Chapter 819
The Key to High-Level Venerables
This tranquility lasted for a few breaths.
A blurry figure suddenly materialized in the open space, its outline shifting from indistinct to solid, revealing itself to be Yang Fan once again.
He did not use his physical body.
Instead, it used another knight-level clone as a vessel, and descended remotely into this dreamlike capital city across a distant spatial barrier.
A cold glint suddenly flashed in the depths of Yang Fan's eyes. His aura surged without warning, his bones cracked, his muscles bulged, and his body expanded rapidly like an inflating balloon.
In an instant, he transformed into a giant ape with three heads and ten arms. Pale golden full-body armor clung tightly to his bulging body, with intricate star patterns and dragon scale designs engraved on the armor plates, shimmering with a lustrous and majestic luster. Every detail was breathtakingly exquisite.
The giant ape was as large as a mountain, standing up to 500 meters tall, and exuded an extremely intimidating and terrifying aura.
This is precisely the core foundation of his status as the King of Dreams—the Dream Battle Soul!
With each breath the giant ape took, the dream energy around its nostrils would be disturbed, creating many tiny specks of light out of thin air.
This scene shows that since killing the Venerable of the Ice Soul Civilization in his giant ape form, Dream Battle Soul's strength has made great progress.
No one knew that over the years, Yang Fan's strength had been increasing at an astonishing rate, never slowing down for a moment.
The giant ape slowly raised its right hand, which was covered in pale gold armor. Its five fingers were spread out, and the patterns on the armor at the knuckles shone with brilliant golden light. It then grabbed at the vast starry sky above its head, which was studded with stars!
"boom--!"
A deafening thunderclap suddenly exploded, as if the entire Star Gazing Pavilion was trembling slightly in the vibration of the laws, and the stars in the sky dimmed for a moment.
Immediately afterwards, a meteor burning with blazing white flames suddenly tore through the sky from the depths of the starry sea, trailing a long tail of light, and like a bolt of lightning, it pierced through the void and instantly hovered in front of Yang Fan.
As the intense starlight gradually faded and the flames vanished, a finger bone, entirely black and covered with fine cracks, slowly emerged, exuding an ancient and domineering aura.
This is the divine equipment left behind by the fallen god Sallit, carrying a portion of the power left behind by a fallen ancient god.
The six pale golden pupils on Yang Fan's three heads instantly ignited with raging pale golden flames, with patterns of laws flowing within the flames, and an invisible pressure emanating from his body spread outwards like Mount Tai pressing down.
Every inch of air seemed to freeze, his image became extremely majestic, truly transforming into that supreme, all-powerful dream king.
His three heads turned slowly at the same time, his lips opened and closed in unison, and a deep and majestic voice rolled out from his throat.
Each word was imbued with a profound power of law, causing the air to vibrate and hum.
With each word spoken, the surrounding light dimmed slightly, as if swallowed by an invisible black hole: "Sallit, do you really think I can't see through your shady tricks and tactic of playing these utterly pointless games?"
The voice just fell.
The jet-black finger bone, which had appeared dormant and lifeless, suddenly emitted a faint buzzing sound, followed by an eerie vibration.
A faint red glow flickered on the golden surface of the finger bone, as if some ancient, dormant consciousness was about to awaken in this tremor.
"Humph!"
The three heads of the three-headed, ten-armed giant ape let out a cold snort in unison.
That hum was no ordinary sound; rather, it carried the oppressive force of the laws themselves.
As soon as it landed, the surrounding void collapsed inwards layer by layer, with the divine remains and finger bones as the center, like crumpled brocade.
Even the passing light was twisted into a spiral, creating a bottomless dark vortex in the field of vision.
next moment.
A thick, inky mist suddenly surged out from the gaps in the finger bones.
This appearance showed none of the composure of a high-level Venerable; instead, it resembled someone being chased by raging fire, filled with panic and disarray.
The mist surged and condensed in the void, gradually forming a blurry yet ferocious face, which was none other than the high-ranking Venerable of the Shadow Palace—Sallit!
This person was not truly dead!
In the instant he was swallowed by the giant hand, he secretly activated some strange soul-concealing technique, forcibly separating a wisp of his remnant soul from his body and hiding it in this piece of divine bone, barely escaping death.
It must be said that the profound knowledge and experience of a high-level Venerable is indeed well-deserved.
In contrast, the two mid-level demon lords had already been devoured by the giant hand, their souls scattered and not even a trace of their remnants remained.
Despite his meticulous planning, he ultimately failed to deceive Yang Fan's eyes.
The face formed from black mist trembled as its lips opened and closed, emitting a sharp sound like fingernails scraping metal; resentment and despair intertwined, almost solidifying into a tangible form.
"Damn it! How did you even find me?!"
The giant ape's six cold, vertical pupils were fixed on the black mist, and it remained silent.
Why waste words on a dying person?
In fact.
The moment Yang Wanyu and her brother sent the divine remains and finger bones into the Eternal Trojan Horse's storage space, Sallit's soul-concealing technique was already exposed.
The Eternal Trojan Horse wields the law of devouring, making its perception of any supernatural power in the world extremely acute.
The faint yet persistent fluctuations of the soul within the finger bone were captured perfectly the moment they entered.
Such a flawless method of concealing one's soul would likely be difficult for even ordinary high-level Venerables to detect.
It can only be said that Sallit was extremely unlucky, as he happened to run into Yang Fan, who had endless tricks and countless trump cards.
Sallit struggled to turn his black mist head, surveying the chessboard-like, crisscrossing earth beneath his feet, etched with patterns of laws, and the dazzling yet lifeless starry sky above, where even star power was imprisoned. The oppressive aura of laws emanating from him was so severe it was suffocating.
Its voice suddenly rose, filled with shock and disbelief: "The dream fortress you built is actually this powerful?!"
Back when it had not yet lost the Law Weaver, it had used its power to discover that the Azure Ghost had built a dream fortress.
At that time, it thought it was just an ordinary dream fortress, at most equivalent to a mid-level Venerable in terms of level—after all, Azure Ghost had only been the king of dreams for a few years and its mastery of dream laws was still shallow.
But now that it has personally stepped into this dreamlike capital, it suddenly realized how wrong it had been!
The power of laws contained within this fortress is extremely stable, clearly at the level of a high-level Venerable!
To put it in a more easily understandable way, even if four or five high-level Venerables who are proficient in the laws of dreams joined forces to attack, they would not be able to shake the Dream Capital in the slightest.
To break through it, at least a dozen high-level Venerable-level Dream Realm experts would need to work together for even a slight chance.
With a hint of shock, Sallit turned to look at the giant ape with three heads and ten arms.
But after just one glance, the face formed from black mist twisted violently, and the voice trembled so badly it became distorted: "You...you're about to advance to a high-level Venerable?! How is this possible?!"
The most significant and core difference between high-level Venerables and low-level or mid-level Venerables lies in whether or not a deep-seated, powerful law is integrated into the domain of laws they control.
Salli himself was a high-level Venerable, and he had been in contact with divine artifacts for many years, so he was more sensitive to the aura of strong laws than anyone else.
It merely glanced at the pale golden armor on the giant ape's body, catching a glimpse of the intricate patterns woven into the armor, and instantly sensed the unique aura of powerful laws within it—a power barrier that even a beginner or intermediate Venerable might not be able to reach in their entire life.
Yang Fan glanced at the other person with some surprise: "You have a good eye."
Given the other party's good judgment, he was unusually willing to say a few more words.
The three heads spoke in unison, their deep voices booming, causing the black mist on their faces to surge violently: "The Heavenly Dream Spirit Patterns on the surface of the Soul Armor have indeed touched the edge of powerful laws." Yang Fan then had a thought, and the Heavenly Dream Spirit Patterns suddenly lit up.
The golden patterns that were originally engraved on the armor began to flow slowly as if they were alive, and the golden light spread out, illuminating this area inside the Star Gazing Pavilion.
To Sallit's horrified gaze, the giant ape's figure suddenly swelled, transforming into a towering mountain that blotted out the sky.
An extremely terrifying pressure swept over everything. The last bit of power of law within its body was instantly melted away under this pressure, like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun, and not even a trace of it could be sensed!
This is precisely the absolute law suppression unique to the powerful laws!
Any weak law power, even if it is only slightly related to a strong law power, will encounter this situation.
In reality, the giant ape's body did not change at all; it was only because Sallit's soul was overwhelmed by the powerful laws that he experienced this illusion.
Sallit's black mist face trembled violently, filled with frantic disbelief: "How is this possible... how could it be so fast?!"
It remembered clearly that the other party had just been promoted to a mid-level Venerable not long ago.
As a result, several months later, he had already surpassed the accumulation of the initial to intermediate level, directly touched the powerful laws, and even integrated them into his soul armor to make them his own!
This speed of cultivation completely overturned its entire understanding of this world.
Yang Fan had no intention of getting entangled in cultivation-related trivialities. His aura suddenly intensified, and his voice boomed like thunder, causing ripples to spread throughout the entire Star Gazing Pavilion.
“Sallit, stop wasting your time stalling. That ‘key’ is hidden deep within your soul, isn’t it?”
Sallit's face, shrouded in black mist, spoke with a bewildered tone: "What key? I don't understand what you're talking about."
Yang Fan's three heads shook slowly at the same time, his six golden pupils filled with mockery: "Pretending to be stupid is useless. You know better than anyone that I'm talking about the 'Law Key' that unlocks the core laws of the Fate Weaver."
Previously, he had stolen the Fate Weaver from Sallit across the endless void, and then used the treasure, the Soul-Stealing Cicada, to completely dismantle and destroy this weapon containing the law of misfortune, forcibly extracting the power of the law from it.
Sallit initially thought that with his close connection with the Weaver of Fate, he would definitely be able to retrieve this Law Weapon. However, Yang Fan's series of divine actions completely shocked this high-level Venerable.
Over the next few months, Yang Fan spent a great deal of time comprehending and integrating this cursed law.
But when the fusion progress was just over one-tenth, he began to notice something unusual—there was actually an extremely hidden "lock" hidden in that seemingly pure power of law.
This is not a physical lock in the ordinary sense, but a "mystical isolation layer" that transcends the laws of nature.
Although it did not seal away all the mysteries of the Law of Misfortune, it did lock away the most core and crucial part.
But it is precisely this missing part that becomes the insurmountable barrier to comprehending the complete Law of Misfortune. Without it, even if one spends a thousand years, one will ultimately remain outside the threshold of the law.
Such exquisite and domineering sealing techniques are far beyond the reach of those at the Venerable level.
There is only one answer—this was the work of a demigod.
Considering that the leader of the Shadow Temple is a demigod-level being, this speculation becomes even more logical.
With Yang Fan's current strength, let alone breaking the demigod's seal, even just getting close to the opponent's domain would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
He had long since given up hope, after all, the demigod's foundation was unfathomable, and he had no ability to seize the Law Key from the demigod.
Later, with a "nothing to lose" mentality, he conducted a deduction to trace the origin of that power of law, and unexpectedly discovered that the key of law seemed to have a deep and intricate connection with Sallit's soul.
This undoubtedly proves one thing—this arbitrator has always kept the key to the law.
This is actually quite reasonable.
For a demigod-level powerhouse, a weapon of the level of the Fate Weaver is not even worth a glance, so there is naturally no need to keep the matching Law Key.
The reason the demigod entrusted the Spirit Key to Sallit was most likely just to offer a promise to his "capable subordinate"—like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey.
It means—young man, do your job well, and as long as you achieve enough merit, I will bestow upon you the complete Law of Misfortune.
From Yang Fan's perspective, as long as he can obtain this Law Key, with the power of many laws under his control, he might be able to break the seal and successfully integrate the complete Law of Misfortune.
More importantly, he vaguely suspected that the Spirit Key might also contain the demigod's understanding of the Law of Misfortune.
If the speculation is true, this would be a huge fortune.
This further means that the obstacles on his path to becoming a high-level Venerable have been almost completely cleared.
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The panic in Sallit's eyes completely faded, replaced by a ruthless, desperate resolve.
It knew it was now in a desperate situation where it was "at the mercy of others," and that pretending to be stupid would only be self-deception. So it simply threw its head back and let out a hoarse and wild laugh.
Its voice was filled with piercing venom: "The Key to the Law? Yes, it is indeed hidden deep within my soul! But you will never find it, much less break the seal!"
His laughter abruptly stopped, and his tone suddenly turned sinister as he viciously uttered harsh words, each one like a poisoned ice pick: "It seems that my recent string of misfortunes is inextricably linked to you. You must have already fused with a portion of the power of the Law of Misfortune and can barely control this power!"
He paused, deliberately drawing out his words with a teasing tone, like a cat playing with a mouse: "But I have some 'good news' for you. The power of misfortune that has merged with the Law Key within you has already been secretly bound by the demigod. The two are closely connected, and moving one will affect the whole thing!"
The so-called "good news" is undoubtedly ironic.
"At most ten Primordial Suns!" His voice suddenly rose, filled with frantic certainty, "The eternal leader of the Shadow Temple, the great demigod 'Abili', will sense the anomaly of the Law Key through this bond, and thus lock onto your soul's trajectory!"
"When that time comes, God will surely unleash His thunderous wrath, personally crushing you, this ignorant ant, and then turning the entire Azure Civilization into ashes!"
The giant ape stood silently, its six pupils, burning with pale golden flames, calmly watching the crazed face, quietly listening to Sallit's curses and threats, without any intention of interrupting.
His intuition told him that if he could not find and seize the Law Key within ten Primordial Days, not only would he himself be doomed, but the entire Azure Civilization would also face annihilation, with consequences far more severe than he imagined.
Sallit seemed to be venting all the pent-up resentment, cursing wildly from the level of his soul.
From Yang Fan's arrogant and boastful insults to the insignificance and humility of the Canglan civilization, he finally stopped, panting, when his breathing became somewhat disordered. The red light on the surface of his finger bones also dimmed a bit.
Just then.
The eyes on the giant ape's three heads flickered simultaneously, and the pale golden flames danced slightly: "It seems that my guess was correct. In order to save your life, you have already separated many fragments of your soul, refined several clones, and hidden them in different secret places."
"The Law Key should be hidden within one of the soul fragments. With my current perception range, finding that fragment in the vast void is indeed like finding a needle in a haystack."
"More importantly, once your main body perishes, those clones will sense it immediately. At that time, they will return to the Shadow Palace to report the news at all costs, and I and the Azure Civilization will indeed face annihilation."
Upon hearing this, Sallit burst into another arrogant laugh, his laughter filled with schadenfreude: "You know that much better!"
He gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "You think the treasures of the Shadow Palace are so easy to take? You think that killing me, the Shadow Arbitrator, will have no consequences? You are digging your own grave and the grave of the entire Azure Civilization!"
The three heads of the giant ape sighed softly at the same time, without any fear, only complete calm: "In that case, it seems I have no choice but to use my trump card."
Sallit's heart skipped a beat, and an unprecedented chill instantly swept through his body.
This was an instinctive warning of danger, giving him a sudden and extremely bad premonition, as if he would fall into an abyss from which he could not escape at any moment. (End of this chapter)