147: Chapter 147 Who Broke the Barrier?

Before the giant gate, Zhu Kun remained silent for a long time.

The golden light behind the gate swirled slowly, as if silently gathering its final strength.

The churning bubbles in the magma sea seemed to sense something, becoming more violent than usual.

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on the black rock, with Fire Spirit quietly perched on his shoulder, its tiny body formed of six-colored flames rising and falling slightly.

He had refined all his medicinal pills, recovering to about eighty percent of his peak state; although far from his prime, there was no more time to wait.

He could feel the dragon might behind the gate undergoing a subtle change—no longer as vast and boundless as before, but beginning to shrink rapidly, like the final calm before a storm.

Xiao Yan opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he only gripped his xuan heavy ruler tighter.

"Kid, get ready." Zhu Kun's voice came from behind the gate, as calm as if he were about to attend a long-scheduled banquet. "Remember, seven breaths. Any longer than seven breaths, and you will be crushed into fragments by the Emperor Qi barrier."

As soon as his voice fell, the golden light behind the giant gate surged violently, illuminating the entire magma sea in a blinding gold.

A vast dragon might, indescribable in words, roared out from the crack in the gate, carrying the full origin power of the Nine-Star peak Void Ancient Dragon Emperor.

For thousands of years, Zhu Kun's soul had been intertwined and symbiotic with the cave's restrictions; at this moment, he actively stripped his origin from the restrictions, a feeling no different from tearing open a wound that had healed for thousands of years and shoving a red-hot iron into it.

Yet he did not utter a single groan of pain, simply releasing the stripped-away origin power without reservation.

Immediately after, the origin burned.

Ninety-nine percent of his soul origin was ignited in the same instant, transforming into an indescribable, destructive force.

Zhu Kun's physical body crumbled inch by inch under the high heat of his burning dragon soul; every inch of flesh and every bone turned into the purest energy within the flames, merging into that origin power which had already expanded to its limit.

That energy spun rapidly in mid-air, like a golden sun about to explode.

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, pouring all the Dou Qi in his body into his right arm without reservation.

Six types of Heavenly Flames exploded simultaneously in his palm: the emerald green of the Green Lotus Core Flame, the formless nature of the Fallen Heart Flame, the ghostly white of the Bone Chilling Flame, the deep blue of the Three Thousand Burning Flame, the crimson red of the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, and the dark blue of the Deep Sea Demon Flame—the six-colored flames wove into a massive fire net, casting down over the golden energy that was about to lose control.

Fire Spirit leaped from his shoulder, letting out a clear cry, and the six-colored light surged around its body, merging with Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flame power.

His Emperor Realm Soul spread out, using supreme will to firmly suppress the self-destructing energy, which was vast enough to blow up half of Ancient Dragon Island, compressing it bit by bit toward the center.

The golden energy, which had originally expanded like a scorching sun, shrank rapidly under the shroud of the six Heavenly Flames, compressing from several zhang in size to the size of a fist, then to the size of a fingertip, and finally into a six-colored light spot the size of a rice grain.

Xiao Yan held the point of light, which had been compressed to the extreme, with both hands, his entire being like someone supporting a volcano about to erupt.

His arms were trembling violently, the webs between his thumbs and forefingers were cracked, and blood dripped through his fingers onto the rock beneath his feet, but he kept his eyes locked on the position between the third and fourth runes on the lower left of the stone gate.

Zhu Kun had said that the energy intersection node was the only weak point of the entire Emperor Qi barrier.

He let out a shout and suddenly thrust the light spot forward.

The moment the light spot struck that position, time seemed to freeze for an instant, followed by an indescribable roar that exploded throughout the entire magma sea.

The ancient runes on the giant gate flashed wildly, and a crack large enough for one person to pass through was blown open between the third and fourth runes, with a faint golden light shining from deep within the crack—that was the light from inside the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode, shining into the outside world for the first time in thousands of years.

Seven breaths.

Xiao Yan did not hesitate in the slightest, grabbed Fire Spirit, and his figure transformed into a six-colored lightning bolt, rushing toward the crack.

The crack was closing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the Emperor Qi barrier leaking from the edges sliced through his protective Dou Qi like the sharpest of blades.

On the first breath, he surged through more than half his body; on the second breath, he squeezed sideways into the narrowest part of the crack, his left shoulder having a layer of flesh and skin sliced off by the Emperor Qi barrier, the blood vaporized into nothingness by the high heat before it could even gush out.

On the third breath, he tumbled out of the crack, landing heavily on the stone bricks inside the cave abode, and the crack behind him slammed shut on the fourth breath after he entered.

The cave abode was silent.

Fire Spirit crawled out from his embrace; its six-colored light had dimmed significantly, but it was still alive.

He looked down at the dragon scale amulet hanging on his chest—it had been condensed by Zhu Kun using his last shred of consciousness before self-destructing, and a faint golden remnant soul was curled up inside, so weak it was almost imperceptible.

Zhu Kun was still alive, with only one breath left, but still alive.

Xiao Yan carefully touched the amulet with his finger, then propped himself up with the xuan heavy ruler and slowly stood up, looking up toward the depths of the cave abode.

It was pitch black there, but within that darkness, he sensed an extremely vast pressure—that was the aura left behind by the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor, which had not dissipated for thousands of years.

Meanwhile, at the Ancient Saint Peak in the Ancient World.

Gu Yuan was sitting alone in the quiet room at the peak, eyes closed in meditation, when he suddenly opened them wide. A look of disbelief flashed in his brown eyes, which had seen a thousand years of history.

He had sensed it—in the direction of Jia Nan Academy, an extremely powerful restriction had been triggered.

It was the seal of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode; someone had gone inside.

He rose abruptly, his grey robe fluttering without wind, and the pressure of a Nine-Star Dou Sheng peak uncontrollably spread out as his figure flickered and vanished into a void crack.

In the Hall of Hun Tiandi in the Soul Realm.

Hun Tiandi remained in his unchanging, lazy posture, flipping through that endless ancient scroll in his hand.

But the moment that wave of restriction energy arrived, his fingers, which were flipping the pages, froze abruptly.

Void Swallowing Flame, in human form, sat at the lower right; the black flames at its fingertips jumped violently, and a rare look of gravity flashed in its eyes, which were burning with black flames.

Both of them vanished from the hall almost simultaneously.

In the East Courtyard, Hun Feng was holding the month-old Hun Muqing, basking in the sun under the veranda.

The little girl was sleeping soundly on his chest, her small hands clutching his collar and refusing to let go.

Yao Yao was teasing her from the side, Xiao Yi Xian was leaning on a soft couch embroidering a pouch, and Yun Yun was sewing small clothes for the children beside a stone table.

That wave of restriction energy swept in from the direction of Jia Nan Academy like an invisible tsunami.

Hun Feng's smile instantly froze on his face; his mid-stage Emperor Realm Soul perception allowed him to confirm the source of that fluctuation at the first moment—the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode.

Someone had broken the seal of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode.

He subconsciously cursed, and Yao Yao looked at him in surprise; he had never lost his composure like this in front of her before.

He gently placed his daughter into Yao Yao's arms, only managing to say "Wait for me at home" before tearing through the void and vanishing from the spot.

Dozens of breaths later, beneath Jia Nan Academy, at the end of the magma sea.

Four spatial cracks opened almost simultaneously.

Hun Tiandi arrived first; his face was so gloomy it could drip water, and the soul mist swirling around him churned uncontrollably, forcing the surrounding magma back dozens of zhang.

Void Swallowing Flame followed closely behind, its eyes burning with black flames, staring intently at the giant gate that had completely closed, the black flames at its fingertips jumping violently.

Gu Yuan landed beside the two, his grey robe fluttering loudly.

Hun Feng was the last to arrive; he landed in front of the giant gate and understood everything with just one glance—scorched marks from six types of Heavenly Flames remained on the ground, the air was filled with the lingering dragon might unique to the Void Ancient Dragon royal family, and a thick, almost tangible scent of blood hung in the air.

That was the aura left behind only after a Nine-Star peak expert burned out their origin and physical body.

Xiao Yan, it must be Xiao Yan.

He possessed six Heavenly Flames, Fire Spirit, and the Xiao Clan's ancient emperor jade fragment, and he knew Zhu Kun—Zhu Kun was Zi Yan's father, and Zi Yan was an old acquaintance Xiao Yan had known since his time in the Jia Ma Empire.

Xiao Yan must have used some method to persuade Zhu Kun, making him force open the second barrier at the cost of self-destruction.

Hun Feng slammed a fist violently into the rock wall beside him, blasting a huge hole into the entire wall.

He was unwilling to accept this.

During this time, he had been busy with dual cultivation and taking care of his daughters, treating news of Xiao Yan as nothing—he had thought that Zhu Kun's palm strike would have made him behave, thought that without the ancient emperor jade fragment, the cave abode could not be opened, and thought that time was on the side of the Hun Clan.

In the end, this bastard turned around and persuaded Zhu Kun, actually breaking open the second gate.

Void Swallowing Flame raised its hand and blasted a black flame onto the giant gate, Gu Yuan struck with a full-force blow of a Nine-Star peak expert, and Hun Tiandi's giant soul palm followed closely behind.

Four attacks of Nine-Star level landed on the giant gate simultaneously, the ancient runes flashed crazily, and the entire magma sea was turned upside down by this destructive impact.

But the giant gate remained unmoved.

The seven breaths had long passed, the crack had long since completely closed, and unless another Nine-Star peak expert like Zhu Kun was willing to self-destruct, this gate could never be forcibly opened again.

And Zhu Kun was gone—the thick scent of blood in the air was the best proof.

"It's useless. The restriction set by the Ancient Emperor himself cannot be opened by any amount of external force unless someone opens it from the inside or all eight pieces of the ancient emperor jade are gathered." Gu Yuan withdrew his palm, his voice heavy as if a mountain were pressing down on it.

Hun Feng stared fixedly at the giant gate, the rage churning in his chest almost setting him ablaze.

The Ancient Emperor's inheritance was the fastest shortcut to the Emperor Realm; Xiao Yan was already inside, while they could only stand outside the gate and watch.

He was unwilling to accept it, but there was nothing he could do.

After a long silence, he slowly unclenched his fist, turned to the three, and said: "Xiao Yan has already gone in, and waiting here is meaningless. It's not certain whether he can pass the inheritance test, and even if he does, it will take time to refine it. Rather than wasting time here, we might as well go back and focus on cultivation. Whoever breaks through to Dou Di first will hold the initiative."

After speaking, he was the first to step into a void crack.

Hun Tiandi and Void Swallowing Flame exchanged a look, then turned and vanished into the void.

Gu Yuan stood in place, looked back at the giant gate for a long time, and then left as well.

The magma sea returned to silence, with only the silent giant gate and the scent of blood that had not yet dissipated in the air, silently recounting everything that had just happened.