Throne of Seals: White Tiger's Power Lock, I am the God of War

Chapter 99 Dream Paradise
The moment Feng Yao's fingertips touched the green crystal, it felt as if a clear spring flowed into his limbs and bones through his meridians.

The golden light no longer flowed gently as before, but transformed into countless tiny threads of light that penetrated into every pore of his body.

These ribbons of light carried the unique life rhythm of the goddess of nature. Wherever they passed, not only did the charred wound on his left arm heal at a speed visible to the naked eye, but even the hidden injuries deep in his bone marrow caused by Feng Xiu's oppressive power trembled slightly, like land that had been parched for a long time finally receiving rain.

Crimson-gold battle aura and golden light intertwined within his body, forming a wondrous cycle.

Feng Yao could clearly feel that the suppressed eighth-order spiritual power was recovering. The shackles of the sixth-order peak were shattering like thin ice, and the spiritual power was surging like a tide. Soon it broke through the threshold of the seventh order and steadily climbed towards the middle of the seventh order.

To his surprise, the violent energy hidden within Tiger Roaring Nebula's bloodline was quietly soothed by this life energy.

The outline of the white tiger's phantom became more refined, and its eyes held less bloodlust and more calm and dignified presence.

The fierce winds on the mountaintop had subsided at some point, and the dark purple sky was tinged with pale gold by the golden light. The remaining green light in the cracks dissipated like the receding tide.

As the green crystal continued to release energy, fine cracks began to appear on its surface. Ancient runes flowed through those cracks, as if telling the secrets of the nature goddess's legacy.

Feng Yao's consciousness sank into his sea of ​​consciousness, and countless fragments of information about the laws of nature flooded into his mind.

It contains the laws of plant growth, the mysteries of elemental cycles, and even the methods to communicate with the life force of heaven and earth.

This information is not forcibly instilled, but rather falls into the sea of ​​consciousness like seeds, waiting for the moment when it takes root and sprouts.

"I see……"

Feng Yao murmured to himself, his fingertips lightly tracing the cracks on the crystal's surface, "The true trial of Dream Paradise is never about fighting, but about whether one can bear this legacy of life."

It was no accident that Ah Bao was devoured by the demonic energy. The power of nature is inherently contrary to darkness, and forcibly plundering it will only bring trouble upon oneself.

As the golden light dwindled to its last wisp, the green crystal suddenly trembled violently, cracks spreading across its entire surface, eventually transforming into a shower of fluorescent light. The fluorescent light did not dissipate; instead, it coalesced in the air into a leaf-shaped mark, which slowly settled on Feng Yao's brow.

The moment the mark touched his skin, he suddenly felt a strange connection with the world around him.

The pulse of the black stone beneath my feet, the breath of the distant forest, and even the flow of energy hidden in the abyss are all clearly presented in my perception.

“Natural Mark…” Feng Yao raised his hand to touch his brow, where the mark had disappeared into his skin, leaving only a faint golden light.

He could sense that with a single thought, he could mobilize the natural forces around him, even in this desolate Black Stone Plain, to give rise to faint greenery.

This may be a gift left by the goddess of nature, and also proof of passing the first trial.

After his spiritual power stabilized at the mid-seventh rank, Feng Yao moved his left arm. His old injury had completely healed, and he was even more agile than before the injury.

He looked down at his sleeve, which had been burned by the demonic flames, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth—A Bao's score would be settled sooner or later.

Just then, a clear bird song suddenly rang out in the sky, and a bright green bird swooped down and landed on Feng Yao's shoulder.

The bird's feathers gleamed with a metallic sheen, and it held a glistening leaf in its beak. On the leaf, a simple map was outlined with green light, marked with several shimmering dots.

"Is this a guide?" Feng Yao picked up a leaf, and the spirit bird nuzzled his fingers affectionately before flapping its wings and flying into the distance. He unfolded the leaf to examine it closely. The dots marked on the map appeared to be the cores of other areas, and one of the dots closest to the Blackstone Plains emitted a similar aura of light as Long Haochen's. "I'll go find Long Haochen and the others first." Feng Yao put the leaf away, determined the direction, and sped towards the forest at the foot of the mountain. His mid-stage seventh-tier spiritual power flowed through his body, making him several times faster than before. He walked on the blackstone as if it were flat ground, his footsteps so light they were almost inaudible. When he crossed the boundary between the Blackstone Plains and the forest, Feng Yao noticed a significant increase in the number of demonic beasts corrupted by demonic energy, including several ferocious beasts at the seventh-tier level. When these demonic beasts saw him, their eyes no longer held the previous greed, but instead showed a hint of fear, clearly sensing the pressure of the natural mark on his body. Feng Yao didn't attack directly, but simply channeled his natural power to release a gentle aura, and the demonic beasts retreated, making way for him. “This mark saves a lot of trouble.” Feng Yao understood. The power of nature is the origin of all things, and even corrupted creatures cannot completely resist this awe that originates from the soul. He quickened his pace through the forest, the trees along the way seemed to bow to him, the rustling of their leaves conveying a message—there was a strong energy fluctuation thirty miles ahead, indicating a fierce battle. Feng Yao's crimson-gold pupils narrowed slightly; the direction coincided perfectly with the bright spot marked on the map. He moved with lightning speed, darting through the forest like a crimson lightning bolt, leaving no trace as branches brushed against his body. The closer he got to the source of the fluctuation, the stronger the stench of blood in the air became, mixed with the familiar aura of holy light and the pungent demonic energy. As he passed through the last dense forest, the scene before him made Feng Yao's pupils shrink—in the center of a clearing in the forest, Long Haochen, wielding a bright blue divine light sword, was engaged in a fierce battle with three demon youths. His holy light armor was riddled with cracks, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating that he had been fighting for a long time. Saint Cai'er appeared beside him unnoticed, her white veil stained with blood, the Reincarnation Sword in her hand emanating a faint black aura, each swing carrying a resolute killing intent. The two stood back to back, holding their ground, several demon corpses lying around them. Among the three demon youths attacking them, the leader was none other than Leng Xiao, whom they had met outside the temple earlier. "Long Haochen!" Feng Yao shouted, his crimson-gold battle aura suddenly erupting, a white tiger phantom appearing behind him, startling the demon youth closest to him, whose face turned pale. Hearing the familiar voice, Long Haochen's spirits lifted, his azure divine light sword bursting forth with dazzling light, forcing Leng Xiao back: "Feng Yao! You've come!" Leng Xiao turned to look at Feng Yao, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes, then she sneered: "Perfect timing, saves us the trouble of searching one by one. Taking down both of you, this trip to Dream Paradise won't have been in vain." One of the two demon youths behind her immediately stepped forward, wielding a bone whip and lashing at Feng Yao, the demonic energy coiled around the whip sizzling and corroding. Feng Yao, too lazy to waste words, condensed his halberd in his palm and thrust it straight at the bone whip. Infused with mid-stage seventh-tier spiritual power, the crimson-gold halberd tip whistled through the air, cleaving the bone whip in two. Before the demon youth could react, the halberd pierced his chest, black blood gushing out, his body collapsing limply to the ground. "Useless," Leng Xiao cursed under her breath, a green-glowing dagger suddenly appearing in her hand. Her figure moved like a ghost towards Sheng Cai'er, clearly intending to eliminate the weaker defender first. Sheng Cai'er was prepared; she slashed back with her Reincarnation Sword, creating a gray arc of light that forced Leng Xiao to retreat and dodge. Taking advantage of the moment, Feng Yao rushed to Long Haochen's side, sweeping his halberd and forcing another demon youth back. "What happened? How did you get surrounded?" "After we were teleported to this forest, we've been hunted by demons." Long Haochen gasped for breath, holy light flowing across his body, repairing his injured meridians. "Cai'er's power of reincarnation has a restraining effect on demons; they seem to want to capture us alive." Feng Yao's gaze swept over the demon corpses on the ground, noticing that their wounds were all neatly arranged, clearly indicating they died from purification by holy light, not from brute force. He noticed that Long Haochen's spiritual energy fluctuations were at the early seventh rank, significantly improved from before. Although Sheng Cai'er's aura was somewhat chaotic, the power of the Reincarnation Sword had clearly increased. It seemed they had also gained considerable opportunities in their respective trials. "Leave the rest to me; you guys rest first." Before Feng Yao finished speaking, his crimson-gold figure had already rushed towards Leng Xiao. Leng Xiao's speed was incredibly fast, and the angle of her dagger was cunning and ruthless, clearly the style of the Assassin's Temple. Unfortunately, these techniques were utterly ineffective against absolute power. Feng Yao's halberd danced relentlessly, each strike carrying overwhelming force, forcing Leng Xiao to retreat repeatedly until she quickly revealed an opening. "Impossible! How could your cultivation have improved so quickly?" Leng Xiao was both shocked and furious. She could sense that Feng Yao's spiritual power was far stronger than it had been outside the temple, and the battle aura on his halberd carried a purifying power that made her heart tremble. Feng Yao didn't answer. Suddenly, his halberd changed its attack, abandoning the assault and instead sweeping horizontally, forcing Leng Xiao to leap into the air. In the instant she was suspended in mid-air, the natural power within Feng Yao suddenly erupted, and vines on the ground suddenly grew wildly, coiling around her ankles like serpents. Caught off guard, Leng Xiao lost her balance and crashed heavily to the ground. "It's over." Feng Yao's halberd pointed directly at Leng Xiao's throat, his crimson-gold pupils devoid of any pity. Leng Xiao stared at the halberd tip so close to her, a flicker of despair in her eyes. Suddenly, she pulled a black token from her robes and crushed it. The instant the token shattered, a black aura enveloped her body, forcefully tearing through space and vanishing from the spot. "Trying to run?" Feng Yao sneered, but didn't give chase. He could sense the power of a demon god within that black aura; it was clearly a life-saving measure left behind by the demon race. Forcibly intercepting it would only cause unnecessary trouble. Long Haochen, leaning on his sword, walked to his side, frowning as he looked in the direction Leng Xiao had disappeared. "She's A Bao's confidante. If she gets away this time, it'll probably attract even more demons." "What's there to be afraid of? Kill them one by one, kill them in pairs." Feng Yao sheathed his halberd, his gaze falling on Sheng Cai'er. "How are you?" Sheng Cai'er shook her head, her face pale beneath her white veil. "I'm fine, just a bit exhausted. We encountered a demon ambush in the forest. If it weren't for Cai'er's power of reincarnation being able to suppress their demonic energy, we probably wouldn't have lasted until you arrived." Feng Yao nodded, taking out the leaf map the spirit bird had given him earlier. "I got this in the Black Stone Plains. It has several points of light marked on it, which should be the locations of other people. The closest ones are Wang Yuanyuan and the others." "Let's meet up first." Long Haochen took the map and examined it closely, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "This is the guidance mark of the Goddess of Nature? You passed the first trial?" "Sort of." Feng Yao briefly explained his experience on the mountaintop, and seeing Long Haochen's thoughtful expression, added, "The dots on this map change as we move, it seems that the areas of Dream Paradise are interconnected, we just need to find the correct path." Sheng Cai'er suddenly pointed to the depths of the forest: "There's movement over there." The three immediately became alert, and saw several figures quickly emerge from the forest. Leading them was Wang Yuanyuan, who carried a huge battle axe on her shoulder, the blade still dripping blood. Behind her were Han Yu and Chen Ying'er, both of them somewhat disheveled, but their eyes were still firm. "Feng Yao! Long Haochen!" Wang Yuanyuan's eyes lit up when she saw them, and she ran over quickly. "Finally found you! We ran into A Bao at the lava lake. That guy is too powerful. If I hadn't risked my life to break through to the seventh rank, I'm afraid..." "A Bao?" Feng Yao frowned. "He passed the trial too?" "Not only passed, but that guy used some method to absorb the magic core energy of the lava lake, and his strength skyrocketed to the peak of the seventh rank. He even said he would wait for us at the final trial point." Wang Yuanyuan spat. "If we hadn't run fast, we would probably be dead under his axe by now." Han Yu adjusted his glasses and added, "When we retreated, we saw Lin Xin being swept away by a stream of purple light. He must have been teleported to another area. This dot of light on the map in the west is very likely him." Feng Yao looked at the map. The dot of light in the west was indeed flashing, and it was closest to the final trial point. He pondered for a moment, then said, "It seems the Demon Clan has already begun their operation. We must gather everyone together as soon as possible. Abao's target should be the inheritance of the final trial point; we cannot let him succeed." Long Haochen nodded in agreement: "The inheritance of the Goddess of Nature must not fall into the hands of the Demon Clan, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable. We'll find Lin Xin first, then head west to meet up with the others, and then head to the final trial point together." "Alright!" Everyone shouted in unison, their eyes blazing with unwavering fighting spirit. Feng Yao gazed at the western sky, a sharp glint flashing in his crimson-gold pupils. Abao's strength far exceeded expectations, and with the Demon Clan's hidden trump cards, the upcoming trials would likely be even more dangerous. But he was not afraid. Having experienced the great battle at Zhennan Pass and received the inheritance in Dream Paradise, he was confident he could lead everyone through the difficulties. "Let's go." Feng Yao took the lead, the phantom of a white tiger appearing and disappearing behind him, clearing the way for everyone.

Long Haochen and Sheng Cai'er followed side by side, the Azure Divine Light Sword and the Reincarnation Sword occasionally clashing, producing a crisp sound, as if composing a war song.

Wang Yuanyuan, carrying her battle axe, walked alongside, with Han Yu and Chen Ying'er close behind. Their figures gradually disappeared into the depths of the dense forest, leaving behind only the corpses of demons scattered across the ground, slowly dissipating into black mist under the sunlight. In the distant sky, a verdant spirit bird circled and cried out, as if guiding them, or perhaps witnessing a legendary journey of human warriors. The trials of Dream Paradise had only just begun, and the true battle awaited them ahead.

(End of this chapter)