It was exactly a quarter past noon, not a second off!
At that instant, the light of the Treasure Distribution Cliff's restrictions dimmed to its weakest, like a candle about to go out. It lasted for only three breaths.
Lu Chen and the shadow moved almost simultaneously!
He pushed Brick Escape to its limit, while the Void Shadow-Escaping Robe left not the slightest trace in the Chaos Qi Flow. The shadow opposite him transformed into a wisp of twisting demonic smoke, moving at an eerily swift pace.
The two of them charged from opposite sides toward the weakest node in the restrictions.
BOOM—!!!
Just as they touched the restrictions—
CLANG—!!!
At the Heavenly Court in the Primordial World, Eastern Emperor Taiyi struck the first note of the Chaos Bell!
The bell's toll crossed boundless Chaos and actually resonated with the restrictions on Treasure Distribution Cliff! The restrictions, which should have weakened for three breaths, suddenly trembled violently, and the Saintly might surged!
"Not good! The bell's toll has stirred the restrictions, and they're recovering early!" Lu Chen's expression changed drastically.
He was only three zhang from the restrictions. Now he could neither advance nor retreat—if the recovering restrictions swept him up, anyone below Saint level would die without question!
The shadow opposite him let out an angry, startled shriek, and the demonic smoke rolled back wildly.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Chen gritted his teeth and summoned the Invisible Restriction-Piercing Needle!
Go!
The hair-thin silver needle became a streak of light and pierced the node with pinpoint accuracy. The needle burst apart, transforming into countless silver threads that forced open a gap in the restrictions just as they were closing—but it would last only half a breath!
Now!
Lu Chen unleashed Brick Escape, turning into a streak of black light as he shot through the gap. The shadow opposite him slipped inside as well.
The two of them passed through the outer restrictions of Treasure Distribution Cliff almost one after the other. The gap slammed shut behind them, and the Saintly might swept through, crushing that entire stretch of Chaos to pieces!
"Whew... That was close." Lu Chen landed on a floating gray rock, still shaken.
He looked across at the other side—the shadow had taken human form, clad in hideous demonic armor. Its face was blurred, but Lu Chen would never mistake those blood-red demonic eyes.
"Luohu's clone?" Lu Chen narrowed his eyes.
"Brat, so you knew of the opportunity here as well." The armored figure's voice was hoarse, grating like metal scraping against metal. "This Black Fiend Demon Body of mine was just completed. You'll make a fine test for my blade."
Before the words had even left his mouth, a demonic claw tore through space and grabbed at Lu Chen!
Lu Chen advanced instead of retreating, meeting the attack with the Chaos Sky-Opening Brick.
CLANG!!!
The brick and claw collided. The resulting shock wave shattered the Chaos rocks around the edge of Treasure Distribution Cliff. Lu Chen staggered back three steps, while the armored figure stumbled back five. Fine cracks appeared across its demonic claw.
"Grand Unity Peak, yet you possess Quasi-Saint-level strength?" The armored figure looked startled and uncertain. "That brick of yours... you fused it with fragments of the Sky-Opening Axe?!"
"Good eye," Lu Chen sneered. "You're only an Early Quasi-Saint clone, and you dare fight me?"
Truthfully, he was nervous inside—how could Luohu's clone be compared to an ordinary Quasi-Saint? Lu Chen had used seven-tenths of his strength in that strike, yet his opponent had only been forced back five steps. Its strength was unfathomable.
But even if he lost, he wouldn't lose face. He had to keep up the appearance of confidence.
Sure enough, after a moment of silence, the armored figure suddenly laughed. "Interesting... I've changed my mind. Rather than kill you now, I'll have you scout the way for me. The inner layers of Treasure Distribution Cliff are full of restrictions. A sacrificial pawn is just what I need."
As he spoke, he actually stepped aside, making way for the path to the inner layers.
Lu Chen sneered inwardly. You want me to be your pathfinder? Let's see who tricks whom.
He said nothing more and flew toward the inner layers. The armored figure kept a hundred-zhang distance, following at an unhurried pace.
Treasure Distribution Cliff had three inner layers. Last time, Lu Chen had only reached the third. But according to the information on the coordinate fragment, beneath the third layer was the core area, and beneath the core area was the Chaos Treasure-Nurturing Pool.
He passed through the familiar entrance to the third layer. Most of it had been emptied out, with only some imitations and scraps left behind. It looked utterly desolate.
The armored figure's demonic eyes glinted at the sight. "So you were the one who robbed this place last time... Quite bold."
Lu Chen didn't answer. He went straight to the center of the third layer. This was supposed to be the entrance to the core area, but it was now sealed by a golden barrier.
Three thousand Great Dao runes flowed across the barrier, changing with every passing moment. The pressure it gave off made it hard for Lu Chen to breathe—this was a Saint-level restriction personally laid down by Hongjun!
"I've got two uses of the Invisible Restriction-Piercing Needle left, but they probably won't be enough against a Saint-level restriction." Lu Chen frowned.
The armored figure also stopped, staring at the barrier. It was clearly troubled by it too.
Just then, the coordinate fragment in Lu Chen's arms suddenly grew hot.
His heart stirred, and he took out the fragment. As it drew near the barrier, fine patterns appeared on its surface, resonating with the runes on the barrier!
"So this fragment isn't just a set of coordinates. It's also a pass?" Lu Chen was delighted.
He tried pressing the fragment against the barrier.
Vmmm—
The barrier rippled, opening a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through!
"Go!" Lu Chen darted inside.
The armored figure tried to follow, but the gap quickly closed. It roared and ripped at the barrier with its demonic claw, only to provoke a violent backlash that nearly sent it flying.
"Brat! You're asking to die!" the armored figure roared.
Lu Chen looked back and grinned. "Take your time, senior. I'll be on my way."
With that, he rushed into the core area without looking back.
It was just as empty as the last time he had visited: a bare stone chamber, with the stone platform at its center empty. But Lu Chen knew the secret lay beneath the platform.
He walked up to it and, following the secret method recorded on the coordinate fragment, stepped through the Seven Stars, formed the Zi-Wu hand seal, and struck thirty-six successive seals.
"Open!"
The stone platform slowly sank, revealing a staircase leading down.
An overwhelmingly dense aura of Chaos surged toward him, mixed with the distinctive Dao rhythm of an Innate Spiritual Treasure!
"The Chaos Treasure-Nurturing Pool... It really is down there!"
Suppressing his excitement, Lu Chen carefully descended the stairs.
The staircase wound downward. The farther he went, the denser the aura of Chaos became. After walking for about a thousand zhang, the view suddenly opened up—
It was a naturally formed Chaos cavern, with a three-zhang-wide pool at its center. The water was Chaos-colored, churning without pause. At the bottom, a mass of light shaped like an embryo was faintly visible, slowly taking form.
It was the Treasure-Nurturing Pool! And that mass of light was an embryo of an Innate Spiritual Treasure being nurtured!
But Lu Chen's gaze was drawn to something else by the pool's edge.
A skeleton sat cross-legged beside the pool.
Its bones were as translucent as jade, still posed in meditation. No one could say how many tens of thousands of years it had been dead. Most astonishingly, a purple jade slip floated in front of its chest, with two Great Dao characters carved into its surface:
[Strength: Extreme]
"The ultimate inheritance of the Law of Strength?!" Lu Chen's heart pounded like a drum.
He stepped forward and respectfully bowed to the skeleton. "Senior, I am Lu Chen. Fate has brought me here. If I receive your inheritance, I swear I will not betray the Great Dao of Strength."
The skeleton gave no response.
Lu Chen reached out and carefully touched the jade slip.
The instant his fingertip touched it—
BOOM!!!
The entire Chaos cavern shook violently! Two golden flames suddenly lit up where the skeleton's eyes should have been, and an ancient, vast voice exploded in Lu Chen's mind:
"Descendant... I am Giant Strength, Strength Demon God and close friend of Pangu... I fell here... I left my inheritance for one destined to find it..."
"To obtain my inheritance, you must accept my karma... Slay... the demon..."
The voice was broken and intermittent, but the message was clear: this was Giant Strength, a Chaos Demon God and friend of Pangu. After falling, he had left his inheritance here. To receive it, one had to accept his karma—slay the demon!
Lu Chen agreed without hesitation. "I am willing to accept the karma!"
"Good..."
The jade slip turned into violet light and shot into Lu Chen's brow.
An ocean of information poured in: the complete insights into the Law of Strength, nine divine arts of strength, the cultivation methods of the Chaos Demon Gods...
More importantly, the jade slip also recorded a shocking secret:
[Each time the Chaos Treasure-Nurturing Pool nurtures a spiritual treasure, it consumes one strand of Chaos Origin. The pool's origin is nearly exhausted. After this treasure is nurtured, the pool will collapse completely. Deep beneath the pool are three drops of Chaos Source Liquid, remnants from before the creation of the world. They can reshape one's foundation and complete one's laws...]
Lu Chen's gaze snapped toward the Treasure-Nurturing Pool.
The embryonic mass of light was nearly complete, and its shape faintly resembled a small bell—another bell-shaped spiritual treasure?
But what mattered more to him were the three drops of Chaos Source Liquid at the bottom of the pool!
"I have to get them!"
Just as he was about to act, a rumble suddenly came from overhead.
The armored figure had actually forced its way in!
"Brat! Hand over the inheritance!" Luohu's clone stared at Lu Chen with blood-red eyes. It had clearly sensed the aura of the Strength Demon God's inheritance.
Lu Chen sneered. "Come take it if you can."
As he spoke, he quietly used up his last chance with the Invisible Restriction-Piercing Needle—not against the armored figure, but against the protective restriction around the Treasure-Nurturing Pool!
"Break!"
The silver needle sank into the ground beside the pool.
"Crack... crack..."
Cracks appeared in the Chaos restrictions around the Treasure-Nurturing Pool.
Seeing this, the armored figure roared and pounced. "You're asking to die!"
But Lu Chen refused to fight it head-on. With a flash of Brick Escape, he plunged straight into the Treasure-Nurturing Pool!
The pool water of Chaos ate away at him furiously, but protected by the Chaos Brick, he endured the assault and sank toward the bottom.
Three breaths later, he indeed found three fist-sized drops of Chaos-colored liquid floating at the bottom. Their aura made Lu Chen's soul tremble—they were an origin substance more ancient than Primordial Violet Qi!
"Collect!"
The Qiankun Diagram unfurled, collecting the three drops of Chaos Source Liquid.
The instant he got them—
RUMBLE!!!
At the center of the Treasure-Nurturing Pool, the small bell embryo fully took shape, erupting with boundless radiance! At the same time, the entire pool began to collapse!
The armored figure was about to rush down and seize the treasure, but the collapsing Chaos Qi Flow swept it up.
Lu Chen took the opportunity to surge upward with Brick Escape and grab the newly born small bell. It was cool to the touch, its body Chaos-colored, with a blurred Sky-Opening Imprint on its surface.
There was no time to examine it. He turned and fled.
Behind him, the armored figure's roar mingled with the rumbling collapse of the Treasure-Nurturing Pool.
"Brat! I'll kill you for this—!!!"
Lu Chen raced back the way he had come without looking back.
He now had three supreme treasures: the Chaos Source Liquid, the Strength Demon God Inheritance, and the newly born Chaos Bell. He had made an absolute killing!
But just as he burst out of the core area, he collided head-on with a figure—
It wasn't the armored figure.
It was an old Daoist dressed in white, with white hair and a horsetail whisk in hand.
A wisp of Dao Ancestor Hongjun's incarnation stood quietly at the entrance to the third layer, watching him with a faint smile.
"Little fellow, you've made quite a haul."
Lu Chen's scalp prickled. He forced a laugh. "Dao Ancestor, I was only... helping you organize your inventory."
Hongjun's incarnation smiled. "That newly born small bell is the companion spiritual treasure of the Chaos Bell, the Morning Bell. It shares a karmic connection with Taiyi's Chaos Bell. Since you've taken it, the Demon Clan will never rest until you're dead."
"As for the Chaos Source Liquid... it was formed from the three drops of Pangu's heart's blood left behind when he created the world. It should have returned to the Heavenly Dao when Treasure Distribution Cliff collapsed."
"You took it ahead of time, disrupting the Heavenly Ordainment."
The Dao Ancestor lightly swept his horsetail whisk. "Tell me, how should I punish you?"
Before you continue