Chen Feng sat on the ground, detaching a sliver of his spiritual sense to meticulously examine the bow’s body.

“This Longbow,” he murmured, “it’s quite strange. What exactly is that warm airflow?”

The Longbow had been in his possession for four years, yet he had never seriously observed or utilized it. After all, his focus was on mastering KOF skills; archery techniques were a secondary concern.

Since he rarely used it, he naturally hadn't paid much attention!

The body of the Longbow was carved with ancient, intricate patterns. The ancient rust that once covered it had somehow vanished, and now it shimmered with a faint radiance, possessing an extraordinary appearance. However, after a thorough inspection, he couldn't discern anything particularly unusual.

After a moment of hesitation, he guided his spiritual sense around the bow once more. Apart from the oddity of the patterns, he perceived nothing strange through his spiritual sight.

“These are just patterns, there’s nothing unusual about them? Wait a moment…” Chen Feng’s eyes snapped open. “It’s true the patterns themselves aren’t abnormal, but if you connect the texture of these patterns… doesn’t it look remarkably like a formation diagram?”

Although Chen Feng knew nothing of magic or formation diagrams, that didn't mean he couldn't recognize one. When he first obtained the bow, he had noticed these diagrams, assuming they were simply specialized formations designed to convert Dou Qi into arrows. Now, it seemed clearly more complex than that.

“If this is a divine artifact… it should accept a blood oath, right?”

His water canteen had accepted a blood oath to recognize him; this one should be worth a try too! The Longbow had been with him for a long time, and he had never once dripped blood onto it.

He cut his hand and let a drop of blood fall.

Hummm…

The Longbow let out a series of vibrating ‘hums.’ It shook violently in Chen Feng’s hand, as if resisting, but this struggle lasted less than two seconds before immediately subsiding.

“Could this bow possess its own consciousness? Otherwise, why the resistance?” Chen Feng was startled.

Legend held that some ancient divine weapons could form their own will, automatically protecting their master or striking down enemies. Could this Longbow be an ancient divine weapon?

He directed his spiritual sense toward the surface of the bow again.

This time, he indeed perceived something unusual. As his spirit roamed the surface, the ancient patterns emitted a faint light, suddenly revealing what looked like an immensely vast gateway.

This gate appeared broad and majestic. He pushed against it with his spiritual power, but it remained utterly unresponsive.

“If I can enter this gate, I should be able to understand the Longbow’s secret!” Chen Feng thought to himself. He concentrated his spiritual power, and his newly stabilized soul force surged violently toward the gate.

Boom…

With a fierce sound, Chen Feng felt a deafening roar inside his mind. His soul force had pushed the gate open and rushed inside.

Inside the gate was a hazy, grayish space, entirely different from the interior of a spatial ring. An invisible pressure washed over him, feeling strangely cold.

Creak!

Just as Chen Feng was feeling bewildered, the gate behind him shut on its own.

“Not good!” Chen Feng cried out urgently, rushing to the door to pull it open. But even summoning all his strength, he couldn't budge it. This gate was like hell: easy to enter, difficult to leave!

The thought that his soul had separated from his body was something Chen Feng had never considered. The Longbow had actually imprisoned his soul within its structure—he was aghast.

He could no longer sense his external body; he felt like an empty wisp of air, without any weight. After pulling fruitlessly several more times, Chen Feng gave up.

Turning around, he looked deeper inside, seeing only a swirling, misty expanse enveloped in fog, with gusts of cold wind blowing in that made him shiver uncontrollably.

“Souls can feel cold too? How bizarre!” he muttered, proceeding inward.

Since the door was sealed, there was no immediate rush to leave. He would first investigate what lay within this place.

After taking a few steps, he felt the chilling winds roar, even stronger than before, permeating the area with an eerie, terrifying atmosphere. All around him, grotesque corpses were scrambling and flailing—some headless, some missing limbs, some with half their skulls gone…

Chen Feng possessed strong composure and wasn't inherently fearful, but suddenly encountering such sights was deeply unsettling.

However, these corpses did not actively attack; they merely wandered and fled, causing him no harm.

He continued walking for a while and noticed two distinct patterns emerging:

The deeper he went, the heavier the Yin energy became, and the greater the pressure he felt.

The deeper he progressed, the more powerful the corpses he encountered, many possessing offensive capabilities. On second thought, perhaps they weren't exactly corpses, but rather soul forms, just like him! Some were fragmented soul forms. In essence, the deeper he went, the stronger the wandering souls, and the greater their offensive power.

“Ah…” Just as Chen Feng was lost in thought, a roar echoed from a distance. Following the sound, he moved slowly forward and was instantly startled by what he saw!

A tall, thin soul, clean-shaven and beardless, was howling ceaselessly on the spot, seemingly enduring immense agony.

And the appearance of this person was… it was the Fourth Deputy Lord of the Violet Abode Demon Territory!

Back when Ling Feng was imprisoned, the Fourth Deputy Lord used to visit daily to curry favor with her. Chen Feng had resorted to various schemes, including sneak attacks, to rescue her, and in the end, he had killed him by smashing his head in with the Longbow.

Could it be… the Longbow had absorbed his soul here at that time?

At that time, Chen Feng was only a Second-Tier Dou Zun. Even with a surprise attack or trickery, it should have been impossible to kill a peak Saint Domain expert. Yet, the man had died from a single strike with the bow—this had always puzzled him. Now, it appeared that the blow had somehow triggered some special power, causing the Longbow to draw his soul into this place, trapping him, which led to his inexplicable death!

Nearly two years had passed since that incident. What did his howling signify now?

Chen Feng was immensely confused. Just then, the Fourth Deputy Lord collapsed onto the ground, writhing and screaming, the intensity of his cries growing stronger.

After about an incense stick's worth of time, he stopped roaring, his state stabilizing. However, his soul force was incredibly faint now, looking as if it might dissipate at any moment.

The Fourth Deputy Lord slowly stood up, wisps of white vapor escaping his mouth, and started walking deeper inside. After only two steps, he suddenly looked toward Chen Feng.

“It’s you? Hahahaha…” He let out a strange laugh and strode toward Chen Feng.

Having been killed by Chen Feng, the man’s memory of him was deeply etched. Seeing his old adversary again ignited intense animosity, and without hesitation, he lunged forward.

Although Chen Feng had also reached the Saint Domain, his current soul force was only one-fifth of its former strength, leaving him quite frail. Seeing the Deputy Lord charge, he immediately turned to flee.

Souls could still execute KOF techniques. If his soul were killed here, he would truly die!

“What’s going on?” A thunderous crack echoed from above. Hearing this sound, the Fourth Deputy Lord instantly ceased his attack, dropping to his knees and trembling uncontrollably.

A figure slowly drifted out from the darkness within. Seeing this silhouette, Chen Feng internally despaired—it was the Second Divine Emissary, whom he had killed just a month ago!

“Master, I cannot bear that pain anymore. I… I willingly submit to you!” the Fourth Deputy Lord quickly called out.

“Hmph, that’s more like it,” the Second Divine Emissary replied. He then spotted Chen Feng not far ahead, paused, and suddenly burst into loud laughter. “You actually ended up in this damned place too. Good, today I shall refine your soul into Blood Wine…”

With a wave of his hand, the surrounding mist coalesced into a massive sword shape, which cleaved down toward Chen Feng’s head. Chen Feng tried to evade, but felt all his strength vanish, as if his body were bound and utterly immobilized.

“Hahahaha, it’s useless. This is the Soul Detention Domain! As long as I am stronger than you, I can command the surrounding soul power to destroy you!” the Second Divine Emissary roared. The mist-formed longsword showed no sign of stopping, nearing Chen Feng’s head!

……………………………………………………………………

Yu Jiao slowly awoke.

Pain coupled with shame had caused her to lose consciousness, so the duration of her swoon hadn't been long. She opened her eyes and realized she was lying flat inside a cave.

She struggled to sit up. Perhaps due to the pill Chen Feng had given her earlier, although her arm ached, the fractured bones had already begun to knit, and she could move her limb slightly.

“Ah…” She looked down at herself and shrieked. Her clothes were torn beyond recognition, exposing a large swath of smooth skin on her back.

“Could it be…” A terrible thought flooded her mind, shaking her violently with rage.

She shakily raised a hand to touch her lower body…

Thankfully, nothing untoward had happened…

A wave of relief washed over her. She turned her head and saw the scoundrel who had held her captive sitting not far away, eyes tightly shut, holding a peculiar, large bow.

“He tore my clothes to shreds, why didn’t he… do that?” Yu Jiao suddenly wondered. “Have I lost my physical strength…”

The thought immediately struck her as inappropriate. Did she actually wish for him to ‘do that’ to her?

“Ugh, where is this place?” Yu Jiao cast aside the jumble of thoughts in her mind and shouted to Chen Feng, who sat nearby.

But Chen Feng remained motionless, like a meditating monk, offering no reply.

“Hey! I’m talking to you!” Yu Jiao shouted again.

After shouting a few more times, she noticed something abnormal about Chen Feng. “Can cultivation require such intense focus? Could it be…” A jolt struck her heart. She struggled to her feet and slowly approached Chen Feng.

She waved her hand in front of his eyes; he showed no reaction. She shouted again, still no movement. Panic set in, and her right hand trembled as she reached toward Chen Feng’s nose.

“Ah…” Yu Jiao screamed, stumbling backward onto the ground with a plop, her face turning ghostly pale. “Is he… dead?”

ps: Cough, cough, if you don't have monthly passes, surely you have recommendation tickets! If recommendation tickets reach 2000 before 12 o'clock, I’ll add another chapter today! Hehe, give me a reason to add an extra chapter! Amen… (Laughing shamelessly) (To be continued. For the next part of the story, please visit m for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)