Midnight approached with the cold precision of an execution timer.
Lin Feng stood at the edge of Celestial Dawn's outer boundary, surrounded by the tactical team that would support his infiltration. Grand Elder Bingxin to his right, her Immortal Emperor Level 5 cultivation radiating controlled power. Yun Qingxue to his left, their dao companion bond already humming with anticipatory resonance. Behind them, Patriarch Cloud Heaven, Elder Wei, and Mei She—each one contributing specialized capabilities to the operation.
Three hundred meters northwest, invisible to normal perception but clear to spiritual awareness, Azure Sky's assault team waited in position. Twenty-five cultivators arranged in precise formation around Elder Shadow's pocket dimension, each one targeting a specific anchor point. Wei Shen coordinated them through formation-linked communication, his tactical commands precise and efficient.
Lin Feng's consciousness divided automatically into nine streams, each one focused on a different aspect of the impending operation. Three monitored his own spiritual state, ensuring peak readiness. Two tracked Azure Sky's positioning through peripheral spiritual perception. Two analyzed the spatial weak point he would use for entry. One maintained tactical awareness of the immediate environment. The ninth unified everything into coherent strategic overview.
"Five minutes to assault commencement," Wei Shen's voice reached them through a communication formation Elder Wei had established. "All units report ready. Target is unaware of our presence. Proceeding as planned."
Grand Elder Bingxin placed one hand on Lin Feng's shoulder, her spiritual energy beginning to weave the anchor connection that would maintain his link to normal reality. The sensation was like invisible threads wrapping around his consciousness, delicate but unbreakable, a lifeline that would allow forced extraction if necessary.
Yun Qingxue took his hand, her touch strengthening their dao companion bond beyond its normal baseline. Through this enhanced connection, Lin Feng could feel her emotional state with perfect clarity—fear for his safety, pride in his courage, absolute determination to maintain the anchor regardless of what happened inside the dimension.
"The anchor is establishing," Grand Elder Bingxin said quietly. "I'm creating a triple-layer structure: primary connection through your dao companion bond, secondary connection through my direct spiritual link, tertiary connection through spatial resonance with the void techniques you carry. Even if two fail, the third will hold long enough for emergency extraction."
"Understood," Lin Feng said. His voice remained calm despite the adrenaline beginning to flow through his system. Fear was natural, even useful—it sharpened awareness and improved tactical response. The key was controlling it rather than being controlled by it.
"Two minutes," Wei Shen announced.
Lin Feng closed his eyes, bringing his consciousness into perfect unified focus. Nine streams collapsed into singular awareness, then expanded again into the three-perspective consciousness expansion he had developed through dao companion training. He could perceive himself from his own viewpoint, from Qingxue's position beside him through their bond, and from an abstract tactical overview that saw the entire operational theater simultaneously.
This expanded consciousness would be critical inside the dimension. He needed to maintain awareness of normal space, pocket space, and tactical positioning all at once. Three perspectives operating in perfect coordination, processing information faster than any singular viewpoint could achieve.
"One minute," Wei Shen said. "All units, prepare for synchronized assault on my mark. Target anchor formations with maximum visible force. We want their full attention on the boundaries."
Lin Feng opened his eyes and looked at Yun Qingxue one final time. Words felt inadequate, so he simply conveyed his feelings through their dao companion bond—gratitude, love, commitment to survival and return.
She smiled slightly, conveying the same emotions back to him with the addition of fierce protective determination. Come back to me, her consciousness touched his. No matter what you find inside, come back.
Always, he promised.
"Thirty seconds."
Grand Elder Bingxin's anchor connection completed, locking into place with tangible spiritual weight. Lin Feng felt the three layers she had described—primary bond through Qingxue, secondary link through Bingxin, tertiary resonance through void cultivation. Together they created a connection strong enough to maintain across dimensional boundaries, stable enough to withstand interference, and flexible enough to allow movement through five hundred meters of hostile space.
"Fifteen seconds."
Lin Feng's consciousness divided again, this time into the full nine streams plus unified expansion he would need for the operation. Three streams focused on spatial perception, preparing to map the dimension in real-time. Three prepared for formation analysis, ready to identify natural foundations versus artificial construction. Two readied combat responses for immediate threat engagement. The ninth maintained tactical overview and anchor awareness.
"Ten seconds."
The spatial weak point Elder Shadow's dimension flickered in Lin Feng's perception—a tiny instability in the boundary barely two meters wide, constantly shifting position as natural spatial fluctuations moved it around the dimensional perimeter. Entering through this weakness would require precise timing and spatial manipulation to align with its position at the exact moment of entry.
"Five seconds."
Lin Feng gathered his spiritual energy, preparing the teleportation technique that would carry him through the weakness and into hostile space. Not a standard teleport that created visible spatial distortion, but a refined void-step that exploited existing spatial structure to move through it almost invisibly.
"Three. Two. One. Execute."
The Azure Sky assault began with devastating precision.
Twenty-five Divine Domain cultivators unleashed simultaneous attacks on seventeen anchor points, their techniques creating explosions of visible spiritual energy that lit up the night like artificial sunrise. Fire, lightning, ice, earth—every element represented, every attack calculated for maximum spectacle rather than maximum damage.
Inside Elder Shadow's pocket dimension, alarms triggered immediately. Demonic cultivators scrambled from meditation and sleep, rushing toward the boundary where anchor formations pulsed with defensive energy. Spiritual perception focused outward, tracking the assault's intensity and composition.
And in that moment of maximum distraction, Lin Feng stepped through the spatial weak point and entered the dimension.
The transition was smoother than expected—his weeks of practice with dimensional entry paying off immediately. His consciousness accepted the spatial contradiction of existing in two frameworks simultaneously, his body shifting from normal reality into pocket space without the disorientation that had plagued his early attempts.
He emerged in a dark corridor approximately fifty meters from the dimensional boundary, his spatial perception immediately beginning to map his surroundings. The corridor was carved from what appeared to be stone but felt wrong to spiritual awareness—artificial construction maintained through demonic techniques rather than natural material.
Lin Feng's consciousness divided, his nine streams processing information in parallel. Three streams focused on immediate spatial mapping, building a three-dimensional model of the corridor and adjacent areas. Two streams monitored for approaching demonic cultivators, tracking spiritual signatures through walls and floors. Two analyzed the surrounding structure, distinguishing between natural and artificial spatial foundations. One maintained anchor awareness, confirming his connection to Qingxue and Grand Elder Bingxin remained stable. The ninth provided unified tactical overview.
Movement to his right—a demonic cultivator rushing toward the boundary to respond to the assault. Divine Domain Level 5, focused entirely on the external threat, unaware of Lin Feng's presence in the shadows.
Lin Feng remained perfectly still, suppressing his spiritual signature to absolute minimum. His void cultivation techniques made this natural—emptiness left no trace, created no disturbance. The demonic cultivator passed within three meters without detecting him, disappearing toward the boundary where Azure Sky's assault created maximum chaos.
First milestone achieved, Lin Feng thought. Inside the dimension undetected. Beginning systematic survey.
He began moving deeper into the dimension, using short-range teleportation to cover distance while minimizing spiritual disturbance. Five meters per jump, each one placed to avoid open areas where visibility would expose him. His spatial perception guided every movement, identifying safe positions before materializing.
The dimension's interior was more complex than the intelligence had suggested. Azure Sky's reconnaissance had mapped the general structure—a central chamber surrounded by concentric rings of corridors and cultivation rooms. But they hadn't captured the three-dimensional complexity, the way corridors stacked vertically in impossible configurations that only made sense because pocket space didn't follow normal geometric rules.
Lin Feng's consciousness processed this complexity naturally. Three-perspective awareness allowed him to perceive the structure from multiple angles simultaneously, building a comprehensive mental map that updated in real-time as he moved deeper.
After three minutes of careful infiltration, he had penetrated approximately one hundred meters into the dimension and identified his first natural foundation point.
It was smaller than he had expected—a naturally occurring pocket space roughly the size of a human head, stabilized and incorporated into the artificial structure. Elder Shadow's formations wrapped around it like scaffolding, using the natural stability as foundation for artificial expansion.
Lin Feng examined the natural pocket carefully, his spatial perception analyzing its structure from every angle. The pocket existed as a stable configuration in the underlying spatial framework—exactly what he had theorized. Elder Shadow hadn't created this dimension from nothing. He had found natural pockets and linked them together, then reinforced the connections through demonic cultivation techniques.
Destabilizing this natural foundation would weaken the surrounding artificial structure. But one pocket wouldn't be enough to collapse the entire dimension. Lin Feng needed to identify all the natural foundations, map their distribution, and destabilize them in the correct sequence to create cascading failure.
He marked this foundation's position in his mental map and continued deeper.
By minute seven, Lin Feng had identified three more natural foundations and advanced two hundred meters into the dimension. The Azure Sky assault continued with undiminished intensity, keeping all nearby demonic cultivators focused on boundary defense.
But his tactical awareness detected a problem developing. The assault was too effective—demonic cultivators were beginning to communicate about the possibility of a genuine breach attempt rather than mere harassment. If they decided to collapse the dimension defensively, Lin Feng would be trapped inside a destabilizing pocket space with no time to complete his survey.
Qingxue, he conveyed through their dao companion bond. Can you relay message to Wei Shen? Azure Sky needs to reduce assault intensity slightly. Make it look like they're tiring or running low on spiritual energy. We want the demonic cultivators to think they're winning, not desperate enough to collapse everything.
Through the anchor connection, he felt Qingxue's acknowledgment. Thirty seconds later, the assault intensity decreased noticeably—attacks becoming less frequent, techniques appearing less coordinated. Exactly the pattern of an assault that had failed to achieve breakthrough and was beginning to falter.
Inside the dimension, the demonic cultivators' communications shifted from defensive panic to aggressive confidence. Several began discussing pursuit of the "fleeing" attackers once the assault ended completely.
Perfect. Lin Feng resumed his survey with renewed confidence that he wouldn't be trapped by premature dimensional collapse.
By minute twelve, he had identified seven natural foundations distributed across three hundred meters of the dimension's structure. A pattern was emerging—Elder Shadow had arranged the natural pockets in a geometric configuration that maximized stability while minimizing the number of foundations needed. Sophisticated design that demonstrated master-level understanding of spatial theory.
But that sophistication also created vulnerability. Because the natural foundations were arranged geometrically, destabilizing specific ones would create predictable failure cascades. Lin Feng didn't need to destabilize all of them—just the critical nodes where geometric lines intersected.
His consciousness streams worked through the mathematics automatically, calculating which foundations to target for maximum structural disruption with minimum time investment. Three critical nodes emerged from the analysis: one near the dimensional center, two at specific positions in the outer structure. Destabilizing those three would trigger cascading failure across the entire geometric network.
But reaching the central foundation would require penetrating another two hundred meters through increasingly populated areas. The assault had drawn most demonic cultivators to the boundary, but not all. At least eight remained in the interior, conducting normal operations or guarding critical facilities.
Lin Feng checked his timeline. Fourteen minutes since entry. Azure Sky would maintain the assault for another six minutes before beginning withdrawal. That gave him barely enough time to reach the central foundation if he moved quickly and avoided all contact.
He began advancing rapidly, using teleportation in quick succession to cover distance. Five meters, pause to verify safety, five meters, pause, five meters. His spatial perception guided every jump, identifying safe positions and avoiding detection by the eight interior guards.
At minute seventeen, he reached the outer edge of the central chamber—a vast open space approximately one hundred meters in diameter where the dimensional anchor formations converged. The central natural foundation was somewhere in this chamber, but Lin Feng's spatial perception couldn't pinpoint it precisely through the dense spiritual energy that saturated the area.
He would need to enter the chamber itself to locate the foundation accurately.
The problem was visibility. The central chamber had no shadows, no cover, no places to hide. If Lin Feng entered, any demonic cultivator looking in his direction would see him immediately.
Currently, three demonic cultivators occupied the chamber. Two were in meditation near the far wall, their spiritual signatures suggesting Divine Domain Level 6. The third was Divine Domain Level 8—the strongest cultivator in the dimension below Elder Shadow himself—and he was actively monitoring formation arrays rather than meditating.
Lin Feng's consciousness streams analyzed the tactical situation from multiple angles. Direct entry was suicide. The Level 8 cultivator would detect him instantly. Combat would alert everyone in the dimension, collapsing his entire infiltration into desperate fighting.
But waiting wasn't viable either. Azure Sky's assault would withdraw in three minutes, after which internal alertness would increase dramatically.
He needed a distraction—something that would draw the Level 8 cultivator's attention away from the chamber entrance long enough for Lin Feng to enter, locate the foundation, and begin destabilization.
Lin Feng examined his surroundings carefully. Fifty meters to his left, one of the anchor formations connected to the boundary where Azure Sky's assault continued. The formation was holding perfectly, channeling defensive energy from the interior to maintain stability against external attack.
But what if that formation appeared to be failing?
Lin Feng moved carefully toward the anchor formation, his consciousness streams working through the details. He couldn't actually damage the formation without creating obvious spiritual disturbance. But he could create the illusion of damage through carefully placed void techniques that disrupted spiritual perception without affecting actual function.
It was risky—using active techniques increased his detection probability significantly. But the alternative was abandoning the operation or engaging in direct combat, both of which had worse odds than this gambit.
Lin Feng positioned himself adjacent to the anchor formation and began constructing a void formation—not a physical structure, but a geometric pattern of emptiness that would create false readings in nearby spiritual perception. The formation took shape over ninety seconds, each void element placed with surgical precision.
When he activated the formation, the effect was immediate and dramatic.
To spiritual perception, the anchor formation appeared to be failing catastrophically—spiritual energy leaking through nonexistent cracks, stability degrading rapidly, imminent collapse threatening. The readings were false, created by void distortion rather than genuine damage. But they looked real enough to trigger immediate alarm.
In the central chamber, the Level 8 demonic cultivator's attention snapped to the failing anchor. He shouted something in a language Lin Feng didn't recognize, then rushed toward the boundary to investigate and repair.
The two meditating cultivators followed him, abandoning their meditation to address the apparent emergency.
The central chamber was now empty.
Lin Feng waited five seconds to ensure they weren't returning immediately, then teleported into the chamber and began searching for the central natural foundation.
His spatial perception extended to maximum range, scanning the chamber's structure from every angle. The natural foundation had to be here—the geometric pattern he had identified demanded a central node at this location.
There. Approximately forty meters from his current position, fifteen meters above floor level, suspended in mid-air through formation support. A natural pocket space the size of a human torso, the largest single foundation in the entire dimension.
This was Elder Shadow's keystone—the primary natural foundation around which the entire dimension was constructed. Destabilizing this would initiate immediate cascading failure across the geometric network.
Lin Feng teleported to a position adjacent to the floating foundation and began examining its structure in detail. The natural pocket was stable, reinforced by formation arrays that wrapped around it like protective armor. He would need to dismantle those formations before accessing the pocket itself.
His consciousness streams went to work, analyzing the formations from every angle. Demonic cultivation techniques, blood sacrifice reinforcement, soul binding anchors—layers of protection that would have stopped any conventional attack.
But Lin Feng wasn't using conventional attacks. He was using void techniques that reduced structure to emptiness, formations to nothing, complexity to simplicity.
He began dismantling the protective layers systematically, each one dissolving under precise void manipulation. Ninety seconds to remove the first layer. Sixty seconds for the second. Forty-five for the third.
Behind him, he heard voices—the Level 8 cultivator returning from investigating the "failing" anchor. He had presumably discovered the false alarm and was now returning to his monitoring position.
Lin Feng had perhaps thirty seconds before being detected.
Twenty seconds to dismantle the fourth protective layer.
Fifteen seconds for the fifth.
The Level 8 cultivator entered the chamber, his spiritual perception sweeping the area automatically.
Lin Feng froze, suppressing his spiritual signature to absolute minimum. He was exposed, visible to normal sight, but demonic cultivators often relied more on spiritual perception than physical vision. If he could remain motionless and invisible to spiritual senses for just a few more seconds...
The Level 8 cultivator's attention passed over Lin Feng's position without pausing. His focus remained on the formation arrays he was monitoring, checking for signs of genuine damage from the assault.
Lin Feng resumed his work with glacial slowness, each void technique placed with absolute precision to avoid any spiritual disturbance that might draw attention.
The sixth protective layer dissolved.
The seventh.
The natural foundation lay exposed, vulnerable to destabilization.
Lin Feng constructed the destabilization technique carefully—not an explosive disruption that would create obvious effects, but a gradual dissolution that would make the natural pocket simply... cease to exist. The structure that had maintained this foundation would collapse back into normal spatial fluctuation, and the artificial formations built upon it would lose their anchor point.
He activated the technique.
The natural foundation began destabilizing immediately, its boundaries flickering as the stable configuration dissolved into chaos. The process would take approximately three minutes to complete—long enough that Lin Feng needed to be far away before the cascading failure became obvious.
He teleported out of the central chamber, moving back toward the dimensional boundary in rapid succession. Five meters, five meters, five meters—covering distance as quickly as possible without creating obvious spiritual disturbance.
Behind him, formation arrays began failing as the central foundation's destabilization propagated through the geometric network. Small effects at first—minor fluctuations that could be attributed to the recent assault. But growing steadily as the cascading failure accelerated.
By the time Lin Feng reached his entry point, the entire dimension was shaking with spatial instability.
Qingxue, he conveyed through the dao companion bond. Central foundation destabilized. Beginning extraction. Dimension will collapse in approximately five minutes.
Through the anchor, he felt her surge of relief mixed with urgency. Wei Shen is alerting Azure Sky. They're preparing for full withdrawal. Grand Elder Bingxin is ready to extract you at any moment.
Lin Feng approached the spatial weak point he had entered through, his consciousness tracking its current position. The weakness was still there, but it had shifted approximately ten meters from where he had entered—natural spatial fluctuation moving it along the dimensional boundary.
He teleported to its new position and began the extraction procedure, using void techniques to widen the weakness enough for his physical body to pass through.
Behind him, demonic cultivators finally realized what was happening. Shouts of alarm echoed through corridors as formation arrays failed across the dimension. The Level 8 cultivator's spiritual perception swept the interior frantically, searching for the intruder who had somehow infiltrated and sabotaged their entire base.
His awareness passed over Lin Feng's position—and this time, he detected something.
"INTRUDER!" The shout echoed through dimensional space, carried by spiritual energy that made the walls themselves vibrate. "BOUNDARY SECTOR SEVEN! STOP HIM!"
Three demonic cultivators materialized in the corridor ahead, moving to intercept. Divine Domain Level 5, 6, and 6—not overwhelming individually, but collectively more than Lin Feng wanted to engage while maintaining extraction focus.
His consciousness divided, three streams handling combat while six maintained extraction procedure. He manifested Void Heart Strike technique with his right hand, Void Mirror formation with his left—offense and defense synchronized.
The first demonic cultivator attacked with a blood-red technique that sought to corrupt spiritual energy on contact. Lin Feng's Void Mirror caught the attack and reflected it back, forcing the cultivator to dodge his own technique.
The second cultivator engaged close-range with demonic claws that extended from corrupted spiritual energy. Lin Feng teleported five meters backward, creating distance while continuing his extraction preparation.
The third cultivator began constructing a binding formation designed to trap him in place.
Lin Feng's tactical consciousness calculated odds and timing. Three demonic cultivators engaging, more approaching from deeper in the dimension. Extraction weakness widening but not yet sufficient for passage. Dimensional collapse accelerating—perhaps four minutes until catastrophic failure.
He needed to buy time without fully committing to combat.
Lin Feng manifested Shadow Veil technique, the void-based concealment method he had used in the Jade Lotus Tournament. Darkness flooded the corridor, blocking vision and disrupting spiritual perception. Not a permanent solution, but enough confusion to gain precious seconds.
He continued widening the spatial weakness, his void techniques expanding the instability to human-sized passage. Ten seconds. Twenty. Thirty.
The darkness dissipated as the demonic cultivators' combined spiritual energy overwhelmed his technique. But by then, the extraction point was ready.
Lin Feng stepped through the weakness and back into normal reality.
The transition was jarring—pocket space to normal space in an instant, the familiar spiritual energy of the outside world washing over him like cold water.
He materialized twenty meters from Celestial Dawn's outer boundary, exactly where Grand Elder Bingxin's anchor had been set to pull him.
Yun Qingxue was at his side instantly, her hands checking him for injuries through both physical touch and spiritual perception. Through their dao companion bond, Lin Feng felt her overwhelming relief—he had survived, he had returned, the operation was complete.
"Status?" Grand Elder Bingxin demanded, her tone sharp but not unkind.
"Central foundation destabilized," Lin Feng reported. "Cascading failure initiated. Dimension will collapse completely in approximately three to four minutes. Elder Shadow's entire operation destroyed."
"Azure Sky confirms withdrawal complete," Wei Shen's voice came through the communication formation. "All twenty-five cultivators extracted safely. No casualties. Demonic cultivators are attempting to stabilize the dimension but failing. We can see the spatial distortions from here—it's definitely collapsing."
Patriarch Cloud Heaven stepped forward, his expression carefully controlled but his spiritual energy conveying pride and relief. "You succeeded. Against impossible odds, with perfect execution, you succeeded."
Lin Feng allowed himself a slight smile. "The impossible made possible again."
They watched from safe distance as Elder Shadow's pocket dimension entered terminal collapse. The spatial distortions became visible even to normal sight—reality rippling like water, the dimensional boundary flickering in and out of existence.
Demonic cultivators began evacuating through emergency anchor points, materializing in normal space in disorganized groups. Azure Sky's forces were positioned to intercept them, but Patriarch Zhang Tian had apparently ordered capture rather than elimination. The demonic cultivators would be detained, interrogated, and potentially turned against the Crimson Empress rather than simply killed.
Sophisticated tactical thinking that Lin Feng appreciated. Dead enemies provided no intelligence. Captured enemies could be leveraged.
The pocket dimension collapsed completely approximately four minutes after Lin Feng's extraction. The spatial distortions intensified to the point of visibility, then suddenly contracted—five hundred meters of pocket space condensing back into normal reality with a sound like thunder and breaking glass combined.
When the disturbance settled, nothing remained but normal space and the lingering spiritual energy signature of demonic corruption that would take days to dissipate naturally.
Elder Shadow's primary base of operations, his carefully constructed pocket dimension, his assembled force of thirty-seven demonic cultivators—all destroyed in a single operation that had taken less than thirty minutes from entry to collapse.
"That," Mei She said quietly from behind them, "was the most sophisticated infiltration I have witnessed in sixty years of cultivation. Well done, Lin Feng."
Coming from Mei She, who rarely praised anyone for anything, that was significant acknowledgment.
Lin Feng felt exhaustion beginning to settle into his body—the spiritual energy expenditure from maintaining consciousness division, spatial manipulation, and combat techniques finally catching up with him. But he remained standing, maintaining composure despite wanting nothing more than to collapse into meditation and rest.
"Casualties?" he asked Wei Shen through the communication formation.
"None from Azure Sky," Wei Shen confirmed. "We detained twenty-three demonic cultivators during the evacuation. Fourteen escaped into the surrounding territory. The remainder appear to have died in the dimensional collapse—we're detecting residual death energy consistent with approximately ten casualties."
Twenty-three captured, fourteen escaped, ten dead. Out of thirty-seven total, that was acceptable outcome considering the circumstances.
"What about Elder Shadow himself?" Lin Feng asked.
"No sign of him," Patriarch Zhang Tian's voice joined the communication. "He wasn't present in the dimension during the operation, exactly as our intelligence suggested. However, destroying his primary base represents significant strategic victory. He's lost his operational center, most of his assembled force, and the security of his pocket dimension. When he learns what happened, he'll be considerably weakened and extremely angry."
"Which makes him more dangerous in the short term but less capable in the long term," Grand Elder Bingxin observed. "An acceptable trade. We've eliminated the threat of his prepared assault and forced him into reactive rather than proactive positioning."
Lin Feng nodded, his consciousness processing the strategic implications even through exhaustion. Elder Shadow would certainly attempt retaliation—probably against him personally, possibly against Celestial Dawn or Frozen Sky broadly. But that retaliation would be improvised rather than carefully planned, giving them tactical advantages they wouldn't have had if they had waited for his prepared operation.
"We should return to Celestial Dawn," Patriarch Cloud Heaven said. "Lin Feng needs rest and recovery. Azure Sky needs to process their detained demonic cultivators. And we all need to prepare for Elder Shadow's inevitable response."
They began the journey back to Celestial Dawn, Lin Feng walking between Yun Qingxue and Grand Elder Bingxin with their anchor connection still maintained as precaution. His body was intact, his cultivation stable, his consciousness functioning normally. But the exhaustion was real—thirty minutes of maximum intensity operation, maintaining nine consciousness streams plus three-perspective expansion, using spatial manipulation and void techniques continuously.
He had done it. Infiltrated a hostile pocket dimension, surveyed five hundred meters of enemy territory, identified critical structural weaknesses, and destabilized the entire base without being captured or killed.
Just another impossible achievement.
But as they crossed back into Celestial Dawn's protective formations, Lin Feng allowed himself to acknowledge the truth—it had been close. Closer than he would admit to the others. The Level 8 cultivator had almost detected him in the central chamber. The extraction had been completed with seconds to spare. Any one of a dozen things going wrong would have resulted in capture or death.
Sixty percent success probability, he had calculated.
Apparently he had landed in the successful sixty percent.
This time.
Thank you, he conveyed to Yun Qingxue through their dao companion bond. For maintaining the anchor. For believing I could do this. For everything.
Always, she responded, her consciousness wrapping around his with protective warmth. Now rest. You've earned it.
As they entered Celestial Dawn's inner sect grounds, disciples emerged to witness their return. Word had spread somehow—probably through Zhao Hai's efficient information network—that a major operation had occurred. They watched with expressions of awe and respect as Lin Feng walked past, the cultivator who had infiltrated and destroyed Elder Shadow's pocket dimension.
His reputation, already substantial after the tournaments, had just increased considerably.
Which meant the Crimson Empress's interest in him had probably increased as well.
But that was a problem for tomorrow. Tonight, he had succeeded. Elder Shadow's operation was destroyed. The timeline advantage was secured. And Lin Feng had proven once again that sufficient preparation and tactical intelligence could transform impossible odds into accomplished reality.
He would rest now.
And then, in the morning, he would begin preparing for the next impossible challenge.
Because the Crimson Empress's operation was still scheduled for approximately two months from now.
And when that confrontation came, Lin Feng intended to be ready.
End of Chapter 65
Next: Chapter 66 - Aftermath and Advancement