286: Chapter 286 Divine Mark Purple Gold, Snatching it Away!

The platinum-colored flame instantly flew out, expanding rapidly against the wind into a sea of fire that directly covered the pitch-black vortex.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!!!"

A series of tooth-aching searing sounds rang out.

The moment the eerie substances clinging around the node encountered the World Purifying Heaven Burning Flame, they were like snow melting under a spring sun.

Billowing black smoke rose up, only to be purified into nothingness by the flames.

In just a few moments, those nauseating eerie substances were burned away completely, and even that trace of otherworldly aura was thoroughly erased.

"Next is the restoration."

Lu Yuan withdrew the flames, and the Void Immortal Laws within his body began to circulate.

He practiced the Great Dao of Space, so repairing spatial rifts was naturally a simple task for him.

He raised a hand and pointed, his fingertip shooting out a brilliant silver light that submerged into the center of the vortex like a spiritual snake.

"Close!"

With Lu Yuan's soft shout, that silver light transformed into countless fine runic chains, forcibly pulling and stitching together the slowly rotating black vortex.

Under this overbearing spatial power, the spatial rift that was still trying to expand began to heal and shrink rapidly.

Ten breaths later.

The vortex disappeared completely, and the originally distorted space smoothed over as before, leaving no trace of damage.

Hun Cangxuan watched from the side, dumbfounded and breaking out in a cold sweat.

This method of changing the world and repairing space with a wave of a hand was something even a veteran Void Immortal like him couldn't do with such ease! Master... is truly unfathomable!

"Alright, is the Formation dismantled?" Lu Yuan turned and asked.

"It's dismantled! It's dismantled! Your grandson is already dismantling it!" Hun Fanxian was also intimidated by Lu Yuan's methods at this moment, hurriedly pulling out the Formation Flags outside, no longer daring to have the slightest complaint.

After doing all this, Lu Yuan clapped his hands as if he had only done a trivial little thing.

He turned and walked out of the ancient temple, casting his gaze toward the most clamorous area in the center of the city.

"Since I've come, I can't return empty-handed."

...

Taichu Divine City Central Plaza.

This place was already packed to the brim, with millions of Cultivators gathered here, the atmosphere reaching a fever pitch.

In the center of the plaza, thousands of strangely shaped Source Stones were laid out.

Some were like crouching tigers, some like swimming dragons, and some were even a hundred zhang tall, like small mountains.

Every Source Stone was marked with an exorbitant price; the cheapest cost thousands of catties of Spirit Source, while the most expensive were astronomical.

This was a gambler's heaven, but also a Hell.

From time to time, someone would cut out divine medicine or Exotic Sources, drawing cheers from the crowd as they became wealthy overnight; others would lose their entire fortune, cutting out a pile of waste stone and collapsing to the ground in loud wails.

And in the very center of the crowd, a thrilling gamble was underway.

A young man dressed in green robes with a clean and resolute face was standing before a half-person-tall Source Stone with a grayish-brown crust.

He looked ordinary, but deep within his eyes, two pupils were faintly overlapping and shifting, emitting an eerie and mysterious light.

The Son of Destiny, Jiang Hao!

Relying on his innate Heavy Pupils' ability to see through falsehoods and look directly at the Origin, Jiang Hao was practically a cheat-like existence in the path of Source Arts.

At this moment, his Heavy Pupils were operating at full power, his vision penetrating the stone crust that was enough to block Divine Sense, looking directly at the core inside the Source Stone.

"This is..."

Jiang Hao's heart skipped a beat, and his breathing became rapid.

In his vision, this Source Stone—which looked plain on the outside, was even heavily weathered, and wasn't priced very high—actually sealed a fist-sized piece of metal that was purple and translucent, emitting the charm of the Great Dao.

The surface of that metal seemed naturally inscribed with the trajectories of the Great Dao, giving one an impulse to gain enlightenment just by looking at it.

divine mark purple gold!

One of the legendary Nine Great Immortal Golds!

This was a supreme material for forging a Transcendent Spiritual Treasure! If he could obtain it, not only could he create the world's strongest natal weapon, but he could also capture the trajectories of the Heaven and Earth Great Dao by comprehending the divine traces on it, which would bring unimaginable benefits to his cultivation.

"I've hit the jackpot! This is an absolutely shocking find!"

Jiang Hao forcibly suppressed the wild joy in his heart, trying his best to appear calm.

He glanced around and, seeing that no one was paying attention to this stone, took a deep breath and prepared to take out Spirit Stones for payment.

"This stone, I—"

"Wait a moment."

A flat yet unquestionable voice suddenly rang out from behind the crowd, cutting off Jiang Hao's movement.

Jiang Hao's brow furrowed, and an ominous premonition rose in his heart.

He turned to look.

The originally crowded throng seemed to be forcibly parted by an invisible force, making way for a wide path.

A handsome man in snow-white clothes walked over slowly, his demeanor leisurely as if he were strolling through his own back garden.

Behind him followed a black-robed old man who looked like someone not to be trifled with.

Lu Yuan walked straight to the Source Stone, gave Jiang Hao a smile that wasn't quite a smile, and then pointed at the stone.

"I've taken a fancy to this Source Stone."

His tone was flat, yet extremely overbearing: "You, go pick another one."

Jiang Hao's face instantly darkened.

Everything followed the principle of first come, first served; this person was being a bit too overbearing.

Moreover, this was divine mark purple gold! It was the key Opportunity for his rise; how could he possibly hand it over to someone else?

"Fellow Daoist."

Jiang Hao straightened his back. Although he couldn't see through Lu Yuan's cultivation, he possessed the Heavy Pupils and unique skills, so he had never feared anyone in the same stage: "The Source Technique Convention has rules. I saw this stone first, and I was already prepared to pay. For Your Excellency to do this, isn't it a bit against the rules?"

The surrounding onlookers also began to whisper, feeling that this man in white was using his influence to bully others.

"Rules?"

Hearing this, Lu Yuan seemed to have heard some funny joke.

He tilted his head slightly, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold arc.

"In this world, the will of the strong is the rule."

"Besides, this seat has no need to follow the rules here."

Before his voice had even faded.

"Boom—!!!"

A terrifying pressure belonging to the Middle Stage of the Void Immortal realm, like an awakening ancient dragon, erupted unreservedly from Lu Yuan's body.

This pressure was so strong that it instantly enveloped the entire Taichu Divine City.

The originally noisy plaza became deathly silent in an instant.

The wind and clouds in the sky changed color, and dark clouds pressed down.

All the Cultivators, whether small practitioners in the Qi Refining Stage or overlords of the Great Ascension Stage, felt their Souls trembling under this abyss-like pressure. Their legs went weak, and many even knelt directly on the ground, not daring to breathe loudly.

This was the difference between Immortal and Mortal!

"Void... Void Immortal?!"

Jiang Hao, who bore the brunt of it, saw his face turn as pale as paper, and a surge of blood rose to his throat.

His originally straight back was forced to bend under this pressure, and his entire skeleton was creaking.

The arrogance in his eyes vanished at this moment, replaced by deep shock and fear.