After three days on the road, he arrived at Kunlun Mountain.
Queen Mother of the West was waiting at Yaochi. When she saw Lu Chen, she dismissed everyone else and immediately set up a soundproof barrier.
"Let's get straight to the point, young friend." Queen Mother of the West looked solemn. "Jieyin and Zhunti traced your theft of the treasures from Treasure Distribution Cliff with their divine powers and found evidence—they discovered a wisp of your lingering aura on the third level, along with a... brick chip."
Lu Chen's heart jolted.
A brick chip? Could it have broken off when the Black Brick struck the ward?
"However, I've temporarily suppressed the matter for you," Queen Mother of the West said. "In exchange, I need you to do me a favor."
"Please, Senior."
Queen Mother of the West took out an ancient-looking illustrated scroll. "This is the last three missing pages of the Kunlun Mirror Refining Diagram. My Kunlun Mirror is already an Innate Spiritual Treasure, but if I can complete the diagram, it can ascend to an Innate Supreme Treasure, granting it the supreme ability to peer into the past and future and fix time and space in place."
She looked at Lu Chen. "According to my deductions, these three pages are hidden in the innermost ward of Treasure Distribution Cliff. Since you managed to infiltrate the third level, perhaps you can find a way to retrieve them."
Lu Chen gave a bitter smile. "Senior, the Demon Clan is hunting me now. If I go back to Treasure Distribution Cliff, wouldn't I be walking straight into a trap?"
"Not so," Queen Mother of the West replied. "Every three hundred years, the wards at Treasure Distribution Cliff experience an 'Absolute Stillness Period' due to the Chaos tides. It lasts three breaths. During those three breaths, all wards become inactive, and even the Dao Ancestor's Divine Sense is cut off. The next Stillness Period is in three months."
She took out a jade pendant. "This is a Time-Space Calibration Talisman. During the Stillness Period, it can teleport you straight to the core of Treasure Distribution Cliff, then bring you back. But it can only be used once, and you'll have just three breaths—you must find and retrieve those three pages within that time."
Lu Chen took the pendant and fell into thought.
The risk was enormous, but so was the reward. If he helped Queen Mother of the West complete the Kunlun Mirror, he would earn the favor of a peak Quasi-Saint powerhouse wielding an Innate Supreme Treasure.
"Fine. I'll go," he said at last, nodding.
"A wise choice." Queen Mother of the West gave a faint smile. "Stay at Kunlun Mountain for the next three months. I'll teach you some secret arts of time and space that will help with your mission."
"Thank you, Senior."
For the next three months, Lu Chen went into seclusion at Kunlun Mountain.
Queen Mother of the West truly was the foremost female immortal. Her understanding of the Dao of Time and Space far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. Lu Chen learned the secret art Eternal Instant from her, which could accelerate his perception a hundredfold. One breath in the outside world felt like a hundred breaths to him—plenty of time to get things done.
At the same time, he gained a basic grasp of Strength Pierces the Primordial Era, a move contained in the Pangu's Spine Fragment he had recently obtained. It was designed to break wards, and when paired with the Black Brick, its power was astonishing.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
On the eve of the Stillness Period, Queen Mother of the West escorted Lu Chen to the teleportation array atop Kunlun Mountain.
"Young friend, remember: three breaths. You have only three breaths. Whether you succeed or fail, you must return."
"This junior understands."
Lu Chen gripped the jade pendant tightly and stepped into the array.
When midnight arrived, the pendant glowed, and space-time twisted.
When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in the innermost area of Treasure Distribution Cliff. There was only a stone platform here, with three objects floating above it:
On the left was a jade slip—the three missing pages of the diagram.
In the middle was a Chaos-colored bead, its aura ancient.
On the right was a... black brick?
Lu Chen froze.
That brick looked almost exactly like the Black Brick in his hand! It was just larger, with a more ancient aura. Four Great Dao runes were carved into its surface:
[One Brick to Kill]
What the heck?!
But there was no time to think.
On the first breath, he snatched up the jade slip.
On the second breath, he looked at the Chaos Bead. Instinct told him it was even more precious than the diagram! Gritting his teeth, he took that too!
On the third breath, he lunged for the black brick.
The instant his fingers touched it—
"Vmmm!"
The brick actually flew up of its own accord and merged with the Black Brick in his hand!
The two bricks became one. The Black Brick erupted with unprecedented dark light, growing to three feet long. Runes flowed across its surface, its weight increased tenfold, and its rank leaped directly from Innate Spiritual Treasure to Innate Supreme Treasure!
At the same time, information flooded into his mind:
[Chaos Brick (Innate Supreme Treasure) · A brick Pangu used to build a stove when he split the heavens and opened the earth. Contains the source of the Law of Strength and can grow.] [Current abilities: 1. One Brick Breaks All Laws (ignores the vast majority of wards) 2. Brick Escape (the brick arrives wherever the mind directs it) 3. Brick Clone (can split into up to nine bricks, each with thirty percent of the original's power)]
Lu Chen was overjoyed.
But just then, the three breaths were up!
The jade pendant activated, forcibly teleporting him back to Kunlun Mountain.
The instant he vanished, the wards at the core of Treasure Distribution Cliff returned to normal.
A phantom of Hongjun slowly appeared. He gazed at the empty stone platform and remained silent for a long while.
At last, he shook his head, and the phantom faded away.
Yaochi, Kunlun Mountain.
Lu Chen tumbled out of the teleportation array, drenched in cold sweat.
Queen Mother of the West hurried over. "Young friend, did you succeed?"
Lu Chen took out the jade slip. "The diagram is here."
Queen Mother of the West was overjoyed. She accepted the jade slip and put it away without even looking at it. "Thank you, young friend! I'll remember this favor!"
She paused, then lowered her voice. "Also, I just received word—Jieyin and Zhunti fought Kunpeng, Minghe, and Taiyi in the West. In the end, both sides suffered heavy losses. Jieyin was gravely wounded, Zhunti lost an arm, Kunpeng was taken away by Taiyi, and Minghe fled back to the Sea of Blood. But afterward, they all insisted that you stole the treasures, and even produced... that brick chip as evidence."
Lu Chen's heart tightened.
"However, the Dao Ancestor hasn't commented." Queen Mother of the West spoke meaningfully. "It seems... he tacitly approved?"
Tacitly approved?
Lu Chen froze.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun had tacitly approved of his stealing the treasures? How could that be?
Unless...
"Unless the Dao Ancestor wanted to use my hand to 'distribute' certain treasures?" he murmured.
Queen Mother of the West neither confirmed nor denied it. "This matter is too profound for either of us to fathom. Young friend, you'd best stay in hiding for a while longer. The Demon Clan's warrant is still active, and Jieyin and Zhunti hate you to the bone. The Primordial World is vast, but even so, it won't be easy to hide."
Lu Chen nodded. "This junior understands."
He was just about to take his leave and return to Wuzhuang Temple when Azure Bird came flying over in a panic.
"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! Wuzhuang Temple is under attack—the Demon Clan army has surrounded the mountain, and Taiyi is there in person, breaking the array!"
What?!
Lu Chen and Queen Mother of the West both paled.
"Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun..." Queen Mother of the West cried out anxiously.
Without a word, Lu Chen summoned the newly acquired Chaos Brick.
"Brick Escape!"
He fixed his thoughts on Wuzhuang Temple. The Chaos Brick flashed with dark light, and he vanished in an instant.
Queen Mother of the West stared in astonishment. "That speed... even faster than the Kunlun Mirror?!"
She didn't dare delay and turned into a streak of light, hurrying to Wuzhuang Temple as well.
Meanwhile, outside Wuzhuang Temple—
The myriad demons pressed in, their banners blotting out the sky.
Eastern Emperor Taiyi hovered high in the air, and the Chaos Bell had already sounded its first toll.
The Earth Element Great Array was on the verge of collapse!
Lu Chen used Brick Escape to rush back, only to find that a corner of Wuzhuang Temple's great array had already been breached. Qingfeng and Mingyue were gravely wounded, the Earth Book in Zhen Yuanzi's hands was stained with blood, and Hong Yun was fighting three Great Demon Saints alone! Taiyi was about to sound the Chaos Bell a second time—if that toll rang out, Wuzhuang Temple would surely be destroyed!
At the critical moment, Lu Chen hurled the Chaos Brick at the Chaos Bell and shouted:
"Taiyi, that bell of yours—mine now!"
Before you continue