Chapter 774: Sacrificial Altar
"Lin Feng, how are you?" Tang Youyou asked, seeing Lin Feng's body sway slightly.
"These mysterious patterns are too profound. With my current cultivation level, I can only copy down five complete patterns. I'll have to see if I can find an opportunity later to comprehend what they truly are." Lin Feng's gaze carried a hint of gravity. Even after copying them down, when he tried to sense and comprehend the patterns etched in his mind with his will, he still felt unable to concentrate, as if extremely fatigued. His cultivation level was simply not enough.
"Mm, being able to copy down five patterns is already quite impressive. I can't even carve down a single pattern or remember it." Tang Youyou smiled bitterly. It wasn't just her—Jun Moxi and the others were the same. These patterns seemed to possess a strange power, making them very difficult to comprehend. Or perhaps their cultivation levels were all insufficient.
They continued exploring deeper ahead. In front of them, others were also trying to comprehend the patterns, clearly realizing that the images carved on the stone walls were extraordinary. However, they encountered the same problem as Lin Feng and his group—unable to comprehend, unable to understand, and unable to even etch them into their memories. In the blink of an eye, they could no longer remember how those miraculous patterns were traced.
At that moment, a faint light emerged on the stone wall—the light of true essence. Earlier, because someone had been killed directly by the patterns, many had backed away. But now, quite a few people were stepping forward to explore again. However, every time they sensed the approach of a powerful destructive force, they immediately gave up.
Lin Feng and his four companions pressed forward, no longer studying the patterns on the stone wall. Since they couldn't comprehend them, they decided to ignore them altogether, lest they disturb their minds and keep them constantly preoccupied.
A powerful aura fluctuation seeped out at that moment, causing Lin Feng's steps to stiffen slightly. From his side, it seemed as if a strong force was pulsing—the power of the patterns.
"Go die!" A cold voice rang out. Then, from the stone wall ahead, a beam of true essence light spread along the wall toward this direction, instantly covering the patterns on the stone wall. It flowed along the veins of the patterns, and a terrifying sense of destruction descended, making Lin Feng's expression change drastically.
"Get down!"
Lin Feng shouted, acting almost on instinct. His body moved like lightning, falling backward as swiftly as the wind, incredibly fast.
"Chi..." A terrifying purple lightning bolt was triggered from the patterns on the stone wall, streaking directly past Lin Feng's eyes. It stung his eyes fiercely, feeling scorching hot, and even a drop of blood trickled from his eye.
"Ah!"
A scream rang out. The purple lightning bolt pierced straight through someone's head, two drops of blood flowing from the wound. The man's eyes were wide open, dying with regret, not even knowing how he died.
"Lin Feng!" Tang Youyou and the others were greatly alarmed. They supported Lin Feng's body, but saw him covering his eyes with both hands, feeling a burning pain, as if he might go blind.
A surge of true essence power circulated unceasingly, rushing to his forehead and into his eyes, finally easing Lin Feng's pain somewhat. He moved his hands away and slowly opened his eyes.
At the same time, Jun Moxi and Huangfu Long had already shot forward, attacking the person who had ambushed Lin Feng. A blazing light flared up, illuminating the dark space. An icy, snowy chill erupted at that moment, and rumbling sounds echoed continuously from the darkness.
Huangfu Long and Jun Moxi retreated to their original positions, staring coldly ahead.
"The senior from Tianchi Snow Peak instructed us not to kill each other. You people from Tian Shu Peak are quite something." Huangfu Long spat out coldly. The one who had used true essence power to trigger the patterns was none other than the young man Lin Feng had defeated with a single finger on the main peak, Tian Ji Peak, that day.
No one responded. The sound of footsteps faded into the distance, and the people ahead had already disappeared somewhere.
"Lin Feng, are you alright?" Jun Moxi looked at Lin Feng. A faint trace of vast, righteous qi emanated from him, allowing him to see Lin Feng's figure clearly in the darkness.
"I almost went blind, but fortunately, I'm fine." Lin Feng shook his head. The power within the patterns was too terrifying. Just by using true essence power, one could trigger a powerful attack. If he had been even a fraction of a second slower, his eyes would have been completely ruined.
"Was it someone from Tian Shu Peak?" Lin Feng asked Huangfu Long.
"Yes, it was the man you defeated with one finger that day. Ling Xue, the leader of Tian Shu Peak, was also there. He's probably involved too." Huangfu Long said angrily. It seemed he had underestimated the danger of human nature. The senior from Tianchi Snow Peak had done everything for the sake of Tianchi and the empire, but these geniuses were all accustomed to arrogance. After being humiliated by Lin Feng and the others from Tian Xuan Peak last time, they harbored grudges and had now resorted to murder.
"Since that's the case, don't blame me for being ruthless." Lin Feng's gaze looked into the distance, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"Keep an eye on this stone wall," Lin Feng added. He had never thought of using such a method to kill—borrowing the power of the patterns. Only those with malicious intentions would scheme with such underhanded tactics.
Now, many people realized they could use the patterns to kill. They walked to the stone wall, placed their hands on it, and let faint true essence power flow through their palms, as if ready to strike at any moment. The entire dark space instantly felt oppressive.
Fortunately, everyone had their reservations and didn't act. If they killed someone else, they might be killed by another.
The cold, dark passage seemed exceptionally long, like a true tomb corridor. After walking for a long time, the crowd finally saw a glimmer of light.
The light gradually became clearer. Ahead, they could clearly see a massive tombstone, surrounded entirely by peculiar patterns.
These patterns were similar to those in the passage but countless times more complex. The crisscrossing patterns intertwined, as if formed by billions of lines, creating a vast, complete network connected to the tombstone.
Or perhaps it could no longer be called a tombstone. It also resembled an altar.
"Just one pattern has destructive power. If this crisscrossing network of patterns were triggered, I wonder what kind of terrifying mysterious force it would unleash," Lin Feng thought to himself. He couldn't understand it. This complex pattern network was something he couldn't even begin to decipher.
He looked around. There were no other exits—only this tombstone trapped by the pattern network. It seemed they had to break through it to get out.
"Look, this altar-like tombstone doesn't seem complete. There are many gaps," someone pointed at the mysterious tombstone. Indeed, there were many damaged areas, as if caused by powerful attacks.
"This is not an altar, nor is it a so-called tombstone," a clear voice rang out. The crowd followed the sound and saw Yu Tianji, clad in a purple robe, staring solemnly at the object. He hadn't expected to encounter this legendary item.
"Not an altar or a tombstone? Then what is it?" someone asked coldly, thinking Yu Tianji was just showing off.
"Feel it for yourselves, and you'll know what it is." Yu Tianji revealed a mysterious smile. He stepped forward, swept his sleeve across the altar, wiping away the dust that had accumulated over countless years, revealing the stone platform beneath.
A faint wisp of true essence power climbed onto the stone platform, flowing along the peculiar patterns. It had only flowed for a moment when the crowd felt a terrifying spatial aura spreading out, giving them a sense of spatial disorder, as if they might be thrown into another space at any moment.
"Legends say that ancient great cultivators could cross ten thousand or even a hundred thousand meters of space in a single step. There was also a kind of artifact called a spatial altar. Activating it could shift space. Could this be the time-space altar recorded in ancient texts?"
Feeling the growing sense of spatial disorder, someone spoke up. Many then recalled that such records did exist in ancient texts. True divine abilities and magical powers allowed one to ignore spatial distances in a single step, and one could also create an altar for others to cross space through it. What lay before them was exactly that kind of altar.
"Could it be that this so-called emperor's palace or tomb isn't actually here, but requires crossing a spatial distance to reach another space? Is that where the true emperor's tomb lies?"
The crowd was shocked. Such great cultivators were beyond their ability to fathom.
PS: Words fail me. Begging for flowers.