177: Chaos Secrets

The White-Robed Examiner's Adam's apple bobbed violently, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the Jade Slip, his voice cracking with a slight tremor: "Since the establishment of the Taichu Divine Palace's records, the Peak record for the Dharma Domain Realm evaluation—the 5,952 points set by the 'Empyrean Sword Lord' of the Third Era—has today..." He looked up sharply, the numbers projected on the light screen reflected in his pupils, "been completely overturned by the new examinee, Lin Yuan, with a total score of 10,780 across six categories!"

Before his voice could fade, the examiners seemed to receive instructions. Nine hand seals erupted from the fingertips of the nine examiners, runes intertwining into a net of light that covered the square. In an instant, a Giant Bronze Gate burst from the ground, its ancient metal surface flowing with mysterious patterns. A magnificent scene of the dawn of Chaos slowly unfolded upon it, with countless stars being born and dying within its small space, as if telling of infinite mysteries.

"Lin Yuan," the White-Robed Examiner announced solemnly, "because you broke the historical record, the Taichu Divine Palace has specially permitted you to enter a Chaos Secret Cache ahead of schedule! This is the reward due to the top-ranked individual on the myriad laws heavenly stele, but it usually requires a Realm Breakthrough to the Feather Transformation Realm to go there."

A flash of jealousy and hatred crossed Bai Wujiu's eyes from the Death Divine Temple, and he stepped forward: "Lord Examiner, this is unfair! Why can he enter early to obtain an Opportunity?"

The Black-Robed Examiner swept a cold glance at him: "The rules are set by the Taichu Divine Palace. If you are dissatisfied, you may forfeit your eligibility to enter the Taichu Divine Palace."

Someone nearby gently pulled Bai Wujiu and whispered, "Don't be impulsive; he truly won all this with his strength."

Lin Yuan turned a deaf ear to the surrounding discussions, his gaze locked on that bronze doorway. He could feel the Chaos aura coming from behind the door, creating a wondrous resonance with his own Chaos Origin Law.

The White-Robed Examiner flicked his fingers, and a Chaos Crystal shimmering with eerie light floated in the air before Lin Yuan: "This is the key to the secret cache. After stepping inside, you will have a three-day exploration period. Once the time limit is up, you will naturally be teleported out by the Space Law. However, you should know that these three days in the Secret Realm are but a fleeting moment in the outside world."

Lin Yuan took the crystal, nodded slightly to the examiner, and strode toward the bronze doorway. With a flash of Chaos light, his figure disappeared.

Inside the Chaos Secret Cache, Lin Yuan found himself in a strange space where the Grandmist had yet to open. There was no sky, no earth, only endless currents of Chaos Qi circling and flowing. The crystal in his hand glowed faintly, forming a protective shield three zhang in diameter, isolating the violent Chaos Qi outside.

"I wonder what Opportunity lies within this secret cache?" Lin Yuan released his Divine Sense, only to find to his surprise that his perception range was compressed to less than a hundred zhang. The Chaos currents could not only erode the Physical Body but even swallow Divine Sense.

He activated his Innate Dao Body, and mysterious dao patterns appeared on the surface of his body. To his surprise, the Chaos Qi here resonated with his Innate Dao Body and began to actively merge into his body.

"So that's how it is; this Chaos Secret Cache is exactly the perfect place to Cultivate the Innate Dao Body!" Lin Yuan no longer hesitated, sat cross-legged, and absorbed the Chaos Qi with all his might. His Dao Body's Awakening progress began to slowly rise from 15%, growing stronger with every passing second.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Yuan suddenly felt a sensation and opened his eyes to look deep into the Chaos. There, it seemed something was calling to him.

Putting away the crystal's protective shield, Lin Yuan ventured toward the direction of the sensation. The Chaos currents slashed across his body like knives, but under the protection of the Innate Dao Body, they instead became an aid in tempering his Physical Body.

After traveling about a hundred miles, the view suddenly opened up. A Chaos Lake a thousand zhang in diameter appeared before him, and at the center of the lake floated a twelve-grade chaos green lotus! The green lotus was surrounded by three thousand Dao Principles, and each lotus leaf carried a kind of Great Dao True Intent.

"A Chaos Supreme Treasure!" Lin Yuan's heart raced. Such a treasure was a legendary existence even in the Taichu Divine Continent; he hadn't expected it to be hidden deep within the secret cache.

Just as he was about to approach, the Chaos Lake suddenly boiled, and a black shadow rose from the bottom. It was a humanoid creature condensed from pure Chaos, its eyes as deep as black holes.

"In...truder... die..." The Chaos Creature emitted intermittent mental fluctuations and raised its hand to strike with a bolt of Chaos Lightning.

Lin Yuan dodged hastily, but his left shoulder was still grazed. Instantly, the flesh dissolved, revealing white bone. Even more terrifying was that the power of Chaos was still eroding into his body.

"What a powerful attack!" Lin Yuan activated the Life Origin Law to heal his injuries while simultaneously summoning the Origin War Spirit. The supreme war spirit fought with the Chaos Creature, but it was clearly at a disadvantage, losing part of its spirit body with every clash.

Lin Yuan frowned deeply, realizing that conventional means would make it difficult to win. He took a deep breath, and the sword scar on his brow lit up brightly: "Wisdom Sword, Dao Severing!"

A sword light like the opening of heaven and earth sliced through the Chaos, hitting the creature's chest squarely. The creature let out a shrill howl, a huge crack being slashed into its body, but it soon began to heal.

"Useless... I am... the Shadow of Chaos... immortal and indestructible..." The creature's mental fluctuations carried a hint of mockery.

Lin Yuan suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Shadow of Chaos? Then you should recognize this!" He fully activated his Chaos Origin Law, and the dao patterns on his body burst forth with a light originating from the same source as the chaos green lotus.

The Shadow of Chaos's movements froze, its black-hole-like eyes staring intently at Lin Yuan: "Chaos Origin Legacy bearer..."

Taking this Opportunity, Lin Yuan flew toward the chaos green lotus. The Shadow of Chaos roared in pursuit but was blocked by the suddenly blooming lotus light. When Lin Yuan's hand touched the stem of the green lotus, the entire lotus transformed into an indescribable green stream of light, containing the aura of the Universe's beginning, and instantly entered his Sea of Consciousness at his brow!

"Boom—!"

Lin Yuan's consciousness felt as if it had been thrown into the core of a Chaos furnace. Unimaginable surging energy and Great Dao Law Fragments exploded within his body, like billions of stars being born and extinguished simultaneously. His Meridians, bones, and internal organs were instantly shattered inch by inch by this violent torrent of Chaos, and intense pain swept through his Soul, making him unable to hold back a beast-like roar.

Inside the Sea of Consciousness, things were even more chaotic. That twelve-grade chaos green lotus, though shrunk countless times, still shone with brilliant divine light as its roots domineeringly took hold in the deepest part of his Sea of Consciousness. The lotus stem swayed, causing the entire space of the Sea of Consciousness to vibrate violently, as if it would collapse at any moment. The supreme war spirit that originally resided in the center of the Sea of Consciousness let out a resonant battle cry and took the initiative to meet it, entangling with the green lotus's roots—not in confrontation, but forming a peculiar symbiotic cycle. The War Spirit's pure Battle Intent and the green lotus's Chaos Origin nourished and tempered each other.

"Steady! Innate Dao Body, refine it for me!" Relying on his supreme will, Lin Yuan forcibly maintained a point of clarity in his Spirit Platform and frantically operated his Innate Dao Body. The silver dao patterns on his body surface erupted with unprecedented light, like a thirsty sponge, desperately absorbing the rampaging Chaos energy within him. Every wisp of Chaos Qi absorbed and refined by the dao patterns made them deeper and more mysterious, even beginning to take on an ancient, greenish-gold hue carrying the aura of creation and destruction.