Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 276 Spiritual Artifact, Give It to Me!
Surprisingly, poisoned flying needles were hidden behind the side hall.

However, no such traps were set up in advance in the main hall.

Therefore, Xiao Chen's prepared spirit shield was naturally useless.

Pushing open the heavy palace doors, one is greeted by a wide avenue, twenty-four zhang long, shimmering with golden light.

On each side are twelve thick, purple-gold pillars, each carved with different auspicious patterns and mythical beasts.

At the end is a square platform with nine steps leading up to it, upon which sits a large, gleaming gold chair.

"Hmm~, this overall layout looks strangely familiar."

Xiao Chen's gaze swept over the particularly conspicuous chair, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

I want to know what it feels like to sit up there and look down.

Without hesitation, he strode forward, crossed the steps, and sat down on the golden chair in the center.

"Forehead……"

However, to Xiao Chen's disappointment, he didn't seem to have any special feeling.

Even the cold, hard gold chair is not as comfortable as a regular wooden chair.

Trying to absorb spiritual energy for cultivation, it doesn't have any hidden secrets like the Jade Bed; it's just a simple chair.

"Is this all? I am very disappointed."

Xiao Chen shook his head and looked at the long table in front of him, which was clearly too short to sit on.

On the table, from left to right, are three jade slips of inheritance, and nothing else.

"Based on this layout, this should be the most precious item in the main hall?"

Xiao Chen looked to his left, where there stood fifty-four bronze human-shaped statues in the vast space.

Each bronze statue is dressed in a long robe, with a sword at its waist, looking straight ahead, and standing with its hands behind its back.

He looked to his right, where there were also fifty-four bronze statues.

He simply transformed into an image clad in spirit armor, wielding eighteen kinds of weapons, with a fierce and angry expression.

Apart from these statues, the spacious main hall contained neither wardrobes nor beds, only some decorative ornaments.

The overall space even looks a bit too empty.

This is extremely detrimental to Xiao Chen's grand plan of plundering.

"Never mind, let's see if there's any information in the jade slip first."

He picked up the jade slip on the far left first, following the order.

"You brat, you have no respect for the law!"

"You audacious scoundrel, how dare you act so recklessly!"

"Shameless thief, you have offended His Majesty! Surrender at once!"

The moment the jade slip left the table, several loud reprimands rang out from the left side.

The fifty-four bronze human-shaped statues suddenly came to life.

Some of them pointed at Xiao Chen and scolded him.

Some drew their swords and rebuked him.

Others moved their lips slightly and chanted incantations, immediately generating a surge of spiritual energy, clearly indicating they were about to take direct action to capture the thieves.

A powerful surge of spiritual energy emanated from it.

Those fifty-four bronze statues actually exuded an aura equivalent to that of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.

"I knew there couldn't be any danger in the main hall. Turns out, this is where they were waiting."

Seeing this, Xiao Chen was not alarmed at all; on the contrary, he felt relieved.

Having seen the coral forest before, he already knew that this new ruin was definitely not a peaceful place.

The designers who built the ruins back then would certainly not have constructed just one trap.

Therefore, after entering the main hall, Xiao Chen did not completely let his guard down, lest he encounter some special methods that would cause him to be caught off guard and suffer a setback.

It has now been confirmed that the danger in the main hall comes from these bronze statues.

It's alright then, it's a minor issue.

Xiao Chen immediately rushed down and headed straight for the nearest bronze statue.

"The dragon extends its claws! The cloud dragon swings its tail! The Yinglong collapses the mountain!"

With a single punch, a cracking sound rang out, and the chest of the bronze statue in front of him was pierced through.

With a flying kick, a loud 'bang' was heard, and both legs of the bronze statue next to it were broken.

"You audacious brat, stop right now!"

Behind them, a bronze statue now held a rope formed from spiritual energy.

He immediately threw the rope out and wrapped it around Xiao Chen's body, trying to bind and restrain him.

The rope has a binding effect on spirits, which can suppress the circulation of a cultivator's true essence.

However, when it encountered Xiao Chen, it lost its original effect and was immediately torn off.

"You audacious scoundrel, you have wreaked havoc on the Empress's palace."

The bronze statue whose chest had been pierced by Xiao Chen suddenly spoke again: "You still dare to defy your superiors! This crime deserves death!"

As he spoke, a human-like look of annoyance appeared on his face.

If it weren't for his bronze-colored cheeks, he would almost look like a real person.

"Huh? It can actually talk?"

Xiao Chen was a little surprised. Was she really that difficult to deal with?
So he retaliated with another punch, smashing his bronze head to pieces.

However, this delay allowed the legless bronze statue beside it to speak and command: "Where is the General Who Pacifies Bandits? Quickly kill this scoundrel!"

As soon as he gave the order.

A deep, resounding reply immediately came from the right rear: "Yes, sir!"

In the group of bronze statues on the right, a statue standing at the back, holding a large sword, rushed forward in response.

He raised his broadsword high and swung it forcefully, unleashing several powerful sword energies on the spot.

"You talk too much!"

Xiao Chen kicked off the head of the half-bodied bronze statue.

Then, layers of fiery lotuses bloomed on his body, blocking the incoming sword energy.

But it's unclear whether it's because the general who quelled the bandits had an extra weapon in his hand.

The four sword energies he unleashed actually destroyed the four layers of fire lotus.

Given this situation, once the remaining fifty-three bronze statues on the right are all taken down together...

Even Xiao Chen found it a bit difficult to handle.

After all, these bronze statues not only possess the strength of the late Golden Core stage, but also, as bronze statues, they lack many vital points that could otherwise be fatal.

The best course of action now is not to fight to the death, but to retreat.

Of course, Xiao Chen was not planning to run away.

Instead, they planned to use their speed advantage to offset their numerical disadvantage.

This fighting style is commonly known as "flying a kite".

"Squeak!"

Almost at the same moment Xiao Chen thought of this solution, the main hall doors suddenly closed completely.

Only then did a bronze statue dissipate the remaining spiritual light in its hand.

Turning to the other bronze statues on his right, he shouted, "Generals, please join me..."

He not only closed the door, but also tried to call for help.

Xiao Chen reacted immediately, took out a Thunder Pearl from his Vast Ocean Ring and threw it from a distance.

"Wow!"

Purple lightning instantly filled the entire hall.

Especially on the left side, the excessively concentrated lightning spiritual power combined together even turned into a pitch-black, twisted vortex.

The numerous bronze statues were instantly pierced and absorbed by the surging lightning, eventually melting together completely.

Three breaths later, when all the lightning had dissipated.

Only two bronze statues in the entire left-hand area have not been completely destroyed.

However, it was already severely damaged and lay on the ground unable to move.

Even Xiao Chen's own Qiongtan Fire Lotus was shattered, with ninety-four layers broken, leaving only the last two layers of lotus leaves to protect him.

This battle, which should have been arduous, was wiped out on the spot.

"Wow~, this thing is that powerful!"

Xiao Chen himself was a little surprised.

The reason he used the Thunder Pearl was simply because there were more than a dozen bronze statues between him and that bronze statue.

Since he didn't usually use external objects, he temporarily took out the Thunder Pearl that Su Li had given him for self-defense before they went to the ruins, intending to interrupt the other party's action of calling for help.

To my utter surprise, it completely cleared out the entire left side.

"That's good, it saves me the trouble of going through all that trouble."

After a brief moment of surprise, Xiao Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

Even though he's handling all the statues himself, he should be able to manage in the end.

But that would take a lot of time and effort.

After all, there are a total of 108 statues on the left and right. Even if you want to smash one of them with one punch, you would have to throw 108 punches with all your might.

If a fight were to break out, the physical exertion alone would be no easy task.

But now, things are much simpler.

Xiao Chen turned his gaze to the right: "You even have a spiritual weapon with you, give it to me!"

He took a few steps closer and snatched a spear from the hand of the nearest bronze statue.

Upon inspection, it turned out that this thing was indeed a genuine magical artifact.

Moreover, the quality was surprisingly good; no wonder those sword energies were so sharp before.

According to Xiao Chen's estimate, if it were sold outside, even as a second-hand item, it should be worth around 80,000 to 90,000 spirit stones.

He immediately looked at the remaining fifty-two statues.

"Wow, that's all money!"

Because Xiao Chen neither picked up the inheritance jade slip on the right nor stopped the bronze statue from shouting earlier.

Therefore, the bronze statues on the right all stood still without making any movements.

Thus, he easily snatched the magical artifact from her hand.

Although there are certain differences in quality between different spiritual artifacts, especially the spiritual artifacts held by the bronze statues standing in the back row are also somewhat inferior.

But all things considered, it should be worth at least three million spirit stones.

"Very well, I knew it! Even if you spend all your money, it will come back again."

Xiao Chen put away the spiritual artifacts with satisfaction: "After we go out, we can resell them and get back the spirit stones we spent at the auction."

Of course, this is to prevent these bronze statues from causing trouble later.

After taking the magical artifacts, he patiently disassembled them one by one into their parts.

"I'll break your legs, tear off your arms, and even rip your heads off. I don't believe you can still move."

It took Xiao Chen a full quarter of an hour to remove all the bronze statues before he returned to the central platform.

He leaned back in the golden chair and placed the jade slip he had used earlier on his forehead.

As divine sense was injected into it, the scene before my eyes suddenly changed.

He seemed to have arrived at an open-air martial arts arena, surrounded by black iron pillars that shimmered with spiritual light.

Immediately afterwards, a young-looking cultivator appeared: "I will only demonstrate this sect's physical technique once, so watch carefully."

He uttered just that one sentence. Then, while chanting incantations, he unleashed a complete set of martial arts techniques, turning the surrounding black iron pillars into a pile of wreckage.

After the fight, Xiao Chen's vision blurred.

The young man disappeared, and the black iron pillar beside him returned to its original state.

"I will only demonstrate this sword technique of our sect once, so watch carefully."

Another middle-aged cultivator appeared, his piercing gaze like two sharp swords.

Holding a wooden sword, he wielded it with such force that it tore through the clouds above the training ground.

Then there were nine other skills, including swordsmanship, talismanic arts, thunder magic, and so on, which were demonstrated in turn.

Each one is exquisite and outstanding, even among the highest-level spells.

Each time, a different cultivator would appear, but they were almost all the same in personality, never uttering a superfluous word, just silently demonstrating their abilities.

"Oh no, who can remember this!"

Xiao Chen watched from the sidelines, his eyes wide with amazement.

With his current cultivation level, memorizing these incantations is not a difficult task.

But what's more important in the passing down of tradition is the spirit left behind by the performers.

Even a single essence is extremely difficult to comprehend; only those with exceptional talent can achieve it.

What's more, so many skills are being demonstrated one after another, each of which is a top-level skill that is the most difficult to learn, and there is not a single break in between.

So much so that after watching it once, Xiao Chen felt as if he had only watched a lively play.

It certainly broadened my horizons, but that's about it.

"Who designed this inheritance? They didn't even consider whether the recipient could learn it!"

Xiao Chen casually tossed aside the jade slip, which had lost its luster and had a crack in the middle, and couldn't help but complain.

He reached out and picked up the jade slip in the middle: "I hope there's something good here."

A short while later, he regretfully discarded the shattered jade slip.

The jade slip in the middle contains three complete systems of Heaven-level cultivation techniques. Anyone who can master any one of them can directly reach the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage.

"So, can't you consider what should be done about the ordinary disciples?"

In the end, there was no Yellow-level cultivation technique that Xiao Chen had been hoping for.

This result undoubtedly disappointed him.

Fortunately, besides the cultivation method, the jade slip also contained some other simple information.

This site originated from a power that called itself the Great Xuan Immortal Dynasty.

When the other person mentioned this place, their tone was full of confidence, as if the title alone was enough to make them proud.

And apart from the name, no other clues were left behind.

It seems that they firmly believe that whoever the successor is, must have heard of the illustrious reputation of the Da Xuan Immortal Dynasty.

But in fact, Xiao Chen had never heard of this name before.

It's probably long since been swallowed up by the river of history.

In the long river of time, no matter how great a sect or immortal dynasty you are, or how brilliant your era is, you are nothing more than a small ripple.

However, the Great Xuan Immortal Dynasty did leave something good for its inheritors.

That's the jade talisman on the far right.

At first, Xiao Chen thought that it was also a jade talisman for inheritance.

However, he picked it up again and examined it curiously: "Is it really that amazing?"

According to the tradition, it has a nice name—the Minor Teleportation Symbol.

As its name suggests, this small jade talisman, only two inches long and half an inch wide, has the effect of teleporting.

As long as a cultivator injects a strand of true essence into it to activate it when needed, it can randomly teleport him to a place tens of thousands of miles away, thereby escaping the pursuit of his enemies.

Moreover, during the transmission of the knowledge, the other party emphasized it in a proud tone.

This small teleportation charm is a specially improved version of the third generation.

During random teleportation, it is now possible to perfectly avoid those overly powerful restrictions.

In other words, when using it, you no longer need to worry about being trapped in an unopened ruin or secret realm and unable to get out.

At the same time, there is no need to worry about being accidentally teleported into the protective formation of a powerful force and being besieged by them.

Of course, everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

However, doing so also has a drawback.

That means if you use it in ruins or secret realms, you can no longer use it to pass through restrictions and run away directly, so you need to be extra careful.

"This is great stuff!"

Xiao Chen played with the small teleportation talisman with great interest.

With this, he will have an extra trump card to save his life.

Moreover, ordinary cultivators might worry that if they face an overly powerful enemy, they might not be able to react in time to activate the Minor Teleportation Talisman.
However, for Xiao Chen, he can use it in conjunction with the Night's Edge.

If you really encounter such a desperate situation, you will have at least 15 minutes to make a decision, and there will absolutely be no problem of not having enough time to use it.

Simply perfect!
"Let me see if there's anything else I can take with me."

Xiao Chen put away the small teleportation talisman and began to seriously inspect the entire main hall.

Although it was already stated in the jade slip of inheritance that nothing else was planned for the successor in the hall.

But it's okay, anything is possible with effort.

"Crack!"

Xiao Chen stood up, turned around, and broke the golden chair in two.

Unfortunately, there was nothing hidden inside.

He then inspected all the ornaments in the main hall one by one, picking up every bottle and jar to examine them personally.

Unfortunately, after looking around, although the items were exquisite, they were all just miscellaneous magical artifacts.

It's not that they're worthless, but they wouldn't even fetch a few spirit stones if you put them all together.

For example, the eight vases in the hall are simply those with more exquisite patterns on their bodies.

If you were to actually sell them, each one would probably only be worth a hundred spirit stones at most.

Of course, since he was already there, Xiao Chen put them all into his storage ring and piled them together with the spiritual artifacts he had previously acquired.

The main principle is to treat everyone equally and resolutely refuse to discriminate against these items simply because they are magical artifacts.

After the entire main hall was emptied out.

Xiao Chen looked around, nodded in satisfaction, and prepared to go to another place to take a look.

"Boom!"

Before he could even open the door, he heard a knocking sound coming from outside the palace gate.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The person who came seemed to be in a great hurry, kicking the door hard.

Unfortunately, due to the special inscription on the palace gate, it is not so easy for ordinary cultivators to push it open.

"What should I do? I can't open it!"

A panicked voice rang out: "They're definitely coming after us, we'd better hurry!"

Another female voice rang out: "This palace clearly has no restrictions, so how come it can't be opened?"

"Boom~!"

"Ouch!"

As she spoke, she seemed to try to smash open the palace door with her whole body, but she failed and instead let out a painful scream.

"Haha, aren't you guys supposed to be pretty fast runners?"

A rough voice drifted from afar: "Why aren't you running anymore?"

"You guys deserve to die for making me chase you for so long!"

The voice grew closer, and it seemed the speaker was also gradually approaching.

"Fellow junior brothers and sisters, we're all going to die anyway."

A cultivator at the entrance shouted, "In that case, why don't we fight this bastard to the death!"

However, a clear voice from his companions replied, "Senior brother is right, let's fight him!"

But the woman's voice didn't respond immediately.

Instead, the rough voice said, "Tsk tsk tsk, everyone's cultivation is not easy, why throw your life away so easily?"

"Ladies, don't you agree?"

"Although I was very angry about your previous escape, I can still give you a chance to live if you change your mind now."

A sudden silence fell over the room.

"Third Junior Sister, Fifth Junior Sister, are you really going to believe the lies of these evil cultivators?"

A trembling voice rang out: "If we have to become slaves to these evil cultivators just to survive, then we might as well die a glorious death in battle!"

However, he was met with silence again.

Sometimes, not expressing one's attitude is itself an attitude.

"Squeak~~~!"

Suddenly, a tooth-grinding scraping sound rang out, and the two palace doors slowly opened inward.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, a young man in a white feather robe slowly stepped out.

"Fellow Daoists, greetings!"

Xiao Chen's gaze swept over the three men and two women at the entrance of the hall, and the one man and two women a little further away: "Hey, what are you doing?"

His gaze swept across the distance to the shirtless, exceptionally muscular cultivator.

The other person was holding two chains, which were connected to the wrists of the two female cultivators next to him.

It appears to be leading two slaves.

She was also scrutinizing him, her eyes revealing surprise and wariness: "Who are you? How could you open the central palace directly?"

The middle-aged cultivator beside him was taken aback: "Fellow Daoist Xiao?"

He immediately realized what was happening: "Fellow Daoist Xiao, save me! They are evil cultivators!"

He pointed at the burly man: "A large group of them came and tricked us all into the trap."

"Several hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators were all brutally murdered."

"Now they even want to lure female cultivators to serve as their cultivation vessels!"

Another female cultivator, who looked a few years younger, immediately pleaded for help: "Please, Fellow Daoist Xiao, lend a hand!"

She was already hesitating whether to compromise for the time being and try to save her life in hopes of changing the situation.

It wasn't that she lacked the courage to fight desperately, but the problem was that they had already fought with that burly man once when they were surrounded and broke out together.

The so-called "working desperately" is just a nice way of putting it.

The harsh reality is that even if they attacked together, they would be no match for that burly man, and in the end, they would only be throwing their lives away.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been chased all the way here before they were shouting that they were going to fight the other side.

In fact, if it weren't for the life-saving item bestowed upon him by the sect, which allowed him to launch a surprise attack, he wouldn't have been able to escape.

In addition, the lack of manpower among those strong men led to a slight mishap.

They should still be trapped in the formation, or perhaps they have already met their demise.

Now they are at their wits' end, and have run out of things to save their lives; they can be said to be in dire straits.

But when she saw Xiao Chen appear, she suddenly saw a glimmer of hope again.

If Fellow Daoist Xiao is willing to take action, dealing with this burly man in front of you shouldn't be too difficult, right?

Furthermore, since they can also keep things under control from the sidelines, there might actually be a chance of escaping alive.
(End of this chapter)