462: Chapter 462 Challenge

The golden skeleton continued, "The power of the World Heart is not meant for possession, but for protection. If you use it to slaughter the innocent, I will come for you myself." It lowered its head to look at the long spear in its hand, its own reflection mirrored on the spear shaft.

It pulled the long spear from the ground and held it out to Gao Feng with both hands. "This 'Spear of Protection' is also left for you. It is a Tier 7 Magical Artifact forged by an ancient Cultivator using the 'Dao of Protection,' and it fits your 'Dao' perfectly. Its spear Soul has been sleeping for a long time; I hope you can awaken it."

Gao Feng took the long spear. It felt heavy in his hand; the spear tip was sharp, and the shaft was engraved with intricate patterns, resembling vines and flowing rivers. He stored the long spear into the Myriad Spirit Space. The vajra sword was his sidearm; the Spear of Protection could be left for someone who needed it.

The golden skeleton nodded at Gao Feng, then dissolved into specks of golden light, vanishing within the hall. The golden light spots drifted toward the dome, merging into the swirling star patterns. The hall returned to tranquility, with only the stars on the dome continuing to rotate slowly.

Gao Feng held the golden crystal in his palm and probed it with his divine sense. The energy within the crystal was massive and pure, more than a hundred times stronger than the fragment he obtained last time. He took a deep breath and sent the crystal into the Myriad Spirit Space.

The crystal hovered above the space, rotating slowly. Golden light bathed the entire space. The Spirit Plant Garden expanded within the light, growing from a thousand mu to ten thousand mu, with verdant Spirit Plants covering the entire land. The spirit spring surged in the light, upgrading from a spring pool to a spirit lake; the water quality became clearer, and the concentration of Spiritual Qi increased several times over. The Tree of Time grew a zhang taller in the light, its trunk becoming thicker, its leaves denser, and silvery-white light flowed across its crown.

Most importantly, the Tree of Time's time-flow regulation function had undergone a qualitative improvement—it could now activate double time acceleration within the space. Although it required continuous consumption of spiritual power, the consumption was significantly lower than before.

Xue Lingzi's remnant consciousness screamed within the Seal. The Seal had moved from beneath the spirit spring to under the Tree of Time. The silver light from the Tree of Time shone upon the dark red light orb, constantly weakening his Divine Soul. His voice was intermittent, "No... my power is draining away... you cannot do this to me..."

Gao Feng said coldly, "Stay there peacefully. Once your memories are drained, your remnant consciousness will dissipate as well."

Gao Feng sat cross-legged on the stone platform. He submerged his divine sense into his Dantian to inspect his Golden Core. His cultivation at the Early Stage of the Golden Core Seventh Layer had stabilized. The golden spherical core rotated slowly in his Dantian; with every rotation, pure spiritual power surged from it, nourishing his Meridians and flesh. The golden crystal still had a large amount of residual energy, stored at the bottom of the spirit lake, which could be used for future Cultivation. The Tree of Time in the Myriad Spirit Space could now activate double acceleration.

He stood up and looked around the massive hall. He had finally cleared the entire Path of Trials. From the initial labyrinth corridors to the gravity room, Heart Demon illusion, Puppet army, Five Elements reversal, time corridor, Void Realm labyrinth, Xue Lingzi's remnant consciousness, and finally the test of "Dao." Every step had been filled with danger, and every step had made him stronger.

"But it is not enough," Gao Feng said in a low voice. "Golden Core Seventh Layer is still no match for Ying Sha. I need more time and more resources."

He decided to return to the Meteor Realm and go into seclusion within the Myriad Spirit Space, Cultivating with double time acceleration, striving to break through to the Golden Core Eighth Layer within half a year.

Gao Feng took out the spatial positioning bead from his bosom and injected spiritual power into it. Silvery-white light enveloped him, and the teleportation activated. When he opened his eyes again, he had returned to the underground secret room of the War God Pavilion.

The Spirit Gathering Array in the secret room was still running, and the Spirit Stones emitted a milky-white light. He took the Spear of Protection out of the Myriad Spirit Space and stuck it in the corner of the wall. The golden luster on the spear shaft shimmered slightly in the dim light.

Gao Feng sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. Inside the Myriad Spirit Space, the Tree of Time swayed gently, and silvery-white light enveloped the entire space. He activated the double time acceleration, and the Spiritual Qi in the spirit lake gathered into his Dantian at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The fruit vines in the Spirit Plant Garden rustled in the night wind. Silver Shadow glowed faintly on his wrist, seemingly also struggling to recover. In the distant Dark Territory, the Dark Hall Master Ying Sha was waiting for news from Ying Ren.

But all he would wait for was silence.

There is no day or night in the Shadow Realm. The sky is forever shrouded in thick black fog; there are no stars, no moon, only the dark red light seeping from the cracks in the earth, dyeing this broken world a deep crimson.

It was the seventh day since Tian Xin stepped into the Shadow Realm, and according to her own biological clock, it was already evening.

For the past seven days, she had been advancing toward the depths of the Shadow Realm, and the black jade pendant in her hand had always emitted a faint light, as if guiding her direction. It was a jade pendant engraved with the characters of the Shadow Demon Clan, the only heirloom left by her parents. Before her mother passed away, she had pressed it into her hand and said her last words: "When you are strong enough, take this to the Shadow Realm; the truth you want to know is there."

She was only five years old back then and did not understand what "strong enough" meant. Now, she was at the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer, her dark Bloodline had become increasingly pure under the cultivation of the Shadow Demon Assassination Technique, and her companion Spirit Fox had also brought back the ability to perceive shadows from the Void Realm. She had finally come.

The journey in the Shadow Realm was more dangerous than she had anticipated. Shadow Beasts formed from the resentment of the Shadow Demon Clan roamed everywhere; some were shaped like black wolves, some like giant pythons, and others were just masses of surging shadows. They had no physical bodies, only blurry black outlines, and their eyes glowed with dark red light. Those lights were not eyes; they were resentment burning.

Tian Xin did not avoid battle. Every time she encountered a Shadow Beast, she fought with Talismans and the Shadow Demon Assassination Technique, fighting while advancing. The Spirit Fox leaped out from the shadows, transforming into a silver-black light shadow, weaving around her, using its keen perception to warn her. The cultivation of the Shadow Beasts ranged from the Foundation Establishment Third Layer to the Golden Core First Layer. With Tian Xin's current strength, as long as she did not encounter swarms of high-level Shadow Beasts, she could handle them.

On the evening of the seventh day, she finally arrived in front of a massive black castle.

The castle walls were a hundred zhang high, and the surfaces were engraved with ancient array patterns of the Shadow Demon Clan. Those array patterns faintly glowed in the dark red light, like countless sleeping snakes. The city gate was tightly closed, and the walls were empty—not that there was no one, but this castle had long been abandoned for who knew how many years.

Tian Xin took the black jade pendant from her bosom. The moment it neared the castle, the jade pendant suddenly shone, not with the faint light from before, but with a blazing black-golden light, rising in her palm like a small sun. The light shot toward the city gate, and those ancient array patterns on the walls lit up one by one, responding to the call of the jade pendant.

The city gate slowly opened, and behind the gate was a deep, secluded passage. The walls on both sides of the passage were covered with murals, extending from the entrance to an unseen depth. The Spirit Fox poked its head out from her shoulder, emitting a low whimper—it was afraid. Tian Xin stroked its head, took a deep breath, put away the jade pendant, and stepped into the passage.

Footsteps echoed in the empty passage. The murals on both sides glowed faintly as she passed, as if displaying a piece of dust-covered history for her. On the first mural, countless Cultivators and Shadow Demon Clan warriors were slaughtering each other on the battlefield; the sky was covered with dark clouds, and the earth was stained red with blood. On the second mural, the battlefield had turned into ruins, both sides were decimated, and resentment rose from the corpses, condensing into black mist. On the third mural, those resentments gathered together, forming the Shadow Realm—this cursed, broken world.

Tian Xin stopped and stared at the murals. So, the Shadow Realm was not the natural territory of the Shadow Demon Clan, but was formed after a great war in ancient times. Human Cultivators and the Shadow Demon Clan fought fiercely, and in the end, both sides suffered heavy losses; a large number of Cultivators and Shadow Demon Clan warriors fell here. The resentment did not dissipate but condensed in the Void Realm, forming this broken world shrouded in darkness.

She continued to walk forward. The later murals told of the origin of the Shadow Demon Clan—they were originally a branch of humanity, exiled from mainstream society because they Cultivated dark Cultivation Techniques. Over time, their bodies underwent mutations; their skin became pale, their eyes turned dark red, and they formed the "dark Bloodline." They were skilled in concealment, assassination, and Soul attacks, but were therefore ostracized by other races. On the mural, a group of exiled human Cultivators knelt in the darkness, their shadows stretched very long, like countless hands reaching toward the sky.

At the end of the passage was a small altar. The altar was built of black rock, and the surface was covered with Shadow Demon Clan runes. Two black crystals were placed on the altar; the crystals were about the size of a fist, and dark red patterns flowed on their surfaces. These were Soul crystals left behind after the fall of strong Shadow Demon Clan members. Tian Xin placed the jade pendant on the altar, stepped back, and waited quietly.

The altar vibrated once. Both Soul crystals lit up simultaneously, and two phantoms slowly emerged from the Soul crystals.

They were her parents.

Her mother's phantom was tearful, reaching out to touch Tian Xin's face, but her fingers passed through her cheek. "Xin'er, you have finally come. You have grown up; you are as beautiful as I imagined." Her mother's voice was choked with sobs.

Her father's phantom stood behind her mother, his eyes red. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out. After a long while, he reached out to touch her head, his fingers also passing through her hair. "We do not have much time. Remember, your dark Bloodline is not a curse, but a gift. The Shadow Demon Clan is not your enemy—Shadow Venerable, who hunted us down back then, was just a scoundrel among the Shadow Demon Clan. The true Shadow Demon Clan had already gone extinct in the war a thousand years ago."

Tian Xin knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face. "Father, Mother... I have finally found you. I think of you every day, every single day. Shadow Venerable has already been killed by me; I killed him with my own hands. I used the Shadow Demon Assassination Technique, one slash at a time, just like how he killed you back then."