Chapter 1308: The Forbidden Secret Codex—General Outline of Transcendence; The Trap Laid by the Eternal Primordial God
Chapter 1308: The Forbidden Secret Codex—General Outline of Transcendence; The Trap Laid by the Eternal Primordial God
Ling Yuling and the Primary Hope Saintess reappeared within the Imperial Immortal Palace. Aside from them, no one knew what they had discussed or agreed upon.
Over the next few days, the Imperial Immortal Palace buzzed with activity.
Streaks of light—celestial vessels—streaked across the sky, descending upon the palace. Many orthodox forces that had received the news but had yet to arrive now dispatched important figures to participate in the drafting of the Primary Hope Covenant.
Moreover, from previously unknown forbidden lands and secluded realms, strange fluctuations emerged. Young emissaries rode golden celestial beasts through the clouds, delivering messages from their masters.
At the edge of the heavens, cracks split open as beings wreathed in divine light descended one after another—representatives of the Divine Dao Civilisation.
This was an event that shook the entire Primary Hope Civilisation. Not only the Primary Hope Civilisation but also many True Worlds and nations watched closely, eager to learn the latest developments.
Ling Yuling and the many elders of the Imperial Immortal Palace continued to deliberate and revise the terms of the covenant while also divining the fate of the Primary Hope Civilisation, refining the agreement further.
Meanwhile, deep within the Boundless Expanse, in a certain Spacetime Cemetery...
Ancient, broken stone tablets littered the area, surrounded by shattered nebulae that formed a chaotic burial ground.
Blood-stained coffins, some already decayed and crumbling, lay strewn across the craters, exuding an aura of death.
These coffins had rested here for countless epochs. Some had already been opened, revealing nothing but tattered, weathered scraps of cloth.
A stunningly beautiful woman, her brows tightly furrowed, clutched a radiant divine jade in her hand, attempting to break through the layers of Restrictions before her.
Seated in meditation, she was enveloped by vast currents of Power of Spacetime, her form ethereal, as if she were a celestial immortal from myth, feasting on morning mist and drinking the dew of dawn.
Her face was obscured by swirling mist, save for a pair of moon-bright eyes.
Clad in a golden dress that shimmered with light, she moved amidst the mist, her divine aura pulsing.
"The hidden treasury left by the Eternal Primordial God should logically be here... So why does it keep eluding me?"
"Could the key forged from the five Eternal Divine Artifacts still be flawed?"
Muttering to herself, she channeled her divine power into the jade in her hands.
A terrifying, surging energy erupted from the jade, like endless rivers and oceans crashing forward, attempting to obliterate the Restrictions ahead.
Yet no matter how hard she tried, she could not destroy them.
Instead, a terrifying backlash struck her—wave after wave, like relentless tides—causing her qi and blood to churn violently. She staggered, golden blood trickling from the corner of her lips.
The vast magic power she had poured into the jade quickly dissipated into nothingness.
"I've roamed countless Spacetime Cemeteries and ancient ruins, traversed innumerable perilous lairs and forbidden lands... But I've never encountered a situation like this."
"Could it be... the Eternal Primordial God never truly died?"
Frowning, she focused on healing her injuries while studying the layers of Restrictions before her.
This woman was none other than Luo Xiangjun, who had obtained the five Eternal Divine Artifacts from Gu Changge and refined them into a key to unlock the Eternal Primordial God's hidden treasury.
However, from the moment she forged the key, pinpointed the location of the treasury, and arrived here, she had been trapped for nearly a thousand years.
Throughout this millennium, she had tried countless methods to break the Restrictions and enter the treasury—but all had failed.
Even the artifacts Gu Changge had given her proved useless in the end.
Now, even escaping had become a problem.
Before coming here, Luo Xiangjun had never imagined things would be so troublesome.
The Eternal Primordial God had supposedly perished countless ages ago. Even the bloodline of the Divine Eternal Clan had grown exceedingly thin, with only a small remnant surviving within the Immortal Spirit Civilisation.
So why did the Restrictions he left behind still possess such terrifying power after so many epochs?
Even an ordinary Ancestral Dao Realm expert would struggle to break them.
Back then, she had confidently promised Gu Changge that she would soon unlock the treasury and retrieve its treasures.
Yet now, even escaping had become a challenge.
Luo Xiangjun even worried that Gu Changge might suspect her of stealing the treasures and fleeing.
"According to the records I've studied, the Eternal Primordial God was at least a being who had endured nine Decay Tribulations—approaching the Supreme Shattering level..."
"If he never truly died, then could the so-called Eternal Hidden Treasury be nothing but a myth?"
"But the five Eternal Divine Artifacts were real, and I did refine them into a key..."
Her brows remained furrowed in deep thought.
Had she known it would be like this, she would never have dared to covet the Eternal Primordial God's treasury, no matter how confident she was in her abilities.
With a sigh, she rose and began wandering through the Spacetime Cemetery, searching for another way out.
She couldn't afford to remain trapped here forever.
If Gu Changge truly misunderstood her, the consequences would be dire.
A grayish-brown wind blew from the distant reaches of spacetime, carrying with it the scent of decay and an eerie, bone-chilling aura.
This Spacetime Cemetery did not reside in a fixed location—it shifted with the turbulence of time and space. Even if Luo Xiangjun escaped now, she had no idea where she would emerge.
The Boundless Expanse contained billions of spacetime layers and infinite universes. No one knew if it had an end.
By the time she escaped, she might find herself impossibly far from the Immortal Spirit Civilisation. Reuniting with Gu Changge could take millions of years.
"I've never broken an oath before... I hope he doesn't misunderstand me."
With light steps, she transformed into a streak of golden light, drifting through the lifeless Spacetime Cemetery in search of a way out.
According to the ancient texts she had studied, the Eternal Primordial God had perished precisely because he had obtained ten forbidden secret codices that should never have seen the light of the world.
Among them was the one known as the General Outline of Transcendence.
Luo Xiangjun had sought the Eternal Primordial God's treasury precisely for this reason.
She knew her own limits—even with heaven-defying opportunities, she would likely never advance beyond the threshold of the Ancestral Dao Realm.
The General Outline of Transcendence was her last hope.
If she wished to defy her fate, she had to obtain it.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted ahead of her.
A massive celestial body shattered into countless fragments, scattering like dust across the void.
A colossal hand that blotted out time and space, adorned with countless white bones, suddenly reached out from the void, plunging the entire region into darkness as it swiftly grasped toward her.
"How could there still be living beings here?"
Luo Xiangjun's expression changed drastically. She had never expected someone to attack her at this moment. With no time to react, her figure instantly expanded, her own arm stretching out as her snow-white palm, infused with terrifying Dao Realm laws, shattered space and slammed forward with a pfft sound, colliding directly with the skeletal giant hand.
A cataclysmic explosion erupted, as if countless stars and universes had been annihilated. The terrifying energy surged outward, causing the surrounding spacetime to collapse and disintegrate.
Luo Xiangjun let out a muffled groan as her arm went numb, blood trickling from her nearly shattered slender fingers. She could hardly believe it—though she wouldn't claim invincibility beneath the Ancestral Dao Realm, she was close.
Yet, in that brief clash, she had been overpowered by that skeletal hand.
"How is this possible? For thousands of years, I've sensed no life here. How could a being comparable to the Ancestral Dao Realm suddenly appear?"
"Could it be... the Eternal Primordial God isn't truly dead?"
Her figure swiftly retreated, attempting to evade, but the terrifying skeletal hand pursued her relentlessly.
No matter how she dodged, shifting between the tangible and intangible, it was useless—as if she had been firmly locked onto. The hand slammed down, smashing her into the ground with such force that the earth split apart.
Pfft—
Luo Xiangjun spat out a mouthful of blood, her aura slightly weakened, but she still managed to stand up with difficulty.
Her expression was grave as she stared at the skeletal hand, her heart filled with wariness.
"Who dares play tricks here?" she demanded coldly.
"Heh, I should thank you, little girl. Your offerings over these thousands of years have allowed me to awaken. There's no need to panic—I only used a fraction of my power just now."
"This body belongs to an enemy who once besieged me and perished here. Its remaining power is meager, but more than enough to deal with you. So don't get any foolish ideas."
"You helped awaken me, so I won't make things difficult for you."
A voice, ancient and weathered, suddenly echoed throughout the Spacetime Cemetery, causing all the tombstones to tremble as if resonating with its words.
Though Luo Xiangjun had already guessed, she still felt shock and disbelief.
"Who are you? The Eternal Primordial God?" she asked solemnly.
"Heh, clever girl. You actually know of my existence." The ancient voice chuckled faintly in response.
"So the Eternal Hidden Treasury was never real—just a trap you set?" Even if she were a fool, she understood now. There had never been any Eternal Hidden Treasury.
The rumors had been deliberately spread by the Eternal Primordial God. He must have foreseen this day and laid this scheme long ago, waiting for someone to help him revive.
No wonder she had always felt something was off when trying to break the Restrictions—the energy she poured into them vanished without a trace, like mud sinking into the sea.
And now, the Eternal Primordial God had deliberately wounded her, likely to intimidate her.
Because he had only just awakened, not yet restored to his peak. The power he could wield was limited.
Or perhaps... he had truly been hunted down and killed in the past, forced to leave behind a contingency plan for his resurrection.
This so-called Eternal Hidden Treasury was nothing more than a grand scheme to select a suitable vessel to aid his revival.
Realizing all this, Luo Xiangjun's expression darkened.
All those years spent scouring ancient texts, exploring ruins and perilous lairs, risking her life countless times—only to find out it was all a lie?
These Supreme Shattering figures from the ancient era... not a single one was easy to deal with.
"A clever girl indeed. No wonder you made it this far and earned my recognition. You figured it out so quickly."
"I know what you seek—and yes, it is in my possession. My downfall was indeed tied to it."
"If you want it, I can give it to you."
"But first, you must swear a Heavenly Dao Oath to assist me in certain matters."
The Eternal Primordial God's voice reverberated through the Spacetime Cemetery once more, blunt and direct, as if he had already seen through Luo Xiangjun's thoughts.
"Do I even have a choice now?" she replied icily.
Though he could only exert power at the Ancestral Dao Realm level, it was more than enough to crush her.
"Smart and sensible. The Restrictions here have already been lifted. Later, you will take me away from this place and help me find descendants of my bloodline. Beyond that, you must not reveal any trace of my existence."
"I will enter slumber for a time. Once I recover, I will naturally give you what you desire."
With those words, the voice left Luo Xiangjun no room for hesitation.
A streak of dark golden light shot out from the depths of the cemetery, landing directly in her palm—the divine jade she had been holding.
Buzz—
The jade erupted with dazzling radiance, its originally lustrous surface becoming even more translucent.
But soon, it dimmed again, as if some kind of spirit had merged into it.
Luo Xiangjun watched coldly, her fingers twitching with the urge to fling the jade away—but she forced herself to hold back.
This divine jade had been obtained from an ancient tomb, a burial artifact of a supreme figure, priceless and brimming with vast, pure energy—enough to tempt even Ancestral Dao Realm experts.
But now, its energy had been completely drained by the Eternal Primordial God.
Though he had fallen into slumber, he could still awaken at any moment.
She dared not act recklessly.
As for his earlier words... she didn't believe for a second that the Eternal Primordial God would actually hand over the General Outline of Transcendence just because of an agreement.
If he had truly been hunted down because of it, why would he willingly give it to her?
"The bloodline of the Divine Eternal Clan... I'll have to return to the Immortal Spirit Civilisation."
But for now, survival was her priority. She had to find a way out of this predicament.
Having traveled through countless civilisations and True Worlds, she had only discovered traces of the Divine Eternal Clan's bloodline in the Immortal Spirit Civilisation.
It seemed she had no choice but to return there.
Meanwhile, in the Primary Hope Civilisation, within a region where silver light surged and Faith Power churned like tides...
Old Man Cold Crow of the Rare Yin Legion and the Old Daoist Priest bearing the Signs of Five Immortal Decays stood reverently before a Heaven-Slaying Shrine.
Gu Changge stood with his back to them, eyes closed in silence within the shrine.
Countless strands of Power of Fortuity gathered before him, weaving into a vast net that seemed to encompass all worlds—allowing him to perceive the thoughts, emotions, and visions of all living beings across existence...