While the player is in Battle Through the Heavens, the system is in The Great Ruler.

Chapter 147 Rainbow Scale Breakthrough, Plotting for the Heavenly Serpent Palace
After a few days,

The old site of Demon Flame Valley has been completely renovated. An invisible array has risen from the ground, swallowing and spewing the energy of heaven and earth within a radius of hundreds of miles like an ancient ferocious beast.

In the core area of ​​the valley, the nine-story spirit pavilion stands majestically. At the top of the pavilion, within a semi-transparent energy shield, the larvae of the Fallen Heart Flame leap joyfully, growing at a visible speed under the nourishment of abundant energy.

Lu Yu stood with his hands behind his back on the platform at the top of the pavilion, while the elders behind him all wore expressions of astonishment. Above them, three golden sun phantoms floated in a triangular shape, gathering all the sunlight from within a radius of dozens of miles and condensing it into three dazzling pillars of light that poured down.

The solar essence contained within the pillar of light was so concentrated it was almost liquefied, and it was greedily devoured by the Fallen Heart Flame. Every wisp of essence that entered the flame caused the invisible fire to expand slightly, and the light at the heart of the flame became increasingly brilliant and bright.

"What a magnificent Three Yangs Celestial Phenomenon Formation!"

An elder of the Fire Attribute Battle Kings could not hide his excitement and said excitedly, "Just by standing here, the bottleneck that has stagnated for many years has actually loosened up."

Venerable Tianhuo stroked his beard and smiled, lightly tapping the array's core with his fingertip, and said, "This array is the result of my fusion of the essence of the Gathering Spirit Array, the Golden Sun Array, and the Demon Flame Valley Burning Heaven Array. When it is in operation, it can gather the energy of heaven and earth to increase cultivation speed, and nourish the Fallen Heart Flame with the three rounds of Heavenly Sun."

"Besides that, there's another clever use..."

He paused, his hand seals shifting slightly, "Please look, everyone..."

Suddenly, the three celestial suns began to spin rapidly, and the Fallen Heart Flame surged accordingly. Invisible soul ripples swept across the entire area, leaving everyone except Lu Yu in a daze.

"This is... a soul impact?" A look of surprise flashed in Lu Yu's eyes, and he couldn't help but ask.

"good."

Venerable Tianhuo nodded with a smile and explained, "I was only showing a slight demonstration of the power of this formation just now. If it were activated at full strength, this soul impact would be enough to catch even a Dou Zong expert off guard. However, today I am only letting you all experience it. Let's leave the real power to the invading enemy."

"Lord Tianhuo truly deserves his reputation as a master of formations..."

"Yes, I wonder where the Pavilion Master found such a senior and esteemed master..."

"Such exquisite array formation skills are truly admirable..."

The elders all praised him, their eyes filled with admiration. Just then, a bone-chilling cold suddenly swept through the valley. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that from where Cai Lin had been in seclusion, icy blue cold air surged out like a tide, instantly freezing the ground with thick ice crystals wherever it passed.

"Is this... a breakthrough coming?" Venerable Heavenly Fire looked surprised.

Amidst the swirling chill, Cai Lin stood motionless like ice. Countless icy blue starlight swirled across her skin, like a cascading galaxy. Each glimmer of starlight caused the energy of heaven and earth within a hundred feet to surge wildly, condensing fine ice crystals in the air.

"hiss……"

Suddenly, a seven-colored snake pattern appeared between her brows. All the starlight, like rivers flowing into the sea, disappeared into it. In an instant, an extreme cold storm erupted, and the ground instantly froze, forming spiderweb-like cracks. Beneath the ice, seven-colored light faintly flowed.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, Cai Lin's aura surged. She suddenly opened her eyes, her purple pupils gleaming with icy blue light, and the overwhelming pressure of a three-star Dou Zong swept across the surroundings.

After her breakthrough, Cai Lin's aura became even more aloof and cold. With a slight lift of her delicate hand, an ice crystal longsword materialized out of thin air. The sword was enveloped in a chilling aura, freezing even the surrounding air.

"Congratulations." Lu Yu arrived through the air, his eyes filled with approval, and said, "It seems that the effect of the Ice Soul Frost Flame is much better than expected."

Cai Lin nodded slightly, her fingertips lightly stroking the ice crystal longsword. The sword emitted a crisp hum, and she exclaimed, "Indeed, it's quite good. The power of this strange fire has far exceeded my expectations. Compared to it, the Azure Lotus Earth Core Fire is like a clay chicken or a tile dog."

Lu Yu's gaze fell on the ice sword in her hand, and he asked with great interest, "What level of spiritual vein is it?"

"Level three ley lines." Cai Lin sheathed her ice sword, a hint of satisfaction flashing in her purple eyes.

Lu Yu nodded thoughtfully and said, "A level three earth vein? That's quite good. Now that the spiritual vein is complete, I'll temporarily entrust the affairs of the pavilion to you."

He paused, then continued, "The trade route between the Luoyan Empire and the Mulan Empire is not yet open. You can take some people there to handle it..."

"Are we leaving now?" Cai Lin frowned slightly.

"Ah."

Lu Yu nodded slightly and said, "Now that the formation is complete, the Lingbao Pavilion is gradually getting back on track. Soon, I will be heading to Zhongzhou to rebuild Senior Tianhuo's physical body, but before that, these matters need to be arranged properly."

After a moment of silence, Cai Lin parted her red lips slightly and said, "I will set off tomorrow."

"Thank you for your trouble." Lu Yu's eyes were full of approval.

Cai Lin gave a soft hum, a barely perceptible hint of tenderness flashing in her purple eyes, before turning and leaving.

……

After Cai Lin had gone far away, Lu Yu went straight to the underground weapon-refining room. Pushing open the heavy black iron door, a wave of heat hit him.

In the center of the room, Hong Qi, the seventh elder of the Heavenly Serpent Mansion, was bound in mid-air by nine black iron chains, and dozens of sealing runes were wrapped around his body. Although this peak Dou Zong expert was weak, his eyes still flashed with resentment.

“You little beast… the Heavenly Serpent Mansion will not let you get away with this…” Hong Qi threatened hoarsely.

Lu Yu ignored them, and with a flick of his sleeve, three key materials floated up: a seventh-order fire-attribute magic core found in the Demon Flame Valley warehouse glowed with a ghostly light, an ancient bamboo scroll recording the method of refining the Heavenly Demon Puppet slowly unfolded, and a cluster of flickering dark flames.

"rise!"

With a low shout from Lu Yu, the Netherworld Demonic Flame surged violently, instantly engulfing Hong Qi completely. A piercing scream echoed within the secret chamber as countless dark fire serpents burrowed into Hong Qi's body through his seven orifices. Amidst the rattling of chains, a semi-transparent soul was forcibly torn from his physical form.

As soon as Hong Qi's soul left his body, it transformed into a streak of light and fled towards the door. However, Lu Yu was prepared. He clenched his fist, and the invisible power of his soul formed a cage, firmly imprisoning the soul.

"Want to go?"

A cold glint flashed in Lu Yu's eyes, and flames surged in his palm. The Netherworld Demonic Fire scorched Hong Qi's soul body with frenzied intensity. Under the terrifying heat, Hong Qi's intelligence was quickly and completely refined, leaving only the purest soul body.

Immediately afterward, Lu Yu waved his sleeve, and golden Floating Pagoda Flames roared out, completely enveloping Hong Qi's corpse. In the blazing flames, the surface of the corpse gradually turned crimson, and wisps of dark corpse energy were forced out of the body and then burned away.

The tempering process lasted for a full hour, until the last wisp of corpse energy dissipated and the corpse was completely free of impurities.

"melt!"

Lu Yu flicked his finger, and a sharp burst of energy condensed at his fingertip, precisely creating a hole in the corpse's chest and forehead.

He then took out a seventh-tier magic core that he had prepared beforehand and embedded it into his chest, while simultaneously injecting his purified soul into his brow. As the soul entered his body, Hong Qi's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, his dark pupils devoid of any life force, leaving only a chilling killing intent.

Over the next period of time, Lu Yu continuously smelted various rare metals into the puppet's body, while repeatedly tempering it with strange fire, so that the physical body, soul and demon core were perfectly integrated.

Each time the flames were burned, the puppet's body became more resilient, and a metallic luster gradually covered its entire body, eventually transforming it into a fighting machine gleaming with a cold, icy light.

...Ten days later,

A blinding silver light suddenly burst forth from the secret chamber.

As the light faded, a silver puppet was seen kneeling on one knee, its metallic body shimmering with a strange luster. The aura emanating from it had clearly reached the level of a Seven-Star Dou Zong!

Lu Yu examined the earth demon puppet in front of him and showed a satisfied expression.

Although this puppet did not fully retain Hong Qi's strength before his death, its true combat power is probably enough to rival an eight-star Dou Zong expert, thanks to its characteristics of not feeling pain and not fearing death, coupled with its terrifying defensive power after being tempered by a different kind of fire!
"Hong Qi is dead. He was a Dou Zong expert after all. The Heavenly Serpent Mansion should have some means of sensing his death..."

"This matter still needs to be resolved..."

Lu Yu retracted the Earth Demon Puppet, his brow furrowing slightly. The Heavenly Serpent Palace couldn't possibly be unaware of the fall of a peak Dou Zong expert. If they were to trace it back to the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, it would likely cause considerable trouble.

"We need to find a way to divert the battlefield elsewhere..."

His eyes flickered slightly, and he had already made up his mind. With a swift movement, he disappeared from the spot.

……

A moment later, in a quiet courtyard.

"Young master, do you mean I should put Xiao Hei back?"

Qinglin stroked the miniature version of the Eight-Winged Black Serpent King, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

Lu Yu nodded and said in a deep voice, "That's right. The Heavenly Serpent Mansion will soon discover Hong Qi's demise. Rather than waiting for them to come knocking on our door, we should take the initiative to set a trap."

With a light tap of his fingertip, he sent a soul imprint into the body of the Eight-Winged Black Serpent King, and continued, "Have Little Black pretend to be seriously injured and escape back to the Heavenly Serpent Palace. Tell him that an ancient ruin was discovered in the Tagor Desert, and that Elder Hong Qi was killed by a mysterious powerhouse while vying for the opportunity."

Qinglin's eyes lit up: "Young Master, are you trying to lure the snake out of its hole?"

"Exactly."

Lu Yu smiled calmly and nodded, saying, "If the Lord of the Heavenly Serpent Palace and the elders hear about this, they will surely come to investigate in person. The Tagor Desert is sparsely populated, making it an ideal place to set up an ambush."

"When the time comes, we'll make some preparations beforehand, and we can catch those stinky snakes to nourish you and Xiao Cai..."

Upon hearing this, Qinglin gently patted the head of the Eight-Winged Black Serpent King and said softly, "Little Black, you'll have to work hard this time."

The Eight-Winged Black Serpent King raised its head, its scarlet tongue flicking excitedly, its serpentine eyes gleaming with eager anticipation. It affectionately nuzzled Qinglin's hand with its head, hissing as if expressing its impatient anticipation.

……

Half a month later, in the Heavenly Serpent Empire, at the Heavenly Serpent Palace.

The majestic black palace complex perched atop the mountain, its serpentine reliefs gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen in the sunlight. Inside the main hall, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed almost icy.

"The Seventh Elder's soul lamp... has gone out?"

The Heavenly Serpent Lord, seated in the main seat, spoke in a deep voice, his slender fingers lightly tapping the gilded armrest. Before him, a extinguished soul lamp sat quietly on the table, a few ashes still remaining at the wick.

"Lord Palace Master!"

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the hall. A heavily wounded eight-winged black serpent king stumbled into the hall, its four pairs of black wings covered in scars, and several deep, bone-revealing wounds still bleeding from its body. It crashed heavily into the center of the hall, letting out a painful hiss.

"Isn't this the Seventh Elder's mount?" one of the elders exclaimed. "How could it be so badly injured?"

The Eight-Winged Black Serpent King struggled to raise its head, its pupils filled with terror and pain. Trembling, it opened its mouth and spat out a jade bottle soaked in blood. The jade bottle shattered upon hitting the ground, and a drop of strange essence blood, shimmering with seven-colored light, floated in mid-air, emitting a chilling energy fluctuation.

"This...this is..." The Heavenly Serpent Lord's pupils shrank, and he abruptly stood up from his throne.

"The essence blood of the Seven-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python!" the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Serpent Palace exclaimed in shock, his voice trembling.

"The Tagor Desert... ancient ruins..." the Black Serpent King said weakly, "Seven-colored essence blood... the Seventh Elder risked his life for it..."

Before it could finish speaking, it suddenly began to convulse violently. The Heavenly Serpent Lord hurriedly unleashed a healing aura and shouted sternly, "Explain yourself!"

The Black Serpent King gasped for breath, speaking haltingly, "The Seventh Elder discovered an ancient ruin deep within the Tagor Desert... inside... inside..."

Its voice grew increasingly urgent: "Not only does it contain this drop of essence blood... but also... an entire pool of seven-colored essence blood! The Seventh Elder risked his life to snatch this drop... which attracted the pursuit of three Dou Zong powerhouses..."

The entire hall erupted in an uproar. All the elders stood up excitedly, their eyes gleaming with greed. The essence blood of the Seven-Colored Sky-Devouring Python was an unparalleled treasure to these serpentine magical beasts!
The Lord of the Heavenly Serpent Palace suppressed his excitement and asked in a deep voice, "What is the origin of those three Dou Zong?"

“A woman who uses poison… a young man who controls strange fire… and an unknown magical beast…” the Eight-Winged Black Serpent King gasped, “They… they guard the entrance to the ruins… saying… saying they’ll kill everyone who dares to covet my essence blood…”

"Insanity!"

The Lord of the Heavenly Serpent Palace laughed in fury, his fighting spirit surging. "A pool of seven-colored essence blood... How can I monopolize such an opportunity!"

Fear flashed in the eyes of the Eight-Winged Black Serpent King as he continued, "That demonic beast is bathing in the pool of essence blood... They said... they said they would make that beast drain the entire pool of essence blood to break through to the Dou Zun realm..."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall paled. The essence blood of the Seven-Colored Devouring Python was already incredibly precious; if a demonic beast were to use it to break through to the Dou Zun realm…

"Lord!" the Grand Elder exclaimed urgently, "This matter is of utmost importance! If that beast truly succeeds in breaking through..."

The Lord of the Heavenly Serpent Palace suddenly stood up, his battle aura surging like a raging torrent, causing the entire hall to tremble under his oppressive aura: "Send down the order! Immediately assemble all experts above the Dou Huang level! I will personally lead the team to the Tagor Desert at this moment!"

The Second Elder tried to dissuade him: "Lord, please reconsider! Since the other party dared to utter such arrogant words..."

"Shut up!"

The Heavenly Serpent Palace Master interrupted sharply, his eyes flashing with a crazed light, "A pool of seven-colored essence blood is enough for my Heavenly Serpent Palace to give birth to another Dou Zun powerhouse! We must seize such an opportunity even if it costs the entire palace!"

He turned to the Eight-Winged Black Serpent King, his voice chilling: "Lead the way! If you dare to play any tricks..."

The Black Serpent King lowered his head in fear: "Your subordinate... Your subordinate is willing to be the vanguard..."

The Lord of the Heavenly Serpent Palace snorted coldly and waved his sleeve: "Let's go!"

As soon as the order was given, the entire Heavenly Serpent Palace erupted in excitement. Powerful auras soared into the sky, hurtling towards the Tagor Desert.

……

(End of this chapter)