Teng Qingshan was smashed by that massive hoof, sending him crashing through the treasure entrance and tumbling down the stone steps.

"How could this be?" Teng Qingshan supported himself with one hand, half-crouching on the ground, his mind still a dizzying mess.

Everything that had just happened was a dramatic turn of events. First, he had been dragged down by the forces of the Carefree Palace and then, disastrously, discovered by Zhao Danchen. Just as he steeled himself for a life-or-death battle with Zhao Danchen, who could have guessed that the Golden Dragon Turtle would suddenly intervene, blasting Zhao Danchen away and saving him?

That wasn't the end of it! Right after saving him, it promptly smashed him into the treasure entrance!

"Do I have something special about me? Does this old Dragon Turtle have a peculiar fondness for me?" Teng Qingshan couldn't help but laugh or cry. He turned back to look at the cave entrance above the steps; the old Dragon Turtle's abdominal armor was blocking the way. "This old Dragon Turtle told Wu Hou that whoever is destined shall obtain the Yu Emperor's Treasure, but those without destiny who enter will surely die. Could it be... I am the destined one?"

Destiny, or lack thereof, was something Teng Qingshan found completely nonsensical.

How many millennia separated him from the Yu Emperor? How could there be any connection?

"Although I don't know why this old Dragon Turtle is favoring me, at least I've escaped death and arrived here!" Teng Qingshan swept his gaze over the surroundings.

Still that cyan-green material!

The Flood Dragon Palace, besides the maze on the upper level, had another level beneath!

But the lower level was much simpler; every ten zhang or so, there stood a cyan-green pillar. At a glance, countless pillars stood everywhere, completely supporting the structure above.

"Hmm, this subterranean area isn't pitch black; instead, there is light!" Teng Qingshan noticed that the bases of adjacent pillars were connected by cyan-green light lines, and the tops of the two pillars were also connected by similar lines... This bathed the entire underground area in a cyan-green glow.

These cyan-green light lines intersected each other at right angles, forming squares roughly ten zhang wide.

Vast! Silent!

This was the bottom level of the Flood Dragon Palace—no demonic beasts, just quietude shrouded in cyan-green radiance.

"Wait, something's not right!" Teng Qingshan looked closer. "These light lines... there's something strange about them!"

Teng Qingshan observed that these cyan-green light lines had faint, flowing cyan-green halos streaming along them... much like water flowing in a river channel.

"Exactly!" Teng Qingshan’s eyes lit up. "No energy is generated from nothing; cultivation itself requires refining essence into energy, and energy into spirit... And this Flood Dragon Palace has existed at the bottom of a lake for at least five thousand years without a scratch. It must have an energy supplement, a source of support!"

"There should be an energy center here!" Teng Qingshan reasoned based on his past life's knowledge.

Immediately, Teng Qingshan began exploring the underground space.

It was a wide expanse, nothing but endless rows of pillars and the cyan-green light lines.

"As expected!" After walking only fifty zhang, Teng Qingshan smiled. "The light lines are transmitting energy! Just like flowing water, rivers converge... The more water flows gather, the wider the river channel becomes. The closer I get to the energy center of the Flood Dragon Palace, the thicker these light lines will become!"

In fifty zhang, Teng Qingshan noticed that the cyan-green light line beneath his feet was slightly thicker than the one fifty zhang behind him.

...

There were two types of cyan-green light lines: one horizontal and one vertical.

Teng Qingshan found that the horizontal lines grew thicker the further forward he went.

And the vertical lines grew thicker the further left he moved.

Teng Qingshan advanced diagonally toward the front-left. After walking nearly a li, he stopped.

"What terrifying energy!" Teng Qingshan felt a tremor in his heart. Before him, the light lines were already three feet thick! They could no longer be called light lines but rather small streams of energy... "According to the flow of this energy, this must be the energy center!"

Three zhang in front of Teng Qingshan was the area where the energy flow was thickest; no other spot held as much.

But—

The surroundings were still only rows of pillars and crisscrossing cyan-green light lines, the massive underground palace resembling a gigantic Go board.

"The center is three zhang ahead." Out of caution, Teng Qingshan took out a throwing knife.

Whoosh!

The knife became a blur of shadow, shooting toward the spot three zhang ahead. Teng Qingshan watched intently, sensing that something was about to happen!

"Boom~~" The entire underground palace violently shook, like an earthquake.

Teng Qingshan’s face drastically changed, and he stared ahead in shock.

A dazzling mass of cyan-green light, fully three zhang wide and long, appeared ahead, resembling a cyan-green 'sun'!

"Bang!"

This cyan-green sun violently erupted with a powerful shockwave, spreading outward like ripples on water at astonishing speed! The entire space trembled under the force of this terrifying energy... it seemed as if the whole realm was about to collapse. Teng Qingshan had never witnessed such a fearsome sight.

The speed was too fast!

Teng Qingshan had no time to dodge, and... there was nowhere to hide.

In an instant, only one thought managed to flash through Teng Qingshan's mind: "No wonder they said anyone who enters will surely die... even a Void Realm expert probably couldn't withstand this," before he was 'drowned' by the spreading cyan-green shockwave.

The upper level of the Flood Dragon Palace.

"Rumble~~~" The entire maze trembled.

In the narrow corridors, the Beast King 'Wu Hou,' Zhao Danchen, the Long-Browed Old Monk, and the five experts from the Carefree Palace all saw their expressions shift dramatically.

"What's happening?"

"Why is this palace shaking?"

Everyone grew alarmed.

"Could it be that Qin Lang has obtained the Yu Emperor's Treasure?" Wu Hou frowned, stating.

"Yes, the Flood Dragon Palace has existed for millennia; it's likely only obtaining the Yu Emperor's Treasure would cause it to shake," the Long-Browed Old Monk nodded in agreement.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Danchen's face darkened further. He glanced at the Golden Dragon Turtle lounging leisurely by the entrance and seethed inwardly: "Obtained the Yu Emperor's Treasure? Hmph, Qin Lang... you belong to no sect or faction. Even if you get the Yu Emperor's Treasure, what right do you have to keep it. Wait until you come out, and I, Zhao Danchen..."

Azure Lake Island had suffered immense losses, and the Yu Emperor's Treasure was practically his for the taking. Everything changed because of this Qin Lang!

Resentment and killing intent were impossible to conceal.

"Elder Zhao, what is happening inside?" A deep voice resonated throughout the Flood Dragon Palace. It was 'Gu Yong,' anxiously waiting outside the palace gates. He had been patient, but seeing the entire Flood Dragon Palace shaking violently, he grew frantic!

Something major was clearly happening inside the Flood Dragon Palace.

"Island Master! Bring your people in!" Zhao Danchen shouted loudly.

In the corridor, the others hearing Zhao Danchen’s call only shook their heads and chuckled.

"Brother Zhao, calling your Island Master now, what good will it do? Haha..." Wu Hou mocked.

"Hmph," Zhao Danchen replied with a cold face.

Before, Gu Yong and the others stayed outside to prevent the overly dangerous situation from claiming the Island Master as well! But now, although the Yu Emperor's Treasure seemed unattainable, the current situation obviously posed little further danger. Letting the Island Master and the others enter would allow them to discuss what to do next.

**

One li diagonally forward from the entrance of the staircase on the lower level of the Flood Dragon Palace.

The shaking had stopped.

Teng Qingshan still stood there, bathed entirely in cyan-green light. The small cauldron pendant inside his clothes was currently absorbing the cyan-green light. The wave of energy impact just now, which Teng Qingshan was powerless to resist, had been nullified by this small cauldron. Teng Qingshan was completely unharmed!

"How mystical," Teng Qingshan didn't look at the small cauldron but focused on what lay ahead.

Three zhang in front of him, where there was previously nothing, now shone with dazzling golden light!

Nine small, black, three-legged cauldrons, each half a person high, were neatly arranged in three rows, forming a perfect Nine Palaces grid. Each black three-legged cauldron had a lid, and embedded on the lid was a golden bead—it was these nine golden beads emitting the dazzling golden radiance.

Surrounding the nine small cauldrons was a visible, golden, spherical energy shield. This golden barrier completely enveloped the space occupied by the nine small cauldrons.

Of the nine three-legged cauldrons, directly above the central one floated a large black battle-axe.

This black battle-axe hung suspended in mid-air.

It was clear that this black battle-axe occupied the core position within the spherical energy shield. Faintly, cyan-green light lines flowed across the surface of the black battle-axe.

"Nine Cauldrons? A black axe?" Teng Qingshan’s gaze settled on the axe.

"This place seems related to my small cauldron," Teng Qingshan mused. He lowered his head, looked at the small cauldron on his chest, and then reached out slightly to touch the golden energy shield—

"Hiss—"

Like magnets attracting each other, Teng Qingshan was instantly sucked inside the barrier.

"Ah!" Teng Qingshan stared at the black battle-axe in shock. Outside the shield, Teng Qingshan couldn't fully sense the terror emanating from the black axe, but once inside the shield... the terrifying pressure radiated outwards, causing Teng Qingshan’s heart to tremble. "This axe must be the center of the entire Flood Dragon Palace!"

Suspended mid-air without any support, the axe had cyan-green light lines flowing across it, faintly connecting with the external cyan-green energy lines.

Looking at the axe sparked a thought in Teng Qingshan's mind.

"Legend says the Yu Emperor’s weapon was an axe! Could this be it?" Teng Qingshan pondered. "However... logically, even the weapon of one of the Four Supreme Experts would only be forged from rare materials. It should primarily hold symbolic significance and not have much practical use."

A weapon is just a weapon!

Even the Yu Emperor's weapon, logically speaking, shouldn't be anything extraordinary. But why...?

Why could the weapon float in mid-air?

"Is there something inside these nine small cauldrons?" Teng Qingshan glanced around and saw faint reflections through the openwork lids of the cauldrons.

"Sss sss~~" The golden beads on the lids of the nine three-legged cauldrons resting on the ground suddenly emitted beams of golden light.

The nine beams of light converged above the nine three-legged cauldrons.

A vague, tall virtual humanoid figure appeared in mid-air—dressed in simple gray-white cloth, with messy hair, a stern square face, and a long beard connecting to his sideburns. At first glance... he looked like a wild man.

"This is..." Teng Qingshan stared at the scene dumbfounded.