343: Chapter 343 One palm strike blasts open the Dragon Emperor's Palace! Steward Qin strikes a lucky break!

Directly above the main gates, three large characters flickered with a faint, dark-golden light.

Dragon Emperor Hall.

The strokes were vigorous and forceful, exuding a sharp edge that seemed as if it would pierce through the sky.

Even from dozens of meters away, Qin Xueji could feel the pressure emanating from those three words, making her chest feel somewhat tight.

Su Yang looked up at the plaque.

“The name is quite grand. Pity the master has already rotted away to ash.”

Su Yang's tone was indifferent as he stepped onto the stairs.

Bai Li, Chu Ling, and Mary followed behind him.

Qin Xueji pressed close to Su Yang's back, her hands clutching his clothes. Her beautiful legs, clad in black silk, moved across the cold metal steps, making crisp clinking sounds.

Reaching the entrance, Su Yang did not look for any mechanisms. He slowly raised his right hand, placing his palm against the cold surface of the dark-gold gate.

“Pushing this kind of door open is too much effort.”

As soon as Su Yang finished speaking, the Soul Transformation Stage Pure Yang True Qi within his body erupted.

Gold and purple flames flowed from his palm, instantly covering the entire gate.

Boom!

A muffled explosion rang out. The metal gate, weighing hundreds of thousands of catties, was directly blown open by this tyrannical force.

The sound of the hinges snapping was ear-grating. The gate fell backward, crashing onto the floor of the hall with a deafening roar.

Dust flew everywhere, illuminated by the golden light.

Su Yang stepped into the main hall.

The interior of the hall was very spacious, the air dry and carrying a metallic scent.

Dozens of thick pillars were lined up neatly, each one entwined with a carved divine dragon.

Strangely, the eyes of these divine dragons were all inlaid with rubies, flashing with an eerie red light in the dim environment of the hall.

“Boss, those dragons seem to be looking at me.” Mary shrunk her neck, the bat wings on her back involuntarily tightening.

“It’s not just 'seeming,' they really are looking at you.”

Bai Li gently waved her silk fan, her purple eyes scanning the stone pillars, her tone calm.

“There are faint spiritual energy fluctuations within these divine dragons. It's a higher-level protective Formation.”

Su Yang stopped walking, his gaze landing ahead.

At the end of the hall sat a throne atop a nine-stepped platform.

In front of the throne stood four armored guards, each three meters tall.

These guards were made entirely of dark gold, holding long-handled giant axes over two meters long.

There were no gaps on the surface of the armor; even the faces were completely enclosed, with only the eye slits emitting bursts of Killing Intent.

Sensing Su Yang's approach, the four dark-gold guards moved simultaneously.

Clack-clack, clack-clack.

The sound of mechanical collisions echoed in the silent hall.

The guards raised their giant axes and kicked off the ground with force, leaving several deep pits in the metal floor.

They were very fast, turning into four dark-gold afterimages that blocked Su Yang's path of retreat from four directions.

“Boss, let me practice a bit!”

Qin Xueji suddenly spoke up. She had just reached Core Formation and was in a stage where her power was surging; her palms were filled with a desire for battle.

Su Yang glanced at Qin Xueji and nodded: “Go ahead. Just leave one; you can dismantle the rest as you please.”

Having received permission, Qin Xueji's figure flashed as she charged directly at the guard on the far left.

Although she hadn't practiced any Advanced Martial Skills, her Golden Core Stage physical constitution combined with the pure energy Su Yang had infused into her made every movement carry a fierce wind.

“Take this!”

Qin Xueji gave a soft cry, her fair right fist clenched tight as Golden Core spiritual energy gathered on it, slamming hard into the guard's breastplate.

Bang!

A dull impact sound rang out.

The dark-gold guard's body swayed, and a fist print was dented into the breastplate, yet it did not fall.

It swung the long-handled giant axe in its hand in a horizontal sweep, aiming straight for Qin Xueji's waist.

Qin Xueji was startled and flipped her body backward, narrowly avoiding the sharp axe blade.

“Aya, this iron block is so hard!”

Qin Xueji rubbed her reddened fist, a flash of annoyance appearing in her eyes.

Mary, watching the fun from the side, shouted loudly: “Steward Qin, your strength isn't even as much as the force I use to suck blood! Try kicking it in the crotch!”

Su Yang stood to the side, watching Qin Xueji's clumsy but diligent battle without interfering.

Seeing their companion being attacked, the other three guards turned and rushed toward Su Yang at the same time.

The giant axes in their hands crossed in mid-air, bringing forth a dark-red airflow—evidently some kind of combined-attack Formation.

“Boss, these things seem to know how to cooperate.”

Chu Ling gave a cold snort, her ice-blue gown swaying slightly as frost began to condense beneath her feet.

Su Yang kept his hands behind his back, his tone casual: “Don't worry about it. Xueji, concentrate your spiritual energy in your toes and kick the connection at their necks.”

Hearing the instruction, Qin Xueji immediately adjusted her breathing.

She pivoted on her toes, her entire person turning into a black whirlwind.

She precisely dodged the guard's second swing and, using the momentum of her rotation, her long black-silk-clad legs traced an arc in the air, kicking heavily into the gap between the guard's helmet and shoulder plate.

Crack.

The sound of shattering could be heard.

The guard's dark-gold head tilted directly to one side, and the Formation core inside its body was kicked into a state of disorder.

It wobbled twice before its massive body crashed to the ground.

“Nicely done,” Su Yang praised.

By now, the other three guards had reached Su Yang.

Three giant axes, carrying world-destroying power, hacked down fiercely toward Su Yang's head.

Su Yang didn't even raise his head.

He held his right hand with fingers together like a blade and made a casual swipe through the void.

A golden Sword Qi instantly burst forth.

Sshhh!

There was no resistance.

The three dark-gold giant axes, capable of cleaving mountains, were snapped in half the moment they touched the Sword Qi. The severed axe heads crashed to the floor, smashing large pits into the metal.

Su Yang's figure remained unmoved as an invisible Pure Yang field radiated outward.

“Kneel.”

The word left his mouth as if it were a divine decree.

A series of popping sounds erupted from the knees of the three guards.

Their massive bodies were as if pressed down by a great mountain, forced to kneel before Su Yang, their metal joints twisting and deforming under the pressure.

Su Yang walked up to one of the guards, reached his hand directly into the gap of its helmet, and pulled outward.

A fist-sized core emitting a purple light was yanked out.

The guard instantly went limp, turning into a pile of scrap metal.

“Boss, these cores seem to have even purer energy than the Spirit Stones from before.” Chu Ling walked over, looking at the purple orb in Su Yang's hand.

“Indeed. This is called a ‘Dark Gold Thunder Soul.’ It was likely refined by the master of the Dragon Emperor Hall using Lightning Origin.”

Su Yang casually tossed the purple core in his hand to Qin Xueji.

“Take this and absorb it; it will stabilize your Golden Core.”

Qin Xueji caught it, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the favor. The purple orb was warm to the touch, carrying a tingling electrical sensation.

She quickly clutched it to her chest and nodded: “Thank you, Boss!”

Just then, from behind the throne at the deepest part of the hall, a faint coughing sound suddenly drifted over.

The voice was very weak, yet it sounded exceptionally clear in the vast hall.

“Who's there?” Mary shrieked, the blood claws at her fingertips instantly emerging.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound.

Behind that massive dragon chair, a small head actually peeked out.

It was a little girl who looked to be only seven or eight years old.

She had her hair in two pigtails and wore an extremely oversized, tattered dragon robe, looking both comical and eerie.

The little girl rubbed her sleepy eyes, looking at the scrap metal all over the floor and Su Yang's group of intruders.

She sniffled and spoke with a hint of grievance: “You... you broke all my Big Fellows. Who's going to cook for me tonight?”

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

In this ancient underground palace filled with the aura of death and destruction, there was actually an ordinary little girl living here?

Bai Li's brow furrowed deeply. She could feel that there were no spiritual energy fluctuations on this little girl at all, just like a Mortal.

But how could a Mortal possibly live here for tens of thousands of years?

Su Yang stared at the little girl, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“Your Big Fellows were too stupid and couldn't take a hit.”

Su Yang walked to the front of the throne and looked down at the little thing, “Are you a descendant of the Dragon Emperor? Or the artifact spirit of this place?”

The little girl crawled out from behind the dragon chair, her bare feet stepping on the cold floor.

Though she was dressed in rags, her skin was as white as milk, and her large eyes were bright, showing no fear whatsoever.

“My name is Long'er. I'm not an artifact spirit, and I'm not a descendant.”

The little girl pointed at the remaining two purple cores in Su Yang's hand and licked her lips longingly.

“Is that thing tasty? I'm so hungry.”

Seeing her gluttonous look, Su Yang casually tossed one of the Dark Gold Thunder Souls over.

The little girl cheered and jumped to catch it, then opened her mouth and—crunch!—she chewed up the incredibly hard core like a crisp cracker and swallowed it down.

As the core entered her stomach, an extremely brief but terrifying Dragon Might suddenly erupted from the little girl's body.

Though it lasted only an instant, the women present still felt a surge of alarm.

“This child... eats Origin energy raw?”

Bai Li's purple eyes were filled with shock.

Su Yang, however, didn't find it strange.

He could see that the girl's body structure was very special; it seemed to be a Physical Body refined from some extremely precious Materials.

“Are you full?” Su Yang asked.

The little girl patted her flat little belly and lowered her head sheepishly: “Not full yet. I've eaten everything edible in the house. Are you people from the outside? Is there good food outside?”

Su Yang smiled.

He reached out and pinched Chu Ling, who was leaning against him, then pointed toward the back of the hall.

“There's plenty of good food outside. But if you want to leave, it depends on your performance. Where is the true entrance to this Dragon Emperor Hall?”

Hearing about food, the little girl's eyes instantly turned into stars.

She struggled to pull up the oversized dragon robe she was wearing and pointed at the floor tiles beneath the dragon chair.

“It's underneath. But there's a very fierce bearded man locked down there, and he's always trying to come out and catch me. Since you can beat the Big Fellows, you can definitely beat him.”

As she spoke, the little girl skipped over to the side of the dragon chair and pulled hard on a whisker in a dragon head's mouth.

Clack, clack, clack.

Heavy metal friction sounds rang out.

The entire dragon chair slowly slid to one side, revealing a staircase spiraling downward.

A scorching aura rushed up from below, mixed with a scalp-numbing sound of metal striking metal.

Clang—! Clang—!

This sound was a hundred times heavier than the iron-striking sound heard previously underground.

With every ring, the floor of the hall would tremble.

Su Yang raised an eyebrow.

“Interesting. It seems there's a big fellow hidden down there.”

“Follow me closely. If we encounter danger, Chu Ling, protect Xueji first. Let's go.”

Su Yang took the lead, walking down the steps into the underground.

The little girl, Long'er, also wanted to follow, but Su Yang grabbed her by the back collar of her dragon robe and tossed her directly into Mary's arms.

“Hold onto her; she's a living map.”

Mary, holding the soft and squishy little girl, was initially a bit displeased, but seeing Long'er's big eyes, her maternal instincts flared up, and she couldn't help but kiss the little girl on the cheek.

“Aya, this little thing's blood smells so sweet!” Mary exclaimed.

They reached the bottom of the stairs.

The sight before them made everyone's expression change.

It was a massive cavern filled with lava.

Lava churned beneath their feet, illuminating the entire space in a fiery red.

At the very center of the lava pool stood a dark-red iron pillar a hundred meters tall.

A ten-meter-tall giant, covered in red hair, was locked to the pillar by four thick iron chains.

The giant held an iron hammer almost as large as his own body.

Every time he breathed, raging flames would ignite on the hammer.

He was mechanically swinging the hammer, striking an altar that emitted a dark-red light.

At the very top of the altar lay a palm-sized fragment covered in black patterns.

It was the final ascension jade plate fragment!

The red-haired giant sensed the intrusion of outsiders and stopped his hammer.

He slowly raised his head, his long red hair moving without any wind.

Within those eyes, there were no pupils, only two masses of crazily swirling lava.

“The things left by the Dragon Emperor—whoever touches them, dies.”

The giant's voice was like thunder, making everyone's eardrums go numb.

He suddenly tore free from one iron chain, and the giant hammer, trailing burning flames, crossed the distance of dozens of meters to smash toward Su Yang at the entrance of the stairs.