"Huh?!"
Despair choked Lin Feng—
—then vanished.
No crushing impact. No searing pain.
Only light.
Pure, radiant white light enveloped him, thick as liquid.
"This is…"
He stared, bewildered.
A tidal wave of spiritual energy crashed over him. Warmth bloomed in his veins, seeping into every pore. Gentle currents washed through his muscles, bones, even his battered core.
Ecstasy.
He nearly moaned aloud.
White radiance.
Overflowing energy.
"The Celestial Phenomenon!!"
Lin Feng gasped.
Impossible.
The legends were true. The anomaly reported a month ago—it was happening again.
Here. Now.
Proof positive: the treasure lay below.
Excitement flared—and died instantly.
The serpent.
A Tier-4 guardian beast lurked in those depths. Treasure meant nothing if it cost his life.
One glimpse had nearly killed him. Returning? Suicide.
"Move. Now."
Lin Feng kicked hard against the shaft wall, rocketing upward.
Deep Below…
The Ice-Blue Serpent thrashed.
Rubble meant nothing. Its scales glowed cold blue, pulverizing stone as it tunneled after the fleeing human.
"HISSS!"
Crush the intruder—
ZHENNNNGGGG
A resonant hum vibrated through bedrock.
The white light erupted.
Pure. Overpowering.
It pierced layers of rock, shooting skyward.
The serpent froze mid-lunge.
Silver eyes widened—not rage, but primal reverence.
"Sssskreee…"
It abandoned the chase.
Coiling tight, it plunged downward, toward the light's source.
Outside Serpentback Mountain Sub-Peak…
Midnight stillness shattered.
"BOOM!!!"
A pillar of light exploded from the earth, stabbing the heavens.
Darkness fled. Trees cast sharp, black silhouettes against the blinding radiance.
"LOOK!"
A nearby camp erupted.
"The white pillar! Spiritual energy!—It's the Phenomenon!"
"Just like the tales! It's real!"
"The treasure manifests! THERE!"
"Go! Before others claim it!"
"Hmph! A Foundation trash like you? DARE dream of the treasure?!"
"DIE!"
"ARGH—!"
Chaos erupted.
From valleys, cliffs, hidden caves—cultivators surged toward the light. Foundation Establishment. Golden Core. All drawn like moths to a lethal flame.
Inside the Cave…
Lin Feng hauled himself out of the shaft, collapsing against the wall.
"Hah… Hah…"
Sweat stung his eyes. He stared at the silent hole.
No pursuit.
Alive.
Relief tasted metallic.
"The Phenomenon… saved me?"
He breathed deep. The air itself shimmered with power. Thicker than any Tier-3 Spirit Gathering Array.
Just meditating here… breakthroughs would come effortlessly.
Temptation whispered.
No.
This place was a death trap.
The serpent could return.
And the horde—they were coming. Blood would flow long before the treasure was found.
Leave. Immediately.
Lin Feng swallowed two Qi-Restoring Pills. Warmth spread through his depleted meridians.
He pushed off the wall, sprinting for the cave entrance.
Too late.
Rounding the bend where he'd slain the Vine-Tailed Ape—
—he crashed into seven figures.
Lin Feng froze.
No time to hide.
The newcomers halted. Five Foundation cultivators gaped, stunned by his sudden appearance.
Two leaders stood perfectly still.
Lin Feng's blood turned to ice.
"Five… Foundation Establishment late-stage."
"One… Golden Core early-stage."
"And…"
His eyes locked onto the violet-robed elder at the front.
Pressure.
Dense. Suffocating.
An invisible vise squeezed Lin Feng's chest.
Golden Core… mid-stage?!
Silence stretched.
The elder's eyes—cold as glacier ice—pinned Lin Feng in place.
"The treasure manifests here," the old man's voice rasped like stone grinding stone. "Yet you flee from it."
He took one step forward.
The air thickened. Lin Feng's knees trembled.
"What. Did. You. See?"
Lin Feng bowed low, masking panic with deference.
"Esteemed Senior, I merely stumbled upon this place by chance! The treasure's awakening… it terrifies me! My strength is dust before those who seek it. I only wish to flee for my life! Please… grant this lowly one passage!"
"Lies."
The word cracked like a whip.
The elder's gaze sharpened, piercing through Lin Feng's facade.
"Stumbled? Then explain the shaft drilled three hundred meters straight down. Explain the rubble. The serpent's rage we felt trembling in the stone."
He floated closer, robes swirling. No wind moved them.
"Speak truth."
His hand lifted faintly. Violet light sparked at his fingertips.
"Or learn oblivion."