Intense pain stimulated every cell in Xiao Feng's body, and the cold pool water seemed to possess a mysterious power that kept his consciousness clear at all times.
Xiao Feng's face was twisted in agony; the pain caused his muscles to spasm uncontrollably, and he rolled around in the pool.
Finally, at one moment, he steadied his body. Although his entire body was trembling incessantly and the pain was still bone-deep, he still smiled—his shattered body was recovering, the chaotic Dou Qi congealed in his flesh and blood was dissolving, and his broken Meridians were restructuring.
It was as if the world were being recreated and all things were being re-enacted; a miraculous transformation was occurring within Xiao Feng's body.
The moment his Meridians were fully repaired, most of the excruciating pain vanished, replaced by endless pressure. It was as if a giant boulder were pressing down on his shoulders, even pressing into his lungs, making even breathing become heavy.
Xiao Feng sat cross-legged and began to Cultivate while bearing this pressure. Although it was extremely difficult, he gritted his teeth, determined to do it.
He knew better than anyone else that every second at this moment was precious.
The Mountain Ape, still observing from afar, wore a look of admiration. It did not know what was happening in the pool, but such a person who thought about Cultivating every single second made it feel that he was a bit of a freak...
"Perhaps this is the fundamental reason for his rapid progress," the Mountain Ape muttered aloud.
Three days and nights passed, and the last Demonic Beast core at the bottom of the pool dimmed. Xiao Feng opened his eyes and stood up tall.
It was chilly.
Only then did he realize that his clothes had been stripped off by the Mountain Ape.
There was no such thing as shyness; Xiao Feng walked out of the pool quite openly.
"Really small," the Mountain Ape glanced at him and muttered.
Xiao Feng glared at it with a cold face, "Do you believe it can pierce your lungs!"
The Mountain Ape looked at him with disdain and continued, "How do you feel?"
Xiao Feng felt it silently, "It's alright."
The Mountain Ape bared its teeth. This answer didn't even count as perfunctory; what exactly did it mean?
"There is a Dou Qi testing crystal over there, and giant boulders engraved with weight standards. Go and try them," the Mountain Ape pointed in another direction.
Xiao Feng took a set of clothes from his storage ring and put them on properly. After glaring at the Mountain Ape, he walked over there.
Xiao Feng placed his hand on the crystal and circulated his Dou Qi. Instantly, the crystal shone brilliantly.
"What Rank does this count as?" Xiao Feng asked.
"Don't ask me, this is my first time inside too," the Mountain Ape spread its hands.
Xiao Feng didn't want to pay attention to it. This thing was a complete scammer; once he got out of here, the first thing he had to do was ditch it.
As for the boulders on the side, Xiao Feng took one look and had no mood to lift them. He felt like he was playing the monkey in front of it.
"And then?" Xiao Feng asked.
"And then that's it, right?" The Mountain Ape seemed to think of something, "The main thing is that pool, it seems very important."
It seemed to be recalling, but the corresponding memory seemed incomplete.
Xiao Feng gave an "oh" and returned to the side of the pool, beginning to examine the patterns that were so complex they were dizzying.
"Is this a Formation?" Xiao Feng muttered to himself, "The immense pressure earlier was undoubtedly a Formation, but... what exactly is its principle?"
Staring at the bottom of the pool, Xiao Feng's thoughts began to wander.
"Right, there are things on the four walls of the pool as well. You can use your Dou Qi to make them manifest," the Mountain Ape reminded.
Xiao Feng's mind was no longer here; the Mountain Ape's words entered his ears but did not reach his heart.
Over the next few days, Xiao Feng basically ate spiritual fruits to stave off hunger.
Three days later, he suddenly started giggling.
"What Legacy... it turns out to be another Old Senior!"
Xiao Feng had been stuck in a misunderstanding, misinterpreting these carvings. Now, comparing it from another angle, this was simply a diagram of human Meridians!
"It seems the path I am taking is not wrong. Someone had already walked it many years ago, it's just that the Legacy was never passed down," Xiao Feng smiled, unlocking a lock in his heart, his expression soaring with spirit.
"How do I get out of here?" Xiao Feng suddenly asked.
It was enough to know the direction for Cultivation; the path still needed to be walked by himself. Although he didn't see any insights or experiences, Xiao Feng was confident that he understood this aspect more thoroughly than anyone else.
Xiao Feng wanted to go out; he was not prepared to continue wasting time.
"Just walk and you'll be out," the Mountain Ape pointed to a certain spot.
Before leaving, he scanned the area, his gaze finally resting on a corner where a pile of Demonic Beast cores was stacked, numbering in the thousands.
Xiao Feng's mouth curled up. He collected those Demonic Beast cores and then walked in the direction the Mountain Ape had pointed.
"Yes, that wall right there, just walk and you'll pass through," the Mountain Ape continued.
Xiao Feng hesitated and took a step forward.
Then he hit the wall.
"That shouldn't be."
The Mountain Ape came up to try it itself, and with a 'chi' sound, it disappeared from there.
A few seconds later, it appeared there again, "See, why can't you get out?"
Xiao Feng's face darkened. He grabbed its fur and walked out together with it.
...
"By the way, what were you all searching for in that valley before? A Legacy?" the Mountain Ape asked.
Xiao Feng, who had originally wanted to say goodbye, swallowed his words and looked at the Mountain Ape, "You know that place?"
The Mountain Ape patted its chest, "I know it too well!"
A rumbling sound echoed in the valley, "Every time I get close, there's a voice telling me to get lost immediately!"
Xiao Feng glanced at it sideways and didn't speak; he also wanted to tell it to get lost.
"What? Why are you looking at me with that kind of gaze?" The Mountain Ape felt a bit uncomfortable.
"Nothing, you go and get busy first," Xiao Feng waved his hand, "I'll stroll around by myself."
"That won't do. The Legacy stated that Battle Apes always grow together with the inheritor. I have to follow you."
"Then why don't I know about it?" Xiao Feng glared.
"How would I know why you don't know?" The Mountain Ape's Heart-Nature was just like a human's, er... just like a scoundrel's; right now, it wasn't prepared to let Xiao Feng go.
"The matter of you finding four Fifth-Tiered Magical Beasts to surround and kill me earlier and the matter of you saving me later can be considered as canceling each other out, but I don't want to be inexplicably messed with by you again. You had better not challenge my tolerance," Xiao Feng said, clenching his fists.
"I don't want to either, but this is what the Legacy requires!" The Mountain Ape's voice sounded extremely innocent.
"The one who kills is the knife, not the person holding the knife, right?" Xiao Feng retorted sarcastically and walked straight towards the valley where the Secret Realm was located.
The Mountain Ape hung far behind, not daring to get too close.
The valley was quiet, without any sound.
Xiao Feng looked around, searched carefully, and used his Soul Power to sense, spending over an hour in total, but still found nothing.
He suspected that the Mountain Ape was fooling him.
"Hey! Is anyone there?" Xiao Feng was a bit unwilling, but shouted as if giving up on himself.
Still no response.
"Where is there any sound?" Xiao Feng looked at the Mountain Ape standing in the distance.
The Mountain Ape was equally confused. It slowly approached, and then a violent voice instantly rang out, "Get lost! Get lost! Get lost! Get lost immediately!"
"Did you hear that? It told me to get lost again." The Mountain Ape retreated a few steps, and the voice disappeared again.
Xiao Feng shook his head; he hadn't heard any sound at all.
"Why does it only tell me to get lost?" The Mountain Ape looked bewildered.
Xiao Feng glanced at it without speaking.
The Mountain Ape bared its teeth and finally beat its chest and shouted, "Today I am going to bury this valley of yours!"
After saying that, the Mountain Ape lifted a giant boulder and threw it violently towards the valley.
Just at this moment, a sudden change occurred.
Just as the boulder was about to land, a muffled 'weng' sound was heard. A semi-transparent semi-circular light shield emerged, covering the entire valley, and the falling boulder instantly shattered into dust.
Xiao Feng stood in the valley; the moment the phenomenon arose, he spread his Soul Power to sense the surroundings, but still found nothing.
Before Xiao Feng could investigate further, a figure suddenly appeared not far in front of him. There was no energy fluctuation; it manifested very abruptly, catching people off guard.
The figure was flickering, only a little more solid than the light shield, like a wisp of smoke; one could see right through it, and it could dissipate with the wind at any moment.
But his Aura was imposing. The moment he appeared, a voice echoed throughout Xiao Feng's head, "Get lost! Get lost far away from me!"
The Mountain Ape seemed to go mad, beating its head incessantly with both hands, roaring endlessly. Its huge body rolled to the outside, struggling continuously, rolling far away like a maggot...
Xiao Feng watched with rapt attention, sighing in his heart: It's so satisfying.
Only when the phantom turned around did Xiao Feng come back to his senses.
He hurriedly saluted that figure, "This Senior, I have disturbed you much earlier; Xiao Feng is here to apologize."
Xiao Feng knew in his heart that this phantom was the key to the Legacy, and he became completely respectful.
"Xiao Feng?" The phantom floated closer, looked him up and down, and said leisurely, "You are too hypocritical."
Xiao Feng was stunned, then smiled freely, "I came for the Legacy. My heart for seeking knowledge is sincere and earnest; where does hypocrisy come from?"
The phantom laughed, "What a sincere and earnest heart. Then I will give you a chance; whether you can grasp it depends on yourself."
The phantom waved his hand, and the world instantly turned dark.
The sky was dotted with nebulae, and mist surged beneath their feet. A gust of wind blew, and the valley rapidly shrank beneath their feet. The person and the phantom were actually drifting through the air towards Wutan City.
"This is..." Xiao Feng became vigilant instantly, staring fixedly at the phantom, his entire body's Dou Qi surging, ready to strike at any moment. He had a strange feeling of being seen through and controlled in the palm of someone's hand.
"Go, she is waiting for you." The phantom brought Xiao Feng and landed in front of a small courtyard. Ignoring Xiao Feng's murderous gaze, he urged him to go in quickly.
Xiao Feng stared at the phantom for a long time before slowly pushing open the courtyard door.
Blood... covered the ground.
A broken sword and the shattered body of an old man lay in the center of the courtyard.
Xiao Feng was stunned, his head feeling as if it had been struck by a giant boulder. His ears could no longer hear any other sounds, only buzzing.
Her figure was not there...
But the bloodstains still extended forward...
His head felt as heavy as a thousand catties, and using all his strength, he could only move it slightly.
That bright red bloodstain extended all the way to the main hall.
At the very end, that young girl was lying on the table, her fingertips dipped in blood, wanting to write something, but her body was already stiff.
Xiao Feng stood frozen in place, bloodshot veins seeming to burst, dyeing his eyes blood-red. His fists were clenched tightly, his nails digging into his flesh. He breathed like an ox, his face incomparably twisted, his teeth clenched tightly together, blood seeping from his gums; he couldn't utter a single word.
The phantom slowly drifted to Xiao Feng's side, watching him silently, as if waiting, but not urging him.
Xiao Feng suddenly released his hands and looked at the phantom, "If you dare to joke about her again, I will find a way to bring you back to life and then tear you into ten thousand pieces."
The phantom was not angry either. He laughed, waved his hand, and dispersed everything, "What a tenacious will. How did you discover it?"
Xiao Feng looked around at the valley scenery that was still there, and his anticipation for the Legacy instantly diminished a lot. His tone also became indifferent, "If I have passed the test, then let's begin."
The phantom swayed, "I can only say it was barely satisfactory."
Xiao Feng rolled his eyes and remained silent.
The phantom sighed, "Forget it, let's not say so much. A fellow with such weak strength, yet such a big temper?"
Xiao Feng suddenly sneered, "Old Senior, since you think my strength is weak, then remove this barrier. You walk your broad way, and I will walk my single-plank bridge."
The phantom waved his hand again, and the valley scenery changed again. Everything above and below was void, and starlight shone from the extreme distance, "Little Fellow, since you are on good terms with that Mountain Ape, you must have seen the things my Senior Brother left behind. But do you know that those things are incomplete?"
Xiao Feng did not speak, silently watching the phantom, with an expression of 'if you want to speak, speak; if you don't want to, then forget it.'
He was very displeased that this Old fellow had set up an illusion earlier. If it weren't for the fact that he had come for the Legacy, if anyone else had played such a joke on Xiao Feng, they would likely have been torn to pieces.
The phantom smiled gently, looking at the starry sky and speaking leisurely, "Why can we sweep across the world? Others only know that our physique is unparalleled, but they do not know our foundation."
He did not say too much to Xiao Feng, waving his hand to summon a pure white ball of light and pressing it into Xiao Feng's head.
The moment that ball of light merged into Xiao Feng's body, a trace of almost imperceptible black qi flashed through his body. The phantom looked at him heavily and thought to himself: It's rare to come across one who is pleasing to the eye, yet he has actually been targeted by those bastards. Oh well, oh well, I've been dead for so many years, why am I still worrying about this? Forget it, forget it...
"Little Fellow, the road ahead is not peaceful."
As soon as his voice fell, the figure drifted away and dissipated; there was not a trace of his breath left in this world.
Xiao Feng's expression moved slightly. He bowed slightly towards where the phantom had dissipated, then sat cross-legged in the Void Realm, slowly closed his eyes, and used his Soul Power to perceive that ball of light.