Chapter 378: Perception vs. Perception!
Jaxing Tian had indeed encountered Dou Zong experts in his life. Among the several surrounding empires near the Jia Ma Empire, there were forces that had Dou Zong level experts within their ranks. However, these Dou Zong usually followed an unspoken rule: unless the other side took the initiative to offend them, a Dou Zong expert would not casually slaughter the Dou Huang of a small region.
This unspoken agreement was respected by nearly all Dou Zong. For example, when the Jia Ma Empire fought with other empires, the battle would initially only involve the Dou Huang fighting each other. Only if their Dou Huang were defeated would the Dou Zong step in, furious, to turn the tide.
In Jaxing Tian and the others' eyes, the mysterious Dou Zong-like expert blocking their path was likely just passing through the Jia Ma Empire. As long as they introduced themselves in advance, the mysterious expert would not act rashly.
After all, they had the core members of both the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Guild and Weapon Refining Guild with them. Picking on the weak would lead to them facing the stronger forces.
"No need for introductions. I have already investigated you all. I know who you are," the elder cloaked in a gray robe, holding a compass with one hand and stepping through the air, slightly raised his head, revealing a pair of exceptionally bright eyes.
The bright starry eyes directly bypassed Jaxing Tian and the others, locking with a pair of dazzling red-golden eyes behind them. The gray-robed elder's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.
Out of professional habit, the gray-robed elder had already gathered intelligence about this place the day he entered the Jia Ma Empire.
Now, looking at Jiang Lin, who was protected by Jaxing Tian and the others, the gray-robed elder's starry eyes sparkled, and there was a subtle gleam of amusement. He realized that he had indeed seen this little guy earlier in the day. However, at that time, he had been too focused on why his Luo Tian Locking Spirit Array had failed, and had not paid much attention to this seemingly ordinary, unremarkable person in his perception.
But now, the gray-robed elder couldn't help but smile. Unknowingly, he had been perfectly deceived by the spiritual perception of this little guy.
The three realms of spiritual perception could only be truly mastered with perfect perception of the Intent realm. And the reason other realms of spiritual perception didn't have the "cognitive shielding" ability was simply because they didn't need it.
Only with Intent realm perception could one "see" strange and unusual things. "Cognitive shielding" was a self-protection mechanism of the Intent realm. At the very least, it prevented children from seeing strange and terrifying things that only a Dou Sheng could endure without going mad.
This "cognitive shielding" mechanism of perfect spiritual perception was not a simple, one-way block of the perception itself. It also automatically shielded the "pheromones" emitted by the body. Jiang Lin could freely move through the Beast Mountain Range undetected like a ghost because the perfect spiritual perception shielded the pheromones from his body that indicated his presence in this world.
The perception of Dou Qi experts would grow stronger with their level, and their ability to capture pheromones would also improve. Therefore, Jiang Lin, who appeared almost completely invisible to mid- and low-level magical beasts, would still emit basic pheromones in front of higher-level experts.
The eight ancient imperial clans each had their own path of enhancement. The Spirit Clan, with its extreme focus, resulted in lower base stats compared to the Xiao and Gu clans. Among the eight clans, the Xiao and Gu clans were "pure stat monsters," sacrificing their soul intelligence for better physical stats, allowing them to surpass others slightly in the physical domain.
The Spirit and Soul clans were "mechanical monsters," while the Flame, Medicine, and Thunder clans had a mix of both, but their performance was poor compared to the stat and mechanical monsters in the eight clans.
Only those with stronger mechanics could balance out immense stats. However, the three clans, which attempted to master both but lacked specialization, would fare decently against other factions but would be utterly dominated by the top four.
To know that the "Stone People" no longer sat at the table is because the Soul Clan's mechanics could easily dismantle them.
"That senior..." Upon hearing the gray-robed elder's words, Jaxing Tian and the others immediately tensed. They realized that the incoming individual was not to be underestimated.
At this moment, because of Jiang Lin's sudden stop, Xiao Yan, who had been hovering in front of him, secretly asked Yao Chen, "Teacher, have we encountered some trouble? Is that a Dou Zong?"
"..."
The response from Yao Chen was nothing but endless silence.
As a former Nine-Star Dou Zun, although Yao Chen's soul was weak, his vision was still sharp. He didn't know what to say in response to Xiao Yan. From this moment on, whatever he said seemed helpless.
"My goal is simple," the gray-robed elder said, his eyes locking with Jiang Lin's. "It's to take the child behind you."
The gray-robed elder's gaze intensified, realizing that he couldn't observe Jiang Lin's physical data. This was already abnormal. Normally, a perfect spiritual perception would be somewhat diluted by the stronger perception of others, allowing them to see through it.
The gray-robed elder's strength was far superior to Jiang Lin's, but he found his perception of Jiang Lin still unable to penetrate even the slightest. In his perception, Jiang Lin was even less remarkable than another "lucky" individual standing beside him.
But no matter how remarkable that individual with strange fire and powerful soul was, in the gray-robed elder's eyes, the seemingly ordinary Jiang Lin was the most extraordinary of all!
"Done for!" Upon hearing the gray-robed elder's words, Jaxing Tian and the others' hearts sank, realizing that the worst-case scenario had happened. The mysterious Dou Zong-like elder's goal was none other than Jiang Lin, their 'Crystal Nexus'!
Jaxing Tian and the others' expressions darkened immediately. Facing a Dou Zong expert, they truly felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness!
"Sorry! Senior, unless Jiang Lin is willing, you'll have to step over my dead body to take him!"
Thud!
A crisp sound of a sword echoed as Yun Yun unsheathed her slender sword, donning her Battle Qi armor, entering a combat stance!
Swish!
Suddenly, a terrifyingly high-temperature greenish-white flame ignited around Xiao Yan. His aura instantly expanded to the level of a Dou Huang! The Exotic Fire Heavy Scale, surrounded by the greenish-white flames, split apart with a thud, transforming into the Exotic Fire Heavy Cannon and appearing in Xiao Yan's somewhat dazed hands.
"Teacher?" Xiao Yan's heart tightened as he sensed something was off with Yao Chen.
But Yao Chen did not respond. Instead, he channeled his powerful soul force, silently conveying to Xiao Yan that moving forward was the only way for everyone to survive this situation!
(END CHAPTER)
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