222: Above the Sequence! The Ultimate Treasure Left Behind by the Immortal Qin Civilization!

"Damn it!" Lu Sheng cursed fiercely in his heart.

"So, I've been working my ass off for so long, only to find out I've been a fish in someone else's pond the whole time?!"

The Gatekeeper took in their reactions, continuing in that emotionless tone to unveil a deeper layer of despair.

"The Abyss species are a group of predators wandering the Universe."

"Every few eras, it casts seeds of spirit source onto planets with life potential. This energy accelerates the evolution of the planet's species, nurturing powerful individuals like you—in its eyes, this is called a fruit."

"When the quantity and quality of the fruits reach its expectations, it descends to initiate a harvest known as the 'Great Cleansing'."

"It will devour all powerful living beings, absorb the essence of the entire civilization, and then erase every trace, returning the planet to dead silence to wait for the beginning of the next Reincarnation."

The Gatekeeper pointed to the Bronze Divine Hall beneath their feet.

"And this Sanqing Hall is the final shelter built by a powerful human civilization called Immortal Qin in the previous era, after it foresaw the Great Cleansing. It poured the power of its entire civilization into creating it, and it is also... a Repository of Sparks."

"It seals away the last hope of that civilization, as well as... the resources and secrets sufficient for you to oppose the Abyss."

Hearing this, the heart of Luo Tianfei, which had almost stopped beating, regained a glimmer of life.

There was still hope!

Her golden Phoenix eyes stared fixedly at the Gatekeeper, her voice trembling slightly from excitement: "Resources? Secrets? What are they?"

The Gatekeeper looked at her, its eyes still carrying a hint of pity: "The resources are the countless Heaven And Earth Treasure and Sharp Weapon left behind by the Immortal Qin civilization, but with your current strength, you don't even have the qualifications to pick them up."

"As for the secrets..." The Gatekeeper paused, slowly spitting out four words.

"Above the Sequence."

Above the Sequence!

These four words were like a bolt of lightning, illuminating the mind of Luo Tianfei once more.

She had always thought that the God-Tier Sequence was the end of evolution.

But now it seemed... that was merely a beginning?

Just as Luo Tianfei was lost in thought and shock, her mind churning with stormy waves.

"Heh..."

"Hahahaha!!!"

A cold and arrogant laugh abruptly broke the silence of the mountain peak.

It was Lu Sheng.

He was laughing.

He tilted his head back, his chest heaving violently. His laughter was filled with disdain, brutality, and a monstrous Battle Intent that seemed ready to pierce a hole in the sky itself!

The Gatekeeper and Luo Tianfei were both stunned, looking at him in confusion.

Faced with such a desperate truth, faced with this fated Reincarnation, why... was he still able to laugh?

Lu Sheng slowly stopped his laughter.

He raised his head, and in his dark golden vertical pupils, two balls of crazy golden flames were burning.

He pointed at the Gatekeeper and said word by word:

"What bullshit Abyss species! What bullshit harvest!"

"I fought my way here through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, not to listen to you tell a story about being destined to be eaten!"

Lu Sheng's gaze passed over the Gatekeeper and looked toward the deep starry sky, the corners of his mouth curling into an extremely cruel arc.

"Anyone who dares to block my path, whether they are god or demon, whether they are from the Abyss or Hell!"

"I'll just flatten them all!"

This extremely domineering declaration caused the Gatekeeper, which had lived for who knows how many eras, to show intense fluctuation in its nebula-like eyes for the first time.

Even Luo Tianfei beside him was infected by this invincible Aura of moving forward without hesitation, and the confusion and fear in her heart were washed away significantly.

Looking at the back of Lu Sheng—not tall, yet seemingly capable of supporting the entire sky—she was momentarily lost in a daze.

This man...

What exactly was his heart made of?

"A fine 'flatten them all'."

The Gatekeeper looked deeply at Lu Sheng, and for the first time, a hint of imperceptible approval appeared on its eternal face.

"Good Heart-Nature, you have a bit of the demeanor of the Immortal Qin First Emperor back in the day."

"It's a pity, having Heart-Nature alone without power is ultimately just empty talk."

It seemed to have calmed down from its initial shock, returning to its tranquil posture.

"However, inside the Sanqing Hall, there is indeed the power to let you break your fate."

The Gatekeeper waved its hand.

"Hum—!"

The entire interior of the magnificent Bronze Divine Hall suddenly lit up.

On the vast floor in the center of the palace, countless complex and mysterious star runes lit up one by one, eventually outlining a huge circular Formation over a hundred meters in diameter.

Within the Formation, starlight flowed, as if it were a miniature Universe, emitting a terrifying fluctuation that made the Soul palpitate.

"This is the final test left by the previous civilization—the Heart Demon trial."

The Gatekeeper pointed at the Formation, its voice becoming serious.

"This Formation faces your true heart and reflects your Soul."

"It will evolve endless illusions based on your deepest desires, fears, and obsessions. You will experience ten thousand lifetimes of Reincarnation within it, experiencing all the suffering and temptations of the world."

"Those with weak wills will sink into it forever, their Souls extinguished by the power of the trial, turning into fuel for the Formation."

"Only those who can see through the illusions, cut away their Heart Demon, and hold onto their true heart can pass the test, gain the qualification to enter the second floor of the Repository of Sparks, and obtain the true Treasure Trove of the Immortal Qin civilization."

The Gatekeeper said this, scanning Lu Sheng and Luo Tianfei with a hint of warning in its tone.

"This trial is a life-or-death gamble. Since the Immortal Qin, there have been many brilliant geniuses from several eras who have come here, but those who ultimately managed to walk out are few and far between."

"Have you made up your minds?"

Luo Tianfei clenched her fists tightly, her beautiful face shifting between different emotions.

The Heart Demon trial?

She considered herself to have a firm will, having slaughtered her way through, already forging a heart of the strong.

But... she also had weaknesses, and a past she couldn't let go of.

What if those sealed memories were stirred up during the trial? Could she really guarantee she wouldn't sink?

The risks involved were too great.

Just as Luo Tianfei was weighing the pros and cons, lost in hesitation.

"Dilly-dallying."

A cold and impatient voice sounded.

It was Lu Sheng.

He didn't even glance at the extremely dangerous Formation, nor did he think about success rates or risks.

He simply strode forward, taking big steps toward the starlit trial Formation.

His posture was as if he wasn't going to tackle a life-or-death trial, but rather taking a stroll in his own backyard.

"Hey!" Luo Tianfei shouted subconsciously.

Lu Sheng didn't stop, not even turning his head.

He only left Luo Tianfei with a solitary and resolute back, along with a sentence that was cold to the bone.

"My Dao, I walk it myself."

"Whatever Heart Demon, just cut it down!"

The moment the words fell.

His right foot had already heavily stepped into the range of the trial Formation!

Hum—!

Thousands of starlight instantly surged, like a flood that had found an outlet, instantly swallowing Lu Sheng's figure.

The light dissipated.

Inside the Formation, there was no one.

Only the flowing stars remained, as if telling of eternal loneliness.

The entire Bronze Divine Hall fell back into the silence of eons.

Luo Tianfei stood blankly on the spot, looking at the direction where Lu Sheng had disappeared, her heart churning with monstrous waves.

No hesitation.

No doubt.

Not even a word of superfluous nonsense.

This man, he just walked in like that?

Did he not know what fear was?

Was he really that confident in his own heart?

An indescribable sense of frustration, mixed with a trace of emotion she hadn't even noticed herself, welled up in Luo Tianfei's heart.

She had always thought that she was the most top-tier, the proudest existence among her peers.

But today, in front of this man, her decisiveness and courage, which she took such pride in, actually seemed so laughable.

"Heh..."

Just then, a low laugh broke the silence.

It was the Gatekeeper.

Looking at the empty entrance of the Formation, for the first time, a real, heartfelt smile, mixed with appreciation and expectation, appeared on that face that seemed eternal.

"Interesting, truly interesting."

"This era's seed has actually produced such a... little monster."

It turned to look at Luo Tianfei, its nebula-like eyes seeming to carry a hint of human-like teasing.

"Little girl, he has gone in."

"What about you?"

"Do you choose to wait here for an unknown result, or... catch up to his footsteps?"

Luo Tianfei's delicate body trembled.

She looked up abruptly, looking at the deep trial Formation. In those golden Phoenix eyes, all hesitation and doubt faded away at this moment.

Replacing them was an unyielding, fiercely burning Battle Intent.

Why?

Why could he be so carefree, while I have to hesitate here?

I, Luo Tianfei, the Undying Divine Phoenix, have never been weaker than others!

She took a deep breath, her chest heaving slightly, and then she strode out with her straight, slender legs.

"Old man, watch closely."

"I can't let him take all the spotlight!"

Inside the Bronze Divine Hall, only the Gatekeeper was left again.

It looked at the direction where the two figures had successively disappeared, the smile on its face growing richer.

"One with an invincible momentum, the other looking down on the world..."

"The chess game of the Immortal Qin has finally waited for the chess players."

"You Abyss scumbags, your doomsday... is not far off."

The grand voice slowly dissipated, and the doors of the Bronze Divine Hall slowly closed again amidst a "rumbling" roar.

On top of the mountain, eternal silence was restored once again, as if nothing had happened.

Only on the tightly closed giant doors, the reliefs of a Dragon and a Phoenix were emitting a faint yet tenacious light, echoing each other from afar.