158: Chapter 157 The Ragged Robe is Back! Is There Something Uncontrollable Under the Stone Platform? I'm Determined to Push It!

Lin Feng stared at the stone platform for a long time.

The platform was made of stone, grayish-white and very ordinary.

The surface was smooth, as if polished, but it had no patterns, no writing, and no runes.

It just stood there quietly in the corner of the room, like an ordinary rock.

But he knew it wasn't ordinary.

Xiao Jin wouldn't lie to him.

If it said there was a treasure here, then there definitely was.

He stepped toward the stone platform.

Just as he lifted his foot, a sharp sound of wind came from behind him.

It wasn't a natural wind, but the wind stirred up by something moving rapidly.

He dodged to the side, and a black shadow streaked past his ear, grazing his hair and crashing into the opposite wall.

Boom—half the wall collapsed, rubble flew, and dust filled the air.

The black shadow bounced back and hovered in mid-air.

It was a mass of black material, the size of a fist, looking like ink, bitumen, or congealed blood.

It hovered there, rotating slowly, its whole body trembling.

It was that Tattered Robe.

Lin Feng looked at it and smiled. "You again? You ran fast last time, yet you dare come back?"

The black mass didn't answer.

It just hovered there, trembling.

It wasn't fear; it was Qi.

It was Life Qi, trembling all over with Life Qi.

Then it spoke, its voice sharp and thin, like a chicken being strangled. "You... don't touch that stone platform!"

Lin Feng raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

The black mass trembled even more violently. "You... you don't know what's underneath! You can't touch it! If you do, it's over! Everything will be over!"

Lin Feng looked at it, his gaze calm. "What's underneath?"

The black mass went silent.

It stopped trembling and stopped speaking.

It just hovered there like a blob of congealed ink.

After a long time, it finally spoke, its voice low and heavy, as if squeezed from its chest. "An uncontrollable thing... once released, no one can stop it. You, me, everyone will die."

Lin Feng looked at it for a long time.

Then he smiled. "You think I'll believe you?"

The black mass grew anxious. "I'm telling the truth! Something is Sealed beneath it! Something even I am afraid of! You can't touch it! Please, don't touch it!"

Its voice was trembling—not from Life Qi, but from fear.

It was truly afraid.

Lin Feng looked at it and remained silent for a few seconds. "Have you been following me?"

The black mass was stunned for a moment. "What?"

"I'm asking you, have you been following me this whole time?" Lin Feng took a step forward. "From the Library Pavilion to here, you've been following me?"

The black mass retreated a meter. "I... I was just..."

"Just what? Just afraid I'd find something good? Or afraid I'd touch the treasures you hid?" Lin Feng took another step forward.

The black mass retreated another meter. "I didn't hide any treasures! The thing under that stone platform wasn't hidden by me! It was that person! The Master of the Taixu Dojo! He was the one who Sealed it! It has nothing to do with me!"

Lin Feng stopped and looked at it. "Then why are you stopping me?"

The black mass went silent.

It lowered its head and didn't speak.

Lin Feng waited for it.

Wind poured in through the hole in the broken wall, whistling and carrying sand and the scent of blood.

After a long time, the black mass looked up. "Because... because I am the guardian here. My duty is to protect everything here. Including that Seal."

Lin Feng looked at it. "Guardian? You? A Tattered Robe that doesn't even look human?"

The black mass trembled with Life Qi. "I am not a Tattered Robe! I am the Artifact Spirit of the Taixu Dojo! I have guarded this place for ten thousand years! You're an outsider; what right do you have to rummage around and touch things here?"

Lin Feng laughed. "Artifact Spirit? The Artifact Spirit of the Taixu Dojo? Then how come you couldn't even protect your own master? He's dead, yet you're still here. His Disciples are gone, yet you're still here. His dojo is in ruins, yet you're still here. What have you protected?"

The black mass went silent again.

It lowered its head and didn't speak.

But Lin Feng could see it was trembling.

Not from Life Qi, but from sorrow.

It was crying.

A black, shapeless mass was crying.

It had no eyes and no tears, but Lin Feng could feel it was crying.

He sighed. "Move aside. I want to see what's under that stone platform."

The black mass suddenly looked up. "No! You can't touch it! The thing Sealed beneath is not something you or I can handle! Once released, the entire Secret Realm will be destroyed! Those people outside won't survive either!"

Lin Feng looked at it. "How do you know?"

"Because I saw it with my own eyes!" The black mass's voice suddenly became sharp. "Ten thousand years ago, that person personally Sealed that thing under the stone platform. He used his life's cultivation to Seal it. After the Seal was set, he died. His cultivation was exhausted, his vitality was exhausted, everything of his was exhausted. He used his life to trade for these ten thousand years of peace. If you release that thing, his life will have been wasted! His dojo will have been wasted! Everything of his will have been wasted!"

Lin Feng fell silent.

He looked at the stone platform—grayish-white, ordinary, and unremarkable.

Beneath the stone platform was something the Master of the Taixu Dojo had traded his life for.

What was it?

He didn't know.

But he knew it must be very dangerous.

Xiao Jin crouched on his shoulder, moving uneasily.

It pointed its golden front legs at the stone platform, then at its own mouth.

That meant—there was something good down there, a very, very big good thing.

Lin Feng patted its head. "I know."

He looked up at the black mass. "Move aside."

The black mass was stunned. "You... you still want to touch it?"

"Move aside."

"You're crazy! Underneath—" Before it could finish, Lin Feng raised his left hand, golden light gathering in his palm.

A golden pillar of light shot from his palm, blasting the black mass.

Boom—it was blown away, crashing into the wall and causing half of it to collapse.

Rubble buried it.

Lin Feng withdrew his hand and walked toward the stone platform.

His pace was neither hurried nor slow, his boots clicking as they stepped on the rubble.

He reached the stone platform and stopped.

The platform wasn't high, only reaching his waist.

The surface was smooth, like polished jade.

He reached out and touched it.

It was cold and smooth, like touching a block of ice.

He took a deep breath and pressed his hands against both sides of the stone platform.

The black mass crawled out from the rubble, covered in dust and dirt. "No! You can't! Please! Don't!"

Its voice was sharp, like a whistle, a siren, or someone screaming in his ear.

Lin Feng ignored it.

He pushed hard with both hands.

The stone platform didn't budge.

He pushed again, but it still didn't move.

He took a deep breath, and mana surged from his palms into the stone platform.

The stone platform began to glow.

Not golden, but white—very faint, like moonlight.

Light seeped from the surface of the platform like water, like mist, like countless fireflies dancing.

The stone platform vibrated; pebbles jumped off the surface, and sand poured out from the base.

The black mass screamed as it rushed over. "Stop! Stop now!"

Lin Feng ignored it.

He continued to exert force with both hands, and mana continued to pour in.

The light on the stone platform grew brighter, turning from faint white to bright white, and then to a blinding white.

The entire room was illuminated, and even the cracks in the walls were clearly visible.

The stone platform was moving, inch by inch, like a snail crawling.

It moved—slowly, but it was definitely moving.

A gap appeared beneath the stone platform.

The gap was narrow, just wide enough for a finger to fit inside.

From the gap, a breath of Qi emerged.

It wasn't hot air, nor cold air; it was... nothingness.

A Qi of nothing.

Not cold, not hot, not fragrant, not foul.

Just empty, just void, just nothing at all.

The black mass slumped on the ground, motionless.

It stopped screaming and stopped running; it just lay there like a pile of mud.

It knew it couldn't be stopped.

Lin Feng continued to push hard, and the stone platform continued to move.

The gap grew wider, from a finger's width to two, then to the width of a palm.

Light shone from the gap.

Not white, but Multicolored.

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple.

Seven colors intertwined like a rainbow, an aurora, a dream.

The black mass crawled up from the ground, looked at the Multicolored light, and muttered, "It's over... it's over..."

Lin Feng ignored it.

He pushed hard, and the stone platform moved another inch.

The gap was wider now, enough to fit a hand.

Something floated out from the gap.

It was a bead.

The size of a fist, completely transparent, with a swirl of Multicolored light inside.

The light was beautiful, like a galaxy, an aurora, a dream.

The bead hovered in mid-air, rotating slowly and emitting Multicolored light.

[Taixu Dojo Core (Multicolored)]

[Quality: Multicolored]

[Effect: ???]

[Description: The Origin power of the Taixu Dojo, containing the ultimate power of creation and destruction. Once activated, it can reshape the entire Secret Realm.]

Lin Feng's pupils contracted as he read the description.

Multicolored quality.

It was the first time he had seen something of Multicolored quality.

Not gold, not red, but Multicolored.

One Rank higher than gold.

He reached out to take the bead.

The black mass lunged. "Don't touch it!"

Lin Feng dodged to the side, and the black mass missed, crashing into the stone platform, bouncing back, and falling to the ground.

It scrambled up and lunged again.

Lin Feng raised his hand, and a golden pillar of light shot out, pinning it to the wall.

It struggled and screamed in the golden light, but couldn't break free.

Lin Feng walked to the bead and reached out.

The moment his fingertips touched the bead, a warm power surged from it into his body.

The power was gentle and pure, like a spring breeze or a mother's embrace.

It flowed through his entire body, through every blood vessel, every nerve, every muscle, and every inch of bone.

He felt himself becoming lighter, brighter, turning into a mass of light.

The black mass screamed from the wall. "You're crazy! That's the core of the dojo! By touching it, you've become the master of the dojo! You'll inherit everything here! Including that Seal! Including that uncontrollable thing! You're crazy! You've truly gone mad!"

Lin Feng ignored it.

He gripped the bead and pulled it out from under the stone platform.

The bead rotated slowly in his palm, the Multicolored light reflecting on his face and making his eyes sparkle.

He looked down at the bead, the corners of his mouth curling slightly. "Multicolored quality... good stuff."

The black mass slid down from the wall and slumped on the ground, motionless.

It stopped screaming and struggling; it just lay there like a pile of mud. "It's over... it's over... everything is over..."

Lin Feng put the bead into his wanxiang ring and looked at the black mass. "Where is that uncontrollable thing you mentioned?"

The black mass looked up at him.

It had no eyes, but Lin Feng could feel it looking at him.

That gaze wasn't one of anger or resentment, but of sorrow. "You... you're still going to look for it?"

Lin Feng nodded. "I'm already here."

The black mass went silent.

After a long time, it spoke. "It's down there. Beneath the stone platform, there's a hole. It's very deep and leads directly to the depths of the earth. That thing is at the very bottom."

It paused. "If you go down, you're just seeking death."

Lin Feng looked at it. "Didn't you say I'm the master of the dojo now? What's wrong with the master going to see his own things?"

The black mass was speechless.

It just looked at him as if looking at a madman.

Lin Feng turned and walked to the stone platform.

The stone platform had been moved mostly aside, revealing a dark hole beneath.

The opening wasn't large, just enough for one person to pass through.

It was pitch black inside; nothing could be seen.

But he could feel wind blowing out from it.

The wind was cold and dry, carrying an ancient scent.

He took a deep breath and prepared to step down.

The black mass called out to him. "Wait."

Lin Feng stopped and looked back.

The black mass crawled up from the ground and floated in front of him. "Are you... are you really going?"

Lin Feng nodded. "Really."

The black mass went silent.

After a long time, it sighed. "Then... I'll go with you."

Lin Feng looked at it. "You? Aren't you afraid of death?"

The black mass gave a bitter smile.

Its laughter was dry, like cracking wood. "I am the Artifact Spirit here. If the dojo is destroyed, I won't survive either. Instead of waiting here to die, I might as well go down and see. See what that thing really is."

Lin Feng looked at it for a few seconds.

Then he smiled. "Fine. Let's go."

He turned and jumped into the hole.

The black mass followed behind him, floating down.

It was dark, cold, and quiet inside the hole.

Only the sound of the wind, whistling like someone crying.

Lin Feng raised his left hand, and a soft white light lit up in his palm.

The light orb from the Illumination Spell floated above his head, lighting the path ahead.

The cave walls were made of stone, very rough, with water marks on them—streaks like dried tear stains.

Beneath his feet were rubble and sand, crunching as he stepped on them.

The black mass floated behind him without saying a word.

It just followed like a shadow.

After walking for about ten minutes, the tunnel widened.

From only allowing one person to pass, it became wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

The water marks on the walls also changed; they were no longer dried tear stains, but... blood stains.

Dark red, like congealed blood.

Streaks of them, dense and packed together like blood vessels, tree roots, or lightning.

Lin Feng stopped and reached out to touch them.

They were very dry and brittle, crumbling at a touch.

They turned into powder and drifted into the air.

"What is this?" he asked.

The black mass was silent for a few seconds. "Blood. That person's blood. When he Sealed that thing, he was heavily injured. His blood splattered on the walls and seeped into the stone; it hasn't dried in ten thousand years."

Lin Feng withdrew his hand and continued walking.

The tunnel grew wider and wider, from three people abreast to five.

The blood stains on the walls became more numerous and dense, like a giant web.

The air grew colder, and his breath turned into white mist.

He wrapped his military overcoat tighter and quickened his pace.

After walking for about half an hour, the tunnel suddenly opened up.

From five people abreast, it became a large hall.

It was huge, capable of holding at least several hundred people.

The vaulted ceiling was very high, lost in darkness.

The floor was paved with stone slabs, many of which were broken, with grass growing in the cracks.

The grass was black, as if watered with ink.

There were murals on the walls, but they were too blurred to see clearly, leaving only some mottled colors.

In the center of the hall, there was something.

It was a coffin.

Made of stone, very large, long, and wide.

The coffin lid was closed, carved with runes.

The runes were glowing—faintly and softly, like breathing.

Around the coffin were chains.

Made of iron and very thick—thicker than Lin Feng's arm—they extended from the coffin and were pinned to the walls, the floor, and the ceiling.

The chains also had runes that glowed, but they were much dimmer than those on the coffin, as if they were about to go out.

The black mass stopped, not daring to go further. "That's it... that thing is inside the coffin..."

Lin Feng looked at the coffin for a long time.

Then he stepped forward toward the coffin.

The black mass shouted from behind. "You're crazy! Don't go near it!"

Lin Feng ignored it.

He walked to the front of the coffin and stopped.

The coffin was high, reaching his chest.

The runes on the coffin lid were pulsing like a heartbeat, like breathing.

He reached out and touched the lid.

It was cold and smooth, like touching a block of ice.

He tapped it, and it made a dull sound, as if he were tapping something solid.

He stepped back a few paces and looked at the coffin.

"Should I open it?" he asked.

The black mass screamed from behind. "You can't open it! If you do, it's over!"

Lin Feng ignored it.

He pressed both hands on the coffin lid and took a deep breath. "Open."