Chapter Sixty: The Pact Talisman! Second Update I had planned for four updates today, but I was too drowsy, my eyelids kept fighting me. I'll adjust this—look forward to an explosive four updates tomorrow. Please!! …… The middle-aged man smiled faintly as he observed Ye Chen’s look of astonishment. “The Abyss of Buried Gods isn't on the island; it lies at the very bottom of the ocean. Every island’s Divine Power Fountain contains a passage leading down.”
“The ocean floor?” Ye Chen froze, knitting his brow slightly. Just then, the middle-aged man took the lead, leaping into the Divine Power Fountain. He paused for a beat, then his figure flashed, and he dove in right behind him.
Zi Wan and Huang Feng exchanged a knowing glance, showing little surprise, and followed immediately after Ye Chen. The three nearby—Huang Bingbing and the others—looked on with open amazement. Seeing the middle-aged man and the others vanish, they didn't hesitate, quickly darting in after them.
Plunging down the shaft, Ye Chen circulated his vital energy, enveloping his entire body. He followed closely behind the middle-aged man, winding and turning through the dark passage. After an unknown depth of descent, they burst out of an opening to reveal a vast, sprawling underground world before them.
This subterranean realm was entirely fiery red, coated in magma everywhere, the temperature searingly hot. The ceiling above looked like a colossal natural cavern, dotted with sharp, inverted ridges, lending the place a grim and terrifying air.
Ye Chen landed, immediately turning to survey his surroundings, silently committing the layout to memory.
“Is this the Abyss of Buried Gods?” Huang Bingbing and the others stared around them, unable to fathom the manpower required to excavate such an immense space!
“Follow me!” the middle-aged man said in a deep voice. With a swift movement, he darted toward a narrow path in the distance.
This underground world was incredibly expansive, resembling a continent of blood-red magma, riddled with protruding, jagged rock formations and seas of fire bubbling fiercely.
The group flew onward for only a short time before reaching an expanse of molten fire. In the center of that magma ocean lay a chunk of blackened stone, seemingly primordial and unyielding, upon which rested several stone platforms. Despite untold ages spent under the scorching flames, the rock showed no sign of melting.
“That is the Divine Stone!” The middle-aged man pointed, indicating the rock to Zi Wan and the others. “You can cultivate there.”
Zi Wan and the rest looked up, their expressions shifting. After a moment, Huang Feng spoke cautiously, “Um, that Divine Stone seems a bit far. How are we supposed to get across?”
The middle-aged man glanced at him, then pointed toward a rock face to the east. “There’s a small path there. You can fly along that track. However, the magma sea has accumulated too much fire poison and Earth Demon malevolence over its long existence, birthing strange monsters. So, you’d best not linger on the path, lest you attract them.”
Huang Feng and the others paled slightly. Huang Bingbing eyed the sea of lava with lingering fear. “Are those monsters strong? Will it be dangerous?”
The middle-aged man replied coolly, “I permitted you to come, naturally after taking careful measure. Rest assured.”
Seeing this, the others said no more. After cupping their hands in farewell to Ye Chen, they turned and headed for the path. Before long, they found a track barely a meter wide, running almost flush with the surface of the fire sea; one slight dip would plunge them into the molten depths. They surged forward in sequence, running swiftly along the track for a distance before leaping into the air.
Ye Chen watched quietly.
Suddenly—
Roar!
A furious roar erupted from the magma sea, immediately followed by a jet of lava shooting toward Zi Wan and the others suspended in mid-air. As the lava sea began to boil and churn, waves of fire sweeping outwards, a magma monster, entirely engulfed in flames, rose up from the depths. Standing three Zhang tall, it resembled a gigantic, ape-like brute, charging toward Zi Wan’s party.
Zi Wan and her companions were not weak, and their heightened state of alert served them well. Seeing the magma creature, they were greatly startled. They swiftly evaded the attack, prioritizing speed over combat, and accelerated their flight.
“A Dark Creature!” Ye Chen’s eyes narrowed sharply. To find a Dark Creature here—had the Yellow Emperor inadvertently transported one when he migrated?
Just then, several more magma monsters surged from the lava in succession. They varied in shape: some like apes, some like crocodiles, others resembling constrictor snakes, their bodies all coalesced from raw magma.
Ye Chen focused his gaze, quickly assessing them. These magma monsters were relatively weak, possessing only the combat power of a low-tier Warrior, falling short even of the King rank. With the agility of Zi Wan’s group, they flashed past swiftly.
Moments later, the group finally reached the black, scorched earth at the center of the fire sea, shaken but unharmed. A feeling of having narrowly escaped death washed over them, and they let out sighs of relief, turning back to cheer and wave at Ye Chen and the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man cast a sideways glance, then stated flatly, “Let’s go!” He turned and walked away.
Ye Chen followed. He understood that the middle-aged man had deliberately sent Zi Wan, Huang Feng, and the others away, indicating that their next destination was extremely secret, something ordinary people should not know.
They hadn't gone far when the middle-aged man led Ye Chen to a broken bridge. The scorched ground was split with deep fissures, fiery light glowing from the cracks, clearly showing the magma sea churning beneath. Not far ahead lay a sunken valley filled with magma, bisected by an iron-chained bridge stretching four to five kilometers, leading to a distant, indistinct, yet majestic and imposing black mountain peak.
The middle-aged man stopped at the edge of the iron-chained bridge and bowed respectfully. “Master, now that the Genius Battle is concluded and the strongest six have been chosen, one among them has successfully crossed the Bridge of the Mind and qualified to receive the recognition of the Divine Sword. Your disciple brings him here to request an audience.”
His voice echoed through the desolate underground world.
After a long silence.
“Let him approach!” A voice boomed from the far side of the iron-chained bridge, kilometers away.
This voice carried an unmistakable weight of antiquity and supreme authority.
The middle-aged man turned to Ye Chen, straightening his posture. “You may go. Whether you truly obtain the Divine Sword remains uncertain; you must first pass the gate of Lord Dragon Emperor.”
Ye Chen nodded faintly, then turned his gaze toward the vague peak in the distance, taking a step forward. He placed his foot onto the iron-chained bridge. Beneath the walkway was a sea of fire, its scorching bubbles rising and popping, sending up air currents reaching tens of thousands of degrees Celsius. The bridge itself was forged from some strange, exotic metal, yet it showed no sign of melting under such heat.
Still, when Ye Chen’s foot made contact, he felt an intense wave of heat. Had he not been wearing the Blazing Combat Boots, the skin on his feet alone would surely have been scorched off.
After walking for a considerable time...
The indistinct mountain peak slowly sharpened into focus. It was a peak of dark obsidian, sharp and sheer, appearing forged from metal. Not a single tree or blade of grass grew on its barren slopes.
At the foot of the mountain coiled a colossal entity, ten thousand Zhang long, covered entirely in golden scales that looked as if cast from molten iron. Its claws were sharp, conveying immense, rugged power, and a single sharp horn jutted from its brow. Two long, white whiskers hung above its eyes, giving it an aged appearance.
A Dragon!
Ye Chen gasped internally. This colossal being before him was a true Divine Dragon, its power far surpassing that of any Flood Dragon. “I always heard that the current head of the Divine Hall was a descendant of the Dragon Clan, a Dharma Protector under the Yellow Emperor. I never imagined it was true!”
Ye Chen felt a profound reverence. This Divine Dragon was a being that transcended the Divine Grade. Outside, its physical strength alone would register at Level 100,000, and it possessed the ability to Ghostify. Should a fight break out, his only option would be to activate his Lightning Superman Mode and flee.
As Ye Chen studied the Divine Dragon, the beast lifted its head. Its metallic, gleaming eyes fixed on Ye Chen with a look of profound significance. The gaze was clear and placid, as if it could see through the fabric of all existence. An ordinary person meeting that stare would instantly suffer mental collapse.
Ye Chen’s spirit gave a slight jolt. The Light of Wisdom materialized behind his head, enveloping him in a holy, calm aura.
The Divine Dragon looked deeply once more, then retracted its gaze. “Good. You do possess the qualification to wield the Xuanyuan Divine Sword. However, as an outsider to this realm, I cannot simply trust you, unless you swear a solemn oath before me, and then accept the implantation of the Pact Talisman!”
Ye Chen’s brow furrowed. He thought to himself, The older the ginger, the spicier it is. A Pact Talisman! He was quite familiar with such talismans—products of Rune Civilization. While they resembled runes, they contained precise technology capable of being implanted into a biological brain, integrating directly with the brain cells and the central nervous system! A Curse Talisman could be programmed with several protocols; violating these protocols would trigger immediate self-destruction!
He frowned outwardly. “What Pact Talisman?”
The Dragon stated placidly, “The Pact Talisman is a form of oath constraint. Once implanted in your brain, if you violate the established oath, you will instantly self-detonate and die!”
Ye Chen knitted his brows again, murmuring seriously, “What oath? Surely you don’t expect me to swear to guard you for life?”
The Dragon remained calm. “The oaths are simple, three in total: First, you shall not harm any member of the Human Race. Second, you shall not harm any member of the Xuanyuan Clan. Third, when the Xuanyuan Clan faces great calamity, you must exert your utmost effort to stand forth!”
Ye Chen shook his head. “If someone from the Human Race tries to kill me, I suppose I cannot fight back?”
The Dragon paused, then frowned slightly, pondering for a short moment. “Then we shall set it thus: you may counterattack anyone who initiates force against you.”
Ye Chen nodded. “Agreed.”
The Dragon opened its mouth and exhaled a stream of small talismans that floated out, hovering before Ye Chen’s forehead. They were thumb-sized, covered in tadpole script and Sanskrit characters. After a brief pause, they imprinted themselves onto his glabella, sinking into the skin and vanishing.
The instant the talismans merged, Ye Chen felt a sharp sting in his mind, but it quickly subsided. These talismans were not made of paper but were composites of stem cells, biological cell spheres, and other materials, possessing a semi-mechanical, semi-biological nature.
If I were Cockroach Superman, I wouldn’t be constrained by this Pact Talisman. I could just activate Superman Mode, shatter my head, and regenerate a new one, Ye Chen mused, observing the tiny talisman at his central brain node. It had sprouted numerous filaments, connecting with his nervous and consciousness systems. Once the talisman was destroyed, his entire being would perish.
After I leave, I’ll ask Bailan or Elvie for help in removing the talisman. With their skills, dealing with a minor talisman should be manageable. If that fails, I’ll search for the Beast Taming Civilization upon exiting and obtain their Sealing Art to suppress and imprison the talisman, Ye Chen calculated internally.