660 The Desolate Stone

Thud thud.

Subtle sound of footsteps resounded quietly throughout the platform. A skinnyfigure was walking on the platform. Under numerous shocking gazes, the figurewalked with an unhurried pace, getting closer to the gigantic Desolate Stone inthe middle of the platform.

“This fellow…”

At this moment, a lot of disciples furrowed their eyebrows. Among thesedisciples, there were some who tried to get closer to the Desolate Stone. Afterall, the closer one got to the Desolate Stone, the more Desolate Force onecould absorb and this was highly beneficial to their cultivation of the‘Desolation Skill’. However, the person who was able to do it had yet toappear. Even the four current senior direct disciples could only make it tofifty feet within the Desolate Stone at best. If they were to get any closer,their bodies would be corroded by the overbearing Desolate Force, drying up inthe process.

How could Lin Dong achieve such a feat when even the four senior directdisciples were unable to do so?

However, even though there were a lot of people doubting Lin Dong’s recklessmove, they did not try to dissuade him from doing so. After Lin Dong’sexceptional result in the Pill River, nobody in Desolate Hall dared to treathim as an ordinary disciple.

Under the numerous attentive gazes from the onlookers, Lin Dong’s figure movedincreasingly closer to the Desolate Stone.

Buzz buzz!

As Lin Dong moved closer to the stone, he could feel the terrifying energywave that was coming at him head-on. The Desolate Force around this area was upto ten times stronger than where it was a few hundred feet away.

The Desolate Force that pervaded the air pierced through Lin Dong’s body fromall directions. Under such corrosion, the color of Lin Dong’s robe started tofade. Eventually, his robe started to show signs of drying up, appearing like apiece of barren land.

“The Desolate Force is rather overbearing.”

Lin Dong reached out his palms. At this moment, the skin of his palms hadbecome rather dry and dull. A surprised look swept across his face. It seemedlike the so-called Desolate Force was able to enervate anything, including theYuan Power in his body.

If he was any other ordinary individual that encountered such overbearingDesolate Force, it would pose an intractable problem. However, for Lin Dong, itdid not seem too much of a bother.

“Devour.”

A gentle voice rang across Lin Dong’s mind. Following which, traces ofDevouring Power started to extend outward from his body silently.

Tcch tchh!

The Devouring Power quickly twined around the traces of Desolate Force thathad invaded Lin Dong’s body. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, thosetraces of Desolate Force were being devoured at once.

While the devouring was taking place, a fine sound could be heard from LinDong’s body. It sounded like someone was crunching a bunch of dried leaves.

At this point in time, Lin Dong’s shrivelled palms were recovering slowly. TheDesolate Force that invaded his body had been completely finished off by theDevouring Power.

As Lin Dong felt what was going on in his body, a smile appeared upon hisface. Under the numerous startled looks from the onlookers, Lin Dong crackedhis neck gently and quickened his pace.

“He’s actually alright…”

“How can it be? The Desolate Force has no effect on him?”

When everyone saw Lin Dong moving as though he was flying, commotions brokeout in the surroundings. Everyone was flabbergasted at this scene. They couldnot believe that Lin Dong was actually able to withstand the boundless anddreadful Desolate Force.

Under the platform, in front of the stone tablet, the blind old man staredsilently in the direction of Lin Dong with his pupil-less eyes. His face didnot show any emotions. However, his wizened hands that were holding the broomtightly clenched unconsciously.

“Buzz buzz!”

With his quickened pace, Lin Dong rushed into ten feet within the DesolateStone in less than ten seconds. The Desolate Force in this area had reached arather terrifying level. Even the ground began to dry up and crack at thismoment. When Lin Dong’s feet stepped onto the ground, the ground sunk andrevealed a heap of ash.

After Lin Dong entered ten feet within the Desolate Stone, he finally felt animmense pressure. If not for the fact that the Devouring Power was channelingthrough his body, his life force would have been corroded by the Desolate Forceto the point that he died.

Once again, Lin Dong recalled the technique to practising the Desolation Skillin his mind and took in a deep breath of air. Then, a series of profound andcryptic chant flowed through his mind.

Tcch tcch!

As the chant flowed through his mind, the unique yet vigorous Desolate Forcerapidly entered Lin Dong’s body as if it was being attracted by something.

When the Desolate Force entered Lin Dong’s body, it did not have a singlechance to create chaos. Instead, it was manipulated by the domineeringDevouring Power and forcefully directed towards Lin Dong’s Dantian.

If he was an ordinary individual that was practising the Desolation Skill, nomatter how strong his physical body was, he would still need some time to adaptbefore allowing traces of Desolate Force to be absorbed into his body and formthe Desolate seedling.

Clearly, Lin Dong was able to skip these insignificant steps. The DesolateForce might be domineering, but the Devouring Power was far more domineeringand powerful. With the suppression from his Devouring Power, the Desolate Forcewas not able to pose any threat.

Along with the series of cryptic chant in Lin Dong’s mind, the grey-coloredDesolate Force flowed steadily into his body. In Lin Dong’s Dantian, a streamof grey-colored air began to form. However, it had yet to reach the level offorming a Desolate seed.

“Too slow…”

Lin Dong furrowed his eyebrows and said something that would cause thosedisciples to spurt out blood if they were to hear it. The first time theypractised the Desolation Skill, it took them one or two days to successfullyform a trace of Desolate Force in their bodies. However, Lin Dong was still notsatisfied with the absurd speed that he was going at right now.

Of course, Lin Dong did not care about what other people think. All he wantedwas to become stronger, so much so that the next time he met Ling Qingzhu, hedid not have to hang his head low anymore. As such, he would not give up on anyopportunities to become stronger.

Therefore, when Lin Dong finished his sentence, he continued walking forwarddespite receiving numerous horrified gazes from the Desolate Hall’s disciples.

Hiss!

As Lin Dong continued walking forward, the disciples surrounding the platformtook in a deep breath of cold air. Could it be that this fellow wanted to hugthe Desolate Stone and practise the skill? He surely knew that, within ten feetof the Desolate Stone, every step he took would increase the strength of theDesolate Force by upteen times, right?

At this point of time, the broom in the blind old man’s hands began to trembleslightly. A glint seemed to flash across his ash-grey eyes.

Under numerous attentive gazes, Lin Dong walked forward step-by-step. He couldfeel the rising pressure in his surroundings. Soon after, a faint green glowencircled his body.

One step… two steps… five steps… nine steps…

Thud!

When Lin Dong took the final step forward, everyone’s eyes were wide-open.Their eyes were filled with disbelief.

Under those incredulous gazes, Lin Dong raised his arm slowly and tapped hisfinger on the Desolate Stone.

As Lin Dong’s slender finger fell on the Desolate Stone, a coarse feeling thatwas accompanied by a chilliness extended through his finger. Following which,an indescribable yet terrorizing energy wave gushed out from the Desolate Stonelike a volcanic eruption. Eventually, the energy surged into Lin Dong’s bodymercilessly.

Bang!

At this moment, Lin Dong’s body trembled fiercely. Even his bones gave offcracking sounds. A dark-grey color extended through his finger all the way upto his arm with an astonishing speed.

Snap! Crack!

The dark-grey color moved extremely fast. Within seconds, it had extendedthroughout Lin Dong’s body. Even his face started to show signs of shrivellingup, appearing like a stone statue that was smashed in the face.

When the surrounding disciples saw this scene, their facial expression changeddrastically. This fellow finally tasted the consequences of being reckless. Didhe really think that anyone could endure the Desolate Force that was containedin the Desolate Stone?

“He can’t endure it, huh”

In front of the stone tablet, the already wrinkle-filled face of the blind oldman shrivelled up even more. His hands were holding the broom tightly. After amoment, he finally shook his head and took a step forward, preparing to make amove.

“Elder, this disciple can still handle it,”

Just when the blind old man took a step forward, a soft voice that was sentthrough a trace of Mental Energy echoed into his ears silently.

The blind old man was startled before he gradually retracted his footstep.With his ash-grey eyes, he looked at the distant figure that was touching theDesolate Stone. A confused look appeared on his wizened face…