Chapter 506: Black Magic Palace

"Oh? What is it?"

Kui Lan raised an eyebrow, exuding fierce arrogance.

"I want a coordinate—the man once fell into the Yuan Yan Palace."

Fang Xing flicked his fingers, and a phantom appeared: the image of Li Ying's junior follower—Lin Qianzhu.

Back then, this junior followed him into the Yuan Yan Palace; no one knows if he's alive or dead now.

"Hmm?"

Kui Lan fell silent for a moment, seemingly communicating with the spirit of the Yuan Yan Palace, then shook his head: "This man has passed the trial; he is an honorary disciple of my master. I cannot reveal his whereabouts…"

Fang Xing frowned slightly: "I have no ill intent toward him."

"I believe that," said Kui Lan, "but attracting the attention of a dragon with a mere ant is never wise."

Without waiting for Fang Xing to reply, he vanished directly into the Yuan Yan Palace.

"Tsk tsk… quite a loyal fellow."

Fang Xing commented.

For other cosmic wanderers, gaining a master's favor with a single cosmic coordinate would be a guaranteed profit.

But Kui Lan refused—clearly, he intended to protect the Xia Dynasty's lineage.

Of course, it wasn't out of affection for humans, but because protecting the Yuan Yan Palace's lineage was his duty.

He would not sacrifice even an honorary disciple to win favor from a powerful being.

Compared to those who kill their underlings for petty gains, his character was far nobler.

"Fine, if you won't say it—there'll be other chances later."

Fang Xing shook his head and vanished into the cosmos.

…

Inside the Yuan Yan Palace.

Streams of light converged, forming the spirit of the Black Horn Elder: "Kui Lan… your choice to protect the palace master's disciple is noble, but on a cosmic scale, it's a loss… That man is strong! I even suspect he rivals the strongest among the Fa Zhu realm…"

"Black Elder."

Kui Lan spoke with deep respect to the Black Horn Elder: "Now that I am the new master of the Yuan Yan Palace, I must shoulder its responsibilities—even if it means gaining a terrifying enemy. That enemy will be my whetstone; one day, I will defeat him."

"Hmm. To become strong, this unyielding spirit is the bare minimum."

The Black Horn Elder nodded, somewhat satisfied, then scratched his head: "That man feels… strange. He seems familiar with the Yuan Yan Palace, yet I'm certain I've never seen him before…"

He reached out and pulled forth a stone tablet: "All who enter the Yuan Yan Palace leave behind a soul imprint here—there is no trace of him. But the man he seeks, Lin Qianzhu, passed the trial, became an honorary disciple, chose a fire-based inheritance, and left… the coordinate is in the Ophiuchus Star System."

"If a powerful being is this fixated on him, his home planet may hold secrets. After the Black Magic Palace ends, we might pay it a visit…"

Kui Lan said: "I must begin preparations. Please watch over that little one for me, Black Elder…"

"Rest assured. We're both Yuan Yan Beasts—I'll give it the best cultivation."

The Black Horn Elder gazed at the cub, a rare warmth appearing on his face…

…

"The Black Magic Palace… truly remarkable…"

Meanwhile, on a common aquatic race planet.

Fang Xing held the Net-Scale and studied the introduction to the "Black Magic Palace Realm."

Since the information was public, there were no secrets—just a general idea was enough.

"The Black Magic Palace is like a cosmic phenomenon, appearing periodically and distributing the 'Black Magic Talisman'…"

"Those who hold the 'Black Magic Talisman' will have their consciousness drawn into the true 'Black Magic Palace' when it opens… So it's a virtual space?"

"Precisely because of this, the best rewards in the Black Magic Palace are various inheritances… though there are cases of physical items being taken out."

"From this alone, the Black Magic Palace may not merely be a relic of a Fourteen Realm Dao Master—it could even be a legacy of a Fifteen Realm Eternal."

At that moment, Fang Xing's body trembled violently.

Within his Star Palace, the neutron star suddenly stirred, surrounded by dense fog of condensed source energy.

"Source energy has been fully absorbed—I can now break through to the Thirteen Realm's Heavenly Immortal Fa Master with a single thought…"

"But doing so would forfeit the Black Magic Palace opportunity. Better to wait until after the Black Magic Palace."

Fang Xing smiled faintly, suppressing the surge of energy, and resumed eating, drinking, and enjoying himself.

…

Several months later.

Fang Xing, gnawing on a meat rack taller than a man, froze: "Finally… here it comes?"

He instantly teleported to a drifting meteorite in outer space.

Here, he had long prepared his meditation chamber, with every defensive array fully activated.

Now, Fang Xing sat cross-legged, cradling the Black Magic Talisman in both hands.

Hum!

The next instant, an inexplicable force of suction appeared.

A thread of his consciousness passed through the Black Magic Talisman, arriving at a secret realm in the cosmos.

…

"Is this… virtual or real?"

In a void, a body suddenly formed.

Fang Xing clenched his fist, then smirked: "It's been a long time since I felt such a weak body… Satellite-level source energy? And a mediocre one at that. So in the Black Magic Palace, everyone's physical quality is roughly equal—only combat experience and law comprehension matter…"

For those who rely entirely on brute strength, this would be a nightmare—like his former Black Dragon avatar, he'd be utterly lost. But for Fang Xing, who had fully comprehended the "True Self Law," and whose other laws reached profound depths, this was no threat—it was a tremendous advantage.

He looked up and saw a vast, impenetrable black palace.

Even the palace gate stood hundreds of miles tall.

"Black Magic Palace…"

Fang Xing glanced around—no one else in sight. Clearly, there were multiple entrances.

He flew straight into the palace, and instantly felt the world spin—he had entered a strange dimension.

【Trialist, you must pass the Three Black Magic Palaces to earn 'Black Magic Points'!】

【The more trials you pass, the more Black Magic Points you earn—the better the rewards!】

Instantly, a message entered Fang Xing's mind.

【So this is how the Black Magic Palace works?】

Fang Xing's thoughts stirred.

Details of the Black Magic Palace's inner workings were absent from the aquatic race's networks—likely classified and hidden.

Ahead of him, he saw a golem covered entirely in black scales.

It vaguely resembled a human, with blood-red eyes, swinging two massive hammers toward him.

As it attacked, the hammers emitted a mysterious force, generating immense gravitational pull—forcing him to rush into their path and be crushed to pulp.

"Ninth Realm Planet-level combat power."

Fang Xing nodded, glancing at it.

The black-scaled humanoid golem froze, then began to fade, starting from the two hammers.

Soon, its entire form dissolved into nothingness, like a dream or bubble.

"The fifth layer of Illusion Law's enhancement is no longer trivial."

Fang Xing nodded and entered the second palace.

Inside, another black-scaled humanoid golem awaited—this one with two heads and four arms, each wielding a massive hammer, creating four dark veils of light that left no escape.

"Tenth Realm Star-level combat power."

Fang Xing nodded, as before—just one glance, and the golem froze and vanished…

He then reached the third palace, where he encountered a three-headed, six-armed golem—predictably, Eleventh Realm Red Giant-level combat power.

The six hammers in its hands swelled, their surfaces etched with crimson lava patterns.

Yet, still, Fang Xing's single glance turned it into a dreamlike bubble.

【Passed the first three palaces—earned 100 Black Magic Points!】

A new message appeared.

Fang Xing snorted and entered the fourth palace.

"Die!"

The golem here still had three heads and six arms, but its eyes were alive, filled with emotion.

Boom!

Its body, now as indestructible as a neutron star, could barely withstand Fang Xing's void gaze—only slightly weakened.

"Of course—the fourth palace is nothing like the first three."

Fang Xing raised a finger; silver runes appeared, forming a silver arc that swept across the golem's neck.

Instantly, the golem's neutron-star body split cleanly at the neck—its massive head tumbled down.

【Passed the fourth palace—earned 1000 Black Magic Points!】

The new message made Fang Xing nod: "Those who pass the fourth palace must have mastered laws at the elite neutron-star level."

He entered the fifth palace and saw the guardian golem.

This golem had only one head and two arms, yet radiated an aura of solemnity.

Seeing it, Fang Xing felt as if he were gazing upon his own Black Dragon avatar.

"Black hole-level body refinement?"

Fang Xing sighed, and immediately saw the golem swing its fist, striking down.

Boom!

Beneath that punch, spacetime twisted, carrying the flavor of spacetime fusion; wherever it passed, space became a chaos.

Yet amid the chaos, an ever-burning sun emerges!

Fully comprehending the "True Self Principle" allows not only for one's own self to become real amidst illusion, but also to endure any external harm—so long as one firmly believes oneself to be real, all external injuries become illusory.

In illusion, only the True Self exists!

This is "Outside the Self, Nothing Else Exists!"

Fang Xing formed palms and slowly pushed forward the Great Sun Tathagata Palm.

Beneath the indescribably colored sun, the black golem's black hole-level physique rapidly melted away...

【Passed the Fifth Palace, earned 10, 00 Black Demon Points!】

The expected prompt appeared, but Fang Xing's expression turned grim: "The fifth palace is already black hole-level— the guardian of the sixth palace must be a Law Lord. I wonder how many layers of a Heavenly Immortal that equals?"

He arrived at the sixth palace and immediately felt terrifying heat.

It was a flame that seemed to burn through all things; a black war god gazed at him from within the fire.

"Heavenly Immortal fourth layer..."

Fang Xing exhaled a long breath: "My frail body probably cannot match it..."

(End of Chapter)