Living in the deep palace

Gudong!Gudong!
A clear swallowing sound resonated deep within his soul.

The bronze roots that had plunged into the void energy were like countless greedy dragons, frantically devouring the surrounding void energy!
The violent void energy, powerful enough to mutate even a true immortal, became incredibly docile the moment it entered the roots, as if it had encountered a higher-level overlord. It was then forcibly decomposed and crushed!
The "chaotic" impurities are expelled from the body and dissipate as black smoke.

The purest "energy" essence contained within was greedily absorbed by the Longevity Tree!
hum-

As the void energy continued to flow in, the seedling with only three leaves began to emit a hazy purple light.

The purple light flowed along the roots and nourished Su Chen's entire body!

"This is……"

Su Chen was jolted.

pain!
But what follows is an extreme sense of comfort!
Wherever the purple light passed, his originally dried-up meridians, damaged bones, and torn muscles began to heal and strengthen at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Moreover, this enhancement is not a simple restoration.

It's being recast!

His bones became denser, taking on a jade-like bronze color;

His blood became as thick as mercury, and as it flowed, it made a roaring sound like the Yangtze River.

His muscle fibers were stretched and reorganized, and every muscle seemed to contain explosive power!

"The Purple Aura of Immortality..."

The name of the purple aura appeared in Su Chen's mind.

This is neither celestial aura nor divine power.

This is the life essence transformed from the Longevity Tree after it has purified the energy of all things to the extreme!
"It's eating...it's eating this ruin!"

Su Chen was shocked.

What was a hellish wasteland for other cultivators was, for him, who possessed the Tree of Immortality…

It's actually a super cafeteria with inexhaustible resources?!
"Hahaha!"

Su Chen couldn't help but laugh out loud, his laughter tinged with madness.

"There's always a way out!"

"Although the Jianmu tree is broken, this Longevity Tree has given me an even more domineering path!"

"Without order, without laws."

"Only cultivate... Devouring and Immortality!"

"As long as I rebuild my immortal body, I can bring back my Great Luo Immortal Dao Fruit amidst the void and annihilation!"

"At that time, although I will still be a quasi-fifth realm cultivator, I will be a quasi-fifth realm cultivator in both physique and law!"

"By then, although I won't have reached the fifth realm, I will definitely be much stronger!"

Su Chen completely released the restraints on his mind, allowing the Longevity Tree to frantically plunder the external void energy.

Within a radius of ten miles... a hundred miles...

Outside the cave, the originally hazy, desolate air had now formed a huge funnel-shaped vortex, frantically converging towards this inconspicuous cave!

Inside the cave, Su Chen was bathed in a rich purple light.

Even without the Great Luo Dao Fruit, his aura continued to rise steadily!
Foundation Establishment of the Physical Body... Golden Core of the Physical Body... Nascent Soul of the Physical Body...

Just one hour.

His physical strength had actually recovered to a level comparable to that of a "Nascent Soul" stage body cultivator!

Although it's still a long way from its peak, this is just the beginning!
"Not enough... not enough..."

The Longevity Tree seems to be a bottomless pit; no matter how much Void Qi is poured in, it cannot satisfy its appetite.

It is craving higher levels of energy.

It craves... rules!
at this time.

Su Chen's expression suddenly changed.

"That is……"

In his inner vision, in a corner of that ruined inner world.

A few faint golden lights, yet radiating a power that sent shivers down his spine, slowly emerged.

That is……

After the tree was shattered and its fruit pierced his body, the residue that remained inside him...

Fragments of the Heavenly Emperor's "Spear of Order"!
……

……

Those few golden rays were just fragments, or even dust.

But the aura they exude remains superior, filled with absolute "order" and "judgment".

Just by looking at them, Su Chen felt his true spirit stinging, as if it would be annihilated again in the next second.

This is the residual power of the Sixth Realm!

This is a deeply ingrained carbuncle!

"Damn it... this thing is still here!"

Su Chen's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

If these fragments are not removed, it's like having a nuclear bomb planted inside your body that could explode at any moment.

They might even become the coordinates by which the Heavenly Court locates him!

"We have to get it out of here!"

Su Chen attempted to use the newly generated "Eternal Purple Qi" to envelop and expel these fragments.

however.

laugh!
The moment the purple aura of immortality came into contact with the golden light, it melted instantly, like snowflakes falling into lava!
The golden light even reversed course, flowing upwards against the purple aura, attempting to once again annihilate Su Chen's life force!
"puff!"

Su Chen spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning deathly pale instantly.

"No...the level difference is too great!"

"These are the rules of the sixth realm. My current meager power cannot even budge them in the slightest!"

despair.

Is it possible that just when we saw a glimmer of hope, we're going to die from a relapse of our injuries?
Just as the golden light was about to erupt and completely destroy Su Chen's physical body.

The Longevity Tree, located in the center of the Immortal Aperture in the ruins, suddenly moved.

hum!
It seems... to be provoked?

Or perhaps it was tempted by the advanced energy contained within that golden light?

The roots, which were leisurely absorbing the void energy, suddenly changed direction!

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
All the bronze roots, like predatory tentacles, instantly traversed the distance of the inner world and fiercely wrapped around those few points of golden light!

Zizizi!
A burst of golden light erupted, as the divine power of order attempted to sever the roots.

But these seemingly fragile bronze roots now displayed a tenacity that left Su Chen speechless!
Although they were constantly smoking and damaged under the cutting of the golden light, they were instantly reborn under the nourishment of the purple aura of longevity!
Persistence!

Only three breaths of time.

Those few high-ranking "Fragments of the Heavenly Emperor" were tightly wrapped by the dense bronze roots, forming "cocoons"!
Followed by.

That chilling chewing sound rang out again.

creak... creak...

The Tree of Immortality is actually...eating...

The laws of the Heavenly Emperor?!

"It's gone mad...this tree has gone mad..."

Su Chen muttered to himself.

That's the divine law of the sixth realm! That's the highest decree of the Heavenly Court of Myriad Realms!

How could it possibly be eaten?!

But the facts are before us.

As the Longevity Tree continued to "chew" over the fragments of golden light that were encased within it, they actually began to dim and decompose little by little.

The Heavenly Emperor's "personal will" and "killing intent" were mercilessly erased by the Immortal Tree.

And what remains is...

The purest, ownerless "source of order"!
boom!
When the first wisp of digested golden energy was fed back to the Longevity Tree through its roots.

The entire seedling trembled violently!

Next to its third leaf, a new bud sprouted out at a speed visible to the naked eye!
The tender shoots were no longer simply bronze in color.

Its edges are tinged with a faint, noble... gold!
That is……

The Heavenly Emperor's Gold! (Buzz—)

A brand new power flowed back to Su Chen.

This time, it's not just about strengthening the physical body.

Su Chen felt that fine golden patterns began to appear on his bones.

That was... the prototype of the divine runes of order!

Although extremely weak, so weak that it was even less than a single glance from Jing back then.

But the nature of it has changed!

This power belonged to the Heavenly Emperor, and now it has become part of Su Chen's physical body!

"This……"

Su Chen slowly clenched his fist.

A faint golden luster appeared on the surface of his fist, giving it an aura of "indestructibility" and "impervious to all attacks".

"The Immortal Tree... it can even digest the Heavenly Emperor's attack and turn it into nourishment?"

The shock in Su Chen's eyes gradually turned into ecstasy, and finally into uncontrollable laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

"You old bastard, the Heavenly Emperor!"

"You are high and mighty, you regard me as an ant, and you shatter my Dao fruit with a single spear!"

"But you didn't expect that, did you!"

"Your killing move not only failed to kill me, but instead... became the first feast of my Longevity Tree!"

"what is this?"

"This is... a gift from the Heavenly Emperor!"

Su Chen stood up, and the aura emanating from him was completely different.

If his previous nature was simply savagery and plunder, then...

Now, having absorbed a trace of the Heavenly Emperor's Order, he possesses an added air of dominance and majesty!

That's... the domineering attitude of wanting to "eat the sky"!

"Since this Tree of Immortality can even devour the heavens..."

"Then this Ruins Domain..."

Su Chen stepped out of the cave and looked at this vast, boundless cosmic graveyard filled with chaos and slaughter.

In his eyes at that moment, this was no longer a place of exile.

This is no graveyard.

This is clearly a...

A hunting ground laden with delicious food!

"hungry……"

Su Chen licked his lips, and that glimmer of the Heavenly Emperor's golden light flashed in his eyes.

"I need more 'food'."

“Ruin ​​beasts, fragments of laws, remnants of star seas… even…”

"Pursuers from Heaven!"

Su Chen's figure flickered, turning into a bronze-colored afterimage, and disappeared into the vast void.

The hunters have entered.

Now, he must devour as much as possible before his identity is exposed in order to restore his own strength.

……

……

A gray wind, carrying sharp sand and gravel capable of cutting through gold and jade, howled across the ruins of this continent called "Withered Bones".

Here, there is no distinction between day and night, only eternal darkness and deathly silence. Occasionally, a pale flash of lightning pierces the sky, a result of the collision of turbulent currents of time and space in the distance.

A creature over ten zhang long, resembling a scorpion but with a distorted human face, known as the "Human-Faced Demon Scorpion," was carefully moving among a pile of enormous animal bones.

It is one of the overlords of this area, possessing a hard shell comparable to a low-grade immortal artifact, and the poisonous needle at its tail can instantly melt the protective immortal light of a true immortal.

It is foraging for food.

Suddenly, the scorpion stopped, a wary look appearing on its distorted human face.

As a Void Beast, it has an instinctive intuition for danger.

It's so quiet around me.

That silence was not deathly stillness, but a kind of oppressive silence where all living beings held their breath in fear.

"hiss--"

The scorpion hissed uneasily, its eight legs straining as it prepared to burrow into its underground nest.

at this time.

boom!
The void above its head exploded without warning!
There was no magical brilliance, no fluctuation of spiritual power, only a pure and pristine afterimage, carrying a terrifying sonic boom that tore through the air, crashing down like a bronze meteorite!
boom!
The scorpion's carapace, which was strong enough to withstand the slash of a flying sword, was as fragile as paper in front of that afterimage and shattered instantly!
Green, poisonous blood splattered everywhere!

"Roar!!"

The scorpion let out a shrill scream, frantically waving its huge pincers and venomous tail, trying to fight back against the attacker on its back.

However, that figure remained as steady as Mount Tai.

Su Chen knelt on one knee on the scorpion's shattered back, one hand deeply embedded in its flesh. His face was expressionless, only his eyes gleamed with a chilling light.

"The third one."

He whispered to himself.

The next moment, a chilling scene unfolded.

The skin of Su Chen's arm, which was inserted into the scorpion's body, suddenly became transparent. Then, countless bronze-colored, vein-like roots burst out of his pores!

puff!puff!
These roots seemed to possess their own consciousness, greedily and frantically burrowing into every inch of the scorpion's flesh, every bone, and even its core!
"Hiss...cluck...cluck..."

The scorpion's screams abruptly stopped.

Its massive body began to convulse violently, and then withered away at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Its life essence, its venom, its demonic power, and even the fragments of laws it had devoured, all flowed continuously into Su Chen's body along those bronze roots!
That was plunder.

The most primitive, naked, and domineering form of plunder!
Just ten breaths.

The once ferocious human-faced scorpion was reduced to an empty shell, which turned to ashes with a gust of wind.

"call……"

Su Chen slowly stood up and withdrew his arm.

As the roots retracted, a warm current flowed through his entire body. He could feel that his physical strength had increased again, and the bronze luster beneath his skin had deepened.

In particular, the pale golden patterns on the bones seemed to become slightly clearer after absorbing the essence of the demon scorpion.

"too slow."

Su Chen frowned slightly, somewhat dissatisfied.

Although this human-faced demonic scorpion is not weak among the Void Beasts, comparable to a "mid-stage True Immortal" in the outside world, it is not even enough to fill the gaps in the teeth of the current Longevity Dao Tree.

The Dao Tree within my body is sending out a "hunger" signal.

After digesting that fragment of the Heavenly Emperor, the Longevity Tree's appetite became extremely discerning. Ordinary flesh and blood energy could only maintain its basic operation; to grow and evolve, it needed higher-level "laws".

"Most of the beasts in this area are abandoned trash."

Su Chen looked up into the depths of the Bone Continent.

There, a subtle yet powerful aura lingered.

"The more powerful the Void Beast, the more complete the fragments of laws it contains."

"If I want to restore my cultivation, or even rebuild my inner universe, I must... hunt down those 'kings'."

Without hesitation, Su Chen took a step.

boom!
The hard rocky ground was instantly blasted into a deep crater, and his figure once again transformed into a whirlwind, rushing towards the depths of the continent.

This method of movement, which relies purely on physical bursts of speed, may not be as elegant as the "shrinking the earth to an inch" technique, but it possesses a savage, violent aesthetic.

He is no longer the Taoist patriarch who sits high on the clouds.

He is the apex predator in this desolate food chain...

...(End of chapter)