Gu Xiechen, naked, was filled with rising fury within the core of the ancient evil palace, causing me to tremble slightly. A set of Taoist robes, which had saved his life multiple times both in the Heavenly Stars and on Earth, possessed a self-protecting power; without it, even ten Gu Xiechens would have perished long ago. For Gu Xiechen, this set of robes held more commemorative value than practical use; it was through these very robes that he had slowly accessed the wondrous world of the cultivation realm.

"Han Piao!" Gu Xiechen roared in anger. He snatched up the Qilin Seal without hesitation, pouring every ounce of his Taiyin Xuangang into it.

With a weng sound, a ball of white light erupted from the Qilin Seal. Gu Xiechen raised the seal and smashed it towards Han Piao's forehead.

Han Piao shrieked, clutching her head and squatting on the ground: "I swear I will teach the Corpse Sutra to Peng Hua! I will teach him the Corpse Sutra tomorrow! I swear I will never hit him again, never lay a finger on him—but he cannot touch me either! You, you... that Gu brat, if you have the guts, go fight my true body! What kind of hero are you for bullying me?"

The Qilin Seal, trailing a mass of Taiyin Xuanyan, stopped abruptly three inches from Han Piao’s forehead. Great swathes of ice crystals erupted from the white glacial flames, showering Han Piao and causing her to shiver uncontrollably. Han Piao didn't fear fire; even the innate flames couldn't harm her, but the Taiyin Xuanyan was her nemesis. Facing this malicious substance, Han Piao dared not speak back stubbornly.

"Hmph!" Gu Xiechen slowly retrieved the Qilin Seal. He pulled out a set of clothes from his Qiankun Pouch and dressed himself before speaking coldly, "There won't be a next time! If you dare attack me from behind again, don't blame me for annihilating your true spirit! Remember this: I haven't even settled the score for those three drops of essence blood you stole that depleted my essence, spirit, and energy!"

A terrifying aura radiated outward. At this moment, Gu Xiechen exuded the feeling of a giant dragon soaring through the Nine Heavens, imposing immense pressure. Han Piao shrank into a ball; her Nascent Soul and true spirit were held in Gu Xiechen’s grasp. She possessed no strength left to resist, nor any courage. Onlooker Peng Hua’s face tightened; Gu Xiechen was too terrifying now. When he was enraged, it seemed the entire cave mansion transformed into a manifestation of his might, and anyone he stared at felt the illusion of opposing the entirety of heaven and earth.

After severely reprimanding Han Piao, Gu Xiechen gave her no face whatsoever. Han Piao was chastised until her eyes welled up with tears. In the end, she instinctively hid behind Peng Hua. Peng Hua forced an awkward smile but instinctively puffed out his chest—ah, the feeling of being seen as a protector by a woman, it felt so good!

Gu Xiechen shook his head and managed a wry smile. "Fine, let's go in and see. This Heavenly Craft Hall—humph, what an arrogant name!"

Just then, a high-pitched howl echoed from some hall deep within the Heavenly Craft Hall. A young man's voice shouted excitedly, "Father! I have broken through the six-star barrier! I possess the strength of the legendary Seven-Star Great Venerable! I am the supreme—hahaha!"

"Invincible under heaven?" Gu Xiechen let out a wisp of divine sense, intrigued. He saw a handsome youth, tall and distinguished, dressed in white robes, though his eyebrows carried a hint of effeminate wickedness. This youth was riding a ball of fire, speeding rapidly toward them, laughing and cheering loudly as he flew. He streaked past dozens of grand halls, arriving right at the main entrance of the Heavenly Craft Hall.

Dead silence. A prolonged, deep silence.

The youth stared blankly at the corpses scattered haphazardly on the ground, and at the bodies that were starting to sway upright under the chanting spells of the black-haired zombies.

Gu Xiechen curiously scrutinized the youth. Broken through the six-star barrier? Possessing the strength of the legendary "Seven-Star Great Venerable"? Yet, this so-called Seven-Star Great Venerable seemed barely past the peak of the Golden Core stage, only a hair’s breadth away from the Nascent Soul stage? This site's new address has changed to: , please log in to read.

By this conversion, the so-called six-star strength was equivalent to Earth Federation's Mercury-level Innate Fighter. Breaking past the Mercury level made one a Seven-Star Great Venerable?

Gu Xiechen watched the young man without blinking, pondering his identity.

Peng Hua suddenly leaped up, laughing. "There's a fish that escaped the net? Heh, die for me!" He lunged forward like a tiger, slamming his fist toward the young man's chest.

The youth sneered dismissively. He glanced coldly at the corpses on the ground and nonchalantly swung his left fist to meet Peng Hua’s blow.

Gu Xiechen closed his eyes: This pig-headed fellow, does he think Peng Hua's fist is so easily taken?

Peng Hua’s fist turned silver and gleaming once more. He roared with laughter and exchanged a full-force punch with the youth.

Without a doubt, the youth’s left arm was shattered by Peng Hua’s punch. Half of his humerus bone shot out from his shoulder like a released arrow, emitting a piercing whistle, turning into a streak of white light that flew far away, not making a sound as it landed deep within the cave mansion. The youth let out a pig-slaughtering scream. He stumbled backward, howling hoarsely, "Impossible! I am a Seven-Star Great Venerable, an unprecedented Seven-Star Great Venerable! I am only theoretically a Seven-Star Great Venerable! I cannot lose!"

Peng Hua rushed forward in a few strides, grabbed the youth by the neck, and lunged with his protruding sharp teeth toward the man’s throat. "Heh, I don't know what crap about Seven-Stars you're spouting, but the taste of your blood must be excellent. Tsk, tsk, Uncle Peng Hua loves the hot, sweet blood of little guys like you who still have some strength!"

Gu Xiechen smiled. This fellow was finished. Although Peng Hua’s appearance while drinking blood wasn't pleasing to the eye, Gu Xiechen had no intention of stopping him; this was Peng Hua’s personal habit, wasn't it? He looked coldly at the so-called "invincible" "Seven-Star Great Venerable" and sneered, "Hurry up and finish him. Let's go inside and see what good things are here."

The silvery fangs were almost touching the youth's neck when the youth's expression suddenly turned cold. He shouted sternly, "Remember, the one killing you is Yazheng Ming, the Young Master of the Exorcist Knights!" A burst of fierce flames appeared in Yazheng Ming's hand, and a peculiar long sword, three feet in blade length and densely covered in barbs, suddenly shot out from the flames. Yazheng Ming swung the sword, aiming a slash at Peng Hua's waist.

"Heh!" Yazheng Ming's right arm was instantly seized by the quick-handed Xin Jia, who gave it a slight twist, causing Yazheng Ming's arm to snap into several pieces like a brittle pretzel.

Snatching the strange long sword from the screaming Yazheng Ming’s hand, Xin Jia weighed it, shook his head, and said, "Too light. Too light. Holding this is like playing with a dagger. Six..."

Respectfully handing the long sword to Gu Xiechen, Xin Jia stated, "Exalted One, this is an Immortal Artifact! I truly didn't expect any ancient immortal would dare violate the Heavenly Court's prohibition to leave such an object in the mortal realm. Alas, how many lawbreakers there are?" Xin Jia shook his head in contemplation, like a police chief lamenting the numerous petty thieves under his jurisdiction.

The words "Immortal Artifact" made Peng Hua’s face turn black with fright. He angrily twisted off Yazheng Ming’s neck, and still unsatisfied, pulled a soft sword from his belt and viciously hacked off his head, cleaving all four limbs from the body. He struck Yazheng Ming again and again, cursing wildly, "Damn it, you dared to ambush your Uncle Peng Hua? An Immortal Artifact, for heaven's sake, an Immortal Artifact! My body might withstand attacks from ordinary Spirit Artifacts, but an Immortal Artifact! I curse your mother's Immortal Artifact!"

Peng Hua struck swiftly, chopping Yazheng Ming into a pulp of flesh in the blink of an eye. Still furious, he opened his mouth and spat a thick cloud of black corpse energy onto the bloody pulp. A few points of phosphorus fire flickered in the black mist, and a sharp scream echoed—Yazheng Ming's soul was burned clean by the corpse energy, truly and utterly dead.

Weighing the red treasured sword in his hand, Gu Xiechen passed it to Peng Hua. "Senior Brother, you were frightened. Keep this treasure to protect yourself. Heh heh. How many Immortal Artifacts might be in this cave mansion?"

While saying this with feigned reluctance, Gu Xiechen snatched the sword back with the fastest speed possible, his mouth splitting into a wide grin. Ordinary cultivators could absolutely not activate an Immortal Artifact with their own power; these were concepts from entirely different realms, like primitive people building an atomic bomb. However, cultivators could use certain special spiritual techniques to activate a minuscule, negligible effect of an Immortal Artifact, but even this tiny effect was hundreds of times superior to the best Spirit Artifact. It was like primitive people couldn't build an atomic bomb, but you could force-feed them the knowledge to forge the casing of one—even the crudest iron sphere shell? And this shell, to primitive people, held immense power; at least they wouldn't be smashed to death by enemies throwing stones while hiding inside.

For cultivators, an Immortal Artifact was such a treasure—one they couldn't fully control but one that could instantly increase their destructive power dozens of times over!

With this Immortal Artifact-grade long sword, Peng Hua could even contend with several Grandmaster-level experts from the Nine Nether Path. How could he not be happy?

Looking at the excited Peng Hua, then touching the Qilin Seal at his waist, and thinking of the Taiyin Xuanzhu in his Dantian and the Haotian Pagoda in his mind, Gu Xiechen looked silently toward the heavens.

Waving a stream of Taiyin Xuanyan to completely incinerate Yazheng Ming's corpse, Gu Xiechen carefully collected the head, which had miraculously survived Peng Hua’s chaotic hacking, into his Qiankun Pouch. The pouch contained a Cold Jade Casket used by cultivators to store precious herbs. He selected a casket of appropriate size and placed the head inside.

Peng Hua exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing?"

Gu Xiechen smiled and replied, "This brat is the Young Master of the Exorcist Knights, the power group controlling the Yafike Kingdom from behind the scenes. And this brat had designs on Fuya Ming."

He recounted exactly what he had seen and done. Peng Hua nodded in sudden enlightenment. "So you’re taking it to curry favor with your girlfriend? Hmph!"

His complexion suddenly flushed red. Gu Xiechen became enraged and snapped, "What nonsense are you spouting? Our relationship is merely cooperation."

Peng Hua leaned close to Gu Xiechen, throwing an arm forcefully over his shoulder. "Listen to your Senior Brother. I have seen more women go under my spear than you have ever met in your entire life. Let's be direct: you have feelings for that woman. Don't deny it, or I’ll despise you... But what about that little woman? Right now, she's merely curious about you. You need to work hard to turn that curiosity into adoration, into devoted adoration for you. Then, Senior Brother will arrange a slightly more sensual environment and atmosphere, and you go straight in for the kill."

Gu Xiechen’s eyes twitched with anger as he kicked Peng Hua several feet away. He stormed into the Heavenly Craft Hall, ignoring the fellow whose mouth was full of impropriety.

Peng Hua hurried after him, eagerly calling out, "Are you listening to me? Chasing women is really quite simple. Don't tell me you're holding back because of her status, or I will look down on you. Isn't she just a Queen? Who are you? You are Gu Xiechen, my Junior Brother! If that doesn't work, we can just snatch her! Tsk tsk, the thirty-eight Void Grandmasters of the Asian Dao Alliance—oh wait, we've been out for over a year, so there should be a few more now, maybe forty-something. Once the Void Grandmasters make their appearance, what is a mere Yafike Kingdom?"

While arguing nonsensically with Peng Hua, Gu Xiechen led his group into the Heavenly Craft Hall.

They first took a cursory tour around the entire cave mansion, which occupied a vast area. Its grandeur was imposing, and the craftsmanship was exceptionally refined, especially the profound and mysterious restrictions placed between the various large and small pavilions inside. The outer perimeter of the Heavenly Craft Hall lacked any mountain-guarding formations, but outside each small hall within the mansion, complex arrays and formations appeared endlessly. Many of these formations drew exclamations of awe from Zhao Yi; they were all extremely powerful Immortal Arrays.

This was an incredibly valuable opportunity. The formations within the Heavenly Hall encompassed killing formations, confinement formations, illusionary formations, and maze formations—all sorts of inconceivable types. Under Zhao Yi's guidance, Gu Xiechen compared them with the infinite knowledge of the Dao of Formations within his Soul Orb, deepening his understanding of formations by another significant layer.

Because these formations were overly complex and were Immortal Arrays, the group did not rashly try to break the barriers outside the halls. They proceeded along the corridors between the pavilions, delving into the core section of the cave mansion—the area obscured by a thin layer of mist.

Upon getting closer, Gu Xiechen finally saw that the core of the Heavenly Craft Hall was a massive hall nearly ten li in length and width. It was undivided by partitions or ancillary halls; this was a single, grand hall three stories high, roughly a hundred zhang tall, spanning ten li in both length and width. The entire hall was cast from pale silver "Xuan Guang Stone," appearing majestic, solemn, and ancient. Carved on the outer walls were countless reliefs depicting tall, divine figures wielding massive hammers forged from lightning, striking implements on anvils.

Xuan Guang Stone was an extremely high-grade fire-attribute Immortal Stone, usable for assisting cultivation or forging magic treasures. Naturally, only Immortals, or someone like Gu Xiechen who possessed an Innate Body and cultivated a nascent-level supreme Dharma Codex, could utilize it. The sheer quantity of Xuan Guang Stone used for this magnificent hall must have been tens of millions—the craftsmanship of the Heavenly Craft Hall's master astonished even Han Piao.

Surrounding the main hall were several ancillary pavilions arranged in a Nine Palaces pattern. These pavilions were separated from the central hall by a distance of at least six li, forming a vast, reversed 'Hui' shape plaza.

What lay on the plaza rendered Gu Xiechen speechless; even Peng Hua, Xin Jia, and the others stared in utter astonishment at the tall figures frozen inside blocks of ice.

These handsome men, clad in magnificent energy armors, wearing long capes of various colors, with golden hair and golden eyes that still reflected a faint golden sheen under the subtle glow of the Xuan Guang Stone—when Gu Xiechen saw the reliefs, he suspected they were the Romans. Now, seeing the actual individuals, Gu Xiechen would certainly fall out with anyone who claimed they were not Roman.

Roughly twenty to thirty thousand Romans were frozen crookedly in thick ice blocks. Their eyes were wide open, staring blankly ahead at the main hall, deadened by death. Their bodies were pierced with all sorts of primitive cold weapons like knives, spears, swords, and halberds. Occasionally, some had massive holes torn through them, but more were missing limbs, replaced by some kind of mechanical prosthesis. Every Roman bore at least thirty wounds, and the internal organs of many had spilled out from gaping injuries, demonstrating the incredibly brutal battle they had endured.

On the 999 steps leading up to the main entrance of the hall, an exceptionally tall Roman was awkwardly frozen in a massive block of ice, pierced through the throat, heart, and lower abdomen by three long knight spears. This Roman reached out a hand toward the hall's main door, and a small hole had burst open in the center of his brow, as if something had rushed out from within.

"Romans! We truly have fate; running into your ancestors even here!" Gu Xiechen sighed deeply.

Zhao Yi surveyed the surrounding Romans, then shook his head; all his attention was fixed on the main hall before them. After a long pause, he stated gravely, "Exalted One, there are strangely no restrictions near this main hall, not even protective seals on the door itself. We—"

Before Zhao Yi could finish speaking, Han Piao launched herself over ten zhang high, flipped twice in mid-air, and slammed straight into the main door of the hall.

"The treasure must be inside! This grandma won't be polite!" Han Piao shouted ecstatically.

Gu Xiechen let out a soft chuckle. A stream of water suddenly jetted out from beneath his feet, and he stepped onto the white stream like a rainbow, bringing forth a streak of white light. He effortlessly overtook Han Piao, dashing into the hall first. Amidst Han Piao's frantic cursing, Gu Xiechen stood dumbfounded before the shattered door of the hall.

The spacious hall glowed with a dazzling red light, and rolling heat waves washed over him. There was no ground inside; the entire hall was an ocean of magma. It was unclear by what means the hall's master had brought this magma here, or where it came from, yet at the core of this void-suspended cave mansion was such a spectacular scene of molten rock.

Thirty-six gigantic furnaces floated and bobbed in the magma. Flames occasionally erupted from the furnaces, stirring up winds that were pale blue, indicating an extremely high temperature.

A thin stream of purple smoke, thinner than a strand of hair, erupted from the exact center of the lava lake. It dispersed in the middle of the hall, transforming into a cloud of purple vapor with an unimaginably high temperature. A large book, two feet square, cast from thin sheets of purple-gold, hovered steadily above the purple vapor. Three fist-sized golden seal characters glittered on the cover: The Compendium of Celestial Artifacts!

"Heh heh, this is mine!"

Han Piao shoved the dumbfounded Gu Xiechen aside with her shoulder, turning into a red streak as she charged toward the large book.

Gu Xiechen sighed helplessly. "I was actually about to say, I sense an ambush in this hall!"

Indeed, the moment Gu Xiechen pushed open the hall door, he sensed an extremely terrifying aura concealed within. It was this unsettling aura that had caused him to halt.

But Han Piao ignored Gu Xiechen’s warning, roaring with manic laughter, "Ambush? What ambush can possibly overcome this esteemed one?"

As her laughter echoed in Gu Xiechen's ears, a massive keng-qiang boom—like the collision of two iron mountains—resounded within the hall.

"What monstrous entity dares covet the True Immortal Heavenly Book?"

A colossal figure, about ten zhang tall, completely encased in golden armor, materialized beside Han Piao. This breathtakingly majestic figure held a massive golden hammer, the kind used by blacksmiths for forging. With a whoosh, the hammer smashed down toward Han Piao. This being was ten zhang tall, but the head of the hammer alone was a zhang square—it was practically a small mountain forged of metal!

What was even more chilling was that streaks of golden lightning, several feet thick, coiled around the giant hammerhead. Amidst the deafening thunder, the massive hammer slammed down onto Han Piao like a giant fly swatter.

With a zizhi sound, Han Piao was struck, spitting blood from all seven orifices. The sound of cracking beans erupted from her bones; half of her body was flattened as smoothly as a sheet of paper against the hammerhead. Dozens of thick golden lightning bolts whistled down, striking Han Piao one after another, scorching her body until black smoke trailed behind her as she plummeted into the magma lake.

"How terrifying!" Peng Hua swallowed hard.

"That is the Divine Firmament Nine Shakes Heavenly Emperor Demon-Subduing Heavenly Thunder! It is the Demon-Subduing Heavenly Thunder that only True Immortals from the Thirty-Three Heavens can use! Even we are unable and unqualified to summon it—it is managed by the Eight Emperors of the Divine Firmament and the True King of Yuqing!" Xin Jia shrieked. "That woman is doomed! Although this lightning technique is unorthodox, the essence of the lightning essence is the true Divine Firmament Nine Shakes Heavenly Emperor Demon-Subduing Heavenly Thunder!"

Gu Xiechen exhaled heavily. He stared intently at the Compendium of Celestial Artifacts. He instinctively felt that this book would be very beneficial to him.

That colossal silhouette hung suspended above the magma, several miles distant from Gu Xiechen. It, too, was staring intently at him.

Suddenly, a plume of azure-tinged water vapor erupted beneath Gu Xiechen’s feet, gently lifting him toward the Heavenly Artifact Assembly. (The current site address has been changed: Liaolian'aopeng.liaoqian. Please log in to Yuandu.)

The void within the grand hall shimmered with a swift change of luminescence, and another thirty-five immense golden figures materialized from the emptiness without a sound.

Gu Xiechen’s heart lurched violently.