Chapter Twenty: Seizing the Legacy, Countering the Conspiracy

The stone door creaked open, exhaling an ancient, weathered breath. The air carried a musty, stale scent, as if it had been accumulating for a thousand years. Dong Changfeng could even feel a faint chill as the draft brushed against his face.

He stepped inside, but before he could even marvel at the space, a thunderous boom erupted. The sound left his ears ringing, and as the ground shook violently, a mechanical beast lunged from beneath the earth.

The creature was massive, its gears grinding with a rhythmic, metallic clicking. Its steel body shimmered with a cold, piercing light that stung Dong Changfeng’s eyes. With its claws bared and limbs thrashing, it looked for all the world like something torn straight from the set of a science fiction film.

"Great, so there really is a guardian beast!" Dong Changfeng muttered to himself. Greasing his heels, he dodged with a speed that rivaled Usain Bolt. He could feel the friction between his feet and the floor generating heat, while the wind whistled past his ears.

The beast, missing its strike, grew even more ferocious. Its heavy metal claws carved deep trenches into the floor, sending debris flying into Dong Changfeng. The sting of the gravel and the thick, choking dust turned the chamber into a scene of demolition, forcing him into a fit of coughing.

Dong Changfeng darted left and right, moving with the agility of a nimble monkey as he skirted the edge of the beast’s attack range. He could hear his own frantic heartbeat and feel the sweat drenching his clothes.

"Haha, Dong Changfeng, look at you now!" Senior Brother Chen arrived with Junior Brother Zhu and the others. Seeing Dong Changfeng being chased like a frantic animal, they were filled with malicious glee.

Instead of intervening, they stood to the side, treating the struggle as a spectacle. From time to time, they would toss stones to sabotage him, the projectiles whistling through the air with a spiteful hiss.

"You bunch of despicable cowards!" Dong Changfeng roared. Their actions were truly venomous; he was caught in a pincer attack, forced to evade the beast while guarding against the underhanded tricks of his peers.

Inside the heritage site, the roaring of the mechanical beast, the clatter of flying rocks, and the mocking laughter of Senior Brother Chen and his crew merged into a chaotic, suffocating din. The taunts felt like thorns piercing Dong Changfeng’s heart.

As he dodged the beast’s attacks, the constant need to watch for sneak attacks from the others drained his stamina. His breath grew ragged, and his throat burned as if scorched by fire.

"This won't last..." Dong Changfeng thought. He could feel his strength waning rapidly, while the mechanical beast’s onslaught became only more relentless.

"Senior Brother Chen, look..." Junior Brother Zhu pointed at a shimmer behind the mechanical beast, his voice trembling.

"What is it?" Senior Brother Chen squinted, struggling to see.

"It looks like... the inheritance..." Junior Brother Zhu’s voice grew even quieter.

Senior Brother Chen’s eyes lit up. "The clever brat, trying to take it amidst the chaos..."

Dong Changfeng was soaked in sweat, which stung his eyes as it dripped from his forehead. His breathing was heavy, wheezing like a broken bellows. His legs felt as if they had been cast in lead; every step was an agonizing struggle, as if the floor itself were trying to drag him down.

The beast’s steel claws whistled past him time and again, the sheer force of the wind cutting his cheeks like blades.

He was like a trapped beast pushed to the brink, struggling desperately to hold on under the mechanical monster's assault, looking utterly disheveled.

Senior Brother Chen and his group continued to jeer and mock him from the sidelines. "Oh, isn't this our top genius of the outer sect? Why are you acting like a stray dog now?" "Haha, with only this much skill, you dare to snatch the inheritance? You're just courting death!"

Just then, Dong Changfeng’s gaze fell upon the belly of the mechanical beast.

There, a gem flickered with a faint light, distinctly different from the metallic luster of the rest of the body. That glimmer felt like a single spark of hope in the darkness.

His intuition told him that this was the beast's weak point.

"It's now or never!"

Dong Changfeng locked his eyes onto the shimmering gem on the beast's abdomen. His heart hammered, and sweat dripped from his face onto the dusty floor.

He took a deep breath, ignored the attacks whistling around him, and lunged toward the beast like an arrow.

As he closed the distance, he vaulted into the air, gathered all his spiritual power into his fist, and bellowed, "Break!" He struck the gem with everything he had.

*BOOM!* A thunderous sound, like a bolt of lightning, erupted, numbing his ears.

The gem shattered instantly. The mechanical beast let out a shrill, mournful howl before its massive frame collapsed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that coated Dong Changfeng’s face with its gritty, coarse particles.

The smiles on the faces of Senior Brother Chen and his group froze. Their eyes bulged, and their mouths hung open wide enough to swallow an egg.

As the dust settled, Dong Changfeng’s silhouette slowly emerged.

Though his robes were tattered and he was covered in wounds, his eyes were exceptionally bright, shining like stars.

He walked step by step toward where the beast had fallen, the corners of his mouth curling into a confident smirk.

"Now, it’s my turn."

Dragging his exhausted body, Dong Changfeng approached the stone pedestal behind the mechanical beast.

On the pedestal lay a simple, ancient box, radiating a faint golden light. It was the seal of the inheritance.

"In your dreams!" Senior Brother Chen and his group snapped out of their shock and charged toward Dong Changfeng, hungry as wolves, their eyes burning with greed.

"The inheritance is mine!" Senior Brother Chen yelled, his spiritual power surging as he launched a fireball at Dong Changfeng’s back.

Dong Changfeng was prepared. With a flick of his mind, a golden barrier instantly enveloped him. He could feel the fluctuations of spiritual power around the shield.

The fireball slammed into the barrier with a dull thud, dissipating like an egg hitting a rock. It was the defensive spell he had prepared earlier: the Golden Light Shield.

"Is that it?" Dong Changfeng sneered, not even bothering to look back as he continued toward the pedestal.

Infuriated, Senior Brother Chen and his group exchanged a look, gathered in a circle, and began casting seals with lightning speed.

Their spiritual energies converged, forming a massive vortex that swept toward Dong Changfeng.

"Dong Changfeng, this is our combined ultimate technique! You’re finished!" Senior Brother Chen screamed.

Dong Changfeng merely smiled. He raised his hands, the power of the inheritance surging within him, and a golden barrier appeared before him.

The vortex of energy crashed against the golden wall like waves against a reef, vanishing instantly.

Dong Changfeng then gave a slight flick of his hand, and a powerful shockwave surged outward, tossing Senior Brother Chen and his companions aside like straw dolls.

They landed in a heap, disheveled and spitting blood.

Dong Changfeng did not deliver a killing blow; he only intended to teach them a lesson.

He gazed into the distance, his eyes deep and contemplative.

The horizon seemed to hide endless darkness, but Dong Changfeng’s heart was filled with fighting spirit.

He felt no fear, for he knew he possessed the strength to face any challenge that lay ahead. He looked forward to new adventures, eager to travel even further along the path of immortality.