Lin Feng charged towards the Black Scale Leopard like an icy blue lightning bolt, his spear imbued with a transformed ice spirit power, its tip gleaming with a blinding cold light. Sensing this powerful threat, the Black Scale Leopard abandoned its attack on the Blood Shadow Sect woman and Su Ran, turning to face Lin Feng. It opened its blood-red maw, spewing out black flames once more, attempting to devour Lin Feng before he could get close.
Lin Feng, however, did not back down. He poured all his power into his spear and then hurled it. The spear, carrying an unstoppable momentum, plunged straight into the black flames. A strange scene unfolded: the ice spirit power collided with the black flames, but instead of being easily dissolved as before, the two forces remained locked in a stalemate, and the surrounding space seemed to be distorted by this force.
Immediately afterward, the power of the ice spirit forcefully forced the black flames back, pouring into the black-scaled leopard's gaping maw. The black-scaled leopard let out a painful roar, its body trembling violently. It tried to struggle, but found its entire body bound by an invisible force, unable to move. Moments later, the black-scaled leopard's body crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust, its aura gradually dissipating.
Everyone stared in disbelief at the dead black-scaled leopard. Lin Feng slowly walked to the spear, picked it up, and though his face was pale and he was exhausted, his eyes shone with determination and excitement. Su Ran rushed to Lin Feng's side and asked with concern, "Lin Feng, how are you? That was too dangerous!" Lin Feng smiled slightly and said weakly, "I'm fine. In that life-or-death moment, I seem to have grasped a new way to use the power of ice spirits."
Xuanfeng looked at Lin Feng with admiration in his eyes: "I didn't expect you to be able to break through under such dire circumstances. Given time, your future is limitless." The woman from the Blood Shadow Sect also put away her previous contempt and looked at Lin Feng with respect.
After a short rest and regaining some strength, the group continued along the passage. The runes on both sides of the passage became increasingly dense, and their light grew brighter. Xuanfeng carefully observed the runes as he walked, trying to find clues. Suddenly, he stopped, a look of surprise on his face: "I understand! These runes are a guide; they seem to be pointing to the core area of the ruins."
Su Ran asked curiously, "Senior, what secrets does this ruin hold, and why are there so many dangers?" Xuan Feng's expression was solemn as he slowly replied, "As far as I know, this ancient ruin was left behind by a powerful Spirit Venerable. Legend has it that this Spirit Venerable possessed a mysterious power capable of changing the landscape of the cultivation world. To prevent this power from falling into the hands of those with ill intentions, he set up numerous traps and guardian beasts within the ruin."
Lin Feng frowned: "Such powerful strength, if it were to fall into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, the consequences would be unimaginable." The woman from the Blood Shadow Sect nodded in agreement: "It seems our mission this time is even more arduous."
Following the runes, the group soon arrived at a massive stone door. The door was covered in intricate runes and patterns, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura. Xuanfeng carefully studied the runes on the door, and after a moment, he said, "This door requires specific spiritual energy fluctuations to open; we must try together."
Following Xuanfeng's instructions, everyone gathered their spiritual power and poured it into the stone door. As the spiritual power was poured in, the runes on the stone door flickered and slowly opened. Behind the stone door was a huge circular space, with countless luminous pearls embedded in the surrounding walls, illuminating the entire space as bright as day.
In the center of the space stood a massive stone platform, upon which rested a crystal ball radiating multicolored light. As the group approached the crystal ball, it suddenly shone brightly, and a phantom figure emerged from within. This figure was an elderly man in a long robe, his face kind yet imposing.
The old man looked at everyone and slowly said, "Those who have come here must have gone through countless hardships and dangers. The power hidden in this ruin is not for you to possess, but for you to protect it and not let it become a disaster for the cultivation world."
Xuanfeng respectfully asked, "Senior, what exactly is this mysterious power? And how should we protect it?" The old man sighed slightly, "This power is called 'Chaotic Spiritual Source.' It contains endless spiritual energy, but it is also extremely corrosive. If the user's mental state is not strong enough, they will be devoured by it and become its puppet. You need to find five fragments of the spiritual source and seal them in five locations in this ruin in order to suppress the 'Chaotic Spiritual Source.'"
After speaking, the old man's figure gradually disappeared, leaving everyone looking at each other in bewilderment. Su Ran gritted her teeth: "In that case, let's do as our senior said, find the Spirit Source Fragment, and complete the seal." Lin Feng and the others nodded in agreement, and an adventure to find the Spirit Source Fragment thus began.
The group decided to follow the old man's instructions and search for the five fragments of spiritual energy. However, finding the fragments in such a vast ruin was no easy task. Xuanfeng carefully recalled the scene when the old man appeared, trying to find some clues. His gaze fell on the crystal ball on the stone platform that emitted multicolored light, and suddenly his eyes lit up.
“Look everyone, the light in this crystal ball seems to follow a certain pattern, perhaps related to the location of the spirit source fragments,” Xuanfeng said. The crowd gathered around, carefully observing the crystal ball. Lin Feng discovered that the frequency and rhythm of the crystal ball's flashing light seemed subtly connected to the arrangement of the runes in the passage earlier.
"Could the location of the fragments be determined according to some order of the runes?" Lin Feng suggested. Xuan Feng pondered for a moment and nodded, "That's possible. Let's go back through the passage we came in through and observe those runes again."
So, the group returned along the passage. Along the way, they paid close attention to the arrangement and style of the runes. Xuanfeng, with his profound knowledge of runes, continuously analyzed and recorded them. Su Ran, on the other hand, used the power of ice spirits to record some important rune features in the form of ice sculptures, making it easier for everyone to study.
After careful observation and analysis, Xuanfeng finally made a discovery. "Look," he said, pointing to a rune, "these runes, when combined, seem to form a simple map, pointing to the northeast of the ruins." The group looked in the direction he indicated. Although the map formed by the runes was quite obscure, upon closer inspection, the general direction could indeed be discerned.
The group immediately headed northeast. Along the way, the passage became increasingly narrow, and the surrounding walls grew uneven, as if they had experienced a violent tremor. Suddenly, a fork in the road appeared ahead, with three passages leading in different directions, each emitting a different colored light: red, blue, and green.
"How should we choose?" the Blood Shadow Sect woman asked, frowning. Lin Feng pondered for a moment and said, "The light from the crystal ball before seemed to be composed of multiple colors, perhaps related to the colors of these three channels." Su Ran nodded in agreement, "We can try to start with the symbolic meaning of the colors. Red usually represents fire and passion, blue represents water and calmness, and green represents wood and vitality."
After pondering for a moment, Xuanfeng said, "Judging from the layout of the ruins, everything here seems to be related to balance. The Ice Spirit Clan's ice belongs to water, so why don't we try the blue passage first?" Everyone thought Xuanfeng's analysis made sense, so they all walked into the blue passage.
A light mist filled the passage, and the temperature was much lower than before. As they went deeper, the mist thickened, severely impairing visibility. Lin Feng gathered his ice elemental power, forming an ice ball in his hand. The ice ball emitted a soft light, illuminating the path ahead for everyone.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from ahead, as if something was moving rapidly. Everyone immediately became alert and gripped their weapons tightly. Lin Feng said softly, "Everyone be careful, there might be danger." As soon as he finished speaking, a group of bat-like monsters rushed out of the mist. Their eyes gleamed with an eerie green light, and their wings were covered with sharp barbs.
Xuanfeng waved his staff, releasing a golden light barrier that temporarily blocked the onslaught of monsters. "These are Shadow Bats, highly aggressive! Don't panic!" Xuanfeng shouted. Lin Feng seized the opportunity, channeling his ice spirit power into his spear and swung it powerfully at the swarm of Shadow Bats. A beam of icy blue sword energy shot out, instantly slaying several Shadow Bats.
Su Ran then used ice magic to condense a thick layer of ice on the ground of the passage, attempting to deprive the Shadow Bats of their foothold for flight. The Blood Shadow Sect woman transformed into a streak of blood light, weaving through the swarm of Shadow Bats, her curved blade flashing continuously, each swing taking the lives of several Shadow Bats.
However, the Shadow Bats were numerous, charging forward wave after wave. The group gradually became exhausted, and many sustained injuries. Just then, Lin Feng suddenly noticed that the Shadow Bats seemed extremely sensitive to a certain frequency of sound. He immediately concentrated his Ice Spirit Power in his throat, unleashing a sharp ice-based sonic wave. The sound wave, like a blade, pierced through the swarm of Shadow Bats, causing them to fall and struggle in agony.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the group quickened their pace and rushed forward. Finally, at the end of the passage, they discovered a fragment emitting a faint blue light. Lin Feng stepped forward, carefully picked up the fragment, and sensed a power within it that was similar to, yet much weaker than, the "Chaotic Spiritual Source."
"It seems this is the first fragment of the Spirit Source," Lin Feng said. A relieved smile appeared on everyone's faces. Although the process was difficult, they had finally found the first fragment, which undoubtedly boosted their confidence. Filled with joy at finding the fragment, the group began to consider how to find the next one.
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