The five Universe Masters within were all immensely powerful. The three from the God-Eye Clan were united in purpose. Lord Deer-Insect possessed an ultimate supreme treasure, and Lord Liu Jiu was the most difficult among plant life forms to kill. Luo Feng glanced at Duan Donghe. Duan Donghe stood there silently, eyes still closed. This made Luo Feng, who had been about to speak, abandon the idea of asking, knowing it would be useless.

“Another one dead.”

Duan Donghe suddenly spoke. “Three left.”

Luo Feng’s heart skipped a beat.

This Life-and-Death Corridor was far too dangerous. How formidable must the Universe Masters who dared venture into the depths of the inner domain be? Even a Universe Supreme Being wouldn't kill them so quickly. In just a moment, two had already perished.

“Lord Deer-Insect is the strongest, the three God-Eye Clan members are one mind, and Lord Liu Jiu is also a fifth-tier Universe Master, a plant life form. Compared to those three factions, I am the weakest. Now that two of them are already dead… what if I go in?” Luo Feng frowned slightly, worry beginning to creep into his heart.

Yan Bing Domain, at the hatch of the Tomb Ship.

Lord Li Hai, Lord Chi Ji, and Lord Yan Ju stood by the hatch entrance. Lords Li Hai and Chi Ji had sent their avatars to announce their presence, while Lord Yan Ju had naturally also arranged for his avatar to notify his own faction.

“No…”

Lord Yan Ju’s massive form trembled.

“Liu Jiu!!!” Lord Yan Ju suddenly roared, his frantic voice filled with agony.

Bang!

He fell heavily to his knees, his kneecaps slamming onto the thick floor of the Tomb Ship at the hatch. His hands gripped the edge of the floor, emitting roars and wild cries of unwillingness—some high-pitched, some mournful—purely hysterical shouts that made Lord Yan Ju’s divine body tremble and writhe.

This startled Lords Li Hai and Chi Ji beside him. They looked at the hysterical Lord Yan Ju and exchanged glances.

“It seems Lord Liu Jiu has perished.”

“Yes, most likely perished. They say where Lord Liu Jiu is, Lord Yan Ju follows. Lord Yan Ju has followed Lord Liu Jiu silently for endless ages, through nearly three reincarnation eras. Their bond must be incredibly deep. With Lord Liu Jiu’s demise, Lord Yan Ju has gone completely mad.” The other two felt a hint of schadenfreude. They hadn't received the inheritance, and even if they had, what good did it do? They perished anyway!

“Ahhhhhhh!!!!!” Lord Yan Ju let out a frantic roar. His eight arms flailed, pounding the ground with heavy fists, Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The heavy impacts caused the floor to faintly vibrate. However, the floor of the Tomb Ship was incredibly solid, impervious even to attacks from Universe Supreme Beings, let alone Lord Yan Ju’s fists.

From the sheer force of his mad punches, the surfaces of his eight fists began to crack.

“The inheritance!”

“Damn inheritance! This cursed inheritance killed you.”

“Revenge, revenge, revenge!!!” Lord Yan Ju shrieked in pain. “I will destroy this inheritance, I will destroy it! Kill the inheritor! Kill Duan Donghe! Duan Donghe, it’s all your fault, it’s you, you! I will make your inheritance cease, cease, to avenge Liu Jiu!”

Immediately after, Lord Yan Ju spun around violently and charged toward the control room of the Tomb Ship.

“He’s gone mad.”

“Rock life forms, their minds can’t process things! He’s gone berserk,” Lords Li Hai and Chi Ji watched this scene with cold sneers.

In just a moment, Lord Yan Ju’s massive silhouette walked back.

“I can’t pass. I can’t pass,” Lord Yan Ju shook his head, his eyes filled with sorrow and pain. “I promised I would always follow you… Your limit approached, yet you perished before me… Liu Jiu…”

Lord Yan Ju collapsed with a thud in a corner near the hatch entrance, sitting utterly still, leaning against the wall, not making another sound.

Lords Li Hai and Chi Ji, however, felt wary and quickly retreated further away, moving into the main plaza hall, daring not to approach the desolate Lord Yan Ju carelessly.

Outside the corridor gate.

Luo Feng stood silently, vaguely sensing energy fluctuations. Suddenly, the energy fluctuations ceased.

“Hmm?” Luo Feng’s heart tightened.

Duan Donghe, who had kept his eyes closed, opened them and nodded lightly. “Not bad, only two died!” He then turned to Luo Feng. “You, go in.”

As his voice faded, the large, thick, closed gate boomed as it rose again, revealing the deep corridor. There wasn't a single figure at the end of the passage, which made Luo Feng even more apprehensive… Two out of the five who acted together died. Would acting alone be a blessing or a curse?

“Either give up, or move forward,” Duan Donghe glanced at Luo Feng.

Luo Feng looked at Duan Donghe, then without hesitation, he flew straight in.

Boom!

The massive gate behind him slammed shut with a resounding crash, sealing him off.

“No chance to retreat now,” Luo Feng glanced at the gate behind him, then looked up at the deep corridor. “I want to see what is in this Life-and-Death Corridor that caused two of them to perish.”

Whoosh!

He transformed into a streak of light and moved forward rapidly.

The corridor was deep, sometimes narrow, sometimes wide. After flying only a moment, the front grew increasingly dim… In the dimly lit, hazy passage, Luo Feng could see clearly with his vision.

“Hmm?” Luo Feng frowned slightly and abruptly stopped, hovering in mid-air.

Not far ahead lay a tall figure. It had a body resembling a human, but its head and neck were covered in dense fur, much like a lion's. Its neck was thick, its eyes slightly closed, and its divine body was covered in a layer of black half-body armor. When Luo Feng appeared, the tall figure suddenly sat up, its eyes snapping open.

Its eyes glowed with a faint red light as it stared at Luo Feng.

“What you must do is survive under Kui Luo’s hand,” a cold voice echoed in his ear. Luo Feng immediately recognized it as Duan Donghe’s voice. “Do not hide inside treasures like palaces; that only counts as elimination. You must fight. Other weapons are permitted, but hiding in palace-type treasures is not. Two of the previous five perished at the hands of Shuluo. I hope you can survive.”

Boom!

The seated tall figure suddenly stood up. It possessed a body hundreds of kilometers high, its cold, bleak eyes emitting an endless, murderous aura. The passage here was about six thousand kilometers wide, more than enough space for a battle.

“Must fight?” Luo Feng slowly descended, looking across at the strange entity named ‘Kui Luo’. “Duan Donghe calls it Kui Luo? If it has survived for so many epochs, it probably isn't truly alive.”

“Roar~~~ Die!”

The monster Kui Luo roared and charged forward, swish! transforming into a straight beam of light that instantly arrived before Luo Feng.

Luo Feng reacted almost simultaneously. Since this monster Kui Luo left by Duan Donghe could kill two Universe Masters, Luo Feng dared not be careless. He went all out immediately, entering the Beast God’s Heart state, letting out a cry as he charged forward, simultaneously transforming his strongest right hand into five massive golden blades, swinging them furiously.

It was like five battle blades slashing out at once!

Mad Demon God-Slaying Armor, Third Level—God-Slaying!

Thud~~~ Monster Kui Luo’s head was struck viciously. Its entire form spun like a sandbag, flung backward, before crashing heavily onto the ground, shaking the corridor floor.

A stunned Luo Feng failed to immediately follow up the attack.

“What!”

“This…” Luo Feng froze. “This is the level of strength that could kill two Universe Masters?” What a joke. Those five were all extraordinary; to kill two of them would require at least the combat power of a Universe Supreme Being! Since he was only fourth-tier, Luo Feng had planned to use his ultimate move right from the start! And use the force of the collision to immediately retreat! He intended to gauge the opponent’s capability with the first strike to formulate a more detailed plan. But the reality was, facing his single strike…

Monster Kui Luo was utterly crushed.

Completely defenseless!

This caused Luo Feng, who was about to borrow force to retreat, to freeze mid-air.

“What gives? Why is it so weak? Judging by the strength it displayed taking my claw, any Universe Master could crush it.” Luo Feng wondered internally, then hesitated no longer, flashing toward Kui Luo. The monster Kui Luo was already roaring as it stood up, shouting again, “Die, die, die!!!”

Bang!

A grab, fast as lightning, terrifyingly quick. Monster Kui Luo couldn't block it at all and was slapped face-down onto the ground with a loud boom as Luo Feng struck its neck.

“What the heck?” Luo Feng followed up with two kicks, imbued with the strongest secret technique, Rending Gold, transforming into two dazzling golden boot lights. He repeatedly kicked the back of Monster Kui Luo’s head, making its face kiss the ground twice more with resounding thuds.

“Roar~~~” Monster Kui Luo used its thick hands to grab the ground and immediately flipped back up.

Luo Feng hung in the air, watching from a distance, frowning. “Its body is quite strong; my attacks left no visible wounds on it. However, its actual strength is too low.” Although he didn't understand why, since the opponent was weak, he decided to utterly crush it. Luo Feng turned into a streak of light and instantly appeared next to Monster Kui Luo.

Monster Kui Luo roared and swung its fists, but Luo Feng easily grabbed one and violently flung it onto the ground.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Successive crushings left Monster Kui Luo alternately lying prone on the ground, being kicked against the corridor wall, and having its head fur grabbed by Luo Feng and smashed against the ceiling. For a time, Luo Feng was lightning-fast, crushing Monster Kui Luo again and again.

Even while crushing it, Luo Feng remained highly vigilant, ready to respond to any sudden burst of power from the opponent.

“Its strength is rising.”

“It’s clearly rising.”

During the process of crushing, Luo Feng gradually sensed that something was wrong.

The strength displayed by Monster Kui Luo began to increase continuously from the level of a high-tier Universe Venerable: second-tier Universe Master, third-tier Universe Master, fourth-tier Universe Master… Its strength escalated with time. Luo Feng, who had initially enjoyed a quick and easy crush, found the fighting growing increasingly difficult.

Especially now, by the time Monster Kui Luo reached nearly the level of a fifth-tier Universe Master, Luo Feng and it were locked in an evenly matched battle.

But Monster Kui Luo’s strength continued to surge…

Bang! Luo Feng tumbled and slammed against the corridor wall, then instantly vanished with a swish.

Boom!

Monster Kui Luo’s terrifying kick smashed into the wall right where Luo Feng had been.

“It’s already fifth-tier,” Luo Feng muttered in utter distress. “If it keeps rising, won’t it become sixth-tier, or even a Universe Supreme Being?”