Chapter 209: The Dual Layer Secret Art of the Dao of Life and Death

Hu Yang City, inside the Marquis's mansion.

Luo Feng drank alone on a pavilion, his brow tightly furrowed, clearly troubled.

"That fool Qingyan finally unlocked another Chaos Realm secret art—his accumulation has grown a bit thicker." Mo Luo Sa walked through the Marquis's mansion, in good spirits; no matter what, Mo Yu Qingyan was now closer to the Chaos Realm.

Though the Second Disciple of Daohe Sect, Xin Yu, had far greater talent, no other disciple, no matter how outstanding, could match his own pupil.

Mo Luo Sa looked up and saw Luo Feng on the distant pavilion.

"Strange." Mo Luo Sa frowned. "The Master isn't right…"

Whoosh.

Mo Luo Sa swiftly arrived on the pavilion and whispered carefully from the corridor below the stairs: "Master."

Luo Feng glanced at Mo Luo Sa: "What is it?"

"Are you troubled, Master?" Mo Luo Sa observed his expression. "Can I help in any way?"

Mo Luo Sa believed he had reached the Second Layer of Shenwang Realm, surpassing his Master in every aspect. The Master's problem might well be solvable by him.

"You can't help." Luo Feng shook his head.

"Master, why not tell me?" Mo Luo Sa asked.

Luo Feng smiled slightly: "I've encountered a great terror—fear has taken root in my heart uncontrollably. It's severely hindering my cultivation… Can you find a way to stop me from feeling fear?"

Fully activating the Great Destruction Cultivation of the Heart does crush all distractions, leaving the mind pure and empty.

But it also scatters too much mental energy, slowing Luo Feng's thought process and slashing his cultivation insight efficiency to less than half.

How could Luo Feng be in good spirits if he carried this negative burden indefinitely?

He was thinking—how to resolve this problem.

"A great terror? Fear?" Mo Luo Sa puzzled. "What in the Origin Continent could make the Master fear?"

Luo Feng smiled.

"Could it threaten your death—or even your clan?" Mo Luo Sa asked, suspecting the Master had encountered a terrifying enemy.

"There's no danger of death," Luo Feng said. "It only affects cultivation."

"If it won't kill you, why fear it?" Mo Luo Sa asked.

Luo Feng shook his head: "I can't control my inner self—fear arises naturally."

"Then control your inner self," Mo Luo Sa said, frowning at Luo Feng.

"Control it?"

Luo Feng froze slightly.

He was a Shenwang—with the Ultimate Shenwang Will! Yet before the memory of that colossal eye, his life's primal fear surged.

"Of course—it's just memory contamination. Less threatening than will contamination. Why fear it?"

"Primal fear? Then I'll control my instincts."

"All fear originates within."

"Control your inner self—and you control your instincts."

Luo Feng vanished in a flash, leaving Mo Luo Sa standing on the pavilion, bewildered.

"What terrifying thing did the Master encounter?" Mo Luo Sa muttered, utterly confused.

…

Inside the first layer of the Star Tower.

Luo Feng sat cross-legged, ceasing the Great Destruction Cultivation of the Heart.

The colossal eye from his memory seemed to gaze through infinite spacetime—looking down upon him.

Fear rose again in his heart!

His soul trembled!

Fear. Submission. Dread.

"Hold firm! It's just a memory from a dream—it can't harm me. Why fear it? Don't fear it. Face it! Face it!" Luo Feng repeatedly convinced himself.

But knowing it was one thing—life's instinct was another.

Fear kept growing, spreading—the terror from that colossal eye sank deeper into Luo Feng's heart.

"Face it!"

"It's just a memory!"

Luo Feng forced himself to confront it. Time passed. Fear seeped deeper, its influence intensifying—until Luo Feng could only reactivate the Great Destruction Cultivation of the Heart, erasing all distractions to restore his mind's purity.

After erasing it, he stopped the cultivation method and faced it again.

"Control your inner self. Control your instincts." Luo Feng persistently confronted it.

At first, he had to activate the Great Destruction Cultivation of the Heart every three to five days. Slowly, it became every few dozen days, then a thousand days… The longer he observed, the more accustomed he became to the terror of the colossal eye, and the stronger his control over his mind grew.

He endured for over half a century.

"The fear it inspires has weakened considerably." Even without the Great Destruction Cultivation of the Heart, Luo Feng could now face the colossal eye for long periods.

The Shenwang who cultivated the Primordial Bloodline did the same—repeatedly clashing with and suppressing their bloodline's will. This was a form of training; like Yun Tian Shenwang, who reached "Ultimate Shenwang Will" through such trials.

Over these half a century, Luo Feng's soul had also transformed.

"Is that colossal eye the real eye of some terrifying being—or merely an illusion from a dream?" Luo Feng wondered. "It's the most terrifying thing I've ever seen—even if only in a dream."

"I might try creating a secret art of great terror."

Luo Feng had inspiration for crafting a secret art.

In past years, he had already unlocked all Nine Branches of the Dao of Life and Death.

"Using these Nine Branches, I might create this technique." Luo Feng continued facing the colossal eye, ignoring the faint fear rising, attempting to craft the art.

The Nine Branches of the Dao of Life and Death were: the initial six—Dripping Blood Branch, Crimson Sun Branch, Stillness Branch, Eternity Branch, Black Smoke Branch, Walker Branch—and the later three—Heavenlight Branch, Void Branch, Reincarnation Branch.

These Nine Branches contained the core essence of the Life and Death Dao. Each absorbed part of the mysteries of the Six Life Branches and Six Destruction Branches, each immensely powerful.

"That colossal eye should center on Eternity Branch, Dripping Blood Branch, and Reincarnation Branch." Luo Feng had faced it so long—he already had a direction for the art.

"Supplement it with Crimson Sun Branch, Black Smoke Branch, and Void Branch."

"Fuse the Six Branches—when perfected, the technique should carry a hint of that eye's essence."

Luo Feng began to ponder.

!.

The art's realm was too lofty—its creation proved far harder than Luo Feng expected.

Whenever he hit a wall, he faced the colossal eye again, studying why it inspired such terror—seeking inspiration, refining the technique.

Fully absorbed in crafting the art, Luo Feng had no interest in anything else.

When the Reincarnation Pavilion invited him to act, he declined temporarily, saying he was in seclusion and had no desire to explore treasure sites.

…

"That colossal eye no longer inspires fear in me." After over a decade of studying the eye and attempting to craft the art, no matter how intensely he faced it, no fear remained.

Without fear, the eye's aid to his cultivation weakened.

"The Seven Emotions Cultivation of the Heart enhances my perception."

Luo Feng activated the Seven Emotions Cultivation of the Heart. In this state, joy, anger, sorrow, thought, grief, fear, and shock intensified dramatically—even slight emotions stirred colossal inner storms.

"Boom—"

As soon as he activated the Seven Emotions Cultivation of the Heart, the colossal eye reignited his fear—stronger than ever, like the first time he faced it, his soul trembling in terror.

"Perfect! Perfect! This is the feeling!" Luo Feng rejoiced, refining the technique further.

The art gradually improved.

Epoch after epoch passed. Finally, after thirty-four epochs of facing the colossal eye:

"Achieved!"

Inside the Star Tower, Luo Feng was ecstatic.

After eons of research, finally crafting the art—this sense of accomplishment filled Luo Feng with deep satisfaction.

"I've finally created this art! It was so hard! Far harder than the Void-Immortal Light." Luo Feng was thrilled. "That dream memory wasn't a curse—it was a blessing!"

Even while maintaining the Seven Emotions Cultivation of the Heart, the colossal eye could no longer make Luo Feng feel fear.

Because he understood it too deeply.

Too much knowledge stripped away mystery—terror naturally vanished.

After all, it was merely an image from a dream memory.

"I've only studied an image from a dream. If it truly existed… how terrifying it would be." Luo Feng thought.

"This art I've created is, strictly speaking, the Second Layer Secret Art of the Dao of Life and Death!" Luo Feng smiled brightly; under the Seven Emotions Cultivation of the Heart, his excitement intensified further.

The previous perfected art, Void-Immortal Light, fused five branches: two from Life and three from Destruction.

This one fused six of the Nine Branches of the Dao of Life and Death—truly the Second Layer Secret Art of the Dao of Life and Death. Though untested, Luo Feng could judge: its power far surpassed Void-Immortal Light.

"After over two hundred epochs as a Shenwang, I finally created this technique by drawing on a dream memory."

Luo Feng knew well—he could never have created such an art in a short time with his own accumulation alone. This was entirely shaped by the dream memory's clear direction, requiring over thirty epochs to complete.

"Each branch of this art is immensely powerful. With six fused, could its power rival an Ultimate Layer Secret Art?" Luo Feng wondered.

Gui Xu Emperor, Wu Xin Shenwang—they all possessed Ultimate Layer Secret Arts.

Though each of his branches was strong, Gui Xu Emperor and Wu Xin Shenwang had fused all branches into a perfect whole, achieving a qualitative transformation—that was what made their arts Ultimate Layer Secret Arts.

"Let me test it."

This art could be cast through the body or different weapons—using a blade, it became a Terror Blade Art; using a great axe, an Axe Art; using a hammer, a Destruction Hammer Art.

Luo Feng extended his hand.

The outstretched right hand instantly turned dark, as if it were the very core of heaven and earth! Even if heaven and earth perished, this palm would suffer not the slightest damage. Filled with infinite terror, Luo Feng's massive palm shot forward, all five fingers striking out.

"Boom—!" The five fingers blazed brilliantly in an instant, forcibly destroying everything; even the invisible membrane of the Source World was shattered and torn open, leaving a gash a full zhang long.

Outside the membrane of the Source World, rolling streams of black energy surged through the gash.

"This technique is called the Great Annihilation Form!" Luo Feng, witnessing this, was quite satisfied.

(End of Chapter)