Chapter 339: Chapter Nine: Advancing in Darkness, Bottleneck

A single droplet enveloped Luo Feng, hurtling at superluminal speed through the Hunyuan Space.

“Every time I observe Hunyuan Space, I’m awed.” Luo Feng gazed outward, catching a distant glimpse of a massive Source World—then, in the blink of an eye, the droplet carried him past it.

“We beings trapped within the cage require the protection of a world—either living within a Source World, or within the worlds created by Yuan and the others.” Luo Feng thought, “If we venture beyond any world, we’ll die before long.”

Hunyuan Space was boundless, brimming with infinite, violent Hunyuan forces. These were not the tamed, refined energies of ‘Hunyuan Crystals’—they constantly eroded life.

Only by escaping the cage could one survive long-term within Hunyuan Space.

“Even the Hunyuan Space I’ve observed is less than a ten-thousandth of the true Hunyuan Space.” Luo Feng, from his home continent of Origin, had carefully probed Hunyuan Space using the Eye of Birth and Death.

Under the Eye of Birth and Death, Hunyuan Space was dazzling—countless layers of space, exquisite and magnificent, where energy passing through them multiplied into countless forms and gave rise to myriad lifeforms.

Without the Eye of Birth and Death, Luo Feng now saw only darkness, occasionally spotting colossal shapes.

“Hm?”

Luo Feng spotted a misty vortex, roughly one-tenth the size of the Origin Continent. From within the vortex extended a misty head, gazing directly toward him.

“Judging by its size, it’s likely a High-Level Hunyuan Lifeform.” Luo Feng guessed.

Occasionally, one encountered High-Level Hunyuan Lifeforms during transit.

Encountering a World-Level Hunyuan Lifeform was exceedingly rare.

Of course, for those like Luo Feng who hadn’t escaped the cage, judging strength was simple—look at size.

Legend said those slightly smaller than an entire Source World were Hunyuan Ancestors—the most terrifying tier of existence.

Those larger than the Origin Continent were likely World-Level Hunyuan Lifeforms.

Those comparable to a portion of the Origin Continent were typically High-Level Hunyuan Lifeforms.

Of course, such judgments could be wrong—some powerful beings might deliberately shrink their forms. But Luo Feng and others still trapped in the cage had limited means of identification.

“The Dark Sacred Realm has arrived!”

The droplet enveloping Luo Feng plunged straight toward a peculiar world.

This world was entirely black, faintly tinged with dark red—significantly smaller than a Source World.

“Whoosh.”

The droplet instantly entered the interior of the Dark Sacred Realm.

…

At the peak of the majestic Sacred Mountain in the Dark Sacred Realm.

On the peak lay a dark lake; Luo Feng emerged from it and landed beside it.

“The Dark Sacred Realm?”

Luo Feng sensed the world’s suppression force—equal to that of the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm. His Divine Emperor Late-stage ‘Birth and Death Dao’ remained stable here, requiring no adjustment.

“My Birth and Death Dao is gradually becoming compatible with all worlds.” Luo Feng thought.

“Friend, a flying vessel will arrive shortly—it’ll take us to the five cities of the Dark Sacred Realm.” A cultivator nearby smiled. In the more dangerous Dark Sacred Realm, cultivators rarely traveled alone; they usually rode official flying vessels.

Luo Feng looked over—over fifty cultivators had gathered, their auras varied, yet all at least Divine Emperor Late-stage Dao-seekers.

“Thanks.” Luo Feng smiled.

He immediately soared into the sky.

“Shhh!”

Luo Feng’s fleeing figure blurred, then vanished beyond the horizon.

This sight stunned the fifty-odd cultivators.

“In the Dark Sacred Realm, one can perform short-range space teleportation?”

“That’s something only Peak-tier beings can do, isn’t it?”

“Even among Peak-tier beings, only some can manage it!”

These cultivators—some first-timers, others veterans—knew well the difficulty of short-range space teleportation within the Dark Sacred Realm.

To accomplish this was unquestionably the mark of one of the most terrifying beings in the Dark Sacred Realm.

“Black robe, black hair—his appearance… I’ve gathered intelligence on every Peak-tier being in the Dark Sacred Realm with even a shred of fame, but I’ve never seen him.” An elder murmured in confusion.

“I don’t recognize him either. None of the five cities of the Dark Sacred Realm have heard of this Peak-tier being.” Another cultivator echoed.

In the Dark Sacred Realm, cultivators gathered in only five cities.

Each city’s Peak-tier beings were widely known; collecting basic intel on them was relatively easy.

…

Luo Feng had long obtained detailed intelligence on the Dark Sacred Realm from the Lord of Yuanxiang Hall and the cultivator squad. After leaving the Transit Sacred Mountain, he headed directly for the settlement city of ‘Chengfengcheng,’ where the squad was based.

Chengfengcheng was the closest of the Dark Sacred Realm’s five cities to the Transit Sacred Mountain—that was precisely why the Lord of Yuanxiang Hall had sought aid there.

“Huh.”

Luo Feng landed.

Though he chose Chengfengcheng as his first base, Luo Feng didn’t rush—his curiosity about the entire Dark Sacred Realm ran deep.

“The quantity and quality of Low-Level Hunyuan Lifeforms here far surpass those of the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm.” Luo Feng felt anticipation, “I’ve even heard that Hunyuan Prisoners occasionally appear.”

Hunyuan Prisoners were High-Level Hunyuan Lifeforms whose power had been sealed.

Besides being imprisoned in large Hunyuan Halls, a few Hunyuan Prisoners roamed the wilds. Their powers were fully suppressed; each discovery drew cultivators to form teams and hunt them down.

“Even Peak-tier beings acting alone face grave danger in the Dark Sacred Realm.”

“But for me, the threat is negligible.”

Luo Feng walked across the land.

His imitation Eye of Birth and Death observed all directions.

After consuming the ‘Hundred Trials Heart Marrow,’ his mental processing speed tripled a thousandfold, sustained by a continuous flood of inspiration—lasting nearly half an eon. This cultivation efficiency surpassed his normal state’s output over one or two thousand eons.

Thus, during his previous retreat, his Life Dao and Destruction Dao, though slightly hindered, both reached the ‘Semi-Hunyuan’ level.

Yet advancement in his Birth and Death Dao had grown arduous.

Luo Feng had gradually advanced from Divine Emperor Late-stage Birth and Death Dao, drawing nourishment from Life and Destruction. At first, progress was smooth—but it grew increasingly difficult, until he hit a complete bottleneck, stuck fast.

Stuck at the bottleneck, unable to advance—so Luo Feng turned to refining his ‘Indestructible Blood Sea Body,’ his ‘Imitation Eye of Birth and Death,’ and other secret techniques.

“I’m still far from achieving Semi-Hunyuan Birth and Death Dao, yet I’m stuck at this bottleneck.” Luo Feng understood the struggles other cultivators faced—trapped at a certain point, unable to penetrate, unable to move forward.

Still, compared to the Battle of Yulan City, Luo Feng’s Birth and Death Dao had accumulated deeper foundations, aided now by the Semi-Hunyuan Life and Destruction Dao paths—his realm had risen significantly, and all his secret techniques had grown vastly more potent.

“Hm? I’ve spotted a Hunyuan Lifeform squad.” Luo Feng’s imitation Eye of Birth and Death now observed far beyond his previous range—he saw a group in the distance.

It was a squad of Hunyuan Wildhoof Clan.

“In the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm, Hunyuan Wildhoof usually traveled alone; even three or five together was rare. But here, eighty-two together?” Luo Feng stared, “Seven at Divine Emperor Perfection, seventy-five at Divine Emperor Late-stage?”

Such a squad would annihilate a cultivator like Wei Yang’s master in a single glance.

Luo Feng walked toward them, intrigued.

With a single step, he passed through a spatial rift and appeared nearby.

“Hm?”

All eighty-two Hunyuan Wildhoof simultaneously noticed Luo Feng.

“A lone cultivator?”

“Kill.”

“Kill him!”

The Hunyuan Wildhoof hesitated not at all—in the Dark Sacred Realm, Low-Level Hunyuan Lifeforms and cultivators had slaughtered each other for eons; killing was instinct.

“Boom—rumble~~~~” As the Hunyuan Wildhoof moved, countless azure thunderbolts coalesced in the air—thunder like water, like heaven collapsing, like a deluge of lightning crashing toward Luo Feng.

Luo Feng stood still, letting the thunder strike—yet the watery lightning could not touch a single hair of his head, repelled by invisible force.

The Hunyuan Wildhoof were swift by nature; they surged toward him. But when they realized their thunder couldn’t even harm a single hair, they all froze—every single one slowed, then fled without hesitation.

“Since we met, don’t leave.” Luo Feng reached out.

His palm transformed into a furry giant claw, instantly piercing space and engulfing the vast expanse before him.

The space was split apart—the entire Hunyuan Wildhoof squad was trapped within an isolated dimension.

“Huh.”

Luo Feng retracted his hand; in his palm rested the eighty-two imprisoned Hunyuan Wildhoof.

In his palm, the squad looked like toys—utterly powerless.

“Hum.”

Each body remained intact, yet their life cores split open silently—they all died.

“Meeting is fate!” Luo Feng immediately collected all the corpses into his storage treasure.

Such Low-Level Hunyuan Lifeform squads posed zero threat to Luo Feng.

Based on his own estimation, during the Battle of Yulan City, he could overpower four Ultra-Limit beings alone; now, he could overpower ten. One man equaled a Peak-tier team.

“But my strength is far from invincible.” Luo Feng knew this well.

Invincible was one major tier above Peak-tier.

An Invincible being was at least equal to twenty to thirty Peak-tier beings—that was the minimum threshold.

In truth, if one’s spiritual will escaped the cage, Peak-tier beings would be crushed utterly under its weight, offering no resistance.

Luo Feng walked to a lake, sat cross-legged, and pondered his cultivation dilemma.

(End of Chapter)