Chapter 40: Path to Rank 3
The Ruins of Eternal Night had given Han Feng more than he had expected.
He had entered searching for Dark Moonstone.
He had left with the stone, a deeper understanding of the six-node formation, and a terrifying realization.
Something beneath the ruins was beginning to awaken.
The Heart was still sealed.
But the seal had already begun to weaken.
Han Feng did not intend to stay long enough to discover what would happen next.
He moved through the ruins with his aura concealed beneath the Celestial Veil.
The Dark Moonstone was safely stored inside a separate container within his spatial ring.
He could already feel its stable spiritual fluctuations.
For the first time, the chaotic energy produced by Dark Chaos Refinement was no longer constantly pressing against his meridians.
But that did not mean he could immediately break through.
A breakthrough to Rank 3 required more than accumulated Qi.
His foundation had to withstand the transformation.
And he had another problem.
The mysterious cultivator.
Han Feng still remembered the man's words.
Do not awaken what you cannot put back to sleep.
The man knew about the Heart.
He knew about the Resonance Marker.
Yet he had not attacked.
That meant either he was confident that Han Feng posed no immediate threat...
or he had another reason for letting him go.
Neither possibility was comforting.
Han Feng quickened his pace.
He needed to leave the ruins.
Then he needed somewhere isolated.
Only after that could he attempt his breakthrough.
The Ambush at the Exit
The black mist gradually became thinner as Han Feng approached the outer region of the ruins.
The broken structures became less dense.
The spiritual pressure weakened.
The exit was less than a kilometer ahead.
Han Feng suddenly stopped.
His eyes narrowed.
Something was wrong.
There were people ahead.
Not one.
Several.
Their auras were carefully concealed, but they had not completely disappeared.
Han Feng remained behind a collapsed stone wall.
He quietly extended his spiritual sense.
Five cultivators.
They were spread across the path leading toward the exit.
Their positions were deliberate.
An ambush.
Han Feng studied them from a distance.
All five wore dark cloaks.
On each cloak was a strange emblem.
A serpent coiled around a crescent moon.
He did not recognize the faction.
That alone made him cautious.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
"You took your time coming out."
Han Feng stepped from behind the ruined wall.
A tall, gray-haired man stood in the center of the group.
His cultivation was at the peak of Rank 2.
Only a thin barrier separated him from Rank 3.
The four people behind him were slightly weaker, but their movements were disciplined.
They were not wandering cultivators.
They had experience fighting together.
The gray-haired man smiled.
"We saw you enter the ruins."
His gaze moved toward Han Feng's spatial ring.
"You were inside for hours."
Han Feng said nothing.
The man's smile disappeared.
"Hand over whatever you found."
One of the others stepped forward.
"And perhaps we'll let you leave alive."
Han Feng glanced at the five men.
Then at the path behind them.
They had chosen the exit deliberately.
They were not necessarily here because they knew exactly what he had obtained.
They may simply have been watching everyone who entered and waiting for someone who appeared to have found something valuable.
That distinction mattered.
They don't know about the Heart.
At least not yet.
Han Feng relaxed his posture slightly.
"I found nothing worth mentioning."
The gray-haired man laughed.
"Then you won't mind if we search you."
Han Feng's eyes became cold.
"I would."
The man's expression hardened.
"Kill him."
The four cultivators moved.
The Battle at the Ruins
The first attacker came from the left.
A thin blade flashed toward Han Feng's neck.
Han Feng tilted his head.
The blade passed beside his face.
At the same time, another cultivator attacked from behind.
Han Feng stepped forward instead of retreating.
The two attacks narrowly missed each other.
Han Feng used their momentum against them.
He struck the second cultivator's wrist.
The man's blade fell.
Han Feng followed with a palm strike to his chest.
The cultivator was thrown backward.
He crashed into a ruined wall.
But he did not lose consciousness.
Their coordination is better than expected.
Han Feng immediately moved.
A poisonous needle shot through the place where his head had been.
He twisted in midair and landed on a broken pillar.
The gray-haired leader attacked.
His palm erupted with fiery Qi.
The surrounding mist was pushed away.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
He has already begun forming Rank 3 characteristics.
He did not block the attack.
He used Ghostly Shift.
His figure blurred.
The fiery palm struck the pillar instead.
The stone exploded.
Han Feng emerged from the smoke behind another attacker.
His palm struck the man's back.
He used only enough force to knock him down.
Not enough to kill.
The cultivator rolled across the ground and immediately tried to rise.
Han Feng did not give him the chance.
A second palm struck his shoulder.
The man collapsed unconscious.
Two remained.
The gray-haired leader's expression changed.
"You're hiding your cultivation."
Han Feng said nothing.
The leader's aura surged.
For a moment, the pressure of his peak Rank 2 cultivation spread through the ruins.
"Then let me see how much you're hiding."
He charged.
His speed increased dramatically.
Han Feng narrowly avoided the first strike.
The second came immediately.
Then the third.
The leader's attacks were not elegant.
They were direct and brutal.
But they were efficient.
Han Feng was forced backward.
A fist grazed his ribs.
Pain spread through his side.
Han Feng retreated several meters.
The leader smiled.
"You're still young."
Han Feng ignored him.
His eyes were fixed on the man's breathing.
His shoulders.
His feet.
The slight delay between each attack.
There.
The leader had a weakness.
His attacks became stronger whenever he circulated Qi through his right arm.
But his left side became temporarily less protected.
Han Feng waited.
The next attack came.
Han Feng stepped inside the strike.
The leader's eyes widened.
Han Feng released a tiny amount of Dual Chaos Larva energy.
Not enough to reveal his true cultivation.
Just enough to destabilize the Qi gathering in the man's arm.
The fiery aura flickered.
Han Feng struck.
Spectral Void Palm hit the man's chest.
The leader staggered backward.
Blood escaped from the corner of his mouth.
But he remained standing.
"Impossible..."
Han Feng did not give him another opportunity.
He used Ghostly Shift.
His figure appeared beside the leader.
A precise strike landed against the man's shoulder.
Then another against his abdomen.
The final blow struck his pressure point.
The gray-haired man collapsed.
He was unconscious.
Han Feng turned toward the remaining cultivator.
The man stared at him.
His hand trembled.
Han Feng took one step forward.
The cultivator immediately threw down his weapon.
"Wait!"
Han Feng stopped.
The man's eyes were filled with fear.
"We don't know anything about you."
Han Feng remained silent.
"We were only told to watch the exit."
Han Feng's expression changed slightly.
"Who told you?"
The man hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
Han Feng knocked him unconscious.
He did not kill them.
Dead bodies would create questions.
Unconscious cultivators could wake later and provide contradictory accounts.
That was much more useful to him.
Han Feng searched their belongings.
He found several low-grade pills, a small amount of spirit stones, and a thin black manual.
Silent Moon Claws.
A stealth-oriented assassination technique.
Han Feng glanced through the first few pages.
Interesting.
But he had no time to study it.
He stored the manual.
Before leaving, he deliberately scattered several false Qi traces in different directions.
Anyone following the group later would have difficulty determining which path he had taken.
Then Han Feng disappeared into the ruins.
Leaving Eternal Night
He did not leave through the main path.
Instead, he spent another hour moving through the outer ruins before finally slipping into the surrounding wilderness.
Only when the ruins were far behind him did he stop.
He looked back once.
Black mist still covered the ancient structures.
Nothing seemed unusual.
Yet Han Feng knew better.
Something beneath those ruins had begun to wake.
And he had no intention of being there when it opened its eyes.
He turned toward the Misty Shadow Mountains.
He needed a secluded place.
Somewhere with enough spiritual energy to support a breakthrough.
But more importantly, somewhere that would not attract attention when his cultivation changed.
The Cave of Shadows
Several hours later, Han Feng discovered a narrow cave hidden behind a waterfall.
The surrounding terrain was steep and difficult to approach.
More importantly, the spiritual energy was naturally concentrated here.
There were traces of Yin Qi deep within the cave.
Not enough to be dangerous.
Enough to help stabilize his cultivation.
Han Feng inspected the entire area before entering.
He checked the walls.
The ceiling.
The ground.
Then he searched for traces of recent cultivators or spirit beasts.
Nothing.
Only after confirming that the cave was temporarily safe did he enter.
He placed three simple concealment formations around the entrance.
They were not powerful.
They would not stop a determined expert.
But they would distort his spiritual fluctuations and make casual detection more difficult.
Han Feng sat down.
He placed the Dark Moonstone before him.
The black mineral reflected a faint silver light.
He did not immediately absorb it.
Instead, he examined his own condition.
His foundation was stable.
His Qi circulation was stronger than before.
The Dual Chaos Larva Gu was calm.
The Celestial Transmutation Gu was also stable.
And the Dark Chaos Refinement no longer caused violent fluctuations every time he circulated it.
This is the closest I've been.
Han Feng closed his eyes.
Then he began.
The Final Step
Qi slowly flowed through his meridians.
Han Feng activated the Dark Chaos Refinement.
A trace of chaotic energy entered his body.
Normally, the energy would have become violent almost immediately.
This time, the Dark Moonstone absorbed part of the instability.
The pressure decreased.
Han Feng continued.
A second wave entered.
The Dark Moonstone responded.
His meridians trembled.
But they did not crack.
Han Feng carefully circulated the Dual Chaos Larva Gu.
Chaos and order collided.
Instead of resisting each other, the two forces began moving in a controlled cycle.
The Celestial Transmutation Gu joined the circulation.
A portion of the chaotic energy was converted into Gu energy.
Another portion became Qi.
The remaining instability was absorbed by the Dark Moonstone.
For the first time, the three systems reached a temporary balance.
Han Feng's foundation began to change.
His dantian trembled.
Then expanded.
Pain exploded through his body.
Han Feng clenched his teeth.
Not yet.
The breakthrough had begun.
But it was not complete.
A violent wave of Qi surged through his meridians.
The concealment formations around the cave flickered.
Han Feng immediately stabilized his breathing.
If he lost control now, the breakthrough could fail.
Or worse...
his foundation could be damaged.
He concentrated entirely on the circulation.
One cycle.
Two.
Three.
The chaotic energy became calmer.
His spiritual core became denser.
Then—
Boom.
A silent shockwave spread through his dantian.
Han Feng's eyes opened.
For a brief moment, a faint pressure spread through the cave.
Then he suppressed it.
The breakthrough was complete.
Rank 3.
Han Feng slowly exhaled.
His body felt completely different.
His Qi was denser.
His meridians were stronger.
His spiritual sense had expanded.
Most importantly, his foundation remained stable.
He had not forced the breakthrough.
He had reached it through controlled accumulation.
Han Feng looked at the remaining Dark Moonstone.
Only a portion of its power had been consumed.
That surprised him.
The stone could support his cultivation far longer than he had expected.
But there was another change.
The Celestial Fragment inside his spatial ring had become warm.
Han Feng's expression immediately became serious.
The Resonance Marker was warm as well.
Both ancient objects were reacting.
Not violently.
But clearly.
Han Feng slowly stood.
His cultivation had reached Rank 3.
Yet instead of feeling relieved, he felt a strange unease.
The moment he had completed the breakthrough...
something far away had noticed.
Han Feng looked toward the entrance of the cave.
The forest was silent.
Then, deep within his consciousness—
Thump.
A faint heartbeat echoed.
Han Feng's expression changed.
It was the same rhythm he had heard beneath the Ruins of Eternal Night.
He closed his eyes.
The sensation disappeared.
But he knew what it meant.
His breakthrough had not gone unnoticed.
Somewhere far beyond the cave...
something had felt his new cultivation.
And now that Han Feng had stepped into Rank 3—
the game had changed.