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Pain—tearing, ripping pain—
Spinning—endless spinning—
In a hazy daze, Shawn Young felt waves of excruciating, ripping pain tearing through his body. But he could still grit his teeth and bear it. What shocked him most was his own consciousness: it kept sinking, deeper and deeper, into the shadowy gray depths of Second Sight. The descent was so fast, it felt like he was being dragged down by streaks of blurred, flying phantoms. Shawn’s heart tightened—he knew this was a sign of losing control over his consciousness. For a cultivator, losing control was terrifying; if your mind slipped, you could go berserk at any moment!
Berserk—just thinking about that nightmare ending, Shawn snapped his focus together, trying to regain control of his plummeting consciousness. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t command his mind like usual. His awareness quickly became a runaway wild horse, plunging straight into the depths of Second Sight.
By now, Shawn Young understood Second Sight pretty well—it's the deepest subconscious sea inside a person's brain, storing all their memories, surfacing the good and evil within, and hiding wisdom and potential far beyond modern science. Shawn wasn’t a stranger here; he’d explored Second Sight countless times, probing the mysteries of life and the essence of his own soul.
What really puzzled Shawn was that his consciousness didn’t stop at the depths of Second Sight—it kept plunging, even faster, toward the very bottom. Ever since he’d cultivated his Celestial Essence, nothing like this had ever happened. The descent was so rapid that even the sights in the depths of Second Sight stretched and warped, as if he’d been sucked into a dazzling, bottomless whirlpool.
“Isn’t Second Sight supposed to be the bottom line of a person’s subconscious? Could there be something even stranger below it?” Shawn realized he’d never thought about this before. Now, with this sudden idea, he wondered if he was about to discover a realm he’d never understood before!
Nervous and curious, Shawn decided to just go with the flow, letting his consciousness drift wherever it wanted. Whether there was light or darkness beneath Second Sight, he wanted to see what was hidden below his own subconscious. After all, he remembered what the ancient sages said: "He who understands others is wise; he who understands himself is enlightened!" This was the new, ultimate realm every cultivator sought—beyond all Daoist arts.
In Shawn’s mind, a deep blue sky appeared, then he plunged through layers of thunderous, stormy clouds. Countless golden lightning bolts, writhing like wild serpents, danced where his consciousness landed. His awareness shot downward like a falling meteor, diving straight into the depths of Second Sight!
Almost at the very bottom—Shawn Young’s soul quivered with excitement—because below him was a swirling mist, a raging sea, and an endless, fiery red ocean!
Even though he hadn’t plunged in yet, Shawn could feel waves of righteous energy surging within that ocean, radiating a power so immense it could swallow the heavens and earth, shining with the brilliance of sun and moon! This was a realm beyond anything human strength could imagine!
In an instant, Shawn understood—this vast ocean contained the most mysterious forces of heaven and earth, the greatest laws of the universe! If he could enter and unlock its secrets, he’d achieve true enlightenment and step into the realm of immortals!
Just as Shawn tried to force his way in—“Boom!”—a powerful rebound jolted his out-of-control consciousness, sending his vision spinning. To his shock, he saw that the fiery ocean was covered by an unparalleled, transparent Veil Domain. Breaking through it would take incredible strength, but Shawn knew he didn’t have that kind of power right now!
As he hesitated in confusion, Shawn felt his consciousness suddenly shoot upward again, rising higher and higher, faster and faster!
Boom—his forehead exploded with pain, and Shawn’s body jolted. His eyelids were still heavy, but he slowly woke from his stupor. A blinding light greeted him—the ceiling lamp. He quickly looked around and found himself alone in a room, surrounded by white walls and a faint smell of medicine. He was lying on a soft bed, covered by a thin blanket. Everything was quiet and cool, with an air conditioner nearby. This had to be an intensive care ward.
At the same time, Shawn felt a dull ache in his chest, and realized he was stark naked beneath the blanket—especially down below, where a burning, stabbing pain radiated from his groin!
“Ah—my junk—” Shawn’s heart sank. He suddenly remembered, right before he passed out, the razor-sharp blade of the ‘Muramasa’ had slashed toward his crotch! Cold sweat broke out all over him as he snapped his eyes wide open, lifted the blanket, and stared straight down!
“Oh—close call—it’s still there! But what the hell happened?” Shawn saw that his right thigh was wrapped in white bandages, but his big monster bird was still standing tall and proud, untouched. Yet it looked weirder than ever—somehow, the thick jungle of black hair around it had been shaved off! Without its usual camouflage, the whole monster bird looked even bigger and more menacing!
Seeing this tragic sight, Shawn’s scalp tingled and his heart raced, as a wave of indescribable pain shot through his groin.
Damn it—who messed with my precious?! Who shaved off all my brother’s hair down there? Which bastard did this? Show yourself—now! Shawn was beyond frustrated, yelling at the top of his lungs. His once proud monster bird drooped in defeat.
You had to understand—Shawn had so many gorgeous women now, each one a dazzling beauty. Without his hardworking monster bird, even his legendary “Dragon-Phoenix Dual Cultivation Technique” would be useless! If anything happened to it, his life would be utterly bleak, and all those wonderful, steamy nights with his beauties would vanish. That was something Shawn absolutely could not accept!
As Shawn’s angry shouts echoed, a flurry of footsteps sounded outside. The door swung open and a delicate, lovely face peeked in, exclaiming with joy, “Ah! You’re finally awake!”
Shawn saw that it was none other than Fiona Nangong. Worried that his exposed monster bird would freak her out, he hurriedly covered himself with the blanket, blushing as he asked, “Uh, where am I? How long was I out?”
“Oh—you’ve been unconscious for three whole days and nights! But you’re okay now, you finally woke up. We were all worried sick!” Fiona Nangong breathed a sigh of relief.
“Wait—three days and nights?! I was out that long?!” Shawn gasped, feeling like he’d just been fuzzy for a moment. He couldn’t believe so much time had passed!
“Uh-huh, you’re awake and that’s what matters. This is the intensive care ward! Don’t worry, it’s our Nangong Family’s private hospital. All the doctors and nurses are top professionals, hired at the highest salaries!” Fiona explained quickly.
“Oh—you’re okay?!” Shawn asked, remembering that right before he passed out, Fiona Nangong had almost been killed by the ‘Muramasa,’ and he’d collapsed after striking the ninja. He had no idea what happened after that.
“I’m fine—what about you? Are you… feeling better?” Fiona Nangong asked, concern in her voice.
“Oh—being alive is good enough! But seriously—what the heck happened down there?!” Shawn felt he had to get to the bottom of this!
“Down there? What do you mean, down there?” Fiona Nangong asked, looking confused.
“Uh—well—my… you know, down there! You should know what I mean!! Ahem—” Shawn felt he needed to spell it out for Fiona.
To his surprise, Fiona Nangong had no idea what he was talking about. She stared at him, puzzled, and said, “Down there? That thing? What do you mean? I don’t get it!”
“Damn—I mean—right here!!” Shawn, exasperated, couldn’t figure out how to explain, so he just whipped the blanket off. He couldn’t understand how Fiona, who seemed so smart and mature, was clueless about what he meant!
“Ah!! That—this—has nothing to do with me! I—I don’t know! Don’t scare me!” Fiona’s pretty face turned bright red. Shawn was way out of line—she hadn’t expected him to suddenly flash his “gear,” and that enormous monster bird was way too much of a shock!