The outside world was in a frenzy, yet within the Mortal Passage aboard the Tomb Ship, there was complete silence.
Lord Luchong, Luo Feng, Lord Ying’ai, and Lord Wuliang flew slowly through the corridor, proceeding with great caution. Moreover, while Luo Feng had just received news from his race, Lord Luchong, Lord Ying’ai, and Lord Wuliang had already been informed earlier, fully aware of the significance their races placed upon this matter.
The Primordial Ancestor Zhiyue herself appeared in person, speaking directly with a clone of Lord Luchong—an immense honor. At this moment, Lord Luchong was undoubtedly the greatest contributor to the Zhiyue Holy Land.
The Seven Sovereigns earnestly requested that Ying’ai and Wuliang spare no effort, promising that Sovereign Two and Sovereign Seven would soon arrive with numerous Cosmic Lords.
“Fight!”
“Fight for a sliver of survival!” The Ying-Wu couple were driven to madness.
“To have the Primordial Ancestor Zhiyue appear personally—this must be the most glorious moment of my life. I will certainly give my utmost!” Lord Luchong was equally driven.
“My race is weak, our strong warriors limited in number. We cannot rival them in quantity… but let’s see what I, Luo Feng, can accomplish.” Luo Feng’s heart burned with ambition.
The four mighty beings exchanged glances mid-flight, each gaze brimming with fighting spirit.
…
As they flew forward, the corridor widened and grew brighter. Gradually, on both sides of the corridor, stone pillars began to appear. Each pillar bore a floating projection—an image of a cube, a pyramid, or some other polyhedron. In short, each pillar supported a three-dimensional projection.
The left side’s pillars bore vivid, solid projections, each containing thousands of different fluctuations.
The right side’s pillars bore dim, loosely formed projections, barely maintaining their skeletal structures.
There were 123 stone pillars on the left.
There were 10,080 stone pillars on the right.
“What is this?” Luo Feng, Lord Luchong, Lord Ying’ai, and Lord Wuliang wore puzzled expressions as they flew slowly forward, carefully observing the massive three-dimensional projections atop each pillar.
Moreover, the 123 three-dimensional projections on the left corresponded exactly with the first 123 projections on the right.
On the left, the projections were solid and complete, like an unbroken Great Wall.
On the right, the projections were skeletal, as if many bricks had been removed from the Great Wall, making it unstable and teetering.
“Only 123 on the left, yet so many on the right…” Luo Feng pondered as he flew.
Each three-dimensional projection radiated countless beams of light in various colors.
For a moment, the entire corridor shimmered beautifully, like a fairyland.
The four of them continued forward until they reached the end—before the 10,080th stone pillar on the right side, where radiant light condensed into a human figure: Dandonghe.
“Lord.” Lord Ying’ai and Lord Wuliang were the first to respectfully bow.
Lord Luchong and Luo Feng followed suit with a bow.
Yet Dandonghe ignored them, his gaze fixed on the countless three-dimensional projections atop the stone pillars, sighing deeply: “Have you all seen this?”
“Lord, there are 123 three-dimensional projections on the left, and 10,080 on the right. The ones on the left are perfect, seemingly containing profound secrets. The ones on the right, however, are incomplete,” Lord Ying’ai replied first.
Lord Luchong added, “The first 123 projections on the right correspond exactly to the 123 on the left.”
“Correct.”
Dandonghe gazed at the dazzling three-dimensional projections radiating countless beams of light, his eyes distant as he softly said, “This is from my homeland. In my civilization, it was the most popular form of entertainment and a method to cultivate and test one’s comprehension. Any great power or special inheritance would typically use it to test candidates’ insight. It is called—Xihuang’s Puzzle!”
“Xihuang’s Puzzle?” Luo Feng, Lord Luchong, Lord Ying’ai, and Lord Wuliang all listened intently.
“The Xihuang Puzzle was crafted by an ancient and mighty entity named Xihuang before his demise. Xihuang’s life was tragic—he was a true hero, yet his fate was cruel… However, the Xihuang Puzzle ensured that all the powerful figures in my civilization remembered him. Of course, his strength far surpassed mine,” said Dandonghe. “After his passing, this puzzle spread widely. At first, countless powerful individuals saw it merely as entertainment, but later discovered that it demanded an exceptionally high level of comprehension. Studying the Xihuang Puzzle frequently could also enhance one’s insight! In our civilization, from newborn children to supreme beings, everyone loved to engage with this puzzle.”
“There are 10,081 basic incomplete puzzles in total in Xihuang’s Puzzle,” Dandonghe continued. “The right side contains 10,080 incomplete puzzles. As for the 10,081st incomplete puzzle… it is ‘no puzzle’! The left side, however, contains the perfect solutions! Completing the first 123 incomplete puzzles forms the complete solution.”
The four nodded.
“Study the solution methods for the first 123 puzzles… you should be able to uncover their fundamental principles,” Dandonghe instructed. “If you cannot even grasp the basic principles, your comprehension is too low… Once you understand the fundamental rules, begin solving the incomplete puzzles starting from the 124th, then the 125th, and so on!”
“I will give you a relatively long time.”
“Give your utmost to solve these puzzles. When the time limit arrives, if you haven’t met my minimum requirements… you will be eliminated.” Dandonghe stated bluntly. “Of course, this elimination… means death.”
The four were startled.
Death?
“Of course, you haven’t truly accessed the inheritance yet,” Dandonghe added. “Only those who meet my minimum requirements and reach the next hall will begin to access the inheritance.”
“You haven’t accessed the inheritance, so your souls won’t be completely destroyed—only your current divine bodies will perish. If you have clones, you may still survive,” Dandonghe said directly. “However, once you begin accessing the inheritance, aside from the one who potentially receives it, all others will have their souls annihilated.”
“Look ahead.”
Dandonghe pointed forward. “Begin!”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground in the center of the corridor trembled and began to split apart, revealing four radiant crystal pillars emitting colorful light.
“These four pillars belong to each of you,” Dandonghe looked at Luo Feng, Lord Luchong, and the others. “Once you grasp the profound principles, you may begin solving the 124th puzzle. Draw the complete puzzle using your divine power and transmit it into the crystal pillar. If you succeed, the pillar will notify you. If you fail, the pillar will remain silent.”
“Go.”
“The time is long, but limited.”
“If any of you can solve 6,000 puzzles within the time limit, you will directly receive the inheritance of my Dandonghe lineage! Solving 6,000 puzzles… destined for boundless potential, your future achievements will certainly surpass mine. However, I estimate none of you will manage it. Those who solve the most puzzles before the deadline will naturally gain advantages in the inheritance.” Dandonghe swept his gaze over the four and then vanished into thin air.
…
After Dandonghe disappeared, the wide corridor remained, with 123 vivid three-dimensional projections on the left and 10,080 incomplete projections on the right.
Luo Feng, Lord Luchong, Lord Ying’ai, and Lord Wuliang all felt an invisible pressure.
“A game? Entertainment?” Lord Ying’ai murmured, “Unexpectedly, Dandonghe uses an ancient civilization’s game to test us.”
“Foolish,” Lord Luchong coldly said. “Still thinking it’s just a game? Haven’t you heard that in that ancient civilization, from the young to the supreme beings, all loved Xihuang’s Puzzle? Moreover, if we can solve up to the 6,000th puzzle, our future achievements will surpass even Dandonghe Wu! In other words… breaking through the cycle will be effortless.”
Lord Ying’ai, Lord Wuliang, and Luo Feng all felt their hearts burn with desire.
Breaking through the cycle!
Ensuring one’s race’s eternal existence—what an honor.
“To ensure my race’s eternal existence,” Luo Feng silently vowed.
Lord Luchong shared the same fervor: “The Primordial Ancestor Zhiyue values this so highly. He has long transcended the cycle and possesses immense power. If he values this inheritance so much… it must be extremely important. Let me see how formidable this so-called Xihuang’s Puzzle truly is. I refuse to believe I cannot solve up to the 6,000th puzzle!”
All present burned with ambition.
Lord Ying’ai, Lord Wuliang, and Lord Luchong, all Cosmic Lords, possessed incredibly fast mental processing speeds, capable of countless thoughts per second—they had confidence.
Luo Feng also had confidence.
“My mastery of the Mysterious Pattern Diagram is extremely high.”
“This Mysterious Pattern Diagram and Xihuang’s Puzzle are both three-dimensional puzzles. Just a brief glance revealed many Mysterious Pattern nuances,” Luo Feng thought. “They likely share commonalities. Moreover, since leaving the Black Pattern Stone Pillar space centuries ago, my consciousness has been cultivating laws and studying secret techniques within that space—time flowed 3,000 times faster there. My current mastery of secret techniques is far greater.”
…
In the Zhiyue Holy Land Universe.
“Primordial Ancestor.”
Lord Luchong’s clone respectfully bowed toward the endless sky. “I am currently deciphering Xihuang’s Puzzle, an ancient civilization’s method to test comprehension. I must solve enough puzzles within the time limit. I now require a space with an extremely fast time flow.”
The Primordial Ancestor Zhiyue was fully aware of everything occurring within the Holy Land Universe.
“Xihuang’s Puzzle?” a gentle voice responded. “I know of Xihuang’s Puzzle—it is extremely difficult and requires full commitment. I shall send your clone to the ‘Time Realm,’ where time flows 10,000 times faster. Your main body will observe within the Cosmic Ship, while your consciousness will cultivate within the Time Realm.”
…
Lord Wuliang and Lord Ying’ai similarly sought out the First Sovereign.
Within their small universes, spaces with extremely fast time flows could also be created. Their clones were similarly placed within these spaces.
…
“Hurry! Send this clone of yours immediately to the Founder Giant Axe’s small universe. With the Original Ancestor permanently sealed, the Initial Universe can no longer maintain perfect acceleration. Within the Founder Giant Axe’s small universe, a space can be created maintaining 10,000 times time acceleration.” Upon learning of Luo Feng’s situation, the Chaos City Lord spared no time, personally escorting Luo Feng’s new clone to the Founder Giant Axe’s universe.
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