Days and nights passed, and the frantic sword energy gradually calmed down, with at most two or three streaks of sword energy breaking through Feng Zikang’s body and piercing the void every hour.

Feng Zikang sat cross-legged, eyes tightly shut, his face ashen and utterly still.

For a full twelve hours, he had been pierced by ten thousand streaks of sword energy. Though he had used medicine and divine abilities to mend the damage, the sheer expenditure had been immense.

Huo Zhongguang and Long Que watched from the sidelines, their hearts gripped by anxiety, but it was clear that Feng Zikang had finally weathered the worst and was slowly regaining strength.

As the sword energy erupting from his body lessened, Feng Zikang’s expression grew calmer; the tumultuous sword energy within him, under his guidance, was gradually being tamed.

Even amidst the pain coursing through him, he felt a sense of profound refreshment as the sharp sword qi scoured impurities from his core.

The Starlight Great Annihilation Sword Art, comprising one hundred and three thousand five hundred forms.

Each form corresponded to a star in the heavens, wielding an untamed, devastating intent to obliterate, capable of obscuring starlight, overturning the very cosmos; the profound intricacies of the sword technique were complex and difficult to fathom.

Feng Zikang’s spirit was entirely immersed in comprehending the sword intent, oblivious to everything else.

This sword soul was the culmination of a supreme expert who had distilled the one hundred and three thousand five hundred forms of the Starlight Great Annihilation Sword Art into a single strike—a strike that, upon release, brought about universal annihilation; it could truly be called an ultimate, demonic sword.

This extreme, distilled killing intent was naturally beyond Feng Zikang’s current grasp of comprehension, yet he understood the essence of the one hundred and three thousand five hundred variations it contained.

Although his current cultivation level prevented him from executing even a few of these forms, his understanding of the sword intent had ascended to a new level.

The core principle of the Starlight Great Annihilation Sword Art truly lay in the concept of annihilation. To label it a demonic path cultivation technique was no exaggeration, but this ‘demonic path’ was not merely about wanton killing; it embraced the principle of universal genesis and extinction, merging it with the world’s Great Dao to reach the absolute extreme. One could only wonder who possessed such astounding genius to create this sword art in the first place!

And the one who could coalesce the one hundred and three thousand five hundred forms into a single strike—bang—that individual was an even more astonishing prodigy.

This sword divine ability, which resonated with the stars, possessing disparate forms and intents, striving to melt them into one furnace was arguably the most difficult endeavor imaginable. Feng Zikang felt both respect and awe for that White-Robed figure Huo Zhongguang had once witnessed.

A gradual clarity dawned within him; the small white light points—the soul—had been fully assimilated. He knew further progress would be difficult in the short term. Slowly, he drew his consciousness back and opened his eyes.

“Ouch!”

Huo Zhongguang saw a flash of sword light erupt from Feng Zikang’s eyes as they opened, reminiscent of the chilling gaze of that White-Robed man he had seen before, which terrified him so much he nearly soiled himself and instinctively turned to flee.

Feng Zikang chuckled softly, stopping him.

“Senior Brother, where are you going?”

Huo Zhongguang slapped his forehead, remembering he was allied with him. When he looked back, he saw that the piercing sword light in Feng Zikang’s eyes had already retracted, making him look exactly as before, devoid of that fierce aura.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurried over, clapping wildly in flattery, “Congratulations, Junior Brother! Congratulations, Junior Brother! This peerless sword art is mastered; from now on, you will have no equal!”

“Mastered is easier said than done…” Feng Zikang replied with a wry smile, shaking his head.

Currently, at his limit, he could manage perhaps seven forms of the Starlight Great Annihilation Sword Art at most, and even that was only achievable now due to his recent continuous breakthroughs. The subsequent forms, he suspected, would require reaching the Foundation Establishment stage before he could attempt even a few.

To fully unleash the divine ability of the Starlight Great Annihilation Sword Art, he would need to reach at least the Nascent Soul stage.

As for that single strike uniting the one hundred and three thousand five hundred forms… Feng Zikang managed a wry smile, unsure when he might ever achieve that.

He felt refreshed and spiritually clear. Although his cultivation realm hadn't advanced, his combat power was significantly higher than before absorbing the sword soul. Even so, he still lacked full confidence against the Iron Mask Man, Liu Yuansu.

“The main objective of this secret domain exploration has been achieved. This Xun Palace should still be a repository of texts. If I can find some demonic codices, the trip won't have been in vain… As for the rest, I must proceed as circumstances dictate,” Feng Zikang mused internally, raising his head. The entire West Wing had already been utterly ruined by that phantom strike, and his own earlier rampage of uncontrolled sword energy had made a total mess of it—there would be nothing left to search here.

He stepped out into the East Wing, which was, indeed, another collection area, with bookshelves packed tight with volumes.

Huo Zhongguang was delighted and rushed forward, snatching up a book to examine it, forgetting that he was currently in the form of a Blood Shadow. Although he could move objects, his strength was pitifully weak, and the book immediately slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor.

Feng Zikang smiled faintly, casually picking up a few volumes and quickly flipping through them, whereupon he rejoiced!

The collection here was not focused on divine techniques or cultivation manuals, but genuine ancient demonic path codices.

“...Attaining freedom, without ultimate extinction—this is why this devil is a devil indeed…”

Although many of the ancient characters were not entirely recognizable to Feng Zikang, he could still grasp the unique essence of their profound teachings. Seeing Huo Zhongguang frowning, sighing heavily, and tossing one book after another in frustration, he couldn't help but find it amusing.

The distribution of the library was quite clear: the East Wing housed the demonic path codices, while the West Wing held the divine techniques and cultivation methods. (It was a pity that the cultivation manuals Huo Zhongguang was interested in had been entirely destroyed by that single sword strike. Fortunately, these demonic codices were all preserved.) Feng Zikang did not prioritize divine techniques; cultivating the Formless Heavenly Demon Heart Sutra, as long as he advanced vigorously, he would naturally comprehend powerful demonic divine abilities. These codices were therefore critically important to him.

They would serve as references for his future demonic cultivation path.

Feng Zikang, satisfied, began surveying the layout of the Nine Palaces. The main chamber was where the mechanism hub was located; opening it to enter the Central Palace required deciphering the mechanisms in all the other courtyards.

Feng Zikang stepped leisurely inside, only to find that the so-called mechanism was an ornate screen wall, within which the Nine Palace patterns flickered. The lights for the Qian, Kan, Gen, and Li palaces had extinguished, indicating those mechanisms had already been broken.

The Qian, Kan, and Gen palaces were the first three courtyards, broken by the Iron Mask Man over the past sixty years. The Li palace was the one the Iron Mask Man had entered with Jasmine this time; unexpectedly, its mechanism had been broken so quickly—the Iron Mask Man's skill was indeed not simple...

However, the lights for the remaining palaces were still flashing, leaving him uncertain of the progress of the other parties.

There was a notch on the screen wall. Feng Zikang tentatively probed it with a finger, only to find his inner zhenqi rapidly draining away into the wall. In that mere instant, the light of the Xun Palace pattern flickered.

“So that’s how it is!”

Feng Zikang quickly withdrew his hand, coldly sneering, “This Iron Mask Man truly has ulterior motives…”

The mechanisms for these palaces were not difficult in theory: one only needed to input a sufficient amount of internal energy to fill the notch in the screen wall, thereby activating the mechanism for that palace and opening the path to the next.

The problem was…

When the Nine Palace formation was arranged in a serpentine, linear pattern, inputting internal energy only required a small amount each time, connecting just one section of the array. Now, however, it had shifted to a true Nine Palace formation, meaning the required input of zhenqi was significantly higher.

Connecting all eight array points simultaneously required eight times the internal energy previously needed for a single connection!

A cultivator like Hu Sha, who was in the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, would likely expend the vast majority of his internal energy just to activate the mechanism on this screen wall!

Moreover, since these individuals were separated, even if they discovered a problem while breaking a mechanism, they dared not slow down; they had to race against others. The sooner one finished, the more time they would have to regulate their breathing and recover, thus gaining an earlier advantage.

And the Iron Mask Man himself possessed the Hub Pearl, which made opening these mechanisms much easier. He was currently resting while others expended their effort; by the time these Foundation Establishment cultivators managed to enter the Central Palace, they would merely be doing the work for him.

“The sheer venom of this old man’s scheme…”

Huo Zhongguang cursed after Feng Zikang explained it. These old devils were essentially conspiring with a tiger; they were clearly shooting themselves in the foot. In terms of cultivation or cunning, they were far inferior to the Iron Mask Man, yet their greed was intense. They were likely all destined to perish here, gaining nothing.

Feng Zikang shook his head, “He set this trap long ago. Yet these fools, even if they suspect deceit, still rely on a sliver of luck, exhausting their whole power to help him open this mechanism…”

“If I were them, after sweeping through one palace, no matter the spoils, I would leave immediately,” Feng Zikang sighed at the insatiable greed of others, yet he himself moved toward the screen wall.

“Hey… Junior Brother, didn't you just say you achieved what you needed?” Huo Zhongguang had agreed with his brother’s logic moments ago and decided to pack up and leave with him, but now he saw Feng Zikang pressing forward.

Feng Zikang smiled faintly and shook his head, “From the outside, the situation is clear, but once inside the game, how can one easily stop? Everyone believes they are special, the protagonist of the world. Since I am already here, why wouldn't I risk it all?”

He pulled the Hub Pearl from his robe, his eyes glowing.

“...And I am no exception!”

The Heavenly Demon controls the seven emotions and six desires, but that does not mean he is without them.

Greed is a flaw inherent in everyone.

The Heavenly Demon is no exception.

However, he truly is different.

The Hub Pearl flew out and embedded itself firmly into the screen wall. With a deep rumble, the Xun Palace pattern among the Nine Palaces gradually dimmed.

“Hmm?” The Iron Mask Man looked at the screen wall and let out a soft sound of surprise.

“Venerable Kongchan actually passed through the Xun Palace… Could I have been mistaken?”

Jasmine shook her head, “Uncle Iron Mask, you couldn't have been wrong. My Master also told me long ago that Venerable Kongchan’s practice of the Demonized Sarira technique over these decades has brought him close to qi deviation. While his attacks are formidable, his own vital essence is limited, and his cultivation has declined rather than advanced. If we truly fought, he might not even surpass me.”

The Iron Mask Man pondered for a long moment. “He is the first to break the mechanism, which is somewhat unexpected. Looking at it this way, perhaps he took a desperate gamble, forcefully injecting his zhenqi just to complete it first so he could recover sooner… But doing so must have severely injured him, and a mere few days would hardly be enough to fully heal…”

Jasmine looked at the five darkened palace patterns on the screen wall. “Uncle Iron Mask, is it possible that Venerable Kongchan also possesses a pearl like yours?”

She pointed to the Hub Pearl embedded in the screen wall, which emitted a faint luminescence against the dark structure.

“Impossible…”

The Iron Mask Man shook his head. “If he had this item, he would naturally know more secrets and wouldn't have fallen to this state… It simply means that things are not always as we predict; there are always variables in the world.”

He sighed deeply, his eyes flashing with sharp light. “Man proposes, but Heaven disposes!”