Chapter 166: "Breaking out of the Cocoon"

Seeing how persistent Ye Hui was, Zhang Pu stopped trying to argue.

However, because Ye Hui had come, Zhang Pu did not want to continue cultivating on his own while leaving the other man waiting out in the open.

More importantly, in a place like the forbidden zone, even a healthy person would eventually suffer consequences from the oppressive aura of death.

Zhang Pu thought to himself that before Ye Hui could even help him with anything, Ye Hui himself would run into trouble.

Yet Zhang Pu knew that if he were to chase Ye Hui away now, the man would refuse to leave under any circumstances.

*I never expected this fellow to be so fiercely loyal,* Zhang Pu sighed inwardly.

Therefore, Zhang Pu decided to temporarily suspend his cultivation of the grand spiritual seed planting. He now knew this location was a prime spiritual sanctuary for that practice, and he could always return whenever he wished.

Zhang Pu began to figure out how to break through the glass-like dome currently trapping him.

He had been calling it a "glass dome," but naturally, this minor seal-like barrier was not actually made of glass. It merely resembled glass in appearance and was completely transparent.

Drawing upon his experiences from the immortal cultivation world, Zhang Pu deduced that since this barrier could not block the influx of deathly aura, it was not as airtight as glass, making it far more vulnerable than it appeared.

First, Zhang Pu tried to break through it using his own internal energy.

After trying for a while, he noticed that Ye Hui was still faithfully standing guard nearby.

In the dead of night within this forbidden zone, devoid of stars or moon, a layer of deathly aura visible only to Zhang Pu was blanketing Ye Hui's body.

Zhang Pu knew that Ye Hui must be relying entirely on sheer willpower to resist the invasion of that deathly aura.

Yet Ye Hui was, after all, a mortal of flesh and blood. Zhang Pu understood that no matter how resilient Ye Hui might be, he would ultimately be struck down.

Zhang Pu tried pushing against the interior of the dome for a while longer, and although it yielded no results, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.

"Ye Hui, Ye Hui—"

Ye Hui was currently closing his eyes, struggling with all his might to resist the erosion of some inner demon, when he suddenly heard Zhang Pu calling him.

Stirred into action, Ye Hui hastily answered and stood up.

He immediately ran over to the spot where Zhang Pu was trapped beneath the dome.

"Ye Hui, go gather some stones and strike the barrier from the outside!" Zhang Pu instructed him right away.

Since the dome appeared transparent, Ye Hui momentarily worried that if the barrier were to shatter, his stones might strike Zhang Pu directly.

How could Zhang Pu fail to see right through the hesitation flickering in Ye Hui's mind?

Zhang Pu laughed and said, "With my abilities, your stones cannot harm me."

Thinking about it, Ye Hui realized that made sense. Despite the terrifying lightning bolts that had struck earlier, Zhang Pu was still completely unharmed; he was merely trapped for the time being.

Ye Hui believed that Zhang Pu would soon "break out of his cocoon."

Fearing that a mere few stones might not be enough to help Zhang Pu "crack the shell," Ye Hui went out and gathered an entire pile in one breath.

Meanwhile, Zhang Pu was still using various methods from the immortal cultivation world to attack the shell.

He knew at least dozens of ways to break seals from the immortal cultivation world, but unfortunately, his current cultivation level was still too low. He could not use the majority of those spells, and even the ones he could barely manage would possess very little power.

As for the entity that had cast this dome upon him, it was likely an immortal, god, demon, or monster of some sort. Judging by the sheer strength of the barrier, he estimated their power to be quite formidable.

Therefore, having no other choice, Zhang Pu had to continue using his own methods.

At this moment, however, he thought of enlisting external force—

And sure enough, under his instructions, Ye Hui had already begun using stones to assist in the assault.

Some of the stones Ye Hui threw initially bounced back, giving him quite a scare, but he was no novice amidst flashing blades and drawn swords; he quickly managed to dodge them.

Gradually, Ye Hui's external assistance technique grew more refined.

Furthermore, Zhang Pu inside the dome began to feel that the barrier was no longer quite as resilient. This indicated that through their combined attacks from the inside and outside, the dome was slowly cracking—its shattering was imminent!

Finally, with a loud bang, the dome shattered!

Yet Ye Hui was sent tumbling backward like a flurry of somersaults by a massive surge of recoil energy.

"Ye Hui—"

Fearing that Ye Hui might suffer mental and physical exhaustion from the impact, Zhang Pu rushed over immediately.

This was a forbidden zone reeking of death, not some ordinary place in the outside world. Even a man as sturdy as an ox like Ye Hui could perish here at a moment's notice.

Fortunately, Zhang Pu was here, and he was capable of producing the kind of miraculous resurrection pills that mortals believed in.

However, when Zhang Pu searched his entire body, he suddenly realized that he had no pills left on him.

At this moment, Ye Hui's eyes were tightly shut.

Zhang Pu could tell that he had relied on immense willpower just to hold on until now.

Even without pills, however, Zhang Pu was a divine healer with miraculous skills.

He possessed plenty of minor spells brought from the immortal cultivation world, many of which could yank someone back from the gates of hell even when applied to the mortal realm of Earth!

First, Zhang Pu cast a minor spell from the immortal cultivation world called "Concealment" upon Ye Hui's body. A faint ripple of genuine Qi began to circulate around Ye Hui, perfectly blocking the forbidden zone's deathly aura from continuing to erode his body.

Next, Zhang Pu immediately cast another minor spell known as "Exorcism," channeling the power of the Sun and Moon Art he usually practiced to drive out the deathly aura that had already invaded Ye Hui's body.

Without pills, treating Ye Hui using his own internal cultivation yielded the exact same effect; the only drawback was that Zhang Pu would lose a fraction of his cultivation power.

Ye Hui was quickly revived.

Opening his eyes, he struggled for a moment to recall what had happened just prior.

Knowing that Ye Hui was in no condition to linger in this place any longer, Zhang Pu did not give him time to slowly reminisce.

"Let's go!"

Though only a student, Zhang Pu displayed more masculine resolve than Ye Hui at this moment, unceremoniously hauling Ye Hui to his feet and pulling him along.

The scene was somewhat reminiscent of the first time Ye Hui had dragged Zhang Pu away.

If either of them were to recall past events at this instant and compare them to the current situation tonight, both would surely chuckle with amused resignation.

Yet neither of them had the leisure to laugh.

Whether it was Ye Hui, who had fully regained his senses, or Zhang Pu, both shared the exact same thought: if that formidable enemy from before were to suddenly return, Zhang Pu might not be able to fend it off again.

Though they did not know whether that terrifying celestial enemy would only manifest within this forbidden zone, both men shared the exact same mindset: leaving this place of trouble as early as possible was the wisest course of action!

Urged on by their mutual haste, and aided by Zhang Pu's ability to navigate a path effortlessly on a second journey, the two of them managed to exit the mysterious and unpredictable forbidden zone before long.

Glancing back at the forbidden zone, Ye Hui felt a lingering wave of palpitation, while a trace of subtle regret stirred within Zhang Pu's heart.