Chapter 285: Two Hundred Thousand Blood Jade Crystals! Black-gold Spiritual Power! Qin

Chapter 285: Two Hundred Thousand Blood Jade Crystals! Black-Gold Spiritual Power! Qin Feng Tops the Blood God Tower, Shocking Countless Beings

The Blood God Tower, First Floor.

[Challenger: Qin Feng]

[Timing has begun]

[Do you wish to begin the challenge?]

Qin Feng’s gaze swept over the phantoms that mirrored his own form, his eyes as calm as an ancient well.

His perception clearly captured that, though these phantoms were identical to him in appearance, the spiritual energy fluctuations within them were strictly confined to a certain baseline, not a fraction more, not a fraction less.

This was the rule of the Blood God Tower: it precisely replicated opponents of the same cultivation level based on the challenger’s strength.

It was an absolutely fair trial, testing the challenger’s combat skills, willpower, and mastery of their own power within the same realm.

Rankings, glory, inheritance… these might be the ultimate pursuits of beings like the Stone Buddha, the Lion God Statue, or Ye Luo.

They yearned to leave their mark on this secondary stele, engraved with countless legendary names, proving their talent and potential to the entire universe.

But for Qin Feng, these were not the core purpose of his visit.

His gaze had long pierced through the facade of this trial, settling on the Blood God Tower’s more essential and even more heaven-defying rule—time freeze.

Outside, the world was in turmoil, the King Corpse roared, and powerful enemies lurked on all sides.

Yet within this tower, the river of time seemed to solidify into a piece of amber. Whether one spent a hundred years, a thousand years, or even ten thousand years here, to the outside world, it was but a fleeting moment.

This was a perfect place for seclusion, a supreme treasure ground where he could safely transform the terrifying resources in his hands—enough to ignite a war—into his own foundation.

Two hundred thousand Blood Jade Crystals.

If this number were to spread, it would drive marquis-level powerhouses mad, and even king-level beings would cast covetous glances.

Each Blood Jade Crystal represented a leap in life essence, a precious opportunity to advance to a higher level of existence.

And now, he possessed two hundred thousand such opportunities.

As for the ranking of the Blood God Tower?

A faint smile curled at the corner of Qin Feng’s mouth.

Once he had fully absorbed these two hundred thousand Blood Jade Crystals, the so-called ranking would be nothing more than a trivial matter.

What he truly cared about was completing the “Death Mission” issued by the universe’s will, surviving in this brutal battlefield of myriad races, and ultimately standing at the peak.

The Blood God Tower was the most critical and solid cornerstone on his path to this goal.

“No rush.”

Qin Feng murmured to himself. Then, ignoring the cold challenge prompt, he directly sat down cross-legged.

The blood-colored mist flowed slowly around him. Those motionless phantom opponents, before he chose to begin the challenge, stood like lifeless statues, utterly still.

With a thought, a Blood Jade Crystal, blood-red and seemingly containing the life force and resentment of a world, appeared in his palm.

Without any hesitation, Qin Feng closed his eyes slightly, his divine sense sinking into it, beginning his first cultivation session within the Blood God Tower.

Boom!

A torrent of life essence spiritual energy, vast and pure to the extreme, surged into his limbs and bones like a broken stellar sea.

His [Eternal Singularity] foundation hummed with greed, frantically devouring this external power.

Every cell, every inch of his sinews and bones rejoiced under the nourishment of this energy, undergoing visible strengthening and transformation.

Yet, along with this pure spiritual energy came a cold, evil whisper, filled with endless temptation.

The voice seemed to come from the deepest part of the soul, carrying an indescribable magic, constantly murmuring in his ear. It promised greater power, eternal life, and freedom from all constraints.

It tempted Qin Feng to abandon resistance, to sink into it, to embrace the chaotic and mad ultimate truth.

This was the most terrifying side effect of the Blood Jade Crystal, originating from the Blood God.

Any being with even a slightly weak will would quickly lose themselves under such seduction, their Dao heart collapsing.

At best, they would become a mindless killing machine; at worst, they would be twisted into a servant of chaos, doomed for eternity.

But on Qin Feng’s face, there was no trace of panic.

“Hum—”

Deep within his soul, three dazzling Emperor Gold Nails suddenly burst forth with ten thousand feet of golden light.

That light was sacred, majestic, blazing like the sun, filled with the supreme will to shatter all illusions and suppress all demons.

Under the golden radiance, the seductive whispers that had just been wildly multiplying were like snow in the dark night meeting the rising sun. They let out a piercing shriek and melted away, purifying at a visible rate.

This was a long and arduous process.

Though the power of the Emperor Gold Nails was domineering, the seductive force was like a stubborn bone-deep poison, extremely tenacious.

Qin Feng had to use his rock-solid will as the guide, mobilizing the power of the Emperor Gold Nails to scrape away the poison inch by inch, completely cleansing the pollution that had seeped into his soul.

This required a great deal of time.

If it were any other being, even with similar protective treasures, they could not endure such a prolonged soul tug-of-war.

Because willpower has its limits; prolonged high tension would exhaust any prodigy.

But Qin Feng was different.

His will had long been forged beyond the ordinary through countless life-and-death battles and thousands of years of solitary cultivation.

More importantly, he had nearly infinite time.

Within the Blood God Tower, time was his cheapest and most abundant capital.

The seductive force of the first Blood Jade Crystal was completely eliminated.

Qin Feng’s soul was clear and bright, not only unharmed but, through this confrontation, became more refined and resilient.

He did not pause. He immediately took out the second, the third…

Within the Blood God Tower, there was no alternation of day and night, only eternal blood-red.

Qin Feng’s figure was like an unchanging statue, sitting quietly in that blood mist, repeating the cycle of absorption, refinement, and purification.

One year, ten years, a hundred years…

In this hundred years, he successfully refined ten Blood Jade Crystals.

His life essence had become astonishingly vast.

The purple-gold sea of spiritual power, through this continuous tempering and confrontation, grew deeper and more boundless, its quality faintly touching a higher barrier.

But he still did not stop.

For him, this was only the beginning.

Thirty, fifty, one hundred!

When Qin Feng successfully refined the hundredth Blood Jade Crystal, the seductive force he endured was no longer mere whispers. It had coalesced into a blurry, malevolent evil god phantom, roaring madly in his spiritual world, trying to tear apart his will.

The light of the Emperor Gold Nails clashed violently with the black aura of the evil god phantom. Each collision brought a tearing pain to Qin Feng’s soul.

But he silently endured, his will as immovable as an ancient divine mountain.

Three hundred years, five hundred years, a thousand years pass…

Three hundred pieces!

Five hundred pieces!

A thousand pieces!

…

Three thousand pieces!

Five thousand pieces!

Ten thousand pieces!

…

Thirty thousand pieces!

Fifty thousand pieces!

One hundred thousand pieces!

When Qin Feng had refined the hundred-thousandth Blood Jade Crystal, he had already spent a full million years of endless time within the Blood God Tower.

A million years of motionless sitting, a million years of soul combat.

His will had long been tempered beyond steel, reaching a state nearly akin to "utter impassivity."

That evil god phantom, coalesced from the power of temptation, had in his spiritual world transformed from its initial frenzied roar into a helpless howl.

Qin Feng's violet-gold spiritual power, through this million years of refinement, had finally completed that last, most crucial transformation.

"Crack—"

A crisp shattering sound, as if from the dimension of the soul, rang out.

His vast Eternal Singularity, surrounded by a blazing accretion disk of violet-gold spiritual power, began a violent collapse and condensation at that moment.

All light, all spiritual energy, converged madly toward that single point at the center.

Finally, when everything calmed, that expanse of violet-gold spiritual power had vanished.

In its place was a deep, dark, almost light-and-perception-devouring… black-gold!

That black-gold was more profound than the deepest cosmic void, yet at its core, it exuded an ineffable nobility and immortality.

Black-gold spiritual power!

This was a quality never before heard of, a miracle never recorded in the annals of the human empire!

Even those ancient beings hailed as myths and legends had only ever reached the highest quality of violet-gold spiritual power.

Black-gold had surpassed all scriptures, all the cognitive boundaries of the mighty.

The moment the black-gold spiritual power took form, Qin Feng felt his perception undergo earth-shattering changes.

He could even "see" the ubiquitous runes of law within the Blood God Tower, could "hear" the whispers of every wisp of spiritual energy in the blood mist.

The entire world, in his perception, became unprecedentedly clear and transparent.

This was an enhancement of more than a hundredfold!

It was a qualitative leap from "seeing" to "controlling"!

At the same time, his physical constitution, transformed by these hundred thousand Blood Jade Crystals, had undergone a terrifying leap of several hundredfold.

The foundation of his [Eternal Singularity] Dao Base had become so solid and vast that it far exceeded the category of the black hole level.

Yet he still did not stop.

In Qin Feng's hand, there remained a full hundred thousand Blood Jade Crystals.

What he aimed to do was to push this unprecedented foundation to its limit.

The subsequent cultivation became even more monotonous and even more terrifying.

Another full million years passed.

…

Two million years!

Three million years!

…

Ten million years!

…

Finally, within the Blood God Tower, time froze at the terrifying number of twenty million years.

Qin Feng, who had sat cross-legged in stillness for twenty million years, slowly and completely merged the power of the two hundred-thousandth Blood Jade Crystal into his body and soul.

Hum!

An indescribably terrifying aura flashed from him and vanished in an instant.

That aura was so powerful that it caused the entire space of the first floor of the Blood God Tower to tremble slightly.

Those standing phantom opponents, under this aura, seemed like fragile glass, with fine cracks appearing on their surfaces.

Qin Feng slowly opened his eyes.

What kind of eyes were those?

Deep, weathered, as if containing the sediment of twenty million years of time, and as if reflecting the endless scroll of cosmic birth and death, the cycles of star seas.

A single glance was enough to shatter the mind and dissolve the will of any black hole level powerhouse.

The power within him had reached an inconceivable peak.

The black-gold spiritual power, like a silent universe, flowed quietly in his sea of consciousness, containing the might to overturn seas and rivers, to reverse heaven and earth.

His physical body—every particle shimmered with immortal radiance. By sheer physical strength alone, he could tear apart stars and clash with divine weapons.

Now, even without using any killing secret arts or activating any Dao Base divine abilities, relying solely on this body and this black-gold spiritual power, he had firmly stepped into that realm countless prodigies dreamt of—the Divine Forbidden!

And not just entering the Divine Forbidden, but existing within it as a terrifying entity.

"Twenty million years… a snap of the fingers."

Qin Feng murmured to himself, his voice carrying a trace of distant melancholy and reflection that even he himself did not notice.

He stood up. Twenty million years of motionless sitting made his movements seem slightly sluggish, but in the next instant, that sluggishness vanished, replaced by a perfect harmony and naturalness that fit the entire space.

He gently clenched his fist, feeling the seemingly endless power within his body, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"This Blood God Tower is truly worthy of being the Blood God's supreme divine object—truly miraculous."

He looked up at those phantom opponents now covered in cracks, and with a thought,

"Begin the trial."

That cold will spoke again.

[Trial begins!]

In an instant, the nearest phantom figure to Qin Feng moved.

The spear in its hand trembled, tracing an arc of profound mystery as it thrust toward the center of Qin Feng’s brow.

In speed, power, and technique, this strike was a perfect replica of Qin Feng’s own skill.

Yet in Qin Feng’s eyes now, it moved as slowly as a child at play.

He didn’t even bother to summon “Star-Swallower”; he merely pressed two fingers together like a sword and pointed forward with casual ease.

Fingertip and spear tip met softly in midair.

There was no earth-shattering roar, no blinding flash of spiritual energy explosion.

“Crack…”

A faint sound, and the phantom figure, along with its spear, seemed to dissolve from within by an irresistible force, scattering into countless motes of light that faded into the bloody mist.

One strike, instant kill.

Qin Feng’s steps did not pause; he strode forward.

With one step, the second layer of phantoms erupted simultaneously, launching a thunderous combined assault from all directions.

Qin Feng didn’t even glance at them. Instead, an invisible field—a pure fusion of physical blood and spiritual force—suddenly expanded outward from him.

“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!”

A series of muffled explosions rang out. Layer after layer of phantoms, the moment they charged into his range, crashed against an invisible dimensional wall and burst into powder.

Irresistible!

This was no longer a battle; it was a one-sided massacre.

Qin Feng’s floor count began to soar at an unprecedented, jaw-dropping speed.

One floor, two floors, ten floors, a hundred floors…

Outside the Blood God Tower.

On the pure land shrouded by the light curtain, the atmosphere had long lost its initial tension and bloodshed.

The thousand-plus survivors, after their prolonged cultivation inside the tower, now exuded deeper, more powerful auras.

Some gathered in small groups, others sat alone, maintaining a delicate balance among themselves.

The year-long bloody purge now felt like a distant nightmare.

At this moment, those who had emerged from the tower had all tempered their minds greatly, and no one was quick to provoke slaughter.

They were all waiting—waiting for the last three beings who had yet to leave the tower.

Qin Feng, Shi Fo, and San Ruo.

All eyes occasionally drifted to the ancient stone tablet not far away—the Blood God Tower’s secondary stele.

On it, a series of shining names represented the unparalleled prodigies who had left glorious legends in this blood-colored forbidden land since time immemorial.

“Look! Shi Fo’s name… has appeared on the secondary stele!”

Suddenly, a shocked cry broke the calm.

In an instant, every being’s gaze converged on that secondary stele.

There, in the middle-lower section, a name formed from blood-colored divine script—“Shi Fo”—was slowly emerging, radiating a faint glow.

And as soon as it appeared, without any pause, it began to climb upward with steady, fierce momentum!

It quickly surpassed one ancient, powerful name after another, until its brilliance even eclipsed the legendary prodigy of the 1300 Star Sector—“Thunder Emperor”!

And still, its upward surge showed no sign of stopping!

“Hiss… truly an unparalleled prodigy who has long set foot in the ‘Divine Forbidden’ realm!”

A powerful beast-race being with twin horns gasped, his voice filled with awe.

“Indeed,”

a crystalline being beside him agreed, “to leave one’s name on this secondary stele is itself a feat as difficult as reaching the heavens. It requires not only clearing extremely high floors but also meeting a brutally strict speed requirement. Even ordinary Divine Forbidden experts, if they are too slow or take too long, are unworthy of being listed.”

“Shi Fo’s strength is unfathomable. He must have gained unimaginable improvements inside the tower.”

Murmurs rose and fell.

Every survivor of the final purge was a being of keen insight.

They understood that surpassing the Thunder Emperor on the secondary stele meant Shi Fo’s current combat power was undoubtedly among the elite within the Divine Forbidden realm.

Ye Luo, son of the Stone Emperor, sat cross-legged. A heavy yet sharp aura surrounded him, clearly reaching the half-step Divine Forbidden level.

He stared at the climbing name, his expression complex, and said in a deep voice, “In this tower, I spent ten thousand years and refined sixty-three Blood Jade Crystals—that is my limit. The whispers of the evil god still echo in my ears, truly terrifying.”

At these words, many beings nearby showed expressions of envy and jealousy.

Though Blood Jade Crystals were supreme treasures, every being had a clear upper limit to how many they could absorb.

That limit was determined by talent, will, foundation, cognition, fortune, and many other factors.

For most geniuses present, their limit was around forty crystals.

Reaching that number was enough to trigger a massive leap in strength.

But for top-tier prodigies like Ye Luo, the crystalline being Hei Yu, and the golden-armored beast Take, who had originally ranked high on the Hidden Dragon List, their limits were higher, generally around sixty crystals.

Thus, they could seize this opportunity to touch the long-dreamed-of threshold of half-step Divine Forbidden.

But the Divine Forbidden itself was another chasm.

It was a true boundary separating the mortal from the transcendent.

Even with the aid of Blood Jade Crystals, among the thousand-plus geniuses present, aside from Shi Fo and the mysterious San Ruo, no one else could cross it.

Now, hearing that Ye Luo, the Stone Emperor’s son, had reached his limit at just sixty-three crystals, everyone gained a deeper understanding of the terrifying side effects of Blood Jade Crystals.

“I refined seventy-one,”

the golden-armored beast Take rumbled, his voice like grinding metal, full of power.

“Seventy-three,”

said the crystalline Hei Yu coldly, his body of countless black crystals radiating a dangerous luster.

Including the two of them, only five had refined over seventy crystals.

These few, without exception, exuded the terrifying aura of half-step Divine Forbidden, standing as the top tier among those present, second only to the Divine Forbidden experts.

As the crowd murmured, another cry rang out.

“Look! San Ruo! San Ruo has also left his name!”

Everyone looked up again. Sure enough, not far below Shi Fo’s name, the name “San Ruo” had burst into brilliant radiance.

And it, too, surged upward with unstoppable momentum, soon surpassing the Thunder Emperor’s name!

Two Divine Forbidden experts were engaged in a silent competition on the secondary stele!

Ye Luo watched this scene, silently calculating in his mind.

To reach the standard of leaving a name on the secondary stele, one's strength must be at the Divine Forbidden level. And to step into Divine Forbidden at the Black Hole level... even with the aid of Blood Jade Crystals, I'm afraid... one would need to refine at least a hundred Blood Jade Crystals?"

This number made Ye Luo's own heart tremble. He had personally experienced the process of refining Blood Jade Crystals and knew well that the seductive power would grow exponentially with each additional crystal refined.

Refining sixty-three had already cost him ten thousand years, draining his mind and spirit, with demonic whispers still echoing in his ears.

A hundred?

What kind of terrifying backlash would that be? He dared not even imagine.

Unfortunately, outside the Blood God Tower, one could not sense how many Blood Jade Crystals the beings inside had refined; otherwise, there would be no need for such speculation here.

...

Outside the Blood God Tower, that thin layer of light barrier separated two worlds.

Beyond the barrier lay the "King's Corpse," disturbed after an endless slumber. Its roar was like the doomsday thunder from the depths of the universe, each impact causing violent ripples on the light barrier, reminding the survivors within that this place, though a sanctuary, was also an isolated island, with all retreat long cut off.

The beings sat cross-legged, in small groups, maintaining clear distances, silently licking their wounds and tallying their spoils.

No one made a move lightly, for all understood that those who had survived until now were no easy opponents.

More importantly, the ultimate goal of their journey—the trial of the Blood God Tower—had just ended, and the true gains had yet to be fully digested.

In this oppressive silence, a slightly hoarse voice suddenly broke the stagnant atmosphere.

"Everyone, within the Blood God Tower, what earth-shattering rewards did you obtain?"

The speaker was a bug clan strongman resembling a mantis, his compound eyes gleaming with greedy and cunning light, clearly probing others' secrets.

This question, like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, failed to stir even a ripple.

The surrounding silence deepened into an even more profound stillness.

The few strongmen addressed merely cast him a cold glance, then withdrew their gazes, closing their eyes to rest, as if they had not heard him at all.

The bug clan strongman, having embarrassed himself, shut his mouth awkwardly.

All present were shrewd; who would reveal their trump card at such a time?

The rewards of the Blood God Tower were inevitably tied to the number of floors cleared and the final evaluation.

Such rewards were the greatest secrets of each person's journey into this forbidden land, treasures that could bring deadly calamity.

Until completely safe, revealing even a single word was foolish.

Seeing no response, everyone's thoughts shifted from their own gains to the top-tier beings still inside the tower.

"Speaking of which, most have already come out. Those still inside now are only a few..."

A one-eyed giant rumbled in a deep voice.

"Yes, the Three Weak Masters of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, the Stone Buddha of the Stone Clan... and that demon, Qin Feng. The first two have shown signs of movement; the last has not."

Another feathered clan prodigy chimed in, and when he mentioned the name "Qin Feng," a tremor involuntarily crept into his voice, his eyes revealing unconcealable fear.

That name, during the past year's clearing, had become the deepest nightmare for all survivors.

"Three Weak Masters and the Stone Buddha were already supreme beings who had stepped into the 'Divine Forbidden' realm. It stands to reason they would take longer in the tower and clear higher floors."

Heiyu of the Crystal Clan spoke slowly, his voice like crystal grinding, crisp and cold. "But that Qin Feng... what exactly is his situation? During the clearing outside, he plundered far more Blood Jade Crystals than the rest of us, and now his time inside the tower is no less than that of true Divine Forbidden experts."

At these words, the atmosphere grew even heavier.

Ye Luo, the proud son of the Stone Emperor, remained silent, his gaze fixed on the towering giant shrouded in blood mist.

"I wonder what astonishing rewards Three Weak Masters and the Stone Buddha will obtain in the tower."

"As for Qin Feng... why hasn't he come out yet?"

"Look! The secondary stele! Something's happening on the secondary stele—Three Weak's name has stopped!"

A cry cut through the crowd's murmurs.

All eyes snapped to the slightly smaller stele beside the Blood God Tower.

That secondary stele, dark red all over, was engraved with dense ancient divine script, each name representing a cosmic prodigy who had left a glorious record in the Blood God Tower.

Over countless years, only the most brilliant talents had earned the right to leave their names here.

Now, at the very end of the secondary stele, a new name was glowing faintly, slowly emerging.

[Rank 54,000: Three Weak, Floor 85]

A line of simple text, yet it seemed to hold infinite magic, instantly seizing everyone's minds.

"..."

"Floor 85! Heavens, how arduous is the trial of the Blood God Tower? It's said that after Floor 50, each floor's difficulty increases exponentially, and Three Weak Masters actually reached Floor 85!"

"Ranked 54,000... that's already an incredibly terrifying achievement! Remember, this secondary stele records the total rankings of all challengers throughout the endless ages since the Blood God Tower's existence!"

A violent stir erupted among the crowd, exclamations rising one after another.

"As expected of Three Weak Masters, as expected of the heir of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect!"

An old Black Hole level expert with vast knowledge sighed. "The Heavenly Mechanism Sect, a top-tier force from the Endless Sea, its depths unfathomable. Its disciples travel across the universe, observing celestial mechanisms and calculating fate—each one mysterious and powerful. Three Weak Masters' achievement is well deserved!"

"Yes, indeed."

Someone immediately chimed in. "Who would have thought that the always smiling, harmless-looking little fatty possessed such astonishing strength? Looking back now, I'm grateful I never spoke rudely to him; otherwise, I might not even know how I died."

The crowd murmured, their gazes at the name "Three Weak" on the secondary stele filled with awe.

They had personally challenged the Blood God Tower and knew its terror best.

Each floor's opponent was a perfect replica of one's own combat system, or even stronger, with no room for trickery—only pure strength could push one upward, floor by floor.

To leave a name there was itself the highest recognition of strength and talent.

Moreover, this ranking was not low.

Just as they marveled at Three Weak Masters' might, a streak of light shot out of the Blood God Tower's gate without warning. As the light faded, Three Weak's rotund figure emerged.

He still wore that smiling expression, as if he had merely taken a stroll outside, rather than enduring a long and brutal trial.

Yet every prodigy present, including Ye Luo, the son of the Stone Emperor, made the same move the moment he appeared—they activated their spiritual perception, cautiously probing toward Three Weak's body.

They wanted to know how many Blood Jade Crystals this powerful Heavenly Mechanism Sect disciple had refined!

Blood Jade Crystals were the core resource of this forbidden land expedition and the most direct measure of everyone's gains.

The number refined directly related to the enhancement of one's foundation.

When those strands of spiritual energy touched Three Weak's life essence and returned a clear number, the entire space seemed to have the air sucked out of it.

"Hiss—"

A chorus of sharp intakes of breath, one after another, merged beneath the light barrier into a symphony named "Shock."

"Fully... three hundred!"

"Three hundred Blood Jade Crystals! My heavens!"

"Divine Forbidden prodigies, truly terrifying!"

"How... how is this possible?! I refined sixty, and I felt my will nearly torn apart by that seductive force, yet he refined three hundred?!"

Every living soul present, without exception, was utterly stunned by that number.

Especially for top prodigies like Yeluo, Heiyu, and Taker, who had already stepped into the half-step divine prohibition, their shock was even more intense.

Because they knew better than anyone how perilous the process of refining blood jade crystals was.

It was not merely the absorption of energy, but a direct confrontation with the will of an evil god.

With each additional crystal refined, the seduction and corruption emanating from the Blood God, from the depths of chaos, multiplied like clinging bone worms, ceaselessly eroding the soul of the challenger.

Yeluo prided himself on his firm will; as the son of the Stone Emperor, his mind had long been tempered as solid as rock. Yet even so, after refining sixty-three blood jade crystals, he had reached his own limit. One more would risk his Dao heart collapsing, turning him completely into a madman.

But three hundred... what terrifying willpower would that require? What horrific spiritual backlash would one have to endure?

This number had surpassed the limits of their imagination.

The way they looked at the Three Weak was no longer warm, but filled only with deep fear and reverence.

...

However, before the crowd could fully recover from the immense shock of three hundred blood jade crystals, another even louder cry of surprise exploded like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

"Look at the secondary stele! Stone Buddha! It's Stone Buddha's name, rising wildly again!"

Everyone's gaze abruptly shifted away from the Three Weak, once again fixed intently on that dark red stone stele.

There, in the middle-upper section of the secondary stele, another name was climbing steadily and resolutely, with an unstoppable momentum.

[Stone Buddha]

This name seemed to carry an innate, weighty aura that could suppress the ages.

Its ranking easily surpassed that of the Three Weak, who had just ignited the crowd, and then continued upward without pause.

Forty-thousandth... thirty-thousandth... ten-thousandth!

When the name "Stone Buddha" broke through the ten-thousandth rank and formally entered the forefront of the secondary stele, the entire venue fell into dead silence.

Everyone held their breath, their hearts contracting violently with each leap of that name.

But this was not the end.

Nine-thousandth... five-thousandth...

Finally, under the gaze of countless stunned eyes, Stone Buddha's name forcefully squeezed into the very top region of the secondary stele, settling at a position that left everyone breathless.

[870th: Stone Buddha]

Top thousand on the secondary stele!

Although he had not ascended the main stele like the legendary ancient prodigies, breaking into the top thousand on the secondary stele among countless tower challengers throughout history was something far beyond the description of "astonishing brilliance."

This was true proof of standing at the very pinnacle of the young generation's pyramid in the universe!

Whether placed in the Saint Academy Sea, which nurtured countless experts, or in the mysterious Endless Sea, such an achievement would drive any top-tier force to madness, cherishing him as a future pillar to be cultivated!

"Swoosh—"

A stream of light, as solid as a mountain, shot out from the tower gate, and Stone Buddha's figure appeared before the crowd.

He still wore that calm, unruffled expression, as if nothing in the world could stir a ripple in his mind.

But this time, no one dared to regard him as an ordinary "second on the Hidden Dragon List."

Almost instinctively, everyone's spiritual perception extended once more, even more eagerly and nervously than when probing the Three Weak.

They wanted to know how many blood jade crystals Stone Buddha, who had created such a glorious record, had actually refined!

The next second, an uproar soared to the heavens, its momentum so vast it nearly overturned the light curtain above.

"One... over a thousand!"

"Over a thousand blood jade crystals! Crazy! This is absolutely crazy!"

"Monster! He is a complete and utter monster!"

If three hundred blood jade crystals had brought them shock, then the number over a thousand left them with nothing but pure fear and despair.

They could not even comprehend how a living being could withstand the impact of a thousand evil god wills without collapsing.

This completely defied their understanding of willpower.

"No wonder... no wonder he could break into the top thousand of the secondary stele."

Yeluo murmured to himself, his voice filled with bitterness.

He had originally thought that refining sixty-three blood jade crystals and stepping into the half-step divine prohibition had greatly narrowed the gap between him and Stone Buddha.

But now it seemed that the gap had not shrunk; instead, it had widened to a despairing extent.

The crowd's gaze toward Stone Buddha was no longer one of fear, but nearly the reverence of looking up to a deity.

They began to involuntarily speculate.

Back then, the renowned Thunder Emperor had only ranked over ninety-thousandth on the secondary stele, yet he eventually attained the Dao and became an emperor, a cosmic overlord.

Then what about the Three Weak, ranked over forty-thousandth, and Stone Buddha, who broke into the top thousand? How magnificent and brilliant would their futures be?!

Just as everyone's minds were completely occupied by Stone Buddha's terrifying record of over a thousand blood jade crystals, and they thought the day's shock had reached its peak, a faint, extremely uncertain cry of surprise quietly arose from a corner of the crowd.

"You... look... at the secondary stele... the very bottom..."

The voice was very small, almost drowned out by the noisy discussions, but it was still caught by some sharp-eared experts.

"Huh? What else?"

Countless gazes, tinged with confusion, once again turned to that secondary stele, which seemed to have settled.

When they moved their eyes from Stone Buddha's name at the top, all the way down, finally landing on the very end of the stele, everyone's pupils simultaneously contracted to the size of pinpricks.

There, at the lowest rank, a name both familiar and fearsome to them was shining with unprecedented brilliance, like a newborn star.

[Qin Feng]

"It's Qin Feng! His name has appeared too!"

At that moment, it was as if an invisible giant hand had instantly gripped everyone's throat.

All eyes, like iron filings attracted by a magnet, were firmly fixed on those two characters.

Then, they witnessed a scene they would never forget.

That name, "Qin Feng," after appearing, did not pause for a moment. It began its miraculous surge at a speed even more violent and rapid than that of the Three Weak and Stone Buddha by countless times!

Hundred-thousandth... ninety-thousandth... eighty-thousandth...

The rankings on the secondary stele, before it, seemed like a thin layer of paper, pierced through relentlessly one after another!

What everyone saw was no longer a name climbing, but a golden lightning bolt of destruction, charging upward along the stele from bottom to top, launching an unstoppable heaven-defying assault!

"So fast! This speed... is much faster than Stone Buddha!"

"He has already surpassed Master Three Weak! Fifty-thousandth!"

"Still rising! Heaven! His momentum shows no sign of slowing!"

In the crowd, the dead silence was broken, replaced by uncontrollable, trembling cries of surprise.

Forty-thousandth!

Thirty thousand!

Ten thousand!

When Qin Feng’s name, like a comet crashing into the earth, violently broke through the ten-thousand mark and drew level with the name of Stone Buddha, everyone felt their minds go utterly blank.

“Tied… tied? No! It’s still rising!”

In their dazed gazes, Qin Feng’s name did not pause for an instant, easily surpassing Stone Buddha, who had just moments ago seemed an unattainable peak, and then plunged headlong into that domain belonging to the legendary top-tier prodigies—the top thousand!

Nine hundred!

Five hundred!

Top hundred!

When Qin Feng’s name surged into the top hundred, the entire world seemed to fall silent.

Even the roar of Wang Corpse outside the light curtain seemed to grow distant and unreal.

All the surviving prodigies, including the Three Weaknesses and Stone Buddha himself, could only watch in awe as that radiance continued to forge an unbelievable legend.

Top fifty!

Top ten!

Third place!

Second place!

Finally, under the gaze that made every soul tremble, Qin Feng’s name ascended to that supreme apex, shoving aside the ancient name “Dao Yi” that had long hung at the top, and then slowly came to rest.

[First place: Qin Feng, ninety-fourth floor]

[Second place: Dao Yi, ninety-first floor]

Dead silence.

A silence like the vacuum of space.

“N-ninety-fourth floor…”

The trademark smile of Master Three Weaknesses vanished from his face for the first time, replaced by an extreme, almost ghostly horror.

His mouth gaped wide, wide enough to fit a fist.

“First… he actually took first?!”

As a disciple of the Heavenly Secrets Sect, the intelligence he possessed far surpassed that of others.

He knew very well that after the ninetieth floor of the Blood God Tower, it was an entirely new world.

The difficulty there, compared to the previous ninety floors, was as different as heaven and earth.

Every additional floor required exponentially greater strength and potential.

Throughout the ages, countless divine-prohibition prodigies, brilliant and dazzling talents, had ultimately met their end on the ninety-first floor. That existence named “Dao Yi,” who had cleared the ninety-first floor at the fastest speed, had dominated the top of the secondary stele for countless epochs, hailed as an insurmountable monument.

Though he later fell, it had stirred up a terrifying storm among the major powers.

And today, Qin Feng had not only surpassed that monument but had also opened a gap of fully three floors with his achievement of the ninety-fourth floor!

These three floors were no ordinary gap; they were a chasm enough to drive all divine-prohibition prodigies to despair!

“Monster… freak…”

Three Weaknesses muttered to himself, finding that all the words he used to describe geniuses seemed utterly pale and powerless before Qin Feng’s heaven-defying feat. “Even within the divine-prohibition domain, he is absolutely of the topmost tier!”

As for the other beings, their brains had completely ceased to function.

They could only stare blankly at the name at the very top of the secondary stele, shining with endless divine radiance, feeling that all the common sense they knew had been utterly overturned and ground to dust at this moment.

Just then, a stream of light flew out from the tower gate, unhurried.

Qin Feng’s figure appeared before everyone’s eyes.

His aura did not seem much stronger than before he entered, still at the black-hole-level fluctuation.

But his eyes had become unfathomably deep, as if they contained an ancient starfield that had experienced billions of years of birth and death, causing any being who met his gaze to feel an involuntary tremor in their heart.

Almost out of habit, the spiritual perception of all beings instinctively probed toward this newly crowned, number-one unparalleled prodigy of the Blood God Tower.

They wanted to know how many Blood Jade Crystals Qin Feng, who had created such a myth, had refined.

A thousand? Two thousand? Or three thousand?

When the result of that probe, like a torrent, flooded back into everyone’s mind, time seemed to freeze completely at that moment.

The expressions of all were frozen on their faces.

Stone Buddha’s eternally unchanging cold visage cracked violently for the first time, his eyes filled with undisguisable shock.

Master Three Weaknesses’ round, plump face lost all color; his mouth hung open, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

As for the other beings, every single one of them turned to stone on the spot, as if struck by a petrification spell, their eyes holding only pure, boundless shock and blankness.

Fully…

Two hundred thousand!

This number, like a supernova, detonated in the depths of their souls, shattering all their reason, all their knowledge, all their pride into powder, leaving not a trace.

“This…”

“Two hundred thousand Blood Jade Crystals?! The next most is only a thousand!”

“And I only have a little over sixty!”

“Can such an existence… really be one I can oppose?!”

Ye Luo, son of the Stone Emperor, muttered to himself in despair.

At this moment, the hatred in his heart as a sworn enemy, the unwillingness as a competitor, melted away like snow under the scorching sun.

What replaced it was a sense of powerlessness from the depths of his soul, and an irrepressible feeling of… mutual admiration and attraction to the strong.

He began to reflect, to question himself.

If it were him, targeted by the peak powers of the universe like this, hunted by the prodigies of ten thousand races, even with the full protection of his clan, could he have reached this point like Qin Feng?

Could he, in desperate straits, create such history-defying miracles time and again?

In the depths of Ye Luo’s heart, a voice told him with crystal clarity—he could not, he could not, but Qin Feng had already carved out a bloody path, set foot on the divine prohibition, taken first place in the Blood God Tower, and next… would be the era of Qin Feng!

(Chapter End)