77: Chapter 77 The Imperial Palace Opens, Ancient Sages Block the Way!

The moment the doors of the Emperor's Palace swung wide.

An ancient Aura, mixed with the desolation of the primeval past, surged forth.

That voice, spanning eternal space and time, still echoed within everyone's Divine Soul.

But the Prodigies, whose reason had long been drowned by greed, all made the same move.

"Charge!"

"The Emperor's Legacy is mine!"

"Whoever dares to snatch it from me must die!"

In an instant, hundreds of figures turned into streaks of light.

They swarmed like madmen into the doors of the Emperor's Palace, which radiated endless divine brilliance.

Lin Yi did not move, merely watching silently.

His gaze swept over Su Yuxi and Shen Qingyue beside him, both of whom looked equally solemn.

Then he looked at Chu Wanqing, who was still supporting Xu Chen.

Finally, his gaze landed deep within the palace doors.

Activating the Primordial Immortal Pupil, everything inside the hall was laid bare before his eyes.

But it was this very clarity that made him frown slightly.

Inside... it was too empty.

It was eerily empty.

"Let's go, we're going in too."

Lin Yi called out, and the four followed closely behind him, stepping into the ancient desolate hall at a steady pace.

Upon entering the hall, everyone was shocked by the sight before them.

This didn't look like the interior of a palace at all.

Instead, it was a vast starry sky that had been completely severed and preserved.

Countless stars slowly rotated overhead, emitting a soft glow.

Beneath their feet was a white jade floor, smooth as a mirror, stretching to the ends of the starry sky.

In the very center of that starry sky stood a high platform built entirely of Divine Source Crystal Marrow.

Atop the platform, two items floated quietly, drawing everyone's gaze.

They also ignited everyone's greed.

One of them was a drop of golden blood.

The blood was only the size of a fingernail, yet it seemed to contain an entire Universe.

It suspended in the Void Realm, pulsating and shifting incessantly.

Every pulsation emitted...

...a terrifying vitality and Imperial Dao pressure that made heaven and earth tremble.

Even the surrounding Void Realm distorted and collapsed with its pulsing.

"origin essence blood!"

"The Ancient Desolate Emperor's origin essence blood!"

Someone cried out in shock, their voice trembling.

This was the origin essence blood of a great emperor!

Even if it is just a drop, the energy and Dao Laws contained within...

...are also enough to allow a Mortal to undergo a complete transformation!

To allow a Venerable to glimpse the threshold of the Saint Realm!

Or even to allow a Quasi-Emperor to take that final step!

The other item made everyone's breath hitch even more.

It was an ancient seven-stringed zither.

The body of the zither was carved from some unknown divine wood, appearing as a mellow dark gold throughout.

There were no ornate patterns on it, only naturally formed Dao charms flowing over it.

It was as if the zither itself was the manifestation of the Heavenly Dao.

It was precisely what the Ancient Desolate Emperor used to suppress countless eras...

...to prove his Dao—the world-suppressing imperial zither!

"extreme dao imperial weapon! It's a real extreme dao imperial weapon!"

"Heavens! If I can obtain this zither, who in the Three Thousand Dao Domains would be my match!"

"A meteoric rise! This is the Opportunity for a meteoric rise!"

At this moment, the eyes of all the Prodigies turned blood-red.

Their breathing grew rapid as they stared fixedly at the two supreme treasures on the high platform.

In this instant, reason was completely burned to ashes by the flames of greed.

"Charge!"

Someone roared out.

The dozen or so Prodigies closest to the platform could no longer hold back.

They burned their essence blood, turning into streaks of blood-colored rainbows as they lunged toward the platform.

A wild fervor also erupted in Wang Teng's eyes.

He stared fixedly at that drop of great emperors essence blood and the world-suppressing imperial zither, his heart roaring madly.

"It's mine! It's all mine! This is the final Legacy prepared for me!"

"Lin Yi, just you wait. Once I get the Legacy, I will tear you into ten thousand pieces!"

Just as he was about to move, he saw Lin Yi's group still standing in place, seemingly observing.

Wang Teng sneered in his heart: "Fool! The Opportunity is right in front of you, yet you're still hesitating! You deserve to get nothing!"

He no longer hesitated, leading Xuan Ye and Chu Ningshuang as they also charged forward.

However, at the moment those dozen or so Prodigies were about to reach the platform.

A sudden change occurred!

Buzz—

The Void Realm around the high platform suddenly rippled.

Immediately after, blurry humanoid figures appeared out of thin air.

As soon as they appeared, they firmly protected the entire platform in the center.

There were dozens of these figures, each radiating an ancient and powerful Aura.

Their forms were ethereal and their faces blurred, as if they did not belong to this era.

"What are these things? Get lost!"

The Prodigy in the lead roared, throwing a punch at one of the figures.

Facing the attack, the figure merely raised a hand slowly and pointed a finger.

Puchi!

The previously aggressive Prodigy didn't even have time to scream.

His body exploded into a mist of blood in mid-air, his Divine Soul completely extinguished.

A single finger to insta-kill a top-tier Prodigy!

This terrifying scene was like a bucket of ice water, instantly dousing everyone's fervor.

Those who had charged halfway were frozen in place as if under a binding spell.

Everyone looked at the suddenly appearing figures with faces full of horror.

"What... what kind of monsters are these?"

"Such a strong Aura! Who on earth are they?"

In the crowd, Su Yuxi's beautiful eyes shrank as she stared intently at those figures.

"No, these aren't living beings, they are Dao Law imprints!"

Her voice carried a hint of solemnity as she explained:

"They are ancient sage imprints from the Ancient Era! They actually left their Dao Law imprints here!"

Shen Qingyue also nodded, her expression even more shocked than Su Yuxi's.

"Not just the Ancient Era..."

She pointed at a few figures with particularly ancient Auras and said softly:

"The Aura of those imprints... actually comes from the even more distant Immortal Ancient Era!"

"But why would they appear here?"

As the Saintess of the Ancient Shen Family, she was all too familiar with the Aura of that era.

And those few Immortal Ancient imprints made her feel a throb originating from the depths of her Bloodline.

Divine light flashed in Lin Yi's eyes as he immediately activated the Primordial Immortal Pupil.

Soon, he saw the true nature of these figures clearly.

It was exactly as Su Yuxi and Shen Qingyue had said.

These were the supreme experts of different eras who had left a wisp of their Dao Law imprints here before passing away.

Their duty seemed to be guarding these two Legacies.

Most of them were experts from the Ancient Era.

But there were a few whose ancient and powerful Auras even gave Lin Yi a sense of pressure.

Those were definitely terrifying existences from the Immortal Ancient Era who had touched the "Immortal" Domain!

Just as everyone was filled with doubt and uncertainty.

One of the most solid ancient sage imprints slowly spoke.

His voice was devoid of emotion, yet it seemed to contain the ultimate truths of heaven and earth as it rang through the starry sky.

"Latecomers, if you wish to obtain the Emperor's Legacy, you must pass our trial."

Another Immortal Ancient imprint also spoke up.

His gaze inadvertently swept over Xu Chen and Su Yuxi as he said loudly:

"To explore all and control heaven and earth, one requires strength."

"Those without the qualifications do not deserve to stand before the high platform!"

As his voice fell, dozens of imprints simultaneously erupted with terrifying pressure.

Instantly, an invisible barrier formed abruptly.

Blocking all the Prodigies below the high platform!

The atmosphere in the hall instantly shifted from fervor to dead silence!