Chapter 465: The Cursed World
"Hahaha..."
Li Shang's laughter grew stronger and stronger, as if it had no end. And with his wild laughter, a terrifying pressure was released from his body, so powerful it was suffocating. If Lin Feng were here, he would be horrified to discover that if Li Shang wanted to keep him, it would be far too easy. Even this pressure alone could make his legs tremble and his whole body shake.
"Boom! Boom, rumble!"
The heavens and earth trembled with the laughter. The spatial currents rolled wildly, the ground split open with a loud rumble, revealing cracks one after another. Li Shang's body slowly rose into the air, surrounded entirely by terrifying hurricanes, his black robe fluttering wildly.
"Crack, crack..." The desert land was split down the middle, revealing a deep fissure. An extremely intense aura of flame surged up from beneath the earth, the red of the fire seeming to dye the heavens and earth.
This was, magma fire!
The terrifying magma fire rolled madly, the entire desert seeming to vanish, replaced by flames. And this mass of magma fire was still continuously rising into the sky, extremely fearsome.
Li Shang finally stopped laughing. He looked at the terrifying flames slowly ascending, his gaze very calm.
"Li Shang!"
A deep voice spat out from within the flames. A buzzing sound rang out, and the magma fire actually opened a pair of eyes—strange, eerie eyes. Looking more closely at the magma, one would discover that this rising mass of magma fire was actually an incomparably massive flame demon wolf, a flame demon wolf turned into magma.
"Fire King, you've come out."
Li Shang looked at this terrifying flame demon wolf as if meeting an old friend, speaking in a low voice.
"You laughed so loudly, how could I not come out? What's worth being so happy about?"
The Fire King spat out a voice, which seemed to have countless echoes buzzing and trembling through the space.
"Didn't you see it all? Besides, you should have known long ago that there was an exit here," Li Shang said.
"I did see it, but you can't leave through this exit. What's there to be happy about?" The Fire King said indifferently. He had been gestating here for countless years; of course, he knew there was an exit leading to the outside world.
"At least, I let him take something out, didn't I!"
Li Shang's gaze looked up at the sky. He took a deep breath, and then an extremely powerful yin wind swept up, as if there were sounds of ghosts wailing and wolves howling.
"Boom!"
A terrifying palm strike from Li Shang directly imprinted on the void, rumbling and roaring, stirring up a fierce wind.
"Boom, boom, boom..." Li Shang's body began to move, madly attacking this space, as if trying to blast open that exit.
"This damned sealed land, this cursed world, I, Li Shang, must walk out!"
A long howl rolled out, the heavens and earth seeming to tremble.
"Having great strength is indeed not good. The more you know, the crazier you become. If you were like most people, perhaps you still wouldn't know what kind of world this is. But now, you've already discovered the limitations of this world. However, I can tell you, this is not a sealed world, nor a cursed world. It's just... an incomplete world!"
The Fire Wolf sighed, his voice ethereal. He had lived longer than Li Shang, much longer. Heaven and earth had gestated his life, giving him spirituality, gradually endowing him with intelligence. He knew more and more. He understood clearly that this world had an end, that one could not walk out, while people from outside seemed able to walk in. That was why Li Shang dreamed of getting out.
"And you? What are you thinking now?" Li Shang asked the Fire King.
"Right now, I only want to conquer the End of the World Pavilion, let my subjects occupy the entire world. Before conquering this world, I won't think about leaving," the Fire King said slowly.
"I wish you success soon."
Li Shang sneered, his body flickered, and he transformed into a streak of light, vanishing from here. The Fire King watched the disappearing back, sighed, and the magma fire slowly sank downward. Soon, the desert reappeared.
...
Lin Feng and Meng Qing stepped out of that space, their bodies appearing directly within the ancient tree. Stepping out, a fresh air rushed toward them, making him feel as if a lifetime had passed.
The two looked at each other, then both smiled. This could be considered a strange experience; they had actually gone to another space.
Turning around, looking at the illusion within the ancient tree, Lin Feng's gaze flickered.
Suddenly, a sharp aura was released from Lin Feng's body. His palm sliced through the air, and a cracking sound rang out. The ancient tree broke and fell, pressing down toward the entrance of that space. Lin Feng's palm moved, and rumbling sounds continuously rang out. The fallen tree blocked the entrance.
"Xiao Feng, what's wrong?"
A voice came through. Yue Menghe's figure flickered, bringing the four young girls over here, looking at Lin Feng with some confusion. Why was he blocking the entrance?
"Mother, it's better not to go to that space anymore."
Lin Feng's gaze fell on Yue Menghe, a hint of seriousness in his eyes. He had a very strange feeling; that space must not be entered again. It was a very eerie, dangerous space. And now that the fire demon wolf occupied the entire desert, who knew what would happen if they went there.
Yue Menghe hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Alright, I won't go."
Lin Feng smiled, lifted his foot, and walked out together with Yue Menghe, asking: "Mother, has anything major happened in the Snow Moon Kingdom these past few days?"
"Nothing major, just that some people from the Dragon Mountain Empire have come to Snow Moon. It should be about the Snow Domain Grand Competition," Yue Menghe said with a slight frown. "Also, the Dragon Mountain Empire seems to have brought some people from the Tian Feng Kingdom. The Tian Feng Kingdom, like our Snow Moon, is a vassal state of the Dragon Mountain Empire."
"The Snow Domain Grand Competition, huh!" Lin Feng murmured softly. Last time, at the Snow Moon Kingdom's genius gathering, it was cut short midway due to injustice. He wondered how the empire would choose this time.
"Xiao Feng, do you want to participate in the Snow Domain Grand Competition?" Yue Menghe looked at Lin Feng and asked.
"To see the genius disciples of the thirteen Snow Domain kingdoms and clash with them—why wouldn't I want to?"
A sharp gleam flashed in Lin Feng's eyes. He couldn't stay cooped up in Snow Moon forever. Stepping out was inevitable. This Snow Domain Grand Competition would be his first step into Snow Moon.
Yue Menghe was silent for a moment. In her heart, she was actually somewhat conflicted. She hoped Lin Feng would step out of Snow Moon, shine in the Snow Domain, and come into contact with a broader world. If Lin Feng was valued by the empire, then it wouldn't be so easy for those in Snow Moon to deal with him. She even secretly hoped that one day Lin Feng could trample Snow Moon and avenge the grievances of the past. After all, she herself had no hope of revenge, and she and Lin Hai couldn't even walk openly, having to hide in the Longing Forest.
But Lin Feng was her only son. To have him fight in the Snow Domain, to have him face that person, was too difficult. Yue Menghe didn't want to place too heavy a burden on Lin Feng's shoulders. She was afraid this pressure would crush him, suffocate him, and destroy him at the hands of terrible enemies.
Many times, Yue Menghe, like Lin Hai, wished Lin Feng could live a plain and simple life, at least safely.
But Lin Feng had already set foot on his own path of the strong. To stop now was probably no longer possible.
Lin Feng could only raise his head and stride forward, step by step toward the peak of martial arts.
"Xiao Feng, no matter which path you take, you must remember: your safety is more important than anything. Even for your father and me, you must live well."
Yue Menghe stared at Lin Feng, instructing him.
"Don't worry, I'm not that easy to kill." Lin Feng said with a smile, earning a glare from Yue Menghe.
Walking to the small hut in front of the ancient tree, Lin Hai was still immersed in his carving, without desires or ambitions, as if he had forgotten everything.
Lin Feng stopped, not disturbing Lin Hai. He also knew that his father had a seal on him. Now, he seemed to be constantly refining his spiritual power, trying to use his spiritual will to break through the seal in his body.
The pain in Lin Hai's heart—he didn't say it, but Lin Feng could read it.
Expelled by the clan, unable to protect his own son, needing his wife's protection in the imperial city, unable to take revenge, having to stoop and hide to survive—Lin Hai's shoulders bore too much. Even though he always smiled, what the smile concealed was true scars.
PS: Last night, I fell asleep again after writing half a chapter. Sigh, next time I won't dare to lie down and rest. This chapter counts as yesterday's.