Chapter 1314

And as Wu Nie Tun Yan moved, the image in the phantom eyes of the Tuo She Gu Di Dongfu reflected outward.

In front of the Soul Heaven Emperor, a vast unfamiliar region immediately appeared.

And at a glance he knew that this region was not on the Zhongzhou Continent.

After all, the Zhongzhou Continent had already been scanned several times by his own Imperial Realm soul during his travels.

But in that process he had not discovered the existence of this region before him.

While he was pondering, the image suddenly began to move.

It first skimmed over the mountains and rivers surrounding this unfamiliar region, then abruptly halted, sharply turned downward, and plunged straight into the ground.

In an instant, a boundless sea of raging red magma appeared within the Soul Heaven Emperor's gaze.

"What place is this, exactly?"

Staring at the mirror image in the sky, the Soul Heaven Emperor immediately furrowed his brows, and fragments of places he had visited flashed through his mind as he tried to find any clue in his memory.

However, the Soul Heaven Emperor's efforts were doomed to be in vain.

No matter how he recalled, he could not determine where the region in the image was located.

After all, just from the image, the magma sea appears to be underground.

And such underground magma is abundant across the continent.

Therefore, relying solely on this still cannot pinpoint an exact location.

Yet, while he was pondering, the image in the sky continued to descend into that underground magma.

And as it went deeper, suddenly a strange creature appeared in the image.

The creature resembled a lizard, its eyes radiating irrational ferocity.

Shortly after this lizard‑like creature appeared, the magma world in the image finally reached its deepest point.

Within it, faintly, a pair of ancient, wild stone doors emerged.

At the top of the stone doors, four rustic large characters were boldly inscribed.

"Gu Di Dong Fu!"

"Whoosh"

When the Soul Heaven Emperor and Wu Nie Tun Yan's gazes simultaneously lingered on those four blurred ancient characters, the image in the sky abruptly halted.

At the same time, the phantom left by the Tuo She Gu Di Dongfu also vanished instantly.

As for the two below who saw the image disappear, they each let out a heavy sigh.

The heat in their eyes grew even more intense.

"How do you see it? This place feels extremely unfamiliar to me; I must have never been here."

His pitch‑black eyes stared at the sky without emotion; after a long while, Wu Nie Tun Yan turned his head toward the Soul Heaven Emperor and spoke.

"I have no memory of this place either; I suppose it is not on the Zhongzhou Continent or its surroundings."

Hearing this, the Soul Heaven Emperor furrowed his brows, and a hint of urgency appeared in his eyes.

The Dou Qi Continent is already vast, and the Gu Di Dong Fu lies underground.

Although the earlier image gave them a rough area where the Gu Di Dong Fu is located.

But confirming it is not an easy task.

At least, for a while, it is likely impossible to find.

Upon this, the Soul Heaven Emperor pondered briefly, then waved his hand, recording all the previously noted terrain, mountain features, and so on.

"I will transmit the topography around the Tuo She Gu Di Dongfu to the clan members still outside, urging them to marshal all their strength to search each continent piece by piece. Before my injuries heal, the location of the Tuo She Gu Di Dongfu must be confirmed."

At this point he said to Wu Nie Tun Yan, "During this period, Wu Nie, prepare some things for me so that once I obtain the Imperial‑grade embryonic pill, I can immediately begin refining it."

Hearing this, Wu Nie Tun Yan slightly frowned and cautiously said, "I can feel the ancient clan constantly on guard. If you send many strong ones to search for the Gu Di Dong Fu, it will surely draw their attention. Should they set a trap there in advance, like last time, I fear."

When he finished, Wu Nie Tun Yan fell silent, but the meaning was obvious.

After all, the two of them previously suffered a heavy loss because Gu Yuan had pre‑arranged a battlefield and stealthily moved to Tian Mu.

Thus, to this day, the Soul Heaven Emperor has not recovered.

Because in the past months, the clan's healing medicines were all devoured by Wu Nie Tun Yan.

Having finally gathered eight ancient jade pieces, the Soul Heaven Emperor could no longer wait.

For this, he spared no cost and first healed Wu Nie Tun Yan's injuries.

Then, using the clan's soul essence collection, he forcibly stacked the former's soul realm onto the Imperial Realm.

Because Wu Nie Tun Yan said that only this way could they be confident of unlocking the secret within the Tuo She Gu Di Yu.

Hearing the former's worried tone, the Soul Heaven Emperor smiled lightly, "No problem, confirming the Gu Di Dong Fu's location is urgent, and once we find it, I will have a way to deal with Gu Yuan."

While speaking, the Soul Heaven Emperor placed his hands behind his back, gazing at the gleaming ancient jade in the sky, his eyes laced with faint murderous intent.

Earlier, that Gu Yuan fellow exploited his ignorance, moving Tian Mu to the Eastern Front battlefield, almost snatching the ancient jade away.

He could not easily let this matter go.

However, after experiencing that great battle last time, the Soul Heaven Emperor also understood.

Gu Yuan also harbored the same thoughts as himself.

Thinking of this, the Soul Heaven Emperor's vigilance toward Gu Yuan instantly intensified.

After all, he had expended such great effort to assemble the Tuo She Gu Di Yu, so he could not possibly be willing to give Gu Yuan a cheap deal.

Moreover, who would willingly give up the opportunity of becoming a Saint Emperor?

"Is there a way?"

Hearing the hint of confidence in the Soul Heaven Emperor's tone, Wu Nie Tun Yan's pure black eyes narrowed, his mind pondering something unknown.

However, he truly had no interest in that Imperial‑grade embryonic pill.

After all, what he desired was the inheritance left by the Tuo She Gu Di.

But that method of swallowing the Emperor Pill and forcibly advancing to Dou Emperor is truly far inferior.

What he wants is to steadily ascend to Dou Emperor through the inheritance of the ancient Emperor of Tuoshe.

Only then can his own future achieve great deeds.

As for the Soul Heaven Emperor, haha, he doesn't know that he has spent a thousand years scheming.

In the end, he only obtained the worst of the two methods to become emperor inside Gu Di Dong Fu, and he doesn't know what to think.

Of course, the latter could never know what the former is thinking.

After the Soul Heaven Emperor finished speaking, he immediately looked at Wu Nie Tun Yan and said, "I now need a few months to recover from my injuries; during this time, you will coordinate the clan's actions according to the plan. Once I am fully healed, go straight to that place, open Gu Di Dong Fu, and take whatever is inside."

"Alright."

Wu Nie Tun Yan simply nodded lightly, offering no refusal.

After all, with the Soul Heaven Emperor absent, he was the only one capable of coordinating within the clan.

Indeed, the Soul Clan has maintained a strong Dou Emperor bloodline for years, all thanks to his merit.

Moreover, the Soul Clan still relies on him to sustain the prosperity of its bloodline, so his influence within the clan is not even half a step below that of the Soul Heaven Emperor.

In fact, faintly, his influence even surpasses the Soul Heaven Emperor's by a notch.

Thus, when the Soul Heaven Emperor is absent, he can obediently make the rest of the Soul Clan listen and behave.

While the Soul Heaven Emperor and his companion discussed locating Gu Di Dong Fu, on the other side Lin Feng recovered from the wounds of the previous great battle.

After all, he is a Ninth‑rank Profound Pill Grandmaster, capable of forging top‑grade healing medicine to aid recovery.

Therefore, his recovery took hardly any time.

In a hastily built simple wooden hut, Lin Feng lay on the bed, cradling Lei Qian's slightly trembling, soft body, while his mind contemplated future plans.

"The security issue at Pingnan Pass City has been resolved, and judging from Han Yu, Qiu Yue and the others' reactions earlier, it appears that the problem is gone, or they are reluctant to use the previous breakthrough item."

Thinking this, Lin Feng thought to himself, "It seems the time has come to summon my concubines, gradually encroach on the Tong Ling Sect's territory, and seize cultivation resources."

Considering how quiet the Tong Ling Sect members have been during his cultivation, he nearly reached a conclusion.

At least that thing, the Tong Ling Sect members have little of, perhaps only the one mentioned earlier.

Thus, they could only watch helplessly as he killed that wolf soul.

Otherwise, the Tong Ling Sect members would not have failed to rescue one of the few Nine‑Star Dou Saints in our camp.

And thinking of the continent's abundant cultivation resources, coupled with enemies that are hard to defeat,

Lin Feng could not rest; he immediately set aside the lingering Lei Qian, dressed, turned, and walked straight outside.

After all, he has no feelings for Lei Qian; he simply sees her as a fire‑venting tool because she had previously achieved merit.

A tool—how could he possibly develop feelings for it?

If it works conveniently, use it; if one day it feels off, just replace it—just like the capitalists of Blue Star swapping cheap oxen and horses.

"Wait, why now do I feel as if I'm shifting toward the trend of capitalists from my past life."

Thinking of replacing the fire‑venting tool, Lin Feng muttered to himself.

But soon he discarded the thought and prepared to fly toward the northern exit.

However, just as he was about to depart, his body suddenly halted.

"Compared to inviting them in, I think opening this thing first might be better."

Mid‑sentence, Lin Feng flipped his palm, and a black‑and‑white box about a meter long, over forty centimeters wide, and roughly ten centimeters thick materialized in his hand.

And this object turned out to be the black‑white iron box he had obtained from Zhao Yuan, Zhao Ran's brother.

After acquiring it, several years passed before Lin Feng finally gathered the key to open it.

Now he is very curious about what exactly lies inside.

However, realizing the location was unsuitable, Lin Feng thought briefly, then extended his palm and placed it into the blanket covering the elderly woman lying on the cot before him.

He vigorously rubbed the soft surface in front of it a few times.

"I've heard that doing this before drawing cards improves luck, though I don't know if it's true or false."

As he spoke, Lin Feng's body suddenly vanished within the wooden hut.

The next moment, he appeared on a grassland thousands of miles away.

After scanning the surroundings and confirming no issues, Lin Feng promptly stepped forward a short distance and floated the iron box before him.

Then, he again controlled the binding ring, extracting two massive cauldrons—one black, one white—and two matching keys.

"I have no idea how this box opens."

Looking at the pile of items before him, Lin Feng muttered.

However, once his gaze fell on the two keys, he immediately seized them.

He then followed the fracture lines on them, merging the two keys into one.

"Click!"

When the two keys fitted together seamlessly, Lin Feng released his palm.

Yet the merged key did not drift apart from the loosened hand; instead, it hovered silently in the air like a single key.

Even as Lin Feng's eyes scanned up and down, he could see no seam in the fusion.

"Hmm, the key merging is indeed correct. But where should the Black Magic and Holy Light cauldrons be used?"

As he spoke, Lin Feng's gaze continuously swept over the two massive cauldrons.

After all, the mention of these two medicine cauldrons implies they each have a purpose.

He simply does not yet know what that purpose is.

"Never mind, first try using the key alone to see if it can open the iron box."

After pondering for a moment, still unable to discern the purpose of the black and white cauldrons, Lin Feng finally decided to first try opening the box with the key.

After all, his last attempt to open the black‑white iron box with only the Light Key had failed.

But in the process, however, there was also no danger.

So, he decided to try it out this time as well.

Having said that, Lin Feng grabbed the Black-and-White Key in front of him, inserted it into the keyhole on the box ahead, and twisted it hard.

"Click!"

However, Lin Feng's hard twist failed to turn the key; instead, the key was instantly flung back by a tremendous force.

Seeing this, Lin Feng immediately reached out and caught the Black-and-White Key that had been bounced away.

However, just as the former caught the key, its black part accidentally bumped into the Black Abyss Cauldron beside him.

"Whoosh!"

However, the next moment, the Black Abyss Cauldron and the black part of the Black-and-White Key suddenly flashed with a black light.

Then, under Lin Feng's astonished gaze, the huge Black Abyss Cauldron instantly began to wriggle.

Soon, it flew out a stream of black qi, which slipped into the dark part of the Black-and-White Key.

And as those black qi streams continuously dissipated, the volume of the Black Abyss Cauldron likewise rapidly shrank.

During this absorption by the Key of Darkness, soon, the finest wisp of black qi transformed from the Black Abyss Cauldron was absorbed by the key.

This great cauldron thus completely disappeared before Lin Feng's eyes.

At the same time, the deathly aura on the Key of Darkness instantly became much stronger.

Moreover, due to the overly strong deathly aura, it continuously exhaled pitch-black smoke.

However, these smokes contained astonishing deathly power.

Even if a Battle Saint powerhouse were to have it invade their body, they would likely have to go through great trouble to resolve it.

"Holy shit, it turns out we need to have the key absorb these two medicine cauldrons!"

And Lin Feng, upon seeing this, suddenly slapped his thigh in realization.

At this moment, he felt no pang of regret over the disappearance of the eighth treasure cauldron on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking.

On his face, instead, was filled with joy.

After all, as long as the Holy Radiance Cauldron undergoes the same fusion, I should be able to open this black-and-white iron chest from the Light-and-Shadow Space shortly.

Now, he couldn't wait to see what's inside.

What exactly is inside this box?

And upon realizing the use of the medicine cauldron, Lin Feng no longer wasted time, immediately placing the light-part of the Black-and-White Key onto the Holy Radiance Cauldron.

"Buzz!"

The next moment, the Key of Light and the Holy Radiance Cauldron simultaneously burst out blinding white light.

Immediately afterward, the Holy Radiance Cauldron quickly began to wriggle just like the Black Abyss Cauldron before, then shot out a stream of white qi that flew into the Key of Light.

And under this absorption, soon, the Holy Radiance Cauldron, ranked seventh on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking, also vanished from the Battle Qi Continent.

At the same time, the Key of Light, like the Key of Darkness that had absorbed the Black Abyss Cauldron before, saw its life aura instantly strengthen somewhat.

Even Lin Feng felt that, even if the iron chest contained nothing, the strengthened Light and Dark Keys alone would be a priceless treasure rare on the continent.

Its value might be hard to exchange even for a ninth-grade mystic pill.

"Why think about that? Opening the box is what matters."

Immediately afterward, Lin Feng shook his head hard, temporarily clearing his mind of distractions.

Then he swiftly picked up the key before him and inserted it again into the keyhole of the black-and-white box.

However, this time, after Lin Feng inserted the key into the hole, the box, just as he had expected, did not eject the key again.

"Great! Now there's hope to open this black-and-white iron chest!"

Seeing that the key was not ejected, Lin Feng's face instantly showed a look of wild joy.

Even his lips twitched uncontrollably upward.

In the blink of an eye, it had already stretched up to his ears.

However, he then exerted force and turned the key clockwise by half a turn.

"Click!"

Then, with the sound of a mechanism clicking, the lid of the black-and-white iron chest swiftly sprang open automatically.

"Whoosh!"

However, as soon as the lid flipped open, before Lin Feng could see what was inside, a black-and-white stream of light shot out from the box and finally hovered suspended in the sky.

And soon, that stream of light suddenly exploded, instantly forming a light curtain over thirty zhang long and about twenty zhang wide.

"Whoosh"

Then, amidst the rustling of clothes blown by the wind, a figure clad in black-and-white robes, with a wide cloak hiding their face, suddenly appeared before Lin Feng's eyes.

And as the wind blew, the intricately and luxuriously patterned black-and-white garments on that figure rustled loudly.

On those garments, the vibrant green leaves and fronds, alongside the withered branches and fallen leaves, seemed to symbolize the eternal cycle of life and death, appearing almost alive as they wandered about——

Updates resume tomorrow (Chapter complete)