Chapter 58: The Judgment of the Dark SoulThe Judgment Begins
The shadowy entity moved.
There was no warning.
One instant, it stood beside the black orb.
The next—
It was in front of Han Feng.
A claw formed from black mist swept toward his chest.
Han Feng's pupils contracted.
He immediately circulated his Qi and ignited the Celestial Dark Flame around his body.
Boom!
The spectral claw collided with the flames.
The impact forced Han Feng backward several steps.
His boots scraped across the stone floor.
Too fast.
Before he could counterattack, another wave of black mist surged toward him.
Bai Zhen reacted first.
He retreated while forming several hand seals.
A pale spiritual barrier appeared before him.
The mist struck it.
The barrier trembled violently.
Bai Zhen's expression changed.
"This isn't merely a spiritual remnant!"
Han Feng glanced at him.
"What is it?"
Bai Zhen gritted his teeth.
"The temple itself is feeding it!"
As if confirming his words, the ancient statues surrounding the hall suddenly began to tremble.
Their carved eyes opened.
Red light appeared within them.
The six chains surrounding the black orb vibrated simultaneously.
Han Feng's expression became serious.
The entity had not attacked them because it wanted to kill them.
It was testing them.
And the temple was part of that test.
The First Exchange
Han Feng raised one hand.
The Celestial Dark Flame condensed into several narrow blades.
"Then let's see how much it can endure."
He flicked his fingers.
The blades shot forward.
They pierced the entity's body.
For a moment, its form broke apart.
Black mist scattered across the hall.
But before Han Feng could relax—
The mist gathered again.
The entity reappeared behind him.
Its voice echoed directly beside his ear.
"You continue to fight."
Han Feng turned sharply.
A spectral claw struck his shoulder.
Bang!
Blood splashed across the stone floor.
Han Feng staggered backward.
Pain spread through his shoulder.
He immediately covered the wound with Qi.
His eyes narrowed.
Physical damage.
Even though it has no true body.
That was dangerous.
Bai Zhen's face became pale.
"The curse has awakened."
Han Feng looked around.
The red eyes of the statues were becoming brighter.
Black mist slowly spread across the floor.
Wherever it passed, the stone darkened.
The spiritual energy within the surrounding area was being drained.
Bai Zhen's voice became tense.
"If that mist reaches us completely, it won't simply injure the body."
Han Feng understood.
"It will erode the soul."
"Yes."
Bai Zhen clenched his teeth.
"And once the soul is damaged, ordinary healing techniques won't help."
Han Feng looked toward the entity.
It was watching them.
Waiting.
Not attacking.
Waiting.
His expression changed slightly.
Why did it stop?
The Rule of the Temple
The black mist continued advancing.
Han Feng raised his Celestial Dark Flame.
The flames pushed the mist away.
But he immediately noticed something strange.
The entity did not attack while he maintained the flames.
Instead, it simply watched.
Bai Zhen began forming another set of seals.
Han Feng stopped him.
"Don't."
Bai Zhen frowned.
"What?"
"Stop attacking."
Bai Zhen stared at him as though he had lost his mind.
"The thing is trying to kill us."
"No."
Han Feng looked toward the six chains.
"If it wanted us dead, we'd already be dead."
Bai Zhen's expression changed.
Han Feng continued.
"Look at the statues."
Bai Zhen glanced around.
Each statue had raised one hand.
Their positions were identical.
Six statues.
Six directions.
Six seals.
Han Feng's Celestial Diagram began pulsing inside his consciousness.
One point.
Then another.
Then another.
His eyes widened slightly.
"The temple isn't trying to destroy us."
Bai Zhen stared at him.
"Then what is it doing?"
Han Feng looked directly at the entity.
"It is judging us."
The entity's red eyes brightened.
For the first time, it spoke without anger.
"Correct."
The word echoed through the hall.
Bai Zhen's expression froze.
The black mist stopped moving.
Everything became silent.
The Test of the Dark Soul
The entity raised one hand.
The entire hall changed.
Han Feng's vision blurred.
The stone floor disappeared.
The statues disappeared.
Even Bai Zhen disappeared.
Han Feng found himself standing alone beneath a gray sky.
Rain fell around him.
He recognized the place.
His previous life.
Li Tianhao.
His old life.
His old body.
His old memories.
For a moment, Han Feng simply stood there.
Then he heard a voice behind him.
"You abandoned him."
Han Feng's expression remained calm.
"You left everything behind."
The voice continued.
"Your family."
"Your name."
"Your life."
"Your death."
Han Feng slowly turned.
There was no one there.
Only an empty street.
The voice whispered again.
"You became Han Feng."
"Was Li Tianhao truly dead?"
Han Feng's fingers tightened.
The question struck deeper than any physical attack.
For the first time since his reincarnation, something had forced him to confront the boundary between his former self and his current identity.
He closed his eyes.
"I don't know."
Silence.
Then—
"But I know this."
Han Feng opened his eyes.
"I am not going back."
The scene trembled.
The gray sky shattered like glass.
The illusion disappeared.
Han Feng returned to the temple.
Bai Zhen was standing several meters away, breathing heavily.
He had clearly undergone his own test.
Han Feng looked at him.
Bai Zhen said nothing.
His expression had changed.
The arrogance from earlier was gone.
The entity floated between them.
"The Dark Soul does not grant power."
Its voice was calm.
"It reveals what you carry beneath your own name."
Han Feng stared at it.
"So this was the judgment."
"Part of it."
The entity turned toward the black orb.
"The true judgment has not yet begun."
The Price of the Seal
Bai Zhen suddenly stepped forward.
"Then what do you want?"
The entity looked at him.
"Want?"
A faint laugh echoed through the hall.
"I want nothing."
The six chains began to glow.
"I am what remains after wanting was taken from me."
Bai Zhen's expression changed.
Han Feng remained silent.
The entity continued.
"The Dark Soul was never meant to be inherited."
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
"Then why was it sealed?"
The entity looked toward the black orb.
"Because someone tried to make destiny obey them."
The hall trembled.
A crack appeared beneath the altar.
"That failure became the reason this place was built."
Han Feng's mind raced.
Someone tried to control destiny...
That sounded far more dangerous than a simple ancient inheritance.
The entity raised one hand.
The black orb slowly descended.
But instead of entering Han Feng's hands, it stopped several feet before him.
A tiny fragment separated from its surface.
It was no larger than a grain of sand.
Black.
Yet inside it was a faint silver light.
The fragment flew toward Han Feng.
He instinctively raised his hand.
The moment it touched his palm—
The Celestial Diagram reacted.
A sharp pain traveled through his consciousness.
Han Feng almost dropped to one knee.
He immediately circulated his Qi.
The Dual Chaos Larva trembled inside his body.
But the fragment did not merge with it.
It did not increase his cultivation.
It did not strengthen his Gu.
Instead, a strange image appeared within his consciousness.
Six ancient points.
Six sealed locations.
And beneath them—
Something vast.
Something that seemed to exist outside the boundaries of the world.
Then the vision disappeared.
Han Feng's breathing became heavier.
The fragment had vanished.
But no new power filled his body.
Only a single sentence remained in his mind.
"When the six remember, the sealed one will awaken."
Han Feng's expression darkened.
Bai Zhen's Secret
Bai Zhen had noticed the change.
"What did you see?"
Han Feng looked at him.
"Nothing you need to know."
Bai Zhen smiled faintly.
"I expected that answer."
Han Feng's eyes sharpened.
"You knew the Dark Soul would react to me."
For a moment, Bai Zhen remained silent.
That silence was enough.
"You suspected it," Han Feng continued.
Bai Zhen sighed.
"I suspected that someone carrying the resonance would eventually arrive."
"And you followed that resonance?"
"Partly."
Han Feng's hand tightened around his blade.
"What does that mean?"
Bai Zhen looked toward the damaged seal.
"The Bai Clan didn't abandon this temple because they were afraid of the Dark Soul."
He paused.
"They abandoned it because the people who entered before them never came back."
Han Feng's gaze became colder.
"How many?"
Bai Zhen hesitated.
"Too many."
Before Han Feng could ask anything else, a distant sound echoed through the temple.
Boom.
The floor shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Bai Zhen looked toward the entrance.
"The outer seal."
Han Feng's expression changed.
"Someone is here."
Bai Zhen nodded.
"And they are not alone."
The Temple Awakens
The red eyes of the statues suddenly extinguished.
The black mist began retreating.
The entity returned toward the orb.
Its form became increasingly transparent.
Han Feng watched carefully.
"Are you dying?"
The entity looked at him.
"No."
Its voice was barely a whisper now.
"I am returning to sleep."
Han Feng frowned.
"Then what was the point of this trial?"
The entity's eyes remained fixed on him.
"To determine whether you would take what was not yours."
Han Feng glanced toward the black orb.
He understood.
The true test had never been defeating the entity.
It had been whether he would attempt to seize the Dark Soul.
He had not.
The entity had recognized that.
"Remember this, Han Feng."
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
It knew his name.
"Power taken from the wrong place always demands payment."
The entity slowly disappeared into the black orb.
The six chains tightened.
The orb returned to its position above the altar.
But one thing had changed.
The first seal was permanently damaged.
The temple was no longer in its original state.
Bai Zhen looked toward Han Feng.
"We should leave."
Han Feng nodded.
"For once, I agree."
They turned toward the corridor.
But before they could take three steps—
A powerful spiritual fluctuation swept through the temple.
Both stopped.
Someone had entered the ruins.
And judging by the pressure—
They were far stronger than the treasure hunters Han Feng had encountered outside.
Bai Zhen's expression became grim.
"It seems our little meeting is over."
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
"No."
He looked back at the black orb.
"Something tells me it has only just begun."
The black orb pulsed once.
Then again.
Deep beneath the temple, something answered.
Boom.
Han Feng's Celestial Diagram trembled.
Six points.
Six ancient locations.
And somewhere beyond them—
A seventh presence had opened its eyes.
Han Feng silently clenched his fist.
The Western Region was no longer merely hiding ancient ruins.
It was beginning to reveal the structure behind them.
And he had just become part of it.