Chapter 683  : Sharp

In the shadow behind Chen Fei, a figure emerged. It was none other than Chen Fei’s clone.

The clone flickered and arrived at the entrance of the Dream Shadow Cave. Wanting to step in, it sensed a powerful repulsive force blocking its way. Obviously, this cave did not welcome clones for trials.

The clone dissipated, and Chen Fei himself approached the cave. As ripples swept through, a force of attraction acted upon him.

Chen Fei did not resist, following this force.

In the next moment, the space flipped, and Chen Fei saw a dazzling array of colors. But soon, a huge brightness unfolded before him.

Chen Fei remained calm as a heavy pressure descended upon him, lightly landing him on the ground.

The surroundings were empty, with only a sense of coldness lingering.

Chen Fei looked around. The thousands of people from before were nowhere to be seen. It seemed like there was only Chen Fei in the entire world, and a sense of solitude began to spread within him.

“Drip!”

The sound of water droplets echoed from somewhere, particularly distinct in this silent environment.

However, rather than easing the deepening sense of loneliness, the appearance of this sound only magnified the feeling.

Chen Fei remained impassive, standing in place. He directly activated his techniques, beginning to absorb the insights from the Suppressing Dragon Elephant Soul Tempering and the Heavenly Profound Sword.

From the environment, it was evident that this was the trial of the Dream Shadow Cave.

Feelings of emptiness couldn’t affect Chen Fei’s current state of mind. Bored, he could simply focus on comprehending his techniques.

As time passed slowly, the surroundings occasionally underwent changes, making it easy to blur one’s sense of self. However, Chen Fei remained unresponsive.

Meanwhile, outside the Dream Shadow Cave, warriors who had recently entered and failed the trial were now emerging in groups.

The majority were in the Visceral Tempering realm, with only occasional glimpses of those in the Aperture Tempering realm.

For those in the Visceral Tempering realm, who only superficially touched upon the mind and spirit, this trial, which placed such emphasis on the state of mind, was too challenging.

However, the contents inherited from the Dream Shadow Cave itself were not particularly relevant to warriors in the Visceral Tempering realm. Most of these warriors were here to test their luck, as entering the cave posed no real danger.

If they were lucky, they might progress a level or two and earn some rewards.

Or perhaps they would discover that they possessed special potential in certain aspects—wouldn’t that be a stroke of luck?

Inside the cave, Chen Fei stood still, earnestly absorbing the insights of his techniques. After an unknown amount of time, the surroundings finally underwent a complete transformation.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed, the surroundings transformed into a dense forest.

Chen Fei focused most of his attention on comprehending his techniques, but he still kept a portion of his awareness outside.

During the recent changes in the environment, Chen Fei sensed a hint of the Dream Entry Technique.

However, compared to what Chen Fei had acquired with the Dream Entry Technique, the power exhibited by the Dream Shadow Cave was undoubtedly much more profound.

Even with Chen Fei’s peak Aperture Tempering realm mind, he could only perceive a slight anomaly, and only for a moment during the environmental changes.

Now that the environment had stabilized, that sense of strangeness had completely disappeared.

The surrounding forest was undoubtedly still part of the illusion, but relying solely on the mind, distinguishing truth from falsehood had become difficult. A faint light emanated from Chen Fei’s forehead, enveloping the surroundings.

The feeling of strangeness reappeared, but there were no specific clues. To unravel it, brute force was necessary.

A fluctuation of mental power surged to his forehead, and with this, more anomalies appeared in the surrounding forest.

If Chen Fei were to break the formation now, his chances of success would increase significantly.

To counter the power of the Mountain Sea Realm, one must possess a similar power.

The light at Chen Fei’s forehead dispersed, as he patiently stood in place, waiting.

Before long, rustling sounds emanated from the surrounding forest, and ants began to appear one by one.

These ants were unusually large, with even the smallest being the size of Chen Fei’s pinky finger.

Initially, their numbers were manageable, but soon they spread throughout the vicinity.

These ants shimmered with a metallic sheen all over their bodies, their ferocious mandibles constantly chomping as they approached Chen Fei.

A tremendous force pressed down on Chen Fei, rendering his elemental power immobile. As long as one’s strength didn’t reach the Mountain Sea Realm, this suppression would persist.

Remaining unchanged, Chen Fei watched as the ants crawled up to him and began to gnaw at his flesh.

Pain began to spread, but Chen Fei simply activated the Dream Entry Technique slightly, completely dispelling the pain.

The pain was an illusion, and the blurred flesh being gnawed was also an illusion. However, the pain and the scene appeared so real that most people couldn’t distinguish between reality and illusion.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Fei’s entire body was covered in ants, feasting voraciously. Chen Fei’s bones were already visible beneath the gnawed flesh.

Suddenly, the motionless Chen Fei took a few steps forward, extending his right hand to grasp one of the ants on the ground.

This ant appeared no different from the others, but as Chen Fei exerted force, it vanished instantly.

With the disappearance of this single ant, the countless ants that had covered the surroundings disappeared in an instant.

In the midst of pain and despair, distinguishing between illusion and reality.

Such a trial was undoubtedly extremely difficult, requiring an extraordinary level of discernment and some innate talent to achieve.

Chen Fei didn’t possess such innate talent, but with the Dream Entry Technique, he had turned his lack of talent into talent.

As the second stage unfolded, the number of people outside the cave surged, and voices began to buzz.

While the state of mind could be tempered, talent was innate. It was either present or absent, and although it seemed unfair, it couldn’t be forced.

Inside the cave, as the ants vanished, the trees in the surrounding forest gradually faded.

Whether intentional or not, the disappearance of the forest this time was slow, as if to allow the trial participants better observation.

Chen Fei’s gaze flickered as he watched the layers of receding forest, his eyes filled with contemplation.

In terms of insight, after practicing so many techniques and even refining his soul, Chen Fei’s talent now undoubtedly belonged to the level of a genius.

Thus, even without the secret manuals of techniques, he could still integrate many principles into his techniques.

At this moment, Chen Fei observed the changes in the surrounding environment, reflecting on the Dream Entry Technique, and gained some insights.

However, to transform these insights into specific cultivation methods would require time.

After a moment, the forest disappeared, leaving behind a training room with a meditation cushion and a secret manual.

Approaching, Chen Fei caught the manual as it flew into his hand and opened it to examine. He found that it detailed a method of manipulating illusions.

Quite ingenious, it was a technique of the Aperture Tempering realm, with many similarities to the Dream Entry Technique.

After perusing for a while, information about the technique appeared on a panel. Chen Fei merged it with the Dream Entry Technique, causing a slight decrease in proficiency in the Dream Entry Technique. After some practice, he managed to restore the lost proficiency.

The new technique seemed more like a means of utilizing the Dream Entry Technique, hence the slight decrease in proficiency.

Chen Fei’s right hand flipped, and a surge of illusionary power appeared at his fingertips.

Sensing the power at Chen Fei’s fingertips, the entire secret chamber trembled slightly. Then, cracks appeared from the ceiling, and a dazzling light seeped through the rifts, shining on Chen Fei’s face.

Looking up, Chen Fei could faintly see a towering mountain in the distance through the cracks.

“Whoosh!”

The wind whipped up sand and stones, and the walls of the surrounding secret chamber had long disappeared. Chen Fei now stood at the foot of the towering mountain.

Looking up at the mountain, the halfway point was already shrouded in clouds and mist.

The first three trials of the Dream Shadow Cave were primarily used for screening individuals. Each trial varied in content, but the core was to identify those with talents in dream realms.

Seeing this mountain now meant that Chen Fei had entered the core of the trial.

How much of the Dream Shadow Realms’ techniques he could obtain depended on how far he could ascend this mountain.

Compared to the previous three trials, there would be real dangers on this mountain.

To obtain the inheritance, not only talent but also courage was essential.

At this moment, outside the Dream Shadow Cave, almost ninety percent of those who had just ventured through the trials had been teleported out. Most of the remaining individuals were currently stuck in the third trial.

If they couldn’t learn the techniques within the allotted time, they would also be teleported out, with their only gain being the inheritance of the Aperture Tempering realm technique of manipulating illusions.

A group of acquaintances gathered together, discussing their gains from the recent trials. Many sighed with regret, feeling that they were just one step away.

Suddenly, a light appeared at the foot of the Dream Shadow Cave.

The surrounding people fell silent, as this indicated that someone had completed the first three trials and was about to enter the stage to truly obtain the Dream Shadow Realms’ inheritance.

“How fast.”

“I saw Gu Fangyu earlier. Could it be him?”

Amidst the discussions, the light at the foot of the mountain began to ascend. Initially, the area outside the cave was bustling with voices, but as the light steadily ascended, the voices gradually diminished.

The reason was simple: the speed at which this person ascended the mountain was astonishing, reaching an unimaginable level.

For thousands of years, countless individuals had ventured into the Dream Shadow Cave, and there had been numerous geniuses among them. However, never before had anyone ascended the mountain at such an incredible speed.

As the first light completed about two-fifths of the mountain path, a second light finally appeared at the foot of the mountain, indicating that another person had completed the first three trials.

Although this speed was not slow, compared to the first person, it was still far behind.

The second person began to ascend the mountain, and the difference in speed became apparent immediately.

If the first person seemed unstoppable, without any pause, then the second person appeared somewhat hesitant.

To be fair, the speed of the second person was still commendable among the many trial participants over the years, but sometimes, the most fearful thing for people was comparison.

Outside the cave, watching the first light continue to climb, a strange feeling arose in the hearts of the onlookers.

Was the Dream Shadow Cave, which had appeared thousands of years ago, going to be completely dominated today?

Meanwhile, inside the cave, relying on the foundation of the Dream Entry Technique, Chen Fei encountered no obstacles. As long as it was a technique, it could be directly integrated with the Dream Entry Technique, making many things much simpler.

As Chen Fei reached the halfway point of the mountain, a ripple of fluctuation spread out.

In the depths of the Dream Shadow Cave, in the darkness, a pair of eyes suddenly opened, their pupils reflecting the figure of Chen Fei.

Chen Fei, who had been continuing his ascent, abruptly paused in his tracks..