Chapter 568: The Imperial Family

The forbidden gate spoken of by Meng Bing, the gate the Hua clan women warned against entering…

This made Lin Chen deeply curious about the black gate.

Especially when the Eastern Young Master ’s subordinate sought to enter, yet the imperial family tried to stop them—this only deepened Lin Chen’s curiosity.

Whatever drew the attention of both sides could not be an ordinary thing.

Hearing Lin Chen’s question, Li You’s expression shifted slightly; he hadn’t expected that after mentioning the Eastern Young Master , Lin Chen would still hesitate.

If Lin Chen didn’t know the Eastern Young Master ’s identity, that would be one thing—but from his tone, it was clear he knew exactly who the Eastern Young Master was.

In contrast to Li You’s tense expression, the imperial man exhaled in relief; he had feared Lin Chen might truly choose to side with the Eastern family’s Young Master .

Before entering the Sacred Flame Realm, he had been utterly confident—but after witnessing Lin Chen single-handedly slay eight disciples of the Bahuang Sect, he now harbored caution toward him.

“Inside the black gate lies a demonic entity sealed by the founding ancestor of Wan Huozong. If this demon is released, chaos will engulf the world—and it will become a catastrophe for the entire Yan Emperor Dynasty.”

The imperial man spoke, but before he finished, Li You immediately snapped: “Nonsense! That demon was utterly refined and destroyed by Wan Huozong’s founding ancestor long ago. I’m only here to retrieve the artifact he left behind to refine the demon.”

“Demons are hard to kill—otherwise, Wan Huozong’s founding ancestor wouldn’t have needed to use the realm’s fortune to forge an artifact to suppress and refine it. Who can guarantee the demon was truly destroyed? One misstep, and the entire Yan Emperor Dynasty will be drowned in blood. It is our imperial family’s duty to maintain peace.”

Listening to their exchange, Lin Chen understood: the Eastern Young Master wanted the artifact left by Wan Huozong’s founding ancestor to suppress the demon, while the Central Plains imperial family sought to prevent it from falling into the Eastern family’s hands.

Demon!

Lin Chen thought of the demon born after the death of the divine-level expert on Canglan Island—could these be the same thing?

“What exactly is this ‘demon’?”

Lin Chen’s gaze fixed directly on the imperial man, waiting for his answer.

“No one can clearly define what a demon is—only that it cannot be killed, only suppressed and refined.”

The imperial man shook his head; the demon’s appearance was far too ancient—he had never known of it before. Only now, because he was sent here to prevent others from approaching the black gate, had his clan’s elders revealed this secret to him.

Hearing this, Lin Chen made his judgment: the demon was likely the same as the one on Canglan Island.

Even Jiang Qianjie, the elder on Canglan Island, could not destroy it—only suppress it beneath the abyss and rely on time to slowly wear it down.

Beside them, Li You listened to Lin Chen and the imperial man’s exchange, his face tightening with urgency—clearly, Lin Chen was leaning toward the imperial side.

“Lin Chen, don’t listen to this man’s alarmist lies. So many years have passed—even divine-level experts have perished, let alone a demon. And even if we grant the demon still lingers, Wan Huozong’s founding ancestor suppressed it once, and now the Eastern family’s supreme being can suppress it just as easily.”

Li You’s eyes locked onto Lin Chen: “I won’t hide it from you—this Sacred Flame Hall’s appearance was orchestrated by the Eastern Young Master . The artifact within is his absolute target. Whoever stands in his way is his enemy—and the consequences are beyond what you can bear. Even if you don’t care for yourself, think of Canglan Sect. Don’t forget its current predicament.”

By the end, Li You’s threat was unmistakable.

Lin Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly; he’d heard threats like this before—in the Thousand Fold Secret Realm, someone had said nearly the same thing.

Didn’t this Li You know about Lin Chen’s deeds in the Thousand Fold Secret Realm?

The difference was, the one in the Thousand Fold Secret Realm had only threatened Lin Chen’s own life—but this one dragged in his sect as well.

“You’re right. I can’t afford to offend your Young Master . So I won’t get involved in this.”

Lin Chen shook his head; his impression of the Eastern Young Master was poor. The man’s reach was too long—his shadow had appeared in nearly every recent event.

But the object inside the black gate was a struggle between the imperial family and this Eastern Young Master —he had no reason to interfere. Choosing neutrality was best.

Seeing Lin Chen declare his stance, Yan Feng exhaled in relief; as long as Lin Chen didn’t intervene, he could block him from entering the black gate.

“Enough talk. Here are your two choices: enter the green or golden gate, or leave the hall. Otherwise…”

Yan Feng refused to delay further—he feared Lin Chen might change his mind. His gaze turned icy toward Li You, waiting for his decision.

“You really think a surprise attack means you’ve won? The Young Master anticipated this exact scenario.”

Li You sneered. The artifact the Young Master had prepared for him was meant to be used only if something extraordinary occurred inside the black gate—but now, he had no choice but to use it early.

BOOM!

Li You flicked his right hand—and at the exact moment he did, Yan Feng’s sword slashed again, unleashing a brilliant golden sword qi that illuminated the entire hall.

Lin Chen’s eyes narrowed; though he had never trained in advanced sword arts, due to his martial soul, he had absorbed the martial will of many sword techniques—and he could definitively say: this golden sword qi could not be produced by any known cultivation technique.

It belonged to no martial will, no primordial energy—but its power was staggering. Even as a bystander, Lin Chen could clearly sense the terrifying will contained within.

The terrifying sword qi surged forward—but before Li You, a golden sheet of paper materialized, absorbing every single golden sword qi.

“Divine Relic?”

Yan Feng stared at the golden paper before Li You, shock in his eyes.

How could such a thing appear here? Had that person truly reached this level?

Seeing Yan Feng’s astonishment, Li You’s eyes gleamed with triumph. When he first received this golden paper from the Young Master , he too had been utterly stunned.

It bore the handwriting of the Eastern family’s supreme being.

“Divine Relic stands before you—kneel!”

Li You roared. Yan Feng sneered—he was a member of the imperial family, the most noble lineage in the Yan Emperor Dynasty, and he would never kneel to another.

As for Lin Chen, his eyes held only curiosity toward the paper. Its surface carried an extremely profound energy—similar to martial will, yet far more advanced.

“What exactly is a ‘Divine Relic’?”

Lin Chen turned curiously to Yan Feng.

“A Divine Relic is the handwriting of a divine-level expert, infused with their own will. But unfortunately, without the imperial seal, it’s only a pseudo-Divine Relic.”

The Divine Seal—the one true one—was held by our imperial family. Even if the Eastern family’s man were more powerful, as long as our imperial seal endures, he could never forge a second.

Li You hadn’t expected these two to show no reverence whatsoever toward the Divine Relic. Now he hated Lin Chen too—if Lin Chen hadn’t chosen to stand aside, he wouldn’t have needed to use this final trump card. Had his entry into the black gate gone smoothly, this paper bearing the Divine Relic would have been one of the Young Master ’s rewards to him.

“To disrespect the Divine Relic—you two deserve death!”

Under Li You’s activation, the golden paper blazed violently. Brilliant divine radiance flowed like liquid across its surface, and from its center, a colossal character “ Zhen ” slowly emerged—formed of pure energy, its strokes strong as coiled dragons, each ink line bearing unbearable pressure.

The moment the character appeared, the air in the Sacred Flame Hall froze. An invisible pressure descended like a divine gaze from the heavens—Lin Chen trembled uncontrollably, his body screaming to kneel.

This compulsion to kneel was stronger than when he had faced the golden gate.

“Sea Rises, Moon Ascends!”

Without hesitation, Lin Chen’s dantian spirit surged. Behind him, star clouds erupted—and as his martial soul’s manifestation appeared, it instantly repelled the pressure forcing him to kneel.

Beside him, Yan Feng, seeing the star vortex behind Lin Chen and noting he was unaffected by the “ Zhen ” character, showed surprise—he himself resisted only because he carried an imperial artifact.

Not only had the Eastern Young Master prepared a contingency—his own clan had as well.

In Yan Feng’s hand was a jade pendant, once worn by the founding ancestor—far superior to the so-called Divine Relic.

“Go!”

The pendant blazed with light, slamming violently into the Kongzhong “ Zhen ” character. Two terrifying energies exploded outward. Lin Chen’s face changed instantly—he retreated at once.

At this moment, Lin Chen was deeply grateful he had chosen not to interfere. Neither the “ Zhen ” character nor the jade pendant released energy he could possibly withstand.

This was power beyond the primordial level!

Both Li You and Yan Feng suffered as well—activating such artifacts drained them immensely. Li You’s eyes flashed with resolve. The next instant, he spat a mouthful of blood—but used the recoil to propel himself toward the black gate.

Seeing this, Yan Feng’s pupils contracted. He hadn’t expected Li You to be so decisive—willing to suffer grave injury just to enter the black gate.

“Lin Chen, not long ago, Bahuang Sect allied with Xueyue Sect and Yanluo Temple to apply for a Sect War Permit. If you stop this man, my imperial family will deny the request—and what happens in this hall will never be revealed. Even if the Eastern Young Master rages, the imperial family will bear the consequences.”