Chapter 56: The Forgotten Temple of the Dark Soul
The mist swallowed Han Feng's figure as he moved deeper into the Western Region.
Behind him, the valley where the treasure hunters had ambushed him had already disappeared from sight.
He had changed his route twice.
Then three more times.
He deliberately avoided the main paths shown on the treasure hunter's map.
If the communication Gu had successfully transmitted its message, someone might already be searching for him.
Han Feng preferred not to discover how quickly those people could arrive.
The ancient map remained inside his storage pouch.
He had memorized most of it.
The location marked as the Forgotten Temple of the Dark Soul lay deep within a mountain range rarely visited by ordinary cultivators.
According to the map, the journey should have taken less than a day.
Han Feng had already spent nearly two.
He had avoided several spiritual beast territories, crossed two rivers, and deliberately taken a longer route through the mountains.
He did not regret the delay.
Rushing toward an unknown ancient ruin simply because someone had drawn an arrow toward it was exactly the kind of mistake that got cultivators killed.
Still...
Something about the map bothered him.
The black lake.
The mountain.
The underground structure.
They matched fragments of the ancient scroll from the Nine Tombs.
Too closely.
Han Feng slowed down.
His eyes swept across the surrounding forest.
Nothing.
The wind moved through the branches.
The mist drifted between the trees.
But beneath all of it, he could feel something.
A faint spiritual pressure.
It was almost impossible to notice.
Almost.
Han Feng closed his eyes.
His spiritual perception spread outward.
The surrounding Qi was unusually still.
Not peaceful.
Suppressed.
It was as if the entire mountain range was holding its breath.
Han Feng opened his eyes.
"Something is here."
The Silent Mountain
The farther he traveled, the stranger the environment became.
The trees grew twisted.
Their roots emerged from the earth like skeletal fingers.
Several trunks were covered with dark moss that emitted a faint spiritual fluctuation.
Han Feng avoided touching them.
Some plants were harmless.
Others were not.
A few steps later, he noticed a small animal lying beside the path.
A mountain rabbit.
Its body was completely intact.
There were no wounds.
No signs of poison.
Yet it was dead.
Han Feng crouched beside it.
He examined the corpse.
The soul had been drained.
Not devoured.
Drained.
His expression became serious.
Spiritual energy absorption.
He stood.
The Art of the Celestial Veil activated automatically.
His presence became even weaker.
Something in this region was feeding on spiritual energy.
And he had no intention of becoming its next meal.
He continued forward.
After another hour, the mist became so dense that ordinary vision could barely reach a few meters.
Han Feng stopped.
A faint sound reached his ears.
Footsteps.
Several people.
He immediately moved behind a massive tree.
His aura disappeared.
Five...
No.
Seven.
Seven figures emerged through the fog.
They wore dark cloaks.
Each cloak carried a silver emblem.
A strange symbol resembling an eye surrounded by broken lines.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
The symbol was unfamiliar.
But the spiritual fluctuations surrounding it were not.
The same cold, faintly spectral energy he had sensed near the temple was present on the cloaks.
The seven moved in perfect formation.
No unnecessary conversation.
No wasted movement.
They were trained.
Han Feng remained hidden.
One of them suddenly spoke.
"The seal is weakening."
Another answered.
"We know."
"The eastern barrier has already lost three layers."
Silence.
Then a third figure spoke.
"What about the Bai Clan?"
"They entered yesterday."
"And?"
"No word."
The first figure stopped.
The others stopped with him.
A cold silence filled the forest.
Finally, one of them spoke.
"Then they are probably dead."
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
The speaker continued.
"Send no one after them."
"But—"
"No."
His tone became colder.
"If the temple has awakened, we cannot afford to lose more people."
Han Feng's expression changed slightly.
The Bai Clan already entered?
That meant the treasure hunters' information had been incomplete.
The temple was not merely being watched.
People had already begun entering it.
And some had not returned.
One of the cloaked figures suddenly turned his head.
Han Feng stopped breathing.
The man's gaze swept across the forest.
For a moment, it seemed to stop directly on Han Feng's hiding place.
Then the man looked away.
"Move."
The seven continued through the mist.
Han Feng waited.
Ten breaths.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Only then did he leave his hiding place.
His expression was calm.
But his thoughts were moving rapidly.
Three layers of the eastern barrier.
Bai Clan entered yesterday.
No survivors.
And most importantly—
The seal is weakening.
Han Feng looked toward the direction they had gone.
This was no ordinary inheritance site.
Something inside the temple was changing.
The Hidden Entrance
Han Feng took out the ancient map.
A faint line near the mountain's western edge caught his attention.
He compared it with the surrounding terrain.
The main road led directly toward the temple.
The route the seven had taken.
That was probably the obvious entrance.
Han Feng folded the map.
He had no intention of using it.
Instead, he searched the western cliff.
The terrain became increasingly steep.
After nearly half an hour, he found what he was looking for.
A narrow crack between two enormous stones.
Moss covered most of the opening.
Han Feng brushed it aside.
Behind the moss was an ancient inscription.
Only a few characters remained intact.
Darkness conceals the gate.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
He pushed a small amount of Qi into the inscription.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Han Feng frowned.
Not Qi.
He circulated the energy within his body.
Then he allowed a trace of the mixed resonance created by the Dual Chaos Larva and Celestial Transmutation Gu to flow toward the inscription.
The response was immediate.
The stone trembled.
A thin line of silver light appeared.
Han Feng quickly withdrew his hand.
The light disappeared.
His eyes narrowed.
The temple recognizes mixed resonance.
That was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
He examined the inscription again.
There was no trap.
At least, none that he could detect.
Han Feng entered.
The passage was narrow.
He had to turn sideways in several places.
The air became colder with every step.
After several dozen meters, the passage widened.
Ancient stone walls appeared.
The floor was covered with faded symbols.
Some resembled the markings from the Nine Tombs.
Others were completely different.
Han Feng's heartbeat slowed.
Another ancient system.
He continued deeper.
Then he heard something.
A faint buzzing.
Not insects.
Not wind.
A vibration.
Like thousands of voices whispering from very far away.
Han Feng stopped.
The sound disappeared.
He waited.
Nothing.
He moved forward again.
The buzzing returned.
This time he understood something.
It was coming from the walls.
Han Feng placed his hand against the stone.
A pulse traveled through his fingers.
The Celestial Diagram inside his consciousness responded.
One pulse.
Then another.
Han Feng immediately removed his hand.
His expression became serious.
The temple was reacting to him.
Not because he had entered.
Because of the resonance he carried.
The Forgotten Temple
The passage eventually opened into a massive underground hall.
Han Feng stepped forward.
His eyes widened slightly.
The scale of the structure was beyond what he had expected.
Black stone pillars rose into the darkness.
Ancient chains crossed the ceiling.
Hundreds of inscriptions covered the walls.
Some had been damaged.
Others had been deliberately erased.
At the center of the hall stood a massive stone door.
It was nearly ten meters tall.
Six circular seals were embedded across its surface.
Han Feng immediately recognized the arrangement.
Six points.
Six positions.
The same fundamental structure.
His breathing became slower.
Again.
The Celestial Diagram.
Or something related to it.
But this formation was different.
It did not seem to regulate balance.
It seemed to contain something.
Han Feng approached carefully.
A wave of pressure came from behind the door.
He stopped.
His instincts screamed at him not to continue.
He listened.
The stone door was covered with layers of spiritual seals.
Some were ancient.
Others were much newer.
Someone had reinforced them recently.
Han Feng crouched beside the nearest inscription.
He examined it carefully.
The reinforcement had not been created by the original builders.
Someone had attempted to repair the ancient seal.
Recently.
Perhaps days ago.
Perhaps weeks.
That meant the people outside were not merely guarding the temple.
They were trying to prevent something from getting out.
Han Feng's eyes became cold.
He looked toward the enormous door.
"What are you?"
The temple gave no answer.
Then he noticed the inscription carved across its center.
The characters were ancient.
But still readable.
HE WHO SEEKS THE DARK SOUL SHALL FIRST FACE THE SELF HE BURIED.
Han Feng frowned.
This was different from the treasure-hunting rumors.
There was no promise of inheritance.
No mention of treasures.
No invitation.
Only a warning.
He studied the words again.
Then another line appeared beneath them.
Not because it had been hidden.
Because the spiritual energy inside the temple had changed.
The characters slowly illuminated.
THE DARK SOUL DOES NOT GRANT DESTINY.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
A second line appeared.
IT REVEALS WHAT DESTINY HAS ALREADY CHOSEN.
Silence.
Then—
DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR.
Han Feng froze.
He had just read the final word when a deep sound came from behind the stone.
BOOM.
The entire temple trembled.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Han Feng immediately retreated.
BOOM.
Another impact.
The six seals on the door flickered.
One of them cracked.
Han Feng's expression changed.
Someone was not trying to enter.
Something was trying to get out.
He took a step backward.
The pressure behind the door increased.
The Celestial Diagram pulsed violently inside his consciousness.
For the first time since entering the Western Region, Han Feng felt genuine danger that he could not measure.
Not Rank 2.
Not Rank 3.
Not even something whose cultivation he could understand.
The third impact came.
BOOM!
A thin crack appeared across the center of the stone door.
Han Feng's hand slowly moved toward his Gu.
His breathing became controlled.
The Art of the Celestial Veil wrapped around his body.
He prepared to retreat.
Then—
A voice came from behind the door.
Faint.
Broken.
Almost human.
"Who..."
The voice stopped.
Silence returned.
Han Feng stared at the door.
Then the voice came again.
"...brought the resonance back?"
Han Feng's pupils contracted.
The six seals began to glow.
And somewhere deep beneath the temple—
Something opened its eyes.