Chapter 252: One Request

Star Child covered his face, and old tears suddenly streamed down.

A dignified powerhouse of the Emperor Realm Third Layer was now just an old man who had lost his kin, crying heart-wrenchingly.

The surrounding Cultivators dared not make a sound, nor did they dare to leave, fearing they might disturb this Holy Land Old Ancestor and bring disaster upon themselves.

Zhou Chen did not disturb him either, quietly waiting for the other party to calm his emotions.

After a long while, Star Child finally composed himself.

He wiped away his tears and looked at Zhou Chen, his eyes filled with gratitude.

"Thank you for returning Senior Brother's relics."

"It's no trouble, it's only right."

Zhou Chen shook his head: "Saint Tianyuan showed me kindness; I am merely fulfilling his final wish."

"Kindness?"

A flash of confusion crossed Star Child's eyes.

"Before he passed, he passed on some of his cultivation insights to me, which helped me greatly."

Zhou Chen continued to fabricate: "It can be said that without Saint Tianyuan, I wouldn't be who I am today."

Actually, it wasn't entirely fabricated; at the very least, Zhou Chen had obtained many opportunities that were indeed very helpful to him in the early stages.

"I see."

Star Child nodded, the gratitude in his eyes toward Zhou Chen deepening.

"What is your name?"

"Zhou Chen."

"Zhou Chen…"

Star Child pondered for a moment: "I owe you a favor. After leaving the Immortal Mansion, come find me at the Heavenly Star Holy Land. To honor my Senior Brother's final wish, I can grant you one request."

"One request?"

Zhou Chen's heart stirred.

"The Tianyuan Star Pool… I can't miss out on that," Zhou Chen thought to himself.

If he could get a few more core fragments of the chaos bell, he might be able to unleash more of its authority.

Therefore, Zhou Chen had to go to the Tianyuan Star Pool ahead of time to intercept this Opportunity, lest any complications arise from waiting.

"Senior."

Zhou Chen spoke: "I won't stand on ceremony then. I've heard that the Heavenly Star Holy Land has a Tianyuan Star Pool that can temper the Physical Body and enhance cultivation. I wonder if I could…"

"Just this request? You want to go to the Tianyuan Star Pool?"

Star Child was stunned for a moment, then nodded readily: "Of course! After leaving the Immortal Mansion, you can come to the Heavenly Star Holy Land anytime."

Star Child had thought the other party would make an exorbitant demand; after all, it was his Senior Brother's final wish. Even if the other party wanted half the wealth of the Heavenly Star Holy Land, Star Child would have eventually overridden all objections to satisfy the request.

However, he didn't expect the young man before him to be so measured and respectful.

"Thank you, Senior!"

Zhou Chen said with great joy.

He agreed that easily? It seems Saint Tianyuan's status in the Heavenly Star Holy Land was truly high…

Zhou Chen didn't consider that the reason it was called the Tianyuan Star Pool was because Saint Tianyuan had been the most popular candidate to inherit the Holy Land at the time, deeply loved by his Master and Junior Brothers.

Who would have thought that a single training excursion would lead to a lifetime of introversion and a direct breakdown.

The world of cultivation is like walking on thin ice; the 'Old Codgers' from ancient times on the screen did not deceive me.

Zhou Chen thought silently.

"However…"

Star Child's tone shifted: "You are currently being hunted by two Great Emperor Clans, and your situation is very dangerous. Although I have promised you, the Heavenly Star Holy Land will not go to war with the two Great Emperor Clans for your sake."

"I understand, I won't make things difficult for Senior."

Zhou Chen nodded.

Being able to go to the Tianyuan Star Pool was enough; he would handle the rest himself.

"Then it's settled."

Star Child gave Zhou Chen a deep look, then turned and left the hall.

Before leaving, he looked back at the token in his hand, his eyes full of sorrow.

"Senior Brother… wait for me… once I handle the matters here, I will come for you and bring your remains back…"

The old man's voice echoed in the hall as his figure gradually receded into the distance.

…

"The Old Ancestor of the Heavenly Star Holy Land… actually cried?"

"What exactly is that young man's background?"

"Tsk tsk, it's too terrifying. Daoist Qinglian actually managed to make a powerhouse of the Emperor Realm Third Layer owe him a favor!"

"The scary part is, he's only a Quasi-Emperor."

Inside the hall, the other Cultivators looked at each other in dismay. The gaze everyone directed at Zhou Chen became filled with awe. Many Cultivators took advantage of this gap to slip away quietly.

"Master, you are so amazing!"

Miao Dandan looked at Zhou Chen's calm demeanor even as Mount Tai collapsed before him, her eyes full of admiration.

"It's nothing, just good luck."

Zhou Chen smiled, but in his heart, he was calculating his next plan.

Emotions aside, Star Child's Opportunity still had to be intercepted; he couldn't let it go.

As for the others…

He proceeded to pull up Ying Feng's opportunity panel again.

[Recent Opportunity: In five days, Ying Feng will discover a chaos heaven tablet inside a mysterious tower on the north side of King Ming's Immortal Mansion. By challenging the Ancient Prodigy phantoms within the tablet and achieving the 99,999th rank reward—the Saint Rank High Grade Spiritual Artifact, the Void-Breaking Shuttle…]

"The chaos heaven tablet has appeared again?"

Zhou Chen's eyes lit up.

He had encountered the chaos heaven tablet once before at the Wenxian Sect, and it had left a deep impression on him. It recorded the rankings of countless prodigies from the ancient era, and challenging the phantoms could yield bountiful rewards.

"Master, where are we going next?"

Miao Dandan asked.

Hearing this, Zhou Chen replied: "Follow me first. We'll find a safe place to rest, and then we'll head to the forest area on the north side of the Immortal Mansion."

Miao Dandan nodded thoughtfully, not prying further.

This was also what Zhou Chen appreciated most about Miao Dandan; she was always obedient and never asked too many questions.

Three days later, Zhou Chen and the others arrived at the forest in the northern part of King Ming's Immortal Mansion.

The Immortal Mansion was indeed vast; Zhou Chen's Imperial Rank flying boat took a full three days of flight to arrive.

Along the way, several blind First Layer of Emperor Realm avian Yao Beasts tried to attack Zhou Chen and his group, but the xuanhuang boundary breaking boat was no pushover.

A single shot from the Xuanhuang Cannon, costing three hundred thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones, sent these birds spiraling into the sky, instantly exploding into a bloody mist.

…

What entered Zhou Chen's sight was a desolate ruin with collapsed buildings everywhere.

In the ruins, a black pagoda only a few dozen meters tall appeared very conspicuous.

As the group approached, they found a black stone stele standing inside the tower, mysterious and extraordinary.

"This is actually a chaos heaven tablet?!"

Old Xuan let out a cry of surprise, clearly no stranger to this stone stele.

"Old man, what is a chaos heaven tablet?"

Miao Dandan asked, completely puzzled.

Old Xuan wore a reminiscing expression: "The chaos heaven tablet is a treasure left over from ancient times. By touching the tablet, one can fight against phantoms of powerhouses from different eras. Upon victory, one receives very generous rewards. Back in the day…"

"Oh, I see. I get it."

Miao Dandan quickly covered her ears. The old man was decent, and despite having the appearance of a young man, he was just too long-winded.

To her, listening to the old man's rambling was like listening to a bunch of gibberish.

Zhou Chen gave the two of them a look and reached out to touch the stone stele.

Instantly, the stone stele erupted with a brilliant light, enveloping the three of them. Their figures vanished from the spot in an instant.

"Challengers detected…"

An ancient voice echoed in their minds: "The Heaven Tablet Ranking Battle has officially begun!"

…