461: Chapter 461 Re-entering the Lost City

Gao Feng no longer hid himself; the golden Sword Qi of the vajra sword lit up in the dim corridor.

He pushed open the door to a dormitory, where four Dark Palace Cultivators were sleeping inside.

They were startled awake by the sound, and just as they opened their eyes, the sword light had already arrived.

One sword strike sealed their throats. Four people, four streaks of blood, and not a single person made a sound.

The next room, three people. The room after that, four people.

Gao Feng was like a silent storm, sweeping through the entire stone fortress.

From the top floor to the bottom, twenty Dark Palace Cultivators, not a single one left alive.

There were no screams, no pleas for mercy, only the faint sound of blades slicing through throats and the dull thud of bodies hitting the ground.

He stood in the main hall of the stone fortress, blood still dripping from the vajra sword.

Corpses lay scattered everywhere around him, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.

He felt neither cruelty nor satisfaction.

These people's hands were stained with the blood of innocent Cultivators; they deserved to die.

Gao Feng opened the black iron Storage Pouch and took out a roll of animal skin map.

The map marked the complete layout of the Dark Domain—the outer strongholds, the Dark Palace, and the blood pools, with every location detailed.

He tucked the map into his robe, walked to the entrance of the stone fortress, and looked back.

In the dark red light, this black stone fortress looked like a crouching giant beast.

He raised his hand, and a golden Sword Qi slashed at the formation nodes of the stone fortress.

The defensive formation collapsed, and the stone fortress began to crumble.

Huge stones peeled off the walls, smashing into the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.

Flames erupted from the rubble, scorching the black stones until they glowed red.

Gao Feng turned and left. Behind him, flames soared into the sky.

He walked north along the path on the scorched earth.

The direction of the Dark Palace was to the north, and the direction of the Lost City was to the east.

He was going to the Lost City; there lay the World Heart fragment, and the Opportunity for him to reach the Golden Core Seventh Stage.

"In the depths of the Lost City, there is an ancient guardian with strength comparable to the Peak of the Golden Core Ninth Stage. You are going to your death if you go now." The voice of Xue Lingzi's remnant soul echoed within the Seal.

Gao Feng ignored it. He gripped the vajra sword tightly, his footsteps not faltering.

Silver Shadow glowed faintly on his wrist, as if it sensed his determination.

The sky of the Dark Domain was forever gray and black, the scorched earth beneath his feet forever cracked and dry, and the distant flames gradually dimmed behind him.

Gao Feng walked toward the east; there lay what he sought, and also the enemies he had to face.

The Peak Golden Core Ninth Stage guardian, the Golden Core Ninth Stage Shadow Fiend, the Nascent Soul Stage Blood Venerable. Each one was a mountain he had to climb, but he knew he could not stop.

If he stopped, he would lose.

The light of teleportation flared in the darkness and quickly dissipated.

Gao Feng opened his eyes and found himself standing in a massive hall.

This was the end of the eighth level of the Lost City dungeon.

When he left last time, Su Ning had left a spatial positioning bead here; the silvery-white mark was carved onto a stone pillar in the corner of the hall, glowing faintly even in the darkness.

The dome of the hall was carved with ancient star patterns, and the floor was made of a single piece of obsidian, smooth as a mirror, reflecting his lonely figure.

His gaze swept across the empty hall and landed straight ahead—there was a stone door, with four ancient, simple characters carved upon it: "Trial Path".

The stone door was tightly shut, and a faint golden light seeped through the cracks, as if something was waiting for him behind the door.

Gao Feng walked to the stone door and placed his hand against the surface. The stone door did not Move.

He poured his Spiritual Qi into the formation patterns on the door, and those ancient lines lit up one by one, like sleepers being awakened.

The stone door slowly opened, and golden light poured out from behind it, illuminating the entire hall as if it were daylight.

Behind the door was another hall, grander than any of the previous eight levels.

The hall was circular with a diameter of about a hundred zhang, and the dome was filled with star patterns; those stars were not stationary but slowly rotating, like a real starry sky.

The obsidian floor was smooth as a mirror, capable of reflecting one's image.

In the center of the hall stood a stone pedestal, and upon it rested a golden crystal the size of a fist.

A complete "World Heart" fragment.

It was more than ten times larger than the one he had obtained in the Lost City last time, and golden light swirled within it, like a solidified sun.

But Gao Feng did not rush forward. He saw a person standing before the stone pedestal.

No, it was not a person. It was a skeleton clad in golden armor.

Its bones were thick and sturdy, standing about eight feet tall, with two clusters of golden flames burning in its eye sockets; it had no pupils, only light.

Its right hand gripped a golden spear, the tip pointed downward and stuck into the ground; its left hand held a golden shield, with an ancient rune carved on the shield's face, the shape of the rune resembling an open wing.

Its body was surrounded by a faint golden light, which, while not blinding, gave one an indescribable sense of oppression.

Gao Feng's hand pressed onto the hilt of the vajra sword, and he sent out his spiritual sense. Peak Golden Core Ninth Stage.

The golden skeleton spoke, its voice hollow and majestic, like an echo from a distant valley: "Trial-taker, that you can reach the ninth level shows you have passed the tests of the previous eight. But the ninth level is different—the first eight levels tested your combat power, Physical Body, will, and wisdom. The ninth level tests your 'Dao'."

Gao Feng asked: "How is it tested?"

The golden skeleton raised its spear, the tip pointing at Gao Feng: "Fight me. Defeat me with your 'Dao'. If you win, the complete 'World Heart' fragment and this 'Guardian Spear' shall be yours. If you lose, your cultivation will fall back to the Golden Core Sixth Stage, and you will be sent back to the eighth level. You have no second chance."

As soon as the words fell, the golden skeleton turned into a streak of golden light and lunged at Gao Feng.

Its speed was astonishingly fast; the moment the spear thrust out, the tip had already appeared before Gao Feng's throat.

Gao Feng dodged to the side, the vajra sword unsheathed, and the golden Sword Qi collided with the spear, erupting with a harsh sound of metal grating against metal.

Sparks flew everywhere.

Gao Feng was shaken back three steps. The golden skeleton remained motionless.

Peak Golden Core Ninth Stage, only one step away from the Nascent Soul Stage.

Its spear technique was ancient and fierce, without any flashy Moves, just the most basic thrusts, parries, sweeps, and smashes.

But every strike contained a certain rule—not a Spell, not a Martial Skill, but an understanding of the 'Dao'.

Gao Feng felt as if he were not fighting a skeleton, but a mountain, a river, and a world.

The second strike came. Gao Feng no longer met it head-on; he used "Time Insight" to slow the speed of the spear and countered by thrusting at the golden skeleton's ribs from the side.

The golden skeleton blocked with its shield, and the sword tip struck the shield's face, leaving only a shallow white mark.

The third strike, the fourth, the fifth. The spear thrust like a rainstorm, with countless spear shadows.

Gao Feng's sword grew faster and faster, but the golden skeleton's spear was faster.

It had been immersed in the Peak Golden Core Ninth Stage for who knows how many years, and its understanding of the 'Dao' far exceeded Gao Feng's.

The golden skeleton spoke while attacking: "What is your 'Dao'? Strength? Speed? Protection? Or slaughter?"

Its voice was devoid of emotion, as if asking a very ordinary question.

Gao Feng did not answer. He was thinking.

He recalled his belief when he was in the mortal world—to protect those he loved.

The sound of Luo Li's heavenly sound zither, Tianxin's tearful eyes, Su Ning's rare smile, Chu Lan's excited cheers while holding a Spirit Plant, and Yaoguang's devotion as she pressed the azure wood holy seed against her chest.

He remembered the bloody battle at Meteor City, where the corpses on the walls piled up like mountains, and he had not retreated.

When the King of Ten Thousand Races brought his palm down, he bore it with brute force because behind him were tens of thousands of common people.

The words he shouted while standing on the city wall still rang in his ears— "Defend one city, protect ten thousand races; as long as humanity does not perish, the battle shall not cease!"

His Dao was protection.

The light of the vajra sword changed. The golden Sword Qi gained a hint of warmth; it was not blinding, but rather more resilient.

Gao Feng unleashed the eighth style of the Nine Styles of the War God— "War God Shadowless".

The mantra flowed through his heart: War God Shadowless, use the heart as the sword.

He had never been able to comprehend this style because he did not understand the meaning of "Shadowless".

At this moment, he suddenly understood.

"Shadowless" was not about being so fast that one could not be seen, but about making the enemy unable to distinguish which was the real self.

When your heart is firm enough, your shadow will also become your sword.

Gao Feng's figure split into nine afterimages, attacking the golden skeleton from nine directions simultaneously.

The golden skeleton blocked with its shield and swept its spear horizontally, shattering seven of the afterimages.

But the swords of two afterimages struck its back.

The golden skeleton stepped back and looked down at the golden armor on its chest. Two tiny cracks had appeared on the armor.

"Not bad." There was a hint of approval in the golden skeleton's voice, "You have understood the true meaning of 'Shadowless'."

Gao Feng did not answer. He took a deep breath, stuck the vajra sword into the ground, and took out a Medicinal Pill from his robe—a Breakthrough Pill.

The Medicinal Pill entered his abdomen, and the immense medicinal power turned into a golden torrent, crashing against the barrier of the Golden Core Seventh Stage.

At the same time, the Spirit Spring, Spirit Tree, and Time Tree within the Myriad Spirit Space simultaneously released energy, pouring into his Dantian.

The purifying power of the Spirit Spring, the Time Power of the Time Tree, and the Spiritual Qi in the space, these three forces intertwined within his body, merging with the medicinal power of the Breakthrough Pill.

Boom. A dull thud exploded within his body.

The barrier of the Golden Core Sixth Stage shattered, and Spiritual Qi surged like a tide into the new Meridians nodes.

Golden Core Seventh Stage Early Stage. The moment his cultivation broke through, Gao Feng felt his strength surge by fifty percent.

The flow of Spiritual Qi in his Meridians became smoother, the rotation speed of his Golden Core became faster, and the War God Power condensed into a more solid golden sphere of light in his Dantian.

He pulled up the vajra sword, and the phantom of the War God on the sword body became solid at this moment.

It was not a physical entity, but one could already see the eyebrows and eyes clearly. It was himself.

Gao Feng unleashed "War God Shatter" and slashed at the golden skeleton with his sword.

This strike fused the explosive power of the seventh style of the Nine Styles of the War God with the essence of the eighth style, "Shadowless"—the sword light appeared to be only one, but it actually concealed nine strands of Sword Qi, slashing at the golden skeleton from different angles.

The golden skeleton blocked with its spear. The spear and sword collided, and sparks flew everywhere. But this time, it was the golden skeleton that was shaken back.

It stepped back three steps, steadied its stance, and stuck the spear into the ground.

It clasped its hands together and performed an ancient salute toward Gao Feng, the golden flames in its eye sockets flickering a few times: "Trial-taker, your 'Dao' is protection. The Guardian is the most difficult 'Dao', and also the most powerful 'Dao'. Among the trial-takers of the first eight levels, those who could reach the ninth level are few and far between. But you are the first to pass the ninth level. You are qualified to receive the reward of the ninth level."