343: Lu Chen? Never heard of him.

Boom!!!

The ground exploded, the cloud steps shattered, and Yao Ye tumbled awkwardly, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.

But before he could catch his breath, the Candle Dragon's tail swept across, tearing space like cloth, forming a Void Realm Turbulence that devoured all things!

He fled desperately, burning his vital blood essence and activating the power of his Star Meridians, shuttling and leaping through the shattered spacetime.

Yet, no matter where he fled, the Candle Dragon could always predict his trajectory, as if it had already seen through his destiny!

"Why?!" Yao Ye roared, "I just underwent Ascension! Why do you want to kill me?!"

No answer.

Only roars.

He knew he couldn't escape.

Either die, or fight!

He bit the tip of his tongue, drawing forth stars with his blood, and the Star Core between his brows erupted with dazzling light!

"Starfall Art—Third Stage, Life-Burning Tribulation Breaking!"

In an instant, his entire body transformed into a falling star, carrying an immense momentum, directly charging towards the Candle Dragon's heart!

One man and one beast collided in the Void Realm!

Heaven and earth lost their color, Laws disintegrated, and the Nine Heavens trembled precariously!

The battle lasted for three days and three nights.

Yao Ye suffered severed limbs, shattered bones, and cracks throughout his Divine Soul, relying entirely on the secret arts of the Star Clan to forcibly extend his life.

The Candle Dragon was also severely wounded by his "Star Core Burst," one eye exploded, and its Dragon body was riddled with holes.

Finally—

In the hundredth almost mutually destructive charge, Yao Ye injected his last trace of Star Power into his sword heart, piercing the Candle Dragon's brow!

Boom!!!

The giant beast wailed, its body disintegrated, transforming into a sky full of blood rain that scattered across the Immortal Realm.

Yao Ye collapsed in the ruins, with only his last breath remaining, not even having the strength to lift his hand.

He looked at the gray sky, blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth, yet he smiled.

"I won... I... won..."

"Is this the Immortal Realm... even a 'wild beast' is so strong... no wonder no one in the Lower Realm can truly succeed in Ascension..."

He gasped with difficulty, a hint of reverence and pride rising in his heart.

Perhaps, this was the true Cultivation path—life-and-death struggle, defying destiny to ascend to the heavens!

But at this moment—

The sky vibrated again.

Not two light spheres.

Not ten.

Not a hundred.

But... tens of thousands!!

Dense, like a swarm of locusts obscuring the sun, like a galaxy overturning, slowly approaching from beyond the Nine Heavens!

Each pair of light spheres indicated the existence of a Yao Beast—

Yao Ye struggled to get up, but found his legs were already numb, and his Divine Soul was on the verge of collapse.

"No... impossible..."

"How can there be so many monsters in the Immortal Realm!!"

In an instant, countless thoughts connected in his mind:

Why have Ascenders from previous generations never returned?

Why does the Immortal Realm never communicate with the Lower Realm?

Why was the path to Ascension so "smooth"?

The truth, like thunder, struck his mind!

"Ascension is a trap! The Upper Realm feeds on my people!!"

Yao Ye roared hoarsely, his voice mournful: "The Upper Realm... is not a pure land at all! It's a graveyard! It's a farm!"

"All Ascenders have been... devoured by these monsters!!"

Yao Ye knew he was powerless to resist, so he simply stood up and spread his arms: "Haha, come on, come on!! I'm not afraid of you!"

...The First Heaven, Lingxiao Heaven.

Outside the Lingxiao Hall, bells chimed nine times, drums beat thirty-six times, immortal music played in unison, and auspicious Qi surged back.

In the square in front of the palace, one hundred and eight earthly fiends and heavenly spirits stood in formation, their black armor like ink, their Killing Intent solidified like frost.

The twenty-eight mansions battle generals arrived, stepping on stars, their bodies surrounded by stellar trajectories.

The Eight Gates True Immortals sat on the Bagua platform, holding Dharma seals, sealing the Void Realm.

The Twelve Star Lords stood upon the star tracks, their gazes like torches, scanning all directions.

The Five Great Emperors were stationed in the east, south, west, north, and center, each displaying their imperial might.

And seated high upon the Nine-layered Jade Steps was the supreme Dominator of the Immortal Realm—Haotian Immortal Emperor.

Today, he did not wear his golden robe, but instead donned the Profound Armor Heavenly Robe, symbolizing "wartime command," his divine eye between his brows half-open, radiating cold light.

The entire place was silent, even the wind dared not stir.

"A thousand years..." an old Immortal murmured in a low voice, "Since the ancient war of gods and demons, the Lingxiao Hall has never gathered so much combat power... What on earth has happened?"

"I heard something happened in the Spirit Realm." Another whispered, "But the Spirit Realm is just one of the Lower Three Realms, what major event could possibly occur?"

A Heavenly Fiend general said coldly: "I heard that in a shattered Small World beneath the Spirit Realm, a Prodigy emerged and killed six Starfall Envoys."

What? Starfall Envoys!!

One must know that the weakest of the Ten Great Starfall Envoys were at least in the Tribulation Crossing Realm, especially the leader of the Starfall Envoys, Lei Jicang, who was close to being a Half-Immortal, yet he was killed by an ant from a Small World.

One must know that the Cultivation in a Small World is locked, with the highest one can Cultivate to being the Golden Core Stage.

The Immortals exchanged glances, and everyone thought of a possibility; it must be that a certain powerful Immortal from the Immortal Realm secretly descended to the Lower Realm. Besides this, no other possibility came to mind.

No wonder the Immortal Emperor was making such a big fuss, gathering all the combat power; it seemed he intended to apprehend a traitor.

Haotian Immortal Emperor slowly raised his eyes, his voice not loud, yet it penetrated the hall and resonated deep within everyone's mind:

"Heavenly Secret Order Master, Xuan Tong, tell us, what exactly happened in the Spirit Realm?"

As his voice fell, a figure silently appeared on the cloud platform in the northwest corner of the Lingxiao Hall.

He was clad in a robe woven with Netherworld patterns, embroidered with billions of miniature eyes that opened and closed with his breathing, reflecting the myriad phenomena of the heavens.

His face was hidden behind a bronze mask, revealing only a pair of pupils—one gold and one silver, as if dividing day and night, connecting the real and the illusory.

He stood motionless, yet the Qi in the entire hall became stagnant, even the starlight bypassed him.

This person was precisely the supreme Dominator of the Second Heaven, the Heavenly Secret Realm—

Heavenly Secret Order Master, Xuan Tong, who wielded the "Net of Myriad Eyes," monitoring the Nine Heavens, three thousand Lower Realms, and the endless Void Realm.

His ears were the whispers of countless departed souls; his eyes were the manifestation of the Heavenly Dao's surveillance.

All secrets of the Immortal Realm could not escape his Sea of Consciousness.

Xuan Tong bowed slightly, his voice from beneath the mask like metal grinding, carrying an inhuman coldness:

"Reporting to the Emperor, and to all Immortal Venerables, this chaos in the Spirit Realm originated from a shattered Small World beneath the Spirit Realm named Tianqi Continent, caused by a Mortal named Lu Chen!"

A stir went through the Lingxiao Hall.

"Lu Chen? Never heard of him."

"Could he be the Reincarnation of a powerful Immortal?"

Xuan Tong raised his hand, and a phantom image of a destiny plate appeared in his palm—

Golden light flowed, runes densely packed, but upon touching the words "Lu Chen," it suddenly disintegrated!

"The problem lies here. I used the 'Net of Myriad Eyes' to trace his fate—no destiny plate."

"I deduced his previous life—no Reincarnation."

"I investigated his root bones, Luck, and Karma—no traces at all."

"This person... seems to have appeared out of thin air, not within the Heavenly Dao's destined trajectory!"

The entire hall fell silent.

"Impossible!" Fire Virtue Star Lord roared, "All things in heaven and earth have Karma! How can there be a person without destiny?!"

Xuan Tong's voice was stern: "There's something even more impossible; he, with Golden Core strength, killed three Soul Transformation death row prisoners from the Spirit Realm!"

The Immortals were unimpressed: "Just Soul Transformation, what's so rare about that?"

"Not only that." Xuan Tong continued, "He then killed six Starfall Envoys in the Tribulation Crossing Realm with a single spear—erasing them completely, body and soul!"

The hall became completely silent.

Starfall Envoys were the ceiling of combat power in the Spirit Realm!

"Even more terrifying is..." Xuan Tong paused, his voice extremely low, "The Five Great Heavenly Venerables personally arrived, joining forces to suppress him."

"But that Lu Chen actually withstood the combined attack of the Five Great Heavenly Venerables with his Physical Body!"

"With a backhand strike, he pierced through the Dharma Idols of the Five Great Heavenly Venerables, severely wounding Fairy Zi Ming's Primordial Spirit, and even the leader of the Heavenly Venerables—Taichu Heavenly Venerate—was injured!"

"Boom—!"

The entire hall erupted in an uproar!

"Impossible!!" The Yellow Emperor suddenly stood up, his voice trembling, "The Five Great Heavenly Venerables? They are Half-Immortal bodies, and Taichu is rumored to have touched the Golden Immortal Realm! How could they be injured?!"

"Could it be... that a powerful Immortal from the Immortal Realm secretly descended to the Lower Realm?" One of the Twelve Star Lords wondered with uncertainty, "Dissatisfied with the Immortal Court's rule, deliberately creating chaos?"

Xuan Tong slowly shook his head, his voice from beneath the mask like cracking ice:

"No, I have already used the 'Netherworld Soul Tracing Mirror' to trace Lu Chen's previous life—the mirror shattered."

"I used the 'Nine Heavenly Secrets Calculations' to deduce his origin—the calculations were exhausted without result."

"This person... is not a Reincarnation from the Immortal Realm, not an old soul from Reincarnation, not the Rebirth of any known existence."

"He... has no past."

At these words, the entire hall felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar.