71: Chapter 71 A lotus blooms under the eternal blue sky; if you don't sleep forever, who will?

Lu Chen ignored Shen Mengyao and stepped into the void, tearing open a spatial rift. The hem of his black robe disappeared into it immediately after.

In the east of the Secret Realm, the interior of a withered tree, so thick it would take dozens of people to encircle it, had been hollowed out.

Lin Bufan sat cross-legged at the bottom of the tree hollow. Before him lay a pile of over a dozen storage rings, three Flying Swords, and a purple-gold gourd.

He picked up a dharma robe embroidered with a purple lightning totem and held it up against himself to check the fit.

"I really hit the jackpot this time. That old geezer Grandmaster finally agreed to hand over the Incineration Mantra."

A hand reached out from the void out of thin air and grabbed Lin Bufan by the back of his collar.

Before Lin Bufan could circulate his spiritual power, his feet left the ground. He was hoisted into the air and dragged directly from the tree hollow into a spatial tunnel.

The surrounding scenery blurred for a moment, and then Lin Bufan's feet stepped onto stone slabs again.

After seeing clearly who was standing in front of him, Lin Bufan immediately straightened his back, cupped his fists, and bowed ninety degrees.

"Old Ancestor! This Disciple pulled off some big scores this time!"

Lin Bufan patted the five Storage Pouches hanging at his waist, which let out a dull thudding sound.

"I've even stripped the underpants off the younger generation of the Wanhua Immortal Gate and Zixiao Holy Land."

"Your technique is too crude. Leaving survivors is a failure."

Lu Chen pointed at the Storage Pouches at Lin Bufan's waist.

"Your methods are simply an embarrassment to the Yunxiao Holy Land."

"When killing for treasure, the most important thing is to destroy the evidence. You have to scatter their ashes and then provide a full funeral service including chanting sutras for their salvation."

"The situation is tight now, so we must beat a retreat. No more mischief; quit while we're ahead."

Lin Bufan nodded repeatedly, clutching the Storage Pouches tightly to his chest.

"The Old Ancestor is indeed wise. Understood."

Lu Chen turned around and looked at the vast Azure Emperors Secret Realm below the cliff.

He released his Divine Sense without reservation, instantly covering a radius of a hundred thousand miles. Thousands of light spots representing unclaimed Opportunities lit up in his mind.

"Follow me. I'm taking you all to raid the Azure Emperor's ancestral grave."

Lu Chen took a step forward, and a void tunnel formed in front of everyone.

Leng Qingqiu, holding the imperial sword jiuyou, was the first to follow.

Yun Qianyue, Su Xuner, Su Qiyue, Yan Lingji, and Wei Hongyu followed close behind.

Lin Bufan and Shen Mengyao glanced at each other and quickly ran into the tunnel.

Deep within the Sunset Canyon.

A hundred-fathom-high black stone wall blocked the path. It was covered in the patterns of an ancient killing Formation, with red Killing Intent flowing through them.

Lu Chen walked at the very front. Without stopping his pace, he raised his right foot and kicked directly at the center of the stone wall.

With a thunderous boom.

The hundred-fathom stone wall exploded from the center. Rubble flew everywhere, and the stones engraved with the ancient killing Formation were reduced to powder as the light of the Formation patterns completely extinguished.

Behind the stone wall was a stone chamber. On a central stone platform sat a withered yellow blade of grass. The sharp Sword Qi surrounding it sliced through the air, letting out ear-piercing shrieks.

Lu Chen walked forward, ignoring the Sword Qi that was enough to strangle a Saint. His right hand reached directly through the web of Sword Qi and pulled out that withered stalk.

"Take this and play with it."

After casually suppressing it, Lu Chen tossed the withered stalk behind him.

Leng Qingqiu raised her hand to catch it. The moment the withered stalk touched her hand, her Nine Nether Reincarnation Body resonated violently, and a wave of ancient Sword Intent surged into her Meridians along her palm.

Holding the withered Nine-Leaf Sword Grass, Leng Qingqiu sat down cross-legged. An astounding burst of Sword Qi erupted from her body as she began to refine it.

The clouds above the cliff were shredded by the Sword Qi, and all the birds within a ten-mile radius were suppressed to the ground by the Sword Intent.

Lu Chen did not linger and tore through space once more.

The Underground Yao Altar.

Eight bone totem pillars stood around the altar, with green ghostly fires burning atop them.

Lu Chen walked to the center of the altar, crushed the obsidian slabs of the platform with one foot, and pulled a stone emitting a pink glow from deep underground.

"Heavenly Fox Illusion Stone, something left over from ancient times."

Lu Chen tossed the stone to Yun Qianyue.

Yun Qianyue held the illusion stone in both hands. Nine fox tails uncontrollably emerged from beneath her skirt. The pink glow merged into her body, and the space around her began to warp as the power of her illusions instantly surged several times over.

"Revered Master is the best."

Yun Qianyue rubbed the illusion stone against her cheek, thinking that as long as she became stronger, she could keep Revered Master by her side forever, and no one could take him away.

Lu Chen turned and walked toward the next location.

For the next three hours, Lu Chen led the group as they shuttled through every corner of the Secret Realm.

The bottom of the Poison Dragon Pond.

Lu Chen crushed an Early Stage Saint Realm Poison Dragon to death with his bare hands and threw the massive dragon corpse onto the shore. He then plucked the Nine Nether Soul-Returning Grass from the bottom of the pond and tossed it to Yan Lingji.

Yan Lingji caught the Spiritual Plant and put it into her storage ring. She thought to herself that this Poison Dragon was not even as good as a loach in her Revered Master's hands, as she followed closely behind Lu Chen in her high heels.

The fourth location, the peak of Myriad Blade Mountain.

Lu Chen shattered the mountain-protecting Formation with a single palm strike and pulled a Medium Grade Saint-tier Clear Breeze Azure Water Sword from the Formation's eye, throwing it to Su Xuner.

Su Xuner caught the sword. Feeling the pure water-attribute spiritual power coming from the blade, she tilted her chin up proudly, hugged the sword to her chest, and turned her head away.

She thought to herself that although Lu Chen was usually very unreliable, she really had to thank him this time. The Everlasting Su Family was reasonable, and she would remember this favor.

The fifth location...

Behind the group, Lin Bufan and Shen Mengyao were on a frantic looting spree.

Lu Chen ate the meat, and they took the soup along with the bowl.

Lin Bufan picked up all the high-level Formation Materials scattered after Lu Chen shattered the Formations and stuffed them into his Storage Pouch. Shen Mengyao didn't miss a single scrap of the hides, fur, or bones left behind after Lu Chen killed the Yao Beasts.

"This dragon scale is mine, and that Formation base stone is yours."

Lin Bufan stuffed things into his bag while splitting the loot with Shen Mengyao.

A full circle of Storage Pouches hung around their waists, bulging so much that various spiritual lights constantly overflowed from the openings.

On the cliff top, everyone gathered again. Each person was covered in jewels and treasures, and their spiritual power fluctuations were several times stronger than before they entered the Secret Realm.

Lin Bufan laughed happily.

"Old Ancestor! Following you means eating nine meals a day!"

Lin Bufan hugged Lu Chen's leg with both hands.

"This isn't an adventure; this is just restocking! This Disciple has been stuffed full!"

Lu Chen was speechless: "I didn't stuff you full. I'm not a '1'. You can let Mengyao do it, I'm fine with that, but not you!"

Shen Mengyao also knelt beside him: "Thank you, Grandmaster, for saving my life and bestowing so many opportunities."

Yun Qianyue leaned in close to Lu Chen.

"Revered Master, you didn't keep a single one of these treasures and gave them all to us. Don't you need them yourself?"

Lu Chen lay back in his Grandmaster's chair and picked up the cup of cold Wudao Tea.

"A pile of tattered trash."

Lu Chen poured the tea onto the ground.

"I'd find it a waste of space to take them. If you like them, then treat them like treasures."

Just then.

A blinding golden light suddenly shot into the sky from the center of the Secret Realm.

The golden light tore through the clouds above the Secret Realm and soared straight into the highest heavens.

The ground of the entire Azure Emperors Secret Realm began to vibrate violently.

Countless birds and beasts huddled on the ground, trembling in fear.

A pressure belonging to the Great Emperor level spread out from the center of the golden light.

Lu Chen stopped in his tracks and looked up at the golden light.

Wei Hongyu suddenly stood up, the folding fan in her hand dropping to the ground.

"That is the core Legacy of the Azure Emperor appearing."

The auras of Wan Tianchou, Ming Jiuyou, Zi Qianlan, Lei Zhengtian, and Lei Wuji—the five Saints—erupted from far away.

Five streaks of light raced frantically toward the direction of the golden light.

Lu Chen tucked his hands into his sleeves.

"The Azure Emperor's coffin lid can't hold him down anymore. He's got quite a temper this time. But 'A Single Lotus in the Eternal Azure Sky'—if you don't sleep forever, who will?"

Lu Chen turned his head and looked at the Disciples behind him.

"I'm taking you to commit a robbery. Keep up. Let me tell you, this old boy the Azure Emperor is a real good guy. When I met him before, he said right away that I was destined to meet him!"

Yun Qianyue said, "Indeed, it is destiny. Revered Master looks very pleasing to the eye. I am also destined to be with Revered Master, don't you think? Revered Master, do you think I'm 'round' enough?"

After saying that, she puffed out her proud twin peaks and gave them a squeeze.

Yan Lingji spoke up in retort: "The shape is decent, but as for the ferocity! You're still a few notches short!"

"Better look at mine! This will definitely make the 'little brothers' of all the male cultivators in the world as hard as steel, where the more you rub, the bigger they get!"