Six figures were scattered, observing one Xi Huang Ju after another.
“Movement?” Luo Feng frowned slightly, glancing outwards.
He could faintly sense waves coming from the other end of the corridor, likely from the area where he had fought the monster Kui Luo earlier. The residual energy from that battle caused the nearby Lord of Shadow Dust, Lord of Witch Charm, Lord of Deer Insect, and the two Universe Masters from the Tian Zhong Clan to notice, and all of them looked grim.
“Could more powerhouses have arrived?” Luo Feng muttered inwardly. “That Duan Dong River has kept the gate open, and he even let go of powerful entities like the Skeleton Race, who were initially overwhelming. Clearly, he’s spreading the word to draw more experts here.”
The more candidates there were, the higher the probability of producing one strong enough to accept the inheritance. Luo Feng naturally understood why Duan Dong River was doing this, but he still felt the pressure.
“This Xi Huang Ju is truly profound. Although less than a year has passed here, I have been comprehending within Giant Axe’s universe for several millennia,” Luo Feng sighed internally. “After thousands of years of contemplation, I am still only in the stage of pondering, and currently, I can only instantly set up the 119th stage within this crystal pillar.”
The Xi Huang Ju, ranging from the 1st to the 10081st stage, demanded increasingly exaggerated levels of comprehension. Although he had summarized the patterns earlier, even though the solutions for stages 1 to 123 were provided, truly grasping them and setting up the configuration instantly remained incredibly difficult. Luo Feng only felt a genuine breakthrough in comprehension after mastering the first hundred stages—an advancement in insight that allowed his consciousness to engage with more multi-dimensional structures when contemplating the setups.
Moments later, “Boom!”
A powerful wave of energy arrived.
A vast throng of figures was rapidly approaching, causing the six of them, including Luo Feng, to turn their heads involuntarily, their expressions shifting in alarm.
“So many,” one gasped.
“This, so many,” another murmured.
“How can there be so many?”
Luo Feng and the others were stunned. At a glance, there were hundreds of densely packed figures. Moreover, most of these hundreds shared similar facial features and characteristics, often with green vines or foliage circling their divine bodies, clearly belonging to one faction, with only a very few distinctly different.
“Almost all are from the East Emperor Holy Land Universe. Only three are from other factions.”
Lord of Shadow Dust’s expression flickered. “The East Emperor Holy Land Universe sent this many?”
“Look, not just Universe Masters! There are even Universe Venerables and Immortal Gods,” Lord of Witch Charm added. “The monster Kui Luo from before was terrifying, but the fact that Universe Venerables and Immortal Gods managed to survive suggests that monster Kui Luo also tailored its power based on the level of the entrants.”
“Right. This information is vital. Previously, our faction only brought a few extra Universe Masters to gamble, but no Immortal Gods. This news must be relayed to the faction.”
“If we talk about Immortal Gods, my God Eye Race has plenty.”
The avatars of the Shadow Witch couple immediately began reporting back to their faction.
The Second True Lord and Seventh True Lord, dispatched earlier by the God Eye Race, had already set out.
“Quite a few came this time,” a cold voice sounded.
Luo Feng turned to look. In the distance, light gathered, condensing into the figure of Duan Dong River. Luo Feng glanced only once before ignoring him. Every time new arrivals came, Duan Dong River would appear to give an explanation. The same thing happened when the two Universe Masters from the Tian Zhong Clan arrived earlier.
Luo Feng occasionally monitored the surroundings, but doing so hardly affected his comprehension speed at all. He, the Lord of Deer Insect, and the Shadow Dust couple, being among the earliest arrivals, held an advantage. Even if later entrants proved exceptional, as long as one of the four reached the requirement first, they would naturally gain access to the inheritance first.
Time flowed.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
“After successfully setting up the first 100 stages, I felt a sudden enlightenment and made considerable progress,” Luo Feng reflected.
“Now I have grasped all 123 stages. Next is the 124th stage.”
Luo Feng glanced briefly at the partially finished 124th stage configuration in the distance, then refocused his attention on the crystal pillar before him, beginning to attempt the solution! Although he had mastered the solutions for the first 123 stages, since those solutions were already public… understanding them was easy; the challenge was in instant configuration. Now, for the first time, he had to solve a configuration without knowing the answer beforehand.
Unlike before, where he studied the known solution, now he was staring at an incomplete setup and trying to solve it—a distinctly more arduous task.
Once!
Twice!
Luo Feng attempted the setup, relying on instinct for some of the fundamental elements he wasn't entirely sure about.
As time wore on, Luo Feng’s mind grew clearer, calculating in tens of thousands of dimensions simultaneously, combining them, and rapidly determining one fundamental element after another. In this very first attempt at solving, the insights he had gained from previous contemplation took on new meaning.
A full half-month passed.
Hummm~
A cone-shaped, three-dimensional phantom formed within the crystal pillar, invisible to outsiders. The phantom was perfectly rendered, suspended, its divine power dissipating not at all.
“Stage 124, perfectly solved,” a wave of information transmitted directly into Luo Feng’s consciousness.
Luo Feng rejoiced inwardly. Finally, the first solution attempt was successful…
“Continue to the 125th stage.”
Time continued to pass.
After the arrival of that group from the East Emperor Holy Land Universe, Luo Feng and the others sensed several fluctuations from massive powerhouses fighting outside. Since these were external battle waves, they guessed they must be World Masters.
Five months after the East Emperor Holy Land Universe experts arrived, “Boom!”
“Boom.”
“Boom.” Terrifying fluctuations transmitted through the layers of the Tomb Ship, weakening with each layer. By the time they reached the Corridor of Life and Death, even some Immortal Gods contemplating the Xi Huang Ju could sense them.
The perceptions of powerhouses like Luo Feng and the Lord of Deer Insect were naturally far stronger.
“Damn East Emperor Universe,” a trace of anger flashed in the Lord of Deer Insect’s eyes as he coldly looked toward the Universe Masters, Universe Venerables, and Immortal Gods from the East Emperor Holy Land. “That North True Star Master is blocking the door, sealing the entrance!” Luo, isn't that North True Star Master being so arrogant just because he possesses many ultimate treasures?!”
The three Reincarnation Eras knew very little about North True Star Master. But the Lord of Deer Insect, having lived for an equally long time, knew him well. North True Star Master was ancient, one of the few True Gods of the highest level in the East Emperor Holy Land Universe. Because the East Emperor Holy Land Universe had existed for so long and received several ancient inheritances, North True Star Master, despite lacking a small universe, still ranked relatively high among the True Gods of the highest level due to his ancient inheritances. Moreover, for this excursion, the East Emperor Holy Land Universe had gone all out, even lending him ultimate treasures by other top-tier World Masters, enabling North True Star Master to bring a full four ultimate treasures! They were: a Palace type, a Domain type, a Melee Attack type, and a Ranged Attack type—four ultimate treasures. When he blocked the door… the powerhouses from the Purple Moon Holy Land arrived, but they couldn’t force their way in.
“Damn it,” the Lord of Deer Insect grumbled angrily, then stopped thinking about it, fully dedicating himself to studying the secret techniques.
The fighting outside never ceased; the Purple Moon Holy Land and the East Emperor Holy Land were genuinely engaged in fierce combat. However, both sides were well-prepared, and North True Star Master arriving first to seal the hatch left them utterly helpless. North True Star Master managed to arrive so much earlier this time because he had an ultimate treasure for clearing the way, and second, they possessed a more detailed map of the Cosmic Boat, taking a shorter route. The Purple Moon Holy Land and the God Eye Race arrived almost concurrently, separated by only three days.
On the third day of the conflict between the Purple Moon Holy Land and the East Emperor Holy Land.
“North True! Get out of the way!”
“North True, do you think one of you can stop the three of us?”
“Scram!”
“Eternal True God! Go, move him out of the way!”
At the entrance hatch, the Purple Moon Holy Land and the God Eye Race joined forces. Three True Gods of the highest level attacked North True Star Master with full force. The True Gods from the God Eye Race each possessed small universes, meaning their explosive power was extraordinary. Coupled with the Second True Lord and Seventh True Lord’s skill in coordinated moves, North True Star Master, though not fearful, was forced back after holding on for a moment.
Luo Feng and the hundreds of powerhouses continued to immerse themselves in studying the Xi Huang Ju. Naturally, those progressing faster were Luo Feng and the Lord of Deer Insect. While Universe Venerables and Immortal Gods had arrived, their comprehension speed was significantly slower. Especially for some Immortal Gods, even though their respective Universe Masters had explained the rules of the Xi Huang Ju, they still struggled to understand.
“Boom.” “Boom.” “Boom.” Energy fluctuations transmitted from where the monster Kui Luo was located.
Luo Feng understood. This time, it was probably another wave.
“So many have come, yet in the end, at most one will receive the inheritance,” Luo Feng sighed inwardly, realizing how insane this was—every race was driven mad.
After a while, a vast stream of hundreds of figures soared through the void. In this group of hundreds, a majority, at first glance, were Immortal Gods from the Purple Moon Holy Land! In the tiers of Universe Venerables and Universe Masters, the Purple Moon Holy Land and the God Eye Race were relatively equal to each other, and even slightly fewer than the East Emperor Holy Land group. However, if the Lord of Deer Insect was included, the Purple Moon Holy Land actually held a slight advantage.
“These are the most basic rules,” the Lord of Deer Insect stated after a quick look, and immediately began quietly instructing those who arrived later from his side.
A hazy light began to gather.
The light and shadow condensed into a green-haired man. His eyes were calm as the sea, and his gaze swept across the nearly a thousand candidates present: “Latecomers, this is the final test before entering the next hall, a test of your comprehension. This is a game widely spread in my hometown, one that shouldn't just be seen as a game, but as an important supplementary cultivation tool. It tests and improves comprehension. It is called Xi Huang Ju.”
Duan Dong River slowly narrated the process.
“Begin,” he commanded. “Within a limited time, those who solve the configurations to my required baseline standard may enter the next hall.” Duan Dong River coldly surveyed the crowd. “Don’t underestimate the Xi Huang Ju. Of the first four who arrived, hmph, only the human has perfectly solved the 124th partial configuration so far. The other three are too slow. If this continues, hmph…”
Duan Dong River shook his head and gave a cold laugh before vanishing into thin air.
At these words, the candidates from the God Eye Race, the Purple Moon Holy Land, the East Emperor Holy Land, and several other factions—over a thousand in total—simultaneously turned their gaze upon Luo Feng!
Luo Feng’s expression also shifted slightly: “Damn Duan Dong River, this is too malicious, to actually say something like that…”
“Attack this human! Prevent him from concentrating on his comprehension!”
“Attack!”
“Attack this human!”
The Lord of Deer Insect and the Shadow Dust couple stood coldly in the distance without a word, but from the God Eye Race, the Purple Moon Holy Land, and the East Emperor Holy Land, nearly two or three Universe Masters from each faction immediately launched attacks toward Luo Feng. Duan Dong River had allowed them to comprehend, but he never said that killing was prohibited during the comprehension process.