35: The envoy, having breached the protective barrier, approached the core and revealed a murderous aura.

In the night, the Mechanical City resembled a dormant black behemoth. The black stone covering the hidden passage entrance was overgrown with rust. Lin Chen landed silently atop the passage, his Divine Thought locking onto the two Grandmist-ranked mechanical guards below.

These two guards were stronger than those encountered before. Their bodies were covered in thickened alloy armor, with pale blue energy fluid flowing through the seams.

The muzzles of their laser cannons were also entwined with the Heavenly Dao's distinctive black patterns—clearly modified by the Heavenly Dao to unleash attacks carrying Origin corrosion.

More troublesome was the linked alarm device hanging from each guard's waist. If one was attacked, the other would immediately trigger the alarm, alerting the entire Mechanical City's guard force.

"Can't trigger the alarm." Lin Chen condensed Space Law at his fingertips, silently enveloping the alarm device on the left guard, then teleported behind him.

As the guard was about to turn, Ancient Gods Pressure erupted violently. The energy fluid within its body instantly stagnated. Before its laser cannon could even be raised, Lin Chen's Void Power had already tapped its core location.

"Zzzzt—"

The guard's alloy armor shattered instantly, its core turning to dust, yet not a single sound was made—Space Law had isolated all noise.

The guard on the right sensed its companion's aura vanish. Just as it reached to press the alarm, Lin Chen had already teleported before it.

Anti-Heavenly Dao Rule activated instantly, causing the Heavenly Dao energy within the guard to go haywire. It emitted a silent electronic screech, unable to even move a finger, and was ultimately reduced to scrap metal by Void Power.

Lin Chen gestured a safe signal to the distant team. Clear Snow, holding Nian Xue, followed the Metal Clan Leader as they took the lead into the passage.

The passage was filled with the smell of machine oil. The ground was paved with metal rails, and occasionally, discarded mechanical parts would roll off the tracks, making faint sounds. Nian Xue clutched Clear Snow's collar tightly, her little head swiveling around, her eyes filled with curiosity and a touch of nervousness.

"Mother, it's so dark here," Nian Xue whispered, afraid of alerting anyone outside.

"Don't be afraid, Father is leading the way ahead," Clear Snow gently patted her back, her nine tails lightly sweeping the ground behind her, brushing aside any parts that might make noise.

The Repair Clan Leader in the middle of the team occasionally bent down to inspect the rails. Condensing pale blue Origin energy at his fingertips, he repaired pressure traps on the tracks: "These are pressure traps set by the Heavenly Dao. Stepping on them will trigger laser sprays. I've already severed their energy lines."

After walking for about ten minutes, a metal door appeared at the end of the passage. The Metal Clan Leader stepped forward, pressing his fingertip against the scanner on the door's side—he had stayed in the Mechanical City before and still retained low-level access rights.

"Click—"

The metal door slowly opened, revealing the scene inside the Mechanical City: On the broad metal streets, laser turrets stood every hundred meters. Patrols of the Machine Race walked past the buildings lining the streets, their detection instruments constantly scanning the surrounding area for Origin fluctuations.

"We need to move along the shadows, avoiding the scanning range of the detectors," the Metal Clan Leader lowered his voice, pointing to the drainage ditches on either side of the street. "From here, we can go directly to the City Lord's Mansion's back door."

Lin Chen nodded, leaping into the drainage ditch first. Clear Snow, holding Nian Xue, followed closely, with the Survivors from various clans following in turn. The ditch was filled with a pungent sewage smell. Nian Xue wrinkled her little nose but didn't complain, only tightly covering her mouth.

They had just gone a short distance when footsteps of a Machine Race patrol sounded from above. The red light of a detector swept over the drainage ditch entrance. Lin Chen immediately condensed Space Law, completely shielding the entire team's auras. The red light swept over but registered no reaction.

After the patrol left, Nian Xue whispered, "Father, that was really scary just now."

"With Father here, don't be afraid." Lin Chen reached out and patted her head. The warmth from his palm made Nian Xue feel much more at ease.

The team continued forward. After passing through three streets, they finally reached the back door of the City Lord's Mansion. Two mechanical guards stood at the back door, their laser swords gleaming coldly. The Heavenly Dao patterns on their armor were denser than those on the previous guards.

"I'll lure them away. You all take the chance to enter," the Metal Clan Leader was about to rise when Lin Chen stopped him.

"No need, I'll handle it." Lin Chen's figure flashed as he teleported behind the guards. Before they could react, Void Power had already pierced their cores. The guards turned to scrap metal without even triggering an alarm.

Everyone quietly entered the City Lord's Mansion. The internal passages were intricate and complex, with monitoring probes covering the walls.

The Repair Clan Leader took out a small disruptor from his pocket. Pressing the switch, the lights on the monitoring probes instantly turned gray—he had temporarily jammed the monitoring signals using Origin energy.

"The entrance to the underground chamber beneath the City Lord's Mansion is behind the bookcase in the study. We need to hurry; the disruptor can only last for fifteen minutes." The Repair Clan Leader led the way toward the study, his steps light yet steady.

On the way, they encountered a squad of Heavenly Dao Machine Race members. They were pushing a cart loaded with origin crystals, clearly meant to be delivered to the core. The squad leader sensed something amiss and was about to raise his laser rifle when Clear Snow had already deployed her diamond-level Ice and Snow Domain.

Lilac-colored cold air instantly froze the joints of the squad members. Lin Chen teleported beside the cart, condensing Void Power at his fingertips, annihilating the entire squad in an instant.

The origin crystals on the cart emitted a diamond-level Origin aura. Lin Chen didn't waste them, activating his Sublimation Talent—at the first touch, the origin crystals became epic-grade; at the second touch, they became Legendary Rank.

"Everyone, absorb these. We'll need to boost our strength to deal with the Heavenly Dao Emissary later." Lin Chen broke the sublimated origin crystals into smaller pieces, handing them to Clear Snow, Nian Xue, and the Survivors from various clans.

After absorbing hers, Clear Snow's Origin concentration rose from 12% to 14%, and the range of her Ice and Snow Domain expanded slightly. Nian Xue took a small piece; the Origin energy automatically integrated into her body, and a faint light flashed across the demon god mark on her forehead.

Her Origin concentration rose from 25% to 27%. After Lin Chen absorbed his share, his Origin concentration rose from 28% to 30%, and his Divine Thought range expanded by another 5 kilometers.

After absorbing the origin crystals, the team entered the study. The Metal Clan Leader pushed aside the bookcase, revealing a pitch-black entrance. The entrance was shrouded in a pale blue Origin energy barrier—this was the middle layer of defense, harder to breach than the previous traps.

"This is the 'Origin Confinement Barrier' laid by the Heavenly Dao. It can absorb the Origin energy of anyone who touches it. Ordinary attacks can't break it at all."

The Repair Clan Leader took out the Origin Stabilizer from before, pressed the switch, and the stabilizer emitted a pale golden light. The blue patterns on the surface of the energy barrier began to distort.

"I'll assist in freezing the energy barrier. Husband, take the chance to break it." Clear Snow walked up to the energy barrier, condensing diamond-level Ice and Snow Law at her fingertips. Lilac-colored cold air spread along the barrier, gradually slowing its flow.

Lin Chen nodded, condensing Void Power and Anti-Heavenly Dao Rule in his palm, then slapped it hard onto the energy barrier.

"Crack—"

A fissure instantly appeared in the energy barrier, and blue energy began to leak out. Lin Chen increased his power. The fissure grew larger and larger until finally, the entire energy barrier shattered with a boom, turning into a sky full of blue light points.

The moment the energy barrier shattered, a cold voice filled with a thick Heavenly Dao aura came from the underground chamber: "A bunch of ants, daring to come and destroy my origin core? Today, you will all die here!"

Lin Chen extended his Divine Thought into the chamber, sensing a powerful aura—it was a mythical-grade Heavenly Dao Emissary. Black Origin energy swirled around him, and he held a black longsword in his hand, clearly having been waiting for some time.

Nian Xue instinctively hugged Clear Snow's neck tighter and whispered, "Mother, that person looks really mean."

Clear Snow gently patted her back, but her eyes grew resolute. "Don't be afraid. Father is here."

Lin Chen stood protectively in front of his wife and daughter. Ancient God Wings slowly unfurled behind him, golden light illuminating the entrance. He looked at the Heavenly Dao Emissary deep within the chamber, his tone icy: "Think you can stop me? You're not qualified enough."

The Survivors from various clans also prepared for battle. The Metal Clan members tightened their grips on their laser swords. The Repair Clan members took out their self-made Origin weapons. The Stone Crystal Clan and Stone Skin Clan members stood on either side of the team, ready to withstand any possible attacks.

A decisive battle centered around the diamond origin core was about to commence in the underground chamber of the Mechanical City.