Inside the hall.
Dark Matter surged like a tide, pouring wildly in from the cracks in the dome.
The humanoid silhouette formed from pure darkness stood before the stone platform, its dark red eyes fixed on the Immortal Seed, like two lit lamps, slowly and steadily approaching.
It no longer paid any attention to Ye Tian, Tang Fengtian, Ouyang Bin.
In its eyes, these three people were merely obstacles in its path, things it had just played with, but now it had completely lost interest, because the Immortal Seed was already within reach, and the seal was being slowly weakened by the light of the withered bones.
Its hand was still a foot away from the Immortal Seed.
Buzz!
An extremely subtle tremor emanated from within the Immortal Seed, as if something ancient was awakening from its slumber, resonating with the surrounding Dark Matter.
The dark silhouette abruptly stopped moving.
It looked down at the Immortal Seed, and for the first time, a clear fluctuation appeared in its dark red pupils. It wasn't greed, but a kind of almost instinctive desire, like a traveler who had trekked through endless years in darkness finally seeing the only light.
"This is..."
It spoke in a low voice, hoarse with a sound so ancient it was almost unrecognizable, as if confirming a fact that had been verified countless times. "The legendary... prototype of a passage?"
"With it..."
"Our race can then descend upon Three Thousand Provinces."
The moment those words were spoken, all the laws within the hall froze for a split second.
Tang Fengtian's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints.
Ouyang Bin slammed his fist on the stone slab, making a dull thud, but he did not get up.
Ye Tian's blood went completely cold in that instant.
The initial form of the passageway.
Ye Clan ancestors guarded their entire lives was not Immortal Seed, nor an inheritance, but a nascent passage to Foreign Domain. The mission passed down through generations of the Ye Clan was never to protect any treasure, but to guard this gate.
The Ye Clan are merely gatekeepers.
No wonder...
Ye Tian's voice was hoarse, his throat chapped, "No wonder the Ye Clan was wiped out... What we were guarding wasn't the Immortal Seed, it was this gate!!"
Behind him, the resonance deep within his bloodline suddenly vanished, replaced by an unprecedented emptiness, as if the pillar that had supported him to this day had suddenly broken at its root.
The dark silhouette ignored him.
It continued to reach out.
The jet-black finger touched the light on the surface of the Immortal Seed, and the dark golden light film on the surface of the Immortal Seed trembled slightly, like a stone being thrown into the water, creating ripples, but it did not break, as if a dormant will was being awakened step by step.
It withdrew its finger and chuckled softly, "As expected... there's more hidden beneath the seal than I anticipated."
"The three races are cooperating... just to bring this Immortal Seed back and study it carefully, right?"
Its gaze fell on Ye Tian, its tone carrying a hint of condescending amusement. "Do the three of you really think you're here to seize the Ye Clan's inheritance?"
"You're just the keys that were brought in."
"Now that the door is open, it's time to leave."
These words were like an invisible knife, piercing precisely into the hearts of the three.
Tang Fengtian and Ouyang Bin exchanged a glance, a hint of uncertainty appearing in their eyes at the same time.
The cooperation among the three races was indeed aimed at bringing the Immortal Seed back.
But they had never heard this news from their elders.
How did this Dark One know?
unless...
Is the traitor not just someone within the Emperor Pass, but somewhere within their three clans?
boom!
Just as the dark silhouette reached out to touch the Immortal Seed again, the entire palace trembled violently.
The dome was forcibly torn open, and a chaotic beam of light descended from the sky like a ignited meteor, carrying an indescribable pressure, and slammed heavily in front of the stone platform.
The shockwave spread out in a ring, forcing back all the Dark Matter and creating a visible shockwave within the hall.
The smoke and dust cleared.
A figure in white stood in front of the stone platform.
The stone slab beneath his feet had shattered into a spiderweb-like pattern, each crack edge gleaming with a faint, chaotic light, like ice that had been struck by a heavy object.
Three streams of Immortal Qi swirled around him, like three dragons coiling around him.
A Chaos Azure Lotus slowly bloomed beneath his feet, its petals swirling with ancient and profound Daoist charm, making him appear like a young deity emerging from antiquity.
The Chaos Dharma Form loomed behind him, about three zhang tall, formed entirely of Chaos Qi. Its face was indistinct, yet it exuded an aura of majesty that suppressed everything from the very essence of life.
Lin Fan.
His gaze calmly swept across the hall, passing over Ye Tian, Tang Fengtian, Ouyang Bin, finally settling on that dark silhouette. His face showed no anger, no tension, not even a flicker of emotion, only a nonchalant casualness.
"Dark scum."
He spoke, his voice neither loud nor soft, yet carrying an undeniable air of dominance. "This... I shall take it."
"Does anyone have a problem with this?"
The hall was deathly silent for two full breaths.
Tang Fengtian opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Ouyang Bin's clenched fist trembled slightly, but he did not back down.
Ye Tian's pupils contracted sharply as he looked at Lin Fan. He was too arrogant!
The dark silhouette slowly turned around.
The dark red eyes lingered on Lin Fan for a long time.
That gaze was not scrutiny, nor probing, but something far deeper, as if recognizing a nemesis that had traversed countless ages, a vague outline slowly emerging from the depths of some ancient memory.
Then, its murderous intent surged skyward.
The temperature inside the entire hall plummeted in that instant, as if it had plunged into an ancient ice cave!
"Your aura..."
"It feels so familiar."
Its voice was forced out through clenched teeth, carrying an extremely suppressed and gloomy tone. "You are... from the Lin Clan?"
Lin Fan raised an eyebrow.
He was indeed somewhat surprised.
He had never seen this dark creature before, but the creature recognized his bloodline at a glance.
Moreover, the intense killing intent he carried indicated that the grudge between the Lin Clan and the Foreign Domain was likely far deeper than he had imagined.
He didn't reply, but simply raised his chin. "What happened to the Lin Clan?"
The dark silhouette remained silent.
But it moved.
Its right hand suddenly rose, its five fingers spread, and a jet-black pillar of law light condensed in its palm, carrying a destructive power enough to tear apart a peak Peak Quasi-Emperor, and smashed down towards Lin Fan.
"Three strands of Immortal Qi... What a monstrous talent! You must not be allowed to live!"
"Once you grow up, you might become the second Unfettered Sword Emperor."
"A threat to our people!"
"Boom!"