Several figures stood silently at the altar's base. They didn't enter the battle and watched from a distance.
"Senior Brother Qiao, what should we do? Should we charge in and fight for the altar's treasures, or...?" one of the Dragon Emperor Academy disciples asked hesitantly. Many already knew of Qiao Bian's bond with Liu Wuxie and feared that interfering would perhaps only burden him further.
"I've decided to help Brother Liu," Qiao Bian said firmly. "You all can decide for yourselves. I won't force any of you. But if you choose to fight for the treasures, stay clear of the area I'm protecting."
With that, he vanished. He still regretted missing the chance to help Liu Wuxie before—a mistake that nearly cost Liu Wuxie's life. He wouldn't make that mistake again. If their roles were reversed, Liu Wuxie would make the same choice.
Meanwhile, Bai Wensheng and Ji Yuzhen closed in on Liu Wuxie, trapping him between them. Death loomed over him as he fought to stay upright.
Ji Yuzhen struck with deadly intent, his combat power surpassing even Bai Wensheng's.
A venomous sword aura sliced through space toward Liu Wuxie, while two Heaven Profound Realm cultivators attempted a sneak attack from the flanks.
Other cultivators ignored Liu Wuxie entirely and rushed toward the altar's entrance until Jiao Ba stopped them.
Liu Wuxie swept the Heretic Blade in a wide arc, blasting away his attackers.
"Break!" he shouted, parrying Bai Wensheng's strike with a sweeping slash. But Ji Yuzhen's attack slipped through his defense.
Everyone watching was stunned. Why didn't Liu Wuxie dodge Ji Yuzhen's attack? Had he given up?
Suddenly, a gray figure appeared in front of Liu Wuxie. With one palm, he shattered Ji Yuzhen's sword aura and swept the space clear.
Elder Madman had joined the battle.
His aura surged and overpowered even Ji Yuzhen's. As a second-level Heaven Profound Realm cultivator, he overwhelmed every other expert on the field.
He wasn't alone. Qiao Bian had joined the battle, too, tearing through enemies as he defended the altar's entrance.
"Go, now!" Elder Madman shouted.
"Okay!" Liu Wuxie didn't hesitate. He knew Elder Madman had a reason for wanting him inside the altar.
"Brother Qiao, I owe you one! Retreat if it's too much!" Liu Wuxie called out as he dashed toward the altar's entrance.
Ye Hongyi had already entered, somehow slipping past the shimmering barrier that sealed the entrance.
Liu Wuxie tried various methods to enter, but nothing worked.
"The origin laws!" he suddenly realized.
Origin laws filled the place, and they were the same ones he tried to collect using the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. While others could only refine them, he had gathered them in the cauldron.
Meanwhile, Hei Kui had returned and led the four women to safety under Elder Madman's protection.
As Liu Wuxie neared the altar, panic rippled through the crowd. They couldn't let him enter. A chosen one carried with him an overwhelming fortune. If Liu Wuxie reached the altar's core, he would gain unimaginable benefits.
Even at the third level of the Earth Profound Realm, he fought Heaven Profound Realm experts without flinching. If he rose further, he would become unstoppable.
"Ji Yuzhen, team up with me! We must kill that old man!" Bai Wensheng shouted, losing all composure.
The other Heaven Profound Realm cultivators hesitated; some observed from the sidelines while others edged closer to the altar.
Elder Madman remained calm. He knew Ji Yuzhen well; one was an elder, and the other a legacy disciple.
Elder Madman struck with his right palm, forming a cyclone that blasted Bai Wensheng backward.
Being an expert at the second-level Heaven Profound Realm, his power far outclassed those at the first level. He had to have obtained a great boon inside the heavenly coffin, which explained both his breakthrough and why he hadn't returned to the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy.
"Elder Madman, forgive me," Ji Yuzhen finally said, hesitating.
However, he still joined Bai Wensheng in the attack.
"Ji Yuzhen, you're a legacy disciple. Do you want to fight me?" Elder Madman barked, swatting aside Ji Yuzhen's sword aura with his left hand.
"You leave me no choice if you insist on favoring him," Ji Yuzhen snapped, accelerating his assault.
Indeed, Elder Madman favored Liu Wuxie. As a disciple of Heavenly Gate Peak, Liu Wuxie had earned that trust. He had even played a key role in Elder Madman's breakthrough to the Heaven Profound Realm.
The battle intensified. Liu Wuxie witnessed everything but couldn't afford to intervene. He had to enter the altar, or he would be wasting Elder Madman's help.
Liu Wuxie shaped the origin laws into shackles and channeled them into the barrier. A strange transformation occurred; the rippling wall shimmered, then turned transparent.
"Now!" Liu Wuxie surged forward and slipped into the altar's depths.
Faith energy surged into him, nourished his body, and flooded his soul sea.
"Break!" he shouted, forcing a breakthrough to the fourth-level Earth Profound Realm.
His cultivation soared, but he didn't stop to stabilize it. Now wasn't the time.
The altar's interior offered little space. It resembled a tomb, or perhaps an underground world.
"Ye Hongyi!" Liu Wuxie spotted her seated deep within, before another ancient coffin.
"Could the heavenly coffin be a tomb?" Liu Wuxie wondered as he cautiously descended from the sky, remaining alert to Ye Hongyi's cultivation.
Ye Hongyi opened her eyes as he arrived, though she looked entirely unsurprised.
"Aren't you curious who lies in this coffin?" she asked, her gaze shifting toward him.
A stream of origin laws surged from the coffin, flowing directly into her body.
"I am," Liu Wuxie replied. He had suspected all along that this coffin was Ye Hongyi's true goal over the past decade.
"He's the Origin Emperor—my ancestor. Does that answer your question?" she said plainly.
There was no time for a full explanation. The battle outside would soon reach them.
"The Origin Emperor?" Liu Wuxie froze.
He had heard of the Origin Emperor back in the Celestial Realm, but never imagined he had fallen here, in the True Martial Continent.
"So, you're inheriting his legacy," Liu Wuxie murmured in realization.
Though the Origin Emperor had died, he left behind his inheritance for his descendants to claim. That meant Ye Hongyi hadn't come from the True Martial Continent; she likely descended from the Astral Domain or even the Celestial Realm. If so, how she ended up here was a mystery.
"There are some pills over there. Take them and strengthen your cultivation. We've got a big fight ahead," Ye Hongyi said, pointing to a corner of the altar.
Aside from faith energy, this place held precious pills that boosted a cultivator's strength.
Without hesitation, Liu Wuxie rushed over, shelving all other questions for the time being. Right now, power came first.
As expected, he found several porcelain bottles filled with rare pills.
Terrifying amounts of faith energy continued to nourish them both. Ye Hongyi's cultivation continued to rise rapidly.
Even from afar, Liu Wuxie could feel overwhelming power radiating from her.
He grabbed one of the bottles and dropped a pill into his palm.
"The Divine Nine Cauldron Pill. This is a treasure!" Liu Wuxie grinned as he recognized the rare pill.
A pill of this caliber wasn't something the True Martial Continent could produce. Even in the Astral Domain, it would be rare.
He swallowed it without hesitation. Power erupted inside him, threatening to rip him apart. Immediately, he activated the Desolate Devouring Art to draw in the surrounding spiritual and faith energy.
Even the origin laws around Ye Hongyi surged toward him.
"It could backfire if you absorb too many origin laws at once. Let me teach you a method to channel them as thanks for holding off the others outside," Ye Hongyi said. She tapped her finger, releasing a beam of light that burrowed directly into Liu Wuxie's soul sea.
She feared Liu Wuxie would struggle to refine the origin laws without proper guidance.
"The Panwu Divine Art!" Liu Wuxie exclaimed in stunned silence and immediately began studying the technique.
The more he understood, the more amazed he became.
Ye Hongyi had no idea that he could absorb any laws through the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, but he still felt thankful and looked at her with sincere appreciation.
Even though he could refine origin laws without the Panwu Divine Art, he knew the results couldn't be compared at all.
The Heavenly Dao Book unfurled before him, helping him comprehend the Panwu Divine Art. As he delved deeper into it, he grew even more astounded by its complexity.
Though it wasn't as devastating as the Desolate Devouring Art, the Panwu Divine Art rivaled cultivation techniques found in the Celestial Realm, which was an incredible feat on its own.
The technique helped cultivators excavate their physique's latent potential. The human body held three hundred sixty acupoints, and Liu Wuxie had already opened nearly all of them. Beyond those, however, were countless "star nodes."
If he ignited them all, his physical resilience would surpass that of ordinary cultivators.
He already had the True Dragon Physique and the Divine Thunder Physique. It was challenging to further enhance his body's durability.
With the Panwu Divine Art, however, he could surpass even the Heaven Profound Realm in raw physical resilience.
The Divine Nine Cauldron Pill unleashed its power, and with the Panwu Divine Art guiding it, the medicinal force reached even the most hidden corners of his body.
"I didn't expect that so many parts of my body have remained untouched," Liu Wuxie murmured.
If not for the Panwu Divine Art, he wouldn't have discovered this fact. As he practiced the Panwu Divine Art, a whole new world seemed to have opened before him.