Chapter 274: No Feast Lasts Forever

The black mist was at a clear disadvantage in its struggle against the golden dragon. With each collision, its size shrank significantly. After four or five attacks, the black mist realized it had little chance of winning and promptly chose to give up, fleeing to another part of its mental sea.
The golden dragon, of course, wasn’t willing to let it go so easily. After all, the mental sea was a person’s foundation—leaving it there could lead to unforeseen consequences in the future. To ensure Ye Feng’s safety, there was only one option: either destroy it completely or drive it out of the mental sea. There was no third choice.
The battle between the two also shocked Ye Feng greatly. He knew well that with the black mist’s attacking power, his consciousness would be erased in an instant, replaced by that mist. If it weren’t for the golden dragon manifested from the seal, he would likely have already died.
For consciousness and soul, a person’s mental sea is vast and boundless. If the black mist hid in some corner, it would be difficult to find it again!
This was also why the golden dragon pursued it relentlessly.
Ye Feng watched as the two fought in a chase-and-flee pattern.
The golden dragon seemed to realize that destroying the black mist would be difficult, so it opted for a safer approach—pushing it toward the entrance of the mental sea, aiming to drive it out completely.
The black mist fled all the way until it reached the entrance of the mental sea, then realized what the golden dragon intended. Of course, it refused to leave Ye Feng’s mental sea easily. Outside, it couldn’t cause any harm to Ye Feng at all, while Ye Feng, wielding the seal, could inflict severe damage on it. At least in this area, as long as it could hide, it could find an opportunity to invade Ye Feng’s spiritual realm and take control of him. By then, even the seal would be powerless against it. This was its only chance, so it certainly wouldn’t give it up easily.
Before reaching the exit, the black mist stopped moving forward—it was determined to fight to the death against the golden dragon.
The golden dragon also knew this was the black mist’s last desperate counterattack and must not be underestimated. If it allowed the black mist to escape, Ye Feng would face serious trouble in the future.
The black mist surged upward and engaged the golden dragon in a fierce battle. The golden dragon, unafraid, opened its massive mouth and bit down at the black mist.

At that moment, the tail of the dark mist quietly separated into hundreds of black threads as thin as hair, sneaking away in all directions. Clearly, this was its countermeasure—it knew it was no match for the Golden Dragon, so it split into hundreds of tiny clones, attempting to flee in every direction, hide within Ye Feng’s mental sea, and wait for the right opportunity.

The Golden Dragon also instantly sensed the dark mist’s scheme, but it was already entangled by the mist and unable to free itself for the time being.

“Damn it!” Ye Feng saw this too, but he was powerless to do anything.

The Golden Dragon made an immediate decision. A brilliant golden light burst forth from its body, enveloping the entire dark mist, including those hair-thin clones.

After expanding several times, the golden light began to fade slowly.

When the light disappeared, Ye Feng saw a thumb-sized purple-gold bead floating in the air.

“What exactly happened?” Ye Feng had no idea what had taken place. He slowly extended his mental energy toward the bead, and a faint figure gradually formed.

That figure was none other than the man who had endured the Nine-Colored Heavenly Calamity in the void when Ye Feng first came into contact with the seal.

“The Golden Dragon Seal originally contained a seal embodying the Dao I had comprehended. Whoever obtains this seal and uncovers its secrets can grasp the Dao I understood and, with some chance, inherit my legacy.”

“But since you’ve caused such trouble today, if I do nothing, it will lead to endless problems in the future. So I could only use the Golden Dragon Seal to seal away that monstrous creature formed from those evil spirits. Thus, even if our fate is severed, we must not force it. This simply means we are not destined to be master and disciple.”

“This bead contains powerful spiritual energy. Consider it a gift from me. After all, you’ve already been exposed to my Dao—so it counts as a connection. I won’t explain further. Farewell!” The faint figure’s face showed a hint of sadness.

“Thank you, senior!” As soon as Ye Feng’s mental energy sent this message, he saw the faint figure gradually dissipate.

……

In the void, an old man with white hair and beard shook his head and sighed, “Alas, Xiao Dao, such a promising talent, and you give it up like this!”

“Lao Gu, there’s no need to say more. Our fate is severed—he saw it himself!” The man speaking looked exactly like the faint figure that had just appeared in Ye Feng’s mental sea.

“Actually, you completely don’t need to worry about those clones. It will take at least thousands of years for them to grow up. There’s no need to destroy the Golden Dragon Seal just to seal that thing away,” the old man said, shaking his head helplessly.
“There are hundreds of potential successors; he’s just one of them,” the man said with a smile, shaking his head. “In fact, there are other reasons for abandoning him as well.”
“You mean his energy circulation method?” the old man asked after hesitating for a moment. “It does resemble the energy circulation method of the Void Walkers, but it’s not even at the beginner level. Besides, whether it’s his physical strength, spiritual strength, the level of energy within him, or his naive attack techniques, he’s still far from being a true Void Walker.”
“That’s why I sealed that dark-colored thing away, so he could strengthen his soul. It’s also a way to see if he can truly become a Void Walker this time—this seems to be the most likely chance for success,” the man said, narrowing his eyes slightly.
“Hmm, that’s right. A sealed environment can completely isolate him from the heavenly calamities. This also prevents him from further improving his cultivation. To enhance his strength, he can only focus on physical strength. Once his physical strength reaches a certain level, his weak soul will prevent him from advancing further, so he’ll absorb the spiritual power from that pearl. When both his physical and spiritual strengths reach a certain level, his cultivation will still remain at the Calamity Crossing stage, and the spiritual energy within him won’t be able to transform into immortal energy. Then, those lower-level energies will shift in another direction. You’re really clever!” the old man said with a smile.
“Whether it succeeds or not depends on him,” the man said, shaking his head helplessly with a smile.
Ye Feng certainly didn’t know that he was being watched and completely manipulated.
He used his mental power to lift the pearl and leave his sea of consciousness.
It was only when the purple-golden pearl appeared in his palm that Ye Feng realized everything that had just happened was real.
“How can I get out of here?” Ye Feng looked into the endless void, searching around, but ultimately decided to give up.
“It seems I’m really trapped in this miserable place. I must be inside that giant cauldron now. To get out, I’ll have to destroy it,” Ye Feng muttered to himself. “But my strength isn’t enough to destroy that cauldron!”
Facing such a result, Ye Feng slowly calmed down, sat cross-legged in the void, and began to follow the energy circulation pathways outlined in the “Art of Combat.”
……

Twenty-four hours passed in no time, and the struggle in the grand hall finally reached an end. The Purple Jade Long Sword ended up in Tie Man’s hands—his strength was the greatest. Although everyone else desired that highest-grade quasi-legendary weapon, many paid a price for it, perishing forever in that place. Originally, forty-three people entered, but now less than twenty remained, including the eight members of Fat’s group who were unharmed, along with their two pet beasts. A voice rang out from the void, “The game is over. Unfortunately, no one found the most valuable treasure in this area. Welcome back next time!” This voice left everyone present visibly stunned. But the moment it disappeared, the palace before them vanished as well. They looked around at the endless void in confusion, with no trace of the palace left, only six golden flashes disappearing into the sky. “Is that it?” Fat, holding a pile of various items, was stunned for a moment before immediately throwing everything into his storage ring. The others also stored their belongings in their own rings. Xiao Yu and Xiao Bei, the two beasts, murmured in confusion, “Boss…” “He’s probably just trapped inside. He’s not in danger. We’ll wait for the palace to reappear and bring him out safely,” Fat reassured them. Lilith and the others also looked displeased; they never expected such an outcome. “Xiao Bei, let’s go!” Xiao Yu flapped her wings at Xiao Bei. “That palace won’t reappear until next time. Don’t forget you promised me in the palace that we’d train together!” “Xiao Yu, Xiao Bei, aren’t you two coming with us?” Fat frowned slightly. “It’s better if we’re all together for mutual support.” “No, uncle. Our training methods are different from humans’!” Xiao Yu shook her head. “By the way, uncle, our boss has some friends on Water Blue Planet. Once they reach the Yuan Ying stage, they’ll use a teleportation array to return to their home planet! The leader’s name is Long Tian. Please take care of them then!” “Let’s wait near the home planet!” Kastedio said to Lilith. “Leave this to us. You two little ones, focus on your training. We’ll wait to see your progress!” Lilith nodded as well.

“Keep this ring; there are plenty of spirit crystals inside that can be used to buy things!” Fat threw a storage ring to the two beasts. “Take good care of yourselves!”
Bernard caught the ring, and the two beasts vanished from everyone’s sight in an instant.
“Will they be okay?” Su Mo asked worriedly.
“Don’t worry. They’re among the strongest in the cultivation world! Moreover, they will only get stronger. If we old folks don’t work harder at cultivating, we might even be overtaken by them!” Fat shook his head and laughed. “Let’s leave too!”
The crowd dispersed gradually, and in the once silent void, only a few stars continued to shine…