Chapter 898: Marvelous

In the palace where the Lord of Abandoned Lake secluded himself within the Lancang Mountain Range.

Gradually, the numerous attendants and servants began to regain consciousness. Some lay on the ground, others leaned against walls, and upon waking, they were all so terrified that they could barely stand! The palace’s rules were strict, and falling asleep on the ground was a crime punishable by death. Fear and unease gripped their hearts.

“The palace’s formations are gone!”

“All the formations have vanished.”

The attendants and servants quickly noticed the change.

The once-powerful formations that had permeated the palace had disappeared entirely, even the protective formations surrounding the outer walls.

“What happened? Why are all the formations gone? I was in charge of the vigilance formation, and now even the formation disks are missing,” many servants whispered to one another in confusion.

“I suddenly fell asleep earlier. When I woke up, I saw many others had also been asleep.”

“You fell asleep too? So did I.”

“…”

As they exchanged whispers, they realized with horror that not long ago, every one of them had fallen into a deep slumber. Their cultivation levels were too low, and they couldn’t even recall the memories of being trapped in the illusion.

Suddenly, a voice echoed throughout the palace.

“The master of this palace, the Lord of Abandoned Lake, is dead. From this day forth, you are all free.” The cold, clear voice reverberated, leaving the attendants and servants momentarily stunned before erupting into wild joy. They knew that if their master were still alive, he would never allow an outsider’s voice to resound unchecked through the palace.

“Are we… free?”

The outermost guards couldn’t resist testing their newfound freedom. In the past, the formations would have prevented any escape, but now, they flew away unhindered.

“Hahaha…”

“We can leave! We can finally leave!”

“At last… at last, we’re free.”

The palace was filled with ecstatic attendants and servants, some even kneeling and weeping uncontrollably. For millions of years, their lives had been a nightmare. Captured and forced to serve the Lord of Abandoned Lake, they had lived in constant fear. Though he rarely left his seclusion to wreak havoc, whenever his hunger grew unbearable, he would devour one of them.

Trapped in darkness, with no hope in sight, they had watched helplessly as their companions were eaten one by one.

The Lord of Abandoned Lake’s terrifying power left them no room for resistance. They could only endure in silent despair, praying they wouldn’t be the next victim. After all, he still needed servants—he couldn’t eat them all.

“Thank you, Senior!”

“Thank you for saving us!”

Many attendants couldn’t help but shout their gratitude.

“I will never forget this kindness,” some vowed silently, scattering in all directions, fleeing as far as they could, desperate never to be captured again.

…

High above the clouds in the distance.

Dongbo Xueying looked down at the palace, watching the fleeing attendants with a faint smile. The feeling of saving others was truly gratifying.

“My heart is the heart of the heavens…”

Many ancient and powerful cultivators reached this state of mind, each interpreting it differently.

For the ‘Sacred Master,’ his heart as the heart of the heavens meant treating all life as expendable. Countless beings were to bow before him, willing to die for his cause. His gaze alone was the highest honor his followers could receive—even Chaos Realm giants and Cosmic Deities were forced to submit, bound to him in soul and essence.

For the ‘Ancestral Witch,’ his heart as the heart of the heavens meant transcending all things, manipulating the workings of the Primordial Sacred World and the Chaos Void. He sought the pinnacle of detachment, viewing everything as mere tools to further his path. Thus, he dissected and studied all existence, using whatever he could to forge his own way.

Meanwhile, figures like Ancestor Tianyu, Lord Yaoguang, and the Void Primogenitor held compassion in their hearts. The Void Primogenitor’s lineage of Voidwalkers even imposed strict requirements on the temperament of its disciples.

Dongbo Xueying was no different.

To be precise:

Among the Five Sacred Worlds, the Ancient Sacred World and the Mother Goddess World belonged to two major sects. The Sacred Master and the Mother Goddess were similar in nature, though the former was far more powerful. The Eternal Sacred World’s World Ancestor and the Ancestral Witch shared a similar outlook—caring only for themselves, indifferent to the lives of others.

In contrast, the Sevenstar Sea Sacred World and the Eastlily Sacred World placed great importance on the lives of the weak. They sought to protect and nurture them, even dispatching powerful enforcers to hunt down those who slaughtered indiscriminately.

Thus, even Lord Luo stood on the side of these two Sacred Worlds. The six Star Pagodas he painstakingly forged were bestowed upon the six great Holy Lands within them.

Of course, the ‘Bone Ancestor’ lacked any compassion for the weak.

His temperament made him an outlier in the Sevenstar Sea and Eastlily Sacred Worlds, earning him their disdain. The Bone Ancestor himself had little desire to align with Eastlily, but his weakness left him no choice. Among the third-tier Ultimate Existences, he was at the very bottom—beneath the notice of the World Ancestor and the Ancestral Witch. Only Lord Luo, out of respect for ‘Meta,’ was willing to take him in, allowing him to reside in Eastlily.

…

On a quiet beach, Dongbo Xueying sat cross-legged, holding the stone mirror in his hand.

“This mirror… is truly miraculous.”

He hadn’t expected such a tremendous reward for slaying the Lord of Abandoned Lake. The mirror appeared to be crafted from ancient stone, its surface so rough that reflections were barely discernible. Yet its power had stunned him the moment he touched it. He had immediately left the Lancang Mountain Range, traveling to this distant shore to study it in peace.

On the mirror’s surface, intricate patterns of color swirled. On the left, they formed a vibrant flower; on the right, a battle standard. Gradually, the two images merged at the center, coalescing into a sinister black blossom.

“Incredible.”

Dongbo Xueying gazed at it, utterly entranced.

The flower represented the evolution of his current *Vermilion Nightmare Inheritance*, reaching the profundity of the Chaos Realm.

The battle standard mirrored the *Balong Inheritance*, also ascending to Chaos Realm levels. This process of transformation was, in essence, a deepening of understanding—a guide to greater mastery.

And their convergence?

It was the fusion of two ancient cultivation legacies, merging two Chaos Realm-level inheritances into one, creating something even greater.

“By cultivating these two legacies, this mirror guides their progression… and even their fusion?” Dongbo Xueying was awestruck. “If I were like Black Emperor, practicing four legacies, would it simulate and combine all four?”

“Yet it seems limited to ancient cultivation.”

He had noticed this limitation.

Currently, he cultivated three systems: the Rule-Oriented Path, the Voidwalker Path, and the Ancient Cultivation Path. Yet the mirror only guided the latter.

“Fortunately, the two ancient legacies I chose align with the Path of Illusions and the Path of Slaughter. Their progression has deepened my understanding of both.” As a powerhouse nearing the seventh level of the Star Pagoda, Dongbo Xueying already had a firm grasp of the Chaos Realm.

Now, with the mirror’s guidance…

It was like a lantern illuminating the path ahead.

“Reaching the Chaos Realm just became much easier,” he mused with a smile. Though this applied mainly to the Path of Illusions—his comprehension of the Path of Slaughter hadn’t yet touched the Chaos Realm. Even with the mirror’s aid, mastering it would take considerable time.

As miraculous as the mirror was, it was merely a guide. Without sufficient foundation, its revelations would remain out of reach.

“Still, its guidance is extraordinary.”

“Even fragmented ancient legacies could be restored or reinvented with its help.” Dongbo Xueying pondered. “Such a treasure… why have I never heard of it before? Why is it so obscure?”