40: Chapter 40 The Battle of Kunlun Void: Intercepting the Gift of Heaven

Xia Lengbai did not ask further; she merely gripped Shen Xiao's hand tightly, her fingertips icy, yet carrying an unquestionable strength.

Her sickly eyes narrowed slightly under the sunlight, scanning the scene outside the main hall as if searching for any existence that might hinder Shen Xiao.

Shen Xiao ignored her small actions. At this moment, within his Sea of Consciousness, the System's alarm sounded continuously like urgent war drums.

[Ding! Emergency alert ongoing! The "Ultimate Gift of the Heavenly Dao" on the Child of Destiny, Lin Yun, is at a critical moment of condensing!]

[Warning! The Luck tide at the entrance of the Kunlun Ruins is abnormally violent. The level of this Opportunity far exceeds expectations and may affect the lifeblood of the entire Nine Heavens Continent!]

[Host, please head to the Kunlun Ruins immediately to stop the Child of Destiny from obtaining this gift!]

"Kunlun Ruins, Ultimate Gift..." Shen Xiao frowned, silently issuing instructions to the System in his mind, "System, retrieve Lin Yun's current status and the specific details of this 'Ultimate Gift.' Simultaneously, accelerate the deduction of all variables that may appear within the Kunlun Ruins, including the Opportunity points Lin Yun might obtain, the positions of guardians, and the best path for interception!"

[Instruction received. Analyzing...]

[Ding! Analysis complete.]

[Child of Destiny Lin Yun: Current Realm, Foundation Establishment Stage Late Stage Peak. Heavenly Dao Gift within the body: 'Source of Ten Thousand Laws', expected to fully fuse within three breaths. After successful Fusion, he will break through to the Golden Core Stage and possess initial control over the power of Law.]

[Detailed explanation of 'Source of Ten Thousand Laws': The condensation of the Heavenly Dao's Origin power, capable of absorbing the Spiritual Qi of all things for one's own use and accelerating the speed of comprehending the Laws of Heaven and Earth. This is the trump card Opportunity for Lin Yun in this Kunlun Ruins grand competition; once completed, his strength will be greatly enhanced, even capable of rivaling a Nascent Soul Stage expert.]

[Deducing variables within the Kunlun Ruins... Please wait.]

Shen Xiao's heart sank.

The power of Law?

This Heavenly Dao is truly determined to let Lin Yun take off!

It seems that since his "Luck seed" from the Special Envoy was intercepted last time, the Heavenly Dao has become furious and directly opened an epic cheat for Lin Yun.

While he was pondering, a powerful fluctuation of Spiritual Qi emanated from the direction of the main hall. It was the Sect Master's voice, carrying a hint of unquestionable majesty, rapidly spreading through the sound transmission talisman.

"All Elders, listen to my command! Proceed immediately to the perimeter of the Kunlun Ruins to set up defenses! Today's Kunlun Ruins grand competition concerns the honor of the Sect. You must maintain order and strictly prevent any accidents! Anyone causing trouble will be killed without mercy!"

The corners of Shen Xiao's mouth curled up imperceptibly.

This old fox of a Sect Master, while talking about "maintaining order," is actually likely sending people to "observe from close range" his performance in the grand competition, right?

After all, a Foundation Establishment Disciple who could beat a Golden Core Stage Late Stage Special Envoy into an idiot, a madman whom a Personal Disciple would sacrifice herself to protect, was enough to make the Sect Master wary and force him to re-evaluate his value.

However, none of that mattered anymore.

[Ding! Deduction of variables within the Kunlun Ruins complete. The best comprehensive interception path has been planned. Host, please follow the guidance.]

"Let's go!" Shen Xiao did not delay any longer. Holding Xia Lengbai's hand, his figure flickered. Following the optimal path planned by the System, he avoided the Elders and patrolling Disciples rushing toward the Kunlun Ruins, and within a few breaths, they arrived at the teleportation array deep within the Sect.

The teleportation array's light flowed, and the stone pillars engraved with ancient runes emitted a faint spiritual glow.

When the guarding Disciples saw Shen Xiao and Xia Lengbai, a trace of hesitation appeared on their faces.

"Senior Brother Shen... The Sect Master... gave orders..." The guarding Disciple stammered. Before he could finish, Shen Xiao had already taken out a Jade Slip and tossed it over.

"The Sect Master's verbal order, specially permitting us to teleport urgently. If you dare to obstruct and delay the Sect's major affairs, go and accept your punishment yourself." Shen Xiao's tone was cold, carrying an unquestionable force.

On that Jade Slip was clearly the teleportation authority instruction personally inscribed by the Sect Master, as well as the Divine Soul contract acknowledgment between Shen Xiao and Xia Lengbai, revealing between the lines the Sect Master's compromise toward Shen Xiao.

Upon seeing this, the guarding Disciple trembled in fear. Daring not to say another word, he hurriedly bowed and activated the teleportation array.

White light suddenly rose, swallowing their figures.

The next instant, a violent sense of spatial distortion struck. The scene before them switched instantly from the main Peak of the Qingming Sect's inner Sect to the depths of a desolate and ancient mountain range.

The air was filled with an extremely dense Spiritual Qi, yet it was also mixed with a hint of indescribable decay.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion erupted in the distance.

It was as if something had been torn apart in the world.

As soon as Shen Xiao and Xia Lengbai stepped out of the teleportation array, they felt the terrifying pressure surging like a tide.

It was pure power, carrying an arrogant superiority, as if it wanted to trample everything in the world underfoot.

Looking over, they saw hundreds of feet away, a forest of ancient stone monuments stood, and Lin Yun was standing in the center of the monument forest.

He looked up and roared, his voice filled with arrogance and confidence.

Above his head, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi gathered rapidly like a funnel, forming a huge vortex of Spiritual Qi that surged madly into his body.

His body was undergoing some kind of strange mutation; his muscles bulged, his skin glowed with an abnormal golden light, and even his eyes had turned a pure gold, with stars seemingly being born and dying in the depths of his pupils.

With him as the center, the vegetation within a hundred feet withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning into dust as their vitality was instantly drained away.

Lin Yun seemed to be trying to mobilize this power, but he clearly had not yet fully mastered it.

He waved his hand violently, and a golden ripple spread out. "Crack! Crack!" With a few crisp sounds, those bronze stone monuments at the entrance of the Kunlun Ruins, which recorded ancient secrets, shattered instantly under the impact of the golden ripple, with stone fragments flying everywhere!

"Who dares to act presumptuously in the Kunlun Ruins?!" An old and majestic roar came from the depths of the monument forest, carrying the aura of an unquestionable Dao Integration Stage expert. Clearly, the guardian of the Kunlun Ruins had been alarmed.

Shen Xiao's pupils shrank slightly. This dog Lin Yun, he's cheating way too hard!

He could feel that the pressure emanating from Lin Yun had already surpassed the Foundation Establishment Stage and even faintly had the shadow of the Golden Core Stage, and that aura of the power of Law, even from hundreds of feet away, made his mind tremble.

[Ding! Detected that the host is facing high-intensity interference from the Heavenly Dao's will; the core functions of the Destiny Plunder System are temporarily suppressed. Host, please deal with this as soon as possible, otherwise, you will be unable to complete this... core task!] The System's voice became unusually urgent, the data stream chaotic, as if it would collapse at any moment.