He was just there on the Road to Immortality, amid the chaos.
As soon as Xiao Ping'an saw the bronze palace, he understood that it was the legendary immortal artifact, the Bronze Immortal Palace.
After Xiao Ping'an came to this world, he had once searched for this immortal artifact, but he had never found a trace of it.
The Desolate Pagoda had appeared as briefly as an epiphyllum in bloom before vanishing.
The Kunlun Immortal Bell had disappeared as well.
Xiao Ping'an was extremely excited as he looked at the legendary Bronze Immortal Palace.
The immense Bronze Immortal Palace was magnificent beyond compare. Like a gigantic city, it gave off an astonishing presence.
Its surface was mottled with verdigris, yet it looked ancient and grand.
It was wonderful that the Bronze Immortal Palace still had no owner.
Xiao Ping'an had greatly envied Emperor Venerable's Immortal Ascension Cauldron.
But the Immortal Ascension Cauldron had been refined after the fact, with the help of the mysterious place on Mount Kunlun that had nurtured the Kunlun Immortal Bell. Nurturing another immortal artifact like the Immortal Ascension Cauldron would be impossible, at least in the short term.
And Xiao Ping'an already possessed a white bone saber that had once been an immortal artifact.
He had thought himself lucky enough already, but to his surprise, he had found the Bronze Immortal Palace here.
He immediately felt that great fortune was shining down on him. He had never expected his luck to be this good.
The Bronze Immortal Palace later fell into the hands of the Ruthless Great Emperor, though Xiao Ping'an did not know how she had obtained it.
In any case, among all the Great Emperors and ancient emperors from the Mythological Era onward, not a single one had obtained the Bronze Immortal Palace.
Xiao Ping'an had once thought that the Bronze Immortal Palace might still be in the Immortal Domain at this time, not yet fallen into this world.
Or perhaps the Bronze Immortal Palace was still hidden in some forbidden land.
He had never expected it to be on the Road to Immortality on Flying Immortal Star.
Could it be that when the Undying Heavenly Emperor fell into this world through a rift in the Immortal Domain all those years ago, the Bronze Immortal Palace had fallen into this world as well?
Where was the Undying Heavenly Emperor? And where was the Divine Phoenix Immortal Medicine?
As Xiao Ping'an looked at the Bronze Immortal Palace before him, his gaze immediately grew burning hot.
There was also a chaos world inside it that could continuously nurture heavenly materials and earthly treasures, even treasures like Dragon Marked Black Gold.
The Source Root of Mother Qi of All Things also seemed to have been born inside it. Yes, it seemed to have been born in the world within the Bronze Immortal Palace.
The Bronze Immortal Palace might no longer have even a weapon spirit, but the world inside it seemed extraordinarily wondrous.
The small chaos world that had fallen into the Ruthless Great Emperor's hands had most likely fallen from the Immortal Domain into this world along with the Bronze Immortal Palace.
Otherwise, there was no explaining how that small chaos world was so wondrous, giving birth to the Source Root of Mother Qi of All Things, a treasure hard to find even in countless ages, as well as Dragon Marked Black Gold and even the Chaos Divine Marrow the Yaoguang Holy Son had used to refine the Chaos Cauldron.
Could it be said that Xiao Ping'an had now snatched them first?
Xiao Ping'an immediately stepped forward, intending to claim the Bronze Immortal Palace for himself.
He scanned it, but just as he was about to leave his own imprint on it, he suddenly sensed that the Bronze Immortal Palace's presence was extremely strange.
To his surprise, though the Bronze Immortal Palace had no owner, he seemed to sense that its weapon spirit had not yet died.
If the weapon spirit were truly alive, it would probably have attacked Xiao Ping'an or fled long ago.
But now, the Bronze Immortal Palace was like someone fast asleep.
Nor were there any strange formations nearby confining it here.
Xiao Ping'an did indeed see true laws of the Immortal Dao on the Bronze Immortal Palace.
He had found similar Immortal Dao runes on both the white bone saber and the True Immortal's corpse.
Holding the white bone saber and fully on guard, Xiao Ping'an cautiously approached the entrance to the Bronze Immortal Palace.
After giving it some thought, he stopped.
An avatar identical to him stepped out of his body. Though its presence was weak and it appeared to have only Saint-level strength, it was enough for Xiao Ping'an to use for scouting.
Xiao Ping'an had created it from one of his own hairs.
Xiao Ping'an soon felt an immensely heavy pressure rolling like waves.
"Mother Qi of All Things? It really is Mother Qi of All Things!"
Ping'an was both startled and delighted.
"The Source Root of Mother Qi of All Things should be inside too, right?"
"And the world beyond that Immortal Gate inside should be the small chaos world that fell along with the Bronze Immortal Palace."
"Dragon Marked Black Gold, Chaos Divine Marrow..." They were all his.
With a puff, the Saint-level avatar was reduced to ashes.
Clearly, it had triggered the Immortal Dao runes inside.
"I was careless. I should have had him take the Overlord Heaven Bell in with him."
Xiao Ping'an paid no heed to the loss of a single hair. He was completely unharmed.
Xiao Ping'an plucked out another hair and transformed it into a young man identical to himself, who entered the Bronze Immortal Palace with the Overlord Heaven Bell above his head.
He passed through the Mother Qi of All Things, which spread like smoke and stretched like a sea, forcibly withstanding countless Immortal Dao runes.
Why was he able to withstand the Immortal Dao runes? Because Xiao Ping'an had already refined countless Immortal Dao runes into the heavenly bell.
Without deliberately opposing those Immortal Dao runes, he did not trigger the killing formation there.
After exploring inside, Xiao Ping'an finally withdrew in satisfaction.
Experiencing everything the avatar had experienced, Xiao Ping'an was extremely satisfied.
With the white bone saber in hand and the Overlord Heaven Bell above his head, he stepped into the Bronze Immortal Palace.
He then began frantically imprinting the Bronze Immortal Palace with his own source essence blood.
Whatever else might be said, he would claim it for himself first.
Meanwhile, the Overlord Heaven Bell was not idle either, frantically devouring and refining the Mother Qi of All Things here.
In the blink of an eye, countless strands of Mother Qi of All Things from the mist-shrouded world were refined into the Overlord Heavenly Venerable.
Rumble.
Suddenly, a dazzling light flowed toward him from afar through the Mother Qi of All Things.
Mother Qi of All Things did not itself shine, yet one strand was especially brilliant, radiating an incomparably dazzling light.
It was none other than the Source Root of Mother Qi of All Things, the essence of all Mother Qi of All Things.
Xiao Ping'an immediately acted, forcibly drawing the Source Root of Mother Qi of All Things into the Overlord Heaven Bell.
With the treasure in hand, Xiao Ping'an was both startled and delighted.
He did not refine the entire Source Root of Mother Qi of All Things into the Overlord Heaven Bell, only a portion of it.
For he knew that the Source Root of Mother Qi of All Things could not only slowly grow on its own, but also produce a steady stream of Mother Qi of All Things, all of which was excellent material for refining Extreme Dao Weapons.
He did not intend to use it all himself, but planned to leave it for his family as a family treasure.
Xiao Ping'an discovered more than ten skeletons inside the Bronze Immortal Palace that appeared to be the remains of True Immortals.
He examined them carefully and found that the skeletons still retained a small amount of their source essence. If Yongsheng used it to devour and refine the Chaos Body, there would surely be unexpected benefits.
He carefully extracted all the source essence from them.
Xiao Ping'an collected the bones as well. Since even a Dark Supreme's bones could be used to refine Extreme Dao Weapons, these True Immortal-level bones should be sufficient material for refining Extreme Dao Weapons too, even though they had been dead for a long time and most of their divinity had vanished.
Xiao Ping'an continued onward and soon saw two doors ahead. They were like the yin and yang fish of Taiji: a black yin fish on the left and a white yang fish on the right, forming a Taiji when joined together.
Yin-yang Taiji was not the sole creation of Daode Heavenly Venerable. The Yin-Yang Way of Taiji had already existed in the distant past, in an unknowable age.
One of the two doors was inscribed with "death" and the other with "life," twisting out the respective presences of life and death.
After thinking for a while, Xiao Ping'an recalled how Ye Fan had entered this doorway in a later age.
He used the white bone saber to disperse the yin and yang Qi on the doors, then pushed open the one inscribed with "death."
He then entered the world beyond the door.
After spending roughly half a shichen, he reached the end of this world.
Chaos Qi surged here, and yin and yang Qi circulated, giving off the presence of the Immortal Dao.
As Xiao Ping'an comprehended the Dao's divine essence here, he frantically refined the Bronze Immortal Palace.
By the time he had nearly finished refining the Bronze Immortal Palace, he suddenly sensed something that seemed to be its weapon spirit.
In the chaos, he saw an enormous silkworm cocoon. Immortal Dao light flowed over it, and from time to time it gave off a chaotic presence.
The great cocoon seemed alive, as though it were constantly transforming.
His presence was linked to the Bronze Immortal Palace.
Upon seeing the great cocoon, Xiao Ping'an actually felt an urge to sacrifice himself, as though he wanted to offer all the essence blood in his body to it.
Xiao Ping'an gently waved a hand, blocking that terrifying demonic power.
He carefully observed the great cocoon. It was indeed giving off inexplicable laws of the Immortal Dao.
He did indeed appear to be the weapon spirit of the Bronze Immortal Sword, but for some unknown reason, he seemed to have died.
Now he seemed to be undergoing some inexplicable transformation, as though he were about to come back to life.
With the Overlord Heaven Bell above his head and the white bone saber in hand, Xiao Ping'an approached the great cocoon.
A terrifying presence bore straight down upon it.
A series of mournful cries came from the great cocoon.
Xiao Ping'an held the white bone saber and stabbed it straight into the cocoon.
A piercing scream rang out, and the great cocoon was devoured whole by the white bone saber.
Looking at the dead weapon spirit of the Bronze Immortal Palace, who had almost taken human form, Xiao Ping'an could not help letting out a sigh.
It seemed that not everyone could transform from a weapon spirit into a human like Divine Child.
That required both opportunity and luck.
This weapon spirit of the Bronze Immortal Palace had indeed been just short of taking human form.
The fluctuations of life and the vigorous Qi and blood he had been giving off had all been devoured by the white bone saber.
After devouring the Bronze Immortal Palace's weapon spirit, the white bone saber miraculously became an immortal artifact.
Yes, it had regained the strength of a True Immortal weapon.
After its original weapon spirit was refined by Xiao Ping'an, it had taken Xiao Ping'an's appearance and reached the level of an Extreme Dao Weapon.
Now it had taken a step ahead and become a True Immortal weapon.
Xiao Ping'an carefully contemplated the Immortal Dao runes and the Dao's divine essence radiating from the White Bone Dao, and was extremely satisfied.
He had never expected that obtaining the Bronze Immortal Palace would also upgrade the white bone saber.
Without the Bronze Immortal Palace's half-dead weapon spirit, Xiao Ping'an's refining of the palace sped up considerably.
To claim the Bronze Immortal Palace completely for himself, he simply expended a great deal of magic power and forcibly refined a weapon spirit.
It replaced the Bronze Immortal Palace's original weapon spirit.
Though not as powerful as a true immortal artifact, its strength far surpassed that of ordinary Extreme Dao Weapons, and it was much stronger than the weapons of those Heavenly Venerables.
Looking at the Bronze Immortal Palace, now completely under his control, Xiao Ping'an had a thought. The palace shrank to an inch in size and entered his palm. It was truly wondrous.
Then he gave it a gentle toss, and it became an immense Bronze Immortal Palace once more.
Sensing the small chaos world within the Bronze Immortal Palace, Xiao Ping'an was both startled and delighted.
Xiao Ping'an looked at the small chaos world, filled with countless rays of rosy light and thousands of auspicious colors, and stepped inside.
He entered the immortal land of chaos alone. All manner of lights danced and mists rose, while the various treasures simply dazzled his eyes.
Mutton-Fat Jade Divine Iron, Daluo Immortal Gold, Nine Heavens Divine Jade, Dragon Marked Black Gold, Immortal Tear Green Gold, Divine Mark Purple Gold, Dao Tribulation Gold, Mother Qi of All Things, Chaos Divine Marrow, Chaos Stone, and World Stones-Xiao Ping'an had truly struck it rich.
"Mine, mine, they're all mine."
Xiao Ping'an lay atop the many treasures, losing his composure like this for the first time, just like a child who had found a beloved toy.
Only after a long while did Xiao Ping'an emerge from the immortal land of chaos and take the Bronze Immortal Palace into his body.
Now that he carried two immortal artifacts, the white bone saber and the Bronze Immortal Palace, his confidence could be said to have multiplied.
He was confident that no one in these Nine Heavens and Ten Lands could stop him anymore.
With two immortal artifacts, one for attack and one for defense, he already stood in an inherently invincible position.
"I never thought that I, Xiao Ping'an, would have such heaven-defying fortune!" Xiao Ping'an shouted happily.
Unfortunately, in the boundless chaos, no one heard his voice or felt his joy.
At that very moment, Emperor Venerable, accompanied by Longevity Heavenly Venerable and Carefree Heavenly Venerate, was carving a path through the chaos and steadily advancing.
They too wanted to explore the Road to Immortality.
Emperor Venerable and his companions had likewise encountered a great cocoon, and this cocoon had actually attacked them of its own accord.
The cocoon was so tough and powerful that even with all three of them exerting their full strength, they could not break its shell. Its defenses were terrifying and astonishing.
Ink-black mist flowed over the cocoon, looking strange and evil and giving off an ominous presence.
Whenever they looked at it, Emperor Venerable and the other two felt a stabbing pain between their brows.
They could also sense a peculiar fluctuation of life flowing within the great cocoon, while it gave off the Dao's divine essence of death and desolation.
It seemed to be a living creature, yet also a kind of evil Weird Substance. After the three Heavenly Venerables made their calculations, they were still at a loss.
Nevertheless, all three wanted to subdue the monster inside the great cocoon.
At first, the three had wanted to kill the monster inside the great cocoon, but now they had fallen into danger and faced the threat of being killed by it instead.
Through the desperate resistance of the three, and with Emperor Venerable using the Immortal Ascension Cauldron, they finally shattered the great cocoon.
With a thunderous boom, a roar filled heaven and earth, and everything turned pitch-black as ink.
Once the cocoon was broken, the ink-black substance transformed into a black creature and immediately pounced on Emperor Venerable.
(End of chapter)