will be quite different from
Intis, because it precipitates the strong emotions and feelings of
generations of Loenese. In contrast, this will also affect the citizens
of both countries, making them have different qualities and
personalities to a certain extent..."
After explaining this a little, Audrey concluded:
"If that's the case, how can there be a general consensus of a core
within the sea of collective subconscious?"
Klein nodded and asked thoughtfully, "In other words, you can't give any
effective suggestions on where to go?"
Mr. World is so direct... If it were another lady or gentleman with a
more fragile heart, they would definitely be embarrassed and feel
hurt... As the thought flashed through her mind, Audrey saw The World's
pair of deep, brown eyes which were nearly black in color. They were in
no way crazy or cold. Instead, they were calm and tranquil.
This... Audrey instantly came to a realization. She realized that Mr.
World was doing such things on purpose so that she could experience the
various problems within the details of a joint operation, allowing her
to gain more experience.
"Yes." She nodded frankly, not feeling embarrassed at all.
Klein secretly nodded and looked at The Star Leonard.
"Don't look at me. My expertise isn't in this strange sea of collective
subconscious." Leonard immediately waved his hands.
Compared to Miss Justice, having participated in countless operations,
he knew that he shouldn't force it when he shouldn't.
"Then follow me." Klein looked away and moved the Unshadowed Crucifix
which had turned bronze again to the hand holding the metal bottle, and
he took out a gold coin.
Ding!
As the gold coin tumbled, he grabbed it without looking at the results.
He looked in a direction and widened his stride. This is a divination
technique... Audrey was enlightened.
She looked at The World's serious and calm side profile, black trench
coat, silk top hat, and bronze cross. For some reason, she felt like the
other party was a preacher.
Leonard suddenly recalled something from the past.
It was the first case he had worked with Klein---to find a kidnapped
child. At that time, it was also a way for Klein to lead the way through
divination. He had been beside him the entire time.
Compared to his awkwardness before, it seems as if he had entered the
mysterious world for more than ten years now... Sigh, it's only been
over a year... Leonard placed his hands in his pockets as he followed
closely behind Klein.
Audrey glanced at him and felt the change in his mood.
Mr. Star and Mr. World not only know each other in real life, but they
were probably rather close friends. Yes, they have at least met
frequently in the past one to two years... As she made the judgment, she
didn't slow down her steps. Combining what she had learned, she observed
the surroundings and identified which spots might hide "maelstroms" and
"dangerous creatures."
With her help, Klein's lead went very smoothly. It was nothing like how
they had directly encountered a mark like the giant phantom.
Occasionally, they would walk straight and turn at other times. After
some time, the area before the trio suddenly opened up.
In front of them was a huge crater in the deep sea. In the middle of the
pit was an island-sized city.
The foundation of the city was grayish-white in color, and on it were
several hundred-meter tall magnificent stone columns. They either stood
there on their own, or they held up majestic ancient palaces together.
They were bizarre and magnificent, unlike something built by ordinary
creatures.
Although Audrey didn't know the city, an idea instantly appeared in her
mind:
City of Miracles, Liveseyd...