Chapter 259: Snatching the Thunder Cocoon, Provoking Public Anger, Qin Feng Enters the Ten Thousand Races List

Chapter 259: Seizing the Thunder Cocoon, a Nation Enraged, Qin Feng Placed on the Ten Thousand Races Kill List, the Earth-Shattering Great Pursuit!

"My understanding of Mount Leixiang is far too scarce. I have only the documents I perused before departing, and the records sent over by Hall Master Sun. I myself have never once explored this mountain..."

Qin Feng murmured to himself.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

His own understanding of Mount Leixiang was limited, but there were others who knew it intimately!

Presently on the field, the one with the deepest knowledge of Mount Leixiang was neither him with his human data, nor Neil with his clan intelligence, but Zhou Yu inside the thunder cocoon!

As the inheritor of the Thunder Emperor, her knowledge regarding Mount Leixiang—which was formed from the Thunder Emperor's corpse—was the most profound. She might very well possess knowledge of some hidden, secret method!

This was, after all, the remains of the Thunder Emperor!

If one were to claim it possessed no other latent, formidable powers, Qin Feng would simply not believe it. Otherwise, given how many years the Thunder Emperor's corpse had been exposed, it would have long been taken by other supreme powerhouses; it could never have remained entirely unmolested.

Qin Feng reasoned thus, his thoughts turning rapidly, yet his outward actions betrayed not a single tremor.

He was acutely aware that at this juncture, the slightest anomaly could invite a devastating, cataclysmic strike.

Upon this mountain peak forged from the Thunder Emperor's remains, dozens of terrifying existences at the Black Hole and half-step Black Hole realms were gathered. Their spiritual wills, akin to materialized tempests, stirred every single inch of space.

In such an environment, conjuring his unique gold-crimson spiritual energy to infiltrate the thunder cocoon would be no different from lighting an unprecedented beacon in the dead of night; he would instantly become the common target of every hunter present.

Those old monsters who had immersed themselves in cosmic laws for millions of years possessed eyes of terrifying discernment. With a single glance, they would perceive the extraordinary quality of his spiritual energy and discern the horrifying potential of his Dao foundation.

When that time came, the so-called Imperial Inheritance would become secondary. He himself—a living treasure possessing boundless future potential—would immediately draw the most frenzied avarice and murderous intent from every living being.

By then, let alone rescuing Zhou Yu, whether he could escape with his own life would remain an unknown variable.

"I cannot be proactive; I can only be passive."

Qin Feng swiftly settled upon a strategy. "The only way to break this deadlock right now is to establish contact with Zhou Yu inside the thunder cocoon. However, the initiator of this contact cannot be me."

He deduced that as an inheritor recognized by the empire, Zhou Yu must have the backing of a colossal entity like the Thunder Legion. Her intellect and decisiveness were by no means comparable to ordinary geniuses.

Now suffering from the continuous spiritual interference of dozens of peers and even stronger entities, her process of refining the inheritance was bound to be obstructed. She could not possibly sit idly and wait for death.

The moment she realized that she could not break free from the predicament by her own strength alone, seeking external aid would become her sole option.

And among this pack of wolves consisting of the geniuses of ten thousand races, the only ones who might extend a helping hand were her compatriots of the human race.

"She will definitely attempt to contact me. What I must do is open the channel for receiving information to its absolute widest, allowing her to find me at the very first instance and in the most concealed manner."

With his plan formulated, Qin Feng maintained his outward pretense of cracking the restriction.

He mobilized his spiritual energy, yet he did not condense it into an offensive form. Instead, he deliberately mimicked other Star-tier beings, dyeing it with a layer of pure, untainted pale golden light.

This disguised spiritual energy resembled a slender strand of spider silk, extending outward from his body. It meticulously bypassed the overbearing spiritual fields of those Black Hole realm experts, finally resting gently upon the massive, solid outer shell of the thunder cocoon.

This thread of spiritual energy was exceptionally faint, mingled within dozens of overbearing torrents of spirit. It was utterly inconspicuous, like a single drop of water cast into a raging ocean.

It possessed no offensive or infiltrative properties; it was merely a passive, pure beacon.

Simultaneously, Qin Feng completely internalized his true, sea-like gold-crimson spiritual energy, enveloping it around his divine soul to construct a highly sensitive receiving network that only absorbed and never emitted.

He became like a monitoring technician seated within a radar station, shielding all outgoing signals and dedicating all power to reception, quietly awaiting that faint yet critical signal that might come from within the thunder cocoon.

"Ten days."

Qin Feng set a deadline for himself. "If Zhou Yu does not contact me within ten days, or is unable to do so, it will prove that this path is a dead end. When that time comes, I can only take a perilous gamble, relying on the ultimate speed of the Crimson Gold Wings to forcibly seize the thunder cocoon, and plan the rest afterward."

This was a rational decision.

The longer time dragged on, the more external restrictions of the thunder cocoon would be cracked, and the greater the variables would become.

Ten days was the most appropriate waiting limit he deemed after weighing the pros and cons.

He focused his mind and fell into complete stillness, transforming into the most inconspicuous black silhouette upon this clamorous mountain peak.

...

Time flowed quietly amidst the tense confrontation and collaboration.

Upon the mountain peak, tides of energy rose and fell in succession.

Dozens of genius powerhouses, including Black Hole realm existences like Neil and Chiyan, extended their vast spiritual energies like countless precise carving knives, meticulously sculpting and analyzing the complex restrictions on the surface of the thunder cocoon.

A bizarre sort of peace permeated the air.

All living beings temporarily set aside their mutual animosities and vigilance, tacitly converging their strength into a single point.

For they all understood that before cracking open this hardened eggshell, any internal strife would be pure folly.

On the first day, the thunder cocoon remained as steady as a monolith. Only the thunderous light on its surface rippled slightly under the impact of everyone's spiritual energy.

On the second day, the thunder cocoon remained silent, but the thunderstorm surrounding it visibly grew more manic, as if responding to the external provocations.

On the third day, a change finally manifested.

Qin Feng keenly perceived that deep within the massive thunder cocoon, the core that had been steadily entrenched—that streak of purple-black Undying Phoenix Thunder—suddenly suffered a slight disruption in its energy fluctuations.

It was no longer as serene and restrained as before. Instead, it began to emit an anxious, violent aura, resembling a cornered peerless beast pacing uneasily within its cage.

"Zhou Yu's cultivation has already sustained a substantive impact."

Qin Feng's heart tightened slightly.

This indicated that the spiritual interference tactic employed by the crowd was effective.

The continuous external pressure had already begun to shake the fusion process between her and the Undying Phoenix Thunder.

If this state persisted, at best, the fusion would fail; at worst, her mind would collapse, and she would be backlashed by the terrifying imperial will of the Undying Phoenix Thunder, ending in the destruction of both her body and her Dao.

The other powerhouses upon the mountain peak clearly sensed this as well. Their spirits grew increasingly invigorated, and their movements in cracking the restrictions accelerated by a few fractions.

Greedy gazes were now cast upon that colossal thunder cocoon without the slightest concealment, as though they were looking at a peerless treasure on the verge of ripening.

Qin Feng remained as unmoving as a mountain, yet internally, he had elevated his vigilance to the absolute maximum.

He knew that the moment for Zhou Yu's counterattack—or rather, her cry for help—was drawing near.

As expected, another day passed.

When the fourth day arrived, a great number of stars streaked across the mountaintop, their light piercing the darkness of the cosmos to coat this mountain of the Thunder Emperor's remains in a layer of cold brilliance. At that moment, an exceptionally faint yet incomparably clear spiritual fluctuation silently retraced its path along the pale golden thread Qin Feng had left behind, printing itself directly into the depths of his mind.

It was a cold, hurried female voice, carrying a trace of uncertainty and the hope of a final gamble.

"Your Excellency... are you a warrior dispatched by the Thunder Legion to rescue me?"

It had come!

Qin Feng's spirit jolted, yet his countenance remained as unruffled as still water.

Without the slightest hesitation, he swiftly formulated a response in his heart.

If he were to explain at this moment that he had come at the behest of Sun Chantang, the sheer number of complications involved would only waste precious time.

"Mhm... you could say that."

He offered a vague yet sufficiently affirmative reply.

To Zhou Yu inside the thunder cocoon, this answer was no different from a beam of celestial light piercing through the abyss of despair.

Her spiritual fluctuations visibly stabilized a great deal, carrying a trace of relief from surviving a disaster and a profound sense of gratitude.

From Zhou Yu's perspective, the situation outside was laid bare in perfect clarity.

Dozens of Black Hole-level experts encircled the area, while the prodigies at the top of the Hidden Dragon List watched with predatory intent. Such a formation would leave even a Domain Lord-level powerhouse from the Thunder Legion hard-pressed to gain any advantage, especially since all the teleportation beacons here had been destroyed in the earlier Domain Lord battle.

The human who responded to her now displayed a mental energy fluctuation indicating a mere Star-level cultivation.

A Star-level martial artist, daring to venture alone into such a perilous place, mingling among Black Hole-level beings who could crush him at any moment, all to execute a rescue mission with a slim chance of survival.

What courage and sense of duty did that require!

Zhou Yu immediately pieced together the full picture in her mind: The high command of the Thunder Legion had learned of her predicament, but the top-tier experts were bound by rules and could not arrive in time.

Thus, the legion issued an emergency mission, and this fellow clansman, who happened to be training nearby, resolutely took on this nearly impossible task. He traversed the boundless void in the flesh, spending thousands of years to finally reach this place.

Calculating the time, it indeed matched.

In an instant, a wave of profound gratitude flooded Zhou Yu’s heart.

She felt ashamed for being trapped, and deeply moved by the righteous act of this clansman she had never met.

In truth, though her guess differed from the reality, the core was the same.

Qin Feng had indeed come at the risk of his life.

Had it not been for Sun Shantang’s entrustment and that debt of gratitude, he would never have set foot in the eye of this storm.

The resources within Thunder Phase Mountain had long been absorbed by Zhou Yu; for him, this journey offered no tangible gain. Success would mean endless pursuit, failure would mean annihilation.

This was a pure adventure, undertaken solely to fulfill a promise.

Of course, Qin Feng was no reckless fool.

He dared to come because he had his own trump cards and confidence.

His meticulous mind had already weighed several plans. If he judged the situation hopeless in advance, he would retreat without hesitation, return to the Cosmic City with complete intelligence on this place, and summon true experts.

He would not throw his life away, nor would he watch Zhou Yu fall.

But that way, time might run out.

Now, with time pressing, neither had leisure for pleasantries.

Zhou Yu’s voice rang out again, rapid and direct: “Thank you for coming! Time is short, so I’ll make it brief. Do you possess a speed-type Black Hole-level secret treasure?”

This was the most critical question.

Without a speed-type Black Hole-level secret treasure, any plan was futile.

“Yes.”

Qin Feng’s reply was concise and firm.

“That’s wonderful!”

A hint of irrepressible joy crept into Zhou Yu’s voice, and she quickly laid out the plan she had long prepared:

“The barrier they are now breaking is actually a trap! It is not a protective layer for the Thunder Cocoon, but the final contingency left by the Thunder Emperor.

Once this barrier is fully breached, it will not open the Thunder Cocoon; instead, it will instantly detonate the thunderous origin accumulated in Thunder Phase Mountain for eons!”

“Then, a indiscriminate, terrifying thunderstorm will descend, its power sufficient to severely wound or even instantly kill unprepared Black Hole-level experts!

This is the Thunder Emperor’s ultimate means to prevent the inheritance from being seized, a final act of mutual destruction.”

“Most crucially, this thunderstorm has a trait: it will not attack the vessel of the Thunder Emperor’s inheritance—that is, me and the Thunder Cocoon I inhabit.

You need only, at the moment the barrier shatters, immediately retrieve the Thunder Cocoon and flee with all your might! The thunderstorm will clear your path and hold off all pursuers!”

Qin Feng instantly grasped the core of the entire plan.

It was a stunning masterstroke, using the energy of the entire Thunder Emperor’s corpse as the price to create a brief but absolutely safe escape window for the inheritor.

He immediately pressed for key details: “How long can the thunderstorm hold them? Can it block their mental energy lock?”

“Yes!”

Zhou Yu answered with certainty. “The thunderstorm’s energy level is extremely high; it will completely disrupt space and the mental energy field. Any mental imprint will be instantly erased.

They cannot lock onto your position!

Based on my estimate, given the strength of these Black Hole-level beings, even with secret treasures for protection, they will be delayed for at least ten seconds! Without treasures, they will die outright.”

“Ten seconds…”

Qin Feng’s eyes lit up.

Ten seconds might be but a fleeting moment for ordinary mortals.

But for him, who had mastered extreme speed, under the condition of being untraceable, ten seconds were enough to cross an astronomical distance and vanish entirely from the enemy’s perception range!

Escape was a profound art.

The greatest fear was not insufficient speed, but being relentlessly tracked by a mental imprint, like a clinging curse, no matter where you fled.

And this final contingency of the Thunder Emperor precisely solved that most fatal problem.

As long as he could break out of the initial encirclement, with the vast cosmos as cover, he had countless ways to slip away like a cicada shedding its shell.

“I understand.”

Qin Feng replied in a low voice. “After that, how much longer will you need to complete your final transformation? Also, if I store the Thunder Cocoon in a subspace storage unit, will it affect you?”

“It can be stored. My evolution process is self-contained within the Thunder Cocoon and has nothing to do with the external environment.”

Zhou Yu answered. “I still need at least ten thousand years to fully refine the Undying Phoenix Thunder and break out of the cocoon. As long as you take the Thunder Cocoon out of the storage unit before ten thousand years pass, it will be fine.”

“Ten thousand years… Very well.”

Qin Feng nodded, then proposed another plan: “Since it can be stored in a subspace storage unit, can I directly use the authority to teleport you and the Thunder Cocoon remotely back to the heartland of the Human Empire? That would be the safest.”

“No!”

Zhou Yu immediately rejected the idea, her voice turning grave. “Although you have activated remote access to the subspace storage unit, the teleportation process still has to pass through subspace. The subspace has long been infiltrated and corrupted by the power of the Evil Gods.

An item like the Thunder Cocoon, containing vast life essence and a royal inheritance, would be like the sun in the night within subspace, instantly attracting the covetous attention of the Evil Gods.

Once targeted, the consequences would be unimaginable. Just place me in the storage unit and carry me with you.”

Qin Feng understood and abandoned the thought.

Zhou Yu continued, “All my teleportation beacons have been destroyed, so I cannot be located. If you can safely deliver me to any human Cosmic City, I, Zhou Yu, will repay this life-saving grace handsomely.”

“It is my duty; no thanks are needed.”

Qin Feng replied calmly, then shifted his tone with a hint of candid humor: “Of course, if you insist on giving, I won’t refuse.”

At this critical juncture, this lighthearted remark eased Zhou Yu’s tense mind slightly, and she let out a very soft laugh, filled with genuine warmth.

“A life-saving grace cannot be measured by ‘handsome repayment’…”

She said softly, then her tone turned serious again. “Alright, based on my perception, there are still seven days before they completely break that trap barrier. You must be fully prepared. The moment the barrier shatters is your only chance to act.”

“I am inside the Thunder Cocoon. After this awakening, I will no longer be able to spare any mental energy to communicate with you, nor can I do anything. From now on, everything depends on you.”

“Mm.”

Qin Feng nodded slightly. The mental energy fluctuation that had connected them, with Zhou Yu’s final words, quickly severed and faded into nothingness.

The mountaintop once again fell into that eerie calm.

Qin Feng withdrew the disguised mental energy thread and sank all his focus back into his body, beginning his final preparations for the thunderous strike seven days hence.

His heart pounded powerfully within his chest, blood surging like liquid mercury.

The indestructible tower within him hummed softly, a vast ocean of golden-red spiritual energy like a volcano on the verge of eruption, amassing colossal power.

His consciousness sank into the subspace storage unit, once again confirming the state of the black-hole-level secret treasure, the "Crimson Gold Wings," ensuring it could unleash its utmost might in an instant.

Time passed, minute by minute.

Seven days—for these powerhouses who often secluded themselves for millennia—were but a blink of an eye.

The atmosphere atop the mountain peak, over these seven days, had been pushed to its absolute zenith.

Every living being could clearly sense that the final, most formidable barrier of light on the surface of the Thunder Cocoon was visibly thinning and weakening.

Fine cracks, like a spider's web, spread across the light membrane.

The dawn of victory seemed to shine upon every face.

Many creatures began to breathe heavily, their eyes filled with greed and desire nearly materializing.

They subtly distanced themselves from one another, taut muscles heralding a cataclysmic bloodbath to come.

In their eyes, the inheritance of the Crowned Emperor, representing supreme glory and power, was already within their grasp, a prize waiting to be claimed!

... Another few standard imperial hours passed.

Time seemed to lose meaning atop Thunder Phase Mountain; each moment stretched like a century.

The dozens of black-hole-level powerhouses and prodigies of the Hidden Dragon List gathered here had their spirits and wills highly condensed, like a bowstring stretched to its limit, awaiting a single release.

All gazes, all greed and murderous intent, focused on that massive cocoon, floating silently, composed entirely of blue-black crystalline thunder.

In this dead silence of anticipation, a barely perceptible energy ripple, like a pebble dropped into a still lake, instantly spread billions of ripples.

On the surface of the Thunder Cocoon, the last wisp of energy rune of the barrier—which had taken dozens of powerhouses three months to slowly erode—silently annihilated in the void, dissolving into the purest ether particles, vanishing without a trace.

"It's open! The barrier is open!"

A black-hole-level powerhouse from the Carapace Clan, resembling a mantis, let out a sharp mental roar, its compound eyes reflecting the cocoon's outline, filled with undisguised possessiveness.

"Kill—!"

Someone lit the fuse, and in an instant, the entire summit of Thunder Phase Mountain transformed into a boiling sea of energy.

"Undying Phoenix Thunder! That is the Thunder Emperor's true inheritance!"

"Whoever seizes it can glimpse the path to emperorship!"

"Grab it, and it's mine!"

Greed is the most primal and powerful driving force in the universe.

Before the complete inheritance of a fallen emperor, any temporary alliances and understandings were as fragile as paper.

Shui Mo of the Holy Spirit Water Tribe, his black-hole-level core spinning madly, summoned endless azure seawater from the void, forming a sky-covering giant hand reaching for the Thunder Cocoon.

For him, this inheritance was the only shortcut to escape his race's barren plight and ascend to the pinnacle of martial arts.

Chi Yan of the Holy Spirit Fire Tribe transformed into a blazing sun that incinerated all things, its scorching light and heat distorting space; his goal was equally clear.

Water and fire are incompatible, but at this moment, their desire for this opportunity was identical.

This was not merely an inheritance but a supreme capital to overpower the other, even devour their origin.

Neil, the prodigy of the Light Tribe, instantly dissolved into billions of light particles, turning into a streak of light imperceptible to the naked eye, arriving later but faster, aiming straight for the cocoon's core.

As the tenth-ranked on the Hidden Dragon List, backed by a powerful race with a seated deity, his insight far surpassed ordinary powerhouses.

He knew well the fatal allure of the life-creation principles within the Undying Phoenix Thunder for an energy-based existence like himself.

If he could comprehend even a fraction, he might break through racial shackles and achieve an unprecedented "Light Divine Body."

Tark of the Golden Armor Giant Beast Clan, a cosmic beast, let out a roar that shook the starry heavens.

His star-sized body did not charge directly; instead, he opened his maw wide, spewing a pitch-black beam of pure gravity, attempting to swallow the Thunder Cocoon and the surrounding space together.

For his clan, the legendary imperial treasures left by the Thunder Emperor and the possible boundless riches were the most tangible gains.

The wildness of the Mechanical Clan, Ye Luo the Stone Emperor's son, the Death Knell of the Undead Clan... every prodigy, every powerhouse, now unreservedly revealed their trump cards.

Secret arts, domains, and the radiance of secret treasures intertwined, forming a resplendent yet deadly apocalyptic tableau.

All their spiritual power, like the strongest chains, locked firmly onto the seemingly attainable Thunder Cocoon.

Yet, just as all attacks were about to touch the cocoon—

The Thunder Cocoon did not open as they expected; not even a trace of energy fluctuation leaked outward.

Instead, a violent will, originating from the entire Thunder Phase Mountain, from the deepest part of the emperor's corpse spanning the cosmos—a will capable of making the universe tremble—awoke with a roar.

Hum—

An indescribable pressure descended.

It was not mental oppression but an absolute "sovereign might" from the level of cosmic laws.

As if the master of this starry sky, awakened from slumber by a swarm of reckless ants, unleashed his wrath.

Upon the towering body of Thunder Phase Mountain, the thunder accumulated over billions of years was ignited in that moment.

At the mountain's summit, the endless thunderclouds that had been mere background suddenly blazed at their core, their light even outshining a supergiant star a hundred light-years away.

Then, an infinite cascade of thunder—no longer blue-black but a ghastly white embodying destruction and finality—poured down like the collapse of a celestial river!

This was not ordinary lightning; it was the wrath of laws invoked by the emperor's lingering will!

Crack!

A single, finest strand of ghastly white lightning, ignoring the distance of space and time, struck precisely the Carapace Clan powerhouse who had acted first, unprotected by any black-hole-level secret treasure.

His carapace, capable of withstanding the core temperature of a star, was more fragile than the most brittle glass before that lightning.

No scream, no struggle—his massive body, along with his indestructible projection, was instantly decomposed and annihilated, soul and spirit utterly destroyed.

In his place, only a spinning miniature black hole remained, frantically devouring the chaotic energy and matter around it—the sole proof of his existence.

One strike!

With a single blow, a genuine black-hole-level powerhouse fell!

This horrifying scene, like a bucket of ice water, doused every boiling mind.

"Not good!"

"It's a trap! That barrier was a trap!"

Neil roared in fury and alarm, the light particles around him vibrating wildly as a shield of countless sacred runes formed instantly, shielding him tightly.

Tark reacted just as swiftly; an ancient beast-rune-inscribed black-gold giant shield materialized before him.

All other prodigies and black-hole-level powerhouses were stunned, their souls fleeing in terror.

They frantically activated their defensive treasures or unleashed their ultimate life-saving techniques to withstand the overwhelming, endless ghastly white thunderstorm.

The summit of Thunder Phase Mountain instantly transformed from a treasure hunt into a brutal survival trial.

And in that moment of utter chaos, when every living being was preoccupied with their own survival—

Now!

Long hidden at the edge, as inconspicuous as a stubborn stone, Qin Feng moved.

Hum!

The ultimate power armor instantly covered his entire body.

Behind him, the crimson-gold wings unfurled with a roar, pushed to their absolute limit, blazing with crimson-gold light.

A towering pagoda phantom, millions of light-years high, rose abruptly behind him!

It was the Undying Pagoda!

On the pagoda's surface, the gold-red spiritual force, representing a higher quality of mental power, spontaneously condensed into runes, swirling like living things, exuding an aura of eternal indestructibility.

Qin Feng's figure transformed into a red-gold lightning bolt that tore through the pale thunder curtain, so fast that even Neil, the prodigy of the Light Clan, turned to look.

He did not hesitate, his target clear, his trajectory straight, crossing the chaotic battlefield in an instant and arriving beside the thunder cocoon.

Those pale thunderbolts, capable of instantly killing beings at the black hole level, strangely veered away from Qin Feng when they approached within a hundred miles of him, as if he did not exist in this dimension.

Zhou Yu's intelligence was accurate!

Qin Feng reached out, and his vast gold-red spiritual force formed a force field that was both the gentlest and the most solid, steadily enveloping the massive thunder cocoon.

He did not immediately store it into his subspace storage unit.

This was a judgment of extreme calm—at this moment, he was still in the core area of Thunder Phase Mountain, and the will of the Thunder Emperor had not yet dissipated. No one could guarantee that after "hiding" the thunder cocoon, the indiscriminate thunderstorm would not change its "attack logic" and mark him as an enemy.

To ensure absolute safety, he had to carry it and charge out of this deadly thunder zone!

"It's a human!"

Tark, the golden-armored beast, roared from behind his black-gold giant shield. He had witnessed Qin Feng snatch the thunder cocoon as if entering an empty land, and his eyes, larger than stars, were filled with disbelief and raging fury. "He's taking the thunder cocoon!"

"It's Qin Feng!"

In the wild electronic eyes of the Mechanical Clan, countless data streams refreshed frantically, instantly identifying Qin Feng.

"Qin Feng—!"

The voice of Yeluo, the Stone Emperor's son, was filled with fury.

"You again! Bastard!!"

Shuimo of the Holy Spirit Water Clan uttered the most venomous curse.

Again!

Back at Hanging Mountain, when seizing the Bodhi Flower, the Stone Emperor's son had nearly been killed by Qin Feng, and the Bodhi Flower was taken.

Later, in the Guluo King Ruins, Qin Feng, like a mantis stalking a cicada, snatched the king-sealing treasure, the Guluo Bell, leaving Shuimo, Kuangye, and Sangzhong—three beings from myriad races—dumbfounded!

Qin Feng was a must-kill for them!

And now, here at Thunder Phase Mountain, before the inheritance of the throne, history was repeating itself!

Kuangye, Yeluo, Shuimo, and Sangzhong—these four prodigies who had suffered great losses at Qin Feng's hands—now had bloodshot eyes, wishing they could devour Qin Feng alive.

But they were pinned down by the endless thunderstorm, forced to watch helplessly as Qin Feng's figure turned into a point of light, about to vanish from their perception.

"Kill—!"

"This damned thunderstorm!"

Neil roared in frustration, trying to transform into a beam of light to pursue, but a pale thunderbolt a hundred times thicker than before crashed down, shaking his condensed light shield violently, even dimming the sacred runes.

He was nailed to the spot, unable to move an inch.

This was the common state of all Hidden Dragon List prodigies and black hole-level beings at that moment.

They were like flies trapped in a spiderweb—the more they struggled, the more violent the thunder that bound them became.

One after another, spiritual force imprints containing their furious wills shot across endless distances like tracking missiles toward Qin Feng, attempting to leave a mark on him for later pursuit.

However, as soon as these spiritual force imprints flew out of the core area of the thunderstorm, they were precisely shattered by the scattered thunder arcs on the periphery, not a single one successfully landing on Qin Feng.

Thus, under the gaze of the crowd and their impotent rage, Qin Feng, carrying the massive thunder cocoon, pushed the speed of his crimson-gold wings to the limit.

His speed had already approached nine-tenths of the speed of light, and wherever he passed, even space rippled.

Soon, he rushed out of the vast range of Thunder Phase Mountain and entered the cold, dead depths of the universe.

Without a pause, Qin Feng moved his mind and directly stored the thunder cocoon into his subspace storage unit.

Ten seconds.

From the moment he struck to seize the cocoon to the moment he completely left the thunderstorm coverage of Thunder Phase Mountain, it was exactly ten seconds, no more, no less.

And in those ten seconds, he had flown an astronomical distance, diving into a nearby nebula with an extremely complex spiritual psychic force field—a natural hiding place.

At that very moment, in the direction of Thunder Phase Mountain, the terrifying thunderstorm seemed to have exhausted its energy and began to weaken rapidly.

One after another, powerful auras filled with towering rage, like primordial beasts unleashed from their cages, shot up from Thunder Phase Mountain, frantically searching in all directions.

But Qin Feng's figure had long since vanished without a trace.

Qin Feng did not stop, nor dared he stop.

He maintained the speed of his crimson-gold wings at its limit, and behind him, the gold-red spiritual force within the Undying Pagoda, millions of light-years tall, was visibly depleting at an alarming rate, like receding tidewater.

At the same time, the "Ten Complete Hands" technique within his body was pushed to its extreme.

The vast quantities of heavenly treasures and earthly rarities he had plundered and stockpiled during his thousand-year voyage were now thrown into the furnace like fuel, frantically refined into pure spiritual force, barely compensating for the terrifying consumption.

This was a race against time, and even more so, an extreme squeeze on his own foundation.

Thus, Qin Feng fled madly toward the predetermined direction for an entire month.

A month of non-stop, limit-speed flight allowed him to cross an unimaginably vast distance.

But he knew this was far from enough.

Those black hole-level powerhouses and Hidden Dragon List prodigies might have some lucky ones following this path, and even those prodigies from peak races might have peculiar methods.

However, Qin Feng's stockpiled resources had already been depleted by nearly seventy percent.

The spiritual force within the Undying Pagoda was also nearing the brink of exhaustion.

He had to stop for a resupply.

He halted before a giant star entering its twilight years.

This star was tens of thousands of times larger than the sun, but its light had grown dim, and its internal energy structure was extremely unstable.

Without hesitation, Qin Feng plunged into the star's core.

Three days.

In just three days, under the domineering devouring efficiency of the "Ten Complete Hands," all the usable spiritual force and psychic force fields within this giant star were devoured by him in one gulp.

The star, which could have burned for millions more years, had its life process instantly terminated by this absorption, completely turning into a cold white dwarf.

If it were an ordinary martial artist, trying to directly refine a star would first require a great deal of time to tame the violent "spiritual psychic force field" within the star—a very slow process. But Qin Feng, with his perfected Ten Complete Hands, devoured like a whale, and all the violent force fields before him were as docile as sheep.

Qin Feng set off again, the spiritual force within the Undying Pagoda restored to its peak state.

He once again activated his crimson-gold wings, beginning another month-long sprint.

Flee, replenish, flee again, replenish again.

This seemingly simple cycle became the sole theme of Qin Feng's long years to come.

Like the loneliest traveler of the cosmos, he carved an unending trajectory through the boundless darkness.

He crossed desolate dead star regions, evaded dangerous spatial rifts, and even brushed past a massive crystalline civilization fleet on the move.

Time, in this monotonous yet utterly tense flight, lost all meaning.

One year, ten years, fifty years...

When Qin Feng completed yet another absorption of a star and resumed his journey, he habitually extended his spiritual power to its limit, probing the silent void behind him.

This time, the string of his heart, taut for a hundred years, finally loosened a little.

A hundred years.

He had fled in this extreme manner for a full century.

Now, he could be certain that no pursuers remained behind him.

Whether it was spatial fluctuations, or any other possible tracking marks, they had all been thoroughly erased over the long span of a hundred years and countless complex space jumps.

He was safe.

Throughout this century of escape, he had never deviated from his original planned route.

He opened the star map and recalibrated his position.

According to his current cruising speed, the coordinates of the "cosmic wonder" that his benefactor Sun Chantang had told him about were still about a thousand years away.

The endless sea of stars unfolded before him; the road ahead remained long, but behind him, there were no more pursuers.

"However, it seems I've now intruded into the dominion of some cosmic nation."

"The star systems ahead have already developed advanced civilizations, ruling over countless galaxies..."

"No, this might not be a cosmic nation, but rather the territory of some race, like humanity's cosmic city..."

Qin Feng's spiritual power sensed the distant star systems, speculating in his mind, while analyzing whether to take a detour.

(End of chapter)