After a long round of questioning—and torture so one-sided it barely deserved the name—Lin Chen finally forced out a few fragments of truth.

  These men were nothing more than low-level pawns. Tools. Disposable pieces. They didn’t even know the structure of their own organization.

  Above them all stood a single existence they reverently called the Divine One—yet none of them had ever seen him, nor even heard his true voice.

  But even scraps were enough.

  What Lin Chen learned confirmed his worst suspicions.

  This group had spies embedded across multiple sects, not just one or two. From first-rate sects to even ancient powers, they had people hiding in plain sight, quietly manipulating events from within.

  And their goal went far beyond assassinations or sabotaging inheritances.

  It was something far more terrifying.

  According to the tortured man, the Divine One was pursuing a grand plan—to “elevate the entire Taixuan Continent into the Divine Continent” and restore the lost Celestial Realm of cultivation.

  Lin Chen frowned deeply.

  “…Divine Continent?”

  He had never heard of such a place. Not once. And honestly, he couldn’t digest the idea that these bastards were doing anything good.

  I mean, seriously—every single encounter he’d had with these people so far told a very clear story.

  Kidnapping. Poisoning. Destroying inheritances. Erasing history.

  No matter how nicely they dressed it up, this shady bunch looked far more like villains than heroes.

  And now Lin Chen also knew what that blood stone truly was.

  Blood Essence.

  Just hearing the name was enough to make one uncomfortable. It was condensed from human blood—pure and simple. A marble-sized piece required the lives of at least ten people.

  Lin Chen’s expression darkened.

  His thoughts drifted to the football-sized blood stone he had seen back in the sect.

  “…Yeah. I don’t even want to think about that.”

  'The more I learn, the more screwed this situation feels.'

  From the trembling fool’s confession, he learned something even worse—the so-called Divine One was inside this secret realm as well.

  And according to them, his power was something ordinary cultivators couldn’t even imagine. Even ancient sects were supposedly nothing before him.

  Lin Chen rubbed his temples.

  “Great. Just my luck. A hidden final boss wandering around the same realm as me.”

  He let out a breath, then straightened.

  “But that has nothing to do with me.”

  He had already squeezed everything useful out of those idiots. Picking a fight with some mysterious ‘Divine One’ wasn’t bravery—it was suicide.

  Let that self-proclaimed big boss play whatever grand scheme he wanted.

  Lin Chen had his own priorities: stay alive, loot treasures, and get stronger.

  “Alright,” he muttered with a wry grin.

  “Treasure first. Divine-shit later.”

  ***

  After that, Lin Chen did what he came here to do.

  He shut out everything else and moved deeper into the forest, steps steady, eyes sharp, his attention fixed on the ground and the surrounding trees as he searched for anything valuable.

  Then—

  BOOM!

  A boulder tore through the air toward him like a cannonball.

  “Is my luck that bad?” Lin Chen muttered, twisting aside at the last moment. The stone smashed into the ground behind him, earth erupting as fragments whistled past his ears.

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  He didn’t pause. His eyes snapped in the direction it came from.

  A massive gorilla, nearly ten meters tall, stepped forward and slammed its fists against its chest, releasing a thunderous roar that rattled Lin Chen’s bones.

  Jagged lightning patterns crawled across its body, while sparks leapt wildly from its fur, crackling and snapping like living lightning.

  The beast’s eyes locked onto him.

  Another roar split the air, lightning flaring brighter as the ground beneath its feet cracked.

  Lin Chen’s lips tightened.

  “Second-stage Pulse Convergence beast?”

  He drew his sword without hesitation.

  Behind the gorilla, in a small pond, something pale and cold caught his eye—a frost-lotus–like plant, its petals releasing faint mist. Even from this distance, he could feel the chill Essence Qi around it.

  So that’s why this beast is here.

  A guardian.

  A treasure worth guarding.

  “My first treasure…” Lin Chen muttered, a grin tugging at his lips.

  The beast was stronger than him—no doubt about that. But strength alone didn’t decide everything in cultivation.

  Sometimes, you just had to take the risk.

  Lightning flickered faintly along his sword as he shifted his stance.

  “Let’s see who wants it more.”

  The Lightning Gorilla let out a furious roar.

  It had smelled the intruder the moment Lin Chen stepped closer—the stench of greed, of someone daring to covet the treasure it guarded. Sparks exploded from its fur as it beat its chest, thunder rolling through the forest.

  Lin Chen didn’t hesitate.

  'Lightning Phantom Step.'

  His figure vanished in a flash.

  The gorilla slammed both fists into the ground.

  BOOM!

  The earth cracked open, chunks of rock the size of a person ripping free and hurtling toward Lin Chen like meteors.

  Lin Chen weaved through them mid-sprint, dodging left, twisting right. One rock flew too close—he kicked off it, using the impact to propel himself higher, body spinning through the air.

  He landed briefly on another flying boulder, then pushed off again, shooting straight toward the gorilla’s neck.

  The beast roared and swung an arm, lightning exploding outward.

  But Lin Chen was already moving.

  “Second Form — Bloodstorm Swordplay!”

  Blood-red lightning wrapped around his sword, violent and unstable. Behind him, dozens of crackling lightning sword-shadows formed, shrieking through the air like hungry beasts.

  The lightning blades tore forward like a crimson storm.

  The Lightning Gorilla roared and twisted its massive body, crossing its arms in front of its neck. Blue lightning surged wildly, forming a rough barrier around its forearms.

  CLANG! BOOM!

  Blood-red lightning collided with blue thunder, explosions ripping through the forest. Trees snapped, bark peeled away, and the ground cratered under the impact.

  Lin Chen was blown backward mid-air, flipping twice before landing hard—but he didn’t stop.

  He kicked off the ground and charged again.

  The gorilla slammed its fist down, lightning bursting outward in a shockwave.

  Lin Chen ducked low, sparks grazing his shoulder as he slid beneath the blow.

  Too slow.

  He sprang upward, driving his sword straight toward the beast’s chest.

  The gorilla howled and grabbed for him—but Lin Chen twisted at the last instant, the blade carving a deep gash across its shoulder instead. Blood sprayed, instantly evaporating in crackling arcs of lightning.

  The beast staggered back, furious.

  It opened its mouth—

  A bolt of lightning exploded out.

  Lin Chen’s pupils shrank.

  “Damn—!”

  He crossed his sword in front of him as the bolt struck.

  BOOOOM!

  Lin Chen was hurled across the clearing, smashing into the ground and skidding to a stop. Smoke rose from his arms, his sword humming violently from the impact.

  He coughed once, then laughed through clenched teeth.

  “Alright… now we’re getting somewhere.”

  The Lightning Gorilla beat its chest again, blood dripping from its wound, eyes blazing with pure killing intent.

  “But unlike you, beast,” Lin Chen’s voice echoed faintly, calm and cold, “I don’t always rely on brute force.”

  His figure vanished into the woods.

  The gorilla froze.

  For a moment, there was only silence—no scent, no movement, no target.

  Its massive head turned left. Then right.

  Confusion crept into its beastly eyes.

  Had the greedy thief… fled?

  Then—

  CRACK!

  A towering tree suddenly snapped in half and came crashing down toward it.

  The gorilla roared and smashed it aside with a swing of its arm, splinters exploding outward. Before it could steady itself,

  CRASH!

  Another tree fell. Then another.

  The forest around it collapsed one after another, trunks shattering as if cut by invisible blades. The gorilla spun wildly, roaring in fury, unable to locate the source.

  Then it saw him.

  As the last tree fell, a figure stood atop the broken stump ahead.

  Lin Chen.

  His sword was raised, both hands gripping the hilt.

  His eyes slowly opened—cold, focused, stripped of everything but intent. Blood-red lightning crawled along the blade, thickening, weighing it down with killing power. The air itself screamed as energy gathered, pressure crashing outward in heavy waves.

  The lightning didn’t just cling to the sword.

  It expanded.

  The blade seemed to stretch, enlarge, its outline blurring as crimson thunder wrapped around it again and again. The ground beneath Lin Chen cracked, pebbles lifting into the air, drawn by the terrifying pressure.

  The Lightning Gorilla’s instincts screamed.

  Danger.

  Death.

  Lin Chen inhaled slowly.

  “Third Form — Final Desolation.”

  He brought the sword down.

  The world split.

  A colossal arc of blood-red lightning tore out from the blade, ripping through the ground as it surged forward. The slash grew larger and larger, swallowing everything in its path, turning earth and stone into dust.

  The gorilla tried to move.

  Too late.

  There was nowhere to dodge.

  The crimson arc engulfed it completely.

  BOOOOOOM!

  Lightning detonated across the clearing, the forest shaking violently as the slash carved a deep, scorched trench into the land.

  When the light faded,

  The Lightning Gorilla was half-scorched, its massive body blackened and smoking. Its fur was burned away in patches, lightning patterns shattered and flickering weakly across its skin.

  It looked less like a mighty guardian now.

  And more like a giant roasted chicken that had crawled out of a fire pit.

  “Wow… this technique really deserves its mid-grade Illustrious rank,” Lin Chen muttered.

  As soon as he finished speaking, his chest tightened.

  “Cough—!”

  He spat out a mouthful of blood, the metallic taste spreading across his tongue. A sharp pain flared through his ribs—one of them had clearly cracked during the earlier exchange.

  Lin Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and let out a slow breath.

  “…Worth it. Now—my treasure,” Lin Chen said, grinning through the pain.

  He leapt toward the pond, landing lightly at its edge.

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