138: The palace houses treasures, and chains bind the crown.

It really echoed that saying.

“At first, it was extremely narrow, barely allowing a person through. After walking a few dozen more steps, it suddenly opened up!”

This was a colossal main hall, its grandeur and magnificence impossible to describe with words.

The main hall was circular, probably several hundred meters in diameter, with a high-arching dome that resembled a burning starry sky.

The surrounding walls were also made of dark red giant stones, but unlike the exterior, these walls were covered with incredibly intricate murals.

The content of the murals seemed to depict an ancient flame civilization.

Countless flame creatures of various forms—flame giant eagles with wingspans of a hundred meters, lava giant turtles with bodies like mountains, and nimble, ethereal flame maidens—all devoutly worshipped in the same direction.

And the object of their worship was, astonishingly, the crown!

The image of the crown was carved in the deepest part of the main hall, at the center of the tallest mural, occupying the core of the entire picture.

the crown in the mural exuded endless brilliance, as if it were the source of all fires and the lord of all beings.

The entire main hall was permeated with an indescribable sacred aura.

Lu Yuan stood at the entrance, momentarily lost in thought.

“Good heavens… this scale is much grander than that so-called heart of rules outside.”

The Heavenly Thunder Light Falcon let out a low cry behind him, seemingly also sensing the extraordinary nature of this place.

“Chirp chirp!” The Flame Sprite, however, grew even more excited. It pointed to the center of the main hall, urging Lu Yuan on.

Lu Yuan followed its direction and looked.

In the very center of the main hall, a colossal array was inscribed on the ground.

The array was composed of countless burning runes, slowly rotating and emitting a vast power of flame.

And directly above that massive array, about a hundred meters in the air, a crown was suspended!

The design of the crown was identical to that depicted in the murals, entirely displaying an intensely dazzling gold color.

At the apex of the crown, a huge gem was embedded.

The gem was the size of a chicken egg, entirely crimson, and seemed to be the source of all energy!

“This… this…” Lu Yuan’s pupils suddenly contracted, and his breathing hitched.

He could clearly feel the energy fluctuations emanating from the crown!

That fluctuation was pure to the extreme, without the slightest trace of “regularization”!

It was like the manifestation of the most primitive, most fundamental Royal Authority of flame in this secret realm, in this world!

“This is… the true supreme object?!”

Lu Yuan’s heart pounded wildly.

Compared to this crown, the heart of rules he had seen in the volcano earlier seemed like a semi-finished product, or even a replica!

This was the real divine object!

Lu Yuan’s eyes were burning, and almost instinctively, he wanted to rush over.

However, he quickly noticed something was amiss.

That dazzling gold crown was not floating there freely.

Around the crown, dozens of thick chains were wrapped!

The chains, made of unknown material, were entirely aqua-blue, condensing water elements that opposed the crown.

One end of the chains was tightly clasped to the base and points of the crown.

The other end was deeply embedded in the ground and the dome!

It was like a giant cage, firmly imprisoning the crown in place.

“What… what’s going on?”

Why would such a divine object be bound by chains?

Was it protecting it, or… suppressing it?

He observed carefully and soon made new discoveries.

Below the crown, the huge flame array did not seem to be just a simple supporting platform.

At the core of that array, a strange energy was continuously emerging.

This energy was not Source Power; it was likely the intrinsic energy of this world.

These strange energies, like trickling streams, were absorbed by the red gem at the top of the crown.

With each bit of this energy absorbed, the red gem’s light would brighten a bit, and its pulsation also seemed a bit more powerful.

“This, this, this…”

Lu Yuan felt the pain of being a poor student for the first time!

He had too many questions, like forcing a university student to take the College Entrance Examination—he had definitely seen it somewhere, but he just couldn’t recall it.

He tried to approach the crown, wanting to observe this peerless divine object more closely.

One step, two steps… when he was about ten meters away from the crown, a sudden change occurred!

An invisible, irresistible repulsive force suddenly emanated from the direction of the crown!

“Hmm?!”

Lu Yuan was caught off guard, feeling a huge force hit his chest, and he involuntarily flew backward.

At the same time, the chains binding the crown suddenly lit up!

Buzz—!

A strong energy fluctuation erupted from the chains, sweeping through the entire main hall with a warning implication.

“Bang!”

Lu Yuan fell heavily to the ground. Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough to protect his body with Source Power, so he wasn’t injured.

“Such strong repulsion!”

“It seems this thing isn’t that easy to approach.”

The Heavenly Thunder Light Falcon let out a concerned cry, flying to Lu Yuan’s side.

“I’m fine.” Lu Yuan patted its neck.

“Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!”

The Flame Sprite flew in front of Lu Yuan, calling anxiously, its little paws pointing at the crown, then at Lu Yuan, seemingly trying to convey something.

“You mean, that crown won’t let me get close?” Lu Yuan guessed.

The Flame Sprite nodded repeatedly.

Lu Yuan looked at the Little Fellow’s appearance and had an idea: “This crown, could it be a sacred object of your Flame Sprite race? Or even… the symbol of your Royal Authority?”

The Flame Sprite tilted its little head, seemingly not quite understanding what “Royal Authority” meant, but it bowed respectfully towards the crown, letting out a low “chirp” sound.

Its demeanor was very much like a subject greeting their monarch.

Lu Yuan understood.

It seemed his guess was almost certainly correct.

This crown held a supreme position for the Flame Sprite race.

However… Lu Yuan’s brows furrowed again, a huge doubt welling up in his mind.

“Why… why are there two items similar to a supreme object?”

He muttered to himself, “The heart of rules in the volcano outside, although it doesn’t feel as pure as this crown, is definitely an extraordinary treasure. And this Flame Crown here is even more sacred and extraordinary…”

“What is the connection between them?”

Lu Yuan was completely perplexed.

Logically, a secret realm’s core supreme object usually has only one.

But in this Lost Water Realm, two presumed core existences had appeared.

What was the relationship between these two?

Were they co-existing? Were they in opposition? Or was it some more complex form of existence?

Lu Yuan felt his brain wasn’t quite up to the task.

Too little information, too few clues.

He looked in the direction from which the Old Flame Spirit had teleported him, thinking to himself, “That Old Elf, he wouldn’t have brought me here just to visit their family’s sacred object, would he?”

What exactly was his purpose?

“Chirp chirp!”

The Flame Sprite tugged at Lu Yuan’s sleeve again, then pointed at the crown, then at itself, and finally at Lu Yuan.

Its little face was full of anticipation.

“You mean… you want me to help you get that crown?” Lu Yuan asked tentatively.

The Flame Sprite immediately nodded excitedly.

Lu Yuan’s mouth twitched: “Little Fellow, aren’t you overestimating me?”

“That thing is bound by so many chains that look incredibly powerful, and there’s such a strong repulsive force around it. How could I possibly get it?”

Moreover, this was clearly a sacred object of the Flame Sprite race.

As an outsider, if he touched their sacred object, he would probably be instantly blasted to smithereens by the Old Flame Spirit.

The Flame Sprite seemed to understand Lu Yuan’s concerns. It tilted its head, thought for a moment, then flew in front of Lu Yuan, extended its little paw, and gently touched Lu Yuan’s forehead.

A faint flame energy entered Lu Yuan’s mind from its claw tip.

Immediately after, some fragmented, blurry images surged into Lu Yuan’s consciousness like a tide.

It was an boundless sea of fire.

Within the sea of fire, countless Flame Sprites danced joyfully.

In the center of the sea of fire, a gold crown hung high, emitting light that illuminated the entire world.

All the Flame Sprites bathed in the crown’s radiance, appearing incredibly happy and peaceful.

Suddenly, the scene shifted.

The sky tore open, and countless Source Power chains descended from the sky, wrapping around the sky, wrapping around that gold crown.

The Flame Sprites shrieked in terror, resisting fiercely, but were easily thrown back by the chains.

the crown trembled violently, erupting with endless flames, trying to break free.

But in the end, it was still tightly bound by the chains, and its light dimmed considerably.

The scene changed again.

A magnificent temple rose from the ground, enveloping the crown.

The strongest of the flame race guarded within the temple, praying day and night, trying to awaken the crown’s power and break free from the chains.

But years passed, and the chains remained.

the crown’s power seemed to weaken year by year.

And the guarding Flame Sprites also became increasingly scarce and weaker… until a pile of interstellar spaceships appeared, and cards manifested!

The scene abruptly ended here!

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