104: Chapter 104 The Third Layer of the Abyss, the Elixir of Immortality Appears

The journey back to Chaos Valley was exceptionally smooth.

Perhaps it was the confidence brought by the increase in strength, or perhaps the ten days of settling in the Secret Realm had made their state of mind more stable; Lin Ye and his two companions traveled rapidly, encountering almost no decent obstacles.

Occasionally, a few wandering Yao Beasts would be scattered by a swing of Shi Potian's axe or frozen by Su Qingyue's moonlight before they could even get close.

At dusk, the outline of Chaos Valley appeared on the horizon.

Compared to when they left, this player main city had undergone new changes.

Three new watchtowers had been built outside the valley, arranged in a 'pin' shape, with the Heavenly Court flag fluttering at the top of the towers.

The defensive fortifications at the valley entrance had been significantly reinforced, and the stone walls were covered with flickering runes—these were the alert Formation newly set up by Lu Ming.

Further away, in the direction of Black Wind Gorge, five-colored brilliance flowed faintly; the Five Elements Interlocking Formation was running around the clock, like a lighthouse that never extinguished.

"We're back." Lin Ye took a deep breath; the familiar Spiritual Qi in the air mixed with the scent of fireworks—that was the taste of "home."

The guards at the valley entrance saw the three of them and immediately opened the gate, while at the same time, a transmission talisman flew into the valley.

When Lin Ye stepped into Chaos Valley, Zhao Wuji, Qin Ruoxue, Lu Ming, and others had already come to greet them.

"Leader! You're finally back!" Zhao Wuji looked anxious. "The Ten Thousand Races Covenant meeting is going to be held the day after tomorrow, and we are discussing who will attend. Also, the Stone Tribe over at the Ancient Mine..."

"Let's go inside to talk." Lin Ye interrupted him and walked towards the faction main hall first.

In the meeting hall on the first floor of the main hall, everyone took their seats.

Lin Ye first briefly recounted the gains from the trip to the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land—omitting the details of the Secret Realm, only saying that they had found an ancient relic and obtained some Legacies and treasures.

Then he asked, "In the day I was away, what new developments were there outside?"

Qin Ruoxue reported immediately, "First, the progress of the Stone Tribe's ritual has accelerated. According to the monitoring by the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, eighty percent of the stone platforms outside the Ancient Mine have been completed. The Stone Tribe has transported more dark grey Ore from deep within the mine shafts and has also carved more complex runes around the stone platforms. Energy fluctuations indicate that the completion time of the ritual may be Advanced to five days from now."

"Second, the anomalies in the six major Forbidden Lands continue. The mist in the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land fluctuated violently after you entered, but it quickly returned to calm. The flame range of the Undying Mountain has expanded by three miles, the number of Puppets in the God Ruins has tripled, the influence range of the immortal music from the Immortal Mausoleum has covered the surrounding fifty miles, and the tsunami in the Sea of Reincarnation has submerged two more coastal towns."

"Third, the preparatory meeting for the Ten Thousand Races Covenant will be held at Tianxu City tomorrow afternoon. The invitation letter requires each faction to send one to three representatives. The agenda of the meeting includes: sharing intelligence on the Forbidden Lands, formulating joint defense strategies, allocating defensive areas, and establishing emergency communication mechanisms. Yaoguang Holy Land, Eternal Star Domain, and the Six Kingdoms Alliance will preside over this meeting as temporary council members."

She paused. "The most important thing is, according to internal news, this meeting may determine the final list of the 'Top Ten in Contribution'. Currently, our Heavenly Court is ranked seventh in the server-wide contribution ranking, but the factions from eighth to tenth are biting very closely, and the gap is very small."

Lin Ye brought up the contribution leaderboard to check:

1. Heavenly Court: Contribution 135,000

2. Yanshan Alliance: Contribution 128,500

3. Chu Alliance: Contribution 127,800

4. Loose Cultivator Alliance Headquarters: Contribution 125,000

The gap was indeed very small.

The Yanshan Alliance had also been frantically building defenses these past few days, and their contribution was growing rapidly.

Although the main force of the Chu Alliance was at the periphery of the Ancient Mine, the defense construction in Chu's home territory had not fallen behind.

Although the Loose Cultivator Alliance was loose, they had a large number of people, and the accumulation was quite considerable.

"The top ten list will be determined the day after tomorrow..." Lin Ye pondered. "This means that the preparatory meeting tomorrow afternoon is actually a qualification screening meeting. Factions that perform well may gain more say in the formal meeting and even affect the final ranking."

"That's right." Qin Ruoxue nodded. "So this meeting is very important. Leader, who do you plan to take?"

Lin Ye looked at everyone.

Su Qingyue had just obtained the Guanghan Palace Legacy and needed time to digest it, and Chaos Valley needed someone to sit in command.

Shi Potian had a reckless personality and was not suitable for diplomatic occasions.

Lu Ming needed to be responsible for Formation maintenance and defense reinforcement.

Wang Iron Pillar and others had to command the legions...

"Pavilion Master Qin, you come with me." Lin Ye made the decision. "You are sensitive to intelligence and good at analysis. Zhao Wuji will stay behind to coordinate resource allocation. Su Qingyue will hold down the fort in Chaos Valley, and Shi Potian will assist. Everyone else will perform their respective duties."

"Yes!"

"But before that..." Lin Ye changed the subject. "I still have one thing to do."

He took out the bronze finger ring that had been transformed into the abyss key from his bosom.

The key now emitted a warm touch, and gold patterns flowed on its surface, resonating faintly with a certain existence deep within the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land.

"I haven't finished exploring the abyss layer of the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land yet." Lin Ye said. "The Secret Realm was just the first layer; the abyss key hints that there are deeper layers. I want to go one more time before the meeting."

"You're going again?" Zhao Wuji said worriedly. "Leader, the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land is too dangerous, and you just returned..."

"It is precisely because I just came out of the Secret Realm and my strength has greatly increased that I am confident in exploring deeper layers." Lin Ye explained. "Moreover, I have a premonition that there may be something crucial to us in the abyss layer. It might be resources, it might be intelligence, it might be... the key to dealing with the anomalies of the Forbidden Lands."

His intuition rarely made mistakes.

His ten years of gaming experience in his past life, coupled with the foresight of a Rebirth, made his intuition almost a talent.

Su Qingyue looked at Lin Ye's firm eyes and knew she couldn't persuade him.

She said softly, "Then be careful. This time... are you taking Shi Potian with you?"

"No, I'm going alone this time." Lin Ye shook his head. "The abyss key has limited usage, and the deeper layers may be more dangerous; having more people is actually inconvenient. Alone, I can advance or retreat freely."

He looked at Shi Potian: "You stay in Chaos Valley and step up training. If the Stone Tribe's ritual is completed and they launch an attack in five days, you will be the main force of the first line of defense."

Shi Potian nodded heavily: "Understood!"

"When are you leaving?" Qin Ruoxue asked.

"Now." Lin Ye stood up. "Time is tight, I will go and return quickly. If things go smoothly, I can return by noon tomorrow and won't delay the meeting in the afternoon."

Without too many goodbyes, Lin Ye left Chaos Valley again and headed east alone.

This time, his speed was much faster.

With his Dao Palace Peak cultivation at Rank 50, combined with the comprehensive enhancement of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, his movement speed was more than twice as fast as before entering the Secret Realm.

With a light tap of his feet, his body turned into a grey stream of light, skimming across the desolate land.

In less than two hours, the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land appeared before his eyes again.

The white mist was still churning, but the range had clearly shrunk, and the vortex in the central area was clearer.

Lin Ye could feel that a force deep in the vortex was calling out to the abyss key—or rather, calling out to him.

He did not hesitate and stepped directly into the fog.

Familiar with the road, he passed through the outer ruins and arrived at the canyon entrance.

The two warrior stone statues still stood, their red pupils flashing with surveillance light.

But this time Lin Ye did not use a concealment talisman; instead, he unfolded his Chaos Domain directly.

Grey mist permeated, and the red pupils of the stone statues dimmed instantly; their scanning function was suppressed.

Lin Ye passed between them like a ghost, without causing any reaction.

Entering the canyon, he moved quickly.

Those patrolling stone statue guards, under the suppression of the Chaos Domain, were unable to discover Lin Ye's existence like blind men.

At Rank 50 Dao Palace Peak, combined with the 18% development of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, the suppression effect of the Chaos Domain reached 40%, far exceeding before.

Soon, he arrived at the entrance of that underground cave.

The scene inside the cave was no different from when he left: the jade-like skeletons whispered and chanted, the blue crystals emitted soft light, and the bronze altar stood quietly.

It was just that in the groove in the center of the altar, there was an extra tiny silver crystal.

Lin Ye walked over to check.

The crystal was only the size of a fingernail, with light and shadow flowing inside.

When he picked up the crystal, a piece of information was transmitted directly into his mind:

"Child of Time, you have passed the first test."

"The abyss has three layers, each with its own mysteries."

"The first layer is Time, the second layer is Space, and the third layer... is Life."

"Those who hold the key can enter the three layers. But every time you go deeper, the danger doubles."

"Beware, beware."

The information dissipated, and the silver crystal also turned into light spots, merging into the abyss key in Lin Ye's hand.

On the surface of the key, which originally only had simple patterns, a pattern of a three-story tower now emerged.

In the pattern, the first floor was glowing with silver light (Time), the second floor was dim (Space), and the third floor had a faint green light (Life) flickering.

"Three layers... Life?" Lin Ye was thoughtful.

He walked to the space-time rift behind the altar.

The rift was still rotating slowly, with a river of silver light flowing inside.

But this time, the abyss key did not directly open the Secret Realm; instead, it projected a beam of golden light, shining on the center of the rift.

The rift shook violently, and the river of silver light parted to both sides, revealing a staircase leading downwards!

The staircase was built of unknown black stone, and every step was engraved with complex runes.

The staircase wound downwards, bottomless, with only a faint green light showing from the depths.

This was the passage to the second layer of the abyss, and even the third layer.

Lin Ye gripped the abyss key tightly and stepped onto the first step.

Hum—

The runes on the steps lit up, and a force of space wrapped around him.

This feeling was similar to when he entered the Secret Realm, but gentler, without that violent time scouring.

He walked down step by step.

After descending about a hundred steps, the scene around him changed suddenly.

It was no longer a cave, nor a staircase, but a... starry sky?

Lin Ye found himself standing on a floating rock platform, about three zhang square.

Around the platform was pitch-black Void Realm, and countless rock fragments of different sizes floated in the void, with architectural debris remaining on some fragments.

Further away, he could see stars twinkling, but those were not real stars, but the light emitted by some kind of spatial node.

"Space Secret Realm..." Lin Ye understood.

The second layer of the abyss was the Domain of the Space Law.

He tried to step forward.

The platform under his feet seemed to have some kind of mechanism; when he took a step, new rock platforms automatically emerged in the void ahead, connecting into a bridge.

But when he looked back, the path he had come from had disappeared, leaving only a void.

There was no way back, only forward.

Lin Ye began to explore this Space Secret Realm.

Soon he discovered the rules here: the rock platforms in the void were not distributed randomly but arranged according to the Laws of some kind of spatial Formation.

Only by walking the right path could one reach the next area; if one walked the wrong way, one might be teleported to a random location or even fall into spatial turbulence.

Fortunately, he had the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, which was extremely sensitive to energy flow.

Combined with the abyss key's faint sensing of space, he could vaguely "see" the correct path—it was a dashed line connected by spatial nodes, winding and extending in the void.

Moving along the dashed line, Lin Ye encountered the trials of the Space Secret Realm.

The first level was the "Space Maze".

Countless rock platforms formed a complex three-dimensional maze, and every path could lead to a dead end or a teleportation trap.

It took Lin Ye half an hour to find the correct exit.

The second level was "Space Folding".

The space in an area was folded into a complex structure; it looked like only ten zhang away, but it actually took a hundred zhang to pass.

Lin Ye tried to forcibly "smooth out" the folded space with Chaos Divine Power; although he succeeded, the consumption was huge.

The third level was "Space Cutting".

Countless transparent space rifts suddenly appeared in the void, cutting everything like sharp blades.

Lin Ye had to accurately find the safe path between the rifts; the slightest deviation would result in being cut by the power of space.

He activated his Chaos Earth shield and withstood a few slight space cuts; cracks appeared on the surface of the shield, but he finally passed through.

After three levels, Lin Ye had a preliminary understanding of the Space Law.

Space was not just distance and position, but also structure, dimension, and the way of connection.

When he defeated the space guardian of the third level (a phantom condensed from space fragments), he obtained a "Space Insight Fragment", which was similar to the time insight but with different attributes.

[Obtained: Space Insight Fragment x 1]

[Effect: Space Law comprehension +0.01%, movement speed +0.5% (permanent), space-type skill resistance +1%.]

Although the growth was minimal, it was terrifying when accumulated.

More importantly, as his understanding of the Space Law deepened, Lin Ye found that his movement in the void was more free.

He could even briefly "walk on the air"; although the distance was limited, it was far beyond the ability of an ordinary Dao Palace Realm Cultivator.

Finally, after passing the ninth space trial, a green light gate appeared in front of him.

Behind the light gate was the third layer of the abyss—the Life Secret Realm.

Lin Ye took a deep breath and stepped into the light gate.

The moment he passed through the light gate, he smelled a... fresh scent of grass and trees?

The scene before him made him freeze.

This was a vibrant paradise!

The sky was a soft pale green, with gentle light spilling down; it was not dazzling, but it allowed all things to grow.

The ground was covered with thick, soft soil, and various strange flowers and grasses grew in the soil, many of which were rare Spirit Medicine in the outside world.

There were babbling brooks flowing by, the water was crystal clear, the bottom of the water was covered with colorful pebbles, and there were small fish swimming in it.

In the distance, there were rolling mountains, with clouds and mist lingering between the mountains, and waterfalls and springs could be vaguely seen.

Nearby, there were dense forests, the trees were tall, and birds were chirping among the branches and leaves, the sound crisp and pleasant.

This formed a stark contrast with the silence, desolation, and danger of the first two layers.

But Lin Ye did not let his guard down.

The more beautiful a place was, the greater the danger often hidden.

He unfolded his Divine Sense to probe the surroundings.

The suppression of Divine Sense here was much smaller than in the first two layers, and it could extend for a range of one hundred zhang.

The information fed back showed: the concentration of Spiritual Qi here was more than ten times that of the outside world!

And the Spiritual Qi contained rich life energy; just taking a breath made one feel refreshed, and the blood and Qi were active.

"This place... is simply a Holy Land for cultivation." Lin Ye exclaimed.

But he soon discovered an anomaly.

It was too quiet.

Although there were birds chirping and the sound of running water, there were no other animal sounds besides that.

And those birds only moved on a few fixed trees and never flew far.

The fish in the stream also only swam in fixed areas, like Puppets with pre-set programs.

"Illusion? Or... some kind of imprisonment?" Lin Ye was vigilant in his heart.

He walked upstream along the stream.

The deeper he went, the richer the life aura became.

The quality of the Spirit Medicine by the roadside also became higher and higher: from ordinary Rank 1 and Rank 2 Spirit Medicine, Rank 3 and Rank 4 gradually appeared, and he could even occasionally see rare Rank 5 varieties.

Lin Ye did not pick them.

In an unknown environment, rashly moving things here might trigger danger.

After walking about three miles, an orchard appeared in front.

The orchard was not large, only about half a mu, but the scene in the garden made Lin Ye's breath stagnate.

Those were three peach trees.

Not ordinary peach trees, but immortal peach trees with bodies like jade and emerald green branches and leaves!

The tree body was only as tall as a person, but the branches were gnarled, exuding an ancient aura.

Each tree bore a peach, the peach was the size of a fist, with golden patterns flowing on the surface, exuding an enticing fragrance and majestic life energy.

[Discovered: immortal medicines · Flat Peach Tree (Juvenile) x 3]

[Status: Growing (Mature Period)]

[Fruit: Flat Peach (Legendary Rank) × 3]

[Effect (Estimated): Each Flat Peach can permanently increase all attributes by 200 points, raise the maximum life limit by 50%, extend Lifespan by one hundred years, wash away Impurities from the Physical Body, and enhance Cultivation Aptitude. It is most effective when consumed below the Xiantai Realm; the effect is halved above the Xiantai Realm.]

[Note: immortal medicines are rare treasures of heaven and earth, seldom seen in the world. These three are saplings, and the fruit's potency is about 30% of a mature one, but it is still a supreme treasure for those below the Xiantai Realm.]

Immortal medicine!

Flat Peach!

Lin Ye's heart pounded violently.

In his ten years of gaming in his past life, he had only seen an immortal medicine once—it was a "Vermilion Bird Fruit" that appeared as the final reward during a server-wide event. Its effect was only half that of a Flat Peach, yet it triggered a frantic struggle among countless factions and was eventually auctioned off by a super guild at an astronomical price.

And now, there were three in front of him! Although they were fruits borne from an immortal medicine sapling with only 30% of the potency of a mature one, they were still legendary-grade treasures! Each one increased all attributes by 200 points; what kind of concept was that?

A normal player leveling from 1 to 50 might only gain about a thousand points in total attributes. One Flat Peach could increase that by one-fifth! Furthermore, it could raise the maximum life limit, extend Lifespan, wash away Physical Body Impurities, and enhance Aptitude... This was truly a divine object capable of defying heaven and changing one's fate!

If the outside world knew about these three Flat Peaches, it would be enough to trigger a bloody storm throughout the entire Eastern Wasteland, and perhaps even the entire game world!

But Lin Ye quickly calmed down.

How could such a treasure not have a guardian?

His gaze swept across the peach orchard and finally locked onto a small pond in the center.

The pond was not large, about three zhang in diameter, with ink-green water that was bottomless. Coiled at the edge of the pond was a... Flood Dragon?

No, not an ordinary Flood Dragon.

It was a black flood dragon, three zhang long and as thick as a water bucket, but it had three heads! The three heads had different forms: the left head had a single horn with crimson pupils; the middle head had two horns with golden pupils; the right head had no horns but had a vertical eye on its forehead, which was tightly shut.

Its body was covered in black scales the size of a palm, with dark golden patterns along the edges of the scales. It was coiled at the side of the pond with its three heads drooping, seemingly in a deep slumber. But even in its sleep, the aura it exuded was heart-palpitating.

[Warning: Guardian beast detected!]

[Name: Three-Headed Demon Flood Dragon (Leader)]

[Level: 65]

[Type: Yao Beast / Dragon-Blood Creature (Mixed)]

[Attributes: Qi and Blood: 15,000,000 / 15,000,000, Attack Power: 95,000-120,000, Defense: 85,000]

[Characteristics: 1. Three Heads, Three Attributes (Left head Fire-type, middle head Metal-type, right head Poison-type, can unleash attacks of all three attributes simultaneously); 2. Dragon Blood Recovery (Possesses thin dragon blood, Life recovery speed +300%, may trigger Dragon Blood Burst when near death); 3. Demon Flood Dragon Domain (Within a hundred-zhang radius, all targets suffer continuous mental erosion, attributes reduced by 10%); 4. Three-Headed Bite (All three heads attack simultaneously, dealing triple damage); 5. Flood Dragon Tail Sweep (Tail sweeps across, knocking back targets in range and dealing massive damage)]

[Status: Sleeping (Deep sleep, but has instinctive reactions to external threats)]

[Awakening Conditions: 1. Attacked; 2. Life energy is heavily extracted; 3. Flat Peach is picked.]

[Awakening Countdown: 5 minutes (Natural awakening time)]

[Note: This flood dragon has guarded the Flat Peach trees for three hundred years, forming a symbiotic relationship with them. Killing the Demon Flood Dragon will yield the Dragon Blood Essence it guards, but it will disrupt the peach orchard's ecosystem and may cause the Flat Peach trees to wither.]

Level 65 Leader! Fifteen million Qi and Blood!

Lin Ye's expression was grave.

These attributes were even more terrifying than the Earth Dragon Scorpion King of the Ancient Mine! The three attribute heads meant it had almost no obvious elemental weaknesses. Dragon Blood Recovery made it extremely difficult to kill, and the Demon Flood Dragon Domain was a large-area debuff.

A frontal battle would have zero chance of victory.

Even though he was now at the Dao Palace Peak at level 50, even with the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, and even with various Divine Abilities, facing a level 65 leader, his chance of winning was less than 10%.

More troublesome was that the Demon Flood Dragon would naturally awaken in just five minutes. Once it woke up, let alone picking the Flat Peaches, surviving would be a problem.

He had to outsmart it.

Lin Ye's brain raced.

There were three Flat Peach trees, each bearing one fruit. The Demon Flood Dragon was sleeping by the pond in the center of the orchard. From his current position to the nearest peach tree was about thirty zhang. To the farthest peach tree, it was about fifty zhang.

If he was fast enough, theoretically, he could pick the peaches and retreat before the Demon Flood Dragon woke up.

But there were two problems: First, would picking the Flat Peaches startle the Demon Flood Dragon? The System note said "Flat Peach is picked" was one of the awakening conditions. Second, even if he could pick them, how could he retreat safely? Once the Demon Flood Dragon woke up, its speed would definitely be extremely fast, and escaping within its Domain would be difficult.

"I have no choice but to take the risk," Lin Ye gritted his teeth.

He took three things out of his Storage Pouch: an "Advanced Breath Concealment Talisman," a bottle of "Swift Wind Pill," and... the abyss key.

The plan was simple: use the Breath Concealment Talisman to hide his aura to the maximum extent, use the Swift Wind Pill to increase his speed, quickly pick the three Flat Peaches, and then use the abyss key to teleport away directly.

The abyss key had a "Spacetime Anchor" ability, which could mark the current location and then consume Divine Power to teleport back later. Before entering the abyss, he had already set an anchor in the cave within the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land.

But this plan had risks: First, the picking process could not be interrupted, or all his efforts would be for nothing. Second, teleportation required a three-second channeling time, which could not be interrupted. Third, the abyss key's teleportation had a seven-day cooldown; once used, it could not be used again in the short term.

"There is no better way," Lin Ye made up his mind.

He first applied the Advanced Breath Concealment Talisman, and his aura instantly became so faint it almost disappeared. Then he swallowed the Swift Wind Pill; the pill dissolved upon entering his mouth, and a light, agile power surged into his limbs and bones, increasing his movement speed by 50%.

Finally, he gripped the abyss key and began to calculate the route.

The nearest peach tree was thirty zhang to the front left, the middle one was forty zhang straight ahead, and the farthest one was fifty zhang to the front right. The optimal route was: pick the nearest one first, then move diagonally to pick the middle one, finally pick the farthest one, and then teleport immediately.

The whole process had to be completed within four minutes, leaving one minute for teleportation and dealing with contingencies.

"Start!"

Lin Ye moved.

He turned into a gray shadow, silently plunder towards the first peach tree.

Ten zhang, five zhang, three zhang...

When he was only three zhang away from the peach tree, the Demon Flood Dragon's right head (Poison-type head) suddenly moved! The vertical eye on its forehead opened a tiny crack, and the golden pupil scanned the surroundings.

Lin Ye stopped immediately, held his breath, and maximized the effect of the Breath Concealment Talisman.

The vertical eye scanned his location, seemingly finding nothing unusual, and slowly closed again.

A false alarm.

Lin Ye breathed a sigh of relief and continued forward.

He arrived under the first peach tree. The Flat Peach was three feet above his head, exuding an enticing golden luster and a rich fragrance. Lin Ye didn't pick it directly but observed first.

Between the peach tree and the Demon Flood Dragon, there were countless fine energy threads connecting them, which was a manifestation of their symbiotic relationship. If he forcibly picked it, these energy threads would break, and the Demon Flood Dragon would definitely wake up immediately.

"I must cut the connection, but I cannot cause too much of a commotion," Lin Ye thought.

He stretched out his right hand, and a wisp of extremely fine Chaos Qi condensed at his fingertips. Chaos encompassed all things and could silently erode and transform these energy threads.

His fingertips lightly touched the energy threads, and the Chaos Qi permeated into them. The energy inside the threads was assimilated and transformed by Chaos, changing from a connected state to a disconnected one, but the process of breaking was extremely gentle and did not cause any energy fluctuations.

One, two, three...

It took about thirty seconds to cut all the energy threads between the peach tree and the Demon Flood Dragon.

Lin Ye reached out and gently plucked the first Flat Peach.

It felt warm and smooth in his hand, as if it were alive, pulsing slightly. Golden patterns flowed on the surface of the fruit skin, and the immense life energy was almost bursting out. Lin Ye quickly put it into a specially made jade box and sealed it.

[Obtained: Immortal medicine · Flat Peach fruit (Legendary) × 1]

[Effect: All attributes +200, Max Life +50%, Lifespan +100 years, Physical Body washed once, Cultivation Aptitude slightly enhanced.]

[Consumption Limit: Below Xiantai Realm, each person is limited to one, consuming more is ineffective.]

[Status: Fresh (Energy loss rate: 0%)]

The first one was in his hands!

Lin Ye did not stop and immediately rushed towards the second peach tree.

This time he had experience; he used Chaos Qi to cut the energy threads in advance and then picked it. The process went smoothly, taking only twenty-five seconds.

The second Flat Peach was in his hands!

Then the third one, the farthest one.

By this time, two minutes had passed.

Lin Ye sprinted with all his might and arrived under the third peach tree. He followed the same procedure, cut the energy threads, and reached out to pick the peach...

Just as his fingers were about to touch the Flat Peach, a sudden change occurred!

The ink-green water in the pond suddenly boiled! It wasn't that the temperature rose, but countless bubbles surged from the bottom of the pond, as if something was about to come out.

The Demon Flood Dragon's three heads trembled simultaneously!

The left head's crimson pupil opened a slit, the middle head's golden pupil flickered, and the right head's vertical eye opened again, and this time it opened completely, the golden vertical pupil locking onto Lin Ye!

He had been discovered!

"Damn it!" Lin Ye couldn't care about anything else; he grabbed the third Flat Peach and turned to run!

Almost at the same time, the Demon Flood Dragon's three heads lifted completely!

"ROAR---!!!"

Three roars rang out simultaneously! The sound waves of Fire, Metal, and Poison attributes mixed together to form a terrifying shockwave, sweeping across the entire peach orchard!

Lin Ye was hit by the sound wave. Even with the Chaos Earth shield, he felt his Qi and Blood churning, his throat felt sweet, and he almost spat out blood. The effect of the Swift Wind Pill was interfered with by the sound wave, and his speed dropped by 20%.

What was even more terrifying was that the Demon Flood Dragon had awakened!

Three heads, six eyes (plus one vertical eye), all locked onto Lin Ye. Its massive body lifted from the pond, kicking up water everywhere. Its three-zhang-long body fully unfurled, and its black scales shimmered with a metallic luster under the green sky.

"Human... thief... die!"

A vague mental fluctuation transmitted directly into Lin Ye's mind; it was the Demon Flood Dragon's anger.

Its three heads opened their mouths simultaneously: the left head spat out crimson flames, the middle head spat out golden light blades, and the right head sprayed ink-green toxic mist!

The three attacks covered all of Lin Ye's evasion directions!

"Chaos Domain! Chaos Earth! Chaos Wood!"

Lin Ye activated all three of his Divine Abilities simultaneously!

The gray Domain expanded, suppressing the Demon Flood Dragon's attributes; the earthy-yellow shield wrapped around his entire body; green healing was ready at any time.

BOOM! BOOM! HISS!

The flames, light blades, and toxic mist struck the shield simultaneously!

The shield trembled violently, and countless cracks appeared on its surface, but it barely held on.

Lin Ye used the force to fly backward while activating the abyss key.

"Spacetime Anchor, teleport!"

The key lit up with golden light and began to construct a teleportation channel.

But teleportation required a three-second channel!

The Demon Flood Dragon obviously wouldn't give him those three seconds.

Seeing that Lin Ye wanted to run, the Demon Flood Dragon was completely enraged. Its three heads roared at the sky simultaneously, and then... they fused!

Yes, the three heads began to fuse from the neck, eventually turning into one incomparably huge dragon head! That dragon head had three horns, its pupils rotated in three colors, and it was brewing destructive energy in its mouth—that was the product of the Fusion of Fire, Metal, and Poison energies, and its power far exceeded any single attack!

"Triple Dragon Breath!" The Demon Flood Dragon's roar echoed in the peach orchard.

A three-colored beam of light erupted from the dragon's mouth, and wherever it passed, space distorted, vegetation withered, and the earth cracked!

This blow was enough to insta-kill any existence below level 60!

Lin Ye's expression changed drastically. Teleportation still needed two seconds, but the Dragon Breath was already in front of him!

He couldn't dodge it, and he couldn't block it!

In this life-or-death moment, he made a crazy decision.

"Chaos Heaven Opening!"

Not attacking the Demon Flood Dragon, but... attacking the ground!

The myriad things mother qi cauldron embryo bombarded the ground beneath his feet with full force, and Chaos Divine Power was frantically poured into it!

BOOM!

The ground was blasted open, creating a deep pit, and Lin Ye's body fell downwards along with the impact of the explosion—that was an underground hollow he had accidentally discovered when he was using Chaos Qi to cut the energy threads earlier!

The Dragon Breath grazed over his head, leveling everything within a ten-zhang radius above him.

Lin Ye fell into the underground hollow, and at the same time, the teleportation channeling was completed!

Golden light wrapped around him, and the power of space began to pull...

"ROAR---!!!"

The Demon Flood Dragon's roar came from above, but it could not stop the space teleportation.

Three seconds later, Lin Ye's figure disappeared from the peach orchard.

Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land cave.

With a flash of golden light, Lin Ye fell to the ground in a sorry state. He was covered in wounds, his Void Realm armor was severely damaged, his left arm had been grazed by the aftermath of the Dragon Breath, and his skin was charred black. His Qi and Blood were down to one-third, and his Divine Power was almost exhausted.

But his hands were tightly clutching three jade boxes.

Inside the boxes, the three Flat Peach fruits emitted a warm, gentle golden light.

He had succeeded.

Although it was thrilling, and although he was seriously injured, he had obtained three immortal medicine Flat Peaches!

Lin Ye lay on the ground, panting heavily, but a smile appeared on his face.

This trip was worth it.

And in his arms, the abyss key vibrated slightly, transmitting a message:

"Life Secret Realm exploration completion rate: 30%."

"Immortal medicine energy detected, the key is beginning to absorb..."

"Absorption complete. abyss key unlocked new ability: Life Perception (can perceive the concentration and distribution of surrounding life energy)."

"The bond between the key and the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land has deepened; you can return to the third level at any time, but you must bear the risk of being hunted by the Demon Flood Dragon."

Lin Ye put away the key and struggled to sit up.

He looked outside the cave; the sky was already beginning to turn white.

A new day was about to begin.

And in his hand, he held a supreme treasure capable of changing the fate of many people.

"It's time to go back," Lin Ye muttered to himself, "The Ten Thousand Races Covenant meeting, the Flat Peaches... The future of the Heavenly Court, starting from today, will be completely different."

He swallowed a few healing pills, adjusted his breath for a moment, then stood up and walked out of the cave.

Behind him, the mist of the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land swirled slowly, as if recounting ancient secrets.

And in the third level of the abyss, in the peach orchard, the Three-Headed Demon Flood Dragon roared at the sky, its angry voice echoing in the Secret Realm for a long time...

Its treasure had been stolen, its dignity had been trampled upon.

It swore that it would definitely find that thief and tear him into ten thousand pieces.

But before that, it needed to first repair its symbiotic relationship with the Flat Peach trees—the three fruits had been picked, the energy balance had been broken, and the peach orchard was beginning to show signs of withering.

The Demon Flood Dragon's three heads separated again, they looked at each other, and then simultaneously dived into the depths of the pond.

There, there were deeper secrets, and it was also the true reason why it guarded the Flat Peach trees...

However, Lin Ye did not know about these things for the time being.

He had already set foot on the road back to Chaos Valley.

The three Flat Peaches in his arms were like three suns, warm and full of hope.