Chapter 249

Chapter 249: Chaos Divine Stone

"They haven’t caught up."

In the mere span of half a cup of tea delayed, Ye Xu and his companions had completely vanished from the perception of the four divine clans.

Great Emperor Ziwei heaved a faint sigh, seeming somewhat disappointed.

"Most likely, they can’t catch us. Should we wait for them?" A mischievous grin spread across his face.

In the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land, Divine Sense was suppressed by the Innate Divine Dao, nearly impossible to unleash. Relying solely on sight, it was utterly impossible to track Ye Xu’s group.

"If they fail to catch up, it means they were meant to live," Ye Xu declared lightly.

With their understanding of the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land, just a minor stratagem would suffice to trap and annihilate the Emperor Venerables of those four divine clans.

"This Innate Divine Dao venue is truly bizarre. Throughout our journey, we’ve only been able to sense the Chaos Great Dao; no other powers exist here."

Dragon Lord clicked his tongue in amazement. "A pity none among us cultivates the Chaos Great Dao. If someone did, one day of cultivation here might equate to ten years, even a hundred, outside."

He spoke truthfully. The Chaos Great Dao within the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land was Innate, not a postnatal Great Dao formed after the creation of the heavens. It held boundless profundities.

Postnatal beings cultivating the Chaos Great Dao all trace their origins back to this Innate Chaos Great Dao.

In essence, innate gods embody the source of power.

Thus, Innate Divine Beings transcend worldly hierarchies—because they are the Dao itself, even its origin.

Take the Chaotic Immortal King. Even among innate gods, he ranks among the weaker ones; otherwise, he wouldn’t remain only at the Immortal King level of cultivation.

"Though we have the intelligence granted by the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, we cannot afford complacency."

Heavenly Talisman Old Man spoke with gravity. "Bear this in mind: though that Innate Divine Being was subdued by the Heavenly Emperor, its Dao venue remains intact. A second Innate Divine Being is gestating within it."

"If we disturb it, escape will likely be impossible."

"Complete our task swiftly and depart the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land."

The group pressed forward through a misty veil of primordial chaos, delving deeper toward the heartland.

"What’s that…?" Suddenly, a gleam ignited in Fairy of the Painting’s eyes. Radiant light shone from her gaze directed ahead. Beyond the chaos, mountains undulated—ridges rising layer after layer.

Rivers converged toward the center. Primal beasts thundered across the land. Sun and moon hung side by side in the sky.

It resembled nothing short of an entire world.

But warped, fragmented, and disordered by the Chaos Great Dao. Rivers flowed backward. Sun and moon shared the firmament. Mountains hung inverted, root to sky. A landscape supremely strange.

"Seven Uncle Masters, a purple gleam—could it mark treasure?" Great Emperor Ziwei caught sight of a wisp of purple Qi. Restlessness stirred within him.

"The jade slip records that the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land gestates the Chaos Great Dao, rich with Chaos Divine Stones. That purple gleam you see likely belongs to them," analyzed Su Mu.

"Let us investigate," declared Nine Palaces Emperor Venerable. "We’ve expended much. We can’t leave empty-handed."

The other six immortals nodded in succession.

Su Mu and Ye Xu naturally voiced no objections.

All channeled their magic power and flew as one toward the site radiating purple Qi.

An enormous ore vein sprawled there, spanning hundreds of thousands of miles—likely a branch flowing from the world’s central artery. Purple haze hung thick, refusing to disperse. Its glow shimmered. Intense power distorted the void’s magnetic field, rerouting the veins of the earth itself.

"This must be where the Chaos Divine Stones lie." Su Mu retrieved the jade slip and compared it. "I am certain," he affirmed.

"Let Tai Sui take a look."

Ye Xu willed it, and Tai Sui flew out from his Purple Palace, plunging headfirst into the entrance of the vein. Its swollen and massive body nearly caused the vein to collapse, scattering broken stones everywhere.

"A Primordial being?" Su Mu’s eyes sharpened slightly. "This Tai Sui has actually grown so quickly, already possessing peak Emperor Venerable Realm strength."

Recalling the first time he saw Tai Sui in the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest, it had barely reached the Emperor Venerable Realm. Now, transformed, it was at the peak Emperor Venerable Realm. Such an advancement speed was truly terrifying.

The Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital revealed expressions of envy.

Primordial beings and Innate Divine Beings were the two most powerful species between heaven and earth. Ye Xu’s ability to subdue Tai Sui made them intensely jealous.

Ye Xu smiled without speaking.

Over the last few days in Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, Tai Sui had greatly benefited.

Tai Sui could split continuously and mastered the power of devouring. With sufficient resources, it could constantly break through and advance.

It must be known that Primordial beings were different from cultivators. While they had their own upper limits, they inherently possessed no bottlenecks to speak of.

Boom!

Tai Sui charged into the divine stone vein, shaking heaven and earth.

A quarter of an hour later, Ye Xu said, "We can go in now."

Everyone rushed into the vein.

Purple light filled the cave, crystal clear and dazzling, saturated with the aura of the Chaos Great Dao. This caused everyone’s thoughts to become chaotic, conjuring hallucinations.

However, those present were all formidable individuals. Within a few breaths, they all awoke from their delusions.

"So many Chaos Divine Stones… imagine how much they would be worth?" Great Emperor Ziwei’s eyes widened as he giggled foolishly.

"Carry them all away."

Dragon Lord showed no hesitation at all. He walked up to a fist-sized Chaos Divine Stone, grasped it with one hand, and tried to pry it off the cave wall.

"Hmm…" Dragon Lord frowned. Surprisingly, he couldn’t pry it loose.

"Hah!"

Dragon Lord took a deep breath. Blood and Qi surged as his strength erupted, shaking the entire vein. The Chaos Divine Stone gradually detached from the wall and was taken by Dragon Lord.

"What formidable power." Sensing the energy within the Chaos Divine Stone, Dragon Lord was astonished. "Just this single Chaos Divine Stone likely equals the magical power of an Emperor Venerable."

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Simultaneously, strange sounds reached everyone’s ears.

Hundreds of Tai Sui clones appeared, each enveloping hundreds of Chaos Divine Stones. They began devouring the stones in the vein at a visible speed.

"…"

"Act quickly! If we’re late, there’ll be none left!" Great Emperor Ziwei screamed in alarm. He knew the horror of Tai Sui—it was a massive glutton who never refused anything and could eat everything.

The Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital immediately exerted their full effort to begin moving the Chaos Divine Stones.

Ye Xu also conjured his magical power, invoking the power of the Metal Great Dao—indestructible and unyielding. He collected each Chaos Divine Stone into his possession.

Had he come to the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land for anything other than treasure?

Su Mu did not miss out either.

After a few sticks’ worth of incense, they had traversed over a hundred thousand li. The Chaos Divine Stones throughout the entire vein were almost completely ransacked. Among them, Tai Sui had eaten the most, consuming nearly a third of the stones single-handedly.

One divine stone equaled the power of one Emperor Venerable.

Tai Sui, in one go, swallowed several thousand Chaos Divine Stones. Its flesh began splitting again, multiplying from hundreds into thousands. It was clearly unable to hold any more.

With nothing left to devour, Tai Sui flew back into Ye Xu’s Purple Palace and fell into a deep sleep.

Ye Xu understood—Tai Sui must have entered a critical phase. Once it awoke, its strength would undergo a world-turning change.

Bang!

Dragon Lord punched through the mountain mass. Everyone leaped out and gazed towards the central region.

Clouds and mist curled around, obscuring the view.

This Innate Secret Realm was vast beyond measure, comparable to an entire world. They had only traveled a little over a hundred thousand li; the distance to the center was still long.

"I recall, within the information given to us by the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, there were other treasures in the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land," Qin Fei Yan said softly, consulting the jade slip in her hand. "From our current position, they should be southeast, about over a million and eight hundred thousand li away."

"The Chaos Spirit Root is guarded by ancient chaotic beasts! Not just one, but a flock!" The School Tutor spoke in a fast and continuous manner without pause. "Ancient chaotic beasts are born from the Chaos Great Dao and cannot be exterminated cleanly. There’s no need to waste effort over a single root over Chaos Spirit Root."

"In my view, we should first rescue Elder Brother Gu. Once Elder Brother Gu is freed, with his strength, is there anything in the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land he couldn’t obtain?"

Ye Xu, Great Emperor Ziwei, and Su Mu were dumbfounded.

This School Tutor was truly a peculiar character.

He remained silent as if nothing, but once he opened his mouth, the words poured out like an unstoppable flood, ceaselessly flowing.

Beside him, the Fairy of the Painting folded her two ears in half, closing them off to his voice.

"The paper figure sure is interesting," Ye Xu said with a smile.