Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

After the fog completely dissipated, Lin Yi's figure reappeared in the three people's sight.

His body remained in the same sleeping posture, with his arms hanging at his sides, his head tilted back slightly, and his whole body suspended about half a meter above the ground.

The surrounding black mist had dissipated, but the surface of the Abyss Lake was still gently churning, like a pot of soup that had been boiled and then cooled, with fine ripples remaining on the surface.

Old Miefa was the first to notice the anomaly. His eyes swept over Lin Yi and did not look away, but lingered for a moment.

Rutheran saw it too. He took a few steps from the lakeside, circled around to the other side of Lin Yi. His observation was more detailed than that of the old man who destroyed the law. His gaze swept from the top of Lin Yi's head to the soles of his feet, then back to his chest, and then stopped there.

The abyssal power surrounding Lin Yi was circulating continuously.

The energy surged out of his body, forming a thin layer of mist around him, and then seeped back into his body from the other side.

The whole process was extremely slow, like a sleeping river flowing gently, but the rhythm was reminiscent of a heartbeat.

Rutheran looked at him for a moment, then turned to look at Hill.

"After you were baptized in the abyss back then, did you reach that level?"

Old Man Destroyer also turned his head, his murky eyes fixed on Hill's face, waiting for her answer.

Hill shook her head silently. She stood about two steps away from Lin Yi, her gaze fixed on the slowly rotating layer of energy mist around Lin Yi's body.

When she was alive, it was the heyday of Abyss Physicians.

With the Destroyers protecting her from the outside and the complete lineage of the Abyss Physician inside, she stood at a height that countless people could not reach even after a lifetime of hard work, from the very first day she embarked on the path of cultivation.

Resources, cultivation techniques, inheritance, connections, protection—everything she could think of had been prepared for her.

She doesn't need to worry about what to eat next, where tomorrow's cultivation resources will come from, or lick her wounds alone in the dead of night.

Growing up in such an environment, her willpower wasn't particularly strong.

It's not that she's not good enough, but that she hasn't experienced true despair.

A person never knows how much pressure they can withstand or how much pain they can endure until they are driven to the brink of despair.

Hill was already at an extremely powerful level when she underwent the Abyss Baptism.

At that level, the energy inside the body has undergone a qualitative change, completely different from the lower levels.

Although it is also the power of the abyss, the power of the abyss within her body has been marked with a unique label that belongs to her alone.

Just like how Su Xiao's use of the same power of the Blue Steel Shadow is different from Marvin Waltz's.

It's not a matter of superiority or inferiority, but rather a difference in characteristics.

She was too well protected, which resulted in her growth rate being far slower than Lin Yi's.

Putting everything else aside, before reaching the ninth rank, her advancement was entirely due to the resources provided by the Abyss Healer faction.

There's no point in going out to work hard; the Abyss Doctor doesn't lack that kind of thing.

Only after she reached the ninth level and gained the ability to protect herself did her master throw her out to train in the void.

The difference between starting training at the ninth level and starting at the first level is ultimately enormous.

Great trees begin from humble beginnings; those who truly reach the pinnacle have all climbed up step by step from the bottom.

Only those who have fallen in the mud know how to stand firm in the mud; only those who have walked on a knife's edge know how to maintain their balance on a knife's edge.

Therefore, even after reaching the highest level, despite her best efforts to obtain the Abyss Baptism privilege, this privilege did not provide her with much help.

On the one hand, she herself was baptized too late, and the energy system inside her body had solidified, making it difficult for the power of the abyss to find a new breakthrough in that solidified system.

On the other hand, her willpower was too weak, and she couldn't hold on for long before giving up.

The kind of pain that wells up from the depths of the soul cannot be overcome by resources or connections; only willpower can overcome it.

Lin Yi is different. Although he also obtained a lot of resources in the Paradise of Reincarnation with the help of the Abyss Doctors camp, he still had to work hard for most of these things himself.

Hill merely made it easier for him to obtain these things; he didn't get them for him.

His experiences of crawling out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and the battles where he was forced into a corner and had to fight his way out on his own, are what truly shaped him.

In addition, with the old man severing part of the connection between his soul and body, and with the help of the Paradise of Reincarnation, Lin Yi did indeed gain a lot of truly good things during this baptism.

Rutheran looked at the slowly rotating layer of energy mist around Lin Yi's body, his lips moved a few times as if he were calculating something, and finally he sighed softly.

"That kid is really lucky." Rutheran's voice carried an indescribable complexity, not jealousy, but more like the feeling of someone who has seen another person win a big prize.

Lin Yi was completely unaware of anything while he was fast asleep.

His consciousness was still immersed in that darkness, but unlike the previous times, this time the darkness no longer made him feel oppressed.

Before the baptism of the abyss, when he entered this darkness, he felt like a drowning person struggling underwater, his chest tight, his breathing rapid, and every second he was fighting against that invisible sense of oppression.

But now, he can feel himself breathing freely in this darkness, not because he has become stronger, but because the darkness no longer rejects him.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Yi began to regain his senses.

He could feel his body again, but not in the usual way.

When you raise your hand, you feel its weight, temperature, and the sensation of contact with the air.

Now he feels that his body is like a piece of clothing, his soul is the body, and his body has become the clothing.

This feeling was so strange that Lin Yi's consciousness began to rise from the depths of darkness.

It's like a person swimming from deep water to the surface, where the surrounding water pressure decreases, the light becomes brighter, and the sound becomes clearer.

The next second, Lin Yi opened his eyes.

In that instant, the abyss above his head suddenly contracted.

The black crack, about one meter in diameter, began to collapse inward from the edge, like a crumpled piece of paper, shrinking from the outside to the center.

The Abyss Hole collapsed very quickly, so quickly that Lin Yi only had time to see a black vortex spin a few times above his head before disappearing completely.

The notification sounds of the Paradise of Reincarnation rang in Lin Yi's ears one after another, like a string of lit firecrackers exploding one after another.

[Notification: The Hunter has completed the "Abyssal Baptism." Checking... Check complete. The Hunter's Abyssal Resistance has increased from 10 points to 40 points.]

Lin Yi looked at the number and his lips twitched slightly.

The 40-point abyss resistance isn't just an increase, it's a leap forward.

A 10-point resistance bonus allows you to maintain normal movement in low-concentration abyssal environments and prevents you from losing combat effectiveness due to the corrosive power of the abyss.

A resistance of 40 points meant that slightly weaker abyssal environments had no effect on him. He could breathe, walk, and fight normally in such places, just like in a normal environment. He recalled his experience sealing the abyssal pore in the frigid lands.

At that time, Lin Yi's abyss resistance was only 10 points. The high concentration of abyss power gushing out from the holes brought his body to the brink of collapse. If it weren't for his strong willpower, he might not have even had the strength to climb out of that place.

Now, if he encounters the same situation again, at least he won't be in such a sorry state.

[Note: Hunters gain the special status buff "Abyssal Race". While in the Abyss environment, hunters will receive a comprehensive buff to all attributes, including health, Abyssal power, and attack power. The buff increases with the concentration of Abyssal power, up to a maximum of 100%.]

Lin Yi's gaze lingered on the words "up to one hundred percent" for a moment.

A 50% increase in all attributes is not a negligible number, especially in high-level battles. Every extra point in attributes can mean a greater difference between life and death.

Moreover, this is not a fixed additive effect, but a dynamic additive effect that varies with the concentration in the environment.

The higher the concentration of abyssal power, the stronger he becomes.

This means that in those abyssal areas that others cannot set foot in, he can actually unleash combat power beyond normal levels.

[Notification: The Hunter skill "Abyssal Body" has undergone a transformation. Checking... Check complete. "Abyssal Body" has evolved into "Abyssal Form."]

[Abyss Body, Passive Skill.]

Bloodline level: Initial
Skill Effects: Increases affinity with Abyss Power by 20%. Increases the effects of Abyss Power-related skills by 15%. Increases damage against Abyss-type enemies by 10% and damage against non-Abyss-type enemies by 5%.

Note: This skill will automatically upgrade as it is continuously imbued with the power of the abyss.

Note: There is no limit to the growth of the Abyss Body; each infusion of Abyss power may trigger bloodline evolution.

The EX level of Abyss Body is maxed out, with no room for further improvement, even using Gold Skill Points won't help.

However, the Abyss Body is different. Its level is marked by its bloodline level, and it can be upgraded from the initial level.

Having spent so long in the cycle of reincarnation, he learned one thing: an ability you don't need doesn't mean it's useless; it's too late to look for it when you need it.

As for the conditions for bloodline evolution, Lin Yi glanced at them and found that, as expected, even gold skill points could not improve the level of this skill.

The rules of the Paradise of Reincarnation are very clear: some things cannot be created by simply piling up resources. They require time to soak in the power of the abyss, to be repeatedly washed and tempered. If you survive, your bloodline will evolve a little; if you don't, you will become an abyssal creature.

Lin Yi turned off the skill panel and tried to stand up from the ground.

His knees had barely left the ground by two centimeters when his body tilted to one side, like a tree blown down by the wind, falling uncontrollably to the side.

He instinctively reached out to brace himself, but his arm reacted a beat slower than usual, and he didn't control the force when his palm hit the ground, causing him to tilt to the other side.

He sat on the ground and took a few breaths.

The connection between his soul and body was partially severed by the old destroyer, and he controlled his body like a machine with a very high latency.

He was thinking about standing up, but his body took half a second to execute the command, and there were frequent deviations during the execution process.

On the other hand, this baptism had a huge impact on him.

Normally, very few people would undergo such a long baptism in the abyss.

Most people can't last more than half a minute before being forced to stop due to physical or mental collapse; those who can last even a minute are considered to have strong willpower.

Lin Yi didn't know how long he lasted, but it was definitely no less than five minutes.

The longer the baptism lasts, the more terrifying the side effects will be.

His body is currently in a state of extreme weakness, not because of injury, but because it is like a machine that has been disassembled and reassembled. Every part is still there, but it needs time to break in before it can function normally again.

Hill noticed Lin Yi's unusual behavior. She walked over, put one hand under Lin Yi's armpit, grabbed his arm with the other, and helped him up from the ground.

Lin Yi's body was as limp as a lump of noodles soaked in water, and he could barely stand by leaning on her.

Hill felt the weight of Lin Yi's body and recalled how she looked after undergoing the baptism of the abyss.

She was in a much worse situation than Lin Yi; she lay in bed for over a month before she could turn over on her own.

Without the help of the Paradise of Reincarnation to suppress the erosion of the abyss's power, she had to bear all the pain on her own.

The feeling was like someone had set fire to your body, starting from your bones, burning your muscles, your blood vessels, and your skin, with every inch of tissue struggling in that burning sensation.

She lay in bed for more than a month, unable to eat or sleep, just enduring each day with her eyes closed.

She endured one day at a time, one week at a time, until her body's self-repairing ability gradually outpaced the erosion by the power of the abyss, and only then did she begin to recover.

Lin Yi can at least still stand, which is much better than she was back then.

Lin Yi leaned on her shoulder, took a few breaths, and then spoke.

"I'll have Su Xiao pick me up after I go out. Right now, I'm practically half a cripple."

The people around him listened, and no one thought he was feeling sorry for himself.

In the cycle of reincarnation, being able to acknowledge one's own weakness is itself a sign of strength.

Those who dare not admit their weakness often suffer a terrible fate in the next mission.

"Alright, after a while, I'll have someone send the divine kingdom to you. In the meantime, you should rest and recuperate."

After a brief silence, the teleportation light shone on the lakeside.

Lying in the skill enhancement pod, Lin Yi struggled to send a message to Su Xiao, asking Su Xiao to come and pick him up.

Ten minutes later, Su Xiao brought Bubuwang and Baha to the skill enhancement chamber.

Am is currently eating at Xia's restaurant, while Benny has gone shopping in the commercial district, so only Baha and Bubuwang have come.

After arriving at the skill enhancement chamber where Lin Yi was, Su Xiao knocked on the chamber door.

The next second, the door to the cell where Lin Yi was located opened, revealing a weak-looking Lin Yi.

Baha flew off Su Xiao's shoulder, circled once in mid-air, and landed on Lin Yi's shoulder.

"What happened? How did you get yourself into this state?"

As an assassin-type Servant, Bahamut naturally noticed Lin Yi's abnormality at a glance. No wonder Lin Yi asked Su Xiao to come and pick him up. Under these circumstances, Lin Yi's ability to even move was already at the limit of his willpower.

Su Xiao walked to Lin Yi's side and had Baha pull Lin Yi up, then placed him on Bubuwang's body.

"Let's go eat first, I'm hungry."

Lin Yi lay on Bubuwang's waist, speaking weakly.

There was no other way; the body's evolution also required energy. Right now, Lin Yi just wanted to eat something quickly to alleviate the feeling of energy depletion in his body. (End of Chapter)