455: Chapter 455 The True Face of the Blood Spirit Child

He grinned, revealing uneven yellow teeth, his voice raspy like sandpaper rubbing together. "Gao Feng, you are much smarter than your Master, Xuan Yang. Unfortunately, smart people often die faster."

Gao Feng did not retreat, nor did he draw his sword. His spiritual sense probed toward the opponent, only to be bounced back upon touching that layer of blood-colored mist. That aura was cold, ancient, and carried a sense of decay eroded by time. He said in a deep voice, "Xue Lingzi?"

"Exactly." Xue Lingzi's voice held a hint of smugness. "The legendary traitor of the Wuxiang Sect, expelled from the Sect three hundred years ago. I escaped by faking my death and have lurked at the edge of the Void Realm, sustaining my lifespan by devouring the essence and blood of Cultivators." He raised his withered hand, and a ball of blood-colored light condensed in his palm, within which countless distorted faces could be faintly seen struggling. "I am now at the Peak of the ninth level of the Golden Core, only one step away from breaking through to the Nascent Soul. And this step requires a perfect Physical Body."

His gaze fell upon Gao Feng, his greed completely undisguised.

"The Star Battle Body, the War God Legacy, and that mysterious space inside you... It is simply a vessel made in heaven. I have waited for three hundred years, and finally, my wait is over."

Gao Feng sneered, the silver beast tattoo on his wrist heating up slightly. "So you sent Master Cangsong to stir up trouble just to lure me out? Breaking the Seal, releasing the shadows, and killing so many innocent people, all for your grand plan of Possession?"

Xue Lingzi shook his head, his tone filled with disdain. "Cang Song was a chess piece I nurtured, but unfortunately, he was too useless to handle even such a small matter. I originally wanted him to slowly force you to grow, making your Physical Body stronger through battles. Who would have thought he would expose himself so quickly, even compromising my hidden agents." He sighed, as if lamenting a tool. "But no matter. Since you have come today, do not even think about leaving alive."

Gao Feng did not reply. With a slight movement of his finger inside his sleeve, he crushed the signaling jade talisman he had agreed upon with Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan. Two streaks of sword light rose from the foot of the mountain, swift as shooting stars, landing behind Xue Lingzi in the blink of an eye. Lin Jingyu's flowing cloud sword gleamed with a chilling light, while Situ Lan's Broken Cloud Sword was as steady as a mountain. The two flanked him on the left and right, forming a triangular encirclement.

Xue Lingzi did not even turn his head, only letting out a raspy laugh. "Two little brats at the Early Stage of the Golden Core dare to block me?"

Gao Feng placed his hand on the hilt of the vajra sword, the phantom of the War God on the blade lighting up slightly under the moonlight. "Let's find out."

Xue Lingzi did not give him the chance to strike first. Hand signs forming, the blood mist around him surged violently, transforming into a sky-covering blood cloud that enveloped the entire summit of Taixu Mountain. The blood cloud billowed, carrying a pungent, fishy wind, and within the blood mist, countless distorted faces could be heard howling—these were the souls of the Cultivators he had devoured over the past three hundred years, refined by him into blood puppets, never to be reincarnated.

"Blood Cloud Soul Devourer!" Xue Lingzi shouted fiercely as the blood mist condensed into dozens of blood arrows, shooting rapidly toward the three of them.

Gao Feng drew his sword. The golden sword glow of the vajra sword swept out, shattering all the blood arrows flying toward him. The moment the sword glow collided with the blood arrows, a sizzling sound of corrosion echoed—the resentment within the blood mist was corroding the spiritual energy on the blade. Lin Jingyu used his swift swordplay to shatter the blood arrows heading his way, his sword light so fast that its trajectory was almost invisible, each strike precisely splitting a blood arrow down the middle. Situ Lan, on the other hand, deployed her "Sword Domain," forming a barrier of Sword Intent around her, causing the blood arrows to disintegrate upon impact.

Xue Lingzi snorted coldly, his figure turning into a streak of bloody light as he lunged straight for Gao Feng—his target had always been Gao Feng. That palm strike on Gao Feng's chest was not a physical attack; instead, he transformed his own Divine Soul into a streak of blood-red light, forcibly boring into Gao Feng's body. Gao Feng's body shook violently, his eyes losing focus as he stood frozen in place.

Lin Jingyu was greatly alarmed and tried to step forward, but the blood mist grew even denser, separating the two of them from Gao Feng. "Gao Feng!" he cried out hoarsely, his flowing cloud sword slashing frantically at the blood mist. However, once a gap was slashed open, the blood mist would quickly close back up, seemingly endless.

Situ Lan grit her teeth. "He is being possessed! We must protect his Physical Body; the rest is up to him!"

Gao Feng's Sea of Consciousness was a golden ocean.

Hovering in the center was his Divine Soul—a miniature version of Gao Feng, surrounded by the golden War God Power. The golden light in his Sea of Consciousness was warm and resilient, a testament to the will he had tempered through countless life-and-death trials over the years. Xue Lingzi's Divine Soul transformed into a blood-red dragon, lunging forward with bared fangs and claws. It was larger and more ferocious than any enemy he had ever faced.

"For a Sea of Consciousness at the sixth level of the Golden Core, it is surprisingly sturdy." The blood-red dragon spoke, its voice echoing in the Sea of Consciousness. "As expected of the vessel I have set my eyes on. Unfortunately, no matter how sturdy your Sea of Consciousness is, it cannot withstand the resentment I have accumulated over three hundred years!"

Gao Feng's Divine Soul gripped the illusory vajra sword and met the attack head-on.

Two figures of light collided within the Sea of Consciousness. The golden sword glow and the bloody dragon breath intertwined, and each collision caused Gao Feng's body to tremble violently. Xue Lingzi's Divine Soul power far exceeded his; the gap between the Peak of the ninth level of the Golden Core and the sixth level of the Golden Core was fully exposed at this moment. The blood-red dragon's sharp claws slashed several wounds onto his Divine Soul, and the golden War God Power gushed out from the injuries.

"Give up! Your Physical Body is destined to be mine!" Xue Lingzi's voice was filled with triumph.

Gao Feng grit his teeth, tightening his grip on the hilt. "In your dreams."

He circulated the War God Art, concentrating all his will onto the illusory vajra sword. The golden sword glow surged, slashing toward the neck of the blood-red dragon. A deep wound was carved into the dragon, and black blood gushed from the cut, but instead of retreating, it lunged forward even more frantically.

Just as Gao Feng's Divine Soul was about to be devoured, the silver beast tattoo on his wrist suddenly glowed. A powerful suction force surged from his Dantian—the Myriad Spirit Space, sensing its Master's danger, automatically activated its Master-protection function. The silver light enveloped a portion of Xue Lingzi's Divine Soul, pulling frantically, forcibly sucking it into the Myriad Spirit Space and suppressing it beneath the spiritual spring.

"Ah—!" Xue Lingzi's Divine Soul let out a shrill scream, struggling frantically like a chained beast. His Divine Soul was torn apart, with one part trapped inside the Myriad Spirit Space and the other remaining in Gao Feng's Sea of Consciousness.

The size of the blood-red dragon shrank rapidly, falling from its Peak strength into weakness.

"What... what on earth is inside your body?!" For the first time, panic appeared in his voice.

Seizing this opportunity, Gao Feng shattered the remaining portion of Xue Lingzi's Divine Soul in his Sea of Consciousness with a single sword strike. As the golden sword glow swept past, that part of the Divine Soul turned into specks of black light and dissipated within the Sea of Consciousness.

Xue Lingzi's remnant soul retreated in humiliation from Gao Feng's body, returning to his own Physical Body. His face was as pale as paper, a trace of black blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and his cultivation fell from the Peak of the ninth level of the Golden Core to the Early Stage of the ninth level of the Golden Core. He stumbled backward, supporting himself on the ground with one hand while clutching his chest with the other, staring intently at Gao Feng.

"Impossible... impossible! How could my three hundred years of cultivation be defeated by a mere sixth level of the Golden Core like you!"

Gao Feng woke up from the Possession attempt, drenched in cold sweat and pale-faced. His Divine Soul had suffered a heavy blow, and the golden ocean in his Sea of Consciousness had dimmed significantly, yet his gaze remained resolute. He grit his teeth, and the golden sword glow on the vajra sword lit up once more. The seventh style of the Nine Styles of the War God—War God Shatter!

The golden sword glow sliced through the blood mist, striking Xue Lingzi squarely in the chest. With a miserable scream, Xue Lingzi's Physical Body crashed to the ground, shriveling and cracking at a visible speed, turning into a dried corpse. Even in death, he did not understand why he had lost.

Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan finally broke through the blood mist and reached Gao Feng's side. Supporting the swaying Gao Feng, Lin Jingyu asked anxiously, "How are you?"

"I won't die." Gao Feng leaned on Lin Jingyu's shoulder, panting heavily. He glanced down at his hand and gave a bitter smile. "But my cultivation has dropped. My Realm at the sixth level of the Golden Core has become unstable; I might fall back to the fifth level of the Golden Core." The golden ocean in his Sea of Consciousness had dimmed significantly, the circulation of his spiritual energy was sluggish, and there were multiple damages to his Meridians.

Situ Lan squatted down and pulled a black token from Xue Lingzi's robes, which had the character "Dark" engraved on it. She flipped the token over; on the back was a distorted, blood-colored pattern resembling a coiled snake. "Is this... the token of the Dark Palace?"

Gao Feng took the token, his heart jolting. The Dark Palace was the most mysterious assassin organization in the Cultivation World, rumored to be feared even by Nascent Soul Cultivators. No one knew where their headquarters was, nor did anyone know how many members they had; they only knew that as long as the price was right, there was no one they could not kill. Xue Lingzi had been an outer member of the Dark Palace. His ability to find Gao Feng indicated that the Dark Palace had already noticed him.

Gao Feng put the token into his robes, sat cross-legged, and circulated his Cultivation Technique to stabilize his injuries. Since Yaoguang was not by his side, he could only rely on the spiritual spring of the Myriad Spirit Space to slowly recover, sinking his spiritual sense into the Myriad Spirit Space to draw spiritual energy from the spiritual spring to nourish his damaged Meridians.

Silver Shadow emerged from his wrist, licking his face and letting out a low whimper.

Gao Feng patted Silver Shadow's head and smiled bitterly. "I was almost possessed. Thanks to you and the Myriad Spirit Space." He peered inside his Dantian and found that the portion of Xue Lingzi's Divine Soul suppressed beneath the spiritual spring was still struggling like a trapped beast. From time to time, it would crash against the Seal of the spiritual spring, churning it up restlessly. If he did not completely refine it, it would sooner or later become a hidden danger.

Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan guarded him on his left and right, remaining alert to their surroundings. The blood mist had already dispersed, and the summit of Taixu Mountain had regained its tranquility. Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the clouds, shining down upon the three of them.

After about half an hour, Gao Feng managed to stabilize his injuries and stood up. His face was still pale, but his eyes had regained their clarity. He glanced at Xue Lingzi's dried corpse, then at the Dark Palace token in his hand, falling silent for a moment.

"Let's go, back to the Sect." He tucked the token into his robes.

Lin Jingyu supported Gao Feng while Situ Lan walked ahead to clear the path. Under the moonlight, the silhouettes of the three grew more distant, swaying in the mountain wind. On the summit of Taixu Mountain, Xue Lingzi's dried corpse was blown away by the wind, turning into dust. Those souls he had devoured for hundreds of years finally found release, turning into specks of white light and dissipating into the night sky.