Living in the deep palace

*Sizzle!*

Time seemed to stretch out infinitely at this moment.

The "Tide of Filth," powerful enough to corrupt all things, suddenly... stopped just before it touched Su Chen's body.

A thin, pitch-black "crack," seemingly capable of swallowing everything, appeared in the very center of this raging torrent.

Immediately afterwards, this raging ocean of energy, formed from the source of "filth," vanished silently from its center, like a punctured balloon.

All the laws, all the energy, all the concepts that constitute it were completely severed from their source by that "Ending" sword, turning into the purest "nothingness"!
"Do not……"

[Turbid] That chaotic will uttered its last cry, a mournful lament filled with bewilderment and incomprehension.

He doesn't understand.

Why is it that one's own "filth" is restrained by a more... "pure" power?

Is the power of the third realm able to suppress this source of the fourth realm?
How is this done?
As the tide of filth dissipated, the "Filthy Source Core," which was formed from His origin, was also exposed in the void.

The jet-black sword mark, its momentum undiminished, precisely imprinted itself on the source core.

There was no explosion.

In that instant, all the filth and impurities on that chaotic and violent source core were completely "terminated".

In the end, only a perfect sphere remained, completely black yet radiating the purest Daoist essence of "chaos"...

Forbidden ancient life, [Turbid], has fallen!

And at the same time.

At the other end of the great formation, Baibao Tianzun, who was frantically activating a "boundary-breaking talisman" in an attempt to tear open space and escape, suddenly froze!
"Zhuo...is he dead?"

"So fast……"

Simultaneously.

He felt that the "connection" between himself and the most powerful innate spiritual treasure he used to save his life was forcibly severed by an irresistible force!

"puff--!"

The backlash from the magic weapon, coupled with the damage to his Dao foundation caused by Su Chen, made it impossible for him to suppress his injuries any longer. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of golden divine blood!

His life force was rapidly waning, like an avalanche!

His face, once filled with calculation and greed, now held only boundless...despair.

All his trump cards and all his hopes were completely wiped out by that one sword strike.

"This... why is the Celestial Venerable Shi so terrifying?"

……

……

The Myriad Treasures Heavenly Net Formation collapsed on its own after its master was severely injured.

Those tens of thousands of magical artifacts, like toys that have lost their owners, have dimmed their light and are scattered in this chaotic sea of ​​stars.

Su Chen slowly lowered his sword finger.

He first reached out and took the pitch-black sphere, formed from the origin of [turbidity], into his hand.

He could clearly sense the immense power contained within, enough to allow him to break through once again.

However, he did not absorb it immediately.

He merely sealed it away temporarily with a seal. Before obtaining the "Purifying Spirit Pearl," he would not rashly devour the essence of any forbidden ancient life form.

After doing all this, he slowly turned around and walked step by step toward the Hundred Treasures Celestial Venerable who was slumped in the void, trembling all over, like a lump of mud.

“Now,” Su Chen’s voice was devoid of any emotion, “we can have a proper talk about that precious pearl.”

"I...I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

Faced with Su Chen, who was walking slowly towards him like the Grim Reaper, Baibao Tianzun's psychological defenses completely collapsed.

He spilled everything he knew, like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.

It turns out that hundreds of years ago, he obtained a fragmented star map in an ancient ruin, which contained clues about the "Pure Spirit Pearl".

Just as Chen Sheng remembered, the Pure Spirit Pearl was shattered in that earth-shattering battle.

Its largest core fragment fell into the deepest part of this Sea of ​​All Laws—an absolute "law vacuum" zone called the "Eye of All Laws".

That place is both the end of all laws and the beginning of all laws.

Any matter or energy possessing "law" properties will be instantly "reset to zero" and transformed into the most primitive particles upon entering it.

Although the Celestial Venerable of a Hundred Treasures found the place, he was unable to enter it at all.

His countless magical treasures, which he was so proud of, were no different from scrap metal in front of the "Eye of All Laws".

So he set his sights on [turbidity].

He spent a huge amount of money to break the seal on [Zhuo] and promised to help him take revenge. His real purpose was to use [Zhuo]'s original power of "polluting all laws" to "pollute" that absolute "law vacuum", thereby opening up a safe passage for himself to enter and take the treasure.

He even planned that after obtaining the pearl, he would immediately turn against it and use the Purifying Pearl to purify the will of [Turbidity], refining this powerful forbidden ancient life form into a perfect "Dao Soldier Puppet" that would only obey his commands!
His plan was undeniably shrewd.

Unfortunately, despite all his calculations, he overlooked one major "variable"—Su Chen also needed the [Purifying Spirit Pearl].

That's why we had this skirmish today!

……

After finding out the exact coordinates of the "Eye of All Laws," Su Chen ignored the Hundred Treasures Celestial Venerable, who had been completely rendered useless.

Although he has devoured the Hundred Treasures Celestial Venerable and Zhuo, he is now only a hair's breadth away from reaching the perfection of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.

However, without obtaining the Purifying Spirit Pearl, he dared not continue consuming it.

The three forbidden beasts were already the limit of what he could bear.

continue.

Even if there were one more, he would completely go mad! And this was not what Su Chen wanted to see. He understood the priorities.

that's it.

Su Chen's figure flickered, and he flew towards the deepest part of the storm.

Soon, he found it.

It was a place of absolute darkness.

A perfectly spherical space with a diameter of approximately ten thousand miles.

It neither emits nor absorbs light; it simply floats there quietly, like a hole that has been forcibly torn out of the canvas of the universe.

Su Chen could clearly sense that there were no laws, no energy, no... "concepts" there.

That was a place of "nothingness" in the truest sense.

For the Celestial Venerable of a Hundred Treasures, this place is a forbidden zone for life.

But for Su Chen, this place was not much different from the "Ruins of the Dao" where he had gone into seclusion.

His path is self-contained and requires no external laws.

Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped into that absolute "nothingness".

The instant he entered, he "saw" it. At the very center of that "nothingness," a crystal shard, about the size of a fist, emitting a soft, milky-white glow, was quietly suspended there.

It seemed to be the only "meaningful" existence in this "nothingness".

A pure, clean, warm, and peaceful aura emanated from the fragment. Just sensing it from afar brought an unprecedented sense of comfort to Su Chen's soul, which was exhausted from suppressing the three forbidden wills.

"The Purifying Pearl..."

"Got you."

Su Chen reached out and gently grasped the fragment in his hand.

The instant he touched it, a cool, pure spiritual energy surged into his consciousness!

Deep within his sea of ​​consciousness, three ancient wills that were stirring and attempting to launch another counterattack were instantly weakened and fell back into silence under the impact of this energy, as if they had encountered their nemesis!
"It's indeed a good thing!"

Su Chen's face showed the first genuine smile since the start of his trip.

Although it was just a fragment, its effects far exceeded his expectations!

With this, even if it's just a part, he can now devour the rest... the forbidden ancient life form without any reservations!
He put away the precious pearl, satisfied, and walked out of the "Eye of All Laws".

Outside, the Hundred Treasures Celestial Venerable, who had long since become a cripple, suddenly felt a glimmer of hope for survival rekindle in his eyes when he saw Su Chen walk out unharmed, carrying the legendary treasure in his hands.

“Heaven… Heavenly Lord!”

He struggled, using his last ounce of strength, and hoarsely cried out, "You...you've got what you wanted!"

"Please, have mercy and spare my life!"

"I...I, Baibao, swear an oath to the heavens that from this day forward, I will serve you like a slave, with no second thoughts!"

Su Chen slowly floated in front of him, looking down at him.

“Your path is a treasure.”

"Your heart is greedy."

"Your existence is built upon the plunder of all 'external things' in the world."

Su Chen's voice was devoid of any emotion.

"Tell me, isn't an existence like yours, remaining in this world... a kind of 'pollution'?"

The pupils of the Hundred Treasures Celestial Venerable suddenly contracted!

In Su Chen's eyes, he saw a kind of desire that was purer and more terrifying than the filth of "turbidity"... a desire to "devour"!
"No...you..."

He wanted to beg for mercy, but Su Chen had no interest in listening anymore.

Su Chen slowly opened his right hand.

In his palm, a small, yet infinitely attractive, pitch-black vortex, formed from the essence of [Kui], slowly took shape.

"You have loved treasures, sought them out, and refined them all your life."

"Today, I will grant your wish."

Su Chen's voice was like a final judgment.

"Let you become one of my collections... too."

As soon as he finished speaking, the dark vortex gently landed on Baibao Tianzun's body.

"ah--!!!!!"

The Heavenly Venerable of a Hundred Treasures let out his last cry, a scream filled with endless fear and resentment!
His physical body, his soul, his Dao fruit, along with the tens of thousands of magical treasures he had cherished throughout his life scattered around him, were all completely swallowed up by that small vortex in that instant!
In the end, only a clean, absolute nothingness remained.

After doing all this, Su Chen slowly withdrew his hand.

He floated silently in this empty sea of ​​stars.

In his left hand was a pitch-black sphere that sealed the origin of [turbidity].

In his right hand was a fragment of the Pure Spirit Pearl, emitting a soft white light.

"The materials are ready."

"It's time to move on to the next step."

His gaze pierced through endless time and space, looking towards that place he had just left, a place filled with an atmosphere of "end" and "rest"...

The tomb of the gods.

That place will be the best... retreat for him to undergo his next transformation.

The chaotic star sea, which had become empty due to the fall of Baibao Tianzun and [Zhuo], gradually returned to its former rage and disorder.

As if a farce had come to an end, apart from Su Chen, no one else knew that there had once been two beings at the fourth realm here, who paid the price with their lives for their greed and folly.

Su Chen's figure had already disappeared into this desolate place.

He followed the path he had come from, once again, and for the last time, stepping into that cosmic graveyard that buried countless gods and demons—the Tomb of Gods.

The last time he came, he was a hunter, carrying a chilling killing intent.

This time, he is a "patient" seeking refuge, carrying with him both hidden dangers and an opportunity for transformation.

When he stepped back into this desolate world, he could clearly feel that the atmosphere here was completely different from before.

After he severed the shackles of resentment that bound the millions of souls in this place with the "Heavenly Slaughter Sword," the gloomy aura filled with resentment and pain that had lingered for countless eras had completely dissipated.

Instead, there was an unprecedented, solemn and dignified...repose.

This place is no longer an eternal prison.

Rather, it is a true sanctuary for the dead.

This environment, filled with the Daoist aura of "end" and "stillness," is the perfect place for Su Chen to retreat into seclusion at this moment.

The concept of "annihilation" here can suppress, to the greatest extent possible, the restless, violent will belonging to forbidden ancient life forms in his sea of ​​consciousness.

Su Chen's figure went straight to the core of the Tomb of the Gods.

Although the wordless tombstone, which symbolized the origin of the "tomb," had been shattered by him, the remaining "peaceful" Daoist aura that suppressed eternity was still the most intense in this place.

He slowly sat cross-legged, hovering in that void.

Then, with a thought, three items quietly appeared in front of him.

On the left is a completely black "Filthy Source Core" upon which countless wailing and weeping faces constantly emerge and sink.

It contains the entire origin of [turbidity], which is full of "pollution" and "chaos".

On the right is a cluster of colorful lights, within which seem to be thousands of magical treasure phantoms rising and falling and colliding, known as "Myriad Treasures Origin Qi".

This is a complex and enormous energy aggregate that he condensed after devouring the Hundred Treasures Celestial Venerable along with all his magical treasures.

Between these two "poisonous" objects, which exuded an aura of rage and chaos, floated a fragment of the Purifying Spirit Pearl, no bigger than a fist, yet radiating a soft, milky-white glow capable of purifying all the filth in the world.

The three present a stark contrast.

On one side is "poison," powerful enough to corrupt any soul.

On the other side is the "medicine" to save the soul.

"Success or failure hinges on this one move." (End of Chapter)