The True Treasure Within the Dragon Ruins Forbidden Palace

"No! This... is impossible..."

The outer shell exploded with a roar, revealing the tattered body inside, which had not yet fully transformed.

The Golden Cicada vanished amidst an unbelievable, piercing scream.

"Standing there and letting others chop you down, I've never seen anyone so foolish." Qin Wangchuan sheathed his sword, his tone calm. "Besides, no matter what realm you once reached, no matter how hard your shell was, now... you're just an Eleventh Realm Demon Cultivator."

As he spoke, he walked over and grabbed it.

The shattered Demon Core landed in his hand, which he casually tossed into the Little Golden Crow's mouth.

The little guy then happily flapped its wings and chirped a clear, melodious "Jiujiu cheep".

It held the Demon Core with its tiny paws, as if it had obtained some rare treasure. It first carefully pecked at it twice, and after confirming that there was no problem, it suddenly swallowed it whole with a gulp.

She let out a comfortable burp, releasing a small ball of sparkling starlight, then, dizzy and drowsy, nestled into Qin Wangchuan's hair, curling up into a fluffy golden ball and falling asleep.

The world was utterly Deathly Stillness.

Everyone was stunned.

Although it is only at the Eleventh Realm of cultivation at present, as a transformed great demon that was once comparable to the Thirteenth Realm Supreme Being, its strength should not be underestimated.

Just like that... he was killed with a single sword strike?

"Pulse."

Someone swallowed, the sound unusually clear in the silence.

"He started with Supreme Lore, just like his Eldest Brother..." Chu Wujiu clicked his tongue twice, but then he noticed that Li Xuan beside him was acting strangely.

Why are you covering your head?

Li Xuan shook his head with a complicated expression. He looked at the corpse of the Golden Cicada, as if he saw his past self in it.

In an instant, a complex resonance welled up in my heart.

'If you dare stand there and let him chop you up, you deserve to die.'

Li Qingluan's grip on the sword tightened slightly, a complex emotion flashing in her beautiful eyes.

Qin Zhaoer blinked at the surprised expressions of those around her, and quietly let the Nine-Tailed Fox beneath her approach Qin Wangchuan.

The Nine-Tailed Fox's pupils contracted sharply, a storm raging in her heart. "I... I've somehow managed to latch onto a powerful figure?"

It silently lowered its head, its previous dissatisfaction long gone, replaced by a feeling of relief.

As for Lu Chen and the others, they had already silently crossed the Dragon Language Stele Forest and headed towards the Dragon Ruins Forbidden Palace.

However, his actions did not escape the notice of Qin Wangchuan, who had been watching the situation closely.

Before the main gate of the Dragon Ruins Forbidden Palace, the mottled bronze patterns gleamed faintly in the dim light.

Lu Chen slowly removed the hood of his Stealth Cloak, his fingertips tracing the ancient Dragon Form relief High Antiquity the door, a hint of disorientation flashing in his eyes.

"I recognize this place..." he murmured softly, as if in a dream.

Gu Yuan stood behind him, his eyes shifting between light and shadow.

Along the way, Lu Chen avoided all restrictions and traps as if he had foreseen the future. He was even able to accurately find a way out of those hidden doors and mechanisms that were not even recorded in ancient books.

'This kid definitely has some treasure on him...'

Gu Yuan stared at Lu Chen's retreating figure, having already made a decision in his heart.

Once Lu Chen is no longer of any use, get rid of him immediately!

"Boom!"

Just then, the long-sealed door suddenly opened by itself, and a vast Dragon Breath rushed out.

Lu Chen's robes fluttered without wind, and a few strands of pale golden light faintly appeared between his hair.

Beside him, Gu Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted—he clearly saw Lu Chen's shadow twist for a moment in the Dragon Breath, transforming into a winding dragon shadow!

"Let's go." Lu Chen stepped into the hall without looking back, his tone eerily calm. "The true inheritance is inside."

The main hall was empty and desolate.

Although the restrictions on the door regenerate every time the Secret Realm opens, they are not difficult to break.

Throughout history, cultivators who entered this place have looted the entire hall, even prying away the Luminous Pearls embedded in the walls, leaving only pitted and uneven marks.

But Lu Chen ignored the ruins; he looked directly at the dust-covered True Dragon Statue in the center of the hall and murmured:

"It's calling to me..."

"Thump!"

He knelt heavily on both knees, the sound echoing in the silent hall.

Lu Chen knelt on the ground with his forehead pressed to the ground, and the golden Dragon Scale Mark between his eyebrows suddenly shone brightly, as if it had resonated with something.

Gu Yuan frowned, about to speak, when he saw the ordinary statue suddenly burst forth with dazzling golden light!

"This is..."

Golden light, like rain, fell upon Lu Chen.

His pupils gradually turned a golden hue, and the Dragon Scale Mark on his forehead became even more striking.

With a soft "click," the stone wall behind the statue slowly slid open, revealing a deep passageway.

"It's inside..."

Lu Chen stepped straight into the passage.

It was a square corridor, with the walls densely covered with murals.

He placed his fingers on it and gently stroked it.

Unfamiliar memories flooded back like a tide.

A battlefield where dragons roared through the heavens, a throne stained with blood, and... the old man who sealed him in Dragon Cocoon.

"I see..." Lu Chen murmured to himself, a thousand years of vicissitudes swirling in his golden eyes. "I remember now."

"Hey." Gu Yuan frowned as he looked into the deep passage, sensing a chilling aura emanating from it.

What's ahead?

Upon hearing Gu Yuan's question, Lu Chen seemed to snap out of his reverie, "I had completely forgotten about you."

He lightly tapped a spot on the wall, and a Dragon Pattern - Dragon-Severing Stone suddenly descended from the passage, shutting out Gu Yuan and the others.

Boom--!

The deafening crash of the Dragon-Severing Stone echoed through the passage, and Gu Yuan's face contorted in an instant.

"Lu Chen!!"

His furious roar shook the stone walls, and he slammed his fist into the massive rock covered with Dragon Patterns.

The dignified direct descendant of the Gu family was outmaneuvered by an unknown ant!

"Young Master, please calm down!" The attendant beside him hurriedly stepped forward, trying to break the stone.

"No... wait!" Gu Yuan suddenly calmed down, then looked behind him with a sinister smile. "That's fine, let's go!"

Lu Chen ignored what was behind him and walked straight out of the passage.

At the end of the passage, a hundred Dragon Form stone statues surround a huge altar.

These statues are in various poses, but they all exude Killing Intent.

In the very center of the altar, a Golden Dragon Scale Egg, as tall as a person, floated silently above the altar, its shell surface wrapped with chain-like Dao Patterns.

The surging Dragon Might was enough to crush some cultivators with low cultivation levels, but Lu Chen walked forward as if he were a fish in water.

The instant he stepped onto the altar—

"Snap, snap, snap."

A crisp round of applause came from the darkness.

At the exit of the dark passage, Qin Wangchuan's figure quietly emerged, as if ink had been blurred.

He tilted his head, a smile playing on his lips, his tone as familiar as if they were old friends reuniting. "Surprise?"