Chapter 351: A Helping Hand

The more Chen Yuan explored the Endless Immortal Palace, the more he understood why even a malevolent object like the Human Skin Evil Book would say the people of the Endless Immortal Palace were all lunatics—even more twisted than it was.

‘These people were twisted beyond belief, daring to research any forbidden power they could find.’

‘Taking the Divine Pills refined from these perverse Spiritual Medicines was probably no different from cannibalism.’

What was worse, the Endless Immortal Palace had actually sold these Divine Pills to other Sects.

‘If those Sects knew the Divine Pills they consumed were refined from such things, he couldn’t imagine the looks on their faces.’

After Chen Yuan entered Senluo Hall, deep in its center, Mei Niang stood before a valley choked with miasma. She gazed at a gigantic, scarlet tree shrouded within the dense fumes.

“So this is the Endless Divine Tree the Monk mentioned?”

Mei Niang now was a world away from the delicate, seductive woman who had followed Han Chang. Though her features were still enchanting, her aura was grim and chilling.

A Martial Artist behind Mei Niang said respectfully, “We’ve searched the rest of Senluo Hall. This must be the place.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the Martial Artist spoke again. “Holy Daughter, are we really going to do that Monk’s bidding? These Righteous Sects can’t be trusted!”

“Of course I know they can’t be trusted!”

Mei Niang scoffed. “Of course no one outside our Holy Sect can be trusted. But since they’re offering us something, why shouldn’t we take it?”

The Martial Artist asked in confusion, “But they’re from a major Righteous Sect. Why would they help us?”

A strange smile touched Mei Niang’s lips. “Because he wants to throw the world into chaos! Only in utter chaos can the Central Plains Daoist Lineage be shattered and rebuilt. And in their eyes, our Holy Sect is nothing more than a shit-stirring stick—a tool to plunge the world into turmoil. Don’t be fooled by that young Monk’s pretty face and harmless demeanor. His heart is harder than you can imagine. But that’s fine. They see our Holy Sect as a tool, which gives us the perfect opportunity to grow in the shadows. I’ve heard this Endless Divine Tree contains immense vitality. We’ll give him the tree, but we’re keeping any ripe fruit for ourselves.”

With that, Mei Niang asked abruptly, “Cui Xuanye and Lu Chuanshan have been trapped in the Red Lotus Heart-Burning Array. Haven’t they been taken care of yet?”

“My apologies, Holy Daughter. That Cui Xuanye is an expert in arrays. He actually altered the array patterns of the Red Lotus Heart-Burning Array, causing its power to plummet. Lu Chuanshan’s physical cultivation is also formidable, so we haven’t been able to capture them yet.”

Mei Niang’s expression darkened. “A lot of people have entered the Endless Immortal Palace. To be safe, we’ll seize the Endless Divine Tree first. Go get the others. Leave four men behind to keep those two trapped. Once trapped by the Red Lotus Heart-Burning Array, the Heart-Burning Power will continuously erode their minds. They won’t last long.”

“Yes, Holy Daughter!”

The Martial Artist immediately left to gather the others. Meanwhile, Mei Niang formed a seal technique with her hands. A mystical power descended, ephemeral and dream-like. Crimson as fire, it tore through the misty miasma, and she stepped into the valley.

Meanwhile, Chen Yuan was also inside Senluo Hall, searching for any trace of Cui Xuanye and Lu Chuanshan.

The Spiritual Medicine in Senluo Hall was bizarre, but not overly dangerous. Most of it wasn’t aggressive.

After all, despite their strangeness, the original Endless Immortal Palace had cultivated them as genuine Longevity Elixirs. Why would they have been made so aggressive?

It was only that over the past ten thousand years, the fusion of flesh with Spiritual Medicine, coupled with the bizarre environment, had given rise to a few aggressive plants, but even they weren’t particularly strong.

As soon as Chen Yuan switched his power to the Li Yan Blood Fiend, its scorching aura would emanate, instantly deterring any plants from getting close.

Just then, the faint rumble of True Qi echoed from up ahead. Chen Yuan moved at once, heading straight for the source of the sound.

In a deep valley ahead, an immense, crimson light blossomed like the petals of a lotus.

Lu Chuanshan and Cui Xuanye were trapped inside this Red Lotus Heart-Burning Array.

The array burned their True Qi from the outside, but worse, it relentlessly eroded their minds. It filled them with negative emotions, a constant urge to surrender and give up, even driving them to suicidal despair.

Outside the array, four other Martial Artists attacked them from a distance with True Qi, sapping their strength.

Cui Xuanye was sitting cross-legged on the ground, his face flushed, desperately searching for a way to break the array.

Lu Chuanshan, meanwhile, relied on his own power to help Cui Xuanye withstand the onslaught from the men outside.

However, his own power was severely depleted. Because of the Red Lotus Heart-Burning Array, he also had to devote a portion of his focus to resisting the mental assault, and he was already on the verge of exhaustion.

“Old Cui! Are you done yet or not? I can’t hold out much longer!”

Lu Chuanshan roared, his face beet-red.

“Stop rushing me!? This is the Red Lotus Heart-Burning Array! The Red Lotus Sect vanished from the Jianghu ages ago, it’s not like I’ve ever studied it! How can you expect me to be so fast?”

Cui Xuanye, looking thoroughly irritated, roared back.

The two were good friends, and Cui Xuanye was the very picture of a refined gentleman, with a personality as gentle as jade. He rarely lost his temper with anyone, let alone a close friend.

But now, under the influence of the Red Lotus Heart-Burning Array, their hearts were filled with negative emotions, which was why they spoke so harshly.

Realizing something was wrong, the two began to focus all their energy on suppressing the mental corrosion once more.

“If this doesn’t work, we’ll have to use a Divine Artifact Incarnation.”

Cui Xuanye took a deep breath and said gravely, “If we rely solely on analyzing the array to break it, I’m afraid we’ll both run out of power and be left at their mercy. Our only way out is to use a Divine Artifact Incarnation to shatter the array first.”

“I don’t have a Divine Artifact Incarnation,” Lu Chuanshan said with a bitter smile.

“For something as important as the Heaven-Reaching Tower trial, your master didn’t give you a Divine Artifact Incarnation!?”

Cui Xuanye stared at Lu Chuanshan in utter disbelief.

Lu Chuanshan said helplessly, “You know how difficult it is to refine a Divine Artifact Incarnation from my Jianghai Alliance’s Sea-covering Fist Gloves. Even though my master only has me for a disciple, I just use them up too quickly. I used one when I first met you. My master gave me another, but I had to use it to save my life during the Destruction Island trial. So, before the Heaven-Reaching Tower opened, my master had no more materials to make a new Divine Artifact Incarnation. I had no choice but to come in without one.”

Cui Xuanye looked at Lu Chuanshan, utterly speechless, and spat out a single word: “Spendthrift!”

‘You used a Divine Artifact Incarnation during a life-or-death trial? What the hell kind of trial is that!’

“Then what about the Divine Artifact Incarnation from your Cui Family of Celestial Official City? Don’t tell me you don’t have one either.”

Cui Xuanye looked just as helpless. “I have one, but the activation requirements for my Celestial Official City’s Divine Artifact, the Myriad Phenomena Qimen, are quite strict. You have to first lay down countless Qimen Grand Arrays and then link them with the Myriad Phenomena Qimen to unleash the full power of its Divine Artifact Incarnation. But we’re trapped inside this Red Lotus Heart-Burning Array. How are they going to give us the chance to lay down arrays?”

The Divine Artifact of the Cui Family of Celestial Official City was actually one of the most unique, as it possessed no direct offensive power whatsoever.

The Divine Artifact’s primary function was to link innumerable arrays, combining them into a single, world-shaking Grand Array.

The more arrays its wielder could deploy, and the more powerful they were, the stronger the final Grand Array formed by the Myriad Phenomena Qimen would become.

Therefore, the power of the Myriad Phenomena Qimen’s Divine Artifact Incarnation was identical to that of the artifact itself; its strength wasn’t diminished by being an incarnation. This was a rare trait among Divine Artifact Demon Soldiers.

But because of this unique trait, the conditions for using its Divine Artifact Incarnation were also incredibly strict. Its potential was sky-high, but its baseline effectiveness was rock-bottom.

In a situation like this, for example, using the Myriad Phenomena Qimen was even less effective than using a common Array Plate.

Just then, a deafening whistle tore through the air as a powerful arrow streaked across the sky.

The moment he saw the arrow, Lu Chuanshan’s eyes lit up. “The Mulan Continuous Jail-Piercing Arrow! Brother Chen is here!”

The targeted Martial Artist’s expression changed drastically. He hastily formed a seal technique, and in an instant, red flames erupted around his body.

“Red Lotus Descent, Holy Fire Upon the Body!”

But the power gap between this Martial Artist and Chen Yuan was immense. The arrow shattered his Red Lotus Sacred Fire and blasted a gaping hole straight through his chest.

“Remnants of the Red Lotus Sect. It really is you!”

Chen Yuan snorted coldly. Wielding the Blood Sea Listening Tide, he unleashed the Nether Blood Fiend. A Blood Fiend Sword Aura, over a hundred feet long, tore across the sky.

The remaining three Red Lotus Sect Martial Artists’ expressions changed. They struck out simultaneously to defend themselves, but Chen Yuan’s slash sent their Qi and Blood into turmoil, and they coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

Before they could even react, a silvery-white lightning flared in Chen Yuan’s hand. In a flash, the lightning formed a sword. Accompanied by the roar of thunder, the Shenxiao Evil-slaying Sword came crashing down. A torrent of immense power surged forth, instantly incinerating the three Red Lotus Sect Martial Artists to cinders!

Cui Xuanye and Lu Chuanshan stared at the scene, aghast.

‘How could Chen Yuan’s power have surged so much since he fought those five prodigies from the Hidden Dragon Rankings outside the Heaven-Reaching Tower?’

In fact, their perception was correct.

Having obtained the Nether Blood Fiend, Chen Yuan’s own mastery over Blood Fiend Power had naturally skyrocketed.

The *Sumeru Free Observation of the Hidden Treasure Realm* cultivated Spiritual Power. This meant that when Chen Yuan used Secret Techniques that drew on Spiritual Power, such as the Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill, he could now sustain them for much longer.

Furthermore, he had just refined the Original Demon Pill. With the Three Sacred Artifacts of Daoist, Buddhist, and Demon gathered within him, the powers of the Daoist, Buddhist, and Demon Three Veins had reached a delicate equilibrium.

So, even though Chen Yuan had yet to step into the Primordial Pill Realm, his power had just undergone a massive surge.

“Brother Cui, Brother Lu, don’t worry! I’ll break this array and get you out!”

Chen Yuan stepped before the Red Lotus Heart-Burning Array. The Nether Blood Fiend erupted from his body as he slashed down with the Blood Sea Listening Tide, yet he failed to shatter the array. The formation’s resilience was somewhat beyond his expectations.

‘No wonder Cui Xuanye and Lu Chuanshan were trapped for so long. This array really is strange.’