Within the shattered world of the bronze mirror, lightning wreathed Lin Wudao as he stood proudly like a god of war, holding the Jade Slip formed from the black jade fragments. Tianxuzi and Youmingzi led their respective forces in surrounding him, greed and killing intent flickering in their eyes.
"Hand over the Jade Slip, and I'll spare your life!" Tianxuzi brandished the Xuantian Mirror. Light shot from it, slicing apart the surrounding space with piercing shrieks.
Youmingzi sneered as seven Skeleton Generals reassembled behind him. Black chains wound around each skeleton, green venom dripping from the spikes at their ends. "Hand it over obediently, and perhaps you'll be left with an intact corpse."
Lin Wudao did not respond, instead channeling spiritual power into the Jade Slip. In an instant, it blazed with dazzling light. Images emerged within that light, recounting a past long buried in dust.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the Ancient Clan possessed powerful forbidden secret techniques. The most mysterious among them could awaken the power of a supreme treasure from High Antiquity through blood sacrifice. At the time, the continent's various powers coveted the Ancient Clan's secret techniques, and conflict never ceased. To preserve peace on the continent, Great Emperor Xuantian joined forces with other mighty cultivators and launched a war against the Ancient Clan.
During the war, Great Emperor Xuantian personally slew the Ancient Clan's patriarch, only to discover that the supposed supreme treasure from High Antiquity did not exist. It was all a lie fabricated by the Ancient Clan's upper ranks to intimidate the various powers. Yet war had already broken out, plunging countless living beings into misery. To prevent the truth behind this war from causing even greater chaos, Great Emperor Xuantian decided to bury the Ancient Clan's secrets completely, while sealing the black jade fragments connected to the blood sacrifice separately in different secret realms.
The images stopped abruptly there, and towering waves surged through Lin Wudao's heart. He finally understood why the Ancient Clan's tomb keeper had been so obsessed with revenge, and he also understood Great Emperor Xuantian's final restriction.
"So that was it..." Tianxuzi murmured, a trace of bewilderment flashing through his eyes. "Great Emperor Xuantian actually deceived us!"
Youmingzi gave a sinister chuckle. "So what? Now that the black jade fragments are in hand, as long as we unravel their mysteries, we can still control the power of the supreme treasure from High Antiquity!" With that, he attacked first. The seven Skeleton Generals brandished their bone blades and charged toward Lin Wudao like a gale.
Lin Wudao recovered from his shock and circulated the Mystic Heaven Creation Instruction. Lightning flared along the Chaos Sword. "Thousandfold Lightning Shadows!" he roared. Sword shadows transformed into countless bolts of lightning and collided with the Skeleton Generals' bone blades. Explosions rang out one after another, and the powerful aftershocks sent everyone nearby staggering back.
Seeing this, Tianxuzi hesitated no longer. The Xuantian Mirror blazed with light, sending an enormous golden pillar of light toward Lin Wudao. Lin Wudao twisted aside to evade it, tucking the Jade Slip into his robes as he prepared to seek an opening to break through the encirclement. However, the mighty cultivators from the other forces also began attacking. All manner of Law Treasures and law techniques came pouring down, completely cutting off his retreat.
Just as Lin Wudao fell into a desperate situation, the system suddenly sounded an alarm: "Detected: the altar's restrictions are about to activate fully. All those trapped here will remain trapped forever! The only way to break the restrictions is to fuse the three black jade fragments together again and infuse them with three kinds of origin power of different attributes."
Something stirred in Lin Wudao's heart. He knew this was his only chance. Taking a deep breath, he circulated all his spiritual power and shouted, "Everyone! If we keep fighting, we'll all die here! Only by working together can we break the restrictions and leave this place!"
Everyone froze at his words, their attacks involuntarily slowing. Tianxuzi and Youmingzi exchanged a glance, a trace of hesitation flashing through their eyes.
"Hmph, why should I believe you?" Youmingzi asked coldly.
"Because of the truth in this Jade Slip!" Lin Wudao displayed the images within the Jade Slip again. "We've all been drawn into a conspiracy. Only by joining forces now do we have a sliver of hope of survival!"
After an intense internal struggle, everyone finally reached an agreement. Tianxuzi, Youmingzi, and the other mighty cultivators brought forth their Law Treasures one after another, releasing origin power of different attributes. Lin Wudao carefully took out the three black jade fragments and placed them in the center of the altar.
Through their combined efforts, three kinds of origin power of different attributes slowly flowed into the black jade fragments. The fragments began to glow, their light growing brighter and brighter until they finally fused into an enormous sphere of light. Within it, Great Emperor Xuantian's phantom appeared once more.
"Congratulations. You have passed the final trial," Great Emperor Xuantian's phantom said. "The supreme treasure from High Antiquity truly does not exist, but the Ancient Clan's secret techniques can benefit all living beings. I hope you can set aside your grudges and protect this continent together."
Before his words had faded, the altar's restrictions began to lift, and the bronze mirror world gradually grew calm again. Looking at the black jade fragments in his hand, Lin Wudao silently swore to carry the Ancient Clan's secret techniques forward and bring them to greater heights, so that this continent would no longer know strife...