Chapter 154: Manifesting the True Law, the Golden Flame Bridge

Gradually, after some careful thought, Mengchen came to an understanding.

Rather than saying it was about gaining the approval of this Ancient Palace, it was more about needing to gain the approval of the little Zhenhuang's mother—that is, one of the Ten Fiends of antiquity, the Zhenhuang.

Presumably, the peculiar spatial array here was a test specifically left behind by the Zhenhuang to see if the visitor possessed the qualifications to inherit her supreme Zhenhuang Technique.

"Then I shall give it a try!" Immediately, after figuring this out, Mengchen whispered.

He was at his wit's end now, so he had no choice but to try; before long, he sat cross-legged and entered a meditative state, and golden light began to shimmer on the surface of his body.

Heizi, Xiyao, the Tianhu Shaonü, and Yuechan all understood that from the moment this little Zhenhuang appeared until now, she had only had eyes for Mengchen, communicating solely with him throughout and nearly ignoring them entirely.

They could see that the key to everything lay with Mengchen, so whether they could truly catch a glimpse of the splendor of the Zhenhuang Technique depended on whether Mengchen was truly the person of great opportunity that the little Zhenhuang had spoken of.

With a "Boom," as the golden light emerged from his body, the surrounding magma began to churn, red clouds surged, and accompanied by thunder, it nearly caused the strata of the earth to collapse; the momentum was extremely vast.

This sudden display of power startled the little Zhenhuang standing before the Ancient Palace gate, and her beautiful, moving face looked quite surprised.

"Could he truly be capable of obtaining the approval of the divine sense left behind by my mother in the Ancient Palace and manifesting the Heavenly Bridge?"

"Then... then isn't he truly the person my mother was looking for? My future master?"

For a moment, the little Zhenhuang stared fixedly at Mengchen, her eyes filled with fervor and suspicion, scrutinizing him closely, wondering what exactly about him was worthy of her mother's favor.

But as time passed, the fervor in her eyes vanished, and she gradually lost patience, because she discovered that aside from stirring up that somewhat astonishing momentum, Mengchen had not manifested the Heavenly Bridge.

Thus, she dared to conclude that this bald youth was definitely not the person her mother had divined.

Since he was not, there was no reason to waste any more time on him.

"I think we should just call it off! You aren't up to it; just give me the Kunpeng Technique and the Jiuyou Ao true technique, and I will send you all out."

As soon as she finished speaking, she radiated divine brilliance before the Ancient Palace gate, and a bridge of flames appeared, extending from beneath her all the way to where Mengchen and the others stood.

This flame bridge was incomparably brilliant, its aura majestic.

The little Zhenhuang's words roused Mengchen; he looked at the flame bridge, feeling a pang of envy.

But he knew that this was because the little Zhenhuang believed he was unable to construct the Heavenly Bridge, so she had constructed one herself to show off to him.

This infuriated him, and he muttered to himself in a low voice: "Hmph! You agreed to exchange true techniques, yet you brought me to such a place to make things difficult for me. Since I cannot obtain the Zhenhuang Technique, don't even think about getting my Kunpeng Technique and Jiuyou Ao true technique."

At this moment, the little Zhenhuang transformed back into the red-clothed woman from before; with a calm demeanor and a straight figure, she stepped onto the flame bridge unhurriedly and walked toward them.

Her gait was like a melodious poem, slowly unfolding, yet leaving deep traces in the silence.

Mengchen knew that her taking human form to walk toward them was an escalation of her showing off.

"This is truly annoying and infuriating; is there really no other way?" Mengchen asked himself in his heart.

"Gangzi! If it doesn't work, take us and force our way in!" Mengchen's gaze was firm as he called out to the Vajra Pestle in his heart once more. He believed that with the Vajra Pestle's ability, it could certainly cross over with ease.

It was just that he had called out to Gangzi before but received no response, and he did not know if he would get his wish this time.

A moment later, the Vajra Pestle hanging on his chest did make a sound, but its words did not grant him his wish.

"Force your way in? What are you talking about! The Zhenhuang was one of the powerhouses I admired most back then; how could I harbor disrespect just because she is not here."

Upon hearing this, Mengchen did not feel dejected; he felt that even if the Vajra Pestle could not take him in by force, it should be able to offer him some guidance, so he asked in his heart: "Then what should I do? Do you have any method that is both respectful and capable of entering the Ancient Palace to obtain the Zhenhuang Technique?"

The Vajra Pestle's calm voice echoed in Mengchen's heart:

"That little Zhenhuang already told you; as long as you gain approval, you can enter. The so-called approval requires you to fully display what you have learned and realized. If you are favored in this way, you will have the qualifications to inherit the true technique."

"Otherwise, the spatial laws here are world-shaking; even if you flew for a hundred years, you would never reach the destination."

"Oh?! So that's how it is!" Hearing these words, Mengchen understood instantly.

Just now, he had been foolishly circulating his Divine Power, hoping to construct the Heavenly Bridge with it, never imagining that besides stirring up the surrounding magma, his Divine Power could not condense into a bridge at all. At this moment, after understanding, Mengchen sat cross-legged and began to ponder, silently deliberating in his heart.

Finally, he formed seals with his hands, and eleven Cave Heavens instantly surged out from his body, gathering behind him and emitting torrential divine light, like the halo behind a true Buddha; a sacred aura spread, and the golden radiance was so brilliant that it illuminated the bright red magma, making it look like flowing liquid gold.

Following the appearance of the Cave Heavens, sets of Runes began to leap out from within his body, constantly evolving. The Runes changed again and again; first, eight massive, powerful Heavenly Dragons—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, and gold—flew out, their roars seemingly resonating with the Great Dao, and a heavy, deep tolling of a Bell suddenly rang out here.

The little Zhenhuang, who was walking toward him on the flame bridge, turned pale at the sight of this, her whole person seemingly frozen in place, staring blankly.

That tolling of the Bell, which had no discernible source, seemed to neither fade nor dissipate; it echoed in the ears, lingering for a long time.

Yuechan, the Tianhu Shaonü, Xiyao, and Heizi stood near Mengchen; at this moment, they were particularly shocked, their four pairs of eyes filled with astonishment as they watched intently.

Soon, they saw the Divine Radiance within Mengchen's body change again; following closely behind was a red lotus with a terrifying aura that spun and flew out, and after that, a golden pupil, which, upon opening, seemed to see through ten thousand ages in a single glance, peering into the past and seeing the future, a sight that was truly shocking.

The Runes continued to surge, emitting an ancient aura; a Kunpeng spread its wings and flew out from his body, seemingly soaring up to the nine heavens. Then, his chest erupted with brilliance, and a small golden figure sitting cross-legged emerged from within, chanting the Great Dao Divine Sound.

Next, a beam of divine light shot into the sky, the void began to tremble, and a dark vortex formed, from which a sturdy and ferocious Jiuyou Ao walked out.

With the appearance of each technique, it was accompanied by the tolling of a Bell, echoing in the ears and deeply shaking one's soul.

Finally, the eight Heavenly Dragons, the red lotus, the golden eye, the Kunpeng, the small golden figure, and the Jiuyou Ao circled above the void, each radiating a terrifyingly peerless aura.

"He... he actually possesses so many supreme techniques!" The little Zhenhuang was greatly shocked.

"From antiquity until now, those who can possess the complete true techniques of the Ten Fiends are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. He actually... can master two at the same time, and both are complete and flawless! And... and he even possesses four powerful Supreme Techniques; who would believe this if it were told?" Yuechan opened her beautiful eyes wide, unable to believe it, yet having to believe it after witnessing it with her own eyes.

One must know, these were the methods of the ancient powerhouses, the Ten Fiends!

And those Supreme Techniques—it was rare to find one person in ten thousand who possessed even one, yet he had four, and they were all incredibly terrifying supreme divine abilities; how could one not be shocked?

On the side, the Tianhu Shaonü watched with rapt attention; her smile gradually faded and became solemn. She was absolutely certain that Mengchen would henceforth be an existence she would have to look up to, and she was deeply moved in her heart.

Heizi had a look of uprightness, his blood surging; these powerful techniques were simply too stunning.

Xiyao had a look of envy, but her heart was filled more with admiration and infatuation.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Just as everyone was shocked, the surrounding magma, which had been illuminated into gold by the divine light of the Cave Heavens, began to churn, and strands of golden firelight darted out from within.

The firelight shot out and condensed, starting from beneath Mengchen and extending all the way forward.

In an instant, a brilliant bridge formed by the convergence of golden firelight led directly to the gate of the Ancient Palace.

The Golden Flame Bridge was incomparably radiant; Mengchen beckoned to the Tianhu Shaonü and the others, and they stepped onto it with bold, vigorous strides.

Hearing this, Yuechan followed closely and obediently; although she was resistant in her heart and did not want to walk with him, she was truly shocked at this moment, and her inner resistance was suppressed by the shock.

After weighing it in the depths of her heart, she felt that this fellow was truly a rare genius of the ages!

Golden light spots appeared on the Golden Flame Bridge, dense and numerous; they were blazing golden Runes, and they were all very surprised, feeling deeply shocked as they gazed at the flickering Runes.

"This guy... could he really be the person Mother divined?! My master?! It seems I must restrain my behavior." Gazing at the approaching Mengchen, the little Zhenhuang, who had transformed into human form, stared blankly.

In the end, under her guidance, Mengchen and the others stepped onto the Golden Flame Bridge, traveling smoothly all the way to the other shore, arriving directly before the gates of the magnificent Ancient Palace.

Thick mist permeated the air, red symbols flickered, and the Ancient Palace sat right there in the center of the Magma Sea, bobbing up and down, looking incredibly miraculous.

Before the gates of the Ancient Palace lay a flight of ancient stone steps; as they trod upon the steps, below them was an endless expanse of red liquid, the temperature of which was frighteningly high.

A pair of massive stone doors stood closed, blocking the way ahead.

However, to Mengchen's surprise, with a gentle push against the giant doors, the Ancient Palace swung wide open.

These stone doors were not protected by any peculiar restrictions, and one could easily step inside.

(End of this chapter)