Lin Feng stepped through the door and descended into the fourth level of the Dark Abyss. The passage narrowed and twisted, the walls pressing in on him from both sides until he felt like he was walking through a crack in the earth. The darkness was absolute, thick and suffocating, swallowing the light from the runes that had guided him through the previous levels.The passage opened into a vast chamber and Lin Feng stopped at the threshold, his breath catching in his throat.The chamber was a labyrinth of mirrors. They stretched in every direction, their surfaces gleaming with a cold, silver light that seemed to come from nowhere. Some mirrors were tall and narrow, others wide and squat, their frames carved from the same black stone as the Abyss itself. Although he stood in one spot, an image of him was reflecting through all the mirrors.They reflected endless versions of himself, images that shifted and changed with each step he took. The reflections moved independently of him,

Lin Feng remained unconscious for what felt like an eternity. His body lay motionless on the cold stone floor, his chest barely rising and falling, his breath shallow and weak. The darkness of the Abyss surrounded him, silent and waiting, watching him with ancient patience. His three cores, which had been empty and still, began to stir. Slowly at first, barely perceptible, a faint warm feeling spread through his chest. His cores spun, drawing in the surrounding Dao energy like a starving man reaching for water.The energy rushed into his system, flooding his meridians and restoring his strength. His body healed, his muscles knitting together and his bones mending. The wounds slowly healed and the blood stopped flowing. The cold fire of the beasts' soul energy was purged from his system, replaced by the warm pulse of the Abyss's gift. His cores absorbed every drop of energy, spinning faster and faster as they refilled. His soul responded to the energy, growing stronger and more stab

The first rune's glow had barely faded before the settlement erupted into a frenzy of activity. The residents, who had grown bored and restless during the days of waiting, suddenly found new energy in the spectacle unfolding before them. Bets were placed with reckless abandon, the people wagering their most prized possessions on when the second rune would light up.Some used Dao beast cores, stacking them in neat piles on makeshift tables. Others offered rare artifacts and pills, items they had spent years collecting and hoarding. A few even wagered their homes and their businesses, so certain were they of their predictions."One month," a burly cultivator declared, slapping a pouch of beast cores onto a table. "The second level will take at least a month. The Abyss does not give up its secrets easily.""Three weeks," another countered, placing a gleaming artifact beside the pouch. "Whoever cleared the first level that fast has something special. They won't need a month to clear the

The settlement had grown quiet over the years.The initial frenzy of activity had faded, replaced by a patient, watchful silence. The residents no longer gathered in large crowds around the Dark Abyss, but they still kept their eyes on the runes that lined its walls. The levels had been cleared with a speed that defied all expectations.The first level had been cleared in two days. The second level followed in less than a month. Then the third level fell in four months, a rate that made even the most seasoned Shadow Covenant members shake their heads in disbelief. The fourth level took six months, slower than the previous ones but still far faster than anyone had ever managed.The second outsider's results were not as jaw-dropping, but they were equally impressive. The first level had taken the outsider two weeks, the second level three months, the third level nine months, and the fourth level a full year. The outsider had struggled, but had endured. It's been a year since the second

Lin Feng remained unconscious on the cold stone floor of the seventh level, his body broken and his energy completely depleted. His chest barely rose and fell, his breath shallow and weak, his consciousness faded away due to exhaustion. The runes on the walls of the Abyss blazed with triumphant light, signaling that someone had completed all levels of the dark abyss, but Lin Feng was too far gone to notice.Then the strangest thing began to happen. The shadows that had once attacked him, the asura darkness that had tried to tear his soul apart, began to swirl around his body.They swirled around him, drawn to him like moths to a flame. The cold energy wrapped around his limbs and coiled around his torso, seeping into his skin and flowing through his meridians like a river of ice. The sensation was strange and foreign, but yet comforting.His fourth dao core, which had been forming slowly and steadily, suddenly flared to life. It pulsed with dark energy, absorbing the shadows in torr