Demon Pillar in Hand, Black Dragon's Pursuit!

After entering the Spiritual Treasury,

Lu Chen swept his gaze around, and a trace of surprise appeared in his eyes.

What lay before him was an immensely vast lake of crimson lava. At that moment, he stood atop a massive stone platform in the middle of the lava lake.

Lights continuously flickered across the stone platform as figures appeared one after another.

"It actually forms its own space. This is a method only a Rank Eight Sovereign possesses. It seems I underestimated the White Dragon Sovereign before."

Looking at the sea of lava before him, Lu Chen frowned. He knew very well just how much power was required to carve out a separate space within the Great Thousand World.

Generally speaking, Fifth and Sixth Grade Sovereigns had only just begun to grasp Space Power, gaining the ability to travel through space and spatial fissures.

Only upon reaching Rank Seven Sovereign could one begin to distort space and wield the great power to influence it, though this was limited to minor methods such as creating spatial fissures.

Only Rank Eight Sovereigns could freely control space and create a space for people to live in.

As for Ninth Grade Sovereigns, they had already reached the level of shattering space. They could initially break through certain weaker spatial barriers and travel to lower planes to throw their weight around.

After the fifth rank, the gaps between Sovereigns only grew wider. Even the most outstanding geniuses would find it difficult to bridge those gaps without extraordinary means.

"The White Dragon Legacy is more important. I should leave this place first."

Lu Chen stepped forward. Ignoring the spiritual objects floating in the lava, he rose into the air and flew toward the distance.

More than ten minutes later,

Lu Chen left the sea of lava. Before him stood a sprawling cluster of great halls, where quite a few figures were rummaging about like ravenous wolves, searching for and plundering every treasure they could find.

Lu Chen glanced down. His immense spiritual power swept over the area, and he immediately lost interest. They were merely Spirit Tools and spiritual arts, not worth his attention.

With that thought, he could not be bothered to linger. His figure flashed as he accelerated once more, shooting directly through those chaotic halls and passing straight through them.

Beyond the halls lay a stretch of abandoned stone palaces, ancient and unadorned. Countless towering stone statues stood within them, reviving to intercept anyone who drew near.

Even those flying high in the air were obstructed by the statues. Many people had been stopped here. Lu Chen guessed that he had reached the central region of the Spiritual Treasury, where the tests and selection had begun.

Naturally, this posed no difficulty for Lu Chen. He simply raised his hand and struck, sending countless stone statues flying before passing through the area.

Not long after,

Lu Chen passed several checkpoints in succession and finally arrived at the core region of the Spiritual Treasury: a massive black basin.

Countless gigantic black stone pillars filled the basin, each one thousands of feet tall. Faint patterns could be seen upon them, seemingly recording ancient tales. Yet due to the passage of time, those patterns had already become blurred beyond recognition.

More than a dozen figures had already gathered in the basin. Among them were Bai Xuan, the White Dragon City Lord, the Sword Master of the Heavenly Gang Sword Sect, Bai Xuan of the Nine Summer Merchant Guild, and other prominent figures from within a thousand miles.

Each of them emitted powerful spiritual energy fluctuations, yet all remained at the edge of the basin, not daring to take even one step forward.

Seeing another person arrive, everyone turned to look at Lu Chen.

When they clearly saw his appearance, they were all startled. They clasped their fists and respectfully said, "Greetings, Senior."

Lu Chen had already removed the means concealing his appearance, so everyone recognized him.

At that moment, Bai Xuan, the most ingratiating of them all, hurried over and pointed at the most distinctive stone pillar in the very center of the basin. With a fawning smile, he said, "Senior, we have already found the White Dragon Legacy for you. We were just waiting for you to come and claim it."

Lu Chen looked up and saw a black stone pillar in the center of the basin, stained with endless blood. Countless demonic patterns seemed to writhe across it, while deep claw marks were etched into its surface, making the pillar look as though it might shatter at any moment.

Yet this ancient demonic pillar, which appeared on the verge of collapse, radiated an endless baleful aura that made heaven and earth pale and caused the cosmos to tremble.

At the top of the pillar floated a white spiritual pearl roughly the size of an infant's head. It exuded a bright aura utterly unlike that of the demonic pillar. Just one glance at it calmed the heart.

The Great Sumeru Demon Pillar and the White Dragon Spiritual Pearl!

Sensing the endless baleful aura emanating from the stone pillar, Lu Chen narrowed his eyes. Naturally, he did not believe Bai Xuan's nonsense.

With a Sovereign's inheritance here, it would be a lie to say no one present was tempted. The only possibility was that they had no way to take it.

The Great Sumeru Demon Pillar had originally been a Supreme-Grade Divine Artifact. Yet after slaughtering too many living beings and becoming steeped in excessive killing intent, it had turned into an ancient fiendish weapon.

In a sense, this object had already surpassed divine artifacts. Perhaps only legendary sacred artifacts could compare with it.

This was far beyond what a group of ants who had not even reached the Supreme Realm could touch. Even approaching it carried the danger of having one's mind invaded by its baleful aura.

"Move aside. I'll handle it from here."

Lu Chen spoke calmly, wasting no more words.

He formed seals with both hands. A pair of purple fiery wings spread from his back, and with a flash of violet light, he appeared above the Great Sumeru Demon Pillar.

"Senior, be careful!"

Bai Xuan shouted. The others could only watch helplessly as Lu Chen collected the two great treasures, their faces filled with envy.

Whoosh!

Looking at the Great Sumeru Demon Pillar before him, Lu Chen did not hesitate in the slightest. Spiritual energy surged within his body and formed a massive hand of spiritual energy that reached toward the demonic pillar.

Boom!

However, just as Lu Chen seized the Great Sumeru Demon Pillar, intricate black patterns suddenly emerged across its surface, faintly converging into the shape of a demonic dragon.

A dragon's roar rang out as the demonic pillar suddenly erupted with a towering blood-red radiance. The bloody light shot into the sky, forming a vast sea of blood that crushed the spiritual hand reaching for it.

At the same time, a vicious voice sounded from within the pillar. "Who dares covet the treasure of my Dragon Demon Palace?"

"It's only a spiritual energy imprint left on the pillar. Who are you trying to scare?"

Lu Chen smiled faintly. A ball of purple flame rose in his hand, and he gently tossed it out. The violet flame expanded with the wind, transforming in the blink of an eye into a sea of purple fire that engulfed the Great Sumeru Demon Pillar.

"Seal!"

Lu Chen formed a complex hand seal. The violet sea of flames blazed fiercely and continuously contracted, burning away the sea of blood before finally turning into streams of purple runes that sealed themselves onto the surface of the demonic pillar.

"Receive!"

Seeing that he had temporarily sealed the imprint, Lu Chen swept his sleeve and stored both the demonic pillar and the White Dragon Spiritual Pearl inside his Mustard Seed Bracelet.

At the very moment Lu Chen subdued the Great Sumeru Demon Pillar,

In the Far West Land of the Northern Azure Continent,

Within a desolate little city,

A black-robed figure sitting cross-legged atop the city wall suddenly opened his eyes. The instant he did so, a resounding dragon's roar echoed forth, while countless streams of spiritual energy surged violently and converged into a pillar of light that pierced heaven and earth!

Countless streams of spiritual energy gathered over his robes, forming a lifelike Black Dragon coiled upon them. At that moment, a terrifying pressure spread across heaven and earth!

Whoosh!

In an instant, countless shadowy figures appeared before him. They all dropped to one knee and clasped their fists. "Congratulations on leaving seclusion, Palace Master!"

The black-robed figure rose to his feet and swept his sleeve, helping everyone up. He said blandly, "No need for formalities."

Then, gazing toward the center of the continent, he let out a derisive snort. "I have not roamed the continent for many years. It seems someone has forgotten my methods. What stray cats and dogs dare lay their hands on the treasure of my Dragon Demon Palace?"

With that, he took a single step and vanished from the spot.

Leaving only one sentence for the others.

"Guard the ancestral land well and await my return!"