Living in the deep palace

[Eternal Life - Heavenly Emperor's Bone]!
This is the name Su Chen gave to his current physical body.

His bones, now fused with fragments of the Heavenly Emperor's Order, were granted unbreakable hardness at this moment!

His fist transformed into a golden meteor, slamming fiercely into the giant rhinoceros's hardest horn on its head!

Head-to-head!
"Roar?!"

Sensing the threat above, the giant rhinoceros roared angrily, its single horn gleaming with silver light. Instantly, a pitch-black spatial rift formed above its head, attempting to slice the sneaking ant in two!

"Space cutting?"

Su Chen neither dodged nor avoided, a sinister smile appearing on his lips.

"If it were a complete spatial Dao, at the level of a Great Immortal Luo, I might be somewhat wary."

"But these broken fragments... break them!"

clang--! ! !
A deafening roar powerful enough to shatter the eardrums of a true immortal!
Su Chen's fist actually shattered the spatial rift and then slammed solidly into the silver horn!
Click!

A crisp snapping sound rang out.

That indestructible horn, which even a Golden Immortal at the peak of cultivation couldn't cut, was actually defeated by Su Chen's punch...

broken!

“Ouch——!!!”

The giant rhinoceros let out a heart-wrenching scream, its massive body crashing to its knees by the enormous impact, smashing a meteorite a hundred feet in size to pieces!

Its proud defenses and the spatial abilities it relied on for survival were so utterly vulnerable in the face of this tiny human!
"As expected of the Heavenly Emperor's bones."

"As expected of my new body, which was built after breaking through and has fused with a trace of the power of the sixth realm!"

Su Chen shook his slightly numb arm, his eyes filled with fervor.

That punch was not only powerful, but also carried a hint of "order" suppression!

The Heavenly Emperor's order is the nemesis of all laws!

"Now, you're mine!"

Taking advantage of the giant rhinoceros's momentary dizziness from its severe injury, Su Chen leaped like a nail directly onto the wound on the rhinoceros's shattered skull.

puff!

Insert both hands deeply!

"The Tree of Immortality! Lunch is served!"

boom!
This time, it's not just a few roots, but thousands upon thousands!
Behind Su Chen, a phantom image of a bronze Dao tree, ten zhang tall, even appeared!

Those roots, like raging dragons emerging from the sea, frantically burrowed into the giant rhinoceros's brain, heart, and demon core through its wounds!
"Ow-Ow--"

The giant rhinoceros struggled frantically, its strength was astonishing, and each impact caused Su Chen's blood to surge.

But Su Chen was like a bloodsucking worm stuck to it, refusing to let go!

Gudong!Gudong!
The giant rhinoceros's vast life essence, and the demon core's origin containing the laws of space, began to leak away at an alarming rate!

Ten breaths.

The giant rhinoceros's struggles weakened.

Thirty breaths.

The giant rhinoceros's crystalline armor began to dim and peel off.

Sixty breaths.

This beast king, who once dominated the Shattered Star Forest, has been completely transformed into a massive hill of withered bones.

hum-

After the last wisp of silver spatial law was devoured by the Longevity Tree.

A dramatic change occurred within Su Chen's body!
The bronze seedling suddenly grew taller, and its original three leaves became five!

In the center of these five leaves, a tiny crack appeared on the main stem.

Within that crevice lay an extremely tiny, yet truly real, object...

space!

That was the prototype of the universe within my body!
Although it is currently only ten zhang in diameter and completely empty, this signifies...

Su Chen has regained the "world"!
boom!
Su Chen opened his eyes, a silver glint flashing in them.

He raised his hand and made a light swipe.

Stab it!

He actually tore a hole in the void in front of him with his bare hands!
Storage space restored!
Although it cannot yet perform large-scale spatial travel, it is more than enough for storing items or for short-distance teleportation in battle!

"The physical strength of an early-stage Golden Immortal... plus spatial abilities..."

Su Chen took a deep breath, feeling the surging power within his body.

Although he is still far from being at the peak of the Great Luo Perfection realm, he already has the capital to protect himself and even dominate this outer area of ​​the Ruins Domain!

"Black Iron City..."

Su Chen picked up the broken horn of the giant rhinoceros and threw it into the newly opened inner space of his body.

"This gift should be enough to make that city lord look at me in a different light."

He straightened his clothes, and the originally tattered blue robe, nourished by the longevity purple energy, actually repaired itself and became more resilient.

Su Chen strode towards the enormous city that floated in the darkness.

His silhouette was lonely yet resolute.

Just like the only glimmer of life in this desolate realm.

On this wasteland, immortality shall prevail!
Once he successfully rebuilds his immortal body and reclaims the Great Luo Immortal Fruit, he will surely give the Heavenly Court a good thrashing.

Heavenly Realm, Heavenly Court!

They're killing people without even knowing the facts!
He merely eliminated an inspector, yet he dispatched a being of the sixth realm level; it's utterly outrageous.

This is like leaving the beginner village with a wooden sword and encountering a max-level emperor with an imperial weapon!
……

……

A black storm swirled across the sky, like the howls of countless wronged souls.

In this desolate region filled with death and chaos, a colossal floating city, like a steel behemoth, lies silently on a shattered continent spanning tens of thousands of miles.

This is Black Iron City.

It is not made of ordinary bricks and stones, but rather of countless "relics" of destroyed worlds—the wreckage of warships, broken divine weapons, and huge, unknown metal ores—forcibly melted and pieced together over a long period of time.

The city walls soared into the clouds, entirely black, covered with dark red rust and dried bloodstains, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.

Around the city, countless array runes floated, incomplete and flickering with unstable light, barely keeping out the violent void energy from the outside world and providing a relatively "safe" living space for the city.

"So this is Black Iron City...?"

Su Chen stood outside the city gate, looking up at the steel behemoth.

After several days of trekking, he finally crossed the Shattered Star Forest and arrived here.

At this moment, he was still wearing a tattered blue robe, his long hair was casually tied back with a beast tendon, and his skin had a light bronze color, making him look like a hermit who had been wandering in the Void Domain for many years.

At the city gate, two rows of guards clad in heavy black armor, holding long spears, coldly watched everyone entering and leaving.

Their auras were all strong, all at the peak of the "Loose Immortal" level, and the leader of the squad was even a powerful expert at the early stage of True Immortal.

There are two kinds of so-called "loose immortals": one is a flawed product that failed to break through to become a true immortal, and the other is a loser who lost his immortal aperture when he became a true immortal.

The strength of Black Iron City seems to be only average.

If the city lord weren't a near-fourth realm, a Golden Immortal at the peak of perfection, Su Chen wouldn't have taken him seriously at all.

of course.

If he hadn't been injured by the Heavenly Emperor of the Sixth Realm, he wouldn't have cared about even the Great Luo Immortal of the Fourth Realm.

Unfortunately, he is now...

"stop!"

When Su Chen reached the city gate, the True Immortal squad leader blocked his way, a hint of contempt and scrutiny flashing in his eyes.

"Entry fee: ten low-grade source stones, or an equivalent amount of law fragments."

In the Void Realm, spirit stones have long lost their value; only "source stones" containing pure energy and "fragments of laws" extracted from the bodies of Void Beasts and cultivators are the true currencies.

Su Chen remained expressionless. He was currently penniless, except for…

He casually flipped his hand. A fist-sized crystal, shimmering with a silvery-white light, appeared in his palm.

It was a small fragment broken off from the broken horn of the "Sky-Splitting Crystal Armor Rhinoceros". Although it was small, it still emitted a strong spatial law fluctuation.

"Is this enough?" Su Chen asked casually.

"hiss--"

The squad leader's previously nonchalant gaze froze instantly, and he gasped, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"This...this is a fragment of the laws of space?! And its purity is so high?!"

"My God, this must have been taken from a Space Void Beast at least at the high-level of the Profound Immortal Realm, or even at the level of the Profound Jade Immortal!"

The surrounding guards and the monks in line were also drawn by this fluctuation, casting greedy and shocked glances at it.

In the Ruins Domain, fragments of spatial laws are extremely rare! Even a small piece like this is enough to exchange for hundreds of high-grade source stones!

Using it as an entrance fee? That's an absolute waste!

"Enough! Enough! That's more than enough!"

The squad leader's attitude instantly changed 180 degrees, his face was full of fawning smiles, and he even bowed and gestured for them to enter.

"Senior, please come in! This is your entry permit. With this permit, you may stay in the city for three months!"

Although he was greedy, he was also discerning. Anyone who could casually produce such a treasure and hadn't been killed by the bandits of the Void Realm was definitely not a good person!
Su Chen casually took a black iron token, tossed the fragment to the squad leader as if it were trash, and then stepped into the city gate.

Watching Su Chen's departing figure, the squad leader held the fragment, his hands trembling.

"Good heavens...who is this person? Could he be a powerful being who has emerged from seclusion after completing arduous cultivation deep in some place?"

……

……

Upon entering Black Iron City, a sense of clamor and chaos immediately hits you.

The streets were lined with shops and stalls built from various scrap metal. The sounds of hawking, arguing, and even fighting rose and fell.

"Freshly forged 'Heart of the Fire Demon'! Only fifty Originium!"

"Selling a half-crippled, low-grade immortal sword; essential for murder and robbery!"

"Recruiting a suicide squad! Explore 'Fallen God Valley', starting at True Immortal level, reward negotiable!"

There is no order, no law here; the only rule is—strength.

Su Chen walked among the crowd, but the faint but palpable aura of menace emanating from him, along with the skill he displayed at the city gate earlier, caused the pickpockets and robbers with hostile eyes around him to give way.

Instead of rushing to find anything, he went into a tavern called "Drunken Immortal Pavilion".

The tavern was filled with smoke and filled with cultivators from various races.

Su Chen found a corner to sit down, ordered a pot of strong liquor brewed with the blood of an unknown beast, and quietly listened to the conversation around him.

"Have you heard? The Heavenly Court has gone mad lately!"

At the next table, several fierce-looking monks were whispering among themselves.

"How come I haven't heard about this? Several groups of 'heavenly soldiers' have arrived at the outer perimeter of the Ruins these past few days, killing anyone they see, as if they're looking for someone!"

"Hey, I have a cousin who hangs out in the 'Chaotic Star Sea,' and I heard that the Heavenly Court has issued the highest-level 'Wanted by All Realms' warrant!"

"Who are they after? Could it be one of those overlords of the Void Domain?"

"Go crazy!"

"A warrant for the arrest of the overlord of the Void Domain, that's a fifth-realm being. Only a fifth-realm being can deal with someone of that level. Could it be that the Heavenly Domain wants to start a war with the Void Domain?"

"The overall strength of the Ruins Domain is not much weaker than that of the Heavenly Domain. It's just that it's a disorganized mess. If there's any sign of war, I'm afraid another star sea will be dissolved into the heavens and the ruins!"

"No! I heard it's... a lower realm ascendant named 'Su Chen'!"

Upon hearing his name called, Su Chen paused slightly in his wine glass, then casually took a sip.

The liquor was strong, with a metallic taste, but under the transformation of the Longevity Tree, it instantly became a nourishing, warm current.

"Su Chen? I've never heard of that name. How could a mere ascendant from the lower realm cause the Heavenly Court to go to such lengths?"

"I don't know."

"But I heard that the bounty on that wanted poster... tsk tsk, it's enough to tempt even a powerful being at the Great Luo Immortal level!"

"As long as you provide clues, you will be rewarded with 'Heavenly Divine Register,' which means you will never have to eat dirt in the Void Realm again and can go directly to the Heavenly Realm to enjoy a life of luxury!"

"If we could kill him... I've heard that we could be directly appointed as a 'Heavenly General' and granted a small, unclaimed starry world!"

"hiss--"

A collective gasp filled the tavern.

A heavenly general—that's the treatment reserved for immortals of the highest rank.

Most importantly, directly bestowing upon him an unclaimed small world of stars is equivalent to giving him a fragment of the Fifth Realm inheritance...

Green light shone from countless eyes.

Not to mention.

For these cultivators who are barely surviving in the Ruins Domain, going to the Heavenly Domain is like ascending to heaven in one step!
“Su Chen…Su Chen…”

Some people started muttering the name as if they were talking about a mountain of gold.

In the corner, Su Chen put down his wine glass, a cold smile curving his lips.

"The Heavenly Court's divine register? A small world within a starry sea?"

"You old Heavenly Emperor, you're really willing to go to great lengths to kill me."

He could sense that as the wanted poster spread, the atmosphere in the entire Void Domain was becoming subtle.

Countless greedy eyes are searching for every unfamiliar face.

However, Su Chen didn't care.

Now, his physical body has been rebuilt, his aura has changed drastically, and with the perfect concealment of his aura by the Longevity Tree, unless the Heavenly Emperor himself comes, even a Fifth Realm expert might not be able to recognize him as the former Great Luo Dao Ancestor.

"Compared to the Heavenly Court's pursuers..."

Su Chen's gaze pierced through the tavern window, looking towards the center of Black Iron City.

There stood a towering black spire, radiating a powerful aura comparable to that of a pseudo-fourth realm cultivator.

That's the city lord's mansion.

“My Tree of Immortality tells me… that’s where I need it.”

The moment I entered the city, the Longevity Tree within my body emitted a strong desire.

That longing even surpassed that when he encountered the Sky-Splitting Crystal Armored Rhinoceros before.

There must be some kind of supreme treasure there that can greatly repair the universe within your body!
"The waiter."

Su Chen waved his hand.

A shop assistant, who was only at the Qi Refining stage, ran over timidly: "Sir, what can I do for you?"

Su Chen tossed out a piece of incomplete material from the Void Beast.

Has anything major happened at the City Lord's Mansion recently?

The waiter took the materials from the Void Beast, his eyes lighting up. He immediately lowered his voice and said, "Sir, you've come to the right person! Tomorrow, the City Lord will be holding a once-in-a-century super auction at the 'Treasure Pavilion'!"

"It is said that the grand finale treasure this time is a piece of the world's core that fell from the 'deep sea of ​​stars'!"

"The core of the world..."

Su Chen's pupils contracted slightly.

That's right.

What the Tree of Immortality craves is precisely this primordial substance that can nurture the world and sustain the universe!

The last world core he obtained was the Epoch Core of Chen Sheng, who was at the fifth realm.

"very good."

Su Chen stood up, his tattered blue robe fluttering in the wind.

"I'm definitely going to this auction."

……

...(End of chapter)