146: Chapter 146 Is the Palace Haunted? This Inheritance Is Strange!

The Sky-Swallowing Sparrow's flight altitude was continuously decreasing.

Its wings, which could cover mountain ranges with a single beat, now felt exceptionally heavy and strained with every flap, and the gale they stirred had lost its former sharpness.

Its massive body was trembling uncontrollably, not from exhaustion, but from an instinctive fear branded deep within its Bloodline and Divine Soul, causing this Vicious Beast that had survived since the primordial era to lose even the will to maintain steady flight.

"Senior..." Mo Wentian's voice drifted from far behind, piercing through the wind, the gravity and tension it contained were unprecedented.

He did not approach, merely hovering far away in mid-air, maintaining a distance from the palace that made him feel slightly at ease.

"That palace... gives off a very bad feeling."

Beside him, Lin Gujian remained silent, but his right hand, tightly gripping the hilt of his "Jingzhe" sword, had turned pale white, his knuckles drained of color from excessive force.

The sword remained sheathed, yet his Sword Intent was frantically sounding alarms within his Sea of Consciousness; it was the kind of deathly silence one only feels when facing a chasm-like gap in strength.

Su Changge sat upright on the broad and sturdy back of the Sky-Swallowing Sparrow, his white robes whiter than snow, his expression indifferent, allowing the high-altitude currents to whip his sleeves, looking every bit the transcendent Master, poised like a deep pool or a towering mountain.

Yet, his inner heart was already churning with tempestuous waves, and he was frantically roaring into the void.

"What happened to the promised monstrous ferocity and unbridled dominance? We haven't even reached the main entrance, so why are your legs already going soft from fear!"

"If we keep descending like this, won't my noble Qi Refining First Layer cultivation cause me to fall from these ten thousand feet and become the first peerless Master in history to be beaten to death by a fall? Wouldn't my lifelong reputation be ruined in an instant!"

He forcibly suppressed the thousands of thoughts galloping through his mind and looked up at the palace floating at the edge of the sea of clouds.

The palace was built entirely from an unrecognizable ink-black crystal, devoid of any intricate carved beams or painted pillars, possessing only grandeur, simplicity, and silence.

It reflected no light, nor did it emit any, just floating there quietly, yet it was like a black hole devouring all things, silently absorbing the surrounding light and the Divine Sense that Cultivators relied upon for exploration, without a single echo.

An indescribable, heavy pressure permeated from the palace; it was formless and intangible, yet more suffocating than a ten-thousand-fathom divine mountain pressing down on one's heart.

Its momentum was like a Chaos beast that had slept for aeons, slowly opening its eyes, on the verge of awakening.

Just as the atmosphere high above solidified, a commotion erupted from the ground below.

That mountain of treasure, which Su Changge had casually "disposed of" and which was piled high with countless Heaven And Earth Treasures, divine metals, and immortal ores, was still blooming with ten thousand rays of auspicious light in its original spot, with auspicious Qi steaming forth, every strand of radiance exuding a fatal temptation to Cultivators.

Xiao Fan, the Crown Prince of the Great Yan Divine Dynasty, was the first person to struggle out of the soul-lost state caused by his shattered Dao Heart.

He propped himself up from the ground and stood up slowly, his eyes first sweeping blankly over the mountain of treasure, then looking toward the white-clad figure gradually moving away in the high sky, his expression complex and struggling.

In the end, his gaze locked firmly onto the ink-black palace floating at the edge of the sky.

A flash of inspiration tore through his chaotic thoughts, dispelling all his decadence and despair!

"The true Opportunity... must be in that palace!"

Xiao Fan's voice was hoarse, yet it carried a rekindled intensity that exploded in this deathly silent valley.

"That Senior regards even Dao Marrow Crystals and Nine-Turn Golden Lotuses as mere dust; his true target can only be the supreme Legacy hidden within that palace!"

As soon as these words were spoken, they struck the hearts of every Prodigy like a great bell!

That's right!

Everyone present was a dragon among men, a person of superior intellect. They had merely been shaken by Su Changge's incomprehensible methods, falling into a blind spot in their thinking for a moment. Now that Xiao Fan had pointed it out, they were instantly enlightened.

That Senior's vision had long since surpassed the scope of what they could imagine.

For a Forbidden Ground that he would personally visit, what kind of earth-shattering items must be hidden inside, enough to make the sun and moon lose their light and the heavens and earth change color?

In an instant, the breathing of all the Prodigies became heavy and rapid.

The pride and Dao Heart that had just been ruthlessly crushed seemed to have been forcibly melted and glued back together by the four words "Supreme Legacy," using a raging fire called greed.

They admitted that there was an insurmountable chasm between themselves and that Senior.

But, what if?

What if that Senior didn't care for that Legacy, or perhaps, the Legacy wasn't limited to just one portion?

Even if they just followed behind to drink a mouthful of soup while he ate the meat, it would be enough to benefit them for a lifetime and cause the Foundations of the Sects and Holy Lands behind them to skyrocket!

Greed once again overwhelmed the awe and reason that had just arisen.

"Charge! The immortal Opportunity is ahead, everyone rely on their own means!"

I don't know who roared, but it completely ignited everyone's desires.

Led by Xiao Fan and the Taiyi Saintess Liu Ruyan, a dozen streams of light containing immense spiritual power soared into the sky, the brilliance of their Magic Treasures tearing through the long sky; they scrambled and fought, appearing as if mad, heading straight for that ink-black palace.

They had a tacit understanding to bypass the position where Su Changge was, carving a huge arc from another direction in an attempt to approach the palace.

In their view, this move could both contend for the Opportunity and avoid angering that unfathomable Senior, truly a perfect strategy.

Su Changge watched this group of Prodigies who had instantly revived with full health, as if injected with chicken blood, and curled his lips in disdain.

A bunch of leeks that kept getting harvested again and again; they really never learn from their mistakes.

He did not stop them, nor did he pay them any mind.

He just sat quietly on the sparrow's back, intending to use these path-finding pebbles to see exactly what kind of mystery this palace, which made even the Sky-Swallowing Sparrow tremble, was hiding.

Xiao Fan carried the Imperial Dragon Qi, his speed surpassing everyone present; he transformed into a blinding crimson-gold divine rainbow, arriving first before the main gate of the palace.

It was a giant gate a hundred zhang high, with complex and ancient patterns carved upon it; looking closely, it was actually a tragic scene of countless gods and demons roaring and stars falling, and an aura of desolate, ancient time rushed towards him, as if this gate had stood here for countless aeons.

"This Legacy is mine!"

A nearly manic intensity flickered in Xiao Fan's eyes; he stirred all his spiritual power, the crimson-gold battle armor on his body shining brilliantly, and an illusory Dragon shadow coiled around his body, emitting a high-pitched Dragon roar. He reached out his hand, gathering his lifelong cultivation, and shoved fiercely toward the giant gate!

Just at the moment his palm was about to touch the door. "Hum—" A barely perceptible black ripple rippled out from the complex patterns on the door.

In the next instant, Xiao Fan was like a mosquito swatted by an invisible giant palm. He flew backward, twisted, at a speed ten times faster than when he arrived.

"Puff!" A large mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs sprayed into the air, forming a tragic and beautiful blood mist.

The crimson-gold battle armor on his body, nurtured by the national destiny of the Divine Dynasty, had its divine light extinguished inch by inch, emitting a groan of being unable to bear the burden; spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across his entire body, and finally, with a "crack" sound, it completely shattered into countless fragments!

Immediately following him, Liu Ruyan, who was just about to unleash her Divine Ability, and the other Prodigies, didn't even have time to react before they were swept by the aftermath of that black ripple.

In an instant, the radiance of their protective Magic Treasures exploded one after another, and a dozen figures fell like dumplings into a pot, each spitting blood, falling powerlessly from the high sky, crashing heavily onto the mountain rocks below, wretched and disheveled, with broken bones and tendons.

A few whose cultivation Foundations were slightly weaker didn't even manage a scream before their Divine Souls were directly shattered, and they fainted on the spot, their life or death unknown.

The whole scene was deathly silent.

All the survivors stared fixedly at that ink-black giant gate, which hadn't moved a bit, not even shaking off a speck of dust, with eyes mixed with shock and fear.

Just approaching it, without even truly touching it, and it already had such earth-destroying power?

How could they still contend for it? This was simply not an Opportunity that their level could touch!

Just as the fire of hope that had just ignited in everyone's hearts was about to be completely extinguished by this basin of ice water, plunging them into even deeper despair.

An old, grand, and emotionless voice sounded without warning. It did not seem to come from the Nine Heavens, but rather echoed directly in the depths of everyone's Divine Soul.

"Time rotates, aeons pass..."

"My Legacy quietly awaits those with affinity here."

"Those who enter this palace may obtain my Dao and overlook the changing of epochs!"

This voice contained a peculiar Dao Rhyme magic that could easily stir up the most primitive and deepest desires in a living being's heart. Every word turned into a Dao seed, taking root and sprouting in their hearts, tempting them to pursue that supreme power.

The Prodigies, who had just been thrown into a daze and whose Dao Hearts were on the verge of cracking, struggled to get up from the ground upon hearing these words.

They wiped the blood from the corners of their mouths, and in their eyes, the flame named "hope" was ignited once again, burning even more vigorously than before.

"Affinity? Could it be... that this gate has some other mystery, needing to pass some kind of test?"

Xiao Fan coughed up a mouthful of stagnant blood, staring intently at the giant gate, forcibly suppressing the injuries within his body.

That old voice seemed to have discerned his inner thoughts, sounding once again in everyone's Divine Soul.

"Indeed, my Dao carries the Karma of heaven and earth, and cannot be inherited by those who are not fated."

"Only those with peerless talent and blessed with great Luck can enter this gate and see my true face."

Peerless talent? Blessed with great Luck? These two terms made the hearts of all the Prodigies present beat fiercely.

Which of them was not a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius in their respective Sects and Holy Lands? Which one did not believe themselves to be the child of destiny carrying the Luck of the era?

But reality gave them another slap in the face that was as loud as could be.

They did not believe it.

Some brought out their trump card, barrier-breaking Magic Treasures; some unleashed Sect secret techniques that burned their essence blood; some even joined forces to set up combined attack formations, attempting to shake that giant gate.

However, all their efforts were like clay oxen entering the sea.

That ink-black giant gate did not even ripple. Every attempt only resulted in a more wretched posture, being bounced away time and time again by that ruthless black ripple.

Gradually, they stopped all their futile attacks.

Everyone's faces were filled with unwillingness, confusion, and a deeper level of self-doubt.

If it's not us... then who could it be?

In this Secret Realm, who else could be worthy of the eight words "peerless talent, blessed with great Luck"?

I don't know who it was, but the first person shifted their gaze away from that cold giant gate and toward that only calm patch of sky.

They looked toward that white-clad figure who had not moved an inch from beginning to end, quietly hovering on the back of the Vicious Beast.

Gradually, one, two, a dozen... all gazes converged there.

In those gazes, there was confusion, jealousy, awe, and inquiry; in the end, they all turned into a bitter look.

Xiao Fan looked at that figure and only felt a fishy sweetness in his throat; that was the bitterness after his imperial pride had been completely crushed.

In Liu Ruyan's autumn-water-like beautiful eyes, light flickered violently; she bit her red lips with her pearly teeth, and a monstrous wave churned in her heart.

Those Prodigies who were slumped on the ground, without even the strength to stand up, were even more deathly pale, their eyes hollow.

A thought they had to admit, but refused to believe no matter what, was growing wildly in their hearts.

Could it be... that this man, whose cultivation depth they couldn't even see through, who regarded divine objects as mere grass, and who could repel ten thousand beasts with a wave of his sleeve, was the only true protagonist of this Secret Realm and this earth-shattering Legacy?

"Senior, what do you think... about this palace?"

Mo Wentian took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart, and spoke cautiously, his voice carrying a hint of imperceptible trembling, breaking this suffocating silence.

"How do you think we should deal with this Legacy?"