Kirin Treasury, One Brick Knocks Down a Great Luo

In the west of the Primordial World, within the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range.

Blood clouds blotted out the sun, and murderous aura surged into the heavens.

Lu Chen lay prone atop a mountain peak a hundred li away, watching the battlefield below with a twitching eye.

"The Dragon-Phoenix Calamity... this is way too brutal."

On the plains, tens of thousands of Kirin fought tens of thousands of Dragon Clan warriors in a desperate melee. The Kirin rode auspicious clouds and spewed divine fire; the dragons soared through the clouds and mist, their claws tearing through the void. Corpses fell every moment, while blood rained down in torrents, staining the earth a dark red.

At the very center, two colossal figures, each ten thousand zhang tall, were locked in a deathmatch.

One was a Five-Colored Kirin, with a Kirin Seal above his head. Every step he took stirred the earth veins, causing mountains to collapse and the ground to split.

The other was a Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon, his Dragon Pearl suspended overhead, his roar shattering clouds for thousands of li.

"At least a Late Grand Unity Golden Immortal..." Lu Chen judged.

If he went anywhere near a battle at that level, the aftershocks alone would reduce him to mush.

"No, I need a different approach."

He took out the jade map Hongjun had "given" him and sank his Divine Sense into it.

[Myriad Beasts Mountain Range · Kirin Clan Vanguard Outpost]

[Treasury location: three thousand zhang underground, protected by an Innate Wutu Restriction]

[Guards: one Grand Unity Golden Immortal (permanent), six Taiyi Golden Immortals (rotating)]

Lu Chen frowned.

A Grand Unity Golden Immortal guarding the entrance? How the hell was he supposed to steal anything?

But beneath the map was another line of small-print commentary:

[Note: During the calamity, the Great Luo guard may leave his post to join the battle. This is the best opportunity.]

He abruptly raised his head and looked toward the distant Five-Colored Kirin—wasn't that the Great Luo guard? He was currently locked in a deadly fight with the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon. How could he possibly care about the treasury?

"A heaven-sent opportunity!"

Lu Chen's heart pounded wildly. But he did not act immediately, instead carefully observing how the battle developed.

Half an hour later, the golden dragon tore open the kirin's abdomen with a claw. The kirin howled miserably as blood splashed across the sky. The Five-Colored Kirin flew into a rage, burning his essence blood as the Kirin Seal crashed down. He exchanged injuries with the golden dragon.

Both sides were badly wounded!

The opportunity had come!

Lu Chen took a deep breath and activated the stealth divine ability he had just comprehended—this was the Breath Concealment Technique he had gained from the axe-handle fragment. It could perfectly conceal his aura, and paired with the concealment effect of his black robe, it was difficult for anyone below the Golden Immortal realm to detect him.

He transformed into a black shadow and slipped along the ground, infiltrating the edge of the battlefield like a ghost.

Corpses covered the ground.

Dragon corpses and Kirin corpses were piled up like mountains. Many still emanated powerful auras, clearly having been at least True Immortals in life. Broken magical treasures, scales, and horns were scattered everywhere.

Lu Chen's eyes turned green.

"It's all money!"

But he suppressed the urge to pick up scraps. The scattered items were of limited value; the real haul was in the treasury.

After circling around several groups still engaged in combat, Lu Chen arrived before an inconspicuous stone mountain.

The map showed that the treasury entrance was here.

Following the map's instructions, he found a blue stone at the foot of the mountain engraved with a kirin pattern and channeled his magic power into specific lines.

"Buzz—"

The blue stone lit up, and the ground split apart, revealing stairs that extended downward.

Lu Chen flashed inside, and the crack immediately closed behind him.

The passageway was deep and dim, with glowing crystals embedded in its walls. Every hundred zhang, there was another restriction, but the map marked methods to break them all—Hongjun's gift was far too generous!

He encountered no obstacles all the way down to a depth of three thousand zhang.

The space before him suddenly opened up.

It was a massive underground cavern, a hundred zhang high and a thousand zhang across. The cavern was piled full of treasures.

To the left was the spiritual material section, where Xiantian Geng Metal, Yimu Essence, and scraps of Nine Heavens Breathing Soil were piled into mountains. To the right was the magical treasure section, with sabers, spears, swords, and halberds displayed in dazzling abundance, all at least Houtian Spiritual Treasures. At the center stood three raised platforms, each supporting a treasure that radiated powerful fluctuations.

"The Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner!" Lu Chen recognized the first item at once.

It was a small yellow banner embroidered with an image of a kirin treading clouds. It exuded a heavy Wutu aura—one of the Five Innate Banners, a supreme defensive treasure!

The second item was an earthy yellow pearl, the Earth Spirit Pearl. It could mobilize the power of earth veins and was a supreme treasure for cultivating earth-element techniques.

The third was a Jade Slip labeled [Kirin Ancestral Land Secret Map].

"I'm rich..."

Lu Chen swallowed hard and forced himself to calm down.

Take the most important things first!

He rushed toward the central platform and reached for the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner. But the moment his hand drew close, an earthy yellow barrier emerged around the platform and knocked him back.

"There's another restriction?"

The map had not mentioned it. It seemed the Kirin Clan was not foolish enough to leave their most important treasures without additional protection.

Lu Chen frowned and tried to use the Golden Light of Merit from the axe-handle fragment to seep through it—it worked, but it was too slow! At this rate, breaking the restriction would take at least an hour.

The battle was still raging outside. What if that Great Luo Kirin suddenly returned...

Just as he was growing anxious, footsteps suddenly came from the passageway behind him!

"Who dares trespass into the treasury?!"

A furious shout shook the entire cavern.

Lu Chen's scalp went numb as he turned around.

A burly middle-aged man standing twelve chi tall strode toward him, clad in kirin armor. His aura was unmistakably that of an Early Grand Unity Golden Immortal! Though his armor was damaged and he was covered in blood, clearly having just endured a fierce battle, a Great Luo was still a Great Luo. Killing Lu Chen would be as easy as killing a chicken!

"Damn it, why is there another guard?!"

Lu Chen's thoughts raced, but he piled a smile onto his face and cupped his hands in salute. "Please calm your anger, Senior. This junior is a Kirin Clan Outer Relative, ordered to retrieve treasures to aid the battle..."

"Bullshit!" The burly man's eyes widened in rage. "How could an outer relative break through the outer restrictions? You're a spy!"

Before he finished speaking, he struck out with his palm.

A casual palm strike from a Grand Unity Golden Immortal caused the void to collapse. Boundless magic power transformed into an enormous earthy yellow hand that sought to crush Lu Chen into pulp.

He could not dodge!

Gritting his teeth, Lu Chen advanced rather than retreating, charging straight at the burly man. At the same time, he secretly summoned his bonded Black Brick and hid it in his sleeve.

"Courting death!" The burly man sneered, increasing the force behind his palm.

Just as the giant hand was about to strike him, Lu Chen suddenly shouted:

"Wait, Senior! I have urgent military intelligence to report!"

The burly man's movements paused. "Speak!"

"The Dragon Clan has sent elite forces to raid the ancestral land. This junior was ordered to retrieve the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner to guard it!" Lu Chen spoke rapidly, his expression anxious and sincere.

The burly man's expression changed—the ancestral land was the foundation of the Kirin Clan. If it had truly been attacked, the consequences would be unthinkable.

In that instant of distraction.

Lu Chen moved.

The Black Brick silently slid from his sleeve. Empowered by the Golden Light of Merit, it became a streak of black light and shot directly toward the burly man's face.

Too fast!

The burly man had never expected a True Immortal ant to dare attack a Great Luo, much less that this Black Brick would be absurdly fast.

"You—"

He only had time to utter one word before the Black Brick reached him.

Bang!

It struck him squarely on the forehead.

The Golden Light of Merit erupted, and the fragment of the Law of Strength trembled. The burly man felt his Primordial Spirit violently shake, his vision go dark, and he was forcibly knocked unconscious!

Though he was only unconscious for three breaths.

It was enough!

Lu Chen grabbed the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner—the restriction automatically lifted when the guard fell unconscious—then turned and ran. As he passed the spiritual material and magical treasure sections, he casually swept up around thirty percent of the most valuable items with the Universe in a Sleeve technique he had just comprehended.

He did not dare take more, afraid of triggering an alarm.

He rushed out of the passageway and returned to the surface. Behind him came the burly man's furious roar:

"Little thief!! I will kill you—"

Without looking back, Lu Chen plunged into the dense forest in the direction of Buzhou Mountain.

With the Black Brick in hand, he pushed his escape speed to the limit.

As he fled, he checked his gains.

The Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner had been initially refined and transformed into a palm-sized banner floating in his dantian. He had also obtained the Earth Spirit Pearl and the secret map Jade Slip. The spiritual materials and magical treasures were piled into a small mountain.

"What a haul..." Lu Chen grinned.

But as he laughed, his expression changed.

A towering peak supporting the heavens rose a thousand li ahead—Buzhou Mountain!

Yet at the foot of the mountain stood densely packed Kirin Clan reinforcements! The leading kirin possessed an aura even more terrifying than that burly man from before!

"Blocked ahead, pursuers behind..."

Lu Chen looked back. The Great Luo burly man had already chased out of the treasury, his murderous intent firmly locked onto Lu Chen.

A desperate situation!

His gaze swept around, and he suddenly noticed a thin crack at the foot of Buzhou Mountain—it was a natural fissure in Buzhou Mountain, formed from Pangu's Spine, and its depths were impossible to see.

The map marked it:

[Buzhou Mountain Fissure · leads to an unknown area, suspected entrance to a cave mansion left behind by Ancestor Qiankun]

Ancestor Qiankun? That Primordial World great power who had fallen in the Dao-Demon War and left behind the Qiankun Diagram?

Lu Chen's eyes lit up.

"Let's gamble!"

He changed direction and charged toward the fissure at full speed.

Behind him, the Great Luo burly man roared, "Thief, don't run!"

He struck out with his palm from afar, shattering the void inch by inch.

Lu Chen gritted his teeth and summoned the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner he had just refined.

"Buzz—"

A yellow barrier spread out and protected his entire body.

Boom!

The Great Luo's palm strike landed on the barrier. The barrier shook violently and cracks appeared, but it held!

The defensive power of one of the Five Innate Banners truly lived up to its reputation!

Borrowing the recoil, Lu Chen shot into the fissure like a cannonball.

Darkness swallowed him.

He fell, and kept falling.

After an unknown amount of time, he landed in a pool with a splash.

The pool emitted Three-Colored Divine Light, illuminating the underground karst cave. At the center of the cave stood an ancient stone gate. Two Primordial World Dao characters were carved upon it—

[Qiankun]

Lu Chen had barely climbed out of the pool when he heard the Great Luo burly man's roar coming from the fissure behind him. He had clearly chased down after him!

Yet the stone gate of the Qiankun Cave Mansion required a special method to open. Worse still, the barrier of the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner was already covered in cracks. One more strike would shatter it!

In the midst of his desperate predicament, Lu Chen looked toward the stone tablet beside the gate. A line of small words was carved upon it: "To enter my cave mansion, answer three questions..."