22: Ambush in the fog reveals a treacherous plot; the sacrificial line points to crisis.

As the morning light pierced through the grey mist of the lava zone, Lin Chen stood up, holding Nian Xue.

Clear Snow had already wiped the ice crystal sword clean; the Grandmist cold Qi flowing on the blade condensed into tiny ice flowers in the morning light.

"Daddy, can we still see the Elf sister today?" Nian Xue rubbed her eyes, resting her little head on Lin Chen's shoulder.

Before the words fell, Lin Chen's Ancient Gods Divine Sense suddenly tightened—in a lava crack a thousand meters away, ten hidden auras were spreading through the grandmist rank mist.

Among them, three auras circled to the rear, aiming directly at the Void Jade Pendant on Nian Xue's neck.

[Enemy Configuration: Machine Race turret × 2 (Rank 75 chaos rank), Abyss Shadow Assassin × 3 (Rank 73 origin level), Heavenly Dao Priest × 5 (Rank 78 chaos rank)]

[Tactics: Mist obscures perception, assassins flank to ambush the child, priests set up a temporary sacrificial array to contain them, turrets bombard from a distance]

"Clear Snow, protect Nian Xue." Lin Chen handed Nian Xue to Clear Snow, and his Space Law activated instantly.

The three Abyss assassins who had just touched the range of the cave had their bodies torn apart by an invisible force, turning into three mists of blood.

The Grandmist mist outside the cave suddenly boiled, and five blood-colored beams of light shot into the sky.

A temporary sacrificial array spread out on the ground, attempting to trap Clear Snow and her daughter.

Clear Snow swept her ice crystal sword, and her Transcendence Level Ice and Snow Law froze the beams of light, while a Grandmist Ice Blade slashed toward the Heavenly Dao Priest at the eye of the array.

"Stop her! Fire the turrets!" roared the lead Heavenly Dao Priest.

Two mechanical turrets spewed chaos rank energy cannons, blasting directly at Clear Snow.

Lin Chen teleported to the front of the turrets, his Ancient Gods Body erupting with golden light.

He punched out with the Law of Thunder, and the energy cannons collided with the purple lightning, exploding thunderously.

The remaining two priests saw the situation was dire and turned to flee, but were enveloped by the Law of Light triggered by Lin Chen.

In the golden light, the Heavenly Dao energy within the priests dissipated instantly, and their bodies turned into fly ash.

[Ding — Killed chaos rank Machine Race turret × 2, origin level Abyss Shadow Assassin × 3, chaos rank Heavenly Dao Priest × 5, experience points divided equally]

[Lin Chen Rank: 68]

[Lin Qingxue Rank: 68]

[Lin Nianxue Rank: 8]

Nian Xue poked her head out from Clear Snow's arms, looking at the dissipating enemies: "Daddy, those people in black robes are so fierce."

Lin Chen walked back to his wife and child, ruffling her hair: "In the future, if you see people in black robes, just hide behind Daddy."

Just after cleaning up the battlefield, familiar footsteps came from afar—the Elf Clan Elder who had been rescued earlier arrived with two clansmen, holding a wooden box emitting Grandmist Qi.

"Lord Lin Chen, this is the grandmist rank Spirit crystal treasured by our clan. Thank you for saving us yesterday."

The Elf Elder handed over the wooden box, "We also found out that there is a small sacrificial array a hundred miles to the east, which seems to hide the secrets of the Heavenly Dao."

Lin Chen took the wooden box and opened it. Inside lay three blue Spirit crystals the size of pigeon eggs, containing rich natural energy.

[grandmist rank Natural Spirit Crystal × 3]

[Effect: Quickly recover Law energy, strengthen natural-type abilities]

"Thank you." Lin Chen activated his concept-level Sublimation Talent, and the Spirit crystals instantly bloomed with a void halo.

[Ding — grandmist rank Natural Spirit Crystal × 3 → void-rank Natural Spirit Crystal × 3 (Cannot be further sublimated)]

[New Effect: Recover Law energy below void-rank, immune to Heavenly Dao energy erosion]

He handed two Spirit crystals to Clear Snow: "You use these to recover your Law energy; don't hold back during battle."

He then fused one Spirit crystal into Nian Xue's Void Jade Pendant, "Give Nian Xue an extra layer of protection."

The jade pendant hummed, and the natural patterns on its surface intertwined with the reverse Heavenly Dao Runes, its aura becoming increasingly steady.

The three followed the Elf Elder eastward. A hundred miles was covered in half an hour under the blessing of Lin Chen's wind element.

The small sacrificial array was hidden in a grove of dead trees. Three black stone pillars were inserted at the eye of the array, inscribed with runes similar to the previous energy pillars.

[Small Heavenly Dao Sacrificial Array]

[Rank: 75 (chaos rank)]

[Function: Extract energy from living beings within a thousand miles and convert it into backup energy for the Ultimate Sacrificial Array]

Lin Chen's Ancient Gods Divine Sense probed into the array and found a treasure chest emitting Grandmist Qi hidden under the stone pillars.

The treasure chest was wrapped in sacrificial energy, clearly a bait left by the Heavenly Dao.

[Grandmist Treasure Chest (Bait)]

[Trap: Triggers Heavenly Dao energy explosion upon opening, while summoning 3 chaos rank Guardian Beasts]

"There is a trap." Lin Chen motioned for Clear Snow and Nian Xue to step back, then walked forward himself.

He first invoked the Space Law to isolate the sacrificial energy, then activated his Sublimation Talent.

[Ding — Grandmist Treasure Chest → Void treasure chest (Cannot be further sublimated)]

[Trap Disarmed: Heavenly Dao energy explosion converted into Void Power, Guardian Beast summoning command invalidated]

Opening the Void treasure chest, a black token lay inside. The word "Sacrifice Commander" was engraved on the front, and a simple map of the Ultimate Sacrificial Array was on the back.

[void-rank · Heavenly Dao Sacrifice Token]

[Effect: Can enter the core area of the Ultimate Sacrificial Array, immune to sacrificial rules below Intermediate level]

"This is the key to finding the Ultimate Sacrificial Array." Lin Chen gripped the token tightly.

The token suddenly became scorching hot, and a segment of Heavenly Dao consciousness flooded into his mind: "... Backup energy collection 5% ... Ultimate Sacrificial Array coordinates: Central Altar of the Desolate Plains ... Opening in 10 days ..."

As the consciousness dissipated, rapid footsteps came from outside the dead tree grove.

A team of Angel Clan warriors clad in golden armor rushed over. The leader held a holy sword, and Heavenly Dao Runes flickered in his eyes.

[Race: Fallen Angel Clan]

[Rank: 80 (chaos rank)]

[Quantity: 8 people]

[Goal: Seize the Sacrifice Token, eradicate the void-rank target]

"Lin Chen, hand over the Sacrifice Token and that child, and Lord Heavenly Dao may spare your life!" the Fallen Angel leader roared, slashing out golden Sword Qi with his holy sword directly at Lin Chen.

Lin Chen did not dodge or evade. The Sacrifice Token released Void Power, and the Sword Qi dissipated instantly.

He invoked the Space Law to teleport behind the leader, his Ancient Gods Body smashing a fist into his armor.

The armor shattered inch by inch, the leader spat blood, and his body turned into points of light.

The remaining seven Fallen Angels saw this and formed a defensive array, attempting to stall for time.

Clear Snow's ice crystal sword slashed out a Grandmist Ice Blade, her Ice and Snow Law freezing the array's foundation, while Lin Chen's Law of Thunder swept across, and the seven were instantly pierced by purple lightning.

[Ding — Killed chaos rank Fallen Angel × 8, experience points divided equally]

[Lin Chen Rank: 69]

[Lin Qingxue Rank: 69]

[Lin Nianxue Rank: 9]

Nian Xue ran to Lin Chen's side, pointing at the points of light on the ground: "Daddy, their wings are gone."

"Because they are bad angels." Lin Chen picked her up and turned to look at the Elf Elder, "Thanks for leading the way. You should leave this area as soon as possible. More Heavenly Dao people will come here soon."

The Elf Elder nodded and left in a hurry with his clansmen. The three of them followed the map on the Sacrifice Token and headed toward the Central Altar in the Desolate Plains.

On the way, they encountered two more waves of enemies—one was the Insect Clan that manipulated toxins, attempting to ambush them with poison mist; the other was the Shadow Clan that excelled in stealth, wanting to seize the Sacrifice Token under the cover of night.

But in the face of Lin Chen's absolute strength, these enemies were all killed in an instant.

[Ding — Killed origin level Insect Clan × 15, chaos rank Shadow Clan × 10, experience points divided equally]

[Lin Chen Rank: 70]

[Lin Qingxue Rank: 70]

[Lin Nianxue Rank: 10]

(Note: Attributes double every 10 levels after level 50; level 70 triggers the second doubling)

In the evening, the three arrived at a valley to rest. Lin Chen pulled up the current panel to confirm their status:

[Name: Lin Chen] [Race: Perfect Ancient God (Second Order)] [Rank: 70] [Talent: Sublimation (Unique-grade · Concept-level)] [Attributes: Strength 1603520 (Level 68 801760 → Level 69 801860 → Level 70 doubled), Agility 1603520, Physique 1603520, Spirit 1603920] [Skills: Ancient Gods Body (Enhanced), Ancient Gods Pressure (Enhanced), Ancient Gods Divine Sense (140 km), Law of Thunder/Space/Light (Perfection)] [Traits: Law Affinity (Perfection)] [Items Held: void-rank · Heavenly Dao Sacrifice Token]

[Name: Lin Qingxue] [Race: Ice and Snow Nine-Tailed White Fox (Transcendence Level)] [Rank: 70] [Talent: Heart of Ice and Snow (mythical-grade), Grandmist Ice Soul (origin level)] [Attributes: Strength 2620000 (Level 68 1320000 → Level 69 1330000 → Level 70 doubled), Agility 3500000, Physique 2620000, Spirit 4700000] [Skills: Ice and Snow Divine Ability/Nine-Tails Power/Ice Domain (Perfection), Grandmist Ice Blade/Ice and Snow Origin Control (Perfection)] [Items Held: Transcendence Level ice crystal sword]

[Name: Lin Nianxue] [Race: Ancient Demon God] [Grade: void-rank] [Rank: 10] [Talent: Void Immunity (void-rank)] [Attributes: Strength 10018 (Level 8 5008 → Level 9 5009 → Level 10 doubled), Agility 10018, Physique 10018, Spirit 10018] [Items Worn: legendary-grade life jade pendant · Enhanced] [Mission Time: Remaining 25 days] [Rest Limit: Not opened]

"After the attributes doubled at level 70, my strength has increased by another notch." Clear Snow felt the surging power within her, a flash of confidence in her eyes, "We should be able to handle it when the Ultimate Sacrificial Array opens."

Lin Chen nodded and placed Nian Xue on the spread-out animal skin: "Rest well tonight. We can reach the Central Altar tomorrow and scout the terrain in advance."

Nian Xue hugged Lin Chen's arm and soon fell asleep. Lin Chen and Clear Snow sat by the campfire, whispering about countermeasures.

Late at night, a faint energy fluctuation came from outside the valley. Lin Chen's Ancient Gods Divine Sense probed over and found a void-rank Heavenly Dao Hound lying in the distance, sacrificial runes flickering in its eyes, clearly a scout sent by the Heavenly Dao.

"The Heavenly Dao's eyes and ears are increasing." Lin Chen stood up, and the Space Law instantly enveloped the hound.

The hound didn't even have time to scream before turning into points of light, leaving behind only a void-rank beast core.

Lin Chen picked up the beast core, did not sublimate it (it had reached the highest grade), and handed it to Clear Snow: "You can use this to strengthen your sword and let it reach void-rank."

Clear Snow took the beast core and lightly touched the ice crystal sword with her fingertips.

The beast core fused into the sword body, and the blade instantly bloomed with void cold light. The Grandmist Qi and Void Power intertwined, and its power skyrocketed.

[Transcendence Level ice crystal sword → void-rank ice crystal sword (Cannot be further sublimated)]

[Effect: Efficiency of controlling Primordial Ice and Snow Law increased by 1000%, attacks carry Ice Seal (cannot be dispelled below chaos rank)]

Returning to the campfire, Lin Chen held his wife and child tightly. In the direction of the Central Altar in the distance, fluctuations of Heavenly Dao energy could be vaguely felt; the crisis of the ultimate sacrifice was already imminent.

The full picture of the Heavenly Dao's conspiracy was gradually becoming clear: sacrificing all races, seizing the Void Origin, ascending to the Origin World—this war concerning survival was about to open its final curtain at the Central Altar.