Chapter 2756 - 2732: Fentian Mountain
Chapter 2732: Fentian Mountain
With Ma Biaohu’s physical strength, it didn’t take long to dig a large hole, and then a path was opened following the hole. As Ma Biaohu dug, Lin Feng and the others followed behind.
They walked along the path dug by Ma Biaohu for several hours and finally reached the central location at the mountain’s base. At this moment, Tangyuan suddenly sensed something and shouted, "Over there!"
Lin Feng looked at the direction Tangyuan’s small paw was pointing and nodded to Ma Biaohu. Ma Biaohu then wielded his big shovel and dug in the direction indicated by Tangyuan. After digging for a few more hours, Ma Biaohu, drenched in sweat from the rapid speed, finally reached an open area.
This place should be the very center of the mountain, a different space altogether, almost like another Secret Realm. In the entire space, there floated a seven-layered Exquisite Tower, emitting a faint silver light, which suddenly reminded Lin Feng of the nine-layered Ice Tower he had encountered before.
The entire space was illuminated by the silver glow of this tower. Directly below the tower was the conspicuous floating skeleton of a Demon Beast, several hundred zhang long. Xiao Jiu pointed at the remains and said to Lin Feng, "Boss, isn’t this the skeleton of the Cloud Dragon Soul?"
Upon closer inspection, both the shape and length were indistinguishable from the Dragon Soul they had seen before. It seemed Ma Biaohu was indeed right; this tower should be the heritage mansion of a certain powerful figure, and the Dragon Soul was indeed the guardian beast of this heritage mansion.
Suddenly, Tangyuan pointed to the bead emitting silver light at the top of the tower and shouted, "Boss, look!"
Lin Feng looked in the direction and saw a silver bead inlaid at the tower’s pinnacle, resembling a Luminous Pearl. It wasn’t the tower emitting the light; it was this bead’s glow that illuminated the surroundings. However, he didn’t understand why Tangyuan was so excited and asked, "What is that?"
Tangyuan flipped through a book he spat out and confidently said to Lin Feng, "I knew it, I’ve read about this in a book, it’s called the Soul Capturing Bead, a unique treasure of Heaven and Earth that nurtures the soul. But the book clearly mentioned this bead as a Dharma Treasure of a Divine Emperor. How is it here?"
Upon hearing Tangyuan’s words, Lin Feng suddenly understood. It was because of this Soul Capturing Bead that the Dragon Soul could remain hidden in the clouds. Logically, a Soul Body usually needs to attach to some object and cannot be exposed for long. This Soul Capturing Bead was indeed a valuable item.
However, Lin Feng had no intention of coveting the Soul Capturing Bead for now. Since there were potential dangers lurking in the tower, rashly taking the bead might lead to unforeseen consequences. He wanted to observe for a while, so he carefully flew towards the tower with Ma Biaohu, Tangyuan, and Xiao Jiu.
Sure enough, when they were still several dozen zhang away from the tower, an invisible Barrier suddenly appeared, blocking them outside. The Barrier emitted intense pressure, causing changes in the surrounding space. Seeing this, Lin Feng guessed this must be a Formation set up by the heritage mansion’s owner to protect the tower from intrusion.
After some consideration, Lin Feng decided to directly try the Heaven-Breaking Spire. He took the Heaven-Breaking Spire from his Space Ring and pierced it directly into the Barrier. The Heaven-Breaking Spire emitted a purple glow upon impact, and with Lin Feng’s infusion of the Seven-Colored Essence Gang, a large hole was soon opened in the Barrier, and the entire Barrier vanished instantly.
Lin Feng, taking Ma Biaohu and the others, flew to the tower’s entrance and saw a plaque hanging at the entrance, several dozen zhang long, with the words "Xuanyuan Heritage Mansion" inscribed on it. The four characters emitted a dark black glow, seemingly containing immense power.
Beside the entrance stood a black Stele, inscribed with words that Lin Feng could not understand. Just as he wanted to approach and study it, a wisp of green smoke rose from the Stele, transforming into a humanoid Divine Soul, looking at Lin Feng.
Seeing the Divine Soul before him, Lin Feng was quite surprised. If this was the owner of the heritage mansion, why was the Divine Soul attached to a Stele at the entrance? But if not the owner, who could it be?
Before Lin Feng could ask, the green Divine Soul spoke to Lin Feng on its own accord, "Young man, who are you?"
"I am Lin Feng. May I ask where this is, and who are you?" Lin Feng respectfully inquired. Regardless of who this was, the departed deserved respect, and anyone who could appear here was undoubtedly a powerful figure.
"Haha." The old man’s Divine Soul smiled and said to Lin Feng, "You needn’t ask who I am. Since you managed to get here, it proves your extraordinary strength. Inside the tower lies Xuanyuan Divine Emperor’s most powerful legacy, and since fate brought you here, would you like to try?"
"Legacy?" Lin Feng thought of the great improvements he gained after receiving the Heavenly Martial Emperor’s legacy before. If he could receive another legacy, it would be a great fortune. But he felt it wouldn’t be that simple; there must be more to it, so he asked, "Senior, what mysteries await within the tower?"
He felt uneasy about how the old man hadn’t asked anything but directly offered the chance to receive the legacy. Such a good opportunity seemed like a trap, yet he didn’t want to miss it and thought it best to clarify first.
"Everyone has only one chance; those who succeed will reap immense benefits, but those who fail will perish in the tower. It’s merely a trial; it’s up to you whether to proceed or not." The old man’s Divine Soul gently stroked his beard, looking at Lin Feng.
This...
Upon hearing the old man’s words, Lin Feng felt conflicted. It wasn’t fear, but he felt the legacy came too easily, and there must be something unexpected inside the tower. He glanced at Ma Biaohu, Tangyuan, and Xiao Jiu. At that moment, Ma Biaohu and the others wanted Lin Feng to go in, as they also felt this opportunity was rare. To them, there was nothing their Boss couldn’t accomplish. Then Lin Feng nodded to the old man.
The old man revealed an incredulous smile, then with a tremor of his Divine Soul, a wisp of green smoke drifted to the tower’s entrance, and the door opened.
But oddly enough, the inside was pitch black, and nothing could be seen. Lin Feng looked at the scene in front of him with some trepidation but still walked in alone.
As soon as he entered, the tower’s door closed. The entire dark first floor was empty, except for a staircase at the far end leading to the upper levels. Lin Feng quickly headed toward the stairs, but as he took the first step, he felt a strong force pulling at him.
He closed his eyes tightly, calming his mind, trying to resist this force. He felt strange that even with his strength, he found it difficult to withstand the pull. What exactly was inside this tower?
When Lin Feng opened his eyes again, something unexpected happened.
Dad? Mom?
In his home on Earth, his parents were having a warm meal. Lin Feng blinked incredulously and called out, but found no one responded.
Suddenly, the scene changed, and Ding Wan’er, Leng Mei, and Qian Duoduo’s grandfather appeared in front of Lin Feng. The three elderly men were taking a walk and playing chess in the park, even bantering and joking. This was a scene he often dreamt of. Lin Feng rubbed his eyes again and reached out to touch the scene that appeared so close but was completely untouchable.
In that instant, a beam of light suddenly flashed before Lin Feng’s eyes, revealing his family’s mansion ablaze, with the three elders engulfed in the sea of flames. He watched helplessly as his parents and the three elders struggled in the fire. Shortly after, the scene changed again, and Earth seemed to be overrun by natural disasters, claiming the lives of everyone he knew and cared about.
"No! No!"
At this moment, beads of sweat trickled down Lin Feng’s forehead as he let out a series of roars. He watched as his loved ones perished, powerless, his desperate cries echoing throughout the tower...
He trembled, waving his hands wildly in the space, as if trying to grab them, but caught nothing. In his extreme agony, he even shed tears. How eager he was, how much he wanted to help them! Why was this happening? Why couldn’t he do anything!
Lin Feng closed his eyes tightly, frowning, with tear stains still on his face, while his energy aura was already in disarray. The Seven-Colored Essence Gang rampaged within his body, transforming into seven-colored light as he trembled uncontrollably, shouting the names of those people.
Just as he saw his mother about to be engulfed by flames, his mother looked at Lin Feng and said, "Son, be careful!"
Fake! It’s all fake!
Seeing his mother’s helpless gaze, Lin Feng immediately opened his eyes, and in that instant, the Seven-Colored Essence Gang shot out from his body. Right in front of him, a mass of black fog was only a few inches away. If he had been a second later, he might have been devoured by this soul black fog.
But as soon as the seven-colored light burst forth, the black fog was dissipated, turning into ashes in an instant.
That was close...
Lin Feng steadied himself, still with lingering fear from the scene just now. He didn’t hurry toward the stairs but instead reflected on what had just happened. He finally understood the secret of this tower.
It turned out this tower was a place to undergo a Heart Tribulation, meant to directly target the most vulnerable areas in a cultivator’s heart, causing them to lose focus, allowing the soul within the tower to take over the cultivator’s body. Everything he saw was just an illusion, conjured because he often thought of things on Earth, missed his parents, and people and matters over there, which is why they appeared in Lin Feng’s mind.
It was only by placing those he cared about most in danger that his mind would be disturbed, allowing the black fog to exploit the opening. As soon as negative emotions surfaced, revealing his most vulnerable side, he would lose control.
It was really close just now. Even with his strength, he didn’t manage to control it, showing how terrifying this tower was. But having come in, there was no reason to leave now. He had to see what greater challenges lay above.
He really had to thank his mother’s warning just now, or he might not have passed this trial. Lin Feng smiled faintly, relieved that it was just an illusion. But in this situation, he missed those in the Lower Realm even more...
After calming his emotions, Lin Feng headed toward the second floor.
As Lin Feng stepped into the second floor, he was already prepared to be drawn into another illusion. He told himself that everything was fake, and he must control his emotions, so when he arrived at the second floor, his heart was calm.