Closer to Revealing My True Self-Chapter 326 - 244 If Instinct..._1

Beneath the sea’s surface, a figure shot forward like an arrow released from the bowstring.

This was Feng Yi’s first real departure from the human domain, swimming freely in the sea.

The last incident with the starfish hadn’t been too far from the land. After all, the area where the starfish gathered wasn’t in the deep sea.

Only when truly away from land did one appreciate the vastness of the ocean.

Even the largest ship was but a leaf in the sea.

He felt the changes in the currents and the exchange of information within sea waters.

The currents were akin to highways beneath the sea, bringing nourishment and vitality and attracting more predatory creatures.

Feng Yi also saw some cute marine life, but he wasn’t in the mood to greet them.

Guided by instinct, he continued to search for the target of his journey.

In his perception, there was a special magnetic field’s center deep within the sea, and it was this magnetic field that instinct used to determine his route.

Aside from necessary breaths, Feng Yi hadn’t surfaced. He hurried along his way, minimizing the risk of exposure as much as possible.

He didn’t know how long he had been swimming or how many time zones he had crossed. The light above the sea surface was growing dimmer.

However, light had no effect on him. In the sea, he relied on perception, as well as instinct’s recognition of the magnetic field.

At last... he was almost there!

Approaching the destination, Feng Yi discerned that special magnetic field.

Yes, this was it!

Going by instinct, his grandmother had come to this place before she died!

And yet, nothing seemed extraordinary here.

No signs of human activity nor ships could be detected in the vicinity. Feng Yi prepared to break the water’s surface for a better look.

But what if satellites could spot him?

How to operate under the watchful eye of satellites?

Best to cover up.

Sensing the energy matter floating in the high skies, Feng Yi stirred them into action.

He wasn’t directly controlling the clouds but rather mobilized the energy matter in the high altitudes, using their power to drive changes in air currents and cloud formation.

In other words, without those energy matters present, he couldn’t change the clouds in the sky.

As long as the energy matters were there, as long as he could sense and control them, he could stir the air and clouds miles away even from a distance.

However, he didn’t yet possess such abilities.

Between the sky and sea, an energy field quickly formed.

Huge amounts of seawater evaporated, forming clouds which gathered from afar.

Small marine animals, sensing something, scattered.

Before long, the sea surface was cloaked in vast swathes of clouds.

Feng Yi surfaced and felt with his senses.

If his instincts were correct, there should be something here.

What could it be?

In the boundless ocean, he couldn’t spot the object of his quest at all.

Could it be beneath the water?

No sooner had he thought this than a jump in his brow prompted Feng Yi to dive back down, looking towards the seabed.

There was a change on the ocean floor!

Low-frequency sound signals echoed up from the deep sea.

Directly below, something was rising from the ocean bed.

Feng Yi didn’t leave; instead, he waited calmly. His instincts informed him that this was it!

The immense shadow drew closer until it lifted Feng Yi from the water, floating to the surface.

Feng Yi observed the enormous mass that had ascended from the seabed.

It wasn’t some mystical creature but an island made of rocks.

This was it!

The center of the magnetic field, the ultimate goal of his journey!

His instincts hadn’t led him astray!

Feng Yi slapped the rock beneath him with his tail.

The stone’s hardness was quite satisfactory, even more so than the local path at Old Man Feng’s, which he used for exfoliation.

It was definitely stone, not some kind of metal, yet he couldn’t identify what type of rock it was.

If it was stone, how had it risen suddenly from the sea floor?

What was the principle behind it?

Feng Yi pondered for a moment, then let it go. It wasn’t the time for analysis.

After staying at the bottom of the sea for a long time, the surface of the entire rocky island was cloaked in a layer of dark sediment, obscuring the original color of the rocks in most areas.

Yet as the rocky islet surfaced, it was as if Feng Yi had flipped a switch inside him; energy within his body began to stir, enlivening every cell.

But Feng Yi wasn’t worried.

This, he knew well!

It was the same sensation he experienced during Early March when he had his molt, only this time there had been no signs, and it appeared suddenly after this small rocky isle emerged.

Similar, yet different.

Not understanding was fine; he would leave it to his instincts!

Boom boom boom—

Storm clouds amassed in the sky, rapidly covering dozens of kilometers and beginning to unleash their energy.

The muffled rumble of thunder sounded like some titanic creature trampling back and forth within the storm clouds.

Lightning tore insanely across the sky, striking out in every direction like a horde of serpents.

Winds howled; waves churned!

The wind grew fierce.

Large swathes of mist formed on the sea, rapidly reducing visibility.

Gales sliced across the ocean’s surface, lifting droplets into the air.

Each molt, accompanied by the synthesis and release of energy, would trigger meteorological phenomena.

And this time, though it wasn’t a molt, it was a pivotal point of growth, which also triggered a marked change in the weather.

Above the rocky islet.

Changes were taking place within Feng Yi as well.

In Early March, when he shed his skin, only his hands and a few lines on his arms and torso had formed. But now, thin yet hard scales emerged in layers, covering his torso and creeping down his arms to his fingertips.

Specialized osseous claws, sharp as steel blades, gleamed coldly in the light.

Driven by abundant energy, it felt as though he had finally had a full meal, a sense of warmth, of satisfaction.

Meanwhile, a section of memory, dormant within DNA, was gradually activated.

It was the ancestral legacy.

From this memory, Feng Yi learned many important pieces of information.

For instance, how to control breath more precisely, how to release the correct informational chemicals, and how to mobilize more active factors, among others.

He also understood the purpose of this rocky islet.

This rocky islet was more like an unconventional nest; it could provide a special magnetic field to direct orientation and assist in gathering energy substances to promote growth and evolution.

Usually submerged at the ocean’s floor, it would "activate" upon sensing energy shifts, rising from the seabed.

The energy substances scattered around the world would, like attracted by magnetic force, converge towards it.

His species, with their formidable bodies, were essentially giant energy entities themselves.

Death was a process of energy release.

And with it, those energy substances would transition from a bound state to a free state, floating in the air.

Aging individuals would come to this rocky islet at their life’s end. As their bodies died and the energy sustaining them was released, the substances centered around this point, diffusing outwards, hovering above the clouds, silently awaiting the arrival of the next inheritor.

When the young inheritor arrived here, they would absorb these substances as "nutrients" for growth.

It was a cycle of material exchange.

Beyond this, Feng Yi also discovered why such beings as his species could now only exist one at a time, unable to coexist in twos or more, and if they did, they would quickly perish.

The reason was a scarcity of resources!

These energy substances could propel further mutations and growth in their bodies.

With every stage of growth, Feng Yi had to shed his skin, just like the practitioners in mythical tales who faced tribulations, having to transcend an ordeal at each stage.

His molting was akin to undergoing such a tribulation.

Successful molting meant growing stronger and living longer.

If it failed, or if something went wrong, his body would be greatly damaged.

It wasn’t apparent now, but as time went on, more of these energy substances were needed to overcome such "tribulations."

Long ago, the energy substances in the air were abundant.

His ancestors could live long lives and multiple individuals could exist simultaneously.

Back then, the planetary energy substances were sufficient to sustain many of their kind, letting them successfully pass through ordeal after ordeal, living even longer lives.

years? 500 years? Perhaps even longer.

The ancestors roamed the world, leaving behind various myths and terrifying tales.

But over millions of years, the energy substances had diminished so much that only one could be sustained at a time.

And individual growth was limited, with more substances needed as time went on. When the energy needed for evolution could no longer be met, the beings faced the prospect of their "end days" coming near.

Grandma was in such a condition.

She was quite possibly just in the prime of her species but faced her end days due to the lack of energy, unable to transcend the next "tribulation."

The ancestors had noticed the reduction of energy substances and generations had sought a solution, indeed discovering something—

The abundance or scarcity of these substances was connected to the planet itself.

Their species’ growth did consume a part of the energy substances, but they released most of it upon death; comparatively speaking, this shouldn’t result in such a scenario.

Only the planet itself could bring about such changes.

The ancestors came to regard the planet as a lifeform on another plane of existence.

Every significant planetary change was accompanied by a surge or decline in these substances.

The planet’s shifts affected every life that existed upon it.

With this thought, Feng Yi speculated that the climate anomalies of over twenty years ago might have significantly reduced the energy substances, leading Grandma to face her end days so soon.

Old Man Feng, who was born in the same litter as her, was still alive and well!

This also meant that Feng Yi himself might not live as long as Grandma had!

And after him, subsequent inheritors would have progressively shorter lives.

Feng Yi was feeling complicated now.

It was as if he had just had a full meal, only to learn that there would be a famine in the future.

Feng Yi lay on the rocky islet lost in thought.

The residual anxiety left in the DNA by his ancestors affected him.

He scratched at the rocks with his claws impatiently.

The dull encrustations on the rocks kept falling off as he scratched.

In truth, if an ordinary person could maintain their youthful vigor into their seventies or eighties, it would be satisfactory.

But the message conveyed by his ancestral DNA, as if in the earnest teachings of forebears, was:

[Kid, work hard! Maybe you can live for 500 years?!!]

But if those incredible predecessors couldn’t find a way, what could I do?

"With my brain, there’s a strong likelihood that I’ll reach my end days without finding a solution."

Feng Yi was well aware he was not one of the smart ones.

If brains weren’t enough, what about instinct?

Feng Yi pondered.

He continued to silently scratch at the stone, his long tail swinging restlessly.

Before long, a bare patch had appeared on the rocky islet.

Staring at the bald patch of rock, Feng Yi let out a long sigh.

His contemplation was fruitless, and the storm clouds above seemed to diminish.

"Forget it."

If there were no negative global catastrophes, he still had decades left.

Glancing at the sky obscured by clouds, Feng Yi dove into the sea.

He was hungry, time to go back for a meal.

Once full, he could think of a plan.

Resignation was not an option. Perhaps during the missions for the Protection Agency, he should gather more information?

The rocky islet afloat on the sea’s surface didn’t need attention; it would sink on its own.

This rocky islet would change its position with the ocean currents or seabed activity,

It was always moving.

Of course, if there was no violent activity on the seabed, it didn’t move that quickly normally.

Since Grandma’s death less than two years ago, it hadn’t shifted much.

After Feng Yi swam a good distance away, he heard that deep-frequency sound again.

It was the signal for sinking.

Feng Yi remembered reading an article long ago that spoke of a ghostly islet in the distant seas, appearing mysteriously and vanishing just as mysteriously, its whereabouts elusive to all.

Could it be the same one?