The Loophole

The soul, as the core of flesh-and-blood life, is something Luo Feng, at his current stage, simply couldn't significantly transform. “Slowly but surely!” Luo Feng gritted his teeth, continuing to receive the Demonic Sound General’s inheritance. One step, one tier! On average, he could only advance one step per day! In a blink of an eye, several months passed. On the 1236th tier of the inheritance steps, Luo Feng, clad in combat armor, knelt on one knee, constantly gasping for breath. The stinging pain from his soul and the endless fatigue were pushing him to the brink of collapse. “Almost completely saturated.” Luo Feng’s eyes were filled with unwillingness. He felt waves of stinging pain in his soul, as if under a soul attack, and an endless fatigue… like being so sleepy he just wanted to fall asleep. According to the information received from the inheritance, this situation indicated that Luo Feng’s soul was almost completely saturated in terms of enduring the inheritance. Even if he pushed through, he could at most advance one or two more tiers. “Is this the end?” Luo Feng looked up ahead. Tier after tier of steps stretched endlessly, extending into the depths of the void. “Whoosh!” Luo Feng’s body shot forward, his toes landing on the 1237th stone tier. Immediately, a portion of the inheritance secret technique merged into Luo Feng’s memory. However, Luo Feng didn’t stop… he directly lunged forward again, aiming for the 1238th tier. Just as Luo Feng landed on the 1238th tier, a strange, melodic Demonic Sound directly pierced into Luo Feng’s sea of consciousness. “Break!” Luo Feng’s sea of consciousness roared with an unyielding will! Yet, that gentle, seemingly non-aggressive Demonic Sound silently permeated Luo Feng’s will and consciousness. “Get out!!!” Luo Feng concentrated his will, trying to repel all external Demonic Sound infiltration, but his powerful will and consciousness were utterly defenseless against this Demonic Sound. Gradually… Luo Feng felt like a child falling asleep to his mother’s lullaby. “This is big trouble!” “No!” “No!!!” Luo Feng knew he had been reckless. By rushing forward without fully receiving the inheritance of a particular tier, he had encountered the most terrifying ‘Demonic Sound’ suppression unique to Demonic Sound Mountain. Sleep! Sleep! “No!” Sleep… Luo Feng felt his consciousness sinking, sinking, sinking… into a bottomless abyss! … Luo Feng, standing on the 1238th tier, closed his eyes, a serene smile on his face. Then, like a robot, he turned and flew backward, landing on the 1237th tier. The Demonic Sound’s tone shifted. Luo Feng’s consciousness steadily rose from the bottomless abyss, as if returning from a world of darkness to reality. “Huh?” Luo Feng’s eyes snapped open. He was awake! “Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo…” Luo Feng gasped continuously, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead, his face pale. “Too dangerous, too dangerous. I was utterly powerless against that Demonic Sound just now.” Luo Feng, who had always been supremely confident in his will and consciousness, now felt like he had narrowly escaped death. One must know that almost all who came to this Demonic Sound Inheritance Divine Temple were Immortal Gods. How powerful was the resistance of an Immortal God? If the Demonic Sound could deter those gods, how could it not deter Luo Feng? “Fortunately, I had guessed then that this Demonic Sound Divine Temple was specifically set up for inheritance and should pose no life threat to the inheritor.” Luo Feng felt the secret technique information from the 1237th inheritance tier continuously integrating into his mind, then looked up at the grand hall still deep in the void. Unwilling! Truly unwilling! “Moyun Teng’s main vines can now reach up to 3000 kilometers. I wonder if it can reach.” Luo Feng’s heart stirred. Although he felt that the Demonic Sound Divine Temple shouldn’t have any loopholes in its design, he couldn’t resist trying. He immediately extended his right hand, and a very thin vine instantly stretched out from the edge of his sleeve. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh~~~ Continuously extending, the Moyun Teng rapidly grew longer and thicker like lightning, stretching out further and further into the depths of the void. When Moyun Teng first reached Universe-level, each of its 72 main vines was already 300 kilometers long. Now, as a Domain Lord-level Moyun Teng, each main vine was a full 3000 kilometers long… To put Moyun Teng’s sheer size into perspective, if placed in the center of Huaxia Nation, its sprawling vines could cover the entire territory of Huaxia Nation! “No obstruction!” “No resistance at all?” Luo Feng found it hard to believe, watching the Moyun Teng’s long vine extending into the distant void. “The grand hall!” The vine shot directly into the grand hall! “Hiss!” “Huh?” Luo Feng’s expression changed. The grand hall, visible to the naked eye, seemed to be made of air. The Moyun Teng’s long vine swept through it without encountering any physical object. “What’s going on?” Luo Feng controlled the Moyun Teng to sweep around. Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! The air vibrated. But whether the Moyun Teng swept through the grand hall or the tiers of inheritance steps leading to it, it was like sweeping through air. “This, this, this…” Luo Feng was shocked. Immediately, a second thin vine extended from his right hand, directly touching the stone tier beneath his feet. “Hiss!” The vine passed directly through the tier, as if through air. “How can this be?” Luo Feng frowned. “Luo Feng, I think I understand something. Take out another robot and test it.” Babata’s voice echoed in Luo Feng’s sea of consciousness. Luo Feng nodded slightly, simultaneously shrinking the Moyun Teng, which had extended for thousands of kilometers, and retrieving a robot from his spatial ring. This robot was entirely golden, an Alchemist Guard that Luo Feng had casually requested when asking the Virtual Universe Company for various items. Alchemist Guards were similar to ‘Flowing Silver Guards’ but possessed greater capabilities. These robots… the Virtual Universe Company provided them to Luo Feng for free. The Alchemist Guard hovered in mid-air, respectfully addressing Luo Feng: “Master!” “Step on the tier,” Luo Feng commanded. “Yes!” The Alchemist Guard immediately descended, stepping down. “Whoosh!” It also stepped into empty space. “Beep, beep, beep…” A flood of characters instantly flashed across the Alchemist Guard’s red crystal eyes, seemingly calculating something rapidly. It then turned to Luo Feng and respectfully reported: “Master, this tier is visible but cannot be stepped on. Yet, Master can step on it… The information database has no reasonable explanation for this.” Luo Feng nodded slightly, and with a wave of his hand, directly stored the robot back into his spatial ring. “Just as I suspected, it’s probably correct,” Babata’s voice rang out. “What’s going on?” Although Luo Feng had his own judgment, he still asked. “Luo Feng, in this mysterious inheritance palace, all treasures and such can definitely only be obtained by the inheritor!” Babata explained, “It’s like your teacher leaving an inheritance and having me recruit disciples on his behalf. The bank account he left behind can only be accessed after verification confirms someone is his disciple.” “It’s the same principle!” “To be able to construct such a terrifying inheritance palace, one that has existed for billions of years and can even produce Immortal-level illusory beasts. The Virtual Universe Company has even dispatched so many super Immortals to be stationed here. Clearly—” Babata stated confidently, “That great being… is a true peak eternal powerhouse in the universe, far surpassing your teacher.” Luo Feng nodded. “Right.” The power of the being who left this inheritance already surpassed his imagination. After all, the Demonic Sound he set up… could easily suppress Immortal Gods. If he were to act personally, how exaggerated would that be? “Therefore, in an inheritance palace built by such a great being, all treasures within can only be obtained by the ‘inheritor,’” Babata said. “No matter if you use an auxiliary plant life, a robot, or a spaceship. As long as it’s not the inheritor themselves, they won’t even be able to touch the inheritance tiers or the grand hall. It’s as if they exist in two different spaces.” Luo Feng nodded. Unable to even touch them, the utilization of space was beyond Luo Feng’s imagination. “You are the inheritor, so only you can touch the tiers and the grand hall,” Babata said. “Every inheritor must possess a soul to receive the ‘Demonic Sound General’s inheritance.’ However, a soul-bearing life… clearly cannot resist the Demonic Sound he left behind. One can only proceed step by step.” “What if someone *could* resist it?” Luo Feng chuckled. “If someone could resist the Demonic Sound, it would mean that the one who came to this inheritance palace is also a great being. For such a being to arrive and take some treasures would be perfectly reasonable,” Babata replied. Luo Feng nodded slightly. He looked up at the grand hall in the distant void, pondering while continuing to receive the inheritance. “The setup is indeed perfect.” “The inheritance palace allows only one life form to receive the inheritance at a time, and it must be a soul-bearing life form,” Luo Feng mused. “And soul-bearing life forms are inevitably suppressed by the Demonic Sound. This means… one truly has to follow the great being’s design, accepting the inheritance step by step until reaching the grand hall to obtain the treasures.” “But!” “There are still some heaven-defying life forms in the universe,” Luo Feng murmured, staring at the grand hall in the void. “Whoosh!” Beside him, another Black-Clad Luo Feng appeared out of thin air, his life aura identical to his Earth human true body—it was his Demon Killer Clan clone! “My Demon Killer Clan clone, with its ‘Talent Secret Technique: Replication,’ can perfectly mimic my Earth true body’s aura.” Luo Feng stood still, while the Demon Killer Clan Luo Feng began to step onto the tier. “Thud!” Foot firmly planted! Firmly stepping on the stone tier. “Excellent!” The Demon Killer Clan Luo Feng revealed a faint smile, then lunged forward, reaching the next tier. That terrifying Demonic Sound once again pierced into the Demon Killer Clan Luo Feng’s body. However— The Demonic Sound, to be precise, was a type of soul-based illusion, an extremely terrifying super illusion. Some who fell victim to it could lose consciousness and become walking corpses! Yet— The ‘Demon Killer Clan clone’ Luo Feng had manifested did not carry its core. The core remained within his Earth human true body. A Demon Killer Clan clone without its core… was just like a true member of the Demon Killer Clan! It feared no soul-based attacks! Anything related to the soul would be completely ineffective against the Demon Killer Clan! “Yes, exactly.” The Demon Killer Clan Luo Feng smiled as he walked up the tiers, taking another step, then another. The Demonic Sound resonated, yet it seemed like celebratory music, heralding Luo Feng’s imminent acquisition of treasures. Step by step. Step by step. The great being who left behind the Demonic Sound Mountain inheritance likely never imagined that a soul-bearing life form and a soulless life form… would actually be the same individual!