Chapter 46: The Secret of the Ancestral Altar
The darkness within the hidden passage seemed almost tangible.
Han Feng moved carefully through it, one hand resting near the hilt of his weapon.
Behind him, the faint sound of shifting stones occasionally echoed through the passage.
The Black Moon Sect had not found the entrance yet.
But they were close.
Han Feng could still feel the faint warmth of the spiritual mark inside his consciousness.
The same mark they had been tracking with the Soultrace Plate.
He had disrupted its resonance, but he knew that would not last forever.
He had bought himself time.
Nothing more.
The blue runes carved into the walls flickered whenever he passed.
They did not illuminate the entire corridor.
Instead, they appeared one after another, as if something ancient was awakening only long enough to recognize his presence.
Han Feng slowed his steps.
The Celestial Fragment inside his spatial pouch trembled faintly.
At the same time, the spiritual mark in his consciousness responded.
Two different things were reacting to the same place.
That made him even more cautious.
This isn't coincidence.
He continued forward.
The passage eventually widened.
A circular chamber appeared before him.
At its center stood a jade altar.
It was not particularly large.
Yet the spiritual pressure surrounding it was completely different from anything Han Feng had encountered before.
Ancient blue runes covered its surface.
Six grooves extended outward from the altar, forming part of a familiar six-pointed pattern.
Five of them were dark.
The sixth carried a faint golden glow.
Han Feng's expression became serious.
The same pattern again.
The Mountain-Sealing Array.
The Heart.
The Resonance Marker.
The Celestial Fragment.
The Forbidden Hall.
The ancient system seemed to be appearing everywhere he went.
But he still did not understand what connected all of it.
He approached the altar one step at a time.
The spiritual mark inside his consciousness suddenly pulsed.
The jade altar responded.
A low vibration spread throughout the chamber.
Han Feng immediately stopped.
Then a voice appeared inside his mind.
"Resonance detected."
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
The voice did not sound male or female.
It did not even sound human.
It felt more like an ancient command that had survived countless years.
He remained still.
The altar continued to glow.
"The bearer has entered the path."
Han Feng did not relax.
Bearer.
Not heir.
Not chosen one.
Not successor.
The wording was deliberate.
Whatever remained here was recognizing the resonance he carried.
Nothing more.
The six-pointed pattern suddenly began to rotate.
The golden point brightened.
Five dark lines slowly extended toward the center.
Han Feng felt a strange pressure enter his consciousness.
It was not an attack.
It was an examination.
He immediately activated the Celestial Veil.
The pressure passed through it without resistance.
Han Feng's expression changed.
It isn't testing my cultivation.
He carefully circulated a small amount of Qi through his meridians.
At the same time, the Dual Chaos Larva responded.
Chaotic energy appeared beside his Qi.
Normally, the two forces would interfere with one another.
But the Dual Chaos Larva slowly brought them into balance.
The golden point on the altar brightened.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
That's what it is measuring.
Not strength.
Not killing intent.
Not even cultivation level.
Harmonization.
Before he could investigate further, the chamber suddenly changed.
The walls disappeared.
Han Feng found himself standing beneath a black sky.
Broken mountains stretched across an endless battlefield.
The ground was covered in shattered weapons and fragments of ancient formations.
Residual Qi filled the air like an invisible storm.
Han Feng immediately recognized the sensation.
An ancient memory?
A figure appeared several hundred meters away.
It wore a dark robe.
Its face was hidden beneath layers of swirling shadows.
Unlike the guardian he had encountered before, this figure did not attack.
It simply stood there.
Then the ancient voice returned.
"Strength is temporary."
The battlefield trembled.
"Resonance is not."
The figure raised one hand.
The surrounding Qi suddenly became chaotic.
Two completely different energies collided in the sky.
One was violent and destructive.
The other was calm and orderly.
Their collision produced a massive shockwave.
Han Feng instinctively raised his defenses.
But the figure still did not attack him.
Instead, it allowed the two energies to continue colliding.
Han Feng watched carefully.
Then he understood.
This is the trial.
Not defeating the figure.
Understanding the conflict.
The Dual Chaos Larva stirred inside his body.
Han Feng slowly extended his spiritual sense.
He did not attempt to suppress either energy.
Instead, he allowed the chaotic energy to approach his Qi.
The Dual Chaos Larva reacted.
The two opposing forces began to circulate around one another.
The violent energy did not disappear.
The orderly energy did not overwhelm it.
They simply stopped destroying one another.
For a brief moment, they existed in balance.
The ancient battlefield became completely silent.
The hooded figure finally moved.
A faint golden light appeared behind it.
Six points emerged in the sky.
Five remained dark.
One glowed faintly.
Han Feng carefully introduced a tiny amount of Gu energy.
The Celestial Transmutation Gu responded.
Qi transformed into Gu energy.
Gu energy transformed back into Qi.
The two systems circulated together without collapsing.
The golden point in the sky brightened.
The hooded figure finally turned toward Han Feng.
For the first time, Han Feng felt something resembling attention.
Not approval.
Not acceptance.
Recognition.
The ancient voice returned.
"The resonance is compatible."
Han Feng remained silent.
The figure continued.
"Compatibility is not completion."
The golden light weakened.
"Recognition is not acceptance."
Han Feng's expression became serious.
The same warning.
The same principle.
The ancient system had never promised him anything.
It had only acknowledged that something within him could interact with it.
Then the battlefield began to collapse.
The mountains dissolved.
The black sky fractured.
The six points disappeared one after another.
But before the vision vanished, Han Feng noticed something beneath the battlefield.
A massive circular seal.
It was buried beneath layers of darkness.
And behind it—
something moved.
Han Feng's pupils contracted.
He tried to look closer.
For a brief instant, he sensed an enormous presence on the other side of the seal.
Then everything disappeared.
Han Feng opened his eyes.
He was back inside the ancestral chamber.
Only a few breaths seemed to have passed.
The jade altar remained in front of him.
The ancient runes were dimmer now.
Han Feng immediately checked his body.
There was no golden mark on his forehead.
No sudden increase in cultivation.
No strange spatial ability.
Nothing had been fused into his body.
Yet something had changed.
The spiritual mark inside his consciousness had become clearer.
Previously, it had been little more than a faint residual imprint.
Now a more distinct pattern could be seen within it.
A fragment of the six-pointed formation.
Han Feng stared at it.
The altar didn't give me power.
It gave me information.
That realization was almost more disturbing.
The ancient system had not rewarded him.
It had tested him.
And he had barely understood the first layer of the test.
Suddenly—
Boom.
The chamber trembled.
Han Feng turned toward the entrance.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
A faint spiritual fluctuation passed through the outer formation.
Then another.
His expression changed.
The Black Moon Sect was getting closer.
The concealment formation had delayed them, but it could not hide this chamber forever.
Han Feng immediately checked the spiritual mark.
It was still warm.
But its resonance had changed.
The altar was interfering with the trace.
For the first time since entering the passage, Han Feng could no longer feel the Soultrace Plate clearly.
That gave him a small advantage.
But it also created another problem.
The altar was becoming active.
The six-pointed formation began rotating again.
Han Feng looked at the sixth point.
The faint golden light flickered.
Then—
another point briefly illuminated.
Han Feng froze.
Only for an instant.
Then it disappeared.
His expression became solemn.
Another node responded.
A deep vibration traveled through the floor.
Once.
Then again.
Slow.
Heavy.
Almost like a heartbeat.
Han Feng immediately recognized the rhythm.
It was the same vibration he had felt beneath the Ruins of Eternal Night.
His fingers tightened around the Resonance Marker.
It had become warm.
The Celestial Fragment trembled inside his spatial pouch.
The three objects were responding to one another.
The altar.
The marker.
The fragment.
And somewhere beneath the mountains—
something had answered.
Han Feng looked toward the ancient formation.
The six points were no longer merely symbols.
They were connected.
The altar was one part of something much larger.
But what?
He did not know.
And that uncertainty made him more cautious rather than less.
Then a final voice echoed through his consciousness.
"The path has opened."
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
A moment of silence followed.
Then—
"The judgment has not ended."
The voice disappeared.
Han Feng looked toward the entrance.
Another tremor shook the chamber.
This time, he heard something faint beyond the stone.
Footsteps.
The Black Moon Sect had reached the outer passage.
Han Feng immediately activated the Celestial Veil.
He did not run blindly.
He carefully studied the chamber.
The altar had reacted to him.
The formation had revealed another node.
The ancient seal beneath the battlefield had shown him that something remained hidden beyond it.
And the Black Moon Sect was now only moments away.
He had learned enough.
For now.
Han Feng turned toward the opposite side of the chamber.
There was a narrow section of stone that had not reacted to the altar.
He approached it cautiously.
The Resonance Marker warmed slightly.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
Another passage?
He placed his palm against the stone.
Nothing happened.
Then he circulated the smallest amount of Qi possible.
A faint blue line appeared.
Han Feng immediately withdrew his hand.
The stone had not opened.
But something behind it had responded.
A hidden mechanism.
Another secret.
He glanced back at the altar.
The golden point was still faintly glowing.
This place isn't just an altar.
It's part of the path.
Another sound came from the corridor.
Closer this time.
Han Feng stopped thinking.
He moved toward the hidden mechanism.
Whatever waited beyond it—
he would have to discover it while staying ahead of the Black Moon Sect.
The hunt had not ended.
It had only entered a deeper layer.
And somewhere beneath the mountains, another ancient node had begun to awaken.
To be continued...