# Chapter 2169: Breakthrough
The Prophet had brought them into this unfamiliar fantasy world, stripping them of all their abilities, forcing them to rely solely on their innate talent and will to survive and grow stronger. Lin Feng didn't even know if time in this world moved the same as in the outside world. Perhaps even time itself could be virtual. Of course, that was merely a possibility.
Although Lin Feng's cultivation in this illusory world was very low, only at the Heavenly Martial Realm, his experience in martial arts was still sufficient to create a cultivation technique suitable for those at the Heavenly Martial Realm. This first attempt at creating a technique still took him half a month. Inside his cave dwelling, a powerful devouring force surged from Lin Feng's body, swallowing the power of the five elements of heaven and earth, gathering true essence, cleansing his body, tempering his meridians, and making his true essence more robust.
Inside the cave dwelling, Lin Feng inhaled and exhaled, breathing in spiritual energy and expelling turbid air. This was the technique he had decided to create after careful consideration. Since his physique encompassed all five elements, to increase his strength most rapidly at this stage, devouring the power of the five elements to transform into true essence was undoubtedly the most suitable method.
In the blink of an eye, many more days passed. Lin Feng's eyes suddenly snapped open, a sharp gleam flashing in his pupils. With unity of heaven and man, his mind focused without distraction, devouring the power of the five elements for his own use, Lin Feng's cultivation speed was terrifyingly fast. He had now reached the Third Layer of the Heavenly Martial Realm. Moreover, the technique he created also incorporated divine ability attacks, enough to handle the level of demon beasts he had encountered before.
"Let me go out and explore, to see exactly what needs to be done to become one who advances," Lin Feng murmured to himself. Now that he had created techniques and divine abilities, he wanted to know how the Prophet arranged for them to come here and what counted as victory. Besides increasing his cultivation level, what else did he need to do?
After leaving the cave dwelling, Lin Feng began to move faster, heading in the same direction, advancing unwaveringly. He would eventually walk out of this forest.
Before long, Lin Feng encountered another demon beast. A terrifying giant python spewed venom, rushing toward Lin Feng's face. Lin Feng's body moved like the wind. Having reawakened his Wind Will, he transformed into ethereal wind, leaping into the void like a Great Roc spreading its wings. Suddenly, he swooped down fiercely, his palm striking out explosively. A true Great Roc phantom appeared in the void, its golden claws unstoppable, tearing toward the python's vital spot at the seventh section of its neck, directly ripping out a mass of flesh and blood.
"Roar!" A furious roar echoed as the giant ape bellowed. Lin Feng's fist changed, his true essence transforming into earth-type attacks, smashing down with the weight of ten thousand jin, crushing the giant python to death. The technique devoured the power of the five elements to refine true essence, while the divine abilities simulated demon beast attacks using various elemental powers, unleashing terrifying might. After killing the python, Lin Feng extracted its demon core, directly grasping it in his palm, devouring its true essence power raw, without worrying that his cultivation level couldn't handle the vast true essence.
This forest seemed extremely vast. As Lin Feng walked, he never stopped cultivating, steadily increasing his strength, frantically killing demon beasts to temper his combat power. His cultivation level increased at a terrifying rate. This also made Lin Feng understand a principle—no wonder those reincarnated experts improved so rapidly. Even though many of his martial arts memories were blurred, relying solely on his unique martial arts experience and insights allowed him to ignore realm barriers. For him, the Heavenly Martial Realm presented no obstacles at all, smooth sailing all the way. It seemed that for reincarnated experts, they wouldn't encounter much pressure before reaching the Emperor Realm.
Outside, people could clearly see everything inside. Everyone was trapped in the forest, undergoing killing trials. Many could create their own techniques and divine abilities to cultivate, hunting demon beasts, but their cultivation speeds varied. They also discovered that in some cave dwellings guarded by powerful demon beasts, there were techniques, divine abilities, or weapons inside, all provided for the martial artists within.
Each forest had dozens of people. Of course, there was an exit, and only one exit, guarded by a massive group of demon beasts. To get outside, one had to pass through here. However, so far, no one had succeeded. Quite a few people had discovered the exit and attempted to break through, with several dying under the siege of the demon beast horde.
After some more time, a group finally broke through the forest exit guarded by the demon beast horde, stepping out of the demon beast forest. It was an allied group, among which were several very powerful individuals.
Then, someone walked out alone by their own strength. That person was the First Lord of Shen Xiao, Hua Qingfeng. Dressed in white, elegant and refined, with his Heavenly Book Martial Soul, his words became law. A single word could unleash countless sharp swords, breaking through the encirclement all the way. Demon beasts could not stop his advance.
Lin Feng naturally began to encounter martial artists who had entered together, learning about the exit. At this moment, he was also in a formed alliance.
"It's the valley ahead. This area is a no-fly zone; we can't fly above the valley's height. We must pass through this valley to get out. It's filled with many powerful demon beasts, possibly even peak Heavenly Martial Realm demon beasts. Although we could easily destroy and tear them apart before, now, a few days ago, some people tried to break through and were directly killed—two of them. They died just after entering the valley. That's why we formed this alliance."
At this moment, someone spoke. The speaker was named Loulan Yu, handsome in appearance, seemingly quite thin, but his eyes flashed with sharpness, appearing especially spirited. He was the initiator of this alliance and had invited Lin Feng to join.
"Does anyone know how strong the forces in this valley are?" someone asked.
"Not clear, but what's certain is that to pass the temple's assessment, we must break through this valley early. Even if it's risky, we have to test it. Since our situation is like this, others' experiences are probably similar. If we fall behind others, we might face the danger of elimination," Loulan Yu said calmly.
"I agree with Loulan Yu. Maybe we could cultivate slowly in this forest, but then you'll never know how far others have progressed. By the time you're strong enough, you might already be eliminated. We have to go out and see," someone echoed. The alliance had seven members, but they all concealed their cultivation levels, clearly each with their own schemes. After all, those who entered here were all geniuses. Such minor tricks were easy for them; they could figure them out on their own. Moreover, they were all in competition with each other. Who would let others know their true strength? The reason they could form an alliance was that they needed each other's power.
"Let's go." Lin Feng's eyes flickered as he stepped forward. His current cultivation was at the Ninth Layer of the Heavenly Martial Realm, but of course, he also concealed it. He couldn't see through others' foundations, and naturally wouldn't let others easily see through him.
"Let's go." Loulan Yu followed, unsheathing the sharp sword slung across his back. Its luster flickered, and everyone could tell at a glance that this was a very powerful Heaven-grade weapon, absolutely possessing terrifying killing power.
"This sword I was fortunate to find in a lake. Its cold energy is sharp, very suitable for me," Loulan Yu said to the others with a smile. Besides him, someone else also produced a large blade, presumably having had some lucky encounters in the demon beast forest. Their steps all entered the valley, and immediately a demonic wind rushed toward them, sending a chill through their bodies.
"Everyone be careful. Since we've formed an alliance, we must work together. Who is skilled in defense?" At this moment, Loulan Yu asked the seven. A rather burly man stepped forward, saying, "I specialize in defense."
"Good, Fan Jiang. When we encounter demon beasts, you take the lead in defense, blocking the first wave of attacks. Also, my attack speed is decent. Who else has fast attacks? You can combine with me for the first wave of killing power."
"I will," said the man holding the large blade, stepping forward.
"Alright, we'll be the vanguard attackers. Who is skilled in movement?"
"I am," someone said. Lin Feng also stepped forward, saying, "I have comprehended Wind Will."
"You two are responsible for cover, killing any that slip through," Loulan Yu said. "The last two, you fight freely. We don't know what we'll encounter, so we must be cautious. Until we get out, let's maintain this battle formation."
As he spoke, their steps advanced forward. On both sides of the valley ahead, a group of green demonic eyes gleamed—a pack of demon wolves.
"So many demon beasts. All fourth and fifth grade heavenly demons. Shouldn't be too much of a problem. Let's move out," Loulan Yu said. The seven of them charged forward simultaneously.
"Maintain the formation. Don't scatter. As long as we fight in a small area, this wolf pack won't have room to maneuver."
At that moment, the demon wolves howled angrily, charging forward all at once. Fan Jiang's martial soul appeared, and a massive shield materialized in front of him. All the terrifying attacks smashed against the giant shield. Loulan Yu and the blade-wielding youth began killing on both sides. Fire was contained within the sword, ice within the blade, tearing apart demon wolves one after another.
However, the overwhelming number of demon wolves spat out terrifying attacks, still putting immense pressure on them. Lin Feng and the others also moved, charging forward. His domineering ape-simulating fist struck out violently, causing demon wolves to collapse and perish wildly. At the same time, their steps never stopped, sweeping through as they went, leaving the ground covered with demon wolf corpses wherever they passed.
But they felt no relief. After passing through the demon wolf gathering area, terrifying griffins began circling in the sky, their eyes instilling fear.
Half a day later, they finally walked out of this valley, seeing the flowing water ahead and the town in the distance. The seven were all covered in blood. Fan Jiang had even lost an arm, torn off by the Griffin King. If he hadn't reacted quickly, his head would have been torn off. Moreover, those at the Heavenly Martial Realm didn't have such powerful regenerative abilities; only at the Venerable Martial Realm could one regenerate flesh and blood.
"It seems I have little hope for this Nine Heavens Gathering," Fan Jiang said with a faint trace of sadness. With his arm torn off and his body injured, his competitiveness was greatly reduced. It would be difficult for him to match others.
"Don't lose heart. Although we've left the valley, we don't know what lies ahead. Our alliance doesn't have to disband; we can still advance together," Loulan Yu said, patting Fan Jiang's shoulder, causing a glimmer of light to flash in Fan Jiang's eyes as he looked at the others.
"That's a good suggestion. Let's head to the city ahead first. There's no time to waste," someone said. Everyone nodded in agreement and continued forward. Looking back at the demon beast valley, this layer of trial would probably stop quite a few people.