Translator: CinderTL
The Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder mirrored his inner world, seeming to be the sole reality.
A throne hung high above, its Legendary Imprint radiating like the sun illuminating the cosmos.
Boom!
Suddenly, the white staircase shuddered violently as a figure was forced back by the impact of a colossal Golden Armor.
His feet plowed into the wide platform, sliding backward several steps.
Chen Feng lowered his gaze to his hands, his crimson gauntlets clenched tightly. The undying flames within them had dimmed noticeably.
"Still not enough?"
Suppressing the turmoil in his Qi and Blood, he looked up again.
The Golden Armor floated in mid-air—the second trial, the Myriad-Kilogram Body.
Above it hovered Lightning Boots, a Scarlet Cloak, and a Bloodfire Crown.
Each manifested item, a fragment of World Force, materialized on the higher steps.
Only by conquering these trials and ascending further could he unlock the full potential of the Resonance State.
But alas...
Chen Feng shook his head, averting his gaze.
The illusory Golden Armor loomed like an insurmountable mountain—the power of at least a Pseudo-Angel, no weaker than the Holy Shield Colossus before its second transformation, and perhaps even superior in defense.
The barrier was not only incredibly heavy and immovable, but it also possessed a powerful rebound force.
Without access to his Extraordinary Talent, forcing his way through would be barely manageable.
Chen Feng's gaze flickered as he considered this, then shifted to the interface before him:
[Extreme Martial Fist, Heavenly Aura Overlord Body, Golden Dawn Art, Thunderclap Art]
Limited by the dwindling number of Martial Halls in Qinggang City, the pace of his martial arts skill progression had gradually slowed.
At this rate, he wondered how long it would take to climb the Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder to higher tiers.
Therefore...
The thought flashed through his mind.
He exited Resonance State and sat cross-legged.
His formidable spiritual will allowed him to smoothly enter Dream Incursion, and a mist-shrouded sky materialized before him.
The crimson moon cast an eerie glow over a ruined city teeming with countless inhuman creatures.
As if sensing his presence, every Black Tide Creature froze.
Buzz!
In the next instant, tens of thousands of eyes swiveled toward him, followed by a thunderous roar.
ROAR!!
A dark energy beam, like a concentrated energy cannon, pierced through hundreds of meters, hurtling toward him.
The dense swarm of Black Tide Creatures surged forward, but Chen Feng didn't even glance at them.
BOOM!!
A colossal platinum giant materialized from thin air, its thunderous punch unleashing a devastating shockwave.
Non-human creatures instantly exploded into fragments, while distant Giant Lizard Creatures had their heads pulverized from afar, collapsing to the ground with deafening thuds.
The world fell into a brief silence as Chen Feng swept the area with his Perception.
Qinggang City was indeed vast, dwarfing Nanjiang by more than tenfold.
Yet, he had nearly completed his exploration, with only one final sector remaining.
Without hesitation, he surged forward, heading straight for the three major Martial Halls in the vicinity.
Having ascended to the Envoy Rank, the Holy Shield Colossus was now invincible, freeing Chen Feng from the need to divert his attention to any incoming threats.
He unleashed his full speed, gathering countless Light Orbs along the way.
Nearly a hundred Limit Breaking Orbs, seven Extreme Martial Arts Orbs, and ten Golden Profound Orbs—this was the first time he could unleash his full speed so smoothly, unhindered by the Black Tide, allowing him to collect everything without worry.
His exploration efficiency continued to increase. Occasionally, fragments of memories embedded within Skill Light Orbs would surface, though most proved insignificant.
Until...
Whoosh!
A white sheet of paper fluttered down from the sky, landing before him.
Perceiving its contents, Chen Feng reached out and caught it.
[Alliance Era 248, July 9th.]
[Finally, Alonco has successfully escaped the Serpent Spirit Secret Realm and fully healed his injuries with the Holy Sword.]
[But the Golden Bloodline member from the Holy City... to be cursed in such a way. I truly pity him.]
[And Heaven's Fall Mountain—such a majestic and vast mountain range! Who would have thought it was a remnant creation of another civilization? I sense something extraordinary about it, as if it harbors an Angel-tier entity.]
The words materialized, and Chen Feng's gaze flickered.
He recalled Wang Yu's diary entry from their last encounter, where he had hesitated between venturing into the Serpent Spirit Secret Realm or the Dead Crow Secret Realm.
Now, the answer was clear.
But...
A Golden Bloodline member?
A curse?
Puzzled, Chen Feng subconsciously thought of someone he had never met—the Holy City Lord, the young man referred to as "Your Highness" by Molly and the three Legion Commanders.
As vague speculations began to form, his eyes fell upon the mention of Heaven's Fall Mountain.
[Suspected to harbor an Angel-tier entity?]
Silently noting this, he turned his attention to the rest of the diary entries.
[Alliance Era 248, September 20th.]
[Rett has finally broken through! Excellent! I feel a renewed sense of confidence.]
[With him, Xue Sha, and Alonco by our side, we should have a much better chance in the next Black Tide War!]
TL/N: Xue Sha is the storm queen, previously mistranslated as Shirley.
[Alliance Era 248, November 9th.]
[The Black Tide has returned, anchoring itself around Qinggang City and proving impossible to completely eradicate or escape.]
[Though we barely managed to repel it, I can sense the next war is already on the horizon.]
[Sometimes I truly wonder, where does the Black Tide originate? And why is it so rarely seen in the Abyss Secret Realm? That place is a fully realized world, yet it seems to exist in symbiotic harmony with the Black Tide.]
[What exactly is the connection between those three Secret Realm Worlds and the Black Tide?]
After reading the message, Chen Feng frowned deeply.
Wang Yu's doubts were, in truth, his own.
The three Secret Realm Worlds could only be opened using the Evil God Power, as if they were the very source of the Black Tide.
Yet even in the Serpent Spirit World, he had never encountered the true Black Tide, only the Serpent Spirit Angels.
Could it be that the Black Tide truly originates from the Nether Sea?
And that the Nether Sea is strongly connected to these three Secret Realm Worlds?
As more and more speculations arose, Chen Feng felt as though a persistent fog obscured his vision, preventing him from seeing the full picture.
Finally, he beat his Blood Wings once more, searching for Light Orbs.
The vast expanse of Qinggang City held no more secrets; he had left his mark on every corner.
After prolonged contemplation, Chen Feng ascended to the city's high walls.
Boom!
The swarm of flying creatures converging to kill him exploded into crimson mist, a rain of blood showering the landscape.
The Holy Shield Colossus's full-powered strike nearly tore the sky and earth asunder.
With a thunderous roar, the Sixth-Tier Abyssal Griffon exploded, its shockwave spreading like a raging storm.
Below, the ruined buildings crumbled into rubble, leaving a vast crater hundreds of meters wide. The resurrected Horned Crocodiles and Giant Lizard Creatures were once again reduced to dust.
Yet Chen Feng showed no sign of triumph.
His gaze remained fixed beyond the high walls, upon the pitch-black mist that resembled a churning sea.
Dark and devoid of light, it seemed capable of devouring all existence.
Each surge of the mist spawned and resurrected Abyssal Creatures, while an eerie crimson light from the Crimson Moon rained down, enveloping Qinggang City in its suffocating embrace.
Perhaps... I should try it.
The thought flashed through his mind as a delicate silver dagger materialized in his hand.
Though sheathed, the golden light of the Power of the Holy Sword, stored within his Black Dream Space, still radiated faintly. He had originally intended to reserve this power for exploring the dark mist.
Now that only a handful of Light Orbs remained in Qinggang City, he had no choice but to take this desperate gamble.
Whoosh!
In an instant, his spiritual link flowed unimpeded. The Holy Shield Colossus spread its wings and soared into the sky, carrying him beyond the high walls.
Its golden armor blazed with brilliance, and its wings cleaved through the heavens, transforming it into a miniature sun illuminating the sky.
ROAR!
ROAR!
Bestial roars echoed from within the black mist—the resurrected Black Tide Creatures.
Eaglemen, Batfolk, Winged Serpents, Bone Eagles, and Hellhounds.
As if triggered by some unknown stimulus, they suddenly turned violently berserk.
Flying creatures swarmed from above, while colossal trolls on the ground spewed streams of Molten Flame.
Unfazed by this onslaught, Chen Feng merely amplified his Perception, extending it further.
Whoosh!
The Holy Shield Colossus abruptly flapped its wings, unleashing a hurricane-force wind that propelled it forward with explosive speed.
Wind Blades sliced through every airborne creature in its path, while the trolls' fiery breath merely scratched its golden armor, leaving it unscathed.
Man and machine plunged into the black mist, leaving the ruined city behind them, fading into the distance.
Endless darkness enveloped them, yet fresh waves of frenzied Black Tide Creatures continued to assault them.
Worse still, Chen Feng sensed that the crimson light showering from above had grown even more sinister, accelerating the creatures' resurrection and spawning rates far beyond anything he had witnessed before.
In response...
BOOM!
The Holy Shield Colossus activated Gigantification, once again swelling to its towering forty-meter form.
Golden light erupted skyward, sweeping away all resistance.
Every living creature had been annihilated. Chen Feng and the Holy Shield Colossus plunged deep into the black mist, leaving the towering walled city far behind.
Gradually, inexplicably, the Black Tide Creatures dwindled, as if the black mist's resurrection power had been exhausted.
Remaining vigilant, Chen Feng glanced upward. Above the impenetrable darkness, the Blood Moon still hung ominously in the sky.
Even more unsettling, the surrounding black mist grew increasingly dense, like a boundless, surging tide with no horizon.
Time slipped by: half an hour, an hour, three hours...
The monotonous black mist persisted, and not a single Black Tide Creature reappeared.
Suddenly, a profound sense of loneliness washed over Chen Feng. It felt as if he were the sole living being in this world, utterly alone, the last of his kind.
Civilizations crumble, lives extinguished—whether collective or individual, all paths ultimately lead to the oblivion of annihilation.
The Qi and Blood within his body grew colder, his heartbeat heavy and sluggish. As his blood flow slowed, Chen Feng's complexion began to turn ashen. Even the Holy Shield Colossus beneath his feet started to fade into a dull, grayish-black stillness.
"Something's wrong!" Chen Feng shook his head abruptly.
If they had truly been exploring for this long, Chen Feng should have already exited the Dream Realm!
Thump!
Divine light erupted from his eyes, and the thunderous pounding of his heart echoed like war drums, shaking the heavens.
The World Resonance activated once more, and Chen Feng instinctively unleashed his trump card.
He was somewhat surprised by the smoothness of the resonance, considering this wasn't Earth, nor did it bear any trace of his legendary imprints.
But he couldn't afford to dwell on it. Chen Feng scanned his surroundings.
Boom!
A deafening roar shook the air as the Holy Shield Colossus crushed an incoming Sixth-Tier giant beast with a single punch.
Black Tide Creatures exploded into crimson mist, splattering across his path.
The dilapidated high wall loomed hundreds of meters behind them—they hadn't strayed far.
Everything that had happened before had been nothing more than an illusion.
The Crimson Moon hung cold and indifferent in the sky, gazing down with the indifference of a higher-dimensional entity.
Its eerie moonlight, normally invisible, now glowed vividly, amplified by the World Force.
"Just as I suspected, something's definitely wrong here," Chen Feng muttered, withdrawing his gaze with apprehension. He immediately commanded the Holy Shield Colossus to charge forward at full speed.
The Colossus's Steel Bones transformed into piercing javelins, tearing through the obstacles as they finally plunged deeper into the black mist.
Throughout their journey, they were relentlessly ambushed by various creatures, and Chen Feng's perception continued to shrink under relentless suppression.
In the distance, he sensed an immensely powerful presence stirring to life.
It emanated from the opposite direction of the black mist, where a colossal shadow flickered intermittently even in the pitch darkness.
Shaped like an oval cocoon over a hundred meters in length, it was deeply enveloped by the swirling black mist.
Without attempting to make contact, Chen Feng pressed onward with the Holy Shield Colossus.
Boom!
Several more Sixth-Tier creatures charging in for the kill were pierced by Steel Bones spears, while the Holy Shield Colossus shattered the Black Tide blocking their path with a single punch.
Jade-green blood splattered everywhere as they continued their bloody advance, a cycle they had repeated countless times.
Until finally...
"Hmm?"
Chen Feng's gaze sharpened as he spotted a small white dot ahead.
Man and construct accelerated toward it, and as they closed the distance, they realized it was a gateway.
The eerie moonlight, seemingly composed of pure white light, couldn't penetrate within half a meter of the portal.
"An Abyss exit?" Chen Feng frowned in thought, when a violent tremor suddenly shook the air behind him.
ROAR!
The black mist shuddered and churned ceaselessly. A powerful shockwave surged outward, driving all the Black Tide Creatures around him into a frenzy, their crimson eyes blazing with renewed intensity.
Chen Feng suspected either an angel had appeared or the massive oval object he had encountered earlier had finally awakened.
His gaze hardened instantly.
BOOM!
Man and summon cleared all obstacles, transforming into a living arrow amidst the torrential rain of blood, and plunged headfirst into the white light gateway.
In that instant, heaven and earth seemed to flip, as if the very fabric of reality had shifted. A sensation of weightlessness washed over him, likely a side effect of spatial teleportation. Yet it also felt as if time itself was fracturing, leaving his spiritual will reeling in confusion.
Finally, forcing down his discomfort, Chen Feng quickly focused his senses and surveyed his surroundings.
"This..."
His pupils constricted sharply, and he froze in place, utterly stunned.
(End of the Chapter)
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