Chapter 253: Breaking Through the Divine Nature of the Gods! Shadowflame Divine Incarnation Unlocked

Chapter 253: Breaking Through the Divine Nature of the Gods! Shadowflame Divine Incarnation Unlocked - Beast of Nonexistence (4K)



For half an hour, Xue Heng kept sneaking into the holes and stealing the rice grains.

If it weren't for the fact that dawn was about to break and the Xu Corporation's employees were about to start their shift, Xue Heng would have wanted to steal every last grain.

Even without stealing everything, his haul was still quite astonishing.

[Divine Natures Owned: 5,966]! In half an hour, he had found eleven divine relics, gaining over five thousand five hundred Divine Natures!

This was almost enough to make up for the huge deficit from upgrading Shadowflame to Level 10 and unlocking its divine incarnation! The last time he had gained this much was back at the 'Roaring Waterfall' in the borderlands, but that had been the result of hard work and near-death experiences.

This time, he had gained almost six thousand Divine Natures without breaking a sweat.

Xue Heng left Floor 1052 feeling pleased with himself, but also a little regretful.

These containment rooms were inspected daily, and the holes he had made with Shadowflame would surely be discovered. The Xu Corporation would then tighten their security measures, and he didn't know when he would be able to return.

But it didn't matter. There was no such thing as being a thief for a thousand days and a guard against thieves for a thousand days.

No matter how tight the security was, there would always be moments of laxness, especially when they discovered that none of the divine relics were missing. They would only wonder what the holes were for and most likely just strengthen their security symbolically without taking it too seriously.

He would definitely come back again...

After leaving Floor 1052, Xue Heng continued upward.

From here on out, he was entering territory he had never ventured into before.

However, based on his observations from the previous floors, he had a good understanding of the Xu Corporation's security routines and styles. He could more or less speculate on what to expect.

Upon reaching a new floor, he would take a quick look around and immediately grasp where the surveillance cameras and trigger-type alarm devices were located. He was also familiar with the models and performance capabilities of the equipment and their coverage areas, allowing him to move stealthily from one blind spot to another.

With his various stealth-enhancing skills maxed out, Xue Heng's path was mostly unobstructed, and he soon arrived at Floor 1083, just over ten floors away from his destination, Floors 1097 and 1098.

The higher he went, the more sci-fi the machinery he encountered seemed to be, although he couldn't quite understand their functions just by looking at them.

"What are those...?"

On Floor 1083, Xue Heng hid in the shadows as he passed through a long, white corridor.

Casually glancing through the window into one of the rooms, he paused.

The room was dimly lit, with only a faint blue-green glow flickering, illuminating the interior.

There were rows upon rows of transparent formaldehyde jars, each containing a naked human body, both male and female.

"Human experimentation..."

Xue Heng paused for a moment but didn't dwell on it.

When he had entered the inner ring, Ning Yuantai had mentioned that some security companies would sell the 'criminals' they captured to pharmaceutical, farming, and biological companies for unrestricted human experimentation.

While this kind of 'punishment' for 'criminals' was technically illegal, for some reason, the authorities had never taken any action against it, and it had become an open secret.

Because of this harsh punishment, many people thought twice before committing crimes, fearing that they might be unlucky enough to end up as guinea pigs for human experimentation, and the crime rate had dropped significantly as a result.

Passing by the room with the human experimentation, Xue Heng continued upward.

Half an hour later, he reached Floor 1096.

Hidden in the ventilation duct, lurking in the shadows within, Xue Heng frowned slightly.

"There's no entrance to go further up... That's strange."

He had been on this floor for a while, but he hadn't found any passageway leading up to Floor 1097.

The internal elevator buttons in the Xu Corporation building also skipped Floors 1097 and 1098, going directly from 1096 to 1099.

What's more, he couldn't seem to 'view' inside Floor 1097 with his 'observation' ability, as if the floor was made of a material that blocked spiritual abilities.

"Looks like these two floors really are special..."

Xue Heng's train of thought was interrupted as he realized that dawn was about to break.

"Even if there is an entrance, I won't have time to find it."

"Should I head back?"

Xue Heng pondered briefly.

But if he returned now, the Xu Corporation would discover the holes in the divine relic containment area and strengthen their security measures, preventing him from coming back anytime soon.

"Or should I break through forcefully?"

If he really wanted to go up, there was a way.

He could use Shadowflame to burn through the ceiling and reach Floor 1097 that way.

However, this wasn't a good idea as he had no idea what the layout of Floor 1097 was like. He didn't know where he would end up or if he would trigger any alarms.

"No, that won't do. The risk is too great."

Xue Jing shook his head.

In an ordinary place, with his abilities, even if he triggered an alarm and was discovered, he could still easily escape unscathed.

But this was Xu Corporation, one of the Thirteen Great Houses of Zhu Xia, a super company under the renowned Xu family...

Xue Jing recalled the man he had encountered in Qingcheng when he was on his way to the Chief Councillor's residence to search for clues about the Heaven-Lodged Insect Queen.

The man's 'Four-Dimensional Senses' had followed the 'Tracks of Time' and located Xue Jing even when he was in his Shadow Stealth and Qi Concealment state.

Xu Corporation had gone to great lengths to keep Floors 1097 and 1098 a secret, even using spirit-isolating materials. There was no guarantee that there wouldn't be powerful individuals inside with BUG-level detection abilities like 'Four-Dimensional Senses'.

The risk was too high; he couldn't go up there.

After a brief moment of consideration, Xue Jing immediately turned back.

Since he wasn't going up, he might as well take advantage of the time before dawn and make another round in the Divine Relic Containment Area on Floor 1052 to steal some more Divine Natures. Unlocking the Shadowflame's Level 10 and its Divine Incarnation was just within reach.

Perhaps after the upgrade, or after obtaining the Divine Incarnation, he would find a way to access Floor 1097. With his path already explored, he sped back, much faster than before. In less than twenty minutes, he had returned to Floor 1052.

By then, the sky had begun to brighten.

But the Xu Corporation researchers had not yet started their shift.

Seizing the opportunity, Xue Heng immediately began his stealth operation, just as he had done earlier. He chose a compartment containing a Divine Relic, hid in the shadows, and extended his hand through the hole created by Shadowflame to steal the relic.

"[GOD-1285: Palm-Mouth]..."

"[GOD-1573: Halloween Pumpkin]..."

Xue Heng had mostly memorized the information about the Divine Relics, and he could now recognize the serial numbers and names of the relics he touched.

"These are all Divine Relics with low serial numbers, and their abilities aren't particularly useful either. Their collection value is higher than their actual value."

"No wonder they're displayed here as exhibits instead of being put to use..."

"But it doesn't matter to me. When it comes to Divine Relics, there's no distinction between high and low; there's only the quantity of Divine Natures they contain..."

As he watched the number of Divine Natures in his panel soar, Xue Heng felt elated.

More than twenty minutes later, hiding in the shadows within a transparent compartment, Xue Heng, who was reaching out from the shadows like a ghost to touch a pair of scissors, suddenly perked up his ears.

With his cultivation in the Yellow Granny Art and the Five Great Elemental Practices deepening, his senses were becoming sharper. At that moment, he heard faint footsteps in the distance.

It seemed that the Xu Corporation employees were starting their shift.

He waited for another ten seconds or so until the panel displayed the prompt, "[Divine Nature Absorption Complete]," before withdrawing his hand.

As he quickly exited through the hole he had created, he glanced at the number of Divine Natures he currently possessed.

"[Divine Natures Owned: 10,037]! Five digits!"

This was the first time the number of Divine Natures he held had reached five digits since he had activated the panel.

It was also his biggest haul of Divine Natures so far, and he had obtained it almost effortlessly!

"Awesome!"

Xue Heng was secretly thrilled, and he even considered taking more risks, but his rationality told him that the best choice now was to leave immediately.

Reluctantly glancing back at the remaining Divine Relic containment compartments, Xue Heng hid in the shadows and quickly made his escape.

On his way out, he 'brushed shoulders' with a middle-aged male researcher wearing a white lab coat and glasses.

Only after he had put some distance between them did he faintly hear a startled and angry shout from the containment area.

"What is this hole doing here?! Wait, there's another one over here?!"

"Who was in charge of the night shift yesterday?!"

...

Xue Heng quickly returned to Floor 1002 before the Xu Corporation could tighten their security. He slipped out through the gap in the steel door and found himself outside the Skyscraper Center.

It was just dawn, but there were quite a few hovering vehicles around. Xue Heng was extremely cautious and did not reveal himself. Instead, he maintained his Shadow Stealth and Qi Concealment states and slowly moved through the easily overlooked blind spots, gradually making his way down the Skyscraper Center.

It took him over an hour just to get back to the ground.

Since most people traveling to and from the Skyscraper Center used flying vehicles, there were few cars on the ground, making his escape easier.

Along the way, Xue Heng carefully avoided vehicles and people, soon leaving the Skyscraper Center behind and entering a secluded forest with excellent cover.

He emerged from the shadows, his body clad in the Shadowflame Armor, and heaved a sigh of relief.

"The consumption of Shadow Stealth is too high. Even Level 9 Shadowflame is struggling to maintain it for such a long duration. The blue bar will be depleted soon."

Xue Jing sat on a large tree for a while, then opened his panel, his eyes shifting towards the Divine Nature skills column.

The words [Shadowflame Lv.9] appeared with a dim light, only a faint trace of golden glow remaining.

"I need to upgrade Shadowflame to Level 10 first. Otherwise, with my current blue bar, it will be difficult to stealthily return to the Zhigao base in broad daylight. Concealment during the day and at night are on completely different levels..."

[Shadowflame Lv.9 (10,037/6,000)]



Xue Jing clicked to upgrade.

[Shadowflame Lv.10 (4,037/8,000)]



[Divine Incarnation: Locked (Unlock Condition: Reach Level 10, Divine Natures 4,037/2,000)]



[Conditions to unlock Shadowflame Divine Incarnation have been met. Unlock?]



[Yes/No]



Xue Jing clicked 'No'.

He was eager to discover what the Divine Incarnation was, but he decided to return to a safe place first and unlock it there so he could observe it properly.

"As expected, Level 10 isn't the maximum level for a Divine Nature skill. It can still be upgraded further."

Xue Jing noticed the (4,037/8,000) that appeared after Shadowflame Lv.10 and nodded, unsurprised.

After all, his specialized skill [Cang Long Ruyi Jing] had continued to upgrade even after reaching Level 10.

It was clear that the upper limit of Divine Nature skills, which were superior to specialized skills, wouldn't be lower than that.

"Hmm? The blue bar is full?"

Xue Jing noticed the now fully charged [Shadowflame] on his panel and paused slightly.

So upgrading a Divine Nature skill also restores its blue bar directly?

This was the first time he had upgraded a Divine Nature skill while it was completely depleted, and he had just discovered this mechanism.

"It's like a game..."

Xue Jing nodded in satisfaction. This mechanism was an indirect enhancement to his combat strength.

As long as he had enough Divine Natures to upgrade his skills, it was equivalent to having two bars for the skill, greatly improving his endurance.

He stood up, and with a strong kick, he fiercely stomped on the tree branch, causing it to explode with a loud bang as his body shot forward like a bullet. He was heading towards Yuan City.

Since he didn't have the cover of night on his return journey, he chose to travel through hidden areas like forests along the way and used Shadow Stealth to move through shadows when there was no cover. He aimed to avoid detection by even the satellites' cameras.

As a result, it took him much longer to return to Yuan City than it had to leave.

Just like before, he bypassed the faint blue light membrane covering Yuan City by using Black Flame Shadow Jump, entering the city and slowly making his way towards the Zhigao base.

It was almost noon when Xue Jing finally returned to the villa at the Zhigao base.

Inside the room, a shadow seeped in through the window and moved onto the floor. Soon, Xue Jing emerged from the shadows, rising slowly from his kneeling position, just like an ending scene from a Terminator movie.

"Not naked. Missing the innerwear."

Xue Jing shook his head, looking at the little maid, Yun Qin, who was cleaning the room and seemed stunned by his appearance.

"Master..."

The little girl, dressed in a black and white classical maid outfit, saw Xue Jing and quickly placed her hands in front of her abdomen, bowing to him.

Xue Jing's body stiffened slightly as he stood up and smiled, patting Yun Qin's head, feeling helpless.

"I've told you not to call me master. It feels weird. If you really want to play this role-play game, just call me 'young master'."

This 'master' address was all due to Mao Mao's mischievous suggestion.

Yun Qin seemed to enjoy Xue Jing's head-patting, revealing a comfortable expression like a cat squinting in pleasure. She mumbled softly, "But Teacher Mao Mao said that you actually like it, but you just won't admit it..."

Xue Jing's mouth twitched, "Don't listen to her nonsense. That's not true."

After a pause, he continued, "At least, don't call me that when there are outsiders around."

The little girl scratched her head, "Yun Qin understands."

"Alright, you can stop cleaning the room for now. I have something to do."

"Yes."

After sending the little girl out and closing the door, Xue Jing took a deep breath and opened his panel, his eyes falling on Shadowflame.

[Conditions to unlock Shadowflame Divine Incarnation have been met. Unlock?]



[Yes/No]



He clicked 'Yes'.

[Unlock Successful]



[Obtained Divine Incarnation: Beast of Nonexistence]



[Description: A beast that does not exist in this world, devouring even shadows. A symbol of absolute 'nothingness'.]



[Summoning Incantation: Ankh Geb Ptah (World, forget me)]



...

(I've passed Xi Xiaotian, but this illustration is really torturous... However, the final BOSS battle against Huang Mei was so satisfying, even though it took me two hours, it was pure joy.)

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end