But at the next moment, he had to believe in the power of this suction force...

Because after his body stopped in mid-air for a few seconds, it was then pulled powerfully towards the small hole.

He wanted to struggle, but found that his body couldn't move at all, and anxiety filled his mind.

As Ye Hao wondered if this small hole could fit him inside, he felt relieved at the thought. Since it couldn't fit him, there was no need to be afraid. Could it really maintain its suction force forever...

However, the next moment, he was terrified, for his body suddenly vanished from its original place. He saw some dazzling images and then appeared in a simple and atmospheric ancient cave. Ye Hao looked at the place where he arrived and anxiously searched around, wondering whether he had found himself in a clichéd time-travel situation.

"Qianqian, take a look at where we are," Ye Hao asked Qianqian anxiously.

"Master, we're still underground in the Dark River, but I can't understand why you entered this cave. Moreover, this cave is dry and ventilated, not at all like being underground in the Dark River, yet in my monitoring, your three partners are still in the basin of Daling Mountain," Qianqian's puzzled voice came through.

"So, you're saying I haven't time-traveled?" Ye Hao finally relaxed upon hearing this, thinking that if he really had time-traveled, it would be over. A good modern life would turn into a disaster like a novel where he crossed into another world or ancient times.

Ye Hao relaxed and controlled his body, then began to search the cave.

The cave was simple, with only an ancient desk. A finely-crafted piece of silk was draped over the chair, but what puzzled him was why he had been sucked into this place.

He wanted to find the answer or leave the place. Seeing no obvious signs, Ye Hao could only ask Qianqian, "Qianqian, can you find a way to get us out of here? Why do I feel like there's nothing here but such a powerful force drawing me in? Help me check what kind of thing has such strength."

Qianqian operated the eighth-generation system to scan the entire Shandong region, and finally, her attention focused on the silk on the chair.

The eighth-generation system indicated there was a problem with the silk, but it couldn't provide a detailed analysis. Qianqian could only say to Ye Hao, "Master, there's an issue with that piece of silk according to the eighth-generation system, but it can't analyze it in detail. Master, you might want to get a bit closer."

Ye Hao didn't hesitate upon hearing this, although he was curious as to why the silk didn't quite resemble fabric, he didn't doubt Qianqian's test results.

Ye Hao approached the silk step by step, but in the depth of his consciousness, he felt as if the silk was calling out to him, urging him to come closer.

"Qianqian, how is it? Have you detected anything?" Ye Hao asked aloud. Since there was no one around, he didn't need to communicate with Qianqian using his mind.

"I'm sorry, Master. Still nothing. However, Master, you might want to try touching the silk..." Qianqian's sweet voice came through.

"Alright!" said Qianqian, and Ye Hao didn't hesitate, reaching out to grasp the silk. As he did so, he felt a soft and comfortable sensation. He could deduce that this wasn't ordinary fabric because the ink marks on the desk were certainly not recent.

"This silk is so soft, so beautiful. If I can return, I must take it with me," Ye Hao said with a smile, unaware that as he held the silk, it began to pulse with life.

As Ye Hao was enchanted while stroking the silk, a voice rang in his mind...

"Do you like it? If you like it, go ahead and touch it. It will all be yours from now on." The voice was incredibly ancient, and one could imagine that if the owner of the voice stood before Ye Hao, he would surely be an aged, almost dying old man.

Ye Hao nodded, turning as Qianqian's anxious voice sounded, "Master, an unidentified life form has intruded into your brain cells, requesting to take control of your body."

Ye Hao had previously thought the voice was his illusion, so he didn't pay it much mind. But when Qianqian reminded him, he sharply recalled that only he and Qianqian were here. Qianqian's voice is not that old, so could there really be an unknown life form?

With this thought, Ye Hao quickly said, "Permission granted."

As soon as Ye Hao said this, his consciousness decisively entered the eighth-generation system space, looking at Qianqian beside him, he asked, "What is going on here?"

Inside the system, Qianqian looked at Ye Hao with a solemn expression, "Master, take a look at this blueprint. This is a blueprint of your mind. I've discovered an unidentified life form in your mind. It seems to exist like a soul, or perhaps with an electrical presence. If I'm not mistaken, it might be someone trying to take over your body."

"What? Someone is trying to take over my body? When did this happen?" Ye Hao widened his eyes and closely examined the unidentified life form on the blueprint.

"It was the moment we entered here, your body touched that silk thread," Qianqian said gravely standing next to Ye Hao.

"You mean to say that you suspect it's a soul body, trying to erase my soul and take over my body?" Ye Hao looked at Qianqian and asked gravely.

"Yes, Master." Qianqian nodded.

"Is there any way?"

"Yes, there are two ways. The first is quite extreme, which involves having the eighth-generation system set a large amount of electrical current at the location where the soul body is stored in your mind. Once that soul body enters your body's central hub, the eighth-generation system will completely eliminate it with the current," Qianqian hesitated before saying, "However, this will cause some irreparable damage to your body, Master, such as paralysis or limb discoordination, like wanting to open your mouth but instead opening your eyes, etc."

"And the second way?" Ye Hao naturally didn't want to do something so extreme. Once the central hub is damaged, it would prove impossible for him to be a whole man in the future. Even a minor injury would be colossal to him, at least on his future path of National Martial Arts, it would definitely not be as glorious.

"The second way is for you to return to your body's central hub and control it, resisting his soul body, which would be incredibly beneficial to you. If you can't resist it, you will completely lose your soul, and he will replace your body."

"Master, time is running out. If he manages to break into your body's central hub, the eighth-generation system will no longer recognize your existence and will also eject you from the internal space of the eighth-generation system," Qianqian warned Ye Hao, her voice tinged with urgency.

"I choose to go out and confront him, I can't always rely on you." Ye Hao struggled a bit, thinking to himself, am I afraid of a soul left behind by a dead man? So Ye Hao decisively chose to confront the soul body; a successful encounter would be infinitely beneficial, failure, at worst, like a bird taking flight...

"Alright, I wish you success in resisting," Qianqian nodded, her gaze filled with warmth, even more real than a real person at this moment.

Ye Hao's soul returned to his body, controlling it to quietly wait, waiting for the soul body to find his central hub.

Half an hour quickly passed, Lu Yunsong and the other two watched the water flowing up to their necks in the basin, but Ye Hao still hadn't emerged. They started to worry.

Xue Zhaolong then suggested they pull the rope from above, and he would go down alone to check. When the other two expressed dissent, Xue Zhaolong directly said he was the strongest.

Xue Zhaolong held his breath, submerged underwater. His skills were not as strong as Ye Hao's, so he could only dive underwater for a few minutes before having to resurface.

After resurfacing, Xue Zhaolong shook his head at them, making the two even more anxious. When Zhuorong Town dove down, following the rope Ye Hao had used, they found it was severed...

In anxiety, they began searching tirelessly...

Meanwhile, underground in the Dark River, Ye Hao's mind was searing with pain; he knew that the soul body had found him. He gritted through the stabbing pain to keep his mind clear.

The soul body suddenly stopped, and Ye Hao seemed to feel the state of his own mind in the shadows. Facing the illusionary soul body ahead, Ye Hao communicated with him in spirit, asking, "Senior, who exactly are you? Why attack me for no reason?"

Ye Hao's cultured demeanor made the soul body pause, but then a look of madness filled his face as he began planning to oust Ye Hao from his central hub...

The pain was something only Ye Hao could understand; being relentlessly forced back, Ye Hao felt dizzy and on the verge of splitting. However, to keep living and accomplish what he wished for, he gritted his tongue, already bitten and bleeding, yet he kept biting.

Ye Hao kept his mind clear, naturally unwilling to let anyone possess him. The old soul elder frantically struggled a few times and then commenced another series of possessions.

With each struggle, the soul body weakened a bit, almost disappearing entirely. Yet Ye Hao wasn't aware that his soul power was gradually increasing; whenever the old spirit phantom fought against him, his soul body strengthened a bit, but the pain and power within made Ye Hao almost wish for his soul power not to strengthen...

"Ah! I can't take this anymore, damn it, I'm fighting you to the death." Ye Hao forcefully swung his leg against the wall, his thigh instantaneously fracturing.

He wanted to use pain to stimulate himself, so his teeth viciously bit his tongue again, causing a flood of blood to pour from his mouth.

"Come on! Let's see who dies first." Ye Hao went utterly insane, shouting aloud, provoking the soul body on what would happen.

The soul body seemed to sense Ye Hao's madness, recoiling with a hint of retreat, but Ye Hao went completely berserk, how could he let it leave?

Thus, a soul battle commenced fervently under Ye Hao's central hub... (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to recommend votes and monthly votes at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)

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