Chapter 269: ancient desolate spirit pearl, Old Geezer Drops Coins

The sky was grey, without sun or moon, only oppressive dark clouds.

"What a strange place…"

Zhou Chen murmured to himself.

Just then, a shrill scream came from not far away.

"Ah—help!"

Zhou Chen turned his head and saw a Cultivator being torn apart by a giant Yao Beast.

The Yao Beast was pitch black, with crimson eyes, and exuded the aura of the First Layer of Emperor Realm. It was clearly a Ghost-faced Gloom Ape.

"It's already started?"

Zhou Chen shook his head, having no intention of meddling.

Just as he was about to leave, Zhou Chen suddenly glimpsed a faintly glowing pearl in the Ghost-faced Gloom Ape's claws.

Hmm?

The appearance of that pearl was strikingly similar to the ancient desolate spirit pearl mentioned by Long Yan.

Just then, after the Yao Beast finished eating the unlucky Cultivator, it suddenly turned its head to look at Zhou Chen, a greedy glint flashing in its eyes.

"Roar—"

Sensing that Zhou Chen's aura was only at the Quasi-Emperor Realm, it roared and instantly pounced towards Zhou Chen.

But the next second, its body suddenly stiffened, and a hint of terror appeared in its eyes.

Zhou Chen stood still, his right hand gently raised, and a massive black handprint descended from the sky, directly smashing the Ghost-faced Gloom Ape into a pulp.

Zhou Chen walked forward expressionlessly, retrieved the ancient desolate spirit pearl from the pulp, and simultaneously used Spiritual Qi to shake off the bloodstains.

"Easily done, the first one is mine."

Zhou Chen then left the spot, found an open area, sat cross-legged on a giant rock, holding the fist-sized ancient desolate spirit pearl in his hand, and began to examine it carefully.

The ancient desolate spirit pearl was made of unknown material; iridescent light flowed within it, emitting a terrifying ancient desolate aura.

"This thing… actually contains all the Origin power of that Ghost-faced Gloom Ape at the First Layer of Emperor Realm."

Just as Zhou Chen was about to circulate his Cultivation Technique to try and refine it, his Small World suddenly vibrated violently, and a strong sense of warning arose in Zhou Chen's heart.

A bone-chilling killing intent descended from the sky, instantly locking onto his entire body.

He abruptly looked up and saw the Void Realm crack open, with an aged figure stepping out.

"You little beast, I finally found you."

Ying Wangu's hair and beard were white, but his eyes were terrifyingly sharp. With each step he took, ice crystal stairs formed beneath his feet, and the surrounding blood mist froze into ice shards, clattering down.

The pressure of the Fourth Layer of Emperor Realm bore down without reservation!

Zhou Chen's heart skipped a beat. Zhou Chen recognized him; he was one of the Elders leading the Ying Family in Heavenly Pride City.

On the Heavenly Pride Stage, this old man seemed to have looked at him a few more times, which Zhou Chen found strange at the time.

But how did this old fellow… find this place?

Zhou Chen's heart was filled with doubt.

No, outside the Ancient Desolate Secret Realm, they didn't recognize him.

This meant his disguise as Feng Biao using the Divine Concealment Art was flawless.

However, inside the Ancient Desolate Secret Realm, he had only used Chaos Spiritual Energy once, and this guy showed up…

It must have been the aura of Chaos Spiritual Energy that exposed him.

After all, the quality of Zhou Chen's Spiritual Qi could be said to be unique across the entire Tianxuan Continent.

Careless, Zhou Chen thought to himself.

"You've got the wrong person."

Zhou Chen's expression remained unchanged as he stood up emotionlessly and explained.

"I am Feng Biao, Saint of Heavenly Star Holy Land. May I ask why Senior is blocking my path?"

"Pretend! Keep pretending! I've been watching you for a long time and felt something was off. I disguised myself to enter the Secret Realm to investigate, and sure enough, it's you."

Ying Wangu sneered and waved his hand.

An ice mirror appeared out of thin air, clearly reflecting Zhou Chen's true face.

The Ancient Desolate Secret Realm has restrictions, but anyone below the Emperor Realm Fifth Layer can enter. Generally, the Cultivator's bone age is strictly examined, as this is a Heavenly Pride Grand Assembly, not an old geezer assembly.

And the Ice Clan is an Emperor Clan, a colossal presence in the Eastern Barrens, so no one dared to investigate carefully, even if they discovered something, they would turn a blind eye.

After all, others are both athletes and referees; no one is foolish enough to truly offend the Ying Family.

"Ant, how could you imagine the Ying Family's foundation? The Ice-Shattering Mirror is specially used to track a Cultivator's unique Spiritual Qi. Your disguise, if you don't use Spiritual Qi, might be undetectable, but once you use Spiritual Qi, disguising yourself in front of me is a joke!"

Zhou Chen's heart sank.

This old guy is so well-prepared?

It seems the Ying Family is serious, sending an Emperor Realm Fourth Layer to hunt him down.

"You killed an Emperor Realm expert of my Ying Family, and then slaughtered hundreds of our clansmen in the King Mings Immortal Mansion…"

Ying Wangu's voice grew colder and colder, the killing intent in his eyes almost materializing.

"Today, I will use your fresh blood to pay tribute to the heroic spirits of my Ying Family!"

Before his words finished, he struck fiercely!

With the Ice Soul Divine Body activated, a sky-obscuring, giant frosty palm descended from the heavens, its palm condensing the Ice Law capable of freezing everything!

Zhou Chen didn't even think, his figure flashed.

Formless Immortal Traces!

With a flash of golden light, Zhou Chen's figure instantly vanished, clearly the first layer of Formless Immortal Traces, spatial teleportation.

When he reappeared, Zhou Chen was already several miles away.

Where Zhou Chen disappeared, a terrifying cold current erupted, freezing everything within a thousand zhang radius into ice sculptures. The water mist instantly condensed into ice crystals, suspended in the air, extremely bizarre.

"Trying to run?"

Ying Wangu snorted coldly, forming hand seals again.

"Ice Soul Domain!"

In an instant, with him at the center, the space within a ten-thousand-mile radius was completely frozen.

The temperature of the entire Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land plummeted, and even the air began to freeze.

Zhou Chen teleported several hundred miles away again, immediately feeling the surrounding space become viscous and his movement difficult.

He hadn't expected that this old guy's Ice Soul Domain could actually suppress the Space Law!

Ying Wangu took a step, instantly appearing before Zhou Chen.

"Die for me!"

He slammed a palm down, Ice Soul power condensing into a giant palm, carrying world-destroying might.

Zhou Chen had no escape, yet he showed no panic.

"Pluto Seal."

Boom.

The nether king phantom, thousands of zhang tall, instantly broke free from the Ice Soul Domain.

The nether king phantom instantly enveloped his entire body, and countless jade-colored Chaos Spiritual Energy extended out, weaving into a solid protective shield.

Bang—!

The giant palm struck the protective shield, and the Pluto Seal phantom was directly hit, only retreating a few zhang, the spiritual power shield on the nether king phantom remained unaffected.

"Emperor Realm Fourth Layer… seems to be nothing more than this?"

As the dust settled, Zhou Chen was unharmed. With a thought, he silently pulled up the System panel.

The next moment, a semi-transparent panel appeared before Zhou Chen's eyes.

[Name: Ying Wangu]

[Realm: Emperor Realm Fourth Layer]

[Fate: Ice Clan Emperor's Fate (Gold), Luck Protection (Purple), Ice Soul Divine Body (Purple)]

[Destiny: Lifespan is almost exhausted, will pass away in the Ying Family's ancestral land three years later. Before his death, he will pass on his Legacy to the Ying Family Prodigy, Ying Chuhan, helping him break through to the Emperor Realm.]

[Recent Opportunity 1: Three days later, deep within the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land, discovers an Ancient Qiongqi's nest and obtains Qiongqi Origin essence blood.]

[Recent Opportunity 2: Three months later, on the way back to the Ying Family, accidentally discovers an Incomplete Manual of the 'Ice Soul Immortal Scripture' left by an ancient Immortal in the Sunset Valley Immortal Cave.]

[Recent Opportunity 3:…]