Chapter 166: The Imperial Clan of the Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom

A vast, dark world where countless beings struggled to survive.

"We've finally won, finally eradicated this 'World-Ending Horror' entirely."

"Of the Seven World-Ending Horrors, we've destroyed one at last—this is a new beginning."

The three surviving powerful cultivators felt profound relief, and countless beings in the distant base erupted in excited cheers.

"As long as we pass on the torch, generation after generation, we will ultimately eradicate all these horrors—our world will regain light, regain freedom." Countless beings brimmed with longing for light.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, in the dark sky, a colossal blood-red eye opened.

This sight sent a shiver through countless beings.

"It's the Eye of Darkness!"

"The Heaven-Grade Horror—the Eye of Darkness." The beings trembled with terror.

According to their classification, among the horrors invading their world, the supreme ruler at the top was the 'Heaven-Grade Horror'—the Eye of Darkness! The first time this eye opened in the sky, the entire world plunged into eternal darkness.

They still had the will to fight the World-Ending Horrors, but facing the supreme Heaven-Grade Horror—the Eye of Darkness—they felt only helplessness.

The more they understood, the more they realized the gulf was insurmountable.

"The Dao has changed—the Dao has become the Eye of Darkness!" Back when the horrors first invaded, powerful cultivators who sought to comprehend the Dao discovered the Dao itself had altered—every final path of their cultivation now led only to this Eye of Darkness.

Fortunately, over the long ages past, the Eye of Darkness had indeed behaved like the Dao itself, treating all things equally.

Hum.

The Eye of Darkness emitted a crimson ray, which, like a celestial pillar, engulfed a city. The city instantly came alive, its aura surging violently, transforming into a towering, twisted living entity that knelt in reverence.

"The 'Illusion City' has evolved—become a World-Ending Horror?" Countless beings in the base, observing this from afar, fell into despair.

They had barely killed one World-Ending Horror—and now another had appeared?

"The Seven World-Ending Horrors… are fate." In the base, a powerful cultivator sensed the Dao's flow and murmured, "The Eye of Darkness is the Dao. The Dao has decreed: there shall always be exactly seven World-Ending Horrors. Destroy one, and another shall take its place. No matter how hard we struggle, it's useless."

"Fate?"

Countless beings who had fought so hard fell into despair.

Suddenly—

The Eye of Darkness high in the sky let out a piercing, agonized scream.

"No!!!"

This agonized cry of the Heaven-Grade Horror echoed in the heart of every being in the world—they all felt the Eye of Darkness's terror, its defiance. Then, silently and without trace, the Eye of Darkness in the sky vanished.

And the sky, as if a vast black curtain had been torn away, revealed its true form.

Warm sunlight… after countless ages, shone upon this land once more—the heavens and earth restored to light.

"This… this is?" Having grown accustomed to artificial light generated by arrays, many beings encountered true sunlight for the first time in their lives—they gazed, entranced, at the legendary radiance.

Light bathed the entire world.

"The Heaven-Grade Horror—the Eye of Darkness—is gone. The Dao has returned to normal." A powerful cultivator, comprehending the Dao, exclaimed in excitement.

"Though the Seven World-Ending Horrors still exist, under the sunlight, their territories are retreating everywhere."

"Ha! The world has changed—it's changed."

…

The Sacred Ground—Infinite Space.

"Hmm, using the Lie Yuan Technique with the will of a Divine King at the Ultimate Stage, I've finally managed to annihilate the most basic mind creature." Luo Feng was satisfied, watching the crimson single-eyed monster vanish completely.

Once a mind creature's consciousness is destroyed, it vanishes utterly.

Luo Feng's total reward points from this mind creature reached ten! If he had merely wounded or repelled it repeatedly, the cumulative reward would usually be under five.

"The mind creatures of Infinite Space... their mental will can reach the Divine King level! I wonder where Yuan established this sacred ground obtained these mind creatures." Luo Feng mused inwardly.

On the Origin Continent, there are no mind creatures at all.

"According to intelligence, those with willpower at the Divine King Ultimate Stage have a chance to kill them outright." Luo Feng thought, "It seems those experts... also obtained powerful will techniques."

Within Infinite Space's treasury alone, there were lineages containing will techniques—perhaps inferior to Lie Yuan Technique, but the gap was clearly narrowing.

"As my strength grows, I'm reaching higher and higher levels."

"Perhaps I'll encounter a will technique equal to Lie Yuan Technique." Luo Feng thought inwardly.

Looking at the lineages in Infinite Space's treasury—like the Top-Tier lineage "World Lifeform," created by Yuan's friend! What of the Perfect-Level lineages? If such a lineage specialized in 'will,' how powerful would it be?

"Lie Yuan Technique is merely one of many opportunities Yuan left behind on the Origin Continent." Luo Feng reminded himself not to grow arrogant.

For example, Di Ming—the Demon Beast Diagram he gave Luo Feng concealed a will cultivation method he himself created.

Luo Feng felt it was no less potent than the Great Destruction Mind Refining Method in Lie Yuan Technique—though the power of the Great Destruction Mind Refining Method also depended on Luo Feng's realm in the Path of Destruction.

"Of the three mind creatures in Infinite Space, the two weaker ones are dead—only one powerful one remains." Luo Feng thought, "I should go find new mind creatures."

Luo Feng left behind a clone to guard the powerful mind creature. He couldn't destroy it—this would require prolonged confrontation.

Luo Feng sent out nine clones, flying in all directions to remote regions, searching for new prey.

"Luo He, leave quickly." "This is our territory."

Invisible waves of intent issued warnings.

Every place rich in prey in Infinite Space had long been seized by ancient beings. Though they recognized Luo He the Great Saint, they paid him no mind whatsoever.

"Luo He, ranked first among Chaos Stage beings, has zero influence here." Luo Feng chuckled bitterly as he flew.

In reality, Luo Feng held an exalted status; many experts showed him respect.

But Infinite Space—this sacred ground left by Yuan—had an impossibly high entry threshold!

Only the dominant lords of the Origin Continent could enter, unless they were from the Two Imperial Clans. After all, even a Supreme Divine King at the Absolute Limit, like Wu Xiang the Old Ancestor, barely managed to secure a spot.

What of the weaker?

Only the Two Imperial Clans allowed Chaos Stage Transcendents or ordinary Divine Kings to enter. But as imperial clan members, they clustered together—protected by powerful clan elders, they were the strongest faction in Infinite Space.

"Infinite Space seals nineteen primal paths. To use Divine King techniques here, one must forge a new path." Luo Feng thought.

Here, even Emperor-level or Lord-level beings, if they hadn't forged a new path, were weak—forced to rely solely on mental will to fight.

!.

This was why Wu Xiang the Old Ancestor had been so confident facing Luo Feng.

In Infinite Space, being able to wield Divine King techniques already made one a skilled expert.

Forging a complete branch of a primal path? That made one a top-tier expert.

Forging a path reaching Divine King Second Stage? No one had ever heard of it! At least, according to Di Chu's intelligence to Luo Feng, there was no record of it.

"Luo He?"

Suddenly, an intent brushed against Luo Feng.

Luo Feng looked over and saw an old man in loose white robes.

"Wu Xiu Divine King." Luo Feng recognized him—an Imperial Clan Divine King of the Di Wu lineage, among the strongest in Divine King First Stage.

"I didn't expect to see Great Saint Luo He here." Wu Xiu smiled at Luo Feng. "By rights, the Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom shouldn't have granted you a spot. Where did you get this entry?"

"Not from Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom." Luo Feng said.

"I know that. I'm asking—where did you get this entry?" Wu Xiu pressed. "Or did Di Chu deliberately show favoritism, secretly obtain a token, and give it to you?"

"Are you slandering my Master?" Luo Feng's expression darkened.

"Who doesn't know how Di Chu operates?" Wu Xiu sneered.

"Hmph." Luo Feng's goodwill vanished.

To attack his Master like this—how could Luo Feng offer him a kind face?

Yet the Di Wu lineage and Di Chu lineage had always been bitterly hostile; their conflicts had accumulated countless grudges over long ages.

"Wu Xiu, little brother." A figure flew over from afar—a gray-robed man with white hair. The white-haired man glanced at Luo Feng. "So it's Luo He."

"Luo He, leave at once. This is the territory of the Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom's Imperial Clan—not your place." The white-haired man snapped.

"Yan Qiong Divine King." Luo Feng recognized him, said nothing more, and turned to fly away.

Yan Qiong Divine King—a Divine King Second Stage being! Within the Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom's Imperial Clan, he was part of the core elite. Naturally, he had the right to act without restraint—even the Lord of the Ten Thousand Worlds or the World Beast of Tian Mu, he likely wouldn't care.

"No wonder my Master advised me: unless the Yan Feng Ancestor invites me, I shouldn't join the Yan Feng Ancient Kingdom." Luo Feng sighed inwardly. "Those who treat outsiders kindly are rare indeed."

The Imperial Clan's Divine Kings clustered together, monopolizing most resources, and gave a few scraps to hardworking guest Divine Kings—Luo Feng could understand that.

But this discrimination, this sense of exclusion—Luo Feng found it deeply unpleasant.

And this was even before he fully joined!

If he fully joined, restrictions would multiply—he'd be ordered around by these Imperial Clan Divine Kings, becoming their lackeys.

"This Luo He isn't worth much attention." The white-haired man, Yan Qiong Divine King, glanced at Luo Feng's distant figure. "Even if he becomes a Divine King, he's merely invincible among Divine King First Stage. He can't affect us Imperial Clan members in the slightest."

"I'm suspicious of his entry." Wu Xiu Divine King said. "A Chaos Stage Transcendent couldn't possibly have fifty million merit points. How did he get this entry? I suspect Di Chu secretly obtained a token and gave it to Luo He."

"Oh?"

The white-haired man Yan Qiong Divine King's expression shifted slightly. "That's very likely. Di Chu really does act recklessly. As a member of the Imperial Clan, he doesn't think of the Clan's interests—he constantly aids outsiders!"

"I'll ask the Emperor about this. I'll investigate." Yan Qiong Divine King's eyes held coldness. "We must find out exactly how he got in. If Di Chu secretly gave him the token, he won't escape punishment."

Yan Qiong Divine King's eyes were cold.

He became a Divine King far earlier than Di Chu.

Di Chu and Di Yan Qiong had clashed many times. As the second strongest of the Di Yan lineage, Yan Qiong had always met Di Chu with fierce determination.

Finding even a hint of wrongdoing by Di Chu, Yan Qiong would surely pursue it.

"If this is confirmed…" Wu Xiu Divine King looked forward eagerly.

"This is the Ancestor's decree. Even Di Chu must be punished if he breaks it. As for Luo He? First, he must be expelled from Infinite Space, stripped of this opportunity, and severely punished." Yan Qiong Divine King said. "A Chaos Stage guest being allowed in? What a joke."

(End of Chapter)