Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

"Chi Xingxun has arrived, and Lu Dingtian actually managed to fight his way here."

A cold glint flashed in Lu Chao’s eyes, and the corners of his mouth tugged upward into a faint smile...

’Lu Dingtian is certainly hard to kill. But that’s a good thing. As long as he’s still alive, it means I can get my Violent Saint Bone back.’

’But can he cross this river that strikes directly at the soul?’

Only someone like Lu Chao would find that soul-striking attack so easy to handle. Only he could instantly seal away his own memories, relying on his resolute will to resist it.

But for Lu Dingtian and the others, the outcome was uncertain. Already, two Yan Soul Guards had died.

Just as Lu Chao looked toward Lu Dingtian, the latter was also staring at Lu Chao in the middle of the river.

Lu Dingtian roared frantically...

"You wretched son! You’re here too? You’re still not dead? I will kill you!"

"I can’t find Hanyang! He must be dead! My daughter, my son... you’re the one who killed them all!"

His crazed voice blasted across the river toward Lu Chao.

Lu Chao heard him loud and clear. He gave an indifferent smile. "Is that so?"

"It doesn’t matter that my second brother, Hanyang, is dead. The Fire Roaring Saint Bone he dug out has returned to me. But you... you’d better not die. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to dig my Violent Saint Bone back out."

After saying this, Lu Chao paid Lu Dingtian no more mind.

Lu Dingtian, however, was already roaring, "I’m crossing the river! I’m going to kill that wretched son!"

The moment he finished speaking, he was pulled along and began to cross.

At the same time, Chi Xingxun and Chi Yuan were already bound by a red glow. If they didn’t cross the river, they would be dragged back. They had no other choice but to agree to cross.

Of course, they also hurled all sorts of curses at Lu Chao.

But Lu Chao no longer responded. He had fallen into a new illusion, as if some strange force had pulled his consciousness into another world. This time, what appeared before him was...

...a horrifying sea of blood and mountains of corpses.

However, after a single glance, Lu Chao let out a faint laugh. ’You can’t extract my memories, so you conjure this fake stuff for me? I’ve already seen that this is just an illusion. Why try to scare me with something like this?’

As Lu Chao spoke, the illusion... BANG!

It shattered on the spot, and the scene of the river crossing reappeared before Lu Chao’s eyes.

Perhaps it was because Lu Chao’s will was too strong, or for some other reason, but in any case, he had shattered the illusion with a single sentence.

Then, the voice from before echoed in Lu Chao’s mind again. "Impossible. No matter how strong your will is, it shouldn’t be this easy. There’s definitely something wrong with your soul. And your Heavenly Destiny Bone must have a problem, too."

The eerie voice was filled with disbelief.

"Perhaps you are the vessel I have been looking for. Now, let me see what you really are..." The voice continued in Lu Chao’s head, and then a furious gale erupted.

Flashes of red light suddenly appeared in the darkness, instantly binding Lu Chao.

WHOOSH! Lu Chao was pulled away once more.

He was dragged directly out of the center of the river by the red light, pulled toward some unknown destination.

But Lu Chao remained surprisingly calm. He thought to himself...

’I’m probably being pulled to the center of the Array. Is this voice really the Array Master?’

’He saw that the illusions were useless against me, so he’s just pulling me out of the trials?’

’But the Azure Flame Treasure Manual states that the Illusion Array in the Nether Spring Mountain Range has existed for several thousand years. How could he still be alive?’

As he was lost in these wild thoughts, Lu Chao was dragged through a blur of black afterimages. Then, he saw pulsing red light in the darkness ahead, as terrifying as blood itself. Soon, a pool that seemed to be made entirely of fresh blood came into view.

’This Blood Pool... could it be the core of the entire Nether Spring Illusion Array?’

Lu Chao wondered, drawing closer and closer...

He suddenly saw a bone floating above the Blood Pool. It was the color of blood, and it was a Heavenly Destiny Bone.

’No, it’s not a Heavenly Destiny Bone. This is the aura of a Life-taking Bone.’

’This is a Life-taking Bone.’

’This matches the records in the Azure Flame Treasure Manual perfectly. The Array Master is the owner of a Life-taking Bone. Could it be that, thousands of years ago, a powerful expert with a Life-taking Bone had his soul trapped inside it, just like what happened to me?’

’Is that why his Array is still active? And why his consciousness still exists?’

Just as he thought of this... THUD!

Lu Chao was dropped at the edge of the Blood Pool. He looked around and saw that the edge of the pool was littered with skeletons. The bones of each skeleton seemed to shimmer with a pure white light, untouched by the corrosion of time.

However, the Heavenly Destiny Bones within these skeletons were riddled with holes and had turned pitch-black.

"No need to look. These skeletons all belong to the powerful experts who came to explore my Illusion Array over the past thousands of years. They were strong enough for their bodies to be preserved, but the power of their Heavenly Destiny Bones has all been absorbed by me."

The moment the voice sounded, Lu Chao immediately tore his gaze away from the skeletons and looked toward the source of the sound.

His pupils constricted. The voice was indeed coming from that blood-colored Life-taking Bone floating above the Blood Pool.

"You are the weakest person to reach this Blood Pool in thousands of years." The voice, ancient and sinister, continued from within the Blood Bone.

Lu Chao stared coldly at the blood-colored Life-taking Bone and asked in a low voice, "You died, but your soul was preserved within your Life-taking Bone. You absorb the energy of other Heavenly Destiny Bones to keep your soul alive?"

In an instant, Lu Chao had formed a hypothesis about this Blood Bone.

He was able to guess so quickly because his own soul had once been trapped within the Life-taking Star-devouring Bone.

As he expected, the voice from the Blood Bone continued: "Though your cultivation level is weak, you are clever and calm. You’ve guessed correctly. Every autumn, I expand the range of this Illusion Array to replenish my energy."

Hearing this, a chill ran through Lu Chao’s heart. So the absorption of Heavenly Destiny Bones from people like the Yan Soul Guards was all to replenish this being’s energy.

With that energy, it could continue to exist.

"Then why not just kill us directly? Why create a series of trials to test us?" Lu Chao asked again.

Ha, hahaha...

The moment Lu Chao finished asking, a thunderous, mocking laugh erupted from the Blood Bone...

"Test you? You think those were mere tests? No, no, no. Those trials were to temper the spiritual strength of those who enter, to make your souls more resolute and powerful. That way, devouring you is all the more satisfying."

A deeper chill settled in his heart. They weren’t tests at all, but a deliberate method to temper the willpower of those who entered the Array.

It was truly... terrifying...

Anyone who could persevere through the trials, step by step, was undoubtedly powerful and resolute.

But no matter how powerful or resolute they were, in the end, they were all just nutrients for the Blood Bone before him.

The Array Master within the Blood Bone never intended for anyone to leave alive.

"Of course, I am also searching for a suitable vessel. Perhaps then, I can borrow a body to resurrect my soul."

"And you... you seem quite promising. You are the most peculiar person to have ever entered my array."

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