Chapter 152

Tang Yun struggled to sit up, feeling sore all over, as if he had been crushed by a giant rock.

He looked around; the cave was not large, and some strange totems were carved on the walls, looking like some kind of ancient writing or symbols.

The campfire crackled, illuminating the cave with flickering light, making those totems appear even more mysterious and eerie.

"What are those?" Tang Yun pointed at the totems on the stone wall and asked, his voice hoarse.

Qin Feng followed Tang Yun's gaze and frowned: "They look like the totems of ancient shamanic blessings; I've seen similar ones in some ancient books before."

He paused, took a small dagger from his bosom, and lightly traced the tip of the blade over one of the totems, "These patterns are very strange, and seem to contain some kind of power."

At this time, the viewers in the live stream room also saw the injuries on the two men through the infrared lens on the drone.

Tang Yun's left arm was twisted, clearly broken, and there was a large patch of blood on Qin Feng's chest, which was shocking.

"Holy crap, Cloud God is so badly hurt!"

"My heart aches for Cloud God, that Ancient Giant Ape was too ruthless!"

"Qin Feng is also hurt; these two are really risking their lives!"

The barrage was filled with "My heart aches for Cloud God," mixed with worry about the two's situation.

Tang Yun ignored the commotion in the live stream room; he stared at the totems on the stone wall, and for some reason, he felt a burning sensation between his brows.

He subconsciously reached out to touch his brow, and the birthmark that was originally hidden under his skin now faintly emerged; and the shape of that birthmark was exactly the same as the totem on the stone wall!

Even more eerily, symbols similar to Ancient Divine Script began to emerge on Tang Yun's brow birthmark, flickering with faint golden light and reflecting the totems on the stone wall.

Qin Feng had originally been studying the totems on the stone wall, but suddenly seeing the change in Tang Yun's brow, his pupils shrank, and he blurted out: "This... this pattern... is exactly the same as the forbidden inheritance I saw on the dark web!"

Just then, the totems on the stone wall suddenly erupted with dazzling golden light, and the entire cave was illuminated as if it were broad daylight.

The golden light converged into a pillar of light, shooting straight into Tang Yun's brow.

Tang Yun only felt a powerful force surging into his body, making him tremble uncontrollably.

Immediately after, the totems on the stone wall began to deform, gradually forming an altar-shaped groove.

At the same time, the mysterious crystal in Tang Yun's body actually flew out on its own, slowly embedding itself into the groove of the altar.

"Hum—"

A low humming sound rang out, and the entire cave began to shake.

An elderly and mysterious voice came from the void: "This is the residual soul inheritance of Ancestral Shaman Zhu Yu, which can resolve your condition of source instability, but you must pass the 'Heart's Trial'."

Tang Yun only felt his vision go black, and he lost consciousness.

When he woke up again, Tang Yun discovered he was in a blood-red space, everything around him appearing twisted and eerie.

"Where... is this?" Tang Yun murmured to himself.

Suddenly, an icy voice rang out in his ear: "Welcome to the Heart's Trial; here, your deepest fears will be revealed."

Immediately after, scene after scene flashed before Tang Yun's eyes.

He saw himself being eroded by dark power, becoming a puppet of the Dark Lord, his eyes filled with the desire for slaughter and destruction.

He saw Leng Yue and Qin Feng lying in a pool of blood, their faces filled with despair and pain.

The viewers in the live stream room were also infected by this oppressive atmosphere, and the barrage fell silent for once.

"What... what's going on?"

"Cloud God seems to be controlled!"

"This trial is too terrifying!"

The scene continued, and Tang Yun saw himself kill Leng Yue and Qin Feng with his own hands, their fresh blood splashing on his face, making him feel incomparable pain and regret.

Tang Yun clutched his head in pain, roaring: "No! This isn't real! I won't hurt them!"

The icy voice rang out again: "This is your deepest fear; you are afraid of losing them, afraid of being devoured by darkness."

Suddenly, the scene before Tang Yun changed, and he saw Leng Yue being surrounded by a group of ferocious monsters, while he was powerless to help.

"Leng Yue!" Tang Yun cried out in surprise, rushing forward...

Tang Yun swung his fists like a madman, but it was as if he were hitting an air wall, completely unable to get close to Leng Yue.

The monsters let out piercing shrieks, their sharp claws tearing at Leng Yue's body.

Leng Yue groaned in pain, fresh blood staining her clothes red.

"No! Let her go!" Tang Yun's eye sockets were bloodshot, roaring hysterically.

The icy voice carried a mocking tone: "You crave power, yet fear the consequences it brings. You are weak, incompetent, you can't protect anyone!"

Tang Yun trembled all over, closing his eyes in pain, the image of his master's final moments surfacing in his mind.

His master held his hand, dying, and said earnestly: "Yun'er, power itself has no good or evil; the key lies in the person who uses it. You must control your power well, and don't be devoured by it."

"Control... power..." Tang Yun repeated his master's words in a low voice, his heart gradually calming down. He slowly opened his eyes, his originally scarlet pupils gradually returning to clarity.

"My destiny is controlled by myself!" Tang Yun bit the tip of his tongue, and a mouthful of essence blood sprayed out.

Driven by the essence blood, the Chaos Medical Qi turned into roaring flames, burning the twisted illusions around him.

The blood-red space began to collapse, and those ferocious monsters also let out shrill screams, turning into black smoke and dissipating.

"My fear stems from my weakness. But I won't be weak anymore!"

Tang Yun's voice rang through the entire space like a great bell.

The golden light suddenly contracted, turning into a ball of green medicinal liquid that surged into Tang Yun's body.

The dark golden patterns that had been spreading on his body quickly receded, replaced by a slowly rotating Yin-Yang fish pattern.

Tang Yun felt a powerful force surging within his body, as if it wanted to tear him apart.

But he endured the intense pain, guiding this force to fuse into his own meridians.

When everything returned to calm, Tang Yun slowly opened his eyes, his eyes shooting out brilliance.

He felt his body filled with power, as if he could smash a mountain peak with one punch.

Qin Feng watched, dumbfounded; he had never seen such a powerful aura, even stronger than when his master broke through to the Hua Jin stage back then!

"You... your aura just now..." Qin Feng stammered, "Was stronger than when my master broke through to the Hua Jin stage back then!"

Tang Yun flexed his muscles and bones, casually crushing a stone the size of a fist.

Shockingly, a crystal emitting spiritual light actually condensed from the stone powder.

Qin Feng picked up the crystal, examined it, and said incredulously: "This is... an energy crystal? You can create something from nothing now?"

Tang Yun raised an eyebrow and said nonchalantly: "Small matter, I won't have to worry about running out of mana when fighting in the future."