113: Fallen Phoenix Grass Appears

A subtle, yet incredibly clear sound, like ice cracking, abruptly tore through the absolute silence!

Upon the smooth eggshell, a tiny, yet dazzling crack suddenly appeared!

Lin Feng's internal alarm bells rang wildly!

An instinctive fear, originating from the deepest part of his Soul, of an existence far surpassing his own life-level, instantly overwhelmed him like a cold tide! He wanted to retreat, to escape, but found his body completely frozen!

It was as if he was bound by countless invisible, incredibly tough threads, unable to move even a single finger! He couldn't even blink! Only his heart in his chest was pounding wildly, uncontrollably, forming a chilling synchronization with the sound of the eggshell cracking!

Cold sweat streamed from his forehead, temples, and back like rivulets, instantly soaking his inner garment. He could clearly hear the roar of his blood rushing through his veins, and feel the spasmodic trembling of every inch of his muscle fibers.

He could only watch, like an outsider, as more and more cracks appeared on the giant egg, coiling and spreading like a living thing, emitting increasingly dense "crackling" sounds.

The light within the eggshell was already too intense to look at directly, and the fluctuation of life was so powerful that it made his Soul tremble, as if some primordial Vicious Beast was about to burst out of the shell in the next second, devouring him until not even a speck remained!

This feeling of completely losing control of his body and only being able to await the judgment of fate was despairing and terrifying!

Finally, after a violent tremor that seemed to reach its peak—all sounds, all light, all powerful life fluctuations… were abruptly cut off as if by an invisible hand, coming to a sudden halt!

…

That hidden space.

Dead silence once again enveloped the crystal screen, and also enveloped this hidden space.

The blurry figure paused its leaning posture, slowly, extremely slowly, leaning back against the dark purple crystal. The scrutiny in its eyes and that imperceptible hint of expectation receded like a tide, replaced once again by ancient coldness and indifference, and even… a hint of extremely subtle… weariness?

A lighter, fainter murmur, as if an unconscious sigh, sounded again in that ancient language:

"…@!#!#!@" It roughly said: "Here it comes again… boring… a futile effort."

As its voice fell, he no longer paid attention to the Cultivator on the crystal screen, who was looking bewildered at the empty egg. The light in its eyes gradually dimmed, as if it had once again fallen into endless slumber or waiting, leaving behind only this strange space and the huge crystal that still reflected the myriad forms of life in the Secret Realm.

Only that phrase, "a futile effort," filled with ancient weariness, slowly settled like dust in this dead silent space.

…

The eggshell stopped cracking, the light completely receded and disappeared, and the life fluctuations vanished without a trace.

It was as if everything that had just happened, all that heart-stopping excitement, was merely an illusion.

The invisible force that had restrained his body also receded abruptly like a tide.

Lin Feng stumbled back several steps, gasping for air like a fish out of water, his heart still pounding wildly, his whole body slightly sore from the extreme tension he had just experienced.

He stared at the giant egg, now completely silent, like an exquisite white jade sculpture, with a mix of suspicion, lingering fear, bewilderment, and disbelief.

He cautiously, extremely slowly, approached, his powerful Divine Sense repeatedly scanning. A dead object! There was no sign of life, no energy fluctuations, and he couldn't even see the cracks that had just appeared. The surface of the eggshell was as smooth as before, as if nothing had ever changed.

'An empty egg?' Lin Feng's brows furrowed, his mind filled with doubts, 'Then that life-pressure that almost materialized… that incredibly clear heart-beat resonance… and the feeling of my body being completely restrained… were they all fake? Was it some kind of prank by a higher existence? Or… is this egg itself a giant illusion trap?'

Just as he was racking his brains, preparing to probe further, in his Sea of Consciousness, the Divine Ability fruit representing Gather Beast suddenly transmitted an extremely faint, yet highest-level alarm-like throb! This was an instinctive, strong premonition of an incomprehensible great terror and great danger!

Danger! Extreme danger! This place is not to be lingered in! Must leave immediately!

Lin Feng's heart tightened. Without hesitation, he immediately turned around, increasing his speed to the maximum, and intended to leave this extremely strange empty mirror-like place.

However, just as his gaze subconsciously swept over the reflection on the mirror-smooth ground in the distance, his pupils suddenly constricted into the most dangerous pinpricks!

In the clear, glazed ground reflection, in an inconspicuous shallow depression not far from that strange empty egg, a peculiar Spiritual Plant was quietly blooming.

Its form was elegant, like a Phoenix spreading its wings, and its entire body flowed with a dreamlike reddish-gold halo. Each leaf was naturally inscribed with complex and profound patterns, as if containing the great Dao principles. What it emitted was not a strong Spiritual Qi fluctuation, but an indescribable, vast and boundless Daorhyme of pure vitality, as if it could make one undergo a complete transformation and Nirvana rebirth!

That aura was completely different from any Spiritual Plant he had obtained before; its life-level seemed even higher!

That was—fallen phoenix grass?! And judging by its form, luster, and Daorhyme, it was definitely not the ordinary fallen phoenix grass recorded in ancient texts. Its age and quality were probably at the highest grade, reaching several thousand or even tens of thousands of years!

A huge temptation, like a curse, instantly seized Lin Feng's mind, making his just-stepped foot freeze in place.

Suddenly,

The reddish-gold fallen phoenix grass quietly unfolded its elegant leaves in the reflection of the glazed ground, its Daorhyme natural, its vitality immense. The temptation was so great that it was enough to drive any Foundation Establishment Cultivator mad, even to fight for it with their lives.

Lin Feng's heart was still pounding violently from the fright of the empty egg just now, and his cold sweat had not yet dried. He stared intently at the Spiritual Plant, his eyes filled with longing and an extremely strong sense of vigilance.

Why? Why was there fallen phoenix grass here?

Such a divine object, logically speaking, should be guarded by powerful Yao Beasts, or located in an extremely perilous, desolate place. But it appeared here, near the empty egg, a place where an incredibly strange event had just occurred, yet the surroundings were suffocatingly calm.

An abnormal event must have a Yao!

He instinctively wanted to leave immediately; the strong warning from the Gather Beast Divine Ability was by no means groundless.

But… his gaze could not move away from the reddish-gold glow.

'Aptitude…' A thought deeply buried in his heart, like a wildly growing vine, entangled his mind. He himself had a four Spiritual Root, and his path of cultivation would have been difficult without fortuitous encounters and the feedback from his Demon Slayer Divine Ability.

And what about his parents, who lived in a small Family?

Their Aptitude was even more ordinary, destined to turn into yellow earth after a hundred years.

As a son, if there was an opportunity to change their fate, to allow them to also glimpse a corner of longevity…

If this fallen phoenix grass truly possessed the Heaven-Defying effects of refining Spiritual Roots and improving Aptitude, as rumored, even a tiny bit, it would mean a whole new possibility for him and for his parents!

The risk was enormous, but the reward… might be the only chance he would have in this life!

Reason and emotion clashed wildly in his mind. The strangeness of the empty egg, the warning from his Divine Ability, and his concern for the future of his loved ones created a fierce tug-of-war.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, a resolute glint flashing in his eyes.

'I'll risk it! Be cautious, grab it, and immediately flee!'