412: Chapter 412 Time Confrontation

Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan stood back-to-back, each gripping their own sword.

Sword Cultivators have a keener perception of Law than ordinary Cultivators and can withstand greater pressure.

The swords of the two released their intent, forming a thin barrier of Sword Intent around their bodies, but this barrier was constantly being compressed under the pressure of the Law.

The old injury on Situ Lan's left arm began to ache under the pressure of the Law. Her fingers trembled slightly, but her hand gripping the sword never loosened.

A full hour passed.

In normal time perception, an hour is merely the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn. But in the chaotic flow of time, that quarter of an hour felt stretched out like a year.

Some began to hallucinate, some could no longer distinguish their teammates' faces, and some could only rely on their instinctive will to keep from collapsing.

In the final quarter of an hour, Tianxin's Talismans were exhausted, and she sat on the ground against the wall, eyes closed, gasping for air.

Lin Yue leaned against the fragments of the defensive formation, barely standing; the formation patterns were shattered all over the floor, but he did not fall.

Yaoguang held his arm tightly, checking his pulse; the cyan light of her Rejuvenation Technique was already very faint, so faint it was almost invisible.

Chu Lan leaned beside him, with only the last stalk of Law Grass in her arms, its silver-white leaves already curled.

Su Ning lay between Chu Lan and Lin Yue, her hand resting on her forehead as she gazed at the top of the tower.

Luo Li held the flowing sound zither, leaning against the wall; three of the strings had snapped, and the remaining four had loosened.

She had no strength to tighten the strings; her fingers remained in the posture of pressing the strings, but she could no longer pluck them.

Situ Lan placed the azure phoenix sword across her knees, sitting against the wall with her eyes closed. There were several tiny cracks on the blade—not left from battle, but pressed into it by the pressure of the Law.

Lin Jingyu's flowing cloud sword was slightly better off; the material of the seventh-tier sword was sturdier than the azure phoenix sword, and the blade remained intact, but the web between his thumb and index finger had split open, and blood dripped down the hilt.

Gao Feng was still standing. He had not sat down from beginning to end, not because his cultivation was the highest and he could withstand the most pressure, but because he was the captain, and he could not be the first to collapse.

But his legs were also trembling; the starlight of his Star Battle Body had dimmed until it was almost invisible, and the sword marks on the vajra sword had also returned to silence.

The hour was up.

The pressure of the Law on the eighth floor of the Wanfa Tower suddenly dissipated. In that instant, it was as if the mountain pressing down on everyone had been pulled away, and their bodies suddenly felt light.

That feeling of going from extreme pressure to instant release was not pleasant; some felt dizzy, some had constant ringing in their ears, and some just collapsed on the ground, unwilling to move.

Elder Xuanqing perceived the dissipation of the pressure outside the tower door and was the first to rush in.

He did not go to help anyone, but stood in the center of the tower, carefully recording the residual Law fluctuations inside the tower with the Jade Slip in his hand.

Those data points were objective records of the spiritual power changes on the eighth floor of the Wanfa Tower—pressure intensity, duration, fluctuation curves; every set of data was proof.

After recording the last piece of data, he put away the Jade Slip and walked quickly out of the tower door toward Master Lieyang on the high platform.

"Vice Sect Master Lieyang." Elder Xuanqing's voice was not loud, but everyone on the high platform could hear it. "The Law pressure on the eighth floor exceeded the normal range.

The peak Law pressure a normal Golden Core first-level Cultivator should withstand inside the tower should not exceed the Foundation Establishment ninth-level tier. But according to the data I recorded, in this past hour, the peak pressure reached the Golden Core third-level tier."

Master Lieyang stood on the high platform, looking down at him. The expression on his face revealed neither joy nor anger, but his gaze lingered for a moment on the Jade Slip in Elder Xuanqing's hand before shifting away.

"Junior Brother Xuanqing, are you questioning me?" Master Lieyang's voice was very calm, so calm it was unsettling.

"It is not questioning, but stating facts." Elder Xuanqing tucked the Jade Slip into his sleeve. "I will report these data truthfully to the Sect Master. Whether the Restriction inside the tower was tampered with, the Sect Master will naturally send someone to investigate."

Master Lieyang did not reply further. He turned and left.

Elder Xuanqing watched his back, remained silent for a moment, then turned and walked back into the tower. The eighth floor was passed; their entire team had passed.

Elder Xuanqing walked up to Gao Feng, looking at those hands still stained with blood, his gaze filled with respect.

He nodded and said softly, "Rest. There is still the ninth floor tomorrow." He did not say congratulations because he knew that those who had reached this step did not need congratulations. They only needed to finish the remaining level.

After the Law pressure on the eighth floor dissipated, the nine rested in the tower for a full hour.

Yaoguang distributed the last of the healing Medicinal Pills to everyone, even sharing her own portion.

Tianxin's Talismans were used up, Chu Lan's Law Grass had only a few withered leaves left, Luo Li's zither strings had snapped three times, Lin Yue's Formation Plate had two pieces shattered, and two of Su Ning's spatial positioning beads had developed cracks.

No one complained, because the ninth floor was right overhead.

Elder Xuanqing waited outside the tower door, and seeing the group walk out of the eighth floor, his expression was even more grave than before.

"The ninth floor, Origin of All Laws." His voice was very soft, as if speaking of something that required reverence. "That is the core Legacy of the Wanfa Sect, the Origin of All Laws left behind by the Ancestral Master who founded the sect.

There are no Puppets in the tower, no Restrictions, only a sphere of light condensed from countless Spell runes.

You need to use your own Dao to induce resonance with the Origin of All Laws. If the resonance is successful, the Origin of All Laws will naturally impart the 'Wanfa Return to Origin Art' to you. If you cannot resonate, sitting in the tower for as long as you want will be useless."

Master Lieyang was no longer on the high platform. The data on the Law pressure of the eighth floor had been recorded by Elder Xuanqing, and he could no longer continue to apply pressure openly.

On the ninth floor, he could not interfere. The recognition of the Origin of All Laws only recognizes the Dao, not the person.

The tower door of the ninth floor was different from the previous eight; it had no handle, no formation patterns, only a flat stone slab door.

Gao Feng placed his palm on the door, and it slowly opened.

The space inside the tower was not large, barely five zhang in radius. The dome was circular, like an inverted pot, and the four walls had no runes, no murals, only smooth, dark gray stone surfaces.

In the center floated a huge sphere of light, over a zhang in diameter, condensed from countless tiny Spell runes.

Those runes were dense and layered, each one slowly rotating, emitting a soft silver-white light.

It was not any known Spell, but the Origin of All Laws—the starting point of all Spells.

The nine entered the tower, and the sphere of light brightened slightly, as if it were examining them.

"Sit cross-legged and extend your spiritual sense into the sphere of light." Gao Feng's voice echoed in the empty tower. "Do not resist, do not force it. Let it perceive your Dao."

The eight sat in a circle, legs crossed. Gao Feng faced the sphere of light, closing his eyes to focus, and slowly extended his spiritual sense. The moment it touched the surface of the sphere, his consciousness was dragged into a strange space.

It was a void, with no sky and no earth, only countless runes floating like stars. Each rune represented a Spell—Five Elements basics, high-level secret arts, lost ancient methods, and even strange Spells he had never seen before.

What was recorded in the Origin of All Laws was not any single Spell, but the root rules of Spells.

Gao Feng's spiritual sense wandered among the runes, attempting to find a path for resonance.

But his Dao was not Spells; his Dao was the Martial Dao, the War God Art, the Star Battle Body, and protecting those he loved. These were diametrically opposed to the philosophy of the Wanfa Sect.

The runes ignored him, drifting past him one after another. He did not give up, continuing to touch those runes with his spiritual sense, trying them one by one.

Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth—the runes for the Five Elements basic Spells ignored him; the runes for high-level secret arts also turned a blind eye to him.

Time passed, and his spiritual sense began to tire. Just at the moment he was about to withdraw, a thought flashed through his mind—War Gods Unity.

Fusing all power into one, not asking about attributes, not asking about sources, only looking at whether it is for protection. He infused this thought into his spiritual sense and reached out to those runes again.

This time, the golden rune nearest to him trembled slightly, then returned to calm. It was not rejecting him; it was hesitating.

Gao Feng transmitted the intention of War Gods Unity more clearly to that rune: "I am not using Spells; I am using the obsession of protection. Whether it is the Five Elements or the ten thousand Laws, they are all means of protection, not the goal."

The golden rune finally moved, detaching from the sphere of light and slowly drifting toward Gao Feng. Other runes also lit up one after another, approaching him one by one.

Meanwhile, Tianxin, Luo Li, Su Ning, Chu Lan, and the others had also each resonated with the Origin of All Laws.

Tianxin's spiritual sense sensed the Origin of the Talisman Dao within the runes; the runes condensed into a phantom of a golden Talisman before her—that was the recognition of the Talisman Dao by the Origin of All Laws.

Luo Li sensed the Origin of the musical Dao; musical notes merged with the runes, transforming into a silent melody.

Su Ning sensed the Origin of the Space Dao; the arrangement of the runes presented the Laws of Space Folding.

Chu Lan sensed the Origin of the spirit plant Dao; the runes transformed into the phantom of an ancient tree reaching from heaven to earth.

The sphere of light shuddered violently. Countless runes lit up simultaneously, and beams of golden light shot out from the sphere, enveloping the nine.

The golden light was neither scorching nor cool, but a warm feeling, like sunlight shining on the body. A golden pillar of light containing immense information shot out from the center of the sphere and entered the center of Gao Feng's brows—the Wanfa Return to Origin Art.

The complete Legacy of the Wanfa Return to Origin Art was not a specific Spell, but a principle, a methodology. How to convert the power of the Five Elements into energy to repair Spiritual Veins, how to balance Five Elements imbalances, how to integrate the secret arts of the five sects into the Ten Thousand Spirits Gathering Yuan Formation. Every detail was clearly branded into Gao Feng's Sea of Consciousness.

The sphere of light gradually dimmed, and those runes returned to silence one by one, like an old man who had completed his mission and could finally rest.

The nine slowly opened their eyes, and Chu Lan was the first to jump up: "I seem to... have gained some knowledge about spirit plants; not specific Spells, but an understanding of the essence of spirit plants."

Tianxin looked at her palm; the Talisman Dao became clearer in her heart. That feeling was very wondrous, like opening a new door.

Luo Li held the flowing sound zither and lightly plucked the strings; the strings that had been snapped by the Law had somehow automatically reconnected, and the tone was clearer than before.