Grand Unity Peak, Counterattack from Desperation!

"Hand over the star chart and the axe blade fragment, and I'll spare your life."

Luohu's remnant soul blocked the entrance to the Sealed Land. Demonic qi condensed into something tangible, making the entire stone chamber tremble. Deep within those demonic eyes lay undisguised greed and killing intent.

Lu Chen's heart shook violently, but he smiled on the surface.

"You must be joking, Senior. The star chart and axe blade fragment were ownerless to begin with. This junior merely obtained them by chance. Why speak of 'handing them over'?"

As he spoke, he silently tightened his grip on the Chaos Brick. The Law of Strength within him surged madly—an Early Grand Unity Golden Immortal against the remnant soul of the Demon Ancestor. His chances of victory were practically nonexistent, but surrendering without a fight was not his style.

"Ownerless?" Luohu sneered. "Pangu's relics were opportunities left behind for the living beings of the Primordial World. But do you know that this star chart and axe blade fragment were spoils I cut from Pangu himself during our great battle?"

What?!

Lu Chen's pupils constricted.

Luohu had once battled Pangu and even cut away Pangu's flesh, blood, and memory fragments? Was that true or false?

"Before I perished, I sealed these two items here so I could reclaim them after my rebirth." Luohu advanced step by step. "You saved me the effort of breaking the seal. Now, return their rightful owner's possessions."

Before his words had even faded, a demonic claw was already upon him!

Fast! Faster than the very concept of time and space!

Lu Chen had no time to react. He could only instinctively raise the Chaos Brick before his chest.

"Clang—!!!"

The demonic claw struck the brick. Lu Chen shot backward like a meteor and slammed fiercely into the stone wall. Cracks spread across it as he spat out blood, his internal organs nearly displaced.

The gap was far too great!

Even as a mere remnant soul, Luohu's realm far surpassed that of a Quasi-Saint and had already touched the threshold of a Saint. If the Chaos Brick had not blocked most of the force, Lu Chen would already have perished.

"Oh? You survived one of my claws. This little brick of yours is becoming more and more interesting." Surprise flashed through Luohu's eyes before turning into deeper greed. "This brick... I want it too."

The second claw struck. This time, it transformed into a giant hand that covered the heavens, intending to seize Lu Chen along with the brick.

Desperation!

But just then—

"Luohu! Hand over Lu Chen—! Otherwise, today I'll flatten the Demon Abyss!"

Eastern Emperor Taiyi's furious roar came from outside the Demon Abyss. The sound waves pierced through layer after layer of restrictions, shaking the entire Sealed Land.

Immediately afterward came the roar of the Chaos Bell!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The bell rang three times, and the restrictions around the Demon Abyss shattered layer by layer. The aura of the Demon Clan army surged in like a tsunami.

Luohu paused, frowning deeply. "That fool Taiyi actually dares attack my doorstep..."

The instant he was distracted, a sharp glint flashed in Lu Chen's eyes.

Now!

"Brick Escape—!"

Locking onto the direction of the Demon Abyss entrance with his mind, the Chaos Brick flashed with black light and carried him away in an instant.

"Trying to run?" Luohu snorted furiously. His demonic claw tore through space as it pursued.

Almost at the same time, an inconspicuous stone wall in a corner of the Sealed Land suddenly cracked open—a gap appeared, and Lu Chen's true body walked out from within!

The one who had used Brick Escape just now was merely an illusion created by his Brick Clone!

"A feint. An old trick, but it works." Lu Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, quickly putting away the star chart and axe blade fragment. Then he glanced at the fake violet-qi phantom in the center of the chamber.

With a thought, he injected a thread of Karma Red Lotus aura into the violet qi, then turned and rushed deep into the crack in the stone wall—there was a spatial rift left behind when Pangu opened the heavens, leading directly into the depths of Chaos!

He had discovered this escape route during his previous visit and intended to keep it as a final safeguard. He had not expected to use it so soon.

The rift closed, and all traces of his aura vanished.

A few breaths later, Luohu's remnant soul returned while clutching an illusion of a Brick Clone, his face ashen.

"An illusion? You little brat... You dare toy with me!"

His Divine Sense swept out and discovered the crack in the stone wall. He immediately realized Lu Chen had fled into Chaos. But Taiyi had begun his all-out assault outside the Demon Abyss, and the power of the Chaos Bell forced him to deal with the immediate threat first.

"Forget it. I'll deal with Taiyi first. That brat fled into Chaos without the star chart to guide him. He'll lose his way sooner or later. I can capture him once I free up my hands."

Luohu turned and transformed into surging demonic qi, rushing toward the entrance of the Demon Abyss.

Meanwhile, deep within Chaos.

Lu Chen tumbled out of the spatial rift and found himself in an unfamiliar region of Chaos. Everything around him was gray and hazy. There was no direction, no concept of time, only the eternal Chaos Qi Flow.

"Safe for now..."

He collapsed onto a piece of Chaos stone, gasping for breath. Though his brief exchange with Luohu had involved only one claw strike, demonic qi had invaded his body and was now frantically eroding his meridians.

He hurriedly activated the Three Lights Divine Water to purify it, then used Sky-Opening Merit to suppress it. Only after a long while did he force the demonic qi out.

"I have to break through as soon as possible... Early Grand Unity Golden Immortal is simply not enough in the Primordial World."

Lu Chen took out all of his gains from this expedition:

[Chaos Star Chart (Pangu Memory Fragment)]

[Sky-Opening Axe Blade Fragment (sharper than the axe handle fragment)]

[Three drops of Chaos Blood Essence (Pangu's Blood)]

[Karma Red Lotus Seed (cultivated to the third grade)]

Along with what he had accumulated before: half a strand of Primordial Violet Qi, the remaining portion, Law of Strength insights, the Chaos Brick, the Qiankun Diagram, God-Slaying Spear fragments, and more.

"With these resources, I have enough to charge for Grand Unity Peak and perhaps even touch the Quasi-Saint threshold!"

He no longer hesitated. Finding a relatively calm region of Chaos, he set up a simplified Heavenly Stellar Array for protection, one he had learned from the formation diagram, and began his seclusion.

First, he refined the Sky-Opening Axe Blade Fragment.

The axe blade fragment was sharper than the axe handle and contained a far more violent Law of Strength. Using the Chaos Brick as a medium, Lu Chen slowly fused the fragment into the brick.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz—"

The Chaos Brick shook violently. A phantom of an axe blade emerged across its surface, its sharp aura slicing through Chaos. The fusion lasted forty-nine days. When the final trace of the fragment merged into it, the Chaos Brick transformed once more:

The brick shrank from three feet to two, becoming even more solid. Dark golden axe patterns appeared beneath its pitch-black surface, its weight increasing a hundredfold. A single strike could shatter stars!

[Chaos Sky-Opening Brick (Innate Supreme Treasure · Growth-Type)]

[New abilities: 1. Axe Blade Sharpness (attacks carry the Law of Cutting and can break through most defenses) 2. Sky-Opening Imprint (can draw upon a trace of sky-opening power)]

"Excellent!" Lu Chen said with satisfaction.

Next, he refined the three drops of Chaos Blood Essence.

Pangu's Blood—every drop contained boundless energy. Lu Chen did not dare refine them all at once and could only do so one drop at a time.

The first drop took thirty years. The strength of his physical body soared, comparable to the Great Witch Peak. Faint Chaos patterns flowed beneath his skin.

The second drop took fifty years. His cultivation broke through from the Early Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage to the middle stage. The Three Flowers Above His Head became more solid, one of them already taking on a pale golden color.

The third drop took seventy years. His cultivation broke through to the Late-Stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, and his foundation became terrifyingly solid. The abundance of his magical power exceeded that of others at the same level by more than tenfold!

By then, one hundred and fifty years had passed in his seclusion, roughly a year and a half outside.

"One final step remains... I'll use the star chart to locate it, draw the legacy of a Chaos Demon God into my body, and charge toward Grand Unity Peak!"

Lu Chen unfurled the Chaos Star Chart.

The chart appeared like a three-dimensional projection, marking the coordinates of three thousand Chaos Worlds. The nearest one was [Thunder Realm · Site of the Thunder Demon God's Fall].

"Thunder Realm... The Thunder Demon God controlled speed and destruction. It is perfect for making up for the speed weakness of my Law of Strength."

Following the guidance of the star chart, he flew toward the Thunder Realm.

Chaos knew no passage of time. After an unknown duration, a sea of thunderstorm appeared ahead.

Boundless lightning interwove into a vast net. At its center floated a Thunder Core ten thousand zhang wide, radiating a terrifying aura of destruction.

"This is it!"

Lu Chen activated the Law of Strength to protect himself and charged into the thunderstorm.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Thousands upon thousands of lightning bolts struck his body. Even with his powerful physique, his flesh was torn open. Yet he gritted his teeth and endured, advancing step by step toward the Thunder Core.

At last, he touched the surface of the Thunder Core.

"Devour!"

The Chaos Brick floated above his head. Its devouring power spread out, frantically absorbing the Thunder Origin within the core.

At the same time, Lu Chen activated the Thunder Law Chapter from the Ancestor Dragon Nine Transformations, which he had learned from the Dragon Clan's cultivation technique, using the lightning to temper his body.

The Law of Thunder and the Law of Strength began to merge.

Strength governed destruction, while thunder governed speed and annihilation. Combined, their power increased by far more than merely several times!

"Rumble—"

The Thunder Core shrank at a visible rate while Lu Chen's aura rose steadily.

Peak Late-Stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal... Grand Unity Perfection... Grand Unity Peak!

"Break!"

With a long howl, dazzling lightning erupted around Lu Chen's body. His cultivation officially entered the Grand Unity Golden Immortal Peak!

Moreover, a complete Law of Thunder had appeared within him, complementing the Law of Strength.

At this moment, his combat strength was no weaker than an Early Quasi-Saint! With the Chaos Sky-Opening Brick, he could even contend with a Mid-Stage Quasi-Saint!

"It is time to end my seclusion."

Feeling the surging power within him, Lu Chen gazed into the depths of Chaos.

There were still two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Chaos Worlds marked on the star chart.

But now, he had to return to the Primordial World first—