25: The remaining enemies are wiped out in search of secrets, and fragments of the Heavenly Dao reveal their true form.

Morning light pierced the dome of the Central Altar, falling on the Puppet remains covering the ground. Lin Chen spread his Ancient God Wings, golden halos enveloping his body. His Divine Thought swept through every corner of the altar like a net—ten grandmist rank auras were hiding in the secret compartments of the core area, attempting to ambush them when everyone let their guard down.

"Still hiding?" Lin Chen condensed Void Power at his fingertips and threw a golden orb of light from his palm. The secret compartment was instantly torn apart by the golden light. Ten Heavenly Dao Death Soldiers clad in blood-colored armor rushed out in a disarray, their long blades wrapped in sacrificial flames, slashing straight at Qingxue, who was holding Nian Xue.

[Monster Name: Heavenly Dao Death Soldier] [Rank: 82 (grandmist rank)] [Characteristics: Controlled by Heavenly Dao consciousness, attacks come with Soul erosion, detonates own Origin upon death]

Qingxue advanced instead of retreating. Her void-rank ice crystal sword swept across, and the Grandmist Ice Blade collided with the flaming long blades, erupting with a harsh metallic clang. Lin Chen teleported behind the Heavenly Dao Death Soldiers, his Ancient Gods Pressure exploding forth. The soldiers' movements froze instantly, and then they turned into flying ash under the crushing force of the Void Power, not even having the chance to detonate their Origin.

[Ding—Killed grandmist rank Heavenly Dao Death Soldiers × 10, Experience Points shared] [Lin Chen Rank: 76] [Lin Qingxue Rank: 76] [Lin Nianxue Rank: 17] (Low Rank, fast leveling, cross-Rank kill experience bonus)

Nian Xue poked her head out from Qingxue's arms and pointed her little finger at the flying ash: "Daddy, they turned into stars!"

Lin Chen walked back to his wife and child and ruffled her hair: "They are bad stars; they won't come to bother us again in the future."

The three-headed Dragon and the Elf Clan were clearing the remnants of the altar. The Elf Clan captain suddenly shouted: "Lord Lin Chen! There is a hidden secret door here!"

Everyone gathered around. The secret door was hidden under the stone platform of the origin pearl, its surface carved with ancient patterns completely different from the Heavenly Dao Runes. Lin Chen's Divine Thought probed inside, sensing that dense Grandmist energy was hidden behind the door, along with a faint yet bizarre fluctuation of consciousness.

"Qingxue, protect Nian Xue well." Lin Chen pushed open the secret door. Inside was a narrow passage with glowing hong meng crystals embedded in the walls, illuminating the stone platform at the end—on the stone platform sat a black box exuding an aura of the Void.

[void-rank · Seal Box] [Function: Seals Heavenly Dao consciousness fragments, requires void-rank power to open]

Just as Lin Chen was about to reach out, dozens of grandmist rank poisonous thorns suddenly shot out from both sides of the passage, and a blood-colored formation rose from the ground, attempting to trap him within.

"Another trap." Lin Chen sneered. He spread his Ancient God Wings, and a golden shockwave swept through the passage. The poisonous thorns were instantly shattered, and the formation turned into flying ash under the Law of Light. He stepped forward and opened the Seal Box—inside lay a black crystal the size of a walnut, with blood-colored patterns faintly flowing within it.

[Heavenly Dao Consciousness Fragment] [Rank: 85 (void-rank)] [Note: An consciousness branch of the only Heavenly Dao of the Myriad Races of the Heavens, containing partial Heavenly Dao rules]

As soon as the crystal was taken out, a cold consciousness surged into Lin Chen's mind: "...The destruction of the fragment is of no consequence... The main body has already laid out the ultimate plan in the Core of the Myriad Heavens... The living beings of the Myriad Races will eventually become nourishment for the ascension... You cannot escape..."

The consciousness vanished in an instant, and the crystal turned into flying ash. Lin Chen's expression was grave: "So the previous Heavenly Dao consciousness was just a fragment of the only Heavenly Dao of the Myriad Races of the Heavens."

Qingxue walked into the passage holding Nian Xue. Her expression changed slightly upon hearing this: "Then its main body..."

"The main body should be in the Core of the Myriad Heavens; we cannot touch it yet." Lin Chen clenched his fists, "But its plan will not stop. We must improve our strength as soon as possible."

Leaving the altar, the group moved into the depths of the Desolate Plains. At noon, they encountered a group of human Survivors—five ragged warriors were being besieged by three chaos rank magic wolves. One young girl was holding an injured child and was about to be pounced on by the magic wolves.

[Human Survivors Status: No hostility, on the verge of death] [Magic Wolf Rank: 78 (chaos rank)]

"Save them!" Qingxue's ice crystal sword was unsheathed, and a Void Ice Blade instantly severed the head of one magic wolf. Lin Chen invoked the Law of Thunder, and purple lightning pierced the cores of the other two magic wolves. The magic wolves collapsed, turning into points of light.

[Ding—Killed chaos rank magic wolves × 3, Experience Points shared] [Lin Chen Rank: 77] [Lin Qingxue Rank: 77] [Lin Nianxue Rank: 19]

"Many thanks for saving our lives, my lord!" The lead warrior knelt on the ground, "We escaped from the ruins in the west. That place is controlled by Heavenly Dao Remnants, and many people have been captured as sacrifices!"

Lin Chen nodded: "Go east; the Elf Clan and the Dragon Clan are there. They can keep you safe."

The warriors thanked him repeatedly and left in a hurry with the children. Lin Chen watched their backs and swept his Divine Thought toward the west—indeed, there were dozens of Heavenly Dao auras there, surrounding a human settlement, clearly preparing for a new sacrifice.

"Let's go to the west and take a look." Lin Chen spread his Ancient God Wings, taking off with Qingxue and Nian Xue. The three-headed Dragon and the Elf Clan followed closely behind, and they soon arrived at the human settlement.

Outside the settlement, twenty Heavenly Dao Priests were setting up a temporary sacrificial array. Hundreds of humans were tied up in the array, and blood-colored runes had spread to their ankles; the sacrifice was about to be completed.

[Heavenly Dao Priest Rank: 80 (grandmist rank)] [Sacrificial Array Progress: 90%, about to complete]

"Stop!" At Lin Chen's command, the Space Law instantly enveloped the humans in the array, teleporting them to a safe zone. Qingxue deployed her Ice Domain, the Void cold freezing the runes of the sacrificial array, while the Elf Clan Archers fired their bows simultaneously. The arrows pierced the priests' armor and went straight into their cores.

Seeing the situation was unfavorable, the Heavenly Dao Priests turned to flee, but they were trapped by the Void Power invoked by Lin Chen. The golden light shield shrank, and the priests turned into flying ash amidst screams. The temporary sacrificial array completely disintegrated.

[Ding—Killed grandmist rank Heavenly Dao Priests × 20, Experience Points shared] [Lin Chen Rank: 78] [Lin Qingxue Rank: 78] [Lin Nianxue Rank: 21] (Low Rank, fast leveling, massive experience points directly cross-ranking)

The humans in the settlement walked out one after another, kneeling on the ground to give thanks. Lin Chen helped the elderly leader up: "Take your clansmen to the east as soon as possible. It is not safe here."

The old man nodded. The humans began to pack their luggage and moved to the east. Lin Chen found a hidden Grandmist Treasure Chest in the ruins of the sacrificial array—the treasure chest was wrapped in blood-colored energy, clearly war loot left behind by the Heavenly Dao Priests.

[grandmist rank · heavenly dao treasure chest] [Note: Contains rare Materials collected by the Heavenly Dao, requires void-rank power to open]

Lin Chen activated his concept-level Sublimation Talent, and the treasure chest instantly bloomed with a Void halo.

[Ding—grandmist rank heavenly dao treasure chest → void-rank heavenly dao treasure chest (Cannot be further sublimated)]

Opening the treasure chest, inside lay three black crystal stones, containing pure Heavenly Dao energy, and a yellowed ancient book with "heavenly dao rule memorandum" written on the cover.

[void-rank · Heavenly Dao crystal stone × 3] [Effect: After absorbing, one can briefly control Heavenly Dao rules and become immune to Heavenly Dao attacks below grandmist rank]

[void-rank · heavenly dao rule memorandum] [Effect: Records partial Heavenly Dao rules, can comprehend the "Anti-Heavenly Dao" ability]

Lin Chen handed two crystal stones to Qingxue and Nian Xue: "Absorb these; it will be safer if you encounter Heavenly Dao attacks in the future." He then handed the ancient book to Qingxue, "You study this; you might be able to comprehend a new ability."

Qingxue took the ancient book and gently stroked the cover with her fingertips, a flash of surprise in her eyes: "The rules inside can just happen to counter Heavenly Dao power!"

After Nian Xue absorbed the crystal stone, the Void Jade Pendant instantly lit up. The patterns on its surface resonated with the Heavenly Dao crystal stone, and a new golden rune was added.

[void-rank life jade pendant · Second reinforcement] [New effect: Can actively release a Heavenly Dao rule shield to resist void-rank Heavenly Dao attacks]

In the evening, the group rested in a valley. Lin Chen pulled up the latest panels of the three to confirm their status:

[Name: Lin Chen] [Race: Perfect Ancient God (Tier 3)] [Rank: 78] [Talent: Sublimation (Unique-level · Concept-level)] [Attributes: Strength 1604720..., Agility 1604720, Physique 1604720, Spirit 1605020] [Skills: Ancient Gods Body (Perfection), Ancient Gods Pressure (Perfection), Ancient Gods Divine Sense (205 km), Thunder/Space/Law of Light (Control), Void Power Control (Major Achievement), Ancient God Wings (Major Achievement), Anti-Heavenly Dao Rule (Initial Achievement, from heavenly dao rule memorandum)] [Characteristics: Law Affinity (Control)] [Items Held: void-rank · Heavenly Dao Sacrifice Token, void-rank · Golden Dragon Guardian Token, void-grade sacrifice cannon, void-rank · Heavenly Dao crystal stone × 1]

[Name: Lin Qingxue] [Race: Ice and Snow Nine-Tailed White Fox (Transcendence Level)] [Rank: 78] [Talent: Heart of Ice and Snow (mythical-grade), Grandmist Ice Soul (origin level), Dragon Scale Guardian (void-rank)] [Attributes: Strength 2740000..., Agility 3580000, Physique 2740000, Spirit 4780000] [Skills: Ice and Snow Divine Power/Nine-Tails Power/Ice Domain (Perfection), Grandmist Ice Blade/Ice and Snow Origin Control (Perfection), Void Ice Blade (Major Achievement), Ice and Snow Guardian (Major Achievement), Anti-Heavenly Dao Ice Blade (Newly comprehended, from heavenly dao rule memorandum)] [Items Held: void-rank ice crystal sword, void-rank · Ice Crystal Dragon Scale Armor, void-rank · heavenly dao rule memorandum, void-rank · Heavenly Dao crystal stone × 1]

[Name: Lin Nianxue] [Race: Ancient Demon God] [Grade: void-rank] [Rank: 21] [Talent: Void Immunity (void-rank)] [Attributes: Strength 10044..., Agility 10044, Physique 10044, Spirit 10044] (Low Rank, fast leveling, +2-4 attributes per Rank) [Items Worn: void-rank life jade pendant · Second reinforcement, void-rank · Heavenly Dao crystal stone × 1] [Task Time: 22 days remaining] [Rest Limit: Not opened]

"Although the Heavenly Dao fragment has been destroyed, its main body is still there, so we cannot let our guard down." Lin Chen looked at his wife and child, his tone grave, "Next, we need to level up as soon as possible and comprehend the Anti-Heavenly Dao ability to prepare for countering the heavenly dao main body in the future."

Qingxue nodded, gripping the heavenly dao rule memorandum in her hand: "I will study this book thoroughly as soon as possible; maybe I can find a way to counter the heavenly dao main body."

Nian Xue leaned into Lin Chen's arms, her little fists clenched: "Daddy, Nian Xue will also work hard to become stronger and help you beat the bad Heavenly Dao!"

Lin Chen ruffled her hair, his eyes full of warmth. Outside the valley, the wind of the Desolate Plains was still biting, but Lin Chen knew that as long as he was with his wife, child, and allies, no matter how powerful the enemies he encountered in the future, they could face them side by side.

The consciousness fragment of the only Heavenly Dao of the Myriad Races of the Heavens had been eliminated, but the real crisis had just emerged—the ultimate plan of the heavenly dao main body was hidden in the Core of the Myriad Heavens, waiting for the day it would erupt. And Lin Chen, with his family, would become the first, and most solid, line of defense to stop this catastrophe.