The outer passage of the Dragon Palace Treasury stretched for several miles. The walls on both sides were forged from Deep-Sea Darksteel and covered in densely packed warding runes, emanating a chilling aura. These runes were Azure Water God-Banning Talismans laid down by successive generations of Dragon Clan experts. Should anyone trespass without permission, the runes would activate and unleash powerful water-element divine arts—at best inflicting grievous wounds, at worst reducing the intruder directly to dust.
Xuan Chen proceeded slowly along the passage, his divine sense raised to the utmost. Xuan Chen focused completely, carefully probing the operational patterns of every rune. He discovered that these Azure Water God-Banning Talismans did not exist independently, but were interconnected, forming an enormous warding network. At the heart of this network was a water mirror at the end of the passage, which continuously drew energy from the waters of the Eastern Sea to sustain the wards.
To break these wards, I cannot destroy them by force. Otherwise, it will trigger a chain reaction and alert the guards of the core area. Xuan Chen silently pondered. He circulated Primordial Unity Power, condensing a wisp of Chaos True Qi at his fingertips, and lightly touched a rune on the wall. Chaos True Qi was the source of all techniques and contained the power of Great Dao Origin. The instant it came into contact with the rune, it followed the rune's patterns, probing the trajectory of the ward's energy flow.
Before long, Xuan Chen had grasped the operating principles of the Azure Water God-Banning Talismans. He took out several specially made Formation-Breaking Talismans. These talismans were not meant to forcibly shatter formations, but to mimic the wards' energy fluctuations and temporarily deceive the runes' perception. Xuan Chen placed the talismans against the walls according to specific positions and injected Primordial Unity Power into them. The talismans immediately lit up, releasing energy fluctuations similar to those of the Azure Water God-Banning Talismans.
As the talismans activated, the warding runes within the passage indeed dimmed, and the energy that had originally coursed through them gradually calmed. Seizing the opportunity, Xuan Chen quickened his pace and raced down the center of the passage. Though the runes along the way occasionally flickered with a trace of light, they did not activate their attacks under the talismans' deception.
At the end of the passage stood a massive stone gate. It was ten zhang tall and five zhang wide, carved from a single block of Innate Dark Ice. A lifelike Five-Clawed Golden Dragon was engraved upon it, its body entwined with countless water-element runes and radiating overwhelming pressure. On either side of the gate was a recess containing a huge luminous pearl, illuminating the patterns carved across the stone door.
This was the second line of defense for the Dragon Palace Treasury—the Dark-Ice Dragon-Pattern Gate. The Five-Clawed Golden Dragon on its surface had been refined from the essence blood of a Dragon Clan ancestor and contained formidable dragon might and warding power. To open the stone gate, one had to break the wards within the dragon pattern while also possessing sufficient strength to withstand the impact of its dragon might.
Standing before the stone gate, Xuan Chen carefully studied the dragon pattern's flow. He found that the wards upon it came from the same source as the Azure Water God-Banning Talismans. Both were founded upon the water-element Great Dao, but the former's power far surpassed the latter's. Every turn of the dragon pattern and every scale contained an exquisite warding arrangement. The slightest misstep would trigger the Golden Dragon's attack.
Xuan Chen drew a deep breath and circulated all the Primordial Unity Power in his body. His divine sense sank into the dragon pattern, feeling the ward's energy flow. Like flowing water, his divine sense traveled along the pattern's lines, avoiding one dangerous node after another as it searched for the ward's core. Half an hour later, a glint flashed through Xuan Chen's eyes. He had finally found the core of the dragon-pattern ward—a tiny rune between the Golden Dragon's brows.
This rune was the pivot of the entire Dark-Ice Dragon-Pattern Gate ward, controlling the energy circulation within the dragon pattern. Xuan Chen condensed a strand of pure Chaos True Qi at his fingertips and cautiously extended it toward the rune. The instant the Chaos True Qi touched it, it began to seep inside, attempting to take control of the ward's energy flow.
However, just as the Chaos True Qi was about to reach the rune, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon on the stone gate abruptly opened its eyes. Two beams of golden light shot from its dragon eyes, carrying terrifying dragon might as they descended upon Xuan Chen. At the same time, every rune in the dragon pattern activated, emitting dazzling blue light. Vast water-element energy gathered together, transforming into an enormous dragon claw that slammed toward Xuan Chen.
"As expected, it wouldn't be that easy!" Xuan Chen had been prepared. With a flash, he evaded the dragon claw's attack, while circulating the Chaos Imperishable Body. A thick layer of chaotic mist swirled around him, resisting the dragon might's impact. He knew this was the stone gate's defensive mechanism. To break the ward, he first had to suppress the Golden Dragon's attacks.
Xuan Chen drew the Primordial Unity Sword and infused it with Primordial Unity Power. The blade immediately erupted with brilliant radiance, carrying the imposing force to cleave through all techniques. He swung the Primordial Unity Sword at the Golden Dragon's eyes. The sword light streaked out like a ribbon, bearing icy sharpness. The Golden Dragon let out an enraged roar, and its dragon claw condensed once more, colliding with the sword light.
"Boom!" With a deafening explosion, the sword light and dragon claw collided, unleashing a vast shockwave of energy that made the entire passage tremble violently. Xuan Chen was blasted several steps back by the shockwave, a thin line of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Yet he did not retreat. Instead, seizing the gap after the Golden Dragon's attack, he sank his divine sense into the dragon pattern once more. As the ward's energy fluctuated, the Chaos True Qi at his fingertips forcibly poured into the rune between the Golden Dragon's brows.
The instant the Chaos True Qi entered the rune, the Golden Dragon on the stone gate let out a pained roar. Its body twisted violently, and the runes upon it flickered erratically. Xuan Chen took the opportunity to increase his output of Primordial Unity Power. Chaos True Qi continuously surged into the rune, gradually taking control of the ward's energy circulation. Half an hour later, the Golden Dragon's radiance completely dimmed. Its body transformed into streams of light and merged into the stone gate, while the warding runes on the gate also fell still.
Xuan Chen put away the Primordial Unity Sword and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Though he had expended a considerable amount of Primordial Unity Power, he had successfully broken the Dark-Ice Dragon-Pattern Gate's wards. He walked to the stone gate, placed both hands upon it, circulated Primordial Unity Power, and slowly pushed.
"Creak—" A dull sound rang out as the heavy Dark-Ice Dragon-Pattern Gate slowly opened. An even richer aura of spiritual energy and treasure rushed toward him, invigorating Xuan Chen's spirit. Beyond the stone gate was not the grand hall he had imagined, but a stairway leading underground. More luminous pearls were embedded in the walls on both sides of the stairs, lighting the path below.
Xuan Chen descended the stairway. It contained several hundred steps, each paved with Innate Spirit Jade and emanating gentle spiritual energy. When he reached the bottom, an enormous hall came into view. This hall was even grander than the main hall of the Zichen Cave Abode, standing dozens of zhang high and over a hundred zhang wide. Countless glowing pearls and gemstones were embedded in its ceiling, resembling a resplendent starry sky.
At the center of the hall stood several dozen enormous jade platforms, displaying treasures of every kind. Some were Innate Spirit Herbs radiating dense spiritual energy, their leaves crystal-clear and giving off a faint fragrance. Some were Innate Spirit Treasures gleaming with cold light—swords, sabers, spears, halberds, and more—each containing formidable might. There were also rare ores and materials, such as Innate Essence Gold, Chaos Stone, and Seven-Colored Divine Mud, all exceptional materials for refining magical treasures.
Xuan Chen's gaze swept across these treasures, and a trace of amazement rose in his heart. The Dragon Clan truly deserved to be the overlords of the Primordial World. Their accumulated wealth was so abundant that any one of these treasures would be enough to drive Primordial World cultivators mad. Yet Xuan Chen did not linger. His objective was the Proto-Dinghai Needle Iron at the very depths of the hall.
At the deepest part of the hall stood a high platform, upon which rose a pitch-black iron pillar. The pillar was three zhang tall and roughly one chi in diameter. Its surface was covered in fine patterns, and it radiated a vast water aura mixed with a faint aura of chaos. This aura was heavy and steady, as though it could suppress the Four Seas and the eight wildernesses. It was the Proto-Dinghai Needle Iron!
Xuan Chen strode swiftly toward the high platform. The closer he drew to the iron pillar, the more clearly he felt the tremendous power contained within it. The Proto-Dinghai Needle Iron had been formed from the Innate Spiritual Root, Seabed Divine Iron. It had absorbed the essence of the Eastern Sea's waters for hundreds of millions of years and contained pure water-element origin power, along with a trace of chaotic aura. No wonder it could become the future Ruyi Golden-Banded Staff.
Xuan Chen stepped onto the high platform and reached out, gently touching the Proto-Dinghai Needle Iron. His fingertips felt an icy, weighty texture. At the same time, immense energy surged through his fingers into his body, echoing with his Primordial Unity Power. Xuan Chen could sense the endless potential within this iron pillar. Once refined, it could grow or shrink according to its master's wishes and become a magical treasure of boundless power.
As expected of a treasure designated by the system. Its reputation is well deserved. Xuan Chen was overjoyed. He circulated Primordial Unity Power and began attempting to communicate with the artifact spirit of the Proto-Dinghai Needle Iron. Though the Proto-Dinghai Needle Iron had not yet fully taken shape, it had already nurtured a faint artifact spirit. To take it away, he needed the artifact spirit's recognition. Otherwise, forcibly collecting it would not only provoke the treasure's resistance, but also alert the guards nearby.
Xuan Chen's divine sense entered the iron pillar, and he began communicating with the faint artifact spirit. He conveyed his intentions to it, promising to give it to Nüwa so that it could help her protect living beings and perfect the Creation Dao. Though the Proto-Dinghai Needle Iron's artifact spirit was weak, it possessed innate spirituality. Sensing the Primordial Unity Power on Xuan Chen and Nüwa's aura of creation—Xuan Chen bore Nüwa's Living-Beings Karmic Affinity imprint—the artifact spirit seemed to respond. Its formerly resistant energy gradually calmed.
Half an hour later, the Proto-Dinghai Needle Iron's artifact spirit had finally given Xuan Chen its full recognition. The patterns on the iron pillar's surface began to glow, emitting soft blue light, while its size slowly shrank. In the end, it became an iron needle three chi long, floating above Xuan Chen's palm. Xuan Chen was overjoyed and was about to store the iron needle in his storage space when a shrill alarm suddenly sounded from above the hall. At the same time, a powerful aura came from outside the hall, accompanied by an enraged dragon roar.
Not good! I still alerted the guards! Xuan Chen's heart tightened. He knew that the disturbance from collecting the treasure had still triggered the alarm. Without further hesitation, he stored the Proto-Dinghai Needle Iron in his storage space, turned, and sprinted toward the outside of the hall.
Before you continue