The Treasure Distribution Cliff is empty? All Saints are shocked and angry.

Deep within the Demon Abyss, the Myriad Demon Devouring Heaven Great Formation operated at its peak.

Billions of demonic creatures formed black chains, coiling layer upon layer to trap Lu Chen in the center.

Demonic energy surged like a tide, corroding everything. Even the surface of the Chaos Brick emitted a "sizzling" burning sound.

Luohu's remnant soul stood before the Myriad Demon Banner, his scarlet demonic eyes filled with mockery. "Junior, did you think I would be unprepared? This Myriad Demon Devouring Heaven Great Formation took me a thousand years of effort. Even a Saint would be stripped bare entering it!"

Lu Chen surveyed his surroundings, truly perilous. Yet, a strange smile appeared on his face. "Luohu, have you forgotten... I had the Dao Ancestor's tacit permission the last time I came to the Demon Abyss."

As his voice fell, he raised his hand and slammed a purple talisman onto the ground.

It was the Demon Breaking Divine Talisman bestowed by Dao Ancestor Hongjun, specifically designed to counter demonic formations!

"Boom--!!!"

The talisman exploded, transforming into billions of Purple Heaven Divine Thunder, cascading down like a waterfall!

The demonic chains shattered upon contact, the demonic creatures annihilated instantly. The entire Myriad Demon Devouring Heaven Great Formation collapsed in three breaths!

Luohu's remnant soul's expression changed drastically. "That old man Hongjun actually gave you the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Talisman?!"

"Surprised?" Lu Chen grinned, activating Brick Escape. He was already before the Myriad Demon Banner, the God-Slaying Spear aimed directly at the banner pole!

The spear strike was as fast as lightning, its malevolent aura locking onto the core of the Myriad Demon Banner. Before the tip even arrived, the banner body trembled violently, countless demonic thoughts wailing and fleeing.

"You wish!" Luohu's remnant soul burned his origin, striking at Lu Chen's back with a palm.

This palm contained all his recovered demonic cultivation from a thousand years, enough to shatter stars!

But Lu Chen did not dodge. The Chaos Brick behind him automatically protected its master. The brick's surface materialized the phantom image of Pangu's Sky-Opening, taking the full force of the blow!

"Clang--!!!"

Palm met brick, demonic energy clashed with the world-opening might. The entire Demon Abyss shook!

Seizing this moment, the God-Slaying Spear pierced the Myriad Demon Banner's pole!

"Crack!"

A crisp cracking sound echoed as the spear pierced through the banner pole! Billions of demonic thoughts surged out like a breached dam, backlashing against Luohu's remnant soul!

"No--!!!" Luohu screamed. His remnant soul was torn apart by the demonic thoughts, his aura rapidly weakening.

Lu Chen swept his spear, completely severing the Myriad Demon Banner! The banner dissolved into black smoke, its sealed demonic origin being ravenously devoured by the God-Slaying Spear.

The God-Slaying Spear's body glowed with dark light, its ferocity increasing by another thirty percent!

"Luohu, it's time for you to go!" Lu Chen thrust his spear towards Luohu's brow.

"You want to kill me? You're not worthy!" Luohu's remnant soul cackled maniacally. His body suddenly exploded, transforming into nine black lights that shot towards nine different directions of the Demon Abyss—he was escaping!

"Think you can escape?" Lu Chen was prepared. He summoned the Morning Bell.

"Clang--!"

The bell's chime reverberated, freezing time and space. The speed of the nine black lights drastically reduced. Lu Chen flickered with Brick Escape, striking one with his spear, eliminating eight!

The last black light had reached the exit of the Demon Abyss, on the verge of escaping into Chaos—

"Please, turn, treasure."

Lu Chen whispered softly. The Immortal Slaying Flying Dagger Gourd at his waist (obtained from Treasure Distribution Cliff) spat out a white light, circling the black light's neck once.

"Pfft!"

The black light dispersed, and Luohu's remnant soul was utterly annihilated.

However, Lu Chen frowned—the sensation felt wrong. Could an ancient demon like Luohu really die so easily?

As expected, a venomous roar echoed from the depths of the Demon Abyss: "Lu Chen... I remember you! When my true body returns, I will make you taste every torture of the demonic path, with no chance of rebirth for eternity!"

The voice gradually faded until it disappeared completely.

"He did leave a contingency... " Lu Chen shook his head, unconcerned. Destroying the Myriad Demon Banner and severely wounding Luohu's remnant soul was already a great victory.

He looked towards the depths of the Demon Abyss, where Luohu had left behind a treasure vault.

"Since I'm already here, I can't leave empty-handed."

Half an hour later, Lu Chen emerged from the Demon Abyss carrying three large sacks (storage bags condensed from Chaos energy), a wide smile on his face.

Luohu, as the Demon Ancestor, was indeed terrifyingly wealthy: three thousand catties of Chaos Demon Iron, eight hundred pieces of Nine Nether Cold Jade, five hundred bottles of Heavenly Demon Pills, and various demonic cultivation techniques and forbidden art Jade Slips...

The most precious item was a Chaos Demon God Essence Blood Crystal, said to be the residual essence of the Three Thousand Demon Gods after their demise, possessing miraculous effects for cultivating the Law of Strength.

"This trip was worth it." Lu Chen nodded with satisfaction and used Brick Escape to return to the Primordial Era.

As soon as he passed through the Primordial Era's barrier, he heard explosive news—

Treasure Distribution Cliff had been emptied!

"What's going on?" Lu Chen grabbed a hastily flying cultivator to inquire.

The cultivator's face was filled with terror. "You don't know yet, fellow Daoist? Just now, all the restrictions on Treasure Distribution Cliff suddenly lifted. The Three Thousand Red Dust Guests swarmed in, only to discover... above the third level, all treasures were gone! Not even a single hair was left!"

"It's said that the Three Pure Ones Saints are furious. Saint Lao Tzu's Taiji Diagram (replica), Saint Yuanshi's Pangu Banner (replica), and Saint Tongtian's Immortal Slaying Sword Formation diagram (replica) are all gone!"

"Saint Nuwa's Mountain and River Diagram (replica), and the Red Embroidered Ball (replica) are also gone!"

"Saint Jieyin and Zhunti's Twelve-Grade Golden Lotus of Merit (replica), and the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree (replica) are also lost!"

"Even more terrifying is that even the Dao Ancestor's private stash in the core area has been visited. It's said that the Chaos Source Liquid and the Strength Demon God Inheritance were stolen..."

The cultivator became more agitated as he spoke, "All the Saints are currently meeting in the Purple Heaven Palace to thoroughly investigate this matter! All cultivators who have recently been to Chaos will be questioned!"

Lu Chen's eyelids twitched upon hearing this.

Although he had indeed taken quite a bit, he definitely hadn't cleared it out!

At least forty percent of the treasures remained on the third level, and he had only taken three items from the core area.

Could it be... someone took the opportunity to pin all the blame on him?!

"Fellow Daoist, do you know who did it?" Lu Chen asked tentatively.

"Who else could it be?" the cultivator lowered his voice, "Everyone is spreading rumors that it was the 'Black Brick Bandit' Lu Chen! That guy stole from the Treasure Distribution Cliff a few years ago. This time, he must have taken advantage of the Witch-Demon War when all the Saints were too preoccupied to notice and ransacked it again!"

Lu Chen: "..."

This blame was huge and round.

"Thank you, fellow Daoist." He cupped his hands and turned to leave.

He had to escape quickly! The Saints were furious, and being caught would be the end of him.

But just as he flew out for ten thousand miles, the space in front of him suddenly solidified, and four Saintly figures manifested, surrounding him!

Lao Tzu, Yuanshi, Tongtian, and Nuwa!

The four Saints' gazes were sharp, locking onto Lu Chen.

"Young friend Lu Chen," Lao Tzu said expressionlessly, "The Treasure Distribution Cliff was stolen from. Do you know anything about it?"

Lu Chen's scalp went numb, and he forced a smile, "This junior just returned from the Demon Abyss and is unaware of this matter."

"Is that so?" Yuanshi snorted coldly, "We have already deduced the secrets of heaven and found traces of your Chaos Brick imprint in the residual aura of the Treasure Distribution Cliff, as well as... the malevolent energy of the God-Slaying Spear!"

Tongtian was more direct, the phantom images of the Four Swords of Zhu Xian appearing, "Hand over the stolen treasures, and we can spare your life."

Although Nuwa did not speak, the Saintly pressure made it difficult for Lu Chen to breathe.

It's over, caught red-handed... No, it's a frame-up!

Lu Chen's mind raced, and a flash of inspiration struck him. He shouted loudly, "Esteemed Saints, please discern the truth! This junior did indeed go to the Treasure Distribution Cliff, but that was three years ago! At that time, this junior only took some practical items and never cleared it out!"

"As for today's theft... this junior suspects someone is framing me! Have the Saints considered who could have simultaneously bypassed the perception of all Saints and cleared out the Treasure Distribution Cliff in such a short time? Unless..."

He paused deliberately.

"Unless what?" Lao Tzu narrowed his eyes.

"Unless it was an inside job by someone guarding it!" Lu Chen said word by word, "The Treasure Distribution Cliff was set up by the Dao Ancestor with numerous restrictions. It's impossible for an outsider to clear it out silently! But what if... it was the 'Dao Child' responsible for guarding the Treasure Distribution Cliff?"

These words struck like thunder!

The expressions of the four Saints changed simultaneously.

The Treasure Distribution Cliff did indeed have Dao Children guarding it. They were Chaos beings enlightened by Hongjun, responsible for maintaining the restrictions and recording treasures. If the Dao Children had colluded with outsiders...

"What evidence do you have?" Nuwa asked sternly.

"I have no evidence, but this junior can take the Saints to a place," Lu Chen gritted his teeth, "When I was in the Demon Abyss, I overheard a transmission between Luohu's remnant soul and a certain 'Dao Child.' They agreed to hand over the stolen goods at a certain location in Chaos. Judging by the time, it should be now!"

Half true, half false.

Luohu did have contact with an insider, but Lu Chen didn't know who it was, nor the handover location.

However... he could make something up!

He was betting that the Saints would rather kill the wrong person than let the guilty one go!

As expected, Lao Tzu and Yuanshi exchanged glances and nodded, "Lead the way."

Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief, outwardly showing respect, "Please follow this junior."

He randomly chose a direction deep within Chaos and flew off, frantically calculating how to shift the blame.

After flying for about half an hour, a chaotic ruin suddenly appeared ahead.

In the center of the ruins, there were indeed two figures exchanging treasures!

One was wearing Dao Child attire, and the other... was Kunpeng!

The Dao Child was holding the Taiji Diagram (replica), Pangu Banner (replica), and other treasures, about to hand them over to Kunpeng!

Lu Chen was stunned: I just made it up randomly, and it actually worked?!

The four Saints were even more enraged!

"Kunpeng! How dare you--!!!"

In the chaotic ruins, Kunpeng and the Dao Child were terrified.

They had intended to secretly sell the stolen goods while the Saints were investigating Lu Chen, never expecting to be caught red-handed!

"A misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!" Kunpeng shrieked. "Lu Chen framed me! He forced me..."

"Silence!" Yuanshi roared, the Pangu Banner (genuine article) already unleashed. "To steal the Dao Ancestor's treasure, you deserve death!"

Lu Chen retreated amidst the chaos, laughing wildly in his heart: Kunpeng, Kunpeng, you're finished this time!

But his laughter didn't last long. He noticed the young attendant suddenly crush a black jade talisman, a sinister grin spreading across his face as he looked at him:

"Lu Chen, you thought you'd won? The Demon Ancestor foresaw this step long ago... You're taking the blame for this, no matter what!"

The jade talisman exploded, turning into a sky full of black light. Within the black light, a fabricated recording of Lu Chen "looting the Treasure Distribution Cliff" appeared, lifelike!

The four Saints' gazes locked onto Lu Chen once more—

"Do you have anything else to say?"