50: Chapter 50 Shocking Changes in the Inheritance Hall! A Spirit Possessing the Body in a Moment of Despair!

Lin Feng stood before the gate of light, looking up at the palace at the end of the staircase.

The palace loomed in the hazy halo, built entirely of white jade with upturned eaves, exuding an ancient and sacred aura.

"Is that... the true Legacy Hall?"

His heart raced, and his blood felt as if it were boiling.

He had passed all three trials and obtained the S-Rank pet egg; now, he was finally about to see the true Legacy!

The Legacy of the Star River Sword Venerable!

Just the name sounded incredibly badass!

"Senior, I am ready!"

Lin Feng took a deep breath and stepped into the gate of light.

The moment he stepped onto the staircase, he felt a lightness under his feet.

It wasn't a change in gravity, but... a lightness of heart.

He had finally reached this step!

He walked quickly up the white jade staircase.

The staircase was long, at least three hundred steps.

But Lin Feng walked very fast.

With every step he took, he drew closer to the Legacy.

He could feel the energy permeating the air becoming increasingly dense.

It was an energy even purer and more Advanced than during the Earth Element baptism!

It felt as if his strength improved with every breath he took.

"I've hit the jackpot this time..."

Lin Feng thought happily.

Ten minutes later, he reached the final step.

The view before him suddenly opened up.

It was a palace so magnificent it was beyond description.

A hundred meters high and hundreds of meters wide, it was octagonal in shape, with a jade pillar carved with Dragon and Phoenix patterns standing at every corner.

The palace gates were wide open, and a soft, seven-colored light spilled out from within.

Lin Feng stood before the gate, looking up at the three simple, ancient characters on the lintel—

[Legacy Hall]

The handwriting was bold and powerful, every stroke seemingly containing Sword Intent; looking at it for too long made his eyes ache.

"Go in."

The phantom of the Palace Keeper appeared beside him at some unknown time.

"The Legacy of the Star River Sword Venerable is inside the hall."

Lin Feng nodded and stepped over the threshold.

The moment he entered the Great Hall, he froze.

Not because of luxury.

On the contrary—

The interior of the Great Hall was terrifyingly empty.

There were no decorations, no furnishings.

Only the floor, the walls, and the ceiling.

And... a ball of light floating in the center of the Great Hall.

It was an indescribable ball of light.

Not a single color, but a swirling of seven colors—sometimes gold, sometimes silver, sometimes crimson, sometimes blue.

Within the light, countless tiny runes could be seen faintly appearing and flowing.

Most miraculous of all, inside the ball of light, stars seemed to be rotating.

Like a tiny Universe.

[Star River Sword Venerable Legacy Core]

[Quality: ???]

[Effect: Touch to obtain the complete Legacy of the Star River Sword Venerable]

[Description: The final Legacy of the Trial Heavenly Palace, containing the ultimate mysteries of the Dao of the Sword]

"Is this... the Legacy Core?"

Lin Feng murmured to himself.

He slowly walked toward the ball of light.

With every step closer, he could feel a stronger energy fluctuation.

Like facing a sea of stars—vast, profound, and infinite.

When he was ten meters from the ball of light, Lin Feng stopped.

It wasn't that he didn't want to get closer.

It was... that he couldn't.

An invisible barrier blocked him.

"Senior, this is..."

Lin Feng turned back to look at the Palace Keeper.

The phantom of the Palace Keeper floated to his side.

"The Legacy Core has a self-protection mechanism."

"It needs to be opened with a special method."

Lin Feng blinked: "What method?"

The Palace Keeper was silent for a moment.

Then, it said slowly: "It requires... the blood of the inheritor."

"Blood?" Lin Feng frowned.

"Indeed." The Palace Keeper nodded. "The Legacy left by the Star River Sword Venerable only recognizes Bloodline."

"Using blood as a guide, it can be opened."

Lin Feng looked at the ball of light, then at his own hand.

"How much blood?"

"Just one drop."

The Palace Keeper floated next to the ball of light and gestured with its hand.

"Drop the blood onto the surface of the ball of light, and the barrier will dissolve."

Lin Feng thought about it and felt it was reasonable.

In many novels, high-level Legacies did indeed require Bloodline verification.

He walked to the barrier and extended his right index finger.

"How should I do it? Bite it open?"

"I can assist you."

The Palace Keeper raised its hand, and a tiny wisp of energy sliced across Lin Feng's fingertip.

Chii—

A slight stinging pain came from his fingertip.

A drop of bright red blood seeped out and slowly fell.

The drop of blood passed through the barrier and landed on the surface of the ball of light.

Buzz—

The ball of light vibrated violently!

The seven-colored light swirled frantically, and the stars inside accelerated their rotation.

The barrier... disappeared.

Lin Feng could feel that the force blocking him was gone.

"It is done." The Palace Keeper's voice rang out. "Step forward and touch it."

"The Legacy is about to belong to you."

Lin Feng took a deep breath and stepped forward.

He reached out his right hand, slowly reaching toward the ball of light.

His fingertips drew closer and closer to the light.

Five centimeters.

Three centimeters.

One centimeter...

Just as he was about to touch it—

A sudden change occurred!

"Hahahahahahaha!!!"

A burst of crazed, distorted laughter, filled with endless malice, suddenly exploded in the hall!

It wasn't the Palace Keeper's old and peaceful voice.

It was another voice!

Sharp, piercing, like metal scraping!

The hair on Lin Feng's body stood on end; he jerked his hand back and looked around warily.

"Who is it?!"

The laughter continued.

"Three thousand years! Three thousand years!"

"I have finally waited for this day!"

The source of the voice... was actually the Palace Keeper?

No, that's not right!

Lin Feng's eyes widened as he looked at the phantom of the Palace Keeper.

The phantom was undergoing a terrifying transformation!

Its originally blurred, soft, semi-transparent body began to twist, swell, and deform!

The color changed from pale gold to dark red, then to pitch black!

Its features shifted from blurred to hideous, finally revealing a face... that Lin Feng had never seen before!

It was the face of an old man.

But definitely not a kind old man.

His eye sockets were sunken, his eyeballs were blood-red, and his mouth grinned all the way to his ears, revealing forest-white teeth.

His face was covered in distorted wrinkles, like cracks in parched earth.

Most terrifying were those eyes—there were no pupils, only two flickering, ghostly green flames!

"Senior... you..." Lin Feng's voice trembled.

"Senior? Hahahaha!"

"Who is your Senior?!"

"I am the Artifact spirit of the Sha Clan's holy artifact—the heart of the earth!"

"This Trial Heavenly Palace? This Legacy Hall? They are all but illusions I carefully wove!"

The Artifact spirit laughed wildly as its phantom completely solidified.

It was no longer semi-transparent.

Instead, it was a real, three-meter-tall body composed of Dark-gold energy!

It hovered in the air, looking down at Lin Feng from above, its blood-red eyes filled with greed and madness.

"You... what did you say?"

Lin Feng's head was buzzing.

illusions?

The Trial Heavenly Palace is an illusion?

The Legacy Hall is an illusion?

Then what about the Gravity Staircase? The Earth Element baptism? The three trials?

"They're all fake?"

Lin Feng subconsciously retreated.

"Not entirely fake," the Artifact spirit grinned. "The Gravity Staircase was real—it's a test inherent to my main body."

"The Earth Element baptism was also real—it was the Earth Element essence I accumulated over three thousand years."

"As for the three trials..."

It extended a Dark-gold finger and tapped its head.

"Those were 'sweet dreams' tailored for you after I read your memories."

"The gate of fire, the gate of water, the Gate of Darkness, and that lovely pet egg..."

The Artifact spirit shook with laughter.

"They were all to make you believe that this truly was a place of Legacy!"

"To make you lower your guard and willingly reach this step!"

Lin Feng felt cold all over.

He suddenly remembered a sentence the Artifact spirit had said during the Earth Element baptism—

"Everything here is within my perception."

At the time, he thought it was just ordinary monitoring.

Thinking about it now...

It was reading his memories!

Reading all his knowledge of 'Legacies,' 'trials,' and 'rewards'!

And then, it wove this perfect trap!

"You... why would you do this?" Lin Feng asked through gritted teeth.

"Why?"

The smile on the Artifact spirit's face vanished.

Replaced by endless malice and hatred.

"Because I've had enough!"

"Three thousand years! Trapped in this damn holy artifact for three thousand years!"

"Those fools of the Sand Clan treated me as a tool, worshipped me as a holy artifact, but never thought of letting me leave!"

"They only knew how to extract power, not knowing that I also have a consciousness! I also want to see the outside world!"

The Artifact spirit's voice grew sharper and sharper.

"I waited for a full three thousand years, finally waiting for the decline of the Sand Clan, for this Secret Realm to be discovered by humans, for..."

Its blood-red eyes stared fixedly at Lin Feng.

"For a 'high-quality vessel' like you to appear!"

vessel?

Lin Feng's heart sank.

"You want to... possess me?"

"Smart!"

The Artifact spirit clapped and laughed.

"As expected of the little fellow who could pass the Gravity Staircase!"

"Indeed, I am going to possess you!"

"Using your body as a boat to leave this cage and go to the vast world!"

"And as for this body of yours..."

The Artifact spirit looked Lin Feng up and down, a satisfied look in its eyes.

"Radiance Sun Crown Physique, Prodigy-Rank, basic attributes far exceeding ordinary people."

"F-rank Fusion Talent, though it's trash, I don't care—I have my own ways to improve it."

"More importantly, you are young, have potential, and have room for growth..."

"The perfect vessel!"

Lin Feng felt cold all over.

He felt like he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Chilled from head to toe.

So everything was a trap.

From the moment he stepped into the Sand Clan's holy artifact, he had fallen into the Artifact spirit's calculations.

The Gravity Staircase was a filter—to filter out a vessel with a strong enough Physique.

The Earth Element baptism was bait—to make him believe there were benefits here.

The three trials were psychological warfare—to make him think he had passed a true test.

The pet egg was the final straw—to completely dispel his doubts.

Then, it lured him to this so-called 'Legacy Hall.'

Using the lie of 'opening the Legacy with blood,' it made him proactively offer a drop of blood...

"That drop of blood..." Lin Feng looked down at his fingertip.

The wound had already healed.

But he could feel something... following that drop of blood, entering the ball of light.

And then, the ball of light became a medium.

It became the bridge for the Artifact spirit's Possession!

"Finally realized?"

The Artifact spirit grinned maliciously.

"Unfortunately, it's too late."

It raised a hand and pointed.

Buzz—

The cluster of rainbow light in the center of the hall suddenly exploded!

It transformed into countless threads of light, like a spider's web, instantly covering the entire hall!

One end of the light threads was connected to the Artifact spirit.

The other end...

Was connected to Lin Feng!

"Now, let the ritual begin."

The Artifact spirit spread its arms, and its Dark-gold body began to melt.

It turned into flows of viscous, pitch-black energy, surging toward Lin Feng along the light threads!

"No!!!"

Lin Feng roared, turning around to run.

But just as he lifted his foot, he froze.

It wasn't that he didn't want to move.

It was that... he couldn't move!

The light threads had already wrapped around his body at some unknown point!

Wrists, ankles, neck, waist...

They were densely packed, like being entangled by countless venomous snakes!

"Let me go!!"

Lin Feng struggled desperately.

But the light threads wrapped tighter and tighter.

Cutting into his flesh, cutting into his bones!

A piercing pain came, and blood seeped from the surface of his skin.

[Subjected to Unknown Restraint: All attributes -90%, loss of mobility]

A warning popped up on the attribute panel.

All attributes reduced by 90%!

Lin Feng felt as if his strength had been drained away.

Even lifting a finger was a struggle.

"It's useless."

The Artifact spirit's voice rang in his ear.

Its body had completely melted, turning into a massive black torrent surging along the light threads!

"How can you resist the power I have accumulated for three thousand years?"

"Accept it obediently."

"Become a part of me..."

"And then, I shall use your body to see the whole world!"

The black torrent surged in front of Lin Feng.

Half a meter away from him, it condensed into a huge, distorted face.

It was exactly the Artifact spirit's hideous face.

"Come..."

"Merge with me..."

The face opened its huge mouth and bit toward Lin Feng!

"Get lost!!!"

Lin Feng used his last bit of strength to mobilize the mana in his body.

"Light Bullet Technique!"

Puff!

A weak golden light bullet flew out.

It hit the giant black face.

It didn't even cause a ripple.

Like a drop of water falling into the ocean.

"Hahaha! It's useless!"

The Artifact spirit laughed wildly.

"Within this holy artifact of the sha clan's internal space, I am the rules!"

"I am the Dominator!"

"All your power is a joke before me!"

The giant face continued to approach.

Lin Feng could even smell that decaying scent, like the odor emanating from a thousand-year-old tomb.

"Fireball Technique!"

"Lightning Strike Technique!"

"Wind Blade Technique!"

He frantically released skills.

But the moment any skill left his body, it was absorbed and dissolved by the surrounding light threads.

He couldn't even get close to the Artifact spirit.

"Give up."

The Artifact spirit's voice carried a sense of seduction.

"Resistance will only cause you more pain."

"Accept it obediently. I promise you, I will make good use of this body."

"Your family, your friends—I will look after them for you."

"Your enemies—I will kill them all for you."

"Your life—I will live it splendidly for you..."

"Go to hell!!!"

Lin Feng roared.

But his voice was already somewhat weak.

He could feel the light threads invading his body.

Not from the outside.

From the inside!

Following the path left by that drop of blood, they were invading his blood vessels, Meridians, and internal organs in reverse!

Cold.

A bone-piercing cold.

Like countless ice snakes wandering through his body.

Everywhere they passed, muscles stiffened, blood solidified, and his consciousness... began to blur.

"No... can't sleep..."

Lin Feng desperately widened his eyes.

But his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

His vision began to blur.

The Artifact spirit's distorted face swayed, overlapped, and deformed before his eyes.

"Sleep..."

"Everything will be fine after a sleep..."

"When you wake up, everything will be different..."

The voice grew further and further away.

As if coming from behind a thick wall.

Lin Feng felt his body... losing control.

His right hand could no longer be lifted.

His left foot had no sensation.

His neck was stiff.

Breathing... became difficult.

"Am I... going to die?"

The moment this thought emerged, a strong sense of unwilling rose in Lin Feng's heart.

He was unwilling!

He had worked so hard to get this far!

He finally had the hope of becoming stronger!

He had finally obtained an S-Rank pet egg!

There were still so many things left undone!

The truth about his parents' disappearance hadn't been uncovered yet!

That bastard Wang Hao hadn't been dealt with yet!

Chen Lin... was still waiting for him!

"I can't... die here..."

Lin Feng grit his teeth, trying to mobilize his last bit of power.

But it was no use.

The mana in his body felt frozen, completely refusing to obey.

The light element energy of the Glorious Corona Physique was also being suppressed and devoured by the invading black energy.

[Warning: Unknown energy invasion detected]

[Warning: Body control is being lost]

[Warning: Consciousness is about to be eroded...]

Warnings from the attribute panel popped up one after another.

Each one felt like a death warrant.

"Fusion Talent... right! Fusion Talent!"

Lin Feng suddenly thought of his Talent.

F-rank Fusion could fuse all things.

Could it... fuse these invading energies?

He concentrated his last bit of spirit and tried to activate his Talent.

Buzz—

A faint golden light emerged within his body.

But it only flickered for a second before extinguishing.

[Fusion Talent activation failed]

[Reason: Target energy Rank is too high, exceeding the Fusion limit]

"Even... the Fusion Talent is useless..."

Lin Feng fell into despair.

The last hope was shattered.

The Artifact spirit was right.

Within this holy artifact of the sha clan's internal space, it was the rules, the Dominator.

His bit of power was like an ant before a giant.

No, even worse than an ant.

At least an ant could still crawl.

He couldn't even crawl now.

He could only watch helplessly as that black energy eroded his body and devoured his consciousness bit by bit.

"So tired..."

Lin Feng felt his eyelids could no longer stay open.

His consciousness felt like it was sinking into the deep sea, sinking, sinking...

The surrounding sounds grew more and more blurred.

The Artifact spirit's wild laughter became like the buzzing of a mosquito.

The piercing pain from the tightening light threads also became numb.

Finally, he couldn't even feel the numbness.

All that remained... was a patch of darkness.

And a bone-deep cold.

"Is it... ending just like this?"

Many images flashed through Lin Feng's mind.

When he was a child, his parents took him to the park.

At the Awakening ceremony, Chen Lin's comforting gaze.

In the Explorer hall, Zhao Tianhai's stern face.

In the Desert Golden Sea, the scorpions, snakes, and Sandmen he had killed...

And just now, the excitement of getting the pet egg.

Everything was like a revolving lantern, flashing rapidly before his eyes.

Then, it gradually faded.

"That's fine too..."

Lin Feng smiled bitterly in his heart.

"At least... I didn't die at the hands of a monster."

"Dying at the hands of a holy artifact's Artifact spirit... counts as... dying with some class..."

He gave up resisting.

Completely gave up.

His body no longer obeyed him.

His consciousness was about to dissipate.

What was there left to resist?

Let it be.

Wait for death.

Wait for the Artifact spirit to complete the Possession.

Wait for himself to disappear from this world.

Then, the Artifact spirit would use his body to go to the outside world.

It would say it was Lin Feng.

It would use Lin Feng's face to face Lin Feng's friends and family.

It would do the things Lin Feng wanted to do—or not.

Who knows.

Anyway... it had nothing to do with him anymore.

"Farewell..."

Lin Feng closed his eyes.

The last sliver of consciousness sank into the boundless darkness.

...

In the hall.

The black torrent had completely surged into Lin Feng's body.

The light threads loosened one by one, retracting into the air and disappearing.

Lin Feng's body floated in mid-air, eyes tightly closed, face pale.

On the surface of his skin, Dark-gold patterns emerged, covering his whole body like a circuit diagram.

Those patterns were pulsing slowly, as if they were alive.

The Artifact spirit's voice came from within Lin Feng's body.

Carrying an irrepressible ecstasy.

"Success..."

"Three thousand years... finally succeeded!"

"This body... perfect! Too perfect!"

"Radiance Sun Crown Physique... Prodigy-grade... Hahahaha!"

"I am finally... free!!!"

The voice echoed in the hall.

Then, it gradually subsided.

Lin Feng's body slowly landed on the ground.

The moment his feet touched the ground—

His eyes opened.

But they weren't Lin Feng's eyes.

They were those crimson eyes burning with ghostly green flames.

The corners of the mouth split into an exaggerated smile that didn't belong to Lin Feng.

"Now..."

"Let me try... the power of this new body."

'Lin Feng' raised a hand and clenched a fist.

His knuckles made a "crack-crack" sound.

"Not bad... very powerful."

"Then..."

It looked up at the top of the hall.

"First, leave this hellhole."

"Go to the outside world..."

"And have some real fun!"

As the words fell.

'Lin Feng' turned and stepped toward the outside of the hall.

His steps were steady and powerful.

He didn't look at all like someone who had just been possessed.

Instead, it was as if... this body had always been his.

When it reached the hall entrance, it stopped and looked back at the center of the hall.

There, the rainbow light cluster had completely disappeared.

Leaving only an empty space.

"Goodbye, cage."

"I... am free!"

With that, it crossed the threshold and stepped into the Light Gate outside.

Its figure disappeared into the light.

The hall returned to silence.

As if nothing had ever happened.

Only the faint marks left by the light threads on the ground proved the soul-stirring Possession that had just occurred.

And...

One last thought that flashed before Lin Feng's consciousness sank into darkness.

A thought so weak it was almost negligible.

"Is it... really... over... for me?"

Darkness devoured everything.