31: The Azure Lotus Immortal Palace: Words spoken become law!

Passing through the Chaos mist that seemed to devour everything, the scene before his eyes suddenly opened up, yet it was even more shocking.

It was not the end of the valley as he had imagined, but a vast, boundless Void Realm. In the center of the Void Realm, a palace, indescribable in its magnificence and antiquity, floated silently.

The palace was cast entirely from a dark cyan divine copper, covered in mottled rust, as if it had endured the vicissitudes of countless eras. It was not resplendent with gold and jade, but rather possessed a simplicity that returned to the basics. Yet, that supreme aura, suppressing the eternal time and space and overriding all heavens, made everyone who saw it feel an urge to prostrate from the depths of their Soul.

【bronze immortal palace】 (???): Origin unknown, suspected to be related to the ancient Green Emperor, containing supreme Opportunity and forbidden secrets. The entry grade is still an unrecognizable question mark.

At this moment, the area around the immortal palace was no longer empty.

Powerful figures floated in the Void Realm, their auras stirring the wind and clouds. There were Yao Race great experts from the Southern Wilderness, draped in ancient animal skins with blood energy like a Dragon; there were eminent monks from the Vajra Temple in the Western Desert, stepping on golden lotus platforms with Buddha light shining everywhere; there were peerless Sword Cultivators from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect in the Central Region, with Sword Qi surging and tearing the Void Realm; and there were even old monsters with obscure auras and ancient attire, clearly from some Hidden Family or orthodoxy.

Their gazes, without exception, were fixed firmly on that bronze immortal palace, filled with greed, longing, and a determination to possess it.

Lu Qingxuan's appearance did not cause much of a stir. His aura was restrained, and he was unremarkable among the crowd of Soul Transformation and possibly even hidden Body Integration Stage old monsters. Only a few Cultivators who had witnessed his terrifying might outside the Burial Dao Valley narrowed their eyes and quietly distanced themselves from him.

"The Restriction of the immortal palace hasn't opened, it seems to be waiting for something?" someone whispered.

"According to the records in ancient Incomplete Manuals, such an immortal palace has its own spirit and requires one to pass its test to be qualified to enter." An old man from a Hidden Family stroked his beard and said, his eyes wise.

As if to verify his words, ripples like water waves suddenly spread across the tightly closed giant doors of the bronze immortal palace. Immediately after, a detached, grand, and emotionless voice, as if coming from the eternal past, resounded in the depths of everyone's Divine Soul:

"To enter the immortal palace, one must first pass the 'Dao Heart Questioning Path'."

"If your Dao Heart is not firm, you have no share in this Opportunity; if you sink into the illusion, your body will die and your Dao will vanish."

As the voice fell, an illusory road suddenly extended from the gate of the immortal palace! This road was brilliant, as if paved with countless Dao runes, directly connecting to the Void Realm at everyone's feet.

However, this road, which seemed to lead to supreme Opportunity, exuded a heart-palpitating aura. On both sides of the road, vaguely visible, were countless twisted figures struggling and wailing; these were the failures who had once tried to break through, but ultimately had their Dao Heart shattered and their Divine Soul forever fallen into the illusion!

"The 'Dao Heart Questioning Path'! It is actually this kind of test!"

"Dao Heart... this is the most fundamental thing for a Cultivator; a slight carelessness and one will be doomed forever!"

"Fortune is sought in danger! I will go first!"

A Nascent Soul Peak Prodigy from a major sect in the Central Region, known for his firm Dao Heart, took a deep breath and was the first to step onto the illusory road.

As soon as he took the first step, his body stiffened violently, and his face showed complex expressions of struggle, pain, ecstasy, and fear, as if he had experienced a hundred lifetimes of Reincarnation in an instant. After holding on for only three breaths, he spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes instantly dimmed, and he fell from the road like a walking corpse; his Dao Heart was shattered, and he was reduced to a cripple!

"Hiss—!"

Everyone gasped; this Prodigy's Dao Heart was quite famous in the Eastern Region, yet he couldn't even last three breaths?

But Opportunity moves people's hearts, and people still followed one after another.

An old Loose Cultivator at the Early Soul Transformation Stage, relying on his centuries of mental cultivation, walked forward step by step for about ten zhang, but finally, after violent trembling, screamed while clutching his head and fell off the road, his Divine Soul aura weakened to the extreme.

A Yao Race Prodigy, relying on his powerful Bloodline will, rushed twenty zhang, but ultimately fell into the terrifying illusion of the source of his own Bloodline, that ancient great Yao, and was scared out of his wits, revealing his original form, curling up on the ground, shivering.

Failure! Failure! Still failure!

This "Dao Heart Questioning Path" seemed capable of reflecting the deepest fears, desires, obsessions, and flaws in everyone's heart, magnifying them infinitely and evolving the most targeted illusions. No matter how high your cultivation or how unparalleled your combat power, if your Dao Heart had the slightest flaw, you could not escape the fate of sinking.

For a time, the atmosphere in front of the immortal palace was oppressive to the extreme. No one dared to try easily.

Just then, a cyan figure stepped out from the crowd and walked calmly toward the illusory road.

It was Lu Qingxuan.

"It's him! That Chaos Holy Master!"

"He also dares to challenge this 'Dao Heart Questioning Path'? Although his strength is formidable, the Dao Heart test cannot be faked!"

"Hmph, young and successful, it's hard not to be arrogant; his Dao Heart is likely his weakness!"

"Just watch, he will probably fail even faster than those before him!"

Many people recognized him, some curious, some watching with schadenfreude. Even the hidden old monsters cast a glance of attention.

Lu Qingxuan ignored the surrounding discussion and stepped onto the "Dao Heart Questioning Path".

In an instant, the surrounding scene changed drastically!

He seemed to have returned to Earth, returned to that ordinary and peaceful rental room, the computer screen still flickering with the light of the game—that was his greatest obsession and... weakness? A strong sense of "returning to ordinary" and "giving up the struggle" surged in like a tide, trying to pull him back to that comfort zone.

However, the 【Exquisite Dao Heart】 in his Divine Soul moved slightly, cooperating with the chaos green lotus vision that silently appeared above his head and swayed slightly, shedding clear radiance.

The seemingly real illusion, like bubbles under the sun, popped with a soft sound and shattered easily. The so-called obsession and weakness appeared so ridiculous in the face of the Chaos that encompasses all laws and the clear, flawless Exquisite Dao Heart.

Taking the second step, the illusion changed again. He saw himself ascending to the Peak, stepping on ten thousand worlds, controlling all heavens, countless fairy maidens and goddesses prostrating at his feet—that was the temptation of ultimate power and desire.

The chaos green lotus just swayed gently, invulnerable to all laws, avoiding all evils. That monstrous illusion of power could not even stir a ripple in his heart lake.

The third step, he saw Su Linger, Chen Feng, and others die miserably before his eyes, saw the Grand Void Holy Land destroyed, saw endless grief and hatred... This was a torture of emotion.

Lu Qingxuan's eyes remained calm, only his Dao Heart became more condensed. Grievances and love-hate relationships, he kept them in mind, but they would never become a Heart Demon hindering his Dao path. The Chaos Qi flowed, quietly dissolving those negative emotions.

The fourth step, the fifth step...

He walked steadily, his speed not changing in the slightest. No matter how the illusions changed—beauties, power, hatred, fear, life and death Reincarnation... various tests came one after another, but none could make his footsteps pause for even an instant!

The chaos green lotus above his head was like a stabilizing needle, protecting his Divine Soul from falling and his Dao Heart from being tainted. Above the green lotus, the contained true meaning of Reincarnation made many illusions involving past and present lives break on their own!

Under the gaze of everyone who looked like they had seen a ghost, Lu Qingxuan strolled as if in a courtyard, walking step by step to finish the "Dao Heart Questioning Path" that had caused countless Prodigies to fail, and came directly before the tightly closed giant doors of the bronze immortal palace!

The whole process was so easy that it felt like he had just taken a walk!

"This... how is this possible?!"

"Is his Dao Heart forged from Chaos? How can it have no flaws?"

"That green lotus vision... how miraculous! It can actually suppress Heart Demons and is invulnerable to all illusions!"

Exclamations and uproar rose one after another. Everyone was shocked by Lu Qingxuan's incredible performance.

Just as Lu Qingxuan arrived at the palace gate, another change occurred!

Boom!

A vast and boundless terrifying pressure, as if coming from the ancient prehistoric times, descended from the bronze immortal palace! This pressure surpassed Soul Transformation, surpassed Body Integration, and even vaguely touched the realm of Immortals!

Plop! Plop!

In the Void Realm, those floating Cultivators, like dumplings being dropped, could not withstand this immortal pressure and knelt down one after another, their faces pale, their Divine Soul trembling!

This was the pressure of the spirit of the immortal palace! It was examining this intruder who had successfully passed the test!

However, Lu Qingxuan remained standing.

The chaos green lotus vision slowly rotated above his head, shedding thousands of strands of Chaos Qi, like a canopy, firmly protecting him within. That terrifying immortal pressure, upon contacting the Chaos Qi, seemed to have met its nemesis, being continuously dispelled and repelled!

Not only was he not crushed, but he slowly raised his head and looked calmly into the depths of the immortal palace. At the same time, he deliberately stirred a trace of the weak aura he had obtained from the Green Emperor's Dao trace Legacy, as well as the homologous fluctuation from the bronze fragment in his hand.

"I carry the Opportunity of the Green Emperor and have arrived with the token."

"This palace should open for me."

His voice was not loud, but it carried an indescribable majesty, as if stating an established fact.

The vast immortal pressure suddenly paused!

From deep within the immortal palace, there seemed to come an extremely slight sigh, filled with suspicion and disbelief. That terrifying pressure retreated rapidly like a tide.

Lu Qingxuan said no more; he extended his right hand and pressed it against the cold, heavy bronze giant door that seemed to have isolated the eternal time and space.

The chaos green lotus above his head shone brightly. He mobilized the newly derived 【Dao Refining】 characteristic, channeled the power of the Chaos Law, gathered it in his palm, and then, facing that door, uttered one word:

"Open."

Word spoken, Law followed!

It was not the power of sound, but the will of the Chaos Law, a command overriding the rules of this place!

Rumble—!!!

As if an ancient giant beast had been awakened, the entire bronze immortal palace emitted a deafening roar! On the palace gate, countless ancient and complex runes lit up one after another, erupting with dazzling immortal light!

Under the gaze of countless shocked, jealous, and incredulous eyes, that bronze giant door, which had isolated the eternal past and blocked countless Prodigies, accompanied by a heavy roar as if pushing the operation of a world, slowly and firmly...

Opened inward!

Behind the door was a hazy world of immortal light, exuding an enticing aura and endless mystery.

Lu Qingxuan withdrew his palm and, without the slightest hesitation, took a step forward, and his figure disappeared into the opened immortal light.

Behind him were countless eyes that were almost popping out due to extreme shock, as well as a deathly silence.

The bronze immortal palace had actually... opened for him alone!