Chapter 66: Dark Ascension
Han Feng sat cross-legged in the center of the underground chamber.
The ancient formation beneath him pulsed faintly.
Every few breaths, a wave of spiritual energy spread through the chamber before being drawn toward his body.
The concentration of spiritual energy here was astonishing.
But Han Feng wasn't interested in the quantity.
He was interested in its quality.
He had spent hours studying the formation after discovering that the underground chamber was connected to the ancient route revealed by the map.
It wasn't simply a cultivation cave.
The formations embedded within the stone walls had been designed to gather, refine, and stabilize spiritual energy.
For an ancient cultivator, this place might have been an invaluable cultivation ground.
For Han Feng, it had become something else.
A final opportunity.
He had reached the limit of his current foundation.
His Qi Cultivation had reached the peak of Rank 3.
The barrier to Rank 4 stood directly before him.
For the past several days, Han Feng had deliberately avoided breaking through.
He had circulated his Qi repeatedly.
Strengthened his meridians.
Refined his foundation.
Studied the changes within his body.
He had even allowed his cultivation to settle completely after the dangerous events in the Western Region.
Now there was nothing left to prepare.
If he continued waiting, he would only be wasting time.
Han Feng slowly opened his eyes.
A faint purple light flashed within them.
"Today."
His voice was quiet.
"But not recklessly."
He closed his eyes again.
The Celestial Diagram appeared within his consciousness.
The six ancient symbols rotated slowly around the center.
The seventh point remained faint.
It was no longer completely dormant.
It pulsed occasionally, responding to the ancient formations beneath the chamber.
Han Feng didn't try to force a connection.
He had learned enough about the ancient system to know that some things became dangerous when disturbed prematurely.
Instead, he focused on himself.
His Qi began circulating.
One cycle.
Two.
Three.
With every rotation, the spiritual energy surrounding him entered his body.
But unlike ordinary cultivation, Han Feng didn't immediately absorb it.
He filtered it first.
The Celestial Diagram guided the flow.
His meridians refined it.
Then the Celestial Transmutation Gu stabilized the subtle interaction between his Qi and Gu energy.
The process was slow.
Painfully slow.
But Han Feng remained patient.
He had already learned the difference between gathering power and controlling it.
Raw strength was meaningless if his body couldn't contain it.
The Dual Chaos Larva stirred inside his spiritual sea.
Its two opposing energies rotated around one another.
Chaos.
Order.
Conflict.
Harmony.
They had once threatened to destabilize his cultivation.
Now they had become one of the pillars supporting it.
Han Feng guided a small amount of refined Qi toward the Gu.
The Dual Chaos Larva responded.
Its aura became smoother.
The conflicting energies intertwined.
The Celestial Transmutation Gu immediately began stabilizing the interaction.
Han Feng's breathing remained steady.
Everything was ready.
Then—
Boom!
The first tremor shook his body.
Han Feng's eyes snapped open.
The spiritual energy inside the chamber suddenly surged toward him.
The ancient formation beneath his body activated.
Lines of pale light appeared across the stone floor.
Han Feng immediately understood what was happening.
The formation wasn't simply providing spiritual energy.
It was helping him break through.
"So that's why this place was built."
He didn't hesitate.
He opened the floodgates within his meridians.
Boom!
A massive amount of spiritual energy entered his body.
Pain exploded through him.
His muscles tightened.
His bones vibrated.
His meridians expanded under the pressure.
It felt as though countless invisible blades were tearing through his body.
Han Feng clenched his teeth.
He refused to make a sound.
The barrier between Rank 3 and Rank 4 was far stronger than he had expected.
This wasn't simply another increase in strength.
It was a transformation of his foundation.
The energy within his dantian began rotating faster.
Faster.
Faster.
Until it became a storm.
Han Feng's spiritual sense trembled.
His body seemed to be approaching its limit.
A single thought appeared in his mind.
Stop.
It was the instinct of his body.
The warning that he had reached the point where one more step could cause permanent damage.
Han Feng ignored it.
Not because he was reckless.
Because he had prepared for this.
He remembered the battles he had survived.
The Black Urn.
The Nine Tombs.
The Forgotten Temple.
The Dark Soul.
The Celestial Corpse Sect.
Elder Li.
Every encounter had forced him to understand one thing.
His enemies were becoming stronger faster than he was.
If he remained satisfied with Rank 3 forever, eventually concealment wouldn't save him.
He needed another level.
Han Feng's eyes opened.
Purple light erupted from them.
"Break."
Boom!
The barrier shattered.
For a moment, the entire chamber went silent.
Then—
A terrifying wave of energy erupted from Han Feng's body.
The ancient formation trembled.
The stone walls cracked.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Han Feng's hair rose into the air as spiritual energy surged around him.
His dantian expanded.
His meridians became wider.
His Qi transformed.
A deeper, heavier power flowed through his body.
The energy was no longer merely stronger.
It was denser.
More stable.
More refined.
Han Feng slowly clenched his fist.
Crack.
The sound of his bones echoed through the chamber.
He could feel it.
The difference.
It was enormous.
His senses had become sharper.
His body was stronger.
His Qi circulated with greater speed.
Even his spiritual sense had expanded.
But Han Feng didn't stop.
The breakthrough wasn't complete yet.
The most dangerous moment had arrived.
His foundation needed to stabilize.
If the newly formed power remained chaotic, his Rank 4 cultivation would be unstable.
He immediately sat down again.
The Celestial Diagram rotated.
The Dual Chaos Larva responded.
The Celestial Transmutation Gu released a faint golden-black glow.
Three forces began working together.
Han Feng's Qi circulated through his meridians.
The Dual Chaos Larva balanced the conflicting energies.
The Celestial Transmutation Gu stabilized the interaction between Qi and Gu energy.
Slowly...
The storm inside Han Feng began to settle.
One hour passed.
Then two.
The ancient formation gradually dimmed.
The cracks in the stone stopped spreading.
Han Feng's breathing became calm.
Finally—
Everything became silent.
Han Feng opened his eyes.
A deep purple light flashed across his pupils.
He had succeeded.
Qi Cultivation Rank 4.
He remained seated for several moments.
Not celebrating.
Not smiling.
Simply feeling the changes within his body.
His strength had increased substantially.
But the most important change wasn't his physical power.
It was his foundation.
The pressure that had once existed between his meridians and dantian had disappeared.
His Qi flowed naturally.
Smoothly.
Almost effortlessly.
Han Feng raised his hand.
A thin strand of purple Qi gathered around his fingertips.
He stared at it.
Then slowly dispersed it.
"Rank 4..."
His voice carried no excitement.
Only calm certainty.
He had finally stepped beyond the stage where he had spent so much time struggling.
But Han Feng knew better than to become arrogant.
The Western Region was enormous.
There were cultivators far above Rank 4.
Elder Li was one of them.
The ancient beings connected to the six-point system were even more terrifying.
And somewhere in the darkness, something called the one who should not return was still waiting.
Rank 4 wasn't the summit.
It wasn't even close.
It was simply another step.
Han Feng stood.
The moment he did, the chamber suddenly trembled.
He froze.
His eyes narrowed.
That wasn't caused by his breakthrough.
Another vibration came from beneath the floor.
Boom.
The ancient formation responded.
Han Feng looked down.
The faint seventh point on the map inside his storage space suddenly began glowing.
His expression changed.
The ancient formation wasn't reacting to his breakthrough.
It was reacting to something else.
Something deeper.
Han Feng quickly retrieved the map.
The six points that had once appeared faintly across its surface had changed.
Lines were forming between them.
One after another.
Until all six points became connected.
Then—
A seventh line appeared.
Han Feng's pupils contracted.
The seventh point wasn't outside the six.
It was beneath them.
His breathing became slower.
"The seventh point..."
The map trembled in his hand.
A faint pulse traveled through the chamber.
Han Feng immediately sensed the response from his Celestial Diagram.
The six symbols rotated faster.
The seventh point flashed once.
Then disappeared.
Han Feng stared at the map.
A strange feeling appeared in his heart.
His breakthrough had awakened something.
Not inside his body.
Somewhere beneath the ancient network.
He looked toward the passage leading out of the chamber.
For several seconds, he remained silent.
Then he smiled faintly.
"So even Rank 4 comes with trouble."
He placed the map back into his storage space.
The Western Region had already shown him countless dangers.
But this was different.
Until now, Han Feng had been following the ancient path.
Now...
The path had begun responding to him.
He walked toward the exit.
His footsteps echoed through the underground chamber.
Before leaving, Han Feng stopped.
He looked back one final time.
The ancient formation was almost completely silent.
Almost.
Deep beneath the stone floor, something pulsed once.
Very faintly.
Like a heartbeat.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
Then he turned away.
He didn't know what was waiting at the seventh point.
He didn't know why the ancient cultivators had created this network.
And he certainly didn't know what had begun moving beneath the Western Region.
But one thing was certain.
He was no longer the same cultivator who had entered this chamber.
He had crossed another boundary.
Qi Cultivation Rank 4.
And with every step forward, the shadows around him were becoming deeper.
Far away, beneath an ancient mountain, a sealed formation trembled.
A corpse-like figure sitting within darkness slowly opened its eyes.
It had been silent for countless years.
Now, for the first time...
It sensed the return of a familiar resonance.
A low, hoarse voice echoed through the darkness.
"Another point..."
Silence followed.
Then the figure smiled.
"...has awakened."