The Art of Chaotic Divinity-Chapter 1174: The Mysterious Scroll
Ever since he awakened the Eye of the Emperor, Ling Feng's comprehension ability already far surpassed that of ordinary people. When it came to martial arts, he only needed a single glance to grasp their essence.
Although certain bloodline limits and cultivation constraints prevented him from performing every martial art or martial skill he saw in its entirety, that did not stop him from instantly discerning their subtleties and flaws.
"Could there be another kind of secret hidden within the Stairway of the Soul?"
Ling Feng drew a deep breath. When he recalled his earlier climb up the Stairway of the Soul, both Yang Huanzhi and that mysterious black-robed man had shown the strength to easily pass eight hundred steps, yet they had both stopped around the four to five-hundredth step. At that level, the soul pressure should not have provided much tempering for them.
Especially that black-robed man. Something about him felt strange. His vitality and blood suggested the body of a man around thirty, but his aura felt old, almost ancient.
More than that, Ling Feng could faintly sense that the man's spiritual consciousness was at least at the emperor level.
A person whose spiritual consciousness had reached emperor level should not have remained on the five-hundredth step to refine their soul. At minimum, he should have gone as high as the eight-hundredth.
"It seems the Stairway of the Soul holds more than just a method of tempering spiritual consciousness."
A faint smile appeared on Ling Feng's lips. His condensed the Human Dao divine inscription in his left eye, and he began to sense the faint traces of energy hidden within the soul pressure of the stairway.
Gradually, he seemed to perceive a mysterious, illusory space within that pressure. Floating inside it was a scroll, and through his spiritual thoughts, he could reach out to touch it.
"An illusory space? A mysterious scroll?"
Ling Feng's eyelids twitched. Could this scroll be the true opportunity hidden within the Stairway of the Soul?
"Let's see if I can haul you out!"
Focusing his mind, Ling Feng sank his consciousness fully into the illusory space. He gathered threads of his spiritual power together, twisting them into a thick, rope-like strand that reached toward the scroll, attempting to "pull" it out of the void.
Just then, another surge of spiritual consciousness intruded into the same space. This new presence was far more experienced than Ling Feng, clearly belonging to someone well-versed in the art of spiritual refinement. That spiritual consciousness condensed into filaments, weaving together into a great net. The net fell across the space and tugged the floating scroll sharply in another direction.
"Another spiritual consciousness?"
Ling Feng's expression hardened. From the distinctive vibration of that power, he immediately recognized its source.
The mysterious black-robed man!
At the same time, the black-robed man sensed Ling Feng's presence and gave a cold snort. "Brat, withdraw your spiritual consciousness this instant, or don't blame me when your body and soul are both destroyed!"
"Old man?"
Ling Feng's pupils contracted. Realization flashed through him, and he replied coldly, "So that's it. You've taken over the body of a young man to fight for this opportunity. You shameless old thief!"
"Presumptuous!"
Murderous intent surged in the black-robed man's voice. "I have no patience for your nonsense. If you refuse to yield this scroll, you die!"
"Then try me!"
Ling Feng was not about to back down. His spiritual consciousness had already reached emperor level. Though his control and finesse were not yet equal to his opponent's, as the saying went, youth triumphs through vigor. He had no reason to fear an old degenerate!
"Ignorant whelp!"
The black-robed man's spiritual consciousness suddenly flared. The great net he had woven grew several times larger, enveloping the scroll and dragging it violently toward his side.
Ling Feng mirrored him. He too condensed his spiritual power into a net and pulled back hard against the resistance.
Before long, Ling Feng noticed something interesting. When both of them poured in equal amounts of spiritual power, the mysterious scroll would drift slightly toward his side.
It was as if there were a lever at work. Standing on the nine hundred and ninety-ninth step, Ling Feng occupied the highest position, giving him a naturally stronger leverage over the black-robed man below.
"Damn it!"
The black-robed man realized this as well. Gritting his teeth, he forced his spiritual consciousness to surge even harder, only to find that he needed to exert at least three times Ling Feng's power just to maintain balance.
"Hehe!"
Ling Feng gave a low chuckle. "Old degenerate, looks like you've already lost!"
He deliberately held back his power, increasing it little by little. The black-robed man had no choice but to triple his effort each time, his spiritual consciousness straining to the limit.
But soon he discovered, to his horror, that he had completely underestimated Ling Feng.
Though Ling Feng was only at the Spiritual Element Realm, his spiritual consciousness was already comparable to that of a mid-tier Human Emperor. Worse, his soul essence source was so pure and condensed that the black-robed man could not even match it.
"What kind of monster is this boy?"
Finally, the black-robed man abandoned the tug-of-war. His eyes snapped open, glaring toward the young man seated calmly at the top of the stairway. His fists clenched tight, and with a snarl, he began climbing upward with all his might.
"He's moving!"
By now, nearly ten hours had passed since the trial began. Less than ten percent of the participants remained on the stairway.
Murong Huang, after much effort, had finally caught up behind the black-robed man and was preparing to overtake him when a sharp gust of wind brushed past his ears. In the blink of an eye, the black-robed man had surged ahead again.
"What?! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!"
Murong Huang could almost feel a herd of wild beasts stampeding through his chest. However, no one cared about his outrage. The black-robed man continued his frenzied ascent, but after the eight-hundredth step, the soul pressure became nearly unbearable even for him.
Worse still, his earlier clash with Ling Feng inside the illusory space had drained a large portion of his spiritual consciousness power, making the final stretch even more grueling.
"Brat, don't think you can claim it! That Soul Refinement Secret Art belongs to me!"
The black-robed man glared up at Ling Feng with ruthless fury, racing against time to stop him before he could secure the scroll.
"Old fool, and you think you can stop me?"
Ling Feng instantly understood what the man intended. But since fate had placed this opportunity before him, it was naturally his to claim. No one would take it from him.
"Come out to me!"
He continued to channel the Soul Splitting Art, driving his spiritual consciousness higher and higher.
This was a contest of speed. If the black-robed man disrupted him now, Ling Feng could not be sure he would still have enough power to retrieve the scroll within the remaining fourteen hours of the trial.
Black-robed man: I rush! I rush! I rush rush rush!
Ling Feng: I pull! I pull! I pull pull pull!
Another two hours passed. The black-robed man had reached the nine hundred and thirtieth step, while Ling Feng was only a breath away from success.
High above, Elder Tian Yi was completely dumbfounded.
Ling Feng had been sitting calmly on the final step for over four hours. What kind of monstrous spiritual consciousness could endure that long?
Even he himself could not have done it. Perhaps not even the Illusion Heart Queen possessed such overwhelming mental strength!
Of course, Ling Feng had only managed to endure because his soul essence source was vastly beyond that of ordinary cultivators.
The Essence Blood Pearl and the Evil Emperor's Blood Soul were both evil dao relics, but their enhancement of the soul essence source was utterly unreasonable, almost defying the laws of cultivation themselves.
