Pangu Secretly Protects Lin Yue and Permits Him to Go

Lin Yue moved swiftly, navigating the Chaos Stone Forest according to the directions Su Qingyan had left. The morning chaos carried a hint of coolness, the airflow mixed with the dampness of dew, a stark contrast to the dryness of other days, as if heralding an unknown journey.

He could clearly feel the presence of the Chaos Imprint in his chest, like a warm brand, giving him a bit more confidence in this unfamiliar environment. This imprint was not just protection, but more like Senior Pangu's gaze, constantly reminding him to be cautious yet brave.

Reaching the entrance of a canyon, Lin Yue stopped. The Chaos Airflow ahead swirled in a spiral, with a faint purplish light screen flickering at its center—the entrance to the Secret Realm Su Qingyan had mentioned. Su Qingyan stood before the light screen, idly playing with the Boundary Marker Stone in her hand. Seeing Lin Yue arrive, she raised an eyebrow, "I thought you wouldn't dare to come."

"What I promised you, I will naturally do," Lin Yue walked to her side, his gaze falling on the purplish light screen. "This is the entrance to the Secret Realm?"

"Mm," Su Qingyan put away the Boundary Marker Stone and pointed at the light screen. "Look at the patterns on this barrier, aren't they peculiar?"

Lin Yue leaned closer to observe. The surface of the light screen was covered with pale gold patterns resembling blood vessels. Strange energy flowed within the patterns, contracting and expanding intermittently, as if alive. He attempted to probe it with a trace of Chaos Energy. The moment it touched the light screen, it was repelled by a gentle yet tenacious force.

"How is it? Hard to break, right?" Su Qingyan said. "I tried burning it with flames, but it only made the patterns dim for a moment before they recovered."

Lin Yue nodded, thinking to himself that the energy circulation of this barrier was indeed exquisite. Brute force alone probably wouldn't work. He pondered for a moment, recalling the "Borrowing Strength to Counteract Force" technique Senior Pangu had taught him. "The flow of these patterns is regular. We might be able to find its weak point and attack simultaneously during the energy contraction. Perhaps we can open a gap."

Su Qingyan's eyes lit up. "I also felt something was off with these patterns earlier, but I couldn't find the regularity. You've come at the perfect time; let's observe together."

The two stood quietly before the light screen, carefully observing the flow of the patterns. Lin Yue circulated his Chaos Energy, pushing his perception to its limit. The Chaos Imprint in his chest seemed to be stirred, emitting a faint warmth that made his perception even sharper. He gradually discovered that every thirty breaths the patterns flowed, a brief energy discontinuity would appear at the lower left corner of the light screen. Though only for an instant, it was enough to become a breakthrough point.

"Found it! Lower left corner, once every thirty breaths. Attack when the discontinuity appears!" Lin Yue whispered.

Su Qingyan happened to capture the pattern as well and nodded. "I'll count to three, and we attack together!"

"One... two... three!"

As Su Qingyan finished speaking, Lin Yue condensed three Chaos Light Orbs, shooting them in a triangular formation towards the lower left corner of the light screen. Su Qingyan's fingertips erupted with flames, transforming into a slender fiery line that followed closely behind the orbs.

"Bang!" The orbs and the fiery line struck the discontinuity almost simultaneously. The purplish light screen fluctuated violently, and the patterns in the lower left corner instantly dimmed, revealing a gap about a foot wide!

"Now!" The two exchanged a look and simultaneously squeezed through the gap.

The moment they passed through the light screen, a rich scent of vegetation washed over them, completely different from the desolation of the chaos. Lin Yue looked closely and found himself in a dense forest. The leaves of the trees were a riot of colors, emitting pure vital energy. The ground beneath his feet was soft and moist, and he could even see sparkling dewdrops rolling on the grass blades.

"This place... has such rich vitality?" Lin Yue was somewhat surprised. This was entirely different from his understanding of a Chaos Secret Realm; it was more like a paradise.

Su Qingyan also extinguished her flames, warily scanning their surroundings. "Don't let your guard down. The more peaceful a place appears, the more dangerous it often is. The Boundary Marker Stone's readings indicate the treasure should be deep in the forest."

Without daring to delay, they followed the guidance of the Boundary Marker Stone, cautiously walking towards the depths of the forest. The plants they encountered along the way contained abundant energy, and there were even a few low-level spiritual herbs. However, neither of them was in the mood to collect them—their target was the Innate Spirit Treasure and Law Fragments.

After walking for about half an hour, the trees ahead gradually thinned out, revealing an open valley. In the center of the valley stood a small mountain, with a faint golden light flickering at its peak—the source of the treasure's aura.

"It's there!" Su Qingyan's eyes lit up, and just as she was about to rush forward, Lin Yue pulled her back.

"Wait, listen," Lin Yue whispered.

Su Qingyan listened intently and indeed heard low growls coming from the edge of the valley, accompanied by the "rustling" sound of claws scraping the ground. Clearly, ferocious beasts were guarding it.

The two quietly approached the edge of the valley and peeked. They saw three ferocious beasts resembling lions lying at the foot of the mountain. Their bodies were covered in green scales, their tails were like steel whips, and they had a single horn on their foreheads. These were the well-known "Azure Scale Lions" of the chaos. Although not high-level ferocious beasts, they were known for their speed and sharp claws, and they always lived in groups.

"Three Azure Scale Lions..." Su Qingyan frowned. "If we fight head-on, we might not have the advantage, and we could even alert whatever is in the mountain."

Lin Yue observed the positions of the three Azure Scale Lions and noticed they were guarding the foot of the mountain in a triangular formation, not far from each other, clearly to watch each other's backs. However, he noticed that the lion on the right seemed to be limping, moving slightly slower than the other two.

"I have an idea," Lin Yue whispered. "Let's split into two groups. You use flames to attack the one on the left, drawing the attention of the other two. I'll deal with the limping one on the right. Once one is dealt with, the rest will be easier."

Su Qingyan nodded. "Okay, be careful. The Azure Scale Lions' claws can tear through energy shields."

The two immediately took action. Su Qingyan struck first, a Flame Spear shooting towards the Azure Scale Lion on the left. The high temperature of the flames instantly attracted the attention of all three lions.

"Roar!" The Azure Scale Lion on the left roared and lunged towards the Flame Spear. The other two looked around vigilantly, searching for the attacker.

At this moment, Lin Yue darted out from the right like a civet cat. The Chaos Airflow in his dantian spun wildly, condensing into two light orbs, which he simultaneously shot towards the eyes of the Azure Scale Lion on the right!

That Azure Scale Lion reacted a bit slower. Just as it was about to turn its head, it was hit in the eyes by the orbs, letting out a pained roar and wildly flailing its claws.

Lin Yue seized the opportunity, his figure flickering as he circled to the Azure Scale Lion's rear flank. He condensed a light orb imbued with vital energy and smashed it fiercely towards its limp leg—there was an old scar on the scales there, clearly an old wound.

"Aow!" The Azure Scale Lion cried out in pain and fell to the ground, rolling and howling.

Seeing this, the other two Azure Scale Lions roared and lunged at Lin Yue.

"Now!" Lin Yue shouted.

Su Qingyan had already finished charging her attack. Several Flame Nets descended from the sky, enveloping the two Azure Scale Lions. Although the Flame Nets could not trap them for long, they prevented them from getting close to Lin Yue for the moment.

Lin Yue took the chance to rush to the fallen Azure Scale Lion's side and condensed his strongest Chaos Light Orb, smashing it fiercely towards its head.

"Bang!" The orb exploded, and the Azure Scale Lion's roar abruptly ceased.

Having dealt with one, Lin Yue immediately turned back to support Su Qingyan. By then, the Flame Nets had been torn apart by the other two Azure Scale Lions. Without a word, he condensed an orb and attacked the hind leg of the lion on the left, cooperating with Su Qingyan's flames to attack from both sides.

Though fierce, the two Azure Scale Lions, having lost their companion and being attacked from both sides, gradually fell into a disadvantage. Half an hour later, as the last Azure Scale Lion fell, the valley finally returned to peace.

The two panted, looking at the golden light on the mountain peak, a hint of anticipation flashing in their eyes.

"Let's go, let's see what kind of treasure it is," Lin Yue said.

They walked side by side towards the mountain peak. Neither of them noticed that the Chaos Imprint in Lin Yue's chest flickered briefly before returning to calm—as if a pair of invisible eyes were silently watching over his safety. And all of this was with Pangu's tacit approval, both as a trial and a necessary test for growth.