Chapter 340: Advancing in Darkness – Bottleneck

A droplet of water enveloped Luo Feng as it traveled at extreme speed through the Primordial Space.

“Every time I look at the Primordial Space, it feels shocking.” Luo Feng gazed outward. From afar, he could vaguely see a विशाल Source World in the distance, but in the blink of an eye, the droplet had already carried him far away from that Source World.

“We, the lives within the cage, must have the protection of a world. Either we live within a Source World, or within the worlds created by Senior Yuan and the others,” Luo Feng thought. “If we go beyond the world, it won’t take long before we die.”

The Primordial Space was vast and boundless, containing endless violent Primordial Power. This power was not like the refined and gentle energy of ‘Primordial Crystals’—it continuously eroded life.

Only by Escape the Prison Cage could one survive in the Primordial Space for long periods.

“Even the Primordial Space I observe is less than one ten-thousandth of the true Primordial Space.” Back in his homeland, the Origin Continent, Luo Feng had carefully observed the Primordial Space using the Eye of Life and Death.

Under the observation of the Eye of Life and Death, the Primordial Space was colorful and layered, with countless layers of space forming a magnificent spectacle. Energy passed through these layers, generating even more varieties of energy and giving birth to all kinds of life.

But without the Eye of Life and Death, as Luo Feng observed now, the Primordial Space appeared as a dark void, where only occasionally could enormous entities be seen.

“Hmm?”

Luo Feng noticed a vortex of mist. The vortex was about one-tenth the size of the Origin Continent, and from within it extended a misty head, which was gazing in Luo Feng’s direction.

“Judging by its size, it should be a High-Rank Primordial Lifeform,” Luo Feng speculated.

During teleportation, it was not uncommon to encounter High-Rank Primordial Lifeforms.

Encountering World-Level Primordial Lifeforms, however, was extremely rare.

For beings like Luo Feng who had not Escape the Prison Cage, judging strength was simple—by size!

Legend had it that those slightly smaller than an entire Source World were at the Primordial Ancestor level, the most terrifying existence.

Those larger than the Origin Continent were likely World-Level Primordial Lifeforms.

Those comparable to a small portion of the Origin Continent were generally High-Rank Primordial Lifeforms.

Of course, such judgments could be wrong. Some powerful beings might deliberately shrink their size. But for those who had not Escape the Prison Cage, their ability to discern was limited.

“The Dark Sacred Realm has arrived!”

The droplet carrying Luo Feng plunged directly toward a special world.

This world was entirely black, faintly tinged with dark red. It was significantly smaller than a Source World.

“Whoosh.”

The droplet instantly entered the interior of the Dark Sacred Realm.

……

Dark Sacred Realm, at the summit of a towering sacred mountain.

At the mountaintop was a dark lake, from which Luo Feng flew out and landed nearby.

“The Dark Sacred Realm?”

Luo Feng sensed the suppressive force of the entire world. The suppression was comparable to that of the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm. His Late-Stage God Emperor Path of Life and Death remained stable here without needing any modification.

“My Path of Life and Death is gradually becoming compatible with all worlds,” Luo Feng thought.

“This friend, a flying vessel will arrive shortly and take us to the five cities of the Dark Sacred Realm.” Not far away, a Cultivator spoke with a smile. The Dark Sacred Realm was more dangerous, and very few Cultivators dared to act alone; most traveled via official flying vessels.

Luo Feng looked over. More than fifty Cultivators had already gathered there, each with different auras, but the weakest among them was at least a Late-Stage God Emperor Seeker.

“Thanks,” Luo Feng replied with a smile.

Immediately, he tore through the air and flew away.

Whoosh!

His departing figure blurred slightly before reaching the horizon, and then completely vanished.

This scene shocked the more than fifty Cultivators.

“In the Dark Sacred Realm, he can actually perform short-distance spatial traversal?”

“T-this is something only peak-level existences can achieve, right?”

“Even among peak-level existences, only some can do it!”

Some of these Cultivators were visiting the Dark Sacred Realm for the first time, while others had come many times. But they all clearly understood how difficult it was to perform short-distance spatial traversal here.

Being able to do this undoubtedly placed one among the most terrifying existences in the Dark Sacred Realm.

“Black clothes, black hair… his appearance… among all the peak-level existences in the Dark Sacred Realm that I’ve gathered intelligence on, there’s no such person,” an elder said in confusion.

“I don’t recognize him either. Among the five cities of the Dark Sacred Realm, I’ve never heard of such a peak existence,” others also said.

In the Dark Sacred Realm, there were only five gathering cities for Cultivators.

In each city, peak-level existences were usually quite famous, and basic intelligence on them was relatively easy to collect.

……

From Hall Master Yuan Xiang and the Cultivation Squad, Luo Feng had already obtained detailed intelligence about the Dark Sacred Realm. After leaving the teleportation sacred mountain, he headed directly toward the Cultivation Squad’s gathering city—Chengfeng City.

Chengfeng City was the closest among the five cities of the Dark Sacred Realm to the teleportation sacred mountain. This was also why Hall Master Yuan Xiang had requested assistance from them back then.

“Whoosh.”

Luo Feng landed.

Although he had chosen Chengfeng City as his first foothold, he was not in a hurry to travel. He was full of curiosity about the entire Dark Sacred Realm.

“The quantity and quality of Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms in the Dark Sacred Realm far exceed those in the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm.” Luo Feng felt some anticipation. “It’s even said that Primordial Prisoners occasionally appear.”

Primordial Prisoners were High-Rank Primordial Lifeforms whose strength had been sealed.

Aside from those imprisoned within large Primordial Halls, a very small number of Primordial Prisoners existed in the wild. Their strength was completely suppressed, and whenever one was discovered, it would attract teams of Cultivators to hunt it down.

“In the Dark Sacred Realm, even peak-level existences face considerable danger when acting alone.”

“But for me, the threat is rather ordinary.”

Luo Feng walked across the land.

The imitation Eye of Life and Death on his forehead observed all directions.

After consuming the Hundred Tribulations Heart Marrow, his thinking speed had increased three thousandfold, and he remained in a constant state of inspiration for more than half an epoch. Such cultivation efficiency far surpassed one or two thousand epochs of normal cultivation.

Thus, during his previous secluded cultivation, although the Path of Life and the Path of Destruction encountered some minor obstacles, both had reached the Half-Primordial Path level.

However, the improvement of the Path of Life and Death had become difficult.

From Late-Stage God Emperor Path of Life and Death, Luo Feng had gradually improved by drawing nourishment from life and destruction. At first, progress was smooth, but it became increasingly difficult until he completely hit a bottleneck.

Stuck at the bottleneck and unable to progress, Luo Feng turned to refining the Undying Blood Sea Body, the imitation Eye of Life and Death, and other secret techniques.

“I’m still quite far from the Half-Primordial Path of Life and Death, yet I’m already stuck at a bottleneck.” Luo Feng could now understand the difficulties other Cultivators faced—being stuck at a certain point, unable to comprehend further, and thus unable to advance.

Even so, compared to the battle at Yulan City, Luo Feng’s accumulation in the Path of Life and Death was much deeper. With the support of the Half-Primordial Path levels of life and destruction, his realm had naturally improved significantly, and the power of his various secret techniques had increased greatly.

“Hmm? I’ve discovered a Primordial Lifeform squad.”

Through the imitation Eye of Life and Death, Luo Feng could now see much farther than before. At this moment, he spotted a squad in the distance.

It was a squad of the Primordial Wild Hoof Clan.

“In the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm, Primordial Wild Hoof usually act alone. Even groups of three to five are rare. But here, there are a full 82 acting together?” Luo Feng observed. “Among them, seven are at God Emperor Perfection level, and seventy-five at Late-Stage God Emperor level?”

Such a squad—if someone like Hall Master Weiyang encountered it—would likely be annihilated in a single exchange.

Luo Feng walked toward them with interest.

With a single step, he passed through a spatial crack and arrived nearby.

“Hmm?”

All 82 members of the Primordial Wild Hoof Clan noticed Luo Feng almost simultaneously.

“A lone Cultivator?”

“Kill.”

“Kill him!”

Without hesitation, they moved. In the environment of the Dark Sacred Realm, Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms and Cultivators had slaughtered each other for endless years—killing had long become instinct.

“Rumble~~~~”

As the Primordial Wild Hoof Clan moved, countless green lightning bolts condensed in the void. The lightning flowed like water, as if heaven and earth were overturning, crashing down toward Luo Feng.

Luo Feng stood still, allowing the lightning to strike him. Yet the water-like lightning could not touch even a single strand of his hair, blocked by an invisible force.

The Primordial Wild Hoof Clan was already extremely fast, charging toward Luo Feng. But when they realized their lightning could not harm even a hair on him, their hearts trembled. All members immediately slowed down and, without hesitation, attempted to flee.

“Since we’ve met, don’t leave.”

Luo Feng extended a hand.

His palm transformed into a furry giant claw. In an instant, it pierced through space, enveloping a vast region ahead.

Space was divided, trapping the entire Primordial Wild Hoof squad within an isolated region.

“Whoosh.”

Luo Feng withdrew his hand. Within his furry palm were the imprisoned 82 members of the Primordial Wild Hoof Clan.

In his palm, the entire squad was like toys, completely unable to resist.

“Buzz.”

Their bodies remained intact, but their Life Cores silently shattered. All of them died instantly.

“Fate brought us together.”

Luo Feng immediately stored all the corpses into his spatial storage treasure.

Such a Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform squad posed no threat to him at all.

By Luo Feng’s own estimation, during the battle at Yulan City, he could suppress four Transcendent Limit Existences alone. Now, he should be able to suppress ten alone—his strength comparable to a team of peak-level existences.

“But my strength is still far from Invincible Level.”

Luo Feng was very clear about this.

Invincible Level was an entire major realm above peak-level.

At the very least, one had to equal twenty to thirty peak-level existences—this was the minimum threshold for Invincible Level!

In fact, if one’s Mental Will Escape the Prison Cage, then against such an existence, peak-level beings would be completely unable to resist under sheer will suppression.

Luo Feng walked to the edge of a lake and suddenly sat down cross-legged, beginning to contemplate the confusion in his cultivation.