That faint ripple, though barely noticeable, rang through Lu Chen's heart like a clap of thunder.
He had bet right!
This barrier wasn't lifeless. It was like a gatekeeper with a very particular appetite. Feed it enough "food"—Profound Nether Cold Qi—and it would open the gates.
And these Flying Horse Merchant Association guards who'd delivered themselves right to his doorstep were the perfect "feeding tools"!
A cold curve tugged at Lu Chen's lips.
Since you want to kill me, don't blame me for using you as stepping-stones.
"What is he doing?"
Qian Tong had kept his eyes on the battle. When he saw the barrier ripple, a sudden, ominous foreboding welled up inside him.
But before he could think it through, Lu Chen's assault suddenly changed.
Lu Chen, who had been steadily holding his ground and countering every move, suddenly went berserk.
He stopped worrying about defense, even deliberately leaving openings to lure the guards into attacking.
"Here's our chance! He's lost it!"
One guard was overjoyed. Seeing Lu Chen leave himself wide open, he immediately swung his blade at Lu Chen's back.
The blow landed solidly.
"Clang!"
A sharp ring sounded, and sparks flew everywhere.
The clothes on Lu Chen's back were slashed open, revealing dark iron-colored skin beneath.
His Iron Cloth Shirt, perfected to great mastery, had taken the blow head-on, leaving behind only a white mark.
Using the force of the blow to propel himself, Lu Chen surged forward. Like a Wild Bull, he crashed into the arms of the two guards standing in front of the secret chamber's entrance.
"Profound Nether Hand—Twin Dragons Emerging from the Sea!"
Lu Chen struck out with both palms. His pitch-black hands carried bone-piercing cold as they slammed into the two men's chests.
"Pfft!"
Blood sprayed from both men as their chests caved in. Even the blood they spat out froze into ice shards.
But that wasn't the end.
Lu Chen didn't ease up. Instead, he shoved the guards—already dead or gravely wounded—like a bulldozer, ramming them into the barrier behind them.
"Open!"
With a roar, Lu Chen unleashed every last bit of Profound Nether Cold Qi inside him.
Using the two "human shields" as conduits, the violent cold qi surged like a black dragon, slamming straight into the light curtain.
"Boom—!"
This time, the light curtain's reaction was ten times stronger than before!
The entire secret chamber entrance trembled. Blue light flashed wildly as the barrier let out an overloaded "zzzz" sound.
A massive influx of Profound Nether Cold Qi overloaded the previously stable formation in an instant.
The light curtain rapidly darkened, changing from blue to deep blue, then finally to pitch black.
It was like cloth soaked through with ink, no longer able to stop anything.
"Not good! He's breaking the formation!"
The black-clad leader finally realized what was happening, his face changing drastically. "Stop him!"
Heedless of anything else, he turned the dagger in his hand into a streak of cold light and thrust it at Lu Chen's back.
Qian Tong panicked too. Though wounded, he couldn't afford to care about that now. He pulled a handful of poisoned Bone-Piercing Nails from his robes and hurled them all at Lu Chen.
"Too late!"
Lu Chen sensed the killing intent behind him, but he didn't turn around.
He was betting everything.
Just as the black-clad leader's dagger was about to pierce his back—
"Crack!"
A crisp shattering sound rang out.
The barrier that had held everyone back for so long finally succumbed to the excessive cold qi and shattered with a crash!
Countless points of light scattered like fireflies.
The secret chamber was open!
"Hahahaha!"
Lu Chen let out a wild laugh and pushed off with his foot. Like a loach, he rode the gust of air from the shattering barrier and slipped into the secret chamber in an instant.
"Ding, ding, ding!"
Qian Tong's Bone-Piercing Nails struck empty air and embedded themselves in the chamber's stone wall, scattering a string of sparks.
The black-clad leader's dagger also missed, and he nearly lost control of his momentum and crashed into the stone platform.
"No—!"
Qian Tong let out a heart-wrenching scream.
He watched helplessly as Lu Chen rushed into the secret chamber and reached the stone platform.
Lu Chen didn't hesitate for a moment.
He swept out with one hand, grabbing the Ice Soul Art floating above the stone platform and the bottle of Marrow Cleansing Pills, then quickly tucked them into his robes—right against his body, in truth.
Only after finishing all that did he turn around and look at Qian Tong and the others standing at the entrance to the secret chamber, their faces blank with despair.
Lu Chen's clothes were in tatters, and his back was wounded, but his eyes shone with a startling brightness.
They were the eyes of a victor.
"Thanks for showing me the way, Manager Qian."
Lu Chen patted his bulging chest and smiled brightly. "I'll gladly accept this generous gift."
"Pfft!"
Qian Tong spat out a mouthful of blood in sheer rage.
He had exhausted every scheme, spent countless silver coins, and even called in favors from his Lineage just to find this place.
And what did he get?
Not only had he lost men, he'd ended up making someone else's wedding clothes!
He hadn't obtained the legacy, and hadn't even gotten so much as a taste of the soup!
The crushing disappointment nearly drove him mad on the spot.
"Kill him! Kill him for me!"
Qian Tong's eyes were bloodshot as he pointed at Lu Chen and shrieked hysterically. "Whoever kills him gets ten thousand taels! No! Twenty thousand!"
The black-clad leader and the two remaining guards were also murderous as they blocked the entrance to the secret chamber.
Now Lu Chen was trapped inside, like a turtle in a jar.
As long as they blocked the entrance, he wouldn't be able to fly away even if he had wings!
"Lu Chen, hand over the items, and I'll leave you with your whole corpse."
The black-clad leader spoke coldly. "There's only one exit from this secret chamber. You can't escape."
Lu Chen leaned against the stone platform, panting lightly as he recovered his strength.
Indeed, the situation was still dangerous.
Although he had the items, getting them out was another problem.
The secret chamber was a dead end, and the experts outside had blocked the entrance. If he forced his way through, even if he made it out, he'd pay a heavy price.
But...
Lu Chen's gaze swept over the stone platform, and he suddenly noticed an inconspicuous groove at its base.
Its shape was exactly the same as the Netherworld Stone in his robes.
Was it a teleportation array? Or the switch for some kind of mechanism?
Whatever it was, it was better than waiting here to die.
Without changing his expression, Lu Chen slipped a hand into his robes and took out a Netherworld Stone.
Outside the entrance, Qian Tong saw Lu Chen's "dead pigs aren't afraid of boiling water" attitude, and the last thread of his reason snapped.
If he couldn't have it, then he'd destroy it!
Since this brat refused the toast only to drink the forfeit, he'd bring in the experts of the entire Flying Horse Merchant Association to deal with him!
"Good! Good! Good!"
Qian Tong said "good" three times, his expression turning utterly vicious.
"Little Brother Lu, it seems you really won't shed a tear until you see your coffin."
"Did you think I only brought these few people?"
Seeing the legacy snatched away, the merchant association's manager flew into a rage. With a furious roar, he pulled a black Signal Flare from his robes and crushed it underwater.
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