Chapter 304: Most Precious Treasure

The colossal door trembled violently as cracks began to spread across its surface. Blinding silver light shone from the fissures. Then, a terrifying shockwave erupted from within the door.

Tan Zhenwei's Golden Body Realm punch seemed to have triggered some kind of chain reaction of destruction. A wave of annihilating energy surged toward him. Tan Zhenwei calmly raised his hand and lightly clenched it. A powerful, unstoppable force exploded from him, neutralizing the shockwave.

Suddenly, a terrifying suction force emerged from beyond the giant door. The debris from the earlier explosion was immediately pulled in and devoured by the void behind the door. It revealed an irregularly shaped ring of light behind the door; the spatial passage.

This was the space remnant that had been devoured by the king-grade star beast, the Cave Beast, and transformed into a stable dimensional rift. Tan Zhenwei slowly approached the entrance to the time-warped portal. He reached out to touch the edge of the passage, as though he was sensing something deep within.

After a moment, Tan Zhenwei furrowed his brows. Kuramaki Kazuki had been right; the spatial passage had stabilized. Damaging it would be exceedingly difficult. The Heaven's Mandate Silkworms, the grade six star beasts housed within Tan Zhenwei's body, had retreated deep inside him, as if entering hibernation.

The light-ringed passage bore the mark of a king-grade star beast and radiated the aura of a true sovereign. For the Heaven's Mandate Silkworms, that aura felt like an encounter with a natural predator, a suppression on the level of life itself.

Tan Zhenwei continued to throw punches at the passage. His Golden Body Realm punches landed with deafening force on the passage, each blow causing a tremendous roar. Yet, the passage remained completely unscathed.

He struck again and again. After several consecutive punches, the light-ringed passage still showed no signs of damage. But it seemed Tan Zhenwei had expected this outcome. He took out an object resembling a kinetic bomb from his belongings. After setting the device, he punched it once, sending the bomb hurtling deep into the passage.

Three breaths later.

Boom!

A massive explosion erupted within the passage. One second later, a visible energy shockwave roared out of the ring-shaped passage like a beast from the depths of hell. Tan Zhenwei braced himself, pushing his hands forward and planting his feet into the ground. He took the full force of the shockwave head-on.

Once the blast dissipated, he carefully examined the ring-shaped passage in front of him. It seemed slightly damaged and less stable than before, but it was still far from collapsing. Tan Zhenwei meticulously calculated something, deep in thought.

By this time, the sounds of battle and screams from behind had gradually faded. Covered in blood, Li Xiaofei approached, his tattered jacket barely hanging on him.

“So this is the Eye of the Northwest?” asked Li Xiaofei, looking at the glowing, ring-shaped passage before him.

At first glance, it resembled a light tunnel from a children's amusement park. Its irregular cross-section and sci-fi aesthetic made it look more like an artificial structure than something natural.

"Yes, this is the spatial rift left by the Cave Beast," Tan Zhenwei casually replied.

Li Xiaofei rolled up his blood-stained sleeves and said, "Let me give it a try."

He threw several punches in quick succession. Each punch carried enough force to flatten a small mountain, but his blows were like an ant trying to shake a tree. There was no damage at all. Li Xiaofei gave up. This was a spatial rift. How could his Five Spirits Realm strength shatter space itself?

"Uncle Tan, how do we destroy this thing?" he asked. "A bomb? I can search the base for one."

Tan Zhenwei shook his head and replied, "It's useless. I already tried. The Jiepeng base doesn’t have any explosives strong enough to destroy this passage."

"So what do we do?" Li Xiaofei thought for a moment and suggested, "If we can’t destroy it, we could station someone here to guard it. As soon as the Jiepeng try to come through again, we can kill them."

Tan Zhenwei shook his head again. "This passage is still in its growth phase. It’s far from its decay period. In another six months, it will become even more stable. By then, experts from the Dao Union Realm or even the Divine Realm can cross over. The Northwest would face an even greater threat," he said calmly.

Li Xiaofei thought about it, but soon realized that he didn’t have any other tricks up his sleeve that could help in this situation.

At that moment, footsteps echoed behind them once again. Li Xiaofei turned to look.

Goddess Ye Liuying held the severed head of Soumei as she approached them. It seemed that she had emerged victorious in the decisive battle with Jiepeng’s best swordsman.

What a terrifying woman. She’s only just entered the Golden Body Realm, yet she defeated and killed a veteran Golden Body Realm expert. That’s insane. Has she activated some kind of cheat code?

“Teacher,” greeted Goddess Ye Liuying as she walked up to Tan Zhenwei.

Li Xiaofei was shocked and confused.

Teacher? What is going on now?

Tan Zhenwei nodded and asked, "Where's A-Li?"

Before Tan Zhenwei's words had even faded away, a playful, seductive laugh filled the air, making Li Xiaofei's blood surge. Shimmering lights flickered as a fox woman appeared, floating gracefully with not a single stitch of clothing. She used her nine illusory fox tails to cover her most private areas. As she moved, the very air around her turned pink.

It appeared that the two Five Spirits Realm experts outside had also been dealt with. This flirtatious fox was just as terrifying.

When he saw the two women standing peacefully beside each other, Li Xiaofei couldn't help but secretly think to himself.

So all that earlier hunting and fighting was just an act? Women are naturally born with incredible acting skills.

Tan Zhenwei looked at the two women and said, "You’ve both done well. From today on, lay low and cease any activities under the sect's name."

"Yes, Teacher," replied Ye Liuying.

"As you command, Master," said the fox demon, A-Li, with equal deference.

Tan Zhenwei raised his hand. The Heaven's Mandate Silkworms, still in their half-hibernation state, were forcibly summoned forth.

"They resonate well with you," Tan Zhenwei said to A-Li. "With them, you'll have an additional method to protect yourself when facing human experts."

He entrusted the Heaven's Mandate Silkworms to the fox demon, A-Li.

"Sect Leader..." A-Li dared not refuse, but tears suddenly welled up in her alluring eyes.

Tan Zhenwei then removed the bark mask from his face. "This will help you in the wilderness, giving you the power to fight against high-grade star beasts. It can also conceal your presence if you need to escape."

He handed the mask to Goddess Ye Liuying.

"Teacher, I don't want it," Ye Liuying said, her eyes turning red.

Tan Zhenwei smiled kindly. "Life is a solitary journey, and farewells must eventually come."

He turned to look at Li Xiaofei. By this point, Li Xiaofei had a sinking feeling in his heart, as if Tan Zhenwei was giving his final words. Clearly, both Goddess Ye Liuying and the fox demon A-Li also sensed something.

Tan Zhenwei said, "Are you waiting for me to give you something too?"

Li Xiaofei gave an awkward smile, nearly stretching his hand out to receive something.

But Tan Zhenwei said, "I have nothing for you."

Li Xiaofei was left speechless.

Really? At a time like this, you’re still messing with me?

Tan Zhenwei continued, "You’ve already taken my most precious treasure, and you still expect more from me? Have some shame, will you?"

Li Xiaofei remained silent.

That felt like a personal attack. Clearly, there is some lingering resentment there.

It seemed Tan Zhenwei already knew that Li Xiaofei and Little Ying had crossed the boundaries of propriety and stepped into forbidden territory.

"Remember what you promised," Tan Zhenwei suddenly grew serious again. "When you go to Xiajing, take good care of Little Ying, and don’t let her suffer."

With that, he turned and walked toward the spatial rift.