This time, his injuries were so severe that it took him a full three years (a little over ten days in the outside world) to recover seventy percent.
Once his injuries had stabilized somewhat, Lu Chen began preparing to sever his corpse.
Lu Chen had to rely on a spiritual treasure to sever a corpse. For his Good Corpse, the best choice was a treasure imbued with Merit or a righteous spiritual treasure.
Of all the treasures in Lu Chen's hands, the most suitable was the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner!
It was one of the Five Innate Banners, specialized in defense and symbolizing virtue and benevolence. It was the perfect vessel for severing his Good Corpse.
He took out half a strand of Primordial Violet Qi and slowly infused it into the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner.
The banner emitted a gentle yellow glow, and Great Dao runes appeared on its surface.
"Sever!"
Lu Chen's Primordial Spirit trembled. A pure, benevolent thought was stripped away and infused into the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner.
"Vmmm—"
The yellow light blazed. A yellow-robed Daoist, resembling Lu Chen but with a gentle, jade-like bearing, stepped out of the banner and bowed to him with a faint smile.
"I am Huang Chen. Greetings, Original Self."
His Good Corpse had been severed!
His cultivation was already at the Middle Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage. With the Violet Qi's support, his foundation was many times more stable than that of an ordinary cultivator who had severed a corpse.
More remarkably, Lu Chen sensed that some of the karma he bore—mainly his ties to the Kirin Clan and the good karma he had earned by saving people—had shifted to Huang Chen.
The Original Self immediately felt much lighter.
"From now on, you'll travel the Primordial World as a lone cultivator, doing good deeds and accumulating Merit," Lu Chen said.
"Agreed." Huang Chen nodded. He took the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner—an imitation, as the genuine one had merged with him—and flew out of Demon Abyss in a streak of yellow light.
From then on, Lu Chen had three identities:
His main body stayed in seclusion in Demon Abyss, focusing on the Law of Strength and aiming to prove the Dao through Strength.
His clone, Chen Ying, moved about outside, drawing everyone's attention and taking the blame when necessary.
His Good Corpse, Huang Chen, did good deeds, accumulated Merit, shifted his karma, and built connections.
Three identities meant three layers of protection.
"Now, it's time to look at my greatest prize from this trip..."
Lu Chen took out the Twelve-Grade Karma Red Lotus.
The lotus platform was fiery red, with twelve tiers. Karma Fire burned on every petal, capable of consuming all the karma in the world.
Luohu wanted it to complete the World-Destroying Black Lotus, but when Lu Chen took the platform, he had discovered something nestled in its heart—
A lotus seed!
Though no match for its parent, the Karma Red Lotus Seed was still an Innate Spiritual Treasure embryo. If nurtured successfully, it could grow into a new one-grade or even three-grade red lotus.
"This seed... Maybe I can use it this way."
A sudden inspiration struck Lu Chen.
He took out the three Phoenix Eggs—Mortal Phoenixes—and the three Kirin Eggs, the clan's last sparks of life. Then he brought out the Dragon Clan blood essence he had collected earlier.
The blood essence of the Dragon, Phoenix, and Kirin Clans, combined with the Karma Red Lotus Seed...
A wild idea took shape in Lu Chen's mind.
"I'll refine a battle avatar that combines the three clans and is protected by Karma Fire!"
Lu Chen acted at once, without hesitation.
Using the Chaos Brick as a cauldron, Three Lights Divine Water as the medium, and Sky-Opening Merit as the flame, he began the refinement.
The entire process lasted forty-nine days.
On the forty-ninth day, red, gold, and yellow light burst from the quiet chamber.
A strange creature emerged from the radiance, standing twelve feet tall. It had a dragon's head, phoenix wings, and a kirin's body!
Red dragon scales covered its body. A pair of seven-colored phoenix wings grew from its back, yellow clouds curled beneath its feet, and faint Karma Fire burned all around it.
A closer look revealed that it radiated the aura of an Early Grand Unity Golden Immortal!
"From this day on, your name is Yan Chen," Lu Chen said.
Yan Chen dropped to one knee. "Thank you, Original Self. From this day on, I am Yan Chen, and I will fight for you."
Lu Chen nodded in satisfaction.
Though Yan Chen had no independent intelligence and was entirely controlled by Lu Chen, its combat prowess was formidable. Bearing the bloodlines of all three clans, it could freely transform into a dragon, phoenix, or kirin and wield the divine abilities of each.
Most importantly, the aura of the Karma Red Lotus on its body shared the same origin as Minghe's! If Lu Chen encountered Minghe in the future, it might produce an unexpected effect.
"You'll go out too and secretly assist Chen Ying and Huang Chen. Remember, don't reveal your connection to me unless your life is in danger."
"Understood."
With that, Yan Chen turned into a streak of fire and flew out of Demon Abyss.
Lu Chen now had three forces under his command:
The public front—his clone, Chen Ying, drawing enemy fire.
The covert front—his Good Corpse, Huang Chen, building connections.
The hidden front—his battle avatar, Yan Chen, providing support in secret.
Meanwhile, Lu Chen's main body would remain in seclusion in Demon Abyss and continue cultivating.
He took out the jade slip containing the God-Slaying Spear Refinement Method and began studying it.
"I already have one God-Slaying Spear Fragment. The second is deep in the Sea of Blood, sealed by Minghe. The third... is in the North Sea Eye, guarded by Kunpeng?"
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes.
The Sea of Blood and the North Sea...
It looked like it was time to visit those two "old friends."
But before that, he still had something else to do.
Lu Chen looked toward the depths of Demon Abyss, where the Pangu seal lay.
There was still half a strand of Primordial Violet Qi there—which Luohu thought remained untouched—as well as other things left behind by Pangu.
Luohu thought he wouldn't dare go back, but Lu Chen was determined to do the opposite.
"The most dangerous place is the safest. Luohu is busy refining the Karma Red Lotus and his Minghe clone right now. He has no time to spare for anything else. If I don't go now, when will I?"
He quietly left the chamber and, using the Chaos Brick's concealment, slipped into the Sealed Land once more.
This time, he knew the way and reached the stone chamber quickly.
The phantom strand of Violet Qi inside—the false image Luohu had created—still floated in midair.
Lu Chen left it alone and turned to a corner of the chamber, where an inconspicuous stone wall stood.
The last time he had come here, he had sensed something strange about the wall.
Now he focused his vision and channeled the Law of Strength into his eyes. At last, he saw through the illusion.
A bone fragment was hidden inside the wall!
It came from the same source as the Pangu's Spine Fragment he had found earlier, but it was smaller. Rather than techniques, it bore an engraved map.
[Chaos Star Chart · Marked with the Fall Sites of the Three Thousand Demon Gods]
The fall sites of the Three Thousand Demon Gods were also the entrances to the Three Thousand Chaos Worlds!
Lu Chen was overjoyed.
This was more precious than any treasure!
With this map, he could enter those Chaos Worlds, seek out the Demon Gods' legacies, and rapidly increase his strength.
Realizing its value, he quickly put away the bone fragment. Then he searched the stone chamber carefully and found three drops of Chaos Blood Essence—the blood Pangu had shed when he was injured while opening the world—and a palm-sized axe-blade fragment. The Sky-Opening Axe Blade Fragment was even more precious than the axe-handle fragment!
"I've struck it rich. This time, I've really struck it rich..."
Lu Chen suppressed his excitement and was about to leave when a sudden sense of danger seized him.
A dark figure slowly appeared at the entrance to the stone chamber.
Luohu's remnant soul!
"Lu Chen, you brat. I knew all along... that you'd come back."
Before you continue