459: Chapter 459 Dark Palace Assassins

Gao Feng ignored him further, closed his eyes, and continued to penetrate the Seal with his Divine Sense.

By the third month, he finally extracted the last shred of memory from the remnant soul of Xue Lingzi. The dark red sphere of light had shrunk to the size of a fingernail, lying at the bottom of the spirit spring like a dying ember. It was still pulsing and struggling, but it was too weak to even speak.

Gao Feng sent that final memory into his Sea of Consciousness. After digesting it, he obtained an unexpected piece of information: the weakness of the Dark Palace's Blood Venerable. Although the Blood Venerable Cultivated the Blood Spirit Demonic Technique, he was not inherently bloodthirsty. He had been forced into the demonic path, and a trace of humanity remained deep within him. If the root cause of his fall into the demonic path could be found, perhaps he could be awakened, preventing him from continuing to collude with the Dark Palace.

But this was only information; whether it could be put to use remained an unknown.

The third month of closed-door Cultivation was nearing its end. Gao Feng's Realm had recovered to the Peak of the sixth layer of the Golden Core, Xue Lingzi's remnant soul was reduced to nothing but dregs, and he had gained an initial understanding of the eighth style of the Nine Styles of the War God.

However, one late night, Silver Shadow suddenly became restless.

It sprang up from the ground, ears pricked straight, facing outside the secret chamber. Its silver-grey eyes glowed in the darkness, and the silver markings on its body flickered wildly. It let out a low warning sound—not out of fear, but out of alertness.

Gao Feng opened his eyes, his fingers pressing onto the hilt of his vajra sword. He extended his Divine Sense out of the secret chamber, scanning the area around the War God Pavilion. He sensed several faint auras; they were not Yao Beasts, nor were they ordinary Cultivators—they were well-trained assassins. Their auras were perfectly concealed; if not for Silver Shadow's spatial perception, he might not have discovered them until they were at his doorstep.

"They are here," Gao Feng whispered. He stood up, drawing the vajra sword half an inch from its scabbard, a golden flash of sword light flickering in the darkness. Silver Shadow leapt onto his shoulder, and the silver beast marking on his wrist glowed faintly.

The door to the secret chamber slowly opened. Outside was the eternal lavender star mist of the Meteor Realm. In the distance, several dark figures were approaching the War God Pavilion. Their movements were uniform, their steps light and silent, like ghosts moving through the night mist.

Gao Feng walked out of the secret chamber and stood on the stone steps of the War God Pavilion. The night wind stirred his robes, and Silver Shadow lay on his shoulder, its silver-grey eyes fixed on those dark figures.

Stars twinkled above, and lavender mist churned at his feet.

What was bound to come had finally arrived.

Three dark figures were approaching the War God Pavilion, their movements uniform, their steps light and silent, like ghosts moving through the night mist.

Gao Feng's Divine Sense spread out silently, firmly locking onto the three figures.

One at the sixth layer of the Golden Core, another at the sixth layer of the Golden Core, and one at the seventh layer of the Golden Core.

That chilling aura was exactly like Xue Lingzi's; there was no need to guess that they were from the Dark Palace.

He did not rush to act, but stood quietly on the stone steps, hand on his sword hilt, observing the movements of the three. One crept toward the Spirit Plant Garden to the east, one toward the Scripture Pavilion to the west, and the third was sneaking along the underground corridor toward the secret chamber.

The goal was clear—they thought he was still in the secret chamber in closed-door Cultivation.

"Good coordination," Gao Feng muttered to himself. Silver Shadow let out a low growl and gestured with its paw, telling him the specific locations of the three people—the one in the Spirit Plant Garden was searching for Spirit Plants, the one in the Scripture Pavilion was searching the bookshelves, and the one in the corridor was almost at the door of the secret chamber.

Gao Feng took a deep breath, his figure vanishing from the stone steps like a ghost. He did not go to deal with the strongest one in the corridor first; instead, he headed straight for the Spirit Plant Garden. First, clip their wings, then deal with the leader.

His Star Battle Body suppressed his aura to the lowest level, and Silver Shadow's spatial markings helped him avoid any potential detection traps. He silently snuck into the Spirit Plant Garden and saw the back of Blood Hand from the shadows—he was bent over, pulling an Ice Soul Grass from the soil and stuffing it into his Storage Pouch. That was a rare Spirit Plant that Chu Lan had brought back from Changsheng Valley, worth a fortune.

Three zhang, two zhang, one zhang. Blood Hand suddenly turned around—he had sensed the killing intent. But it was too late.

Gao Feng utilized Time Insight, and the flow of time around him slowed down instantly, his speed so fast that only an afterimage remained. The golden sword light of the vajra sword flashed in the darkness, accurately piercing through Blood Hand's chest. Blood Hand widened his eyes, his mouth opening and closing, wanting to scream, but only a gurgling sound came from his throat. Gao Feng withdrew his sword, Blood Hand collapsed to the ground with a crash, and blood spread across the soil of the Spirit Plant Garden.

Gao Feng dragged Blood Hand's corpse into the shadows in a corner of the Spirit Plant Garden, covered it with Spirit Plants, and turned to head toward the Scripture Pavilion.

Ghost Claw was much more alert than Blood Hand. He had heard the faint commotion from the direction of the Spirit Plant Garden and had already drawn his weapon in defense, the dagger in his hand gleaming with a cold light in the darkness. Gao Feng did not hide anymore and pushed the door open to enter. Ghost Claw saw who it was and sneered, "You killed Blood Hand? You have some skill. Unfortunately, you've met me." He was at the sixth layer of the Golden Core, the same Realm as Gao Feng, and was very confident in his combat power. He struck first, his dagger turning into a cold light, stabbing straight at Gao Feng's throat.

Gao Feng did not retreat, meeting it head-on with the vajra sword. The golden sword light collided with the dagger, erupting with a harsh metallic screech. Ghost Claw's dagger was deflected, his hand went numb, and he was greatly alarmed. For the second move, Gao Feng unleashed War God Slash, the golden sword light sweeping out; Ghost Claw raised his dagger to block, and the dagger snapped in two. For the third move, the vajra sword severed Ghost Claw's right arm, blood sprayed wildly, and Ghost Claw retreated while screaming in agony. For the fourth move, the tip of the sword pierced his throat.

Ghost Claw's corpse slumped onto the floor of the Scripture Pavilion, crushing several scattered Jade Slips. Gao Feng shook the blood off his sword and turned to leave.

Outside the secret chamber, Shadow Blade had already smashed the gate of the secret chamber. He rushed into the secret chamber, only to find it empty, with only the Spirit Gathering Array still running, the Spirit Stones emitting a milky white light. His expression changed: "It's a trap!" He turned to leave.

Gao Feng's voice came from the end of the corridor: "Are you looking for me?"

Shadow Blade turned around abruptly. Gao Feng was already standing in the center of the corridor, the blood on the vajra sword not yet dry, and the night wind blowing in from the broken stone door, stirring their robes. Shadow Blade steadied his mind and sneered, "Peak of the sixth layer of the Golden Core, and you dare to fight me head-on? You managed to kill those two pieces of trash, so you have some skill. But in front of the seventh layer of the Golden Core, your little bit of skill is not enough." He used the Shadow Evasion Technique, his figure turning into a dark shadow and vanishing instantly from the spot. The next moment, he appeared behind Gao Feng, his dagger stabbing straight at his heart. This strike was fast, accurate, and ruthless—a full-power blow from the seventh layer of the Golden Core, enough to pierce metal and stone.

Gao Feng had been prepared. His Star Battle Body operated at full power, purple starlight condensing on his skin into a visible layer of armor. The dagger pierced half an inch into his skin before it was tightly gripped, unable to go any deeper. Shadow Blade was alarmed and tried to pull the knife out, only to find the dagger stuck in Gao Feng's body, unmoving. Gao Feng slashed back with his sword; Shadow Blade abandoned the knife and retreated, but the sword edge still left a long bloody gash on his chest. Blood dripped down his robes and onto the stone floor.

Shadow Blade looked down at the wound, his eyes full of shock: "Your Physical Body... how can it be so strong?"

Gao Feng did not answer, and the vajra sword slashed out again. The two fought fiercely in the corridor. Shadow Blade was at the seventh layer of the Golden Core, his Realm higher than Gao Feng's, but his combat style focused on assassination; head-on confrontation was not his strong suit. Every attack was tricky and devious, but Gao Feng's Star Battle Body was too formidable; those grazes and scratches could not affect his combat power at all. Gao Feng's combat style was completely different; he excelled in head-on clashes, every sword stroke wide and sweeping, forcing Shadow Blade to retreat repeatedly. The golden sword light of the vajra sword crisscrossed the narrow corridor, and the formation patterns on the walls were slashed with deep marks by the sword light.

After thirty rounds, Shadow Blade was slashed on the arm by Gao Feng's sword, blood streaming down. His aura began to fluctuate, and the cooldown for the Shadow Evasion Technique had not yet passed, so he could not use it again. Knowing he was no match, he turned to flee. Although the Shadow Evasion Technique could not be used continuously, his movement techniques were still top-notch, and he reached the end of the corridor in a few leaps.

"Silver Shadow!" Gao Feng shouted in a low voice.

Silver Shadow emerged from his wrist, turning into a silver light, and caught up to Shadow Blade with teleportation. It opened its mouth and bit down on Shadow Blade's calf. Shadow Blade felt the pain, his figure faltered, and he stumbled to the ground. He turned over, wanting to swing his knife at Silver Shadow, but Gao Feng's vajra sword had already arrived. The tip of the sword pierced his chest, pinning him to the ground.

Shadow Blade widened his eyes, his mouth opening and closing, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth. Using his last bit of strength, he pulled a black poison needle from his sleeve and flung it at Gao Feng's face. The poison needle was extremely fast; Gao Feng was in the middle of withdrawing his sword and could not dodge in time.

A silver light flashed. Silver Shadow teleported in front of Gao Feng, using its own body to block the poison needle. The poison needle pierced into Silver Shadow's neck, and the black toxin spread rapidly through its body. Silver Shadow's body began to turn black, spreading outward from the wound. It let out a weak whimper, its body swayed, and it turned into a silver light, returning to Gao Feng's wrist and disappearing into the beast marking.

"Silver Shadow!" Gao Feng roared, and the vajra sword decapitated Shadow Blade.

Silence returned to the corridor. The night wind blew past, carrying a heavy scent of blood. Gao Feng sheathed the vajra sword and looked down at the dim silver beast marking on his wrist. The mark was still there, but its light was very faint, like a candle flame about to go out.

He extended his Divine Sense into the Myriad Spirit Space, took a handful of spirit spring water from the spirit spring, and carefully applied it to the beast marking. The silver light brightened slightly, then dimmed again. He applied another handful, over and over again. He did not know how much time had passed, but Silver Shadow's breathing finally stabilized. Its body was still black, but the toxin was no longer spreading, and the purifying power of the spirit spring was slowly taking effect.

Gao Feng pressed his wrist to his lips and whispered, "Silly child, why did you block it for me?"

There was no response from the beast marking. But he could feel that Silver Shadow's life force was still there, weak but stable.

He dragged the corpses of the three assassins outside the Spirit Plant Garden and burned them with a fire. The flames danced in the night wind, burning the corpses to ashes, and the ashes were scattered by the wind, falling into the soil of the Spirit Plant Garden to become nutrients for the Spirit Plants.