Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Mysterious Temple (7)

The passage was much narrower than the chamber behind them.

Li Feng walked at the front, his steps slow and steady as his senses stretched outward.

The air here was colder.

Not the natural chill of underground stone, but feel more like something deeper and older.

Yet for some reason, the further he walked, the more relief he felt in his chest.

’We should be near some kind of exit…’ he thought inwardly.

Behind him, he could hear the faint footsteps of the others following carefully.

No one spoke.

Even Shui Ruo, who usually couldn’t stay quiet for more than a few breaths, seemed unwilling to break the silence as she realized this place was not so simple.

And all of them began to notice that the deeper they went, the more the tunnel seemed to slope slightly upward.

It was as if they were climbing.

And the further they went, the less dark it became.

Soon, they even noticed a faint glow in the distance.

“Hmm?”

Just then, Li Feng paused as he noticed something on the wall again.

He raised a hand and summoned a small flame of spiritual qi, letting it float beside him to illuminate the wall.

The soft orange light flickered across the stone surface.

Just like the earlier tunnel, ancient carvings covered the walls.

But this time, rather than words, they were different.

Li Feng slowed slightly as his eyes scanned them.

Instead of praising the Lord of Azure Heaven, these carvings depicted scenes.

From what he could make out from the ancient carvings, it seemed to be—

“Battle…?” he murmured as he slowly resumed his steps, studying the story depicted along the wall.

In the carvings, he saw many figures raising their weapons against… a massive wave rising into the sky.

And strange shadowy creatures emerging from what looked like a black ocean.

Cultivators flew through the air, their weapons blazing with light as they fought desperately against the dark tide.

Some of the figures looked like ordinary humans.

Others looked… ancient and almost beast-like.

Li Feng narrowed his eyes.

“These carvings…”

Yue Lan stepped closer to the wall, her golden eye reflecting the flickering flame.

“They’re telling a story.”

Shui Ruo leaned closer as well, “…That doesn’t look like a very happy story.”

Indeed, just as Shui Ruo had said, the further the carvings continued along the wall, the worse the scenes became.

There were scenes of cities collapsing.

Mountains splitting apart.

And countless people drowning… swallowed by the rising black tide.

Worst of all, the black ocean continued to rise higher and higher as countless figures fought desperately against it.

But no matter how powerful the cultivators appeared…

They were slowly being pushed back.

Until finally—

The final carving appeared.

Li Feng stopped walking.

Shui Ruo, who had been cautiously walking while watching the wall, immediately bumped into his back, causing her large and soft cushions to bounce lightly.

But Li Feng didn’t seem to pay it any mind as he stared seriously at the carving before him.

In the last scene, a single figure stood in front of everyone, a sword raised toward the sky.

Behind him, countless cultivators knelt as if placing all their hopes on that lone figure.

And above them all….the black ocean loomed like a devouring sky.

Li Feng quietly studied the carving of that final figure standing against the surging wave that seemed to reach the heavens themselves.

“…The Lord of Azure Heaven.”

At his words, Liu Yanyue nodded slowly.

“Looks like he was their last hope.”

Jian Ruyi frowned slightly.

“… But the carving ends there.”

Li Feng noticed it too.

There was no conclusion…. no victory and no defeat.

The story simply… stopped.

As if whoever carved it never had the chance to finish.

Li Feng rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“So either he won…”

Shui Ruo swallowed nervously.

“…Or he lost.”

No one answered.

Because none of them knew which possibility was worse.

Li Feng eventually exhaled slowly and continued walking.

“Well… whatever happened was probably hundreds of thousands of years ago.”

He gestured forward.

“And he probably won, since the world is pretty much normal.”

His tone was casual, but his eyes remained sharp.

Because something still bothered him.

If this place really belonged to someone as powerful as the Lord of Azure Heaven…

Then why did it feel so empty?

Where were the treasures?

The inheritance?

Even the story about the phoenix that supposedly fell in this realm didn’t seem connected to any of this.

’Am I still missing something?’

Just as he was about to ask the others for their opinion…

Suddenly,

At the corner of his vision, he noticed a small movement.

“…!”

Li Feng’s legs instantly exploded with power as his figure vanished from where he stood.

Crack!

The stone beneath his feet cracked slightly from the sudden burst of speed as he shot forward down the tunnel.

“What?!”

Shui Ruo let out a surprised shout, barely having time to react before Li Feng had already disappeared into the darkness ahead.

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Li Feng was currently chasing the faint blur flickering ahead of him.

It was small but incredibly fast, darting through the dim tunnel like a shadow slipping between cracks of light.

’What is that…?’

The thing didn’t feel alive.

But it didn’t feel like a beast either.

And more importantly… Li Feng didn’t sense any killing intent from it.

Still, he didn’t slow down as spiritual qi surged through his legs as he accelerated again, the distance between them shrinking rapidly.

The blur suddenly turn sharply to the side, trying to slip through a narrow gap between two broken stones.

But Li Feng was faster.

His hand shot forward.

“Stop!”

A faint ripple of spiritual qi spread from his palm, wrapping around the small blur.

The moment it was surrounded by his qi, the blur trembled violently.

Then—

It froze.

“…!”

Seizing the opportunity, Li Feng immediately grabbed it.

But the moment his fingers closed around it, his eyes widened slightly.

Because his hand had not grabbed a physical object.

Instead… a faint translucent figure slowly appeared within his grasp.

It was like mist gathering into shape that look like an old man?

His body was half-transparent, his long hair drifting like smoke, and his robes looked ancient beyond recognition.

The figure looked extremely faint, as if it might disappear at any moment.

“…A soul?” Li Feng muttered.

The old man looked equally shocked.

His cloudy eyes widened as he stared at Li Feng.

“Ehh?? A human??”

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