Chapter 2111: Under Attack
"It has only been a few centuries. Have you forgotten about me?" the woman continued to smile warmly, making her seem as pretty as the blooming of a hundred flowers. It was as if the erupting volcanoes in the surroundings had settled down slightly from her smile.
Very soon, a thought flashed through Shangguan Mu'er's mind as she sensed the familiar presence from the woman. She was surprised as she said, "You're that Elven Godtree from the elves?"
Back on the Tian Yuan Continent, Shangguan Mu'er was familiar with the Elven Godtree. She gained an extremely deep impression of it. This was because if it were not for the Elven Godtree, it would have been impossible for their world to survive against the crisis of the world.
"I'm not a tree. When I used my remaining life force to condense into a tree of life in the lower world, I had no choice either," the woman smiled gently.
Shangguan Mu'er had already learnt some of the matters about Audriana from Jian Chen. After receiving confirmation, she immediately stood up and bowed towards Audriana, greeting her as a senior.
"You don't need to call me senior. Although I'm much older than you, status isn't determined by age in the Saints' world. We're both Godkings right now, and with your talent, you'll surpass me before too long. As a result, our statuses are equal. Of course, if you hold me in high regard, you can call me elder sister. We can refer to each other as sisters," said Audriana. On the surface, she seemed indifferent and calm, but she was very perturbed on the inside.
All of this was only caused by how Shangguan Mu'er cultivated much faster than she had ever considered.
In the past, when she left the Tian Yuan Continent with the War God of the God clan, Tie Ta, Shangguan Mu'er was only at the Origin realm. Only so long had passed since then, and she had already become a Godking.
It was not just Shangguan Mu'er. Even Ming Dong nearby and Jian Chen who everyone mentioned had become great Godkings in such a short amount of time. They progressed so rapidly that it was truly breathtaking. Even someone who had seen many supreme prodigies like Audriana would still feel shocked.
"It's quite the coincidence now that I mention it. I've come this time because of the esteemed War God's orders. I've come to find Jian Chen. The trip to the Neptunean Divine Palace only should have been an opportunity to set up a network as preparation for finding Jian Chen, but I never thought I'd hear about him right after I entered the Neptunean Divine Palace. I never thought he'd come here as well. It looks like these matters really are up to luck," Audriana sighed gently and emotionally.
"The War God?" Shangguan Mu'er murmured softly.
"The War God is Tie Ta. He has become the supreme king of our God clan now," Audriana could not help but show respect as soon as the War God was mentioned.
Their God clan was rather special. Although they too followed the law of the jungle, where only the strong survived, the War God was an exception.
The War God of the God clan, also known as warring gods, were born from the world. Only one of them would appear with each generation, where two would never appear at the same time. The next generation would only be born once the previous generation died. But without any exception, regardless of cultivation, as soon as the War God of a generation returned to the God clan, they would become an absolute existence. Even the hall elders who basically reigned over the God clan had to listen to the War God's orders.
"Everyone here is saying Jian Chen has died, but I know that it's impossible for him to die here," Audriana looked at the lava below as she smiled mysteriously.
"Jian Chen has that tower with him. All he needs to do is hide in there, and the lava here won't be able to harm him at all. I think he's probably having the time of his life down there right now," Audriana said softly. Aside from Shangguan Mu'er, no one else could hear what she was saying.
"Elder sister, do you know about the origins of that tower?" Shangguan Mu'er stared at Audriana. She already knew that Jian Chen's tower was extremely tough and of great quality. However, Jian Chen had never explained the exact details of the tower to anyone so far.
Audriana nodded, "I still wasn't certain about the tower back on the Tian Yuan Continent, After arriving in the Saints' World, I looked through many records before I became certain." When she reached there, Audriana suddenly became stern. She said secretly, "The tower ties into many significant matters. The fewer people that know, the better it is. Otherwise, not only will Jian Chen be hunted down, but even the people who have seen the tower before will be doomed. Don't pry into it too much. I know you won't mention it to anyone else, but if it raises the attention of those peak experts in the Saints' World, they have many methods to control the thoughts and wills of other people. They can learn everything they want to know effortlessly."
"But fortunately, basically all the people who can recognise the tower with a single glance are Primordial realm experts. No one should have managed to recognise the tower when he exposed it in the Neptunean Divine Palace earlier."
"Sister Mu'er, let's go. Who knows when Jian Chen will come out. There are fortuitous encounters littered across the Neptunean Divine Palace. I'll take you around and have a look and see whether we can increase your strength some more. As soon as Jian Chen appears, there will be bloodshed. Even with Ming Dong here, he won't necessarily be able to hold them off. If you want to help him, you need to be powerful enough, or you'll just drag him down."
Shangguan Mu'er and Audriana left the eighth floor, while Ming Dong and his five divine generals remained there, silently waiting for Jian Chen to appear.
As for the many Godkings gathered on the floor, they had already formed their own groups to unleash the full power of god artifacts through pouring their strength together. They began to search for Xiao Man in the lava.
Currently, at the bottom of the lava that was hot enough to melt even god artifacts, Jian Chen was collecting fire divine crystals happily without any thoughts of exhaustion. Every time he cast out his net, he could envelop enough fire divine crystals to form a small hill. All the fire divine crystals in quite a large region had vanished.
Jian Chen moved the tower as he collected the fire divine crystals, having left his original position long ago. Along the way, the amount of fire divine crystals stacked up in the Anatta Tower reached an amount that even he did not know. He only knew that it had probably reached into the hundred millions.
However, Jian Chen still was not satisfied. He knew that a hundred million fire divine crystals were not a lot of five-colored divine crystals, so he did not stop his collection.
But at this moment, just when Jian Chen was about to drag a huge pile of fire divine crystals back with him, the lava in the surroundings suddenly pulsed violently. He felt a strong threat suddenly appear and approach him at an unbelievably rapid pace.
Jian Chen's face changed. The threat was so great that it was suffocating. It was terrifying, where his blood seemed to freeze up at that moment.
Jian Chen's face changed several times. Without any hesitation, he immediately abandoned the fire divine crystals he had just collected, returning to the Anatta Tower as quickly as he could.
Boom!
Just when Jian Chen had vanished, a great rumble rang out. The Anatta Tower was struck by a powerful attack, where even Jian Chen who hid inside it could clearly sense a gentle tremble from the tower through his connection with it.
Jian Chen was shocked. He had already refined the Anatta Tower to the fifth floor now. It was even more powerful than in the past. Let alone supreme Godkings with god artifacts, but he was confident that it could even endure attacks from some Infinite Primes without shaking at all. However, the Anatta Tower shook gently right now, so just how powerful was the attack that the tower had just received?
Chapter 2112: The Gigantic Lizard in the Lava
Jian Chen stood at the entrance on the first floor of the Anatta Tower. He looked outside through the damaged door. His face changed rapidly as he became filled with surprise and doubt.
Until that moment, he struggled to believe that he had been attacked, and the fact that the attack was so powerful that it had completely surpassed the boundary of Godkings.
It was forbidden for Primordial realm experts to enter the Neptunean Divine Palace. This rule had never been broken throughout the millions of years the Neptunean Divine Palace had opened.
Moreover, this was the bottom of the lava. It was so hot here that even some weaker god artifacts would melt. Even some Primordial realm experts would not be able to dive so deep.
"Jian Chen, what's happening?" Kai Ya appeared before Jian Chen silently as she stared outside sternly.
Jian Chen shook his head without saying anything. He was extremely stern. He had no idea what was attacking them. He was not even certain whether it was some lifeform attacking them, or that he had accidentally run into some kind of formation, causing it to counterattack.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
However, at this moment, the terrifying attacks started once again. It came from right in front of them. Every strike was devastating, enough to cause the lava in the surroundings to churn violently. It struck the damaged Anatta Tower heavily.
The attacks were just too intense and too powerful. Even when Jian Chen hid within the Anatta Tower, he could clearly sense just how shocking the attacks outside were.
The Anatta Tower shook heavily. Every single attack from the outside could shake the tower, so after enduring this terrifying, seemingly unending barrage of attacks, even the tower began to shake violently. Before long, the entire tower lost its balance and began to tip over slightly, falling towards the ground.
Jian Chen could clearly sense everything happening to the tower from the inside. He did not try to stabilise the tower. Instead, he allowed it to fall. His heart had become heavy, while his expression was very ugly.
Currently, he was certain that he did not run into some kind of formation and was instead being attacked by an unknown enemy. What he could not understand was how his opponent was able to remain within the Neptunean Divine Palace despite their strength.
Plonk!
With a heavy rumble, the falling Anatta Tower struck the ground with unbelievable weight.
Immediately, the entire ground shook violently, like a super-earthquake was happening. Huge cracks spread out in all directions like a web while all the lava churned violently.
Currently, there were balls of light near the surface of the lava that carefully dove into the depths at an extremely gradual pace.
Every single ball of light represented a defensive god artifact. There were several Godkings within each one, pouring their strength together to push the defensive power of the god artifact to the limit to fend off the lava.
Indeed, the bottom of the lava could melt god artifacts, but this process required quite a long time. Under the combined efforts of the Godkings, as long as they did not venture to the very bottom, they could indeed last in the lava for a while but not too long.
But at this moment, the lava in the surroundings suddenly began to shake violently. Not only did the pressure on the Godkings who had dove in with their god artifacts drastically increase, but flames that only existed at the bottom of the lava rushed up. Surrounded by the flames, many balls of light shattered in under ten seconds, exposing the Godkings inside to the lava.
Immediately, miserable cries rang out in the lava. All the Godkings who had dove into the lava did not dare to remain there any longer. Like they were fleeing for their lives, they rushed to the surface as quickly as they could.
Very soon, all the Godkings emerged from the lava. They hovered high in the air as they stared at the churning seas of lava with lingering fear.
In that short moment, many of them had suffered wounds of varying degrees. Some of them had been burnt to a point where they bore no resemblance to before. Flames surged on them while the supreme quality saint artifacts on them had already been reduced to a puddle.
"What's happening down there? Why has the lava become so violent all of a sudden?"
"These flames are just too terrifying. They should only exist at the very bottom of the lava, so why have they surged up just then?"
...
Many supreme Godkings hovered in the air as they stared at the lava below. They were in fear.
If it were not for the fact that they had fled quickly, even supreme Godkings would not have been able to survive. They would have been burnt to a crisp.
However, many Godkings were traumatised by this, so no one dared to go down into the lava again for the time being.
The terrifying attacks stopped beneath the lava. Jian Chen hid in the Anatta Tower and sensed the outside through his connection with the tower. After confirming that the attacks would not continue, he slowly made the Anatta Tower float before carefully advancing forwards.
After advancing several kilometers, Jian Chen suddenly became startled. Immediately, he stopped the Anatta Tower, and after sensing the outside seriously, he gritted his teeth and left the tower once again, appearing outside.
But this time, Jian Chen appeared behind the Anatta Tower. That way, even if they were attacked again, he would have enough time to make his way back in with the indestructible tower before him to block the attacks.
However, as soon as Jian Chen left the Anatta Tower, his heart jumped, and his eyes narrowed instantly.
Up ahead, he saw a huge head. Currently, the head was almost pressed against the Anatta Tower. A pair of eyes that were three meters wide stared at the tower in interest.
"It's a gigantic lizard!" Jian Chen's heart shuddered. He recognised what it was with a single glance. It was actually a huge lizard that could survive in the depths of the lava.
However, at this moment, the gigantic lizard discovered Jian Chen as well. Its huge eyes immediately locked onto him.
Even though Jian Chen was in the lava, he felt his body turn cold from the lizard's gaze as if his entire body had seized up. His blood felt like it had frozen as a sense of danger enough to suffocate him suddenly descended.
Jian Chen had been ready to return to the Anatta Tower at any time, so without any hesitation, he returned to the tower with a flash.
Boom!
As soon as he returned to the tower, a heavy sound rang out from the structure. Clearly, the lizard had launched a ferocious attack.
Jian Chen breathed heavily in the Anatta Tower. He looked outside, and he was extremely stern.
This outcome had completely topped his preconceived ideas of the Neptunean Divine Palace. He had never thought that there would be such a terrifying lizard at the bottom of the lava, where no one had discovered it after so many years.
He was certain that if the news of the lizard broke out in the Neptunean Divine Palace, it would lead to a huge uproar.
"Jian Chen, what's the situation outside?" Kai Ya asked.
Jian Chen immediately told Kai Ya everything he knew. As expected, Kai Ya became stern after learning that there was an abnormally powerful lizard outside.
"It'll be very difficult for you to collect fire divine crystals with that lizard outside," Kai Ya frowned.
Chapter 2113: A Second Law (One)
"The space here is so vast. Since there's a gigantic lizard here, I'll go somewhere else," said Jian Chen before immediately backing off with the Anatta Tower. He moved far away from the region to avoid the lizard.
The damaged Anatta Tower was like a ghost, moving through the bottom of the lava silently. Under Jian Chen's control, they only stopped after travelling millions of kilometres, seemingly reaching the other end of the eighth floor.
"It should be safe here," Jian Chen murmured to himself. He quietly sensed the situation outside through his connection with the Anatta Tower before leaving with a flash.
"Be careful, just in case the lizard has followed us here," Kai Ya said from behind. She seemed rather worried and concerned.
However, this time, Jian Chen returned to the tower with a sunken face in just a few seconds. He said grimly, "The lizard is still outside. It followed us. The resistance is just too great here, so I can't sense its existence at all from the tower."
Jian Chen was in a horrible mood. The gigantic lizard was hostile, where it would attack him as soon as it saw him. Moreover, all of its attacks were devastating. It was so powerful that even ordinary Infinite Primes could probably be slain from a single strike, let alone Godkings. He could not collect anymore fire divine crystals now.
He could see how the ground outside was littered with fire divine crystals, but he just happened to be unable to collect them. It would be a painful torture to anyone in his position.
Jian Chen did not give in. He continued to move through the lava, switching to many different places. However, the part that made him furious was that no matter where he went, the lizard would follow him, or more accurately, it would follow the tower. It would move with the tower and strike the tower a few times from time to time, causing it to shake.
"It looks like I can't go outside for now with that gigantic lizard around. Whatever, since I can't go outside, I'll cultivate here for a while," Jian Chen sighed inside. After handing some matters over to Kai Ya, he visited Zi Yun and Xiao Man before going to the ninth floor of the Anatta Tower by himself. He entered secluded cultivation.
His comprehension of the Laws of the Sword had already reached the major achievement of Sword Spirit. He could condense a third strand of Profound Sword Qi now. He had been busy with collecting fire divine crystals before, and he treated that with more importance than anything else. As a result, he naturally did not have the time to condense the third strand back then.
Now that a terrifying lizard was waiting outside, he was trapped in the Anatta Tower, so he could only spend the time cultivating.
Jian Chen had already condensed the Profound Sword Qi twice in the past, so he was already familiar with the process. Very soon, he began to condense it.
As Jian Chen spent his time in seclusion, Kai Ya, Zi Yun, and Xiao Man did not sit around idly. They also cultivated.
Xiao Man, in particular, worked even harder on cultivation after what happened in the Neptunean Divine Palace. Her talent was not horrible, but due to the fact that she was too young and had not cultivated for a long time, she was only at the Mortal realm. After making up her mind to cultivate arduously, combined with Zi Yun's tremendous resources, Xiao Man's rate of improvement could be described as tremendous. Very soon, she broke through to Sainthood.
Zi Yun, on the other hand, had recently received a Chaotic Prime's legacy. Now that she had received some rare peace, she devoted herself to absorbing the legacy.
In the sky above the lava, the Godkings gathered there did not leave. Most of the Godkings had come in later and had come for the recognition of the Neptunean Divine Palace's artifact spirit. Now that they were certain that Xiao Man was crucial to the process, they naturally would not give up their search for her.
However, the lava was not peaceful these days. It would experience violent tremors from time to time, drawing up the flames from the very bottom, which prevented them from diving in so easily. All of them were waiting for a moment where the lava completely calmed down.
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, three years had passed. On this day, the entire ninth floor of the Anatta Tower suddenly became extremely bright as if a sun hung high in the sky, shining brightly and illuminating the entire world.
An extremely powerful sword intent radiated from the centre of the twelfth floor. Jian Chen currently sat below a huge stone tablet as a finger-sized sword Qi hovered above his head. It seemed to possess its own consciousness as it revolved around Jian Chen from time to time. It was the source of the chilling sword intent.
At this moment, there was a flash, and the strand of sword Qi suddenly vanished. In just a split second, it had entered Jian Chen's soul and settled down with the two other strands of sword Qi that seemed exactly the same.
Jian Chen slowly opened his eyes as he showed some joy. After three years of seclusion, he had successfully condensed the third strand of Profound Sword Qi.
He could clearly sense that in the instance he condensed the third strand, the two strands from before seemed to increase in power slightly.
Afterwards, he looked at the huge stone tablet. The stone tablet held all the control to the Anatta Tower. Only by refining it completely could he possess complete control over the tower.
"I wonder if I can refine the sixth floor with my current strength..." Jian Chen stared at the stone tablet as he pondered to himself. After some silence, he pressed his hands against the stone tablet firmly and tried to refine the sixth floor.
However, he gave up very soon. The sixth floor was countless times more difficult to refine than the fifth floor. After the attempt, he discovered that even if his cultivation advanced to the next stage, he would not necessarily be able to refine the sixth floor.
"It looks like I can only attempt it after my cultivation has reached a level on par with Infinite Primes," Jian Chen sighed gently. With a thought, he vanished from the ninth floor, and when he reappeared, he was on the first floor again. He appeared beside Kai Ya silently.
He did not go out to check on the lizard. During those three years, although he had been focusing on refining the strand of Profound Sword Qi, his senses attached to the Anatta Tower had not weakened at all. He could clearly sense that the tower would shake a few times every once in a while.
Clearly, the lizard did not leave. Perhaps it had become interested in the tower, as it would hit the structure from time to time. However, each time it did that, its power was extremely terrifying. Not only did it shake up the Anatta Tower, but it stirred up the entire sea of lava as well, preventing the eighth floor of the Neptunean Divine Palace from recovering its peace.
Chapter 2114: A Second Law (Two)
Whenever the Neptunean Divine Palace opened, it would only remain open for ten years. Almost half of the ten years had passed by now. Jian Chen also knew that it would probably be very difficult for him to continue his collection of fire divine crystals in the future.
His turned his head slightly and gazed into the distance. He immediately calmed down slightly when he saw the mountainous pile of fire divine crystals.
He knew that there would not be too many five-colored divine crystals once he exchanged the fire divine crystals, but at the very least, it would be enough to for him to take the teleportation formation across planes a few times.
"You've emerged?" Kai Ya slowly opened her eyes. She looked at Jian Chen beside her and asked, "Is there anything you're looking for?"
Jian Chen nodded slightly and laughed dryly in a rather unnatural manner, "The lizard still hasn't left, so I can't go out. I need to stay in here. Oh right, Kai Ya, I've seen your usage of laws. It seems like you have quite the knowledge about it. At the same time, the Laws of Fire and the Laws of Destruction possess extraordinary power in your hands. It completely exceeds your current cultivation. May I ask how you achieved it?"
Jian Chen had always been curious about Kai Ya's usage of laws. If his grasp and usage of the Laws of the Sword could reach the same level as Kai Ya's Laws of Fire and Destruction, his battle prowess would rise to a new level.
Although he had spent several years under the lava now, and he was not completely certain about the situation within the Neptunean Divine Palace, it was not difficult for him to guess what had happened. He knew that since the eight supreme Godkings and the various other observing Godkings had learnt about Xiao Man, it would not be kept a secret. Probably everyone knew about Xiao Man's secret already.
Xiao Man was with him right now. Unless he abandoned Xiao Man, he would come into conflict with many supreme Godkings sooner or later once he left this place. He would struggle to handle that, as he had just broken through to the twelfth layer of the Chaotic Body.
As a result, he urgently needed to increase his strength.
"I can't really explain how I do it in detail. It's just based off a feeling," Kai Ya said in thought. Then she raised her right hand slowly and said, "Jian Chen, I'll slow down my condensation of laws and show you." With that, Kai Ya began to condense the power of the Laws of Destruction slowly.
This time, she condensed the laws at an extremely gradual pace, allowing people to clearly sense the omnipresent power of laws gather towards her fingers from the surroundings, slowly condensing into a ball of power filled with a sense of destruction.
Jian Chen's eyes narrowed as he discovered that Kai Ya's process was not much different from other Godkings. There was nothing special about it. However, when the Laws of Destruction condensed in her hand, it was clearly much purer than when other Godkings condensed them.
This feeling made it seem like Kai Ya's cultivation realm was not at early Godking but late Godking.
This was because the Laws of Destruction she had just condensed was definitely as powerful as the Laws of Destruction a late Godking condensed.
"Laws are also a form of power. There's also tricks to using this power," Kai Ya said softly. As she spoke, the Laws of Destruction condensed at her fingertips silently changed in shape. It was no longer pure power, gradually turning into an inscription.
As soon as the inscription appeared, it radiated with a ripple of energy that gave even Jian Chen chills. He could sense a powerful threat from the inscription as if it was no weaker than the supreme Godkings he fought before.
"I'll show it to you a few more times. I don't know how I should pass this method onto you correctly, so this is all I can do right now." Kai Ya dispersed the Laws of Destruction in her hand and began to condense them again following the same steps.
Not only was Jian Chen the person Kai Ya trusted the most, but he was also her best friend, and the person she was most familiar with. As a result, she did not hold back for Jian Chen at all, providing him with everything she knew. She repeated it time and time again without any consideration for exhaustion.
Jian Chen slowly closed his eyes and cleared his mind. He sensed every step and every detail as Kai Ya condensed the Laws of Destruction. He wanted to understand the secrets within so that he could increase his personal grasp over the Laws of the Sword.
Gradually, Jian Chen entered a selfless mental state. He only felt like he was submerged in a sea filled with the Laws of Destruction, wrapping around him tightly.
In the sea of Laws of Destruction, he felt no sense of threat or unease at all. Instead, he felt a warm feeling, like an infant in their mother's embrace.
At the same time, he felt like his entire body was fusing into it as if his body wanted to become a part of the sea, to become a drop of water in the sea.
At the same time, the faint power of the Laws of Destruction silently condensed around Jian Chen, revolving around him.
Kai Ya, who sat before Jian Chen, stared at him in shock. She mumbled, "H- he is actually comprehending the Laws of Destruction."
...
After who knew how long, Jian Chen finally emerged from that wondrous state.
As soon as he roused, he sensed his personal changes. Not only could he clearly sense the power of the Laws of the Sword that was present everywhere, but he could even sense the power of the Laws of Destruction as well.
Jian Chen was startled. Immediately, he tried to condense the power of the Laws of Destruction, and just as expected, the Laws of Destruction condensed rapidly with just a thought from him.
"I- I've grasped the Laws of Destruction?" Disbelief filled Jian Chen's face. Originally, he wanted to understand the secrets of her usage of laws through Kai Ya, but he had never thought he would successfully comprehend the Laws of Destruction instead.
"Kai Ya, how long have I taken?" Jian Chen asked nervously. He had been submerged within that wondrous state, having forgotten about himself and everything else. He completely lost track of time, making him afraid that he had spent far too much time comprehending the Laws of Destruction.
"Half a year."
"Only half a year? Thank god," Jian Chen sighed in relief and finally stopped worrying.
"Master, the Way of the Sword is your main focus. You must put all your efforts into the Way of the Sword. Only then can you reach the peak in the shortest amount of time possible..." The voices of the sword spirits rang out in Jian Chen's head. Jian Chen's comprehension of the Laws of Destruction made the two of them worry, as they were afraid that it would slow down Jian Chen's progress with the Way of the Sword.
Zi Ying and Qing Suo knew that Jian Chen would comprehend more laws in the future, but they wanted to see him become an expert that could dominate an entire region before comprehending more laws.
This was because by then, there would not be a lot of people who could threaten Jian Chen anymore. He would be able to comprehend more laws without any worry, unlike right now where he faced danger at all times. Just the slightest carelessness could end up claiming his life.
Chapter 2115: Rapid Progress
"Zi Ying, Qing Suo, don't worry. I won't let you down," Jian Chen communicated with the sword spirits. Even though it was purely an accident that he comprehended the Laws of Destruction, Jian Chen did not regret it.
This was because with two laws, his battle prowess would definitely be greater than when he grasped one law. The only problem was that he had just begun to comprehend the Laws of Destruction, so his usage and comprehension of the Laws of Destruction remained at a rudimentary level.
However, Jian Chen believed that before too long, he would be able to raise his comprehension of the Laws of Destruction to Godking.
By then, his battle prowess would rise to a whole new level without any doubt when he used the Laws of the Sword and Destruction together with his Chaotic Force.
"My current comprehension of the Laws of Destruction are approaching mid Godking. Jian Chen, you've just comprehended the Laws of Destruction, so your usage remains at a rudimentary level. I'll engrave my comprehension and assist you in increasing your comprehension," said Kai Ya. She found a tough stone tablet somewhere and closed her eyes slowly.
Immediately, a powerful presence radiated from her body. Her long hair fluttered without any breeze as the power of the Laws of Destruction silently condensed, gathering around Kai Ya.
Kai Ya's process of comprehending the Laws of Destruction from the very start to her current early Godking level flashed through her mind. In the end, it condensed on her finger as an imprint that contained the endless mysteries of the laws.
As soon as the imprint was created, the Laws of Destruction around Kai Ya were immediately disturbed. It began to pulse violently, becoming extremely unstable.
At this moment, Kai Ya's gaze suddenly became extremely sharp. As she called out, the imprint on her finger shot off as a streak of black light, striking the stone tablet.
There was no deafening boom, nor was there any terrifying destruction. Kai Ya's seemingly astounding strike was underwhelming in the end. It only left behind an extremely clear and profound imprint on the stone tablet.
Kai Ya's body tottered as she staggered. She almost fell down, and her face paled slightly. She seemed frail.
Clearly, what she just did had a tremendous impact on her.
"Kai Ya, why did you do this?" Immediately, Jian Chen arrived before Kai Ya. His face was filled with concern. He directly took out a few recovery pills and fed them to Kai Ya.
Naturally, he knew what Kai Ya had done. He had done the same thing back at the Tian Yuan clan before, leaving behind a slash that contained the mysteries of the Laws of the Sword for Xi Yu.
This was called passing on laws. It engraved a person's comprehension of laws in the clearest and simplest fashion for other people to comprehend.
Although this was the easiest way for someone to leave behind the mysteries of laws they had comprehended, not only would it exhaust the person significantly, but there would also be an extremely great risk. Their souls could become injured from the slightest carelessness.
Moreover, not everyone could benefit from an imprint like this. It only presented the laws of the world in the clearest and most direct fashion. Whether someone could grasp it would depend on their personal affinity for comprehension.
As a result, even some masters in the Saints' World would not leave behind an imprint like this so easily. Even without considering whether it would be able to achieve its purpose, just the risk alone was enough to make many experts shy away from it.
"I can't describe the trick to using laws to you, nor can I find a way to pass it onto you properly. You've comprehended the Laws of Destruction, so all I can do you for now is leave behind my comprehension of the Laws of Destruction," Kai Ya said tiresomely. With that, she immediately sat down and began to rest.
Jian Chen looked at the pale-faced Ka Ya with mixed feelings. He sighed gently before devoting all his attention to the imprint Kai Ya had left behind. He poured his mind into it to comprehend the mysteries of laws in there.
Jian Chen was completely submerged in it very quickly. He was talented already, and now that he had the assistance of this imprint, his comprehension of the Laws of Destruction increased extremely rapidly. He basically made progress at all times.
Early Deity...
Late Deity...
Early God...
Mid God...
...
Jian Chen's comprehension of the Laws of Destruction skyrocketed. He progressed so quickly that it was directly breathtaking.
"Master's affinity for comprehension is even greater than we imagined it to be..."
"Of course. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for master to comprehend the Way of the Sword so soon back on the Tian Yuan Continent. Although he used Comprehension Tea back then, his cultivation level was truly just too low. He was nowhere close to the basic standards for comprehending the Way of the Sword. In my opinion, it would have been impossible for someone no matter how talented to comprehend the Way of the Sword even with the assistance of Comprehension Tea at master's cultivation level in the past, yet master managed it..."
The sword spirits secretly sighed in amazement. Even though they knew it was all because of the imprint, they were still able to witness Jian Chen's talent indirectly.
At the same time, over a thousand Godkings gathered on the twelfth floor of the Neptunean Divine Palace peacefully around three huge statues. Everyone sat there with their eyes closed as they comprehended the three statues with their mind.
In an inconspicuous corner within the ground, the Godkings of the Yun family gathered there as well. However, compared to the past, their numbers had fallen once again. Only five remained.
"Xin'er, you're blessed, where you obtained a Spiritual Root of Heavenly Ways soon after you came to the Neptunean Divine Palace. It won't be a problem for you to become a Chaotic Prime. You have to take advantage of this opportunity now and properly comprehend these statues. Let's see whether you can gain the recognition of one of the statues."
"One of the legacies has been taken away out of the four statues. You only need to gain the recognition of one of the three remaining statues, and not only will be you be able to break free from the Sky Empire, but you might even be able to avenge Jian Chen."
Yun Lianqing sat beside Yun Xin and said to her secretly. Even though he knew that obtaining the legacies here was basically something that could only happen in fairy tales, he still held some anticipation.
Yun Xin opened her eyes and glanced at the fifth prince, mister Shu, and the others nearby. She nodded slightly.
The fifth prince and mister Shu were communicating through secret techniques as well.
"Mister Shu, I'll stay here for now and leave with the group when the Neptunean Divine Palace closes. There are a few extremely powerful supreme Godkings on the twelfth floor, so even if Ming Dong comes here, he won't be able to do anything."
"You're worrying too much, fifth prince. Ming Dong probably still doesn't know I attacked Jian Chen. After all, the rumors only detailed eight supreme Godkings working against Jian Chen. I was not included in there. It looks like I've been ignored by many people because I'm not a supreme Godking..." Mister Shu replied.
"So what if Ming Dong learns about it? You can't forget that we've found a Life Starcore in the Neptunean Divine Palace. Every single Life Starcore comes from the centre of a planet brimming with life. It's extremely precious, and it contains a terrifying life force. It's a treasure that can only be found through luck to those who cultivate the Way of Life," the fifth prince said confidently.
"Fifth prince, are you thinking of..." Mister Shu was startled, and he glanced into the distance.
Mister Shu was looking at an empty region where basically no one resided. Only two otherworldly women sat there.
It seemed like the huge, empty space had become their special territory.
One of the women wore a purple dress. A veil obscured her face as she placed a simple zither on her knees. She did not try to comprehend the statue or attempt to gain the legacy's recognition. Instead, she placed all her attention on the zither.
The other woman wore a green dress. She was alluring and very pretty.
Mister Shu did not look at the veiled woman in purple. Instead, he looked at the woman in a green dress as a smear of dread and deep angst appeared on his face.
The woman in green kept her presence concealed, so she seemed ordinary, but her strength was deeply remembered by all the Godkings on the floor.
This was because as soon as this woman had come to the floor, she clashed with a woman in silver-white armor. Although it was just a single clash, the devastating power made all the Godkings present suspect that they were Primordial realm experts fighting instead.
Moreover, this woman in green comprehended the Laws of Life!
Chapter 2116: Enemies Meet
However, the single clash made all the Godkings on the twelfth floor clearly understand that the two women had reached a horrifying level of strength.
As a matter of fact, without any exaggeration, all the other supreme Godkings gathered on the floor became obedient due to their presences. They did not dare to set down their own rules there anymore.
"That's right. If it really reaches that point, we'll offer her the Life Starcore. Although the Life Starcore is precious, it only has unimaginable uses to experts who cultivate the Laws of Life. There just happens to be one of them here, so asking this expert to stop Ming Dong for us in exchange for a Life Starcore shouldn't be too difficult."
"Ming Dong's background may be great, where he has killed several supreme Godkings without any fear of revenge from the organisations behind them, but it's not like we're truly getting her to engage in a brawl to the death by asking the supreme Goding who has comprehended the Laws of Life to stop Ming Dong. I think she'll agree..." The fifth prince said to mister Shu secretly as he seemed extremely confident.
Mister Shu also found the fifth prince's words to be very reasonable, so he immediately relaxed. He said, "With that being the case, we have no need to worry whether Ming Dong will find out about us or not. It's indeed very difficult for us to fend off Ming Dong in the Neptunean Divine Palace, but once we leave, there will be Primordial realm experts from our Sky Empire there to receive us. Leaving will be a piece of cake. I'm just very curious about the identities of the woman in green and the woman in white armor over there. I'm curious about which two of the top ten experts on the Godkings' Throne they are, where they're so terrifying. But even with so many people, none of them seem to be able to recognise the two of them. Otherwise, just their names would have been enough to determine their rankings on the Godkings' Throne..."
Mister Shu glanced past the crowd and would look at the woman in green and the woman in armor from time to time. While he felt dread, he was also filled with curiosity.
In reality, they were not the only people curious about the two women. Basically all the Godkings on the floor secretly paid attention to the two of them.
Clearly, their clash that time had left a permanent impression in everyone's hearts.
One of them who received everyone's attention was Audriana.
Currently, Audriana kept her presence completely concealed, and she sat beside Shangguan Mu'er like an ordinary person. She ignored the secret glances from the people in the surroundings. However, when she glanced past the many people from time to time and saw the person with a curvy figure in silver-white armor seated by herself, unconcealable rage and hatred would fill her eyes.
"Shui. Yun. Lan," Audriana muttered these three words through gritted teeth with a sunken face. Even with her broad mind, she struggled to maintain her calm when she saw the woman in the armor. She showed very deep hatred.
This was because the woman was her former enemy, one of the four protectors of the Ice Goddess Hall, Shui Yunlan.
At this moment, Shangguan Mu'er looked at Audriana and asked, "Sister, does your grievance with her really run this deep?"
Audriana sucked in a deep breath and said slowly, "Sister Mu'er, you don't understand Shui Yunlan, nor do you know just how many sins she has committed. Not only did she seal up an entire world and prevent anyone from moving to the Saints' World, but she even took action personally to commit a massacre, destroying an entire era in that world."
Audriana looked at Shangguan Mu'er and continued, "Do you know why those ancient historical records from the Tian Yuan Continent, Beast God Continent, sea realm, and Wasteland Continent only extend to just over a million years ago? And why the history before that is completely blank, with no records at all? That is because Shui Yunlan used her bloody hands to eradicate that earlier era. Countless Sainthood and Origin realm cultivators have died to Shui Yunlan's hands, including people from our God clan..."
"But they were powerless. Shui Yunlan was just too powerful. I was unable to stop her, and she possessed a supreme treasure bestowed upon her by the Ice Goddess, one of the seven Grand Exalts, allowing her to become immune to the punishment of the laws from the lower world..."
As soon as the past was mentioned, Audriana experienced anger that she was unable to hold in. She hated Shui Yunlan very much, causing her gaze towards Shui Yunlan to sharpen.
"Audriana, there's no need for you to look at me like that. You might have gone through over three million years of consolidation in the lower world, making you much more powerful than in the past, where you can even make it into the top ten on the Godkings' Throne, but you're still not my opponent," perhaps having sensed Audriana's hostile gaze, Shui Yunlan's cold, emotionless voice rang out from afar.
She had said this through a communication technique, so apart from Audriana, no one could hear it at all, including Shangguan Mu'er.
"Audriana, I have no intentions of fighting with you, so I do hope that you can restrain yourself. You should know our current difference in strength. I can ignore what you did before, but if it happens a second time, I will make you pay..." Shui Yunlan's ice-cold voice rang out clearly. It was filled with disdain towards Audriana, completely looking down on her.
"Shui Yunlan, you sure are confident. I really do want to try it. I want to see whether you really can speak so confidently and treat me like nothing," Audriana did not shy away and replied with a sneer. She did not fear Shui Yunlan, and that was not the reason why did not continue fighting with Shui Yunlan when she had just come to the twelfth floor. Instead, it was because their intense battle would affect many unrelated people. Even Shangguan Mu'er might end up suffering from an accident.
As a result, she had to stop fighting with Shui Yunlan for the sake of Shangguan Mu'er. Shui Yunlan clearly had no intentions of conflicting with Audriana, so the two of them stopped after clashing a single time.
"I'm just very curious. With your current level of cultivation, you can reach the Primordial realm at any time, so why have you still not broken through and have instead remained as a Godking? Moreover, why have you appeared on the twelfth floor of the Neptunean Divine Palace? What confuses me even more is that you're actually trying to obtain a Grand Prime's legacy here." Audriana looked at Shui Yunlan mysteriously as she smiled strangely. Then she continued, "The organisation behind you is the Ice Goddess Hall. They possess one of the seven Grand Exalts of the Saints' World. How can a legacy from the Neptunean Divine Palace still catch the eye of a place that possesses the supreme Ice Goddess? Moreover, in my knowledge, all the cultivation methods of your Ice Goddess Hall is related to the cold. Since when did cultivation methods unrelated to the cold interest you people of the Ice Goddess Hall?"
Chapter 2117: Nowhere to Return
"Or perhaps it's you, Shui Yunlan, who wants the wealth of a Grand Prime? But that doesn't make sense either. What kind of organisation is your Ice Goddess Hall? Even if you lack resources, all you need to do is show that you need it, and countless large organisations across the Saints' World will fight with one another to offer up a huge amount of wealth first. Why would you care about the belongings of the Grand Primes from the Neptunean Divine Palace?"
When she reached there, Audriana suddenly smiled strangely, "Perhaps you haven't returned to the Ice Goddess Hall yet with your esteemed Snow Goddess? If that's the case, do you need me to send a message to the Ice Goddess Hall so that they can send someone over to receive you and the Snow Goddess?"
"Audriana, don't you dare!"
Shui Yunlan's response was extremely intense when she heard Audriana's offer. Suddenly, she turned her head over, and her eyes became silver-white. Her gaze was as sharp as a sword as she stared at Audriana firmly. She said, "Audriana, if you really do that, then it won't just be as simple as a grievance between the two of us. Although her majesty is injured right now, she still remains, but the War God of your God clan still hasn't grown up completely. I hope you won't bring disaster to your God clan."
"Hehehe, the Ice Goddess of your Ice Goddess Hall has been healing for several million years, and she's still completely silently now. She hasn't even appeared for something as important as the return of the Snow Goddess. Who knows whether she's still alive or not. On the other hand, although our great War God has yet to mature completely, that day won't be too far away. Moreover, with our God clan's current strength, we can still dominate and stand as a peak organisation even without the War God. On the other hand, is there anyone else who can stand forward for your Ice Goddess Hall apart from the Ice and Snow Goddesses? Who else has the power to threaten our God clan and bring disaster on us?" Audriana scoffed.
Shui Yunlan's face hidden within her helmet had sunk long ago. She knew that Audriana was right. The Ice Goddess Hall never had a lot of people and never accepted disciples openly like other large sects. They were not like the Heavenly Palace of Bisheng either, which possessed eight majesties so that even when the Anatta Grand Prime, one of the seven Grand Exalts, was not present, they could still hold themselves up.
Indeed, the Ice Goddess Hall had no other expert that could hold it up apart from the Ice Goddess and the Snow Goddess.
The Ice Goddess was heavily injured, and her current condition was unknown. She had not even appeared for something as important as the return of the Snow Goddess, so the situation definitely was not good.
As for the Snow Goddess, she still had not awakened her memories yet, so she did not remember the past. Recovering her strength to her peak condition would take forever without the tremendous resources of the Ice Goddess Hall.
Audriana felt satisfaction when she saw Shui Yunlan's darkening gaze. She said, "Shui Yunlan, don't give me that deathly expression. Although I hate you, I'm not someone who'll ignore the bigger picture, nor am I a petty person. Even if I do resent you, I will properly defeat you through my own hard work and cultivation. I won't use some underhanded tricks against you and the Snow Goddess. I won't leak the news of you and the Snow Goddess."
"You better stop acting so condescending before me in the future because in my eyes, you're just a person with nowhere to return to. There really isn't anything for you to act so proudly about. I will fight you sooner or later because of what happened on the Tian Yuan Continent."
Shui Yunlan's eyes narrowed. She glanced at Audriana deeply before looking away. Her head drooped slightly. She stared at the ground silently with her dull eyes.
What Audriana said about how she had nowhere to return to rang through her head like a curse. It shook up her mind and filled her with sorrow.
Shangguan Mu'er had no idea that an argument had already happened between Audriana and Shui Yunlan. She looked at the Zither of the Demonic Cry again and felt overjoyed. She also felt a sense of anticipation.
"The ancestors were right. The twelfth floor of the Neptunean Divine Palace can indeed make the artifact spirit awaken sooner because there's a mysterious power in this space. The Zither of the Demonic Cry is absorbing this power automatically. It's just that this power is extremely special so that other people are unable to sense it. Even I would not be able to sense this mysterious power if it were not for the fact that I've gained the initial recognition of the Zither of the Demonic Cry..." Shangguan Mu'er thought. She did not desire the three legacies here. Instead, she placed all her attention on the Zither of the Demonic Cry, looking forward to the artifact spirit awakening sooner.
Ming Dong remained seated in the air on the eighth floor. He silently recovered from the backlash of using Fatesight as he waited for Jian Chen.
The five divine generals had all dispersed. They formed a pentagon to protect Ming Dong, paying attention to the surroundings at all times as they guarded him with fierce loyalty.
Even further away, many supreme Godkings gathered in small groups that were scattered across the air. They would pay attention to the lava below at all times.
However, their numbers had decreased drastically compared to the years before. Many Godkings had already left in search of their own fortunes in the Neptunean Divine Palace.
Over eighty percent of the people who still remain belonged to the group that had entered later.
All of these people were experts who ranked higher up on the Godkings' Throne, or they had even made it into the top hundred. They did not come for the legacies, but for the Neptunean Divine Palace itself.
"The lava has already been violent for so long. When is it going to settle down..."
"There must be something happening at the bottom of the lava, or anomalies like this would not happen..."
"You don't say. Anyone can tell there's something happening down there, but more importantly, who dares to dive in?"
...
The supreme Godkings all hovered in the sky. They were all concerned and dishevelled. The time when the Neptunean Divine Palace would close was approaching, yet they still had no leads on the little girl, which annoyed them very much.
Time passed silently, and in the blink of an eye, over half a year had passed again. Now, just the amount of time Jian Chen had spent in seclusion in the Neptunean Divine Palace amounted to over four years, even when the time he spent collecting fire divine crystals was excluded. Half of the time had already elapsed.
One day, Jian Chen suddenly opened his eyes as he had been comprehending the Laws of Destruction on the first floor of the Anatta Tower. In the instance he opened his eyes, a pure, destructive presence seemed to permeate the surroundings, shining with a dark glow.
At that moment, his gaze was extraordinarily terrifying. It gave people a feeling that the gaze alone could destroy everything it saw, enough to disintegrate it all to dust.
However, this gaze only lasted for a split second before returning to peace again. It became plain once again.
"With the imprint that Kai Ya left behind, comprehending the Laws of Destruction really is extremely easy. In such a short amount of time, I've elevated my comprehension to late Overgod. However, it should be because I'm comprehending too quickly that the energy in Kai Ya's imprint is being consumed extremely rapidly as well. It's almost completely depleted now. I probably won't be able to break through to Godking soon," Jian Chen looked at the dull imprint as he sighed in amazement.
An imprint to pass on laws would not exist forever. Every single imprint was supported by energy as well. If it was not comprehended, the energy would be depleted at an extremely gradual pace, but if someone comprehended it at astonishing speed, the energy would naturally be depleted at an astonishing rate as well.
Chapter 2118: Xiao Man's Origins
"Jian Chen, your comprehension of the Laws of Destruction has reached late Overgod, so your understanding of the laws will differ greatly compared to before. I'll show you how I use the Laws of Destructions as well as the trick to using laws," Kai Ya said to Jian Chen. She felt happy for Jian Chen seeing how he increased his comprehension of the Laws of Destruction to late Overgod in such a short amount of time.
"Kai Ya, you've exhausted yourself too much by leaving behind that imprint. You still haven't recovered completely, so don't show me anything more because I really will struggle with grasping your method," Jian Chen persuaded for Kai Ya's sake. He did not wish to see her exhaust herself just for him.
Although it was just condensing the Laws of Destruction, which basically had no effect on Kai Ya at all, Jian Chen still hoped that she could return to her peak condition sooner.
"You weren't able to grasp it before because you didn't comprehend the Laws of Destruction. Now that your Laws of Destruction have reached late Overgod and is only a step away from Godking, it's much more different. Don't forget that there's a big battle coming up. Since you have the chance to increase your strength right now, you can't waste it," said Kai Ya. Before Jian Chen even agreed, she began to conjure the Laws of Destruction.
Very clearly, she hoped that Jian Chen could grasp this method and trick as well.
Jian Chen was helpless. He could not waste Kai Ya's kind intentions, so he just sat down before Kai Ya and concentrated on Kai Ya's usage of the Laws of Destruction. He would close his eyes and open his mind from time to time to comprehend it closely.
Before he had comprehended the Laws of Destruction, Jian Chen only knew that Kai Ya's grasp and usage of the Laws of Destruction were extremely great, having reached a high level of mastery already. Now that he had comprehended the Laws of Destruction, he gained a different understanding when Kai Ya used the Laws of Destruction. He discovered in shock that Kai Ya's understanding and knowledge of the Laws of Destruction were even more terrifying than he imagined it to be. It was not something that a Godking should have been able to grasp. It made him shiver.
In particular, when Kai Ya condensed the inscription from the Laws of Destruction, it was even more profound. It contained the endless secrets of laws within, making Jian Chen feel like he was watching the evolution of laws. Its complexity extended far beyond his scope of understanding.
"Jian Chen, have you benefited from it?"
A year later, Kai Ya stopped with some exhaustion. She looked at Jian Chen eagerly.
Jian Chen shook his head and said in dejection, "Your method of control is just far too profound. I'm nowhere close to understanding it right now."
"Far too profound? Really?" Kai Ya was rather surprised. She knew just how great Jian Chen's talent was, but in the end, even he said it was too profound. Was grasping her method of usage really that difficult?
If it were so difficult, why did she grasp it effortlessly?
Jian Chen looked at Kai Ya with rather mixed emotions. He knew that Kai Ya was probably the reincarnation of some great expert and was gradually recovering her former powers. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for her strength to shoot off even faster than a rocket after waking up from her slumber. Her usage of laws even surpassed all experts of the same level, where even he himself paled in comparison.
Although the current Kai Ya was gradually recovering her powers, her memories showed no signs of returning. All she knew was everything that had happened in this life.
"There's not much time left in the decade the Neptunean Divine Palace is open. The lizard outside still hasn't left, so collecting fire divine crystals is not possible. Kai Ya, you should properly recover first. I think we'll be leaving here soon. I'll go check on Zi Yun and Xiao Man first. There are some matters I must understand," Jian Chen looked at Kai Ya deeply before vanishing silently. He used the power of the Anatta Tower to teleport.
When Jian Chen arrived beside Zi Yun and Xiao Man, they were not cultivating. Instead, Zi Yun was explaining some matters about cultivation to Xiao Man seriously.
The two of them immediately stood up when they saw Jian Chen arrive. Their faces were filled with gratitude.
Jian Chen nodded at them with a smile and looked at Xiao Man. She had grown up some more over the years, and she was no longer the same little girl as the one on the spatial battleship. She had become a Saint Emperor as well and had almost broken through to the Origin realm.
It had to be mentioned that Jian Chen was not even a Heaven Saint Master when he was Xiao Man's age.
Of course, the treatment he received back then was nowhere near as special as Xiao Man's. He came from a lower world lacking in resources, while she came from the abundant Saints' World and had the personal guidance of a Godking. They could not be compared.
"Miss Zi Yun, there are some things I want to talk with you about alone," Jian Chen said calmly before leaving with Zi Yun. They left Xiao Man there by herself.
"Brother Jian Chen wants to spend some time all alone with sister Zi Yun. Does he like sister Zi Yun?" Xiao Man thought inside as she watched Jian Chen and Zi Yun leave. Her face lit up, "Yep, it must be like that. Otherwise, why would brother Jian Chen help us time and time again? He must like sister Zi Yun. Moreover, sister Zi Yun is so pretty, so it makes sense for brother Jian Chen to like sister Zi Yun..."
"Miss Zi Yun, I want to learn about Xiao Man's origins. Of course, you don't need to worry at all. I have no ill intentions in asking. You should know that what happened with Xiao Man has already attracted the attention of many people. I need to know the exact reason for this, and only then will I be able to come up with a better plan to deal with the situation," said Jian Chen. Xiao Man was too young. She did not know her parents as well as Zi Yun, so he needed to ask Zi Yun in order to look into this matter.
"Let me tell you what I know..." Afterwards, Zi Yun told Jian Chen all the things she knew.
Jian Chen gained a rough understanding of Xiao Man's parents from Zi Yun. He learnt that Xiao Man's parents were a couple that seemed extremely old on the surface. They had lost all of their cultivation, and after passing on everything they knew to Zi Yun, they passed away a thousand years later. Before they departed, they left behind a few life-saving items of extraordinary quality and a Neptunean Medallion, ordering Zi Yun to take Xiao Man into the Neptunean Divine Palace no matter what.
Jian Chen sank into his thoughts after learning about Xiao Man's parents. Now, he was basically certain that Xiao Man's parents were related to the Neptunean Divine Palace, or they would not have ordered Zi Yun to take Xiao Man into the Neptunean Divine Palace no matter what. They did that because they already knew that Xiao Man would be protected by the world within the Neptunean Divine Palace, where no one would be able to harm her as long as she remained in there.
"Even if Xiao Man's parents used to be disciples of the Daoist Sect of Neptunea, there's no reason for their descendant to be protected by the Neptunean Divine Palace because this isn't a treatment that anyone can receive unless they're direct descendants of the master of the Neptunean Divine Palace."
"If Xiao Man's parents really are direct descendants of the master of the Neptunean Divine Palace, the master must have sent them out to protect his bloodline and also severed their connection through blood. That would explain how they survived the calamity of the sect. After all, the samsaric powers of the Samsaric Immortal Exalt work through bloodlines and karmic connections. If he really wants to destroy a sect, no one will be able to survive."
"However, although the master of the Neptunean Divine Palace severed their connection through blood, he still failed to preserve them. Xiao Man's parents lost their cultivation completely because they were still tainted by some of the samsaric powers that spread to them through a sliver of their bloodline, and under its influence, they were gradually reduced to mortals..."
Jian Chen analysed secretly. The secrets to Xiao Man's origins gradually cleared up.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through Jian Chen's head. In that instance, he understood everything.
"The Neptunean Moon. It's the Neptunean Moon. I understand now. I finally understand now. The Neptunean Moon never appeared after the Daoist Sect of Neptunea was destroyed. Only when Xiao Man appeared was the yin and yang in the Neptunean Divine Hall restored, allowing the Neptunean Moon to rise up. The appearance of the moon clearly means that the artifact spirit has awakened, allowing the world within the Neptunean Divine Palace to operate normally. There's a sunrise and a sunset as well as the radiance of the moon. It has become a proper world. The artifact spirit, on the other hand, was awakened by Xiao Man's bloodline. What secretly protects Xiao Man is clearly the laws of the world created by the artifact spirit."
"It's just that the artifact spirit of the Neptunean Divine Palace only awakened for a split second before falling back into a slumber. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for it to remain silent..."
Jian Chen sucked in a deep breath. After understanding everything, he struggled to calm down. His emotions were upheaved. Now that he had realised all this, he naturally knew that the Neptunean Divine Palace and everything within it actually belonged to Xiao Man.
Chapter 2119: Seeing the Light of Day Again
Zi Yun's gaze was fixed on Jian Chen's face. Looking at the rapid changes to his face, she was immediately interested. She asked, "Jian Chen, have you worked out something about Xiao Man? If you have, can you tell me? After all, I've watched Xiao Man grow up. I don't hope to see anything happen to her."
"If I've guessed correctly, Xiao Man's ancestor should be the master of the Neptunean Divine Palace, and it's also because of this special bloodline that she received the protection of the Neptunean Divine Palace," said Jian Chen. He did not hide the matter from Zi Yun.
"What? H- h- how is that possible..." Zi Yun was stunned, and disbelief filled her face.
"Of course, that's only my personal guess. Maybe I'm wrong, and the reality of the matter is not as I have imagined," said Jian Chen. Even though he put it like that, he was basically certain that his guess was correct.
Jian Chen and Zi Yun's conversation ended very soon. After separating from Zi Yun, he made his way to the entrance of the Anatta Tower by himself. Through the damaged door, he looked at the lava outside as he sank into his thoughts.
The fact that Xiao Man was the descendant of the master of the Neptunean Divine Palace was surprising. He had no idea how he should treat Xiao Man in the future.
Was he supposed to just let Xiao Man out in the Neptunean Divine Palace and pay no more heed to her?
Or was he supposed to assist Xiao Man in successfully becoming the master of the Neptunean Divine Palace?
But speaking of which, his relationship with Xiao Man and Zi Yun was nothing particularly deep or special. They were strangers who had accidentally met one another. He had assisted Xiao Man back on the spatial battleship because he missed Xiao Ling, and he saw Xiao Ling's figure from Xiao Man.
But now, Xiao Man had already grown up. She had become a graceful lady, no longer the little girl that seemed similar to Xiao Ling. Naturally, Jian Chen could not see Xiao Ling's figure from her anymore.
As a result, in Jian Chen's opinion, even if he just abandoned the two of them in the Neptunean Divine Palace without any concern for their lives, he would feel no guilt at all. He would not feel like he had let them down.
That was because he did not owe Xiao Man or Zi Yun. On the contrary, he had assisted them twice instead, so in terms of debt, it was Xiao Man and Zi Yun who owed him.
However, if Jian Chen continued to help out and assist Xiao Man in becoming the master of the Neptunean Divine Palace, he knew exactly how many setbacks and troubles he would have to face. If they were his friends with particularly deep ties, he would do whatever he needed for them, even if he had to crawl through perilous danger.
However, they were only strangers who had met through chance. Their ties were not deep at all. As a matter of fact, they could not even be considered as basic friends. Was it worth it to take this risk for them?
For a time, Jian Chen hesitated. He had no idea how to deal with Xiao Man's matter.
"Jian Chen, please help us," at this moment, Zi Yun and Xiao Man arrived before Jian Chen, and they both dropped to their knees.
"What are you doing?" Jian Chen frowned when he saw this. With a wave of his hand, a gentle force lifted up Xiao Man and Zi Yun.
"Jian Chen, I know that it's very difficult for Xiao Man to regain the Neptunean Divine Palace, her ancestor's belongings, with just my abilities. That's because the supreme Godkings outside will definitely interfere. Even if Xiao Man is protected by the Neptunean Divine Palace, she's not necessarily safe. Maybe someone knows an ancient secret technique that can harm her despite the protection. I won't be of any use against these people, so I plead for you to help Xiao Man," Zi Yun implored Jian Chen.
Seeing Jian Chen frown silently, Zi Yun gritted her teeth as if she had made up her mind about something. She said with determination, "Jian Chen, if you can assist Xiao Man in becoming the master of the Neptunean Divine Palace, I will belong to you in the future." With that, Zi Yun blushed slightly, but her eyes remained fixed on Jian Chen as if she wanted to see what he was thinking.
To Zi Yun's disappointment, all she saw was surprise as if her condition of offering up herself did not interest Jian Chen.
It had to be mentioned that Zi Yun was extremely pretty, enough to outshine the moon. Although she could not match up to Shangguan Mu'er, she was still a surprising beauty. Unfortunately, Jian Chen was not a lustful person, so her charms were naturally useless.
"Brother Jian Chen, if you help me become the master of the Neptunean Divine Palace successfully, I'll give you all the legacies and heavenly resources in here. I only want the Neptunean Divine Palace, my ancestor's belonging so that it doesn't end up in the hands of other people," at this moment, Xiao Man raised her head and said bravely. Determination flooded her face.
A gleam of light shone through Jian Chen's eyes. All the legacies and heavenly resources in the Neptunean Divine Palace was an unimaginably tremendous amount of resources. It was indeed very enticing to him.
"Let's ignore the heavenly resources for now. Just the Primordial realm legacies here are enough to let the Tian Yuan clan develop rapidly..." A light flickered through Jian Chen's eyes. He thought quickly, and after a while of contemplation, he said, "Alright. Xiao Man, remember what you said. If I help you retake your ancestor's belonging, all the legacies and heavenly resources in the Neptunean Divine Palace will belong to me."
Xiao Man's condition was enough for Jian Chen to take the risk.
Although the Neptunean Divine Palace had interested Jian Chen before, he understood that it was also an object of great desire that would lead to a lot of trouble from other people.
Moreover, with the descendant of Neptunean Divine Palace's master here, how could anyone else claim possession of it?
Seeing Jian Chen agree, Xiao Man's face immediately lit up, "Alright, alright. But brother Jian Chen, the legacies at the top floor should have come from my ancestors, so I can't give those three to you. I can give up all the other ones though."
"Sure. Then let's do that," Jian Chen agreed without any hesitation. The legacy of Grand Primes did not interest him because they were useless to him. As long as he could obtain the legacies from the Chaotic Primes and Infinite Primes, it would be enough for the Tian Yuan clan.
...
In an extremely remote, inconspicuous corner of the eighth floor, a head silently poked out of the scorching lava.
Due to being covered in lava and being only a single head, it was extremely well-hidden in the sea of lava. It seemed like it was a part of the whole place, making it very difficult to discover.
At this moment, the head suddenly opened its eyes. What kind of eyes were they? They flickered with a cold light, where its gaze was sharp like a sword. It was difficult for people to stare right at them.
First, the pair of sharp eyes observed the surroundings cautiously. After confirming that was no one else was in the surroundings, the head began to slowly rise out of the lava.
All of this happened silently, without creating a disturbance at all. He did not even create any waves in the thick lava. He was just like a ghost.
In the blink of an eye, a slender man had emerged silently. Now, he stood on the surface of the lava.
Upon closer inspection, the person did not wear anything protective at all. He completely relied on his tough body to endure the terrifying heat from the lava. The terrifying lava that could make countless supreme Godkings pale, where even many Primoridal realm experts would not dare to come in contact with it easily, seemed to pose no threat to him.
Fortunately, there was no one around, or it definitely would have led to a huge uproar in the Neptunean Divine Palace.
To no surprise, the person who had emerged from the lava was Jian Chen.
With a wave of his hand, a fist-sized tower suddenly flew out of the lava. It fell into the centre of his palm. He looked at the depths of the lava fearfully and sighed in relief inside. He thought, "Fortunately, that gigantic lizard didn't follow us up. It looks like it won't leave the bottom of the lava so easily. And that's the exact reason why no one has discovered it until now."
"Several years have passed in a blink. I wonder what the situation is like in the Neptunean Divine Palace now. I need to find someone to ask about it and understand the situation before doing anything else." With a slight movement, Jian Chen vanished. He had left without any traces.
Chapter 2120: Proceeding to the Twelfth Floor
"Just as I had expected. There really are a lot of Godkings gathered on the eighth floor. Although they've all concealed their presences, I can still vaguely feel their strength. There are probably quite a few supreme Godkings." In the distance, Jian Chen sat at the foot of a mountain, hiding behind a huge boulder. He looked far away sternly.
In order to remain hidden, he did not use the senses of his soul. He just used his vision.
A large group of Godkings sat high up in the air in the distance. They did not notice Jian Chen's existence. Even if Jian Chen was standing very close to them, they would have never imagined that someone would stand at the foot of a volcano here.
This was because every inch of the volcanoes here was terrifyingly hot, where even supreme Godking would not be able to endure it.
Jian Chen did not dare to stay for long. He left very soon. Using the many volcanoes as a cover, he silently left the eighth floor. No one noticed any traces of him, including Ming Dong.
On the ninth floor of the Neptunean Divine Palace, a bare-chested, burly man in only shorts flew through the air leisurely. He seemed to hurry off mindlessly as he observed the surroundings with interest, viewing the scenery along the way.
"Sir, I've been in seclusion for many years, and I've only just emerged. May I ask if anything interesting has happened in the past few years?" At this moment, the burly man in shorts with muscles that seemed to be filled with explosive power stopped an early Godking. He clasped his hands after tossing out a small pile of supreme grade divine crystals.
The early Godking who was stopped was originally rather displeased, but when he saw the small pile of divine crystals, his face immediately warmed up. He clasped his fist politely and told everything he knew to the big man.
He spoke in great detail. He missed nothing at all, whether it was Jian Chen's death due to protecting Xiao Man from the eight supreme Godkings, or Ming Dong's slaughters that made him seem even more powerful than supreme Godkings.
"I never thought that so many major matters would have happened in the Neptunean Divine Palace in just a few short yours. Thank you for telling me." The bare-chested man directly left after learning about everything.
However, he did not travel too far away. Instead, he gradually came to a halt after leaving the early Godking. He turned his head towards the eighth floor as his face was filled with evident joy and excitement.
"I never thought Ming Dong would come to the Neptunean Divine Palace as well. Moreover, he's on par with supreme Godkings..."
"Hahahaha, no wonder the heads of the supreme Godkings I found at the bottom of the lava below just happened to match the people who worked against me. And I had originally thought they encountered some extremely powerful enemy that beheaded them. Turns out the two of them were actually killed by Ming Dong..."
"Four of the eight supreme Godkings who worked against me have been killed by Ming Dong. He even chased Cang Ying to the eighth floor. Hahaha, I never thought Ming Dong would have already become so powerful. He has even surpassed me. It looks like I need to work hard as well..."
The man laughed from the bottom of his heart. He clearly seemed to be at ease.
The burly man was Jian Chen in disguise. Not only did he alter his appearance, but he had even changed his stature through his control of the Chaotic Body.
"Ming Dong is in the Neptunean Divine Palace right now, but it's not convenient for me to meet him at the moment, just in case I cause trouble for him. Even if he's powerful now, he won't be able to deal with these dangers." Jian Chen calmed down very soon. After some thought, he shot off with lightning speed, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Before long, Jian Chen stopped in an extremely remote region. With a single thought, the Anatta Tower immediately flew out. Under his control, the tower landed on the ground gently, and a nervous and eager Xiao Man emerged.
However, to Jian Chen's surprise, the protective power did not reappear when Xiao Man appeared in the Neptunean Divine Palace again.
In other words, Xiao Man was no longer protected by the Neptunean Divine Palace anymore.
"Is it because I took Xiao Man into the Anatta Tower, and the Anatta Tower severed Xiao Man's connection with the Neptunean Divine Palace? Xiao Man and the Neptunean Divine Palace seem to be connected through a thread, and now that the thread has been severed, this connection has been severed as well. As a result, Xiao Man is no longer protected by the power?" A gleam of light flashed through Jian Chen's eyes as he pondered.
"Brother Jian Chen, why hasn't that protective power appeared?" Xiao Man was also perplexed.
"Xiao Man, try dripping some blood onto your pendant," said Jian Chen. He had already learnt many years ago that Xiao Man had awakened the artifact spirit through the presence of her bloodline, so he wanted her to try the same thing again. If the artifact spirit could awaken again, it would be much easier for Xiao Man to take back what belonged to her ancestor.
Xiao Man immediately did just that. She cut her finger and allowed her blood to drip onto the pendant before her chest.
Jian Chen paid close attention to the surroundings during this time. As he waited for the artifact spirit to awaken, his gaze became extremely sharp. Without a doubt, he would kill anyone who intruded on this place with lightning speed.
This was because he could not afford to leak any information about Xiao Man right now. Unfortunately, he could not hide Xiao Man, as her cultivation level was just too low. No matter how she hid, Godkings would still be able to see through all of that with a single glance.
"Brother Jian Chen, there seems to be nothing," Xiao Man said in confusion after a few minutes.
Jian Chen frowned slightly. He said in thought, "The artifact spirit should still be in slumber. The reason why it hasn't awakened this time is probably because it has become greatly exhausted from waking up last time. It's no longer as sensitive to your bloodline."
Xiao Man felt worried after learning that the artifact spirit could not be awakened. She was out of ideas, "Brother Jian Chen, what should we do?"
"Don't panic. No one knows where the artifact spirit is right now, but according to my understanding of artifact spirits, even if they're in slumber, they'll choose to rest in extremely important places. The twelfth floor of the Neptunean Divine Palace was where the master of this place passed away, and his legacy is there as well. If I've guessed correctly, the artifact spirit should be slumbering on the twelfth floor in a place where no one knows."
"Xiao Man, go in the tower. Give me the pendant and leave some blood for me. I'll go to the twelfth floor. That is the closest to where the artifact spirit is slumbering, and I'll see whether I can awaken the artifact spirit there with the presence of your bloodline. Once the artifact spirit awakens, those supreme Godkings won't be the ones in charge of the Neptunean Divine Palace anymore..."