Devour the Young Dragon, Return to the Golden Core

Seven days remained until the Secret Realm closed.

In this primeval forest left over from ancient times, the stench of blood was growing ever thicker.

Disciples from various sects had completely torn away all pretenses of civility in their scramble for spiritual herbs and monster cores. Slaughter, betrayal, and deadly traps played out in every corner of the realm every single day.

But no one knew.

In this chaotic hunting game,

there was one person who treated all of them as prey.

Shen Fei.

He didn't bother fighting over the heavenly materials and earthly treasures that were incredibly precious to ordinary cultivators.

His goal was crystal clear.

The pillars of light on his system panel, the ones representing the Children of Destiny.

Day One.

On the eastern side of the Secret Realm, beside an underground river where spiritual energy flowed backward.

A male cultivator wearing the robes of the Sunset Valley sect slumped on the cobblestones by the riverbank, gasping heavily for air.

He had just exhausted all his strength to slay a Tier-Two water monster guarding a century-old spiritual herb.

His spiritual energy was nearly drained, and his body was riddled with injuries.

But as he looked at the faintly glowing blue herb in his hand, his eyes were filled with wild ecstasy.

A B-Rank Child of Destiny.

Relying on a fragmented jade pendant passed down through his family, he could always turn bad luck into good fortune.

"With this spiritual herb, I can break through to the Foundation Establishment realm once I get back!" the cultivator muttered excitedly.

Just as he prepared to store the herb in his spatial bag,

Rustle.

A soft sound came from the bushes behind him.

The cultivator whipped his head around, the magical artifact in his hand instantly lighting up.

But he saw nothing.

Only a gust of wind blew past.

The next second.

An icy hand reached out from his blind spot without warning, gripping the back of his neck in a vice.

The cultivator's entire body stiffened, even his cry for help catching in his throat.

"I'll be borrowing your destiny."

Shen Fei's voice sounded by his ear, so flat that it didn't hold a single ripple of emotion.

Heavenly Demon Devour, activate.

The B-Rank destiny essence within the cultivator's body, along with the sliver of spiritual energy he had just recovered, was forcefully extracted like a bursting dam.

Ten seconds later.

The cultivator turned into a shriveled corpse, collapsing limply onto the cobblestones.

Shen Fei released his grip and casually took the faintly blue spiritual herb.

System Prompt: Devoured the essence of a B-Rank Child of Destiny!

System Prompt: Law Barrier Loosened: 40 percent!

Shen Fei glanced at the system prompt and turned away, vanishing into the dense forest.

Day Two.

On the southern side of the Secret Realm, outside a hidden spirit beast lair.

Two inner sect disciples wearing the robes of the Profound Sword Sect stood back-to-back, bathed in blood.

Around them lay the corpses of three massive Tier-Three demonic wolves.

These two were twin brothers.

A-Rank Children of Destiny.

Possessing a telepathic combined sword formation, their combat prowess far exceeded others of the same rank.

"Brother, these three beasts are finally dead. The monster king's inner core in the lair is ours!" the younger brother excitedly wiped the blood from his face.

Though exhausted, the older brother also revealed a smile.

"Let's go. We'll head in and grab the core."

Just as the two turned around, preparing to step into the lair,

"No need to trouble yourselves."

A cold, indifferent voice drifted out from the shadows of the lair.

The twin brothers' expressions changed drastically, and they simultaneously raised their longswords.

Wearing his inconspicuous gray robe, Shen Fei slowly walked out from the shadows.

In his hand, he was casually tossing a blood-red inner core that emanated a dense demonic aura.

"Who are you?! How dare you steal from the Profound Sword Sect!" the older brother shouted sternly.

Shen Fei didn't answer.

He stored the inner core into his system inventory.

Then, he looked up.

In his pitch-black eyes, there was no killing intent, only the calmness of looking at dead men.

"Your sword formation isn't bad."

Shen Fei took a step forward.

"Unfortunately, it's too slow."

"You're courting death!" the twin brothers roared in fury. Their two longswords transformed into two streaks of startling light, carrying fierce sword qi as they moved to strangle Shen Fei from the left and right.

Shen Fei didn't dodge.

Heavenly Demon Physique, erupt!

He charged directly into the sword qi.

Bang! Bang!

Two muffled thuds.

Shen Fei's hands precisely pierced through the gaps in the sword formation, firmly locking onto their throats from the left and right.

The eyes of the twin brothers were filled with shock.

Their proud combined sword formation hadn't even lasted a single exchange against this man!

"Devour."

Shen Fei muttered in his heart.

Two streams of A-Rank destiny essence surged madly into his body.

System Prompt: Devoured the essence of two A-Rank Children of Destiny!

System Prompt: Law Barrier Loosened: 55 percent!

Two corpses fell.

Shen Fei continued on his way.

Day Three.

Day Four.

Day Five.

...

Over these seven days, Shen Fei was like a tireless grim reaper.

He didn't touch the ordinary sect disciples.

His targets were entirely the high-tier Children of Destiny marked on his system panel.

Ranging from B-Rank to A-Plus Rank.

His methods of reaping varied.

Sometimes it was a sudden backstab at the crucial moment when the target was unraveling a formation.

Sometimes he played the fisherman, reaping the rewards when the target and a demonic beast mutually wounded each other.

And sometimes, he simply crushed them head-on with absolute power.

Shen Fei's methods were cold, efficient, and left no trace.

He was like a ghost, weaving through every corner of the Azure Wood Secret Realm.

With the fall of one Child of Destiny after another,

the law barrier within Shen Fei's body was rapidly loosening and shattering at a visible rate.

Evening of Day Six.

In the deepest part of the Secret Realm.

Amidst a cluster of ancient trees shrouded in purple miasma.

Shen Fei sat cross-legged beneath a towering ancient tree so thick it would take ten people to encircle it.

When the surrounding miasma approached within ten feet of his body, it automatically parted, as if encountering some terrifying devouring force.

He kept his eyes closed.

Feeling the Heavenly Demon spiritual energy that had been suppressed within him for so long.

After these past few days of frantic devouring,

that high-dimensional law barrier from the upper realm had been washed by destiny and worn thin to a critical point.

It was like a layer of paper on a window, ready to tear at any moment.

"Just a little more."

Shen Fei thought to himself.

He opened his eyes and glanced at the system panel.

System Prompt: Law Barrier Loosened: 95 percent!

He was only one last opportunity away from completely shattering the suppression and returning to the Golden Core realm.

And this opportunity,

lay right in the center of this ancient tree cluster.

That pillar of destiny light carrying an ancient aura was currently emitting a soft glow, less than five hundred meters away from him.

Shen Fei stood up.

Brushed the fallen leaves off his robe.

And strode confidently in the direction of the light pillar.

Day Seven.

Only two hours remained until the Secret Realm closed.

The center of the ancient tree cluster was an open clearing in the woods.

In the middle of the clearing sat a quaint, ancient stone platform.

Sitting cross-legged on the stone platform was a young rogue cultivator in a tattered Daoist robe.

His eyes were closed, and a faint golden light lingered around his body.

An S-Rank Child of Destiny.

An ascetic cultivator who had obtained the fragmented legacy of an ancient mighty figure in the mortal realm, and who had been biding his time quietly ever since ascending to the upper realm.

Right now, he was madly absorbing the pure spiritual energy welling up from beneath the stone platform, attempting to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment in one fell swoop.

Shen Fei walked out from the woods.

He didn't mask the sound of his footsteps.

The young rogue cultivator abruptly opened his eyes, a sharp light erupting from his gaze.

"Who's there?!"

He stared fixedly at Shen Fei, already clutching an ancient talisman that radiated a terrifying pressure.

Shen Fei looked at him.

No nonsense.

"Borrowing your destiny to break through."

Before his voice even faded.

Shen Fei's figure instantly vanished from where he stood.

"Arrogant!"

The young rogue cultivator flew into a rage and violently threw the ancient talisman in his hand.

"Boom!"

A golden thunderbolt, thick as a barrel and carrying an aura of absolute destruction, struck directly at Shen Fei's afterimage.

But.

The lightning struck nothing but air.

Shen Fei's speed, bolstered by his Heavenly Demon Body, had already surpassed the limits of what a Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine sense could track.

In the next second.

Shen Fei appeared right behind the rogue cultivator.

A hand pressed firmly onto the crown of his head.

"You..."

Extreme terror flashed in the rogue cultivator's eyes. Just as he tried to detonate the spiritual energy within his body to self-destruct.

The Heavenly Demon Devour descended upon him like a bottomless abyss!

"Ah—!"

The rogue cultivator let out a despairing scream.

The S-rank Destiny Source with an ancient aura inside him, along with the pure spiritual energy he had painstakingly cultivated for years.

Were tyrannically swallowed whole by Shen Fei!

[Ding!]

[Devoured the Origin of an S-Rank Child of Destiny!]

[The Law Barrier has received a lethal impact!]

At this very moment.

Within Shen Fei's body, the high-dimensional law barrier that had been rigidly suppressing his cultivation.

"Crack!"

Let out a crisp shattering sound.

And then.

It completely collapsed!

"Boom—!!!"

An utterly terrifying dark-gold Heavenly Demon spiritual energy surged forth like an unleashed ancient dragon.

It roared out from Shen Fei's dantian!

Instantly sweeping through his entire body!

Under the impact of this pressure, the surrounding ancient trees shook violently, shedding their leaves.

The purple miasma was completely purged, forming an absolute vacuum zone spanning a hundred meters in radius.

Shen Fei stood on the stone platform.

His long black hair danced wildly in the spiritual energy storm.

He closed his eyes, savoring the long-lost sensation of absolute control and power.

The system's notification sounds spammed wildly in his mind:

[The Law Barrier has completely shattered!]

[Host's current cultivation: Early Golden Core Stage!]

[Heavenly Demon Body (SS-Rank) strength restored to: 80%!]

[Heaven Devouring Demonic Art cross-realm devouring efficiency restored to: 75%!]

Early Golden Core Stage.

Shen Fei slowly opened his eyes.

Those pitch-black pupils were as deep as an abyss, seemingly capable of devouring all light.

He clenched his fists.

Feeling the Heavenly Demon spiritual energy flowing through his fingertips, which was far more condensed and terrifying than when he was in the mortal realm.

"Finally, I am back."

Although he was only at the Early Golden Core Stage, with the blessing of the Heavenly Demon Body and the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art.

In this border region.

He already had the capital to flip the board.

The time for the secret realm to close had arrived.

In the sky, that massive azure vortex reappeared.

Disciples from various sects, covered in scars and carrying their spoils, dashed toward the exit one after another.

Some were ecstatic, while others wept bitterly.

But no one noticed.

At the very back of the crowd.

The outer sect handyman from the Blood Fiend Sect named Chen Mo.

Wearing a clean gray robe.

Quietly stepped out of the vortex.

There was not a single trace of bloodlust on him, nor any fluctuation of spiritual energy.

He looked just like an ordinary person who had come to the secret realm for a field trip.

That night.

In the dilapidated thatched cottage of the Blood Fiend Sect's handyman quarters.

Shen Fei lay on the hard wooden bed.

He did not cultivate.

Instead, he opened the system panel.

In the system's memo.

There was a new cross-realm signal.

It was much clearer than the first time.

It was Su Qingxue's voice.

Intermittent, carrying a hint of exhaustion, but firm:

"The array... is stable... waiting for your word."

Shen Fei listened to this signal.

He looked at the drafty roof of the thatched cottage.

"Good job."

He silently replied in his heart.

Then, he closed his eyes.

Li Miaoyuan, where are you right now? Hmm?