292: Chapter 292 Terrifying Restrictions, Plotting for Immortal Treasures

Everyone stood quietly at the foot of the Ancient Heavenly Palace, which had been silent for thousands of years.

The surroundings were deathly still and desolate, without a single trace of a living aura. However, the continuous and magnificent white jade palace complex still exuded a Supreme majesty that suppressed the ages.

In the distance, at the end of the Heavenly Path paved with seven-colored glaze, a massive plaque, seemingly cast from Chaos Divine Gold, hung high above.

The four large characters "Ancient Heavenly Palace" were like four primordial deities looking down upon all living beings, radiating a terrifying Dao pressure. A single glance was enough to make one's Divine Soul tremble, birthing an extreme awe that made one want to prostrate in worship.

Gu Hongchen stared fixedly at the plaque, her exquisite face filled with solemnity.

"What terrifying pressure." Gu Hongchen took a deep breath, her full chest heaving violently, her voice carrying a trace of undisguisable alarm. "Even with my True Immortal Realm cultivation, standing beneath this plaque, I feel as small as an ant. The foundation of this Ancient Heavenly Court is simply unfathomable. Entering the interior of this Heavenly Palace will be no easy feat."

She turned her head and looked at the Ancient Heavenly Staircase before her, which reached into the clouds and emitted seven-colored divine light, her brows furrowing tightly.

Since it was a testing staircase at the level of an Immortal King Treasure, the trials it contained would surely be beyond imagination. With even the slightest carelessness, one's Divine Soul might be directly shattered by the staircase's pressure.

However, in stark contrast to Gu Hongchen's worries...

Ji Luanxi was like a money-grubber who had entered a massive treasury. She didn't take Gu Hongchen's concerns seriously at all. Her watery eyes sparkled with the light of extreme greed as she circled around the base of the Ancient Heavenly Staircase.

"Wow! These stairs are all made of seven-colored glaze! They even glow!"

Ji Luanxi reached out her fair little hand and greedily stroked the complex ancient Dao patterns on the edge of the staircase. She even scratched at it with her fingernails, seemingly wanting to pry off a piece of glaze to take with her.

"Sister Xiyue said this is an Immortal King Treasure, so it must be worth a lot of money! If we could move it back to our Su Family, we'd be walking in colorful light from now on. How grand would that be!" Ji Luanxi fantasized with a dazed expression, her drool nearly flowing out.

Hearing the girl's heartless and greedy remarks, Gu Hongchen rolled her eyes in exasperation, not bothering to pay her any mind.

Meanwhile, Su Xuanchen, who had been standing at the very front with his arms crossed, didn't tease Ji Luanxi as he usually did.

On his lazy and casual face, a rare expression of extreme seriousness appeared.

Su Xuanchen narrowed his eyes, and two deep beams of Immortal-Demon Aurora shot out from the depths of his pupils. The Nine Tribulations Secret Codex within him surged, and his vast Divine Sense spread out like an invisible net, frantically sweeping up the Ancient Heavenly Staircase.

"A bit interesting."

A cold smile curled on Su Xuanchen's lips as he keenly perceived the secret hidden within the staircase.

"This thing isn't just for testing talent. Its true purpose is far more vicious than just being a set of stairs."

Just as everyone was lost in thought and preparing to discuss how to climb the Ancient Heavenly Staircase...

The Ice Spirit Snow Ape King, which had been following honestly behind, suddenly trembled violently!

Its lantern-like crimson eyes stared fixedly at a solitary floating island suspended in the sea of clouds far beyond the Heavenly Palace.

In the next second, this Half-step True Immortal Rank Extreme Cold Overlord seemed to have received some intense stimulation and completely lost its reason!

"Roar!"

The Ice Spirit Snow Ape King let out an extremely excited, even somewhat crazed, roar.

"When little monkey left the Heavenly Court back then, I didn't take these damn stairs at all! There's a path over there! You can go straight through there!"

Its coarse, raspy voice was filled with urgent anxiety. Its mountain-like body suddenly leaped, and the Half-step True Immortal Rank Law of extreme cold within it erupted!

Boom!

Like a heavy shell fired from a cannon, the Snow Ape King ignored the Ancient Heavenly Staircase and arrogantly took to the air, frantically charging toward the distant floating island!

This sudden turn of events gave Gu Hongchen and Ji Luanxi a huge fright.

"Big guy! What are you doing! Come back!" Gu Hongchen turned pale with fright and immediately shouted.

But the Snow Ape King's eyes were completely bloodshot now, and it couldn't hear any warnings, its speed reaching the extreme.

At the critical moment when the Snow Ape King's massive body had just flown less than ten zhang into the air!

"Get the hell down here!"

An extremely cold shout, filled with absolute dominance and unquestionable authority, suddenly exploded in the Snow Ape King's ears!

Swish!

A dazzling figure in white appeared out of thin air directly above the Snow Ape King, as if teleporting!

Su Xuanchen's eyes were cold to the extreme. His right hand shot out like lightning, accurately and arrogantly pressing down on the Snow Ape King's broad, plaza-like shoulder!

Bang—!!!

A dull, massive thud!

The terrifying strength of the Myriad Tribulations Indestructible Primordial Demon Body within Su Xuanchen's body poured out without reservation!

Before Su Xuanchen's palm, the Snow Ape King's Half-step True Immortal Rank violent momentum was as laughable as a three-year-old child's. It didn't even have room to resist. Its massive body, as if struck by a hundred thousand Primordial Divine Mountains, was forced straight down from mid-air!

Rumble!

The Snow Ape King crashed heavily onto the hard white jade plaza, creating a large area of spiderweb-like cracks.

"Great Immortal! What are you doing! Let me go! I need to go over there!"

Pressed to the ground, the Snow Ape King still struggled desperately, roaring at Su Xuanchen with red eyes.

"Open your damn eyes and take a good look at what's in front of you!"

Su Xuanchen snorted coldly, his right hand pinning its shoulder while his left index and middle fingers formed a sword. A dazzling beam of Immortal-Demon Aurora condensed at his fingertips, and he casually flicked it toward the void in front of the Snow Ape King!

Buzz!

The Immortal-Demon Aurora shot into the void, and a faint ripple suddenly shimmered in the seemingly empty air.

Then, a terrifying scene that made everyone's skin crawl and their hearts tremble was clearly presented before their eyes!

Just a hair's breadth from where the Snow Ape King was about to charge, the seemingly calm void was actually densely packed with countless thread-thin lines of spiritual power radiating a terrifying aura of destruction!

These light rays intertwined into an absolute net of death that blotted out the sky, completely enveloping the entire vast Ancient Heavenly Court!

There were no blind spots! No loopholes!

The only safe area not covered by these terrifying light rays was the plaza they were standing on and the Ancient Heavenly Staircase directly ahead leading to the Main Peak!

Looking at the spiritual power threads shimmering with lethal light just inches away, the Snow Ape King shuddered violently as if doused with a bucket of ice water, instantly snapping out of its madness.

Cold sweat the size of beans flowed like a waterfall down its white fur.

It felt with extreme clarity that if it had charged even half a step further and hit that light net, its Half-step True Immortal Physical Body would have been instantly sliced into countless tiny pieces of meat, and even its Divine Soul would have been completely strangled into nothingness!

"Wh... what the hell is this..." The Snow Ape King's teeth chattered wildly in fear, its massive body turning into a pile of mush.

Gu Hongchen also sucked in a breath of cold air, her exquisite face filled with extreme horror.

"What a vicious Restriction! If Old Ancestor Su hadn't stopped it, this big guy would have already had his Divine Soul extinguished!"

Su Xuanchen released his hand from the Snow Ape King's shoulder and looked down at it, his gaze so sharp it seemed to pierce through all the secrets in its Soul.

"Speak," Su Xuanchen said coldly, with no nonsense. "You, an Extreme Cold Overlord, chose not to live a good life but insisted on staying outside this godforsaken Death Gate as a watchdog for tens of thousands of years. And now you're charging at that floating island like a madman."

He pressed with absolute certainty, "What exactly is hidden on that floating island that's worth your life?"

Facing Su Xuanchen's oppressive questioning, the Snow Ape King's massive body trembled violently.

A thick mist actually welled up in its giant crimson eyes, which then turned into large teardrops that rolled down.

A terrifying beast hundreds of feet tall was now crying piteously like a helpless child.

"Great Immortal... little monkey didn't mean to hide it from you..."

The Snow Ape King choked out, his voice filled with endless sorrow and desolation as he finally revealed the secret he had hidden deep in his heart for tens of thousands of years.

"During the world-ending war of the Ancient Era, the Heavenly Court collapsed, and countless powerful enemies invaded. At that time, little monkey was just an ordinary Spirit Beast guarding the South Heaven Gate, powerless to change anything."

He raised a trembling giant claw and pointed at the floating island blocked by the light net.

"When the war broke out, my wife was about to give birth. To save our child, little monkey desperately found a secret passage in the chaos and placed my wife and newborn child in a hidden cave on that floating island."

The Snow Ape King wept uncontrollably, his giant fist striking the ground in deep regret.

"little monkey intended to lead the enemies away and then go back for them. But... but by the time little monkey escaped the core of the Heavenly Court after a narrow brush with death, the Empress had already laid down that terrifying Death Gate Formation outside!"

"little monkey was trapped outside the Formation and could never get back in! For these tens of thousands of years, little monkey has stayed in this Extreme Cold Ice Domain just for the day I could break the Formation and return to that floating island!"

He looked up at the floating island with a face full of tears, his voice shrill to the extreme.

"little monkey can feel that my wife passed away back then. But... but my child! My child is still on that floating island! It has waited for its father for tens of thousands of years!"

Hearing this tragic story, everyone present fell into silence.

A complex flash of pity appeared in Chang Xiyue's cold eyes.

Ji Luanxi's eyes turned red, and she looked at the weeping Snow Ape King with great sympathy, whispering, "So the big guy is actually so pitiful..."

Gu Hongchen sighed, and the wariness in her heart also faded.

Su Xuanchen listened quietly. The coldness on his face softened slightly, but his tone remained extremely stern.

"Even if your child is inside, you stay the hell put."

Su Xuanchen warned coldly, "Do you think your Half-step True Immortal hide can withstand the defensive Restrictions of this Heavenly Palace? If you charge over now, not only will you fail to save your son, but you'll also get yourself killed."

To make this impulsive monkey give up completely, Su Xuanchen casually flipped his wrist.

A light flashed, and a pitch-black Supreme-rank spear radiating an extremely sharp pressure suddenly appeared in his hand.

This was a genuine supreme weapon, incredibly hard; even an ordinary Great Emperor Realm expert would have to spend some effort to break it.

"Open your damn eyes and watch closely."

Su Xuanchen gripped the spear, his arm suddenly exerting force as he threw the Supreme-rank spear like a bolt of lightning toward the light-filled void ahead!

Whoosh!

The spear tore through the air, creating a piercing sonic boom.

In the next second.

At the exact moment that indestructible Supreme spear touched that invisible light net!

There was no world-shaking explosion, no deafening roar.

"Chiii—"

A very faint sound, like a sharp blade slicing through thin paper.

Under everyone's extremely horrified gaze, the Supreme-rank spear, at the moment it touched the light rays, was like snow meeting a blazing sun—it silently and completely turned into a cloud of fine black dust!

Not a single trace of debris remained! It was directly and completely annihilated!

"Hiss—!!!"

The sound of everyone simultaneously sucking in a breath of cold air instantly rang out!

Gu Hongchen's scalp tingled, and her exquisite face was filled with extreme fear. She stared fixedly at the void that had returned to calm, feeling as if her blood had completely frozen at this moment.

"Instantly annihilating a supreme weapon! Such pure destructive power..." Gu Hongchen's voice trembled violently. "Even the Protective Aura of the True Immortal Realm would probably be no different from paper before this light net! Once touched, death is certain!"

Ji Luanxi was so scared she quickly covered her mouth with both hands, afraid she might accidentally cry out. She instinctively hid behind Su Xuanchen, no longer daring to mention anything about prying off a piece of glaze.

The Ice Spirit Snow Ape King was so terrified it even forgot to cry, its massive eyes filled with deep lingering fear and despair.

If Su Xuanchen hadn't stopped it just now, its current fate would have been ten thousand times more miserable than that spear.

"Great Immortal... then what should little monkey do... my child is still inside..." The Snow Ape King slumped on the ground in despair, completely losing all its strength.

Su Xuanchen crossed his arms and glanced at it indifferently.

"What's the panic? Since I brought you in, I naturally have a way."

Su Xuanchen looked up, his deep gaze sharply scanning the terrifying light net enveloping the entire Heavenly Palace, finally landing accurately on the Ancient Heavenly Staircase that reached into the clouds.

A confident and arrogant cold smile curled on his lips as he pointed out the core secret of this Restriction.

"This powerful defensive Formation isn't some independent Sect-Protecting Array. All its power sources come from the Ancient Heavenly Staircase before us."

Su Xuanchen pointed at the stairs emitting seven-colored divine light, his tone certain, his eyes flashing with the wisdom of seeing through everything.

"Beneath this staircase lies a terrifying Immortal King Spirit Array. This Formation only defends and doesn't attack, yet it turns all its defensive power into that light net that annihilates everything. It is a Supreme Immortal Treasure protecting the core of this Heavenly Palace. The only way to survive is to follow its rules and step onto this staircase."

Hearing Su Xuanchen's thorough analysis, Gu Hongchen and Chang Xiyue were both filled with shock.

To be able to see through the logic of an Immortal King Spirit Array with just his eyes in such a short time—this heaven-reaching vision and insight were even more terrifying than his invincible Physical Body.

However...

Just as everyone was looking up at the Ancient Heavenly Staircase with awe, thinking about how to climb this Immortal King Treasure...

Su Xuanchen, standing at the very front, rubbed his chin.

Looking at this peerless treasure that could not only test talent but also release an Immortal King-level defensive Formation, a thick, greedy, bandit-like light suddenly flashed in his deep eyes.

An extremely bold and crazed thought, enough to make the entire Xuanhuang Great World tremble, quietly sprouted in Su Xuanchen's heart.

"If a Supreme Immortal Treasure like this, which only defends and doesn't attack yet possesses peerless power, could be uprooted and packed up to be moved back to the Su Family as a Clan-Protecting Array..."