The cave trembled.
It wasn't an ordinary mountain tremor, nor a natural collapse caused by battle. It was as if the world itself was… breathing irregularly.
Han Feng stood still for a few moments, holding the purple-black crystal in his palm, feeling its silent pulse. He could swear that the object wasn't just a fragment of condensed energy, but a kind of living core, something that possessed a dormant will.
The crystal felt cold, but its coldness wasn't normal: it was a cold that pierced the flesh and touched the soul directly.
And this made Han Feng feel something he hadn't felt in a long time.
Fear.
Not fear of dying.
But fear of losing control.
The energy within that crystal was too strange. It didn't belong to the laws of the Gu World. It was as if it had been ripped from a distant universe and pasted there, forcing reality to accept its existence.
Han Feng closed his fingers, securing the crystal within his storage ring, and then activated his defensive Gu.
The cave was about to collapse.
He leaped back, running through the narrow corridors as cracks opened in the ceiling. Enormous rocks fell like meteors. The surrounding spiritual energy began to behave chaotically, creating invisible waves that distorted vision.
In an instant, he saw the corridor lengthen.
In the next instant, he saw the corridor shorten.
Space was being folded.
Han Feng gritted his teeth.
"This cave has become a point of instability…"
He moved even faster, activating the Shadow Displacement Gu, becoming a swift shadow.
BOOOOM!
The ceiling collapsed behind him, and a muffled roar echoed as if the mountain were dying.
He finally leaped out of the entrance, rolling on the ground covered in black leaves and spiritual dust.
When he stood up, taking a deep breath, the entire valley was different.
The purple mist had turned blue.
The surrounding trees seemed frozen in time, and the leaves no longer moved in the wind. It was as if the world had entered an unnatural pause.
Han Feng narrowed his eyes.
Then, suddenly…
The sky cracked.
It wasn't a metaphor.
A literal crack appeared in the firmament above, thin as a hair. But from it, a golden light leaked out, illuminating the mountains as if a second sun had been born.
Han Feng felt his heart clench.
The air grew heavy.
His breathing became difficult.
The surrounding spiritual energy… vanished.
As if someone had sucked it all away.
And then, just three breaths later…
The spiritual energy returned, multiplied tenfold.
It was so dense that the stones began to glow.
Han Feng took a step back, in shock.
—This… this is impossible.
The alternation between spiritual emptiness and spiritual explosion was something that would never happen naturally in the Gu World.
This phenomenon was a clear symptom of one world approaching another.
Of two realities trying to occupy the same space.
Han Feng felt the Blue Star Flame Gu vibrate within him, as if responding to the cracked sky.
And then…
A voice echoed. It wasn't a voice in the air.
It was a voice in his mind.
A cold, distant, indifferent voice, like that of a god looking at ants.
"Who… dares to touch the seed of emptiness?"
Han Feng froze.
He didn't answer.
His whole body stiffened.
The voice wasn't that of a Gu Master.
Nor of a beast.
Nor of a remnant soul.
It seemed… something that came from the other side.
Han Feng clenched his fists.
—So you felt it too…
The crack in the sky widened for a brief instant.
And then a shadow appeared.
An indistinct figure, like a reflection in distorted water.
It was a man.
Or at least it seemed to be.
His body was enveloped in a cloak of dark light, and behind him lay a landscape that didn't belong to the Gu World: floating mountains, red skies, gigantic stars, rivers that shone like mercury.
Han Feng felt his blood run cold.
This was real.
A fragment of another universe.
The figure raised its hand.
And space trembled.
Han Feng reacted instinctively and activated his Abyssal Shield Spectral Armor.
But the attack never came.
The figure merely observed.
And then disappeared.
The crack closed.
The sky returned to normal.
But the feeling of oppression remained.
Han Feng stood still for several minutes, until the wind finally began to blow again, as if the world were "waking up."
He took a deep breath.
His heart was still beating fast.
—So… there is already someone from another universe who can touch this world. He understood in that instant: what he had obtained in the cave was not just a treasure.
It was a trigger.
It was a piece too important to be ignored.
And if he had this piece…
Others could have it too.
And those who came from the other side… would not be weak.
Han Feng turned slowly and began to walk away from the valley.
He needed to disappear.
Now.
The City of Yinzhao
Two days later, Han Feng arrived in a small city, but one known as a meeting point for wandering merchants and cultivators.
Its name was Yinzhao.
A dirty place, full of gangs, minor clans, and desperate cultivators.
But most importantly…
A place where information circulated quickly.
Han Feng entered using a false identity.
His Soul Chameleon Gu altered his face and aura. His purple eyes turned brown, and his black hair now seemed to have grayish tones.
He walked through the busy streets, listening to conversations.
— Did you see the sky yesterday?
— I swear I saw two moons!
— A friend of mine said that spiritual energy disappeared for a few moments; he almost died trying to cultivate!
— Some Gu went mad, they started attacking their own masters!
Han Feng remained silent.
These rumors confirmed everything.
The fusion was intensifying.
But it was still just the beginning.
He entered a tavern.
The smell of alcohol and rotting meat dominated the place. Cultivators drank, gambled, and fought.
Han Feng sat in a corner.
There, he heard the most important rumor.
"They say an ancient ruin opened up in the north… it appeared out of nowhere. It wasn't there before."
"A ruin?"
"Yes… a ruin that no one recognizes. The inscriptions aren't from our world. A group of explorers went in… and only one came back, completely insane."
Han Feng narrowed his eyes.
"Where is it?"
The man speaking laughed.
"If you want to die, go north. It's beyond the Lake of Ashes. But don't go alone. People say they saw creatures dressed in strange clothes… like cultivators, but different."
Han Feng felt a chill.
Creatures dressed in strange clothes.
It wasn't a sect from the Gu World.
It was something from outside.
Han Feng calmly drank his tea.
"So… a ruin from another universe appeared."
He needed to go.
Not because he wanted to.
But because he couldn't allow his enemies to get something like that first.
And most importantly…
He needed to understand.
If the world was merging with another universe, then the treasures and methods of that universe would be an absurd opportunity.
But they would also be a danger.
Han Feng left the tavern.
On his way out, he felt something.
Someone was watching him.
He turned his head.
And saw a man standing on the corner, wearing a bone mask and a black robe.
The symbol on his chest was unmistakable.
Heavenly Corpse Sect.
Han Feng narrowed his eyes.
—You are persistent.
The man didn't attack.
He only raised his hand and made a gesture.
Then five more figures appeared.
A siege.
Han Feng sighed.
—I wanted to avoid this…
The leader spoke in a hoarse voice:
—Han Feng. You killed a young master. You stole treasures. You humiliated our sect. Now you will come with us. Han Feng smiled.
But the smile wasn't one of fear.
It was one of contempt.
"I'm not going anywhere."
The air grew heavy.
The surrounding spiritual energy trembled.
The cultivators of the Heavenly Corpse Sect released their refined corpses.
Six pale monsters advanced, with empty eyes and black claws.
Han Feng raised his hand.
The Blue Star Flame Gu blazed.
Blue flames exploded like a storm.
The corpses were burned in seconds.
The disciples' eyes widened.
"Flame… impossible…"
Han Feng advanced.
His speed was absurd.
One of the enemies barely had time to react before having its throat cut by the Phantom Blade.
The second was crushed by the Shadow Chains.
The third tried to flee.
Han Feng grabbed him by the neck and threw him against the wall, breaking his bones.
The others panicked.
But the leader remained calm.
He opened his mouth and spat out a Gu.
A red Gu, pulsating like a heart.
Han Feng sensed the danger immediately.
"A spiritual tracking Gu…?"
The Gu exploded in the air, releasing an invisible wave of blood.
Han Feng recoiled.
He knew what it meant.
It wasn't an attack.
It was a seal.
A seal to mark him.
If marked, the Heavenly Corpse Sect could track him anywhere in the Western Region.
Han Feng gritted his teeth.
"So this is what you brought…"
He didn't hesitate.
He released the energy from the purple-black crystal inside his ring.
A dark wave emanated from his body.
The blood seal trembled.
And then it was devoured.
The sect leader paled.
"This…this isn't Gu energy!"
Han Feng stepped forward with a cold gaze.
"You're right."
He appeared behind the leader and severed his head with a clean blow.
The last disciples ran in despair.
Han Feng didn't pursue.
He merely observed the bodies.
His chest rose and fell slowly.
But his eyes… were fixed on the sky.
Because the sky had changed again.
A red star shone brighter than before.
And a purple star, even deeper, seemed to stare directly at him.
Han Feng clenched his fist.
"The fusion is accelerating…"
He turned around.
"Ruin in the north… Lake of Ashes…"
He smiled coldly.
"I'll see with my own eyes what's coming."
And then it disappeared into the night.