Chapter 213: The Heart of the Realm That Came by Itself

The core restricted zone of the Wan Yao Divine Garden was so quiet you could hear the rustle of flowing spiritual energy.

The dark golden soil felt hard underfoot, like stepping on raw iron.

Gu Zhan, now bearing the stone spirit shell of "War·Iron Ox," stood at the gate of the Heart of the Realm Temple, fretting over the ever‑circulating Immortal King seal.

This seal was too thick.

The gray‑hued Immortal King laws intertwined.

Although he had become a true Immortal, it was only by sheer brute force; when it came to studying formation arts, he couldn't even match a single hair of Gu Xuan Ce.

Even the opponent hadn't yet reached the true Immortal realm.

"Swordgrass brothers, are you sure this thing can be broken open with a fist?"

Gu Zhan weighed the broken half‑axe in his hand, his stone‑like face full of doubt.

The three remaining leaves of the Nine‑Leaf Swordgrass swayed slightly in the wind, its spiritual voice carrying a weighty tone:

"This is the lifeline of the Wan Yao Divine Lord, linking the world's very source; your punch may not shatter the seal, but the earth veins spanning ten thousand miles will surely explode, and if the Heart of the Realm is damaged, our trip will have been in vain."

It was just as Gu Zhan frowned in worry, fearing the trip might be futile,

a faint chaotic origin that even he hadn't noticed seeped out through the stone's pores and drilled into the Heart of the Realm.

In an instant, the temple that had lain silent for countless epochs trembled.

Buzz—

Under the stunned gaze of the Nine‑Leaf Swordgrass and Xiao Qing, the temple doors creaked open by themselves.

A streak of emerald light shot out from deep within the temple.

It was a bead no larger than a fist, its whole body crystal‑clear like jade.

Inside the bead seemed a miniature forest world, countless tiny plants living and evolving within.

This was the Heart of the Realm of the Wan Yao Great World, a treasure bearing the Divine Lord's lifelong alchemical and formation insights and the world's source.

"Iron Ox! This is it! This is the Heart!!"

Acting on pure instinct, Gu Zhan stepped forward, extended his stone hand the size of a millstone, and clenched tightly around the emerald aura at the temple's center.

"So… we just got it like this?"

He chuckled, scratched his stone skull, and wore a sighing expression.

"I figured we'd have to fight those few hundred iron lumps for two or three days at least… this is way too easy, right?"

"This… this works too?"

Gu Zhan opened his mouth, about to brag a couple of lines.

Snap—

Above the Heavenly Dome, a black void a hundred li wide suddenly split open.

The once crystal‑green sky was instantly filled with four currents of cold, decaying, greed‑laden aura.

Four brilliant divine lights descended through the void, forming four towering illusory figures.

One was a faceless one whose face was only a dark vortex; another a handsome man clad in tattered sunset armor; a third a rock giant with a thousand mouths; and the last a massive sky‑holder silhouette with hands and knees supporting the heavens.

They were the spiritual avatars of the four Immortal Kings: Faceless, Dusk, Thousand‑Mouth, and Sky‑Holder.

Though merely spiritual avatars, the pressure of Immortal King stature instantly froze the space of the core restricted zone.

The once cheering army of flora collapsed en masse under the pressure, and many lower‑rank herbs were shattered into powder.

"Heart…"

The Dusk Immortal King's avatar stared fixedly at the jade bead in Gu Zhan's hand, its dormant sun‑like eyes flashing with near‑mad greed,

"Faceless, you truly didn't lie; this Wan Yao Divine Garden really birthed a Heart of this caliber!"

The Faceless Immortal King's avatar snorted coldly, the dark vortex spinning rapidly:

"I have declared this belongs to me. Yet… where did this stone spirit emerge from?"

The four Immortal Kings' gazes fell simultaneously on Gu Zhan.

In their eyes, Gu Zhan was a native exuding a strange aura.

Though he bore true Immortal‑level vibrations, the earthy scent was overwhelming and his foundation appeared extremely coarse.

"Just a lucky native stone spirit."

The Thousand‑Mouth Immortal King's thousand mouths sneered in unison,

"Probably just terrible luck that happened to match the Heart's aura, allowing this treasure to appear."

"Hey, you stone lump over there."

The Dusk Immortal King stepped forward, the void beneath his foot crumbling inch by inch. He looked down at Gu Zhan, his tone bearing an undeniable grant,

"Hand over the Heart. I may show mercy and allow you, lowly native, to enter my celestial realm as a gatekeeper. This is the greatest destiny of your life."

Gu Zhan clutched the Heart, looked up at the four phantoms.

Though reckless, he was not foolish.

The aura on these four, though similar to his own.

Its quality, however, was extremely high,

Indicating… these few were probably on the same level as the Old Ancestor.

In other words… Immortal Kings!

But, what does being an Immortal King matter!

He was following the Young Master's orders.

Even if they were Immortal Kings, he could not disappoint the Young Master!

"I say, why does every one of you have the same flaw?"

Gu Zhan tucked the Heart into his chest, grabbed the broken axe with his other hand, and his stone face broke into an extremely cheeky grin.

You come up and just hand me stuff. What kind of scum are you? I'm supposed to give this world's heart to the young master, and you think you're worthy?

Young master?

The Heaven‑Trust Immortal King frowned slightly,

"In this world, aside from that dead ghost Ten Thousand Medicine Divine Lord, where does a master come from?"

"Stop this nonsense."

The Faceless Immortal King was seething with anger.

Being slain by a Jue Dian Immortal King's true Immortal King avatar was one thing.

Now they dare to provoke him while going after a true immortal!

Thus, the Faceless Immortal King struck first.

A bone spear, forged from the resentful thoughts of countless corpses, tore through the sky, trailing black aura that could corrode a true immortal's Dao fruit, aiming straight for Gu Zhan's heart.

"Talking physics, huh? Old Zhan loves talking physics the most!"

Gu Zhan roared, and his ten‑zhang‑tall dharma image surged once more.

He brandished the broken axe, meeting the bone spear; even though opposite him was the Immortal King's spiritual avatar, he still cleaved through without any flourish.

Boom!

The bone spear and broken axe collided in mid‑air, unleashing a ring of black and golden ripples that lifted the ground within a thousand‑li radius by three chi.

Gu Zhan's massive stone body jolted violently, stepping back three paces.

Each step left a deep pit in the dark‑golden earth.

He lowered his head to glance at his numb stone hand, feeling a bit surprised.

These guys, though merely spiritual avatars, were far too seasoned in wielding the laws.

That spear's thrust was not merely a clash of force; countless cold curses tried to crawl along the weapon into his spiritual soul.

If an ordinary early‑stage true immortal faced it, their spiritual soul would be frozen by this move.

Unfortunately, Gu Zhan is no ordinary true immortal.

He carries within him the Primordial Chaos Origin bestowed by Gu Cangsheng, which has restored a great portion of his foundation!