Chapter 86: Secrets of the Void

Three days had passed since the tumultuous events at the Eastern Wall. In the main hall of the Lin Courtyard, Jiang Feng sat cross-legged on a woven mat while Zhen Chen and Lin Moyi observed him intently. Eighteen beast cores, gleaming with faint hues of residual energy, were neatly arrayed before him. Just forty-eight hours earlier, Lin Moyi had been forced to shove three Spiritual Burst Pills into Jiang Feng's mouth to stabilize his dangerously depleted state.

Then he had to feed him two healing pills to quickly heal his bloody chest and back.

What followed had left Lin Moyi both impressed and exasperated. Jiang Feng's body had ravenously absorbed the potent pills in mere moments, their combined energy barely sufficient to stave off his collapse. Lin Moyi had been left wondering: who could afford to sustain such an insatiable appetite for resources?

But his irritation gave way to contemplation as he considered Jiang Feng's astounding combat prowess. A young man at the 1st stage of Essence Condensation, defeating opponents at the 8th stage? Such potential warranted investment, even if it strained one's resources.

Now at the Nascent Soul stage himself, Lin Moyi's earnings had grown significantly. With his strengthened cultivation, he contributed more to Northern Moon's territory. He could afford to support both Lin Rou and, possibly, Jiang Feng—though, privately, he doubted if even his burgeoning income could keep pace with Jiang Feng's prodigious consumption in the long run.

"Do you really intend to absorb these demonic cores?" Zhen Chen asked, his voice grave. "Do you understand the risks involved?" His piercing gaze fell on Jiang Feng, who met it unwaveringly.

Jiang Feng nodded. "I do, Uncle Chen. But I'm confident I can handle it."

The drawbacks of absorbing demonic beast cores were well-known among cultivators. These cores, while brimming with spiritual energy, also carried residual instincts and impurities from the beasts they originated from. For ordinary cultivators, the attempt to refine them could result in severe backlash: mental instability, corruption of their essence lake, or even death. Most chose safer paths, avoiding such high-risk methods of cultivation.

Zhen Chen's concern stemmed from his growing fondness for Jiang Feng, especially after learning of the youth's reverse cultivation method—a path fraught with peril for everyone around him yet unparalleled in potential.

Lin Moyi, seated beside him, sipped his snow-leaf tea, his enigmatic aura becoming more pronounced over the past days. Since his transformation to a spiritual state, Lin Moyi had been exploring the ethereal realms of existence, striving to harmonize his spirit and flesh. "He's set his mind to it" Lin Moyi said softly, placing his cup down. "Let him proceed."

Jiang Feng exhaled deeply, steeling his resolve. Two days earlier, the Aetherion Dragon had passed down to him the Aetherion Devouring Art—a cultivation technique of unparalleled efficiency. The method required him to draw a Devour Diagram on the inner walls of his stomach using his draconic blood. This diagram, a masterpiece of ancient craftsmanship, would activate whenever he consumed spiritual resources, absorbing and refining the energy with unmatched precision. It could even detect the presence of rare spiritual treasures, pulsing to alert him when nearby.

The process had been grueling. Over the past three days, Jiang Feng had used more than half of his draconic blood to etch the intricate diagram within his body. By the end, his skin had turned pale as parchment, his vitality waning dangerously. Only the dragon coiled around his heart—a manifestation of his draconic bloodline—had saved him, pumping fresh draconic blood like a second heart until he recovered.

Now, with the Devour Diagram complete, Jiang Feng bore two significant marks: the Eternal character inscribed on his back and the  devour diagram within his stomach. Both were symbols of his extraordinary journey and potential.

"Let's begin" Lin Moyi said, stood and formed a series of intricate hand signs. A wall of condensed air currents enveloped the room, separating the three of them from the outside world. Zhen Chen followed suit, weaving runic symbols into the barrier, reinforcing it with layers of protection.

"If anything goes wrong, we'll step in immediately" Lin Moyi added, his tone firm. "But remember, Feng, your safety comes first. No breakthrough is worth your life."

Jiang Feng bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you, Gramps. Uncle Chen."

Zhen Chen's lips twitched in a faint smile. Jiang Feng's casual address of Lin Moyi as "Gramps" had initially been surprising, but the older man seemed to relish the familiarity. With no grandchildren of his own, Lin Moyi had grown fond of Jiang Feng, treating him as his family.

Focusing on the task at hand, Jiang Feng looked at the beast cores before him. Their surfaces shimmered faintly, indicating the immense energy locked within. Each core had been carefully washed clean of blood and impurities beforehand. With a steady breath, Jiang Feng opened his mouth, and a powerful suction force pulled all eighteen cores inward.

The two elders stood motionless, their expressions unreadable as the cores disappeared into Jiang Feng's mouth. By now, they had grown accustomed to his audacious methods, though the sheer boldness of this act still made them marvel.

The moment the cores entered his body, the Devour Diagram roared to life. Jiang Feng felt his stomach heat up, the diagram spinning rapidly as it created a vortex that pulled the cores into its center. Before they could reach the walls of his stomach, the vortex refined them into pure spiritual energy.

Bang!

A muffled explosion echoed within his body, signaling the release of boundless energy. Jiang Feng clenched his fists, sweat beading on his forehead as the energy surged through him like a raging tide. Wild energy rampaged through his 12 meridians, each enlarging to accommodate the increase of spirit energy.

//

Jiang Feng inhaled deeply, the heat within his chest swelling as Infernal Breathing came to life. It was an instinct now, a habit ingrained so deeply that his body performed it without conscious thought. The Eternal Flame Codex had warned him—he must never cease practicing Infernal Breathing, no matter the circumstances. Over time, it had become second nature, a rhythm that pulsed in tandem with his every breath.

Before him, the Earth Meridian awakened. A deep, resonant hum filled the air as it glowed fiercely, pulsating with life and drawing in vast streams of energy. The ground beneath Jiang Feng trembled, cracks spreading outward like jagged veins. The tremors intensified, shaking the earth violently. From their positions nearby, Lin Moyi and Zhen Chen exchanged uneasy glances. Both stood vigilant, frowning as they felt the immense power roiling through the area, their senses sharpened by the growing unease.

Jiang Feng, however, was oblivious to the chaos around him. His eyes remained tightly shut, his consciousness sinking inward. All external sensations faded into silence, as though the world itself had ceased to exist.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a vast, empty void. The silence was deafening, and yet there was a strange clarity to it, as if the void had been waiting for him. Jiang Feng glanced down, surprised to see his body intact, his limbs solid and whole, yet everything else around him was endless nothingness.

Suddenly, to his right, the void began to twist and shift. A massive stretch of land emerged from the emptiness, vivid and raw. In the heart of this newfound terrain, a colossal dragon lay coiled tightly, its immense form cloaked in writhing black lightning. The arcs of energy crackled and hissed, splitting the very fabric of space around it. Every breath the dragon exhaled seemed to create ripples of chaos, distorting reality itself. Jiang Feng's gaze drifted upward, above the dragon's head, where a titanic golden book hovered. Its weightless presence radiated an aura of absolute power, causing the void to tremble with each flicker of its light.

His breath quickened, but before he could make sense of the sight, another phenomenon unfolded. To his left, the void transformed again, giving birth to an endless expanse of blue flames. The fire burned with an intensity that defied comprehension, stretching beyond the limits of sight. In the heart of this inferno stood an enormous furnace, glowing with the brilliance of a thousand intricate runic diagrams etched upon its surface, with a world raging flame burning in the center of it.

Jiang Feng's eyes widened in disbelief.

"The Skyforge Furnace? But... wasn't I told I wouldn't see it for years to due to not having opened Divine Sense? How is this possible now?"

His confusion deepened, and he turned his attention downward. From beneath his feet, the void cracked open, and a massive iron mountain erupted forth. Its surface glowed with molten veins of lava, fiery rivers cascading down its slopes. The mountain exuded an overwhelming presence, as though it were alive. From its depths came the rhythmic clang of a hammer striking metal—steady, unyielding, and relentless.

"Is this my blacksmith's bloodline?" he murmured, his voice barely audible over the mountain's song. "Where... where am I?"

As these thoughts raced through his mind, a chilling realization dawned upon him. He wasn't merely seeing fragments of his power—he was surrounded by the very essence of what made him who he was. "Are these the secrets I carry within me?"

Instinctively, Jiang Feng tilted his head upward. The sight froze him in place. Above him loomed an endless expanse of pure, unbroken darkness. It wasn't the absence of light—it was a presence, a tangible force. The void above seemed to stretch forever, so deep and still that it swallowed all sound and thought.

The longer he stared, the more he felt as though something stared back at him. It was not malevolent, nor kind. It was a vast, incomprehensible emptiness, ancient and unyielding. The weight of it pressed against his soul, filling him with a sense of loneliness so profound it threatened to unravel him.

His thoughts spiraled. What was this darkness? Fear, dread, stillness—it was all-consuming. But it was more than that. The darkness was alive, and it had been there all along, unnoticed yet inescapable as it watched him from above.

"How... how did I even comprehend this thing?" Jiang Feng whispered, his voice trembling.

For the first time in a long while, he felt small. Not insignificant, but fragile in the face of forces far beyond his understanding at were all around him.