"What should we do now? Just wait here for him?"
The Three-Headed Ghost Clan sequence spoke, a potent killing intent roiling within him.
He had originally intended to bide his time, but now that even the scouts trailing Lu Yuan had been slaughtered, he could barely keep his temper in check.
While he acknowledged Lu Yuan's formidable strength, he still possessed trump cards of his own. Allied with the two beside him, success was virtually guaranteed.
As for whether Lu Yuan would come here, there was no doubt whatsoever; anyone could see that Guangchengzi's greatest legacy and fortune lay inside the grand hall.
"No," the Origin Demon Clan sequence replied, shaking his head at once. "Killing him is important, but what matters far more to us is whether we can seize the opportunities awaiting inside for ourselves."
A grand era had dawned, and all races would soon vie for supremacy.
Though they were hailed as sequence prodigies, within their own clans their standing was not paramount—at least compared to those ranked ahead of them, the gap was vast.
In the sequence rankings, the higher one stood, the wider the disparity in talent and bloodline became.
They were thoroughly unwilling to remain beneath others forever.
Otherwise, why would they have chosen to descend so early, even at significant personal cost?
They merely wanted to seize this opportunity to rise completely and contend for higher standing.
"Very well. Let us find a way to enter the hall first, claim the legacy and fortune inside, and then strike," Lei Xuan agreed. He was equally set on seeing Lu Yuan dead.
Their elders stationed in outer space had bestowed various means upon them. So long as they did not delay too long and allow Lu Yuan to evolve further, dealing with him would hardly be difficult using their own abilities and trump cards.
Yet the fortune of the immortal Guangchengzi would only present itself this once.
With that, all three nodded in agreement.
After all, each harbored his own selfish motives.
The priority of slaying Lu Yuan naturally had to yield to the Daoist sanctuary's fortunes.
"Let's go!"
Their minds made up, the three sequence prodigies wasted no time and headed toward the grand hall once more.
Moving at remarkable speed, they arrived before it in mere moments.
As for the secret realm spirits, none could impede their steps.
The hall rose majestically, looking as though it had endured an ancient epoch, its surface scarred by blade and spear, sword and halberd.
Yet the three paid these details no heed, walking straight beneath the massive gate.
"I cannot tell what material it is forged from, but it is extraordinarily heavy."
Lei Xuan touched it, his gaze solemn. He knew entering the hall would likely prove difficult.
"No matter. Let me try." The Origin Demon Clan sequence stepped forward. The black mist cloaking his frame grew denser than before, surging in ripples laden with tremendous force.
Without hesitation, he drove a clenched fist directly against the great hall's gate.
*Thud! Thud!*
Billows of dense black mist surged, clinging to the surface.
Yet as time ticked past, the hall's gate remained utterly unchanged.
Seeing this, Lei Xuan and the other narrowed their eyes and joined in the assault.
Lacking any proper technique to enter, their only recourse was brute force.
Unfortunately, this place was tied to the immortal Guangchengzi.
How could three individuals ever breach it from without through raw might alone?
In the end, despite exhausting every method at their disposal, they could not shake the gate in the slightest.
"What... what do we do now?" Seeing the futile outcome, the Three-Headed Ghost Clan sequence wore an exceedingly grim expression across all three of his faces.
They had arrived at a land of supreme fortune, a legendary immortal's Daoist sanctuary, and knew immense opportunities lay within, yet they were entirely powerless.
None of them wished to give up, convinced there had to be some way to breach the threshold.
"Hold on. An aura is approaching," Lei Xuan suddenly spoke up.
The other two felt their hearts jolt and glanced back instinctively.
"It should be that human, Lu Yuan." The Origin Demon Clan sequence pondered for a moment before saying, "Shall we conceal ourselves first?"
"Agreed. If we truly cannot enter the hall, we can at least crush and slay him." Lei Xuan favored the idea as well. If they waited until Lu Yuan hit a dead end and failed to enter, striking out without warning would catch him completely unprepared.
When dealing with a figure like him, a direct clash would prove troublesome.
After all, every one of them acknowledged his exceptional strength.
Promptly leaving the gate, they employed their clans' secret concealment techniques to mask their presence. Fearing they might still be detected, they retreated a fair distance away, reckoning this would ensure nothing went awry.
Not long after, a silhouette descended from the sky, landing squarely before the hall's gate.
It was Lu Yuan.
Yet he did not approach immediately, standing calmly where he was.
Beams of divine light swept across his eyes in a measured gaze.
The sequence prodigies of the three clans had entered the secret realm space earlier than him, clearly aiming for the legacy within.
Yet now, not a trace of them could be seen, and the gate appeared untouched, as if it had never been opened.
Lu Yuan could easily guess what had transpired.
Beneath the gaze of his Martial Dao Heavenly Eye, subtle traces of distinct auras surfaced right before him.
"Unable to open the gate, did they leave outright, or are they lying in ambush nearby?" Lu Yuan smiled faintly. Without the Martial Dao Heavenly Eye, discerning this would have been somewhat tricky, but now...
He cared little about their presence nearby, knowing well what they were capable of.
Even if they were sequence prodigies, so what?
He feared them not in the least.
What truly piqued Lu Yuan's curiosity was why they had been unable to enter the hall.
Paying them no further heed, he strode slowly toward the gate.
He raised a hand and touched it lightly.
Ancient.
Heavy.
Desolate and weathered.
Various sensations intertwined, pressing down before him like an immovable mountain.
The moment he felt it, Lu Yuan determined that ordinary means could never breach this entrance.
"This is somewhat troublesome," he muttered, narrowing his eyes in thought. The three sequence prodigies had surely encountered the exact same obstacle before reluctantly stepping away.
However...
He happened to have a way.
With a slight flick of his wrist, the mysterious small green copper cauldron appeared.
Indeed.
It was this very object again.
The cauldron had previously aided him in entering the Ancestral Dragon Hall and securing the Human Sovereign essence blood.
Facing another impassable entrance now, Lu Yuan naturally thought of it first.
The small green copper cauldron was immensely mysterious; even now, he had not fully unraveled its secrets.
Yet that did not prevent him from putting it to use.
*Might as well give it a try.*
Without another word, Lu Yuan took a deep breath, set the cauldron upon the ground, cut his palm, and allowed drops of blood to fall inside.
Instantly, wisps of brilliant light cascaded from the small green copper cauldron, as though it could act of its own accord.
It moved forward, making direct contact with the hall's gate.
*Buzz!*
A sudden hum resonated in his mind.
*It works!*
A look of delight crossed Lu Yuan's face.
Though he did not know the cauldron's true origins, it currently appeared to be an all-purpose key.
Naturally, he kept a substantial portion of his focus tuned to his surroundings. Knowing the three sequence prodigies were nearby, an unexpected appearance now would disrupt his plans.
As time passed, the light radiating from the small green copper cauldron enveloped the entire gate.
Soon, ripple-like patterns rippled across its surface like gentle waves on water.
The radiance swayed, utterly soft and devoid of any resistance.
Lu Yuan reached out his hand and discovered it passed straight through the gate.
It seemed to grant a single entry into the hall!
Just then, however, he sensed that the three prodigies had noticed the anomaly and were rapidly closing in.
A smirk touched the corners of his lips. Reclaiming the small green copper cauldron, he simply strode forward and stepped through.
Since he could enter the hall, he had no desire to waste time with them. Once he came back out, there would be plenty of opportunity to deal with them at his leisure.
Moreover, his recent perception had revealed that the blood offering granted entry to only one person at a time.
*Buzz!*
Sure enough, the moment he crossed the threshold, the water-like ripples dissolved, and everything returned to its former state.
"Not good! He actually went inside!"
The three prodigies arrived just in time to witness the scene.
Lu Yuan had stepped right through, completely unhindered.
They rushed forward at once, eager to follow him into the hall.
This was a legacy left behind by the immortal Guangchengzi; whoever obtained it would reap boundless benefits.
They had been willing to set aside their superiors' orders for its sake, so having glimpsed this opportunity, how could they give it up?
Yet when their hands struck the gate, they found it just as impassable as before. They could not enter.
"How... how did he do that? Did he use some special method?" The Three-Headed Ghost Clan sequence was deeply shaken, utterly bewildered. Had Lu Yuan come prepared?
"A miscalculation! We should have stayed closer in ambush!" Lei Xuan slammed his fist against the gate, his expression exceedingly ugly, as though he had just watched a grand opportunity slip through his fingers.
"Saying anything now is useless," the Origin Demon Clan sequence said. "In the end, we still have to kill Lu Yuan. Let him enter and claim the fortunes inside first. Once he does, we will find a way to seize them from him."
"That's right. Anything left behind by an immortal will surely carry restrictions and safeguards. We shall wait outside and reap the spoils of the fisherman!"
The Three-Headed Ghost Clan sequence concurred completely. Since they truly had no way inside, what other choice did they have?
"Fine!"
"We will wait for him to come out!"
Lei Xuan had no other options left, hatred pooling in his eyes. It felt as though a fortune that belonged in his grasp had been snatched away by an outsider.
Without further delay, the three split up, sitting cross-legged in three different directions, their gazes fixed resolutely upon the gate.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan stepped into the hall.
It was rather different from what he had imagined from without.
The hall was vast and empty, devoid of any raised dais. Four massive pillars, each requiring several men to encircle, supported the structure, while the very center held only a confluence of yin and yang.
Yet none of these drew his immediate focus. What truly struck him was the unprecedented pressure that descended the moment he crossed the threshold, shaking his spirit to its core. He felt as though a primordial mountain was bearing down upon him, rendering his body nearly incapable of movement.
Though barren of furnishings, the floor bore streaks of dried blood that looked to have endured countless years.
And all of this crushing pressure emanated from the far end of the hall, upon a single iron wall.
There, written in blood, was a single character.
The script differed from the present day, ancient beyond measure, etched at an unknowable time.
Channeling the full power of his vision alongside his own comprehension, Lu Yuan finally deciphered the meaning of that solitary character:
*Immortal!*
Chapter 149