A Cunning Pervert in the Cultivation World

At the same time, in several concealed locations surrounding the ruined capital, groups of powerful cultivators who had been hiding in the shadows finally broke their silence.

They had remained concealed for a long time... watching, waiting, carefully measuring the chaos for an opportunity to intervene or profit.

Some were independent experts.

Others were secret agents from other sects and ancient clans who had been drawn by the abnormal fluctuations of the Fen Dynasty.

But right now...

Every one of them was filled with panic and fear.

”What... what was that just now!?”

”That monster was clearly beyond Peak Nascent Soul...! Its aura had already climbed into a higher realm!”

One elder’s face had gone completely pale as he stared at the colossal beast amidst the destruction.

”That thing... what kind of existence is it?”

Another cultivator’s hands were trembling.

They had been prepared to scavenge benefits among the chaos. It was not every day that an opportunity to loot a dynasty itself presented itself—especially one usually under the protection of the major sects.

But... none of them had expected the situation to spiral out of control so completely, so instantly.

The oppressive presence and aura that now radiated from the colossal beast made even these hidden experts feel as though a blade was resting against their necks.

”...We should leave... now.”

No one argued.

One by one, the concealed cultivators began withdrawing in silence, their earlier greed completely replaced by pure survival instinct.

Their figures flickered as they prepared to flee the Fen Dynasty as quickly as possible, not daring to remain even a second longer under the oppressive presence that filled the capital.

But then—

CRACK!

The air beside them distorted.

A huge mouth was already open right next to the group, so close that the heat of its breath brushed against their backs.

They hadn’t sensed its approach.

There was no fluctuation, no warning at all.

By the time the first cultivator’s eyes widened in pure, belated horror... it was already too late.

Their final thought, frozen in that last instant of awareness, was the same.

’’’...There are two of them?’’’

In the next moment, the massive jaws closed.

CRUNCH!

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Meanwhile...

Li Feng... or rather, the existence now looking out through his eyes, casually brushed the dust from his torn sleeve and lifted his gaze toward the colossal beast in the distance.

”I felt someone try to summon me...” he murmured quietly.

”But this is... my past? Or an illusion by the False Chaos?”

His dark, empty eyes slowly swept across the ruined capital... the rivers of crimson flame in the sky, the transforming False Crown.

Then he lowered his gaze and looked at his own hand.

He flexed his fingers once as a faint frown formed between his brows.

”...So weak.”

The words were spoken without emotion, as if stating a simple fact.

”And so... real.”

Then the existence within Li Feng’s body slowly lowered his gaze.

His dark, empty eyes settled on the cracked mask of the silent figure kneeling before him.

For a moment, he simply observed it... the familiar yet incomplete aura and the distinctive presence of that particular power.

Another faint frown formed between his brows.

”...[Sever]?”

His voice was quiet, yet carried a clear trace of confusion.

”How... are you already existing at this time?”

He tilted his head slightly, the empty gaze examining Shadow’s form more carefully.

”...And why are you taking that form?”

”~~?”

Shadow tilted its cracked mask slightly to the side in silent confusion, unable to comprehend the meaning behind those words.

But the existence within Li Feng’s body had already moved on to another realization.

His gaze dropped to his own hands once more, then to the residual star force still faintly lingering within this weak body.

And a deeper frown carved itself between his brows.

’...Starforge Body? That’s... impossible.’

No matter how senile he might have become after all those years, he was certain of one thing... the Starforge Body should not exist at this point in time.

Because... ”She” had not even been born yet.

The more he examined the details around him, the stranger everything became.

The timing of [Sever].

The premature appearance of the Starforge Body.

This fragile past version of himself... yet clearly stronger than he remembered.

Piece by piece, the contradictions stacked higher.

Then, slowly, a low chuckle escaped his lips.

”Ha...”

”Haha...”

”Hahaha...”

Until it finally broke into a cold, sharp laugh that echoed across the ruined capital.

”Hahahahaha!”

His dark, empty eyes blazed with contempt as he lifted his head toward the burning sky.

”Oh? You really think such an illusion could trick me!?”

His voice rose, filled with scorn and unshakable arrogance.

”You cannot kill me... and now you resort to this pathetic method!? I didn’t think you would have grown so low... or...”

The faint smile on his lips twisted into something colder.

”You’re looking down on me too much!!”

The declaration rang across the ruins capital with absolute arrogance.

And yet...

Without realizing it himself... or perhaps he already had, but simply refused to believe it... a faint crack existed beneath that unshakable confidence.

But acknowledging it would mean accepting something he was not yet willing to accept... for he had been betrayed by it too many times.

His cold laughter gradually faded.

A sneer still lingered on his lips, yet a more practical thought surfaced beneath the arrogance.

Even with the Starforge Body present in this body, defeating the transformed False Crown would not be simple.

After all, that thing was... already ”immortal”.

Not to mention all of his true strength and abilities were gone.... stripped away by the nature of this possession.

What remained was only this weak, past body and the understanding gained from his long years of living.

Still...

He quietly checked something within himself.

Then a faint smile formed on his face.

”Heh... so you still obsess over me even here.”

His dark eyes narrowed slightly with satisfaction.

”Good.”

Then he looked down at Shadow... the key to killing those ”false immortals.”

The tall silent figure was still kneeling before him, cracked mask tilted upward in quiet confusion.

The existence within Li Feng’s body smiled coldly as he reached out and firmly gripped the mask.

”Offer your everything to me.”

His voice was calm, yet carried an irresistible weight.

”...It is something you were meant to be used as anyway.”

Feeling something from those hand... Shadow did not resist.

There was not even a moment of hesitation.

The tall figure slowly opened its arms wide, its posture completely unguarded.

”~~”

Behind the cracked mask, its gaze remained fixed on its master with pure, almost devout adoration.

Then its body began to change.

Starting from the extremities, Shadow’s form dissolved into pure darkness.

The black mist rose like living ink and flowed obediently into the hand gripping its mask, streaming continuously into Li Feng’s body without resistance.

As the absorption continued, the tattered white envoy robes covering Li Feng’s figure began to darken.

The pure white fabric was steadily dyed in deep black, as if being rewritten by the Divine Power flooding into him.

Slowly, Shadow’s form fully dissolved, merging completely into him until nothing of the silent puppet remained.

Clack...

Only a cracked mask fell onto the ground.

In its place, the aura surrounding Li Feng underwent a quiet but profound transformation.

Li Feng slowly lowered his gaze to his own hand, which was now overflowing with black energy still curling around them like liquid shadows.

His expression remained calm, those empty eyes reflecting neither excitement nor hesitation.

”...Hmm.”

A soft murmur left his lips as he observed the power now settled within this weak body.

”This should be enough.”

He lowered his hand and let the dark cloak settle around his figure.

For a moment, silence lingered.

Then a faint, almost self-mocking thought surfaced within him.

’Maybe this is a good time. Even if this is nothing more than an... [illusion].’

’It might still be a chance to repay some of the regrets.’

A quiet, unreadable smile touched the corner of his lips.

But suddenly, in the next instant—

WHOOSH!

The colossal body of the False Crown suddenly appeared behind him.

There was no warning fluctuation.

One moment the beast was still in the distance, and the next its enormous flame-wreathed form loomed directly at his back, blotting out the sky.

[Sorry to keep you waiting!]

The deep, playful voice boomed across the ruined capital as a massive claw wreathed in concentrated crimson fire came smashing down with world-crushing force.

But then—

Li Feng waved his dark hand casually, and a silent invisible slash cut through the air.

There was no sound, no flashy explosion of energy, and no grand technique name.

Just a single, absolute line of darkness.

SPLURT!

In the next moment, the False Crown’s enormous body was cleanly severed in half from crown to tail.

The two massive sections of the flame-wreathed beast hung in the air for a brief second before gravity reclaimed them, collapsing toward the ruined capital below in a slow, almost unreal descent.

BOOOOM!

The severed body crashed into the earth with catastrophic force.

Yet the destruction did not end there.

The same silent, absolute line of darkness that had split the False Crown continued outward without resistance.

Across the ruined capital, a perfectly straight rift suddenly appeared... cutting through collapsed halls, burning streets, shattered plazas, and the remnants of the imperial palace alike.

In the next instant, the entire capital city was cleanly divided in two.

The ground itself split open along that invisible trajectory.

One half of the city slowly tilted and began sinking as the earth gave way, while the other half remained momentarily suspended before collapsing inward.

CRACK...!

CRACK...!

CRACK...!

From above, the once-great capital of the Fen Dynasty now looked as though a single, effortless stroke from a divine blade had erased its completeness forever.

The severed half of the False Crown smashed through what little remained of the central district, flattening entire streets in a single impact.

BOOM!

Its nine blazing tails thrashing wildly even in their sudden separate as they tore deep trenches across the ruined city.

A towering wave of dust, fire, and shattered stone erupted outward, swallowing the surrounding area in a storm of destruction.

The ground quaked violently.

Li Feng did not even turn around fully as the destruction unfolded behind his back, his dark robe fluttering from the shockwave.

He merely glanced upward over his shoulder, the dark fur of his collar shifting slightly as a faint smile curved across his lips.

”...No.”

His voice was calm, almost gentle.

”You’re actually quite on time.”

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[Here an Illustration of Li Feng absorbing Sever and his robe changing from white to black color:]