29: Seeking crystals in mineral veins to guard against natural disasters, resting in karst caves awaits a new journey.

In the cavern passages of the Diamond Floating Island Secret Realm, pale blue Origin energy clung to the rock walls like mist. With every step, the gravel beneath their feet would emit fine flickers of light.

Lin Chen held Nian Xue's small hand, feeling the warm touch of his daughter's palm. Her other hand was gently touching the rock wall; where her fingertips brushed, the energy mist would condense into tiny light particles, landing on her cuffs.

Clear Snow walked on the other side, her nine tails gently sweeping across the ground behind her. Occasionally, the void chill at the tips of her tails would touch the rock wall, leaving faint white traces that were quickly covered by Origin energy again.

The faint sound of dripping water came from deep within the passage, mixed with slight panting. Lin Chen's Divine Thought spread out quietly, sensing three weak auras a hundred meters ahead. There was no hostility; instead, they carried a sense of pleading for help.

Walking further, the passage suddenly opened up into a small grotto. Three Emerald Clan Survivors were leaning against the stone wall, their skin a dull green. One of them had broken vines wrapped around his arm, oozing pale green blood.

“Someone's here!” The Emerald Clan member on the outermost side suddenly looked up, eyes full of vigilance, his hand quietly reaching toward a crack in the rock behind him where a sharp emerald shard was hidden.

Lin Chen stopped and spoke in a calm tone: “We mean no harm, we're just passing through. Are you injured?”

The Emerald Clan members sized up Lin Chen's group. Seeing that the nine tails behind Clear Snow showed no hostility and that Nian Xue was staring curiously at their vines, they slowly relaxed their guard: “Thank you, Lord. We were attacked by the Obsidian Clan.”

“Obsidian Clan?” Clear Snow frowned. She had heard of this race; they were skilled at stealth and setting traps, acting cautiously and never fighting a battle they weren't prepared for.

The Emerald Clan member nodded, his voice carrying lingering fear: “They wanted the origin crystal clusters we found. They set a trap and ambushed us. we barely escaped here with our lives. The clusters are still in the mineral vein behind us, but they must still be guarding it.”

Lin Chen extended his Divine Thought toward the mineral vein and indeed sensed ten Obsidian Clan auras. They were scattered on both sides of the vein's entrance, holding obsidian blades condensed from Origin energy, clearly waiting for their prey to walk into the net.

These Obsidian Clan members didn't rashly charge into the grotto but instead ambushed patiently. They clearly knew that a direct confrontation might not go in their favor, which fit their cautious nature.

“Wait here, I'll handle it,” Lin Chen said to the Emerald Clan, then looked at Clear Snow. “Watch Nian Xue.”

Clear Snow nodded, her nine tails gently wrapping around Nian Xue to prevent her from wandering off: “Be careful, husband. The Obsidian Clan's traps are very well hidden.”

Lin Chen walked toward the entrance of the mineral vein. His steps were light, yet he didn't deliberately hide his aura—he didn't need to. To him, any ambush was futile.

The Obsidian Clan at the entrance quickly spotted him. The leader made a gesture, and the others instantly held their breath, their obsidian blades beginning to condense black Origin energy.

They didn't attack immediately, waiting for Lin Chen to walk into the trap's range—obsidian spikes were hidden beneath the ground, ready to spring up and impale the target the moment they were triggered.

Lin Chen walked directly over the trap without pausing, as if he hadn't noticed anything unusual.

A flash of smugness crossed the eyes of the Obsidian Clan. The leader raised his hand, about to trigger the trap.

Right then, Lin Chen suddenly raised his hand. Space Law activated instantly, and the obsidian spikes beneath the ground were forcibly yanked out, hovering in mid-air before shooting back at the Obsidian Clan instead.

The faces of the Obsidian Clan changed drastically. They tried to dodge, only to find their bodies pinned by an invisible force—it was Ancient Gods Pressure. His Diamond Early Stage Origin power suppressed their Platinum Middle Stage strength.

The spikes instantly pierced their bodies, and black blood splattered onto the stone walls of the vein entrance. Before they could even scream, their bodies began to dissipate, turning into pale black Origin light spots.

Lin Chen raised his hand, condensing these light spots into three pale black origin crystals. These were formed from the Origin energy within the Obsidian Clan; though the purity wasn't high, it was better than nothing.

He turned and returned to the grotto. When the Emerald Clan saw the crystals in his hand, their eyes were filled with awe: “Lord, your Divine Might is incredible!”

Lin Chen led the group into the mineral vein. The Origin energy inside was several times denser than in the passage. Blue-glowing crystal clusters could be seen everywhere on the rock walls, embedded in the stone like stars.

“That's the one!” An Emerald Clan member pointed to the largest cluster. It was half a person tall, radiating a thick Diamond Rank Origin aura, with faint mist swirling on its surface.

Lin Chen stepped forward, his fingertips gently touching the cluster. He could feel the pure Origin energy within.

He activated his Sublimation Talent. With the first touch, the cluster's glow changed from pale blue to deep blue, its grade rising from Diamond Rank to epic-grade.

With the second touch, the glow turned purple, and the grade rose to Legendary Rank—two Sublimations had raised it exactly two tiers to reach Legendary Rank.

The sublimated crystal cluster radiated a soft purple light. The Origin energy was three times denser than before, and the surrounding smaller clusters grew brighter because of its aura.

Lin Chen broke off a small piece of the cluster and handed it to Nian Xue: “Nian Xue, absorb this. It will make you stronger.”

Nian Xue took the crystal and placed it in her palm. The crystal's energy automatically merged into her body, and the demon god mark on her forehead flashed with purple light as her Origin concentration slowly rose.

Clear Snow also took a piece of the crystal and closed her eyes to absorb it. Her Platinum Peak aura grew stronger and stronger, her Origin concentration moving from 85% toward 90%.

Lin Chen absorbed a piece himself. The Diamond Early Stage Origin energy circulated through his body, raising his Origin concentration from 10% to 12%, and his Divine Thought range expanded a bit more.

The Emerald Clan watched them absorb the crystals with eyes full of envy, but without a hint of greed—they knew that all of this was what Lin Chen deserved.

Lin Chen noticed their gazes and broke off three smaller crystals, handing them over: “These are for you to recover from your injuries and increase your strength.”

The Emerald Clan members thanked him profusely. After taking the crystals, they couldn't wait to start absorbing them. Their dull skin slowly regained its luster.

At this moment, the status of the three was as follows:

【Name: Lin Chen】

【Race: Perfect Ancient God (Tier 3)】

【Strength Realm: Diamond Early Stage (Origin 12%)】

【Talent: Sublimation (Unique Rank · Concept Level)】

【Mastery Abilities: Law of Thunder (Mastered), Space Law (Mastered), Law of Light (Mastered), Void Power (Perfection), Anti-Heavenly Dao Rule (Perfection)】

【Name: Lin Qingxue】

【Race: Ice and Snow Nine-Tailed White Fox (Transcendence Level)】

【Strength Realm: Platinum Peak (Origin 90%)】

【Talent: Heart of Ice and Snow (mythical-grade), Grandmist Ice Soul (origin level), Dragon Scale Guardian (void-rank)】

【Mastery Abilities: Ice and Snow Law (Mastered), Void Ice Blade (Perfection), Ice and Snow Guardian (Perfection)】

【Name: Lin Nianxue】

【Race: Ancient Demon God】

【Strength Realm: Diamond Early Stage (Origin 11%)】

【Talent: Void Immunity (void-rank), Energy Sharing (void-rank)】

【Mastery Abilities: Void Power (Initial Success), Origin Shield (Initial Success)】

Just then, Clear Snow suddenly opened her eyes, her nine tails tensing slightly: “Husband, when I was absorbing the crystal just now, I sensed a trace of Heavenly Dao energy. It seems to be related to the Heavenly Dao fragments from before.”

Lin Chen frowned and extended his Divine Thought deep into the mineral vein again. Sure enough, at the very core of the crystal cluster, he sensed a wisp of extremely faint black energy—that was the unique aura of the Heavenly Dao.

“The Obsidian Clan was likely sent by the Heavenly Dao,” Lin Chen said in a heavy tone. “They wanted to seize the origin crystal clusters, clearly for some plan of the Heavenly Dao, possibly related to 'Origin Aggregation'.”

Hearing the words “Heavenly Dao,” the Emerald Clan members' faces instantly turned pale: “Lord, while we were searching for crystals earlier, we also heard the Obsidian Clan mention 'Origin Aggregation.' They said they needed to collect enough Origin to sacrifice to the heavenly dao main body.”

Lin Chen nodded, understanding dawned in his heart—the Heavenly Dao had canceled the Resting Worlds, sealed off high-level worlds, and was now seizing Origin. It was clearly preparing for “Origin Aggregation.” This plan was likely to boost the strength of the heavenly dao main body to complete the previously unfinished sacrifice.

“We cannot let the Heavenly Dao have its way,” Lin Chen said firmly. “Origin is the key to our strength and also what the Heavenly Dao wants. We must be more careful from now on; we need to collect Origin while also guarding against the Heavenly Dao's attacks.”

Clear Snow held his hand: “Yes, we'll face it together.”

Nian Xue also looked up, her little face full of seriousness: “Daddy, Nian Xue will protect herself and not let Daddy be distracted.”

The light in the mineral vein gradually dimmed, and the mist of Origin energy grew thinner—absorbing the crystals just now had consumed a portion of the Origin in the vein.

Lin Chen looked outside the grotto. The sky of the Diamond Floating Island had changed from dark gold to pale purple; night was clearly approaching.

“We'll rest here for the night,” Lin Chen said. “Stronger monsters appear on the floating island at night. It's not suitable to continue traveling now.”

Clear Snow nodded and used her Ice and Snow Law to condense several ice chairs in the grotto, along with a small ice furnace. Though it had no fire, it radiated a warm aura.

Nian Xue sat on an ice chair, playing with a small fragment left over from the crystal she had absorbed. The fragment emitted a faint purple glow in her palm.

The Emerald Clan members set up simple sentries in the corner of the grotto. They knew they were safe with Lin Chen there, but they were still accustomed to staying vigilant.

Lin Chen leaned against the stone wall and closed his eyes. His Divine Thought did not relax, however, as it enveloped the entire grotto and mineral vein to guard against any possible Heavenly Dao pursuers.

He sorted through the current clues in his mind: the heavenly dao main body, Origin Aggregation, the sealed worlds, the disappeared Resting Worlds. These clues linked together to point toward a larger conspiracy—the Heavenly Dao wanted to control the Origin of all mission worlds to become the true Dominator of the heavens.

To stop this conspiracy, he had to reach a higher Realm as quickly as possible. He needed to reach at least mythical-grade to have the power to oppose the strength of the heavenly dao main body.

Clear Snow walked over to him and leaned gently on his shoulder: “What are you thinking about?”

Lin Chen opened his eyes and held her hand: “Thinking about how to increase our strength as quickly as possible, and the Heavenly Dao's next move.”

Clear Snow smiled: “Don't think too much. We have origin crystal clusters now, and we have each other. We'll find a way.”

Lin Chen looked at her, then at Nian Xue nearby, and his resolve grew even stronger—for his wife and daughter, and for the Survivors who trusted him, he had to win.

The night wind blew in through the cracks in the grotto, carrying a hint of chill. Clear Snow used her Ice and Snow Law to condense a barrier, blocking the cold wind.

The mineral vein was very quiet, with only the occasional sound of dripping water and Nian Xue's slight breathing. Lin Chen knew that tomorrow would be another day full of challenges, but he was ready.