Chapter 529 - 324: The Sword Tomb Starts Working! Oh God, You Smell So Good

Coming out of Ye Jinghong’s Central Army Tent, the atmosphere outside had completely changed.

The oppressive feeling, like a death row inmate awaiting execution, had vanished. In its place was a near-fanatical excitement.

The pale golden glow of the Divine Realm enveloped the entire outpost. It lent this steel fortress, situated in the deadlands of the Otherworld, an air of sacred inviolability.

The patrolling soldiers held their heads high, chests puffed out. They gazed at the central high platform with the kind of reverence reserved for a once-in-a-generation ancestral blessing.

Han Feng pulled his combat uniform tighter and strode quickly across the square.

To him, this fanaticism was both a shield and a death sentence.

Ye Jinghong’s words about "rejection by the world’s rules" and "certain death within a year" stuck in his mind like a thorn.

’This Dragon Abyss place is even more treacherous than I thought.’

’Forcing someone to reach Tier Five combat strength within a year... that’s basically pushing them off a cliff.’

Han Feng returned to the prefabricated housing area assigned to the Ghost Squad and locked the door behind him.

He sat cross-legged on the hard plank bed, his brow furrowed in thought.

’This Dragon Abyss’s World Will obviously doesn’t welcome outsiders.’

’To put it bluntly, Ye Jinghong is basically a stowaway in this world. He has to establish himself as a local powerhouse within a year, or the rules will erase him.’

’And what about me?’

’My combat strength right now is too dependent on the [Divine Power Module].’

’That single Tier Four Late Stage "Soul-Burning Needle" did one-shot the Thousand-Eyed Demon Moth’s Split Soul, but the cost was the instant depletion of five thousand threads of Sword Aura.’

’That kind of move is fine as a one-time trump card.’

’If I really ran into two or three tough opponents at the same level, or got stuck in a battle of attrition, once I’ve used up my few tricks, I’d be a sitting duck.’

’I have to raise my base stats.’

’Only by raising my own Cultivation, increasing the recovery rate and total amount of my Sword Aura, can my regular combat strength keep up with the expenditure.’

’Let’s see what I got this time. Hopefully, there’s a pleasant surprise in store for me.’

Han Feng focused his thoughts.

The scenery around him instantly twisted and stretched.

The next moment, the simple prefabricated room vanished, replaced by a strange, hazy gray space.

The Sword Tomb Space.

As soon as he entered, Han Feng felt an unusual fluctuation.

Before, the Sword Tomb had been lifeless, like a warehouse full of scrap metal.

But now, the edges of the space were slowly squirming, like the stomach of a giant beast digesting its meal.

In the southeast corner of the space, the area he had designated as the "Sword Burial Area" was now emitting a faint glow.

Han Feng strode to the edge of the Sword Burial Area.

He saw that the corpse of the once-arrogant Thousand-Eyed Demon Moth, along with the unfortunate High Priest of the Split Teeth Tribe and the remains of dozens of elite Totem Warriors, was now more than halfway enveloped in liquid metal.

Under the rules of the Sword Tomb, these biological corpses were no longer flesh and blood, but were instead being broken down into basic data and Energy.

This was especially true for the Thousand-Eyed Demon Moth. Its carapace, the powder on its scales, and the patterns on its wings were all being forcibly dismantled by some kind of Power of Rules.

Visible streams of Energy were being stripped from the corpses and flowing along the patterns on the ground, converging in the [Guiyuan Sword Pool] at the center.

Han Feng activated his [Eye of Insight].

In his vision, these streams of Energy appeared in four distinctly different, clearly separated colors.

A grayish-white stream: pure Soul Energy, the [Spiritual Essence]. This came primarily from the Thousand-Eyed Demon Moth’s massive Divine Soul, as well as the Spiritual Power of the High Priest and the others.

A vibrant green stream: Life Force so dense it was almost tangible, the [Life Essence]. This was the concentrated physical essence of these native experts.

There were also extremely rare, golden particles that glittered like flecks of gold sand, mixed within the streams of Energy—that was [Divine].

Beyond these, Han Feng noticed a fourth color.

It was a liquid settled at the very bottom of the energy streams, as heavy as mercury and exuding a dark, metallic sheen.

[Material Source Material].

’This is good stuff.’

Han Feng crouched down, observing the black fluid.

This substance hadn’t appeared out of thin air. It originated from the iron-hard chitinous shell of the Thousand-Eyed Demon Moth, the Magic Staff in the High Priest’s hand—which had been polished from some unknown beast bone—and the Obsidian Armor worn by the elite warriors.

In the outside world, smelting and extracting these high-hardness materials would require, at a minimum, top-grade Earth Fire and dozens of complex procedures.

But in the Sword Tomb Space, this place was the most efficient refinery imaginable.

The essence of all physical matter was violently purified and transformed into this directly usable "Universal Repair Liquid."

Han Feng walked briskly over to the [Guiyuan Sword Pool].

The pool, which had previously held only a shallow layer of liquid, now had a noticeably higher level.

The vibrant green Life Essence made up the largest portion, emitting a tempting, fresh fragrance. Just taking a single whiff made Han Feng feel as if every cell in his body was cheering.

The grayish-white Spiritual Essence drifted above it like a layer of mist.

Golden specks of Divine light sank to the bottom of the pool, like stars.

And the black Material Source Material coated the very bottom, giving off a feeling of weight and indestructibility.

’I have an Innate Sword Body. My body is a Sword Embryo.’

As Han Feng stared at the pool full of treasures, that crazy idea popped into his head again.

’Since a sword can absorb these Source Materials to evolve, if I temper myself as if I were a sword, can I just... swallow them directly?’

However, he knew full well that the black Material Source Material couldn’t be consumed recklessly.

’It strengthens the hardness of materials. If I actually drank it, my internal organs would probably turn to stone, and I’d have to spend a long time refining it later.’