Archean Eon Art

Chapter 677: Dragon Ancestor’s Gift

The flames in the towering furnace reflected a glow on Meng Chuan’s face. Meng Chuan stood in front of the furnace, admiring it happily.

Meng Chuan knew himself very well. He was already very satisfied with clearing the second trial.

The third trial?

About half of the Seventh Tribulation Eminences in history couldn’t clear it. There was still a huge gap between him and a true Seventh Tribulation Eminence.

“It’s very rare for a Sixth Tribulation Eminence to clear the second trial,” said the turtle-shelled elder with a nod. “Your foundation is deep enough. You are very close to the Seventh Tribulation realm.”

Only experts who were close to the Seventh Tribulation realm had a chance of transcending the first two trials. It was impossible for them to transcend the first two trials if they lacked in cultivation realm, willpower, and other aspects.

“Do you want to try the third trial?” asked the turtle-shelled elder.

“Although I know I can’t clear it, I have to give it a try,” said Meng Chuan with a smile.

The turtle-shelled elder nodded. “The third trial requires you to fly into the furnace through the ventilation hole and experience the burning of the flames for five minutes. As long as you can withstand the flames for five minutes without being destroyed… it will be considered a success. If you die or can’t take it and choose to escape through the ventilation hole, it will be considered a failure.

“If you can’t hold on any longer, quickly escape because I’ll give you a treasure later,” said the turtle-shelled elder with a smile.

“Treasure?” Meng Chuan’s eyes lit up.

A treasure bestowed by the Dragon Ancestor!

Although Ancestral Master Archean Eon was rich, apart from the Eternal treasure he had, he was far inferior to an Eighth Tribulation Eminence’s wealth in every other aspect.

In the River of Spacetime’s history, the Dragon Ancestor was publicly recognized as the wealthiest Eighth Tribulation Eminence! Just the cost of building the Nine Trials Pagoda was enough to belittle all Seventh Tribulation Eminences! The basic materials used to build the Nine Trials Pagoda were only a small portion of its value. The most expensive thing about it was the setting up of the Nine Trials. For example, clearing the so-called ninth trial… supposedly allowed one to attain Eternity. To have such a rumor, it had to be, at least, recognized by many Eighth Tribulation Eminences.

How could such a wealthy Eighth Tribulation Eminence give him a small gift?

“Those who are invited to the Nine Trials Pagoda are all guests of the Dragon Ancestor. The Dragon Ancestor will give them a treasure on their first visit,” said the turtle-shelled elder.

Meng Chuan nodded slightly.

Although they were all invited guests, the treasures given by the Dragon Ancestor were of different grades.

Guests who had a chance of reaching the Eighth Tribulation realm, guests who had no hope of reaching the Eighth Tribulation realm, the elderly or the young…

Meng Chuan knew there was a difference.

Back when Ancestral Master Archean Eon entered the Nine Trials Pagoda for the first time, he cleared the third trial. The treasures bestowed by the Nine Trials Pagoda were worth a million cubes. According to Ancestral Master Archean Eon, it’s neither high nor low. Meng Chuan thought to himself that the Eminences who had been to the Nine Trials Pagoda would also exchange information. He heard that the worst treasures were worth hundreds of thousands of cubes and the ordinary ones were worth a million cubes.

I wonder what treasure the Nine Trials Pagoda will give me. Meng Chuan was also wondering.

The Dragon Ancestor didn’t appear in this era. The Dragon Ancestor had set the rules for the gifting in advance. The Nine Trials Pagoda’s array spirit only needed to follow the rules.

I’ll first attempt the third trial. Meng Chuan didn’t think too much about it as he instantly formed another Essence Soul avatar.

The new Essence Soul avatar flew into the furnace through the ventilation hole.

…

Boom!

The furnace’s flames burned terrifyingly. When Meng Chuan’s Essence Soul avatar flew in, he could sense the flames’ terrifying might.

Thankfully, he had already grasped the spatial law. With a thought, he formed an Absolute Space around him.

The Absolute Space suppressed the flames on a spatial level. Furthermore, countless layers of space formed around Meng Chuan. Although it looked like it only spanned ten feet, there were indeed innumerable spatial layers. One moment, it might be trillions of layers, but the next moment, it would split into tens of trillions of layers. These spatial layers would vary with the flames.

Meng Chuan took advantage of the situation. The changes in the spatial layers were to suppress, block, and weaken the flames.

Just Absolute Space alone could easily kill a top Sixth Tribulation Eminence. If he wasn’t willing, those Sixth Tribulation Eminences would never be able to touch Meng Chuan.

This was the difference between the two parties.

A peak Sixth Tribulation Eminence had a status close to that of a half-step Seventh Tribulation Eminence. For example, they held a Deputy Patroller Token in White Avian Hall.

I can barely hold on? Inside the furnace, Meng Chuan could suppress the furnace flames. The flames could only reach three feet away from Meng Chuan.

As expected of the spatial law. With this move, I can fight Seventh Tribulation Eminences. Meng Chuan sighed inwardly.

When Meng Chuan entered the furnace, the furnace flames were suppressed by Absolute Space at the beginning. However, the flames slowly became stronger as time passed.

Boom!

The dark-red furnace flames intensified as they constantly encroached Meng Chuan.

Although the trillions of spatial layers around Meng Chuan changed accordingly, they were still burned through layer by layer. Even though Meng Chuan used various methods to deal with the flames—flattening them to two dimensions, or compressing the space into a tiny flame of annihilation… the flames’ might became stronger and stronger. Even space was burned to smithereens, becoming the most primitive spatial lepton.

Space was also composed of leptons as well.

Normally, slicing through space was like slicing through a piece of tofu, but the essence of the tofu remained the same.

However, the flames burned space into its lepton cluster state.

How do I block it? I need stronger laws. Meng Chuan condensed a black protective layer around his body. He tried to use the spatial law, lepton law, and lightning law to form the Chaos Hole’s profundities.

Comprehending an Origins law isn’t possible in a short period of time. Meng Chuan sensed how lacking he was.

These three laws already covered about 90% of the Chaos Hole law’s profundities. Meng Chuan still needed to accumulate more insights and grasp the remaining profundities. It was relatively easy to accumulate more insights with time.

After that, he would consolidate all his insights!

Combining everything together to form the Chaos Hole law was difficult.

It took him quite some time to gain spatial insights until he reached a threshold and comprehended the spatial law.

Furthermore, I will still be affected by karma at the combination stage. Meng Chuan still remembered that he had made a karmic promise that he would kill three Sixth Tribulation forbidden creatures when he was at the Sixth Tribulation realm. If he didn’t break through to the Seventh Tribulation realm, he naturally wouldn’t be affected.

But since he was close to the boundary, this karma would begin to obstruct him. It would prevent him from comprehending a Seventh Tribulation law. His future cultivation would be affected. Thus, Meng Chuan had to resolve the karma.

Three Sixth Tribulation forbidden creatures. Meng Chuan was very confident. After all, a Sixth Tribulation forbidden creature had strength similar to an ordinary Sixth Tribulation Eminence.

Boom!

As he thought of the forbidden creatures, the flames continued to encroach deeper. Meng Chuan was helpless as he watched the resistance put up by Absolute Space weaken.

I can’t hold on any longer. The flames finally touched the black protective layer on Meng Chuan’s body. The black protective layer was useless as it was still burned through.

The moment it burned through—

Chi—

Meng Chuan’s Essence Soul avatar was completely annihilated. Even the lepton cluster dissipated completely.

Clearly, a Lepton Undying Body was nothing compared to the furnace’s fire.

I have to last for five minutes? Outside the furnace, Meng Chuan’s other Essence Soul avatar watched and sighed. I only lasted for a minute.

“To clear the third trial, grasping an Origins law is the most basic requirement. Otherwise, it’s impossible for you to withstand it,” said the turtle-shelled elder with a smile. “It’s already very rare for a Sixth Tribulation Eminence like you to last a minute inside.”

Meng Chuan had to admit this.

If one hadn’t comprehended a spatial law, even a Sixth Tribulation Eminence—who had powerful life-preservation means—would be instantly annihilated in the furnace.

“You failed the third trial.” The turtle-shelled elder looked at Meng Chuan. “Do you want to try again, or do you want to give up? If you give up, I can give you treasures according to Dragon Ancestor’s rules.”

“Of course, I’ll give up,” said Meng Chuan.

The earlier he obtained the treasures, the better. After tens of thousands of years, when he was strong enough, the treasures would only be icing on the cake.

The turtle-shelled elder looked at the furnace. With a boom, the rotary valve automatically turned in the opposite direction and returned to its original position. At the same time, the flames in the furnace were completely extinguished.

“Meng Chuan, you’ve cultivated for a total of 5,393 years.” The turtle-shelled elder looked at Meng Chuan. “It’s considered very rare for you to pass the Nine Trials Pagoda’s second trial. According to the rules set by Dragon Ancestor, I can offer you three treasures—from which you shall choose one.”

With that said, the turtle-shelled elder waved his hand.

Three illusory figures appeared in front of him.

The first illusory figure was a crystalline, irregular fragment. Meng Chuan felt an inexplicable fondness for it just by looking at it. He liked it from the bottom of his heart. He felt that this fragment was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen.

“An Essence Soul Eighth Tribulation Eminence took the initiative to offend an Eternal existence’s home universe before his death. Perhaps he wanted to personally experience the means left behind by an Eternal existence,” said the turtle-shelled elder. “In the end… that Essence Soul Eighth Tribulation Eminence’s Essence Soul shattered into many fragments, and he died instantly. This fragment… is an Essence Soul fragment left behind by that Essence Soul Eighth Tribulation Eminence after he died.”

Meng Chuan found it unbelievable. He died despite his Essence Soul fragments still being present?

Even Meng Chuan could survive as long as a sliver of his Essence Soul remained.

“You still don’t know much about the life and death of Eighth Tribulation Eminences since they are beyond the River of Spacetime,” said the turtle-shelled elder. “Even if their bodies and Essence Souls are intact, Eternal existences can still kill them.”

Meng Chuan fell into deep thought. Eternal?

The Essence Soul Eighth Tribulation Eminence probably knew how terrifying an Eternal was. However, he was close to the end of his lifespan. If he didn’t give it a try, he wouldn’t have a chance. To personally experience the means left behind by an Eternal existence was a calamity, but it was also an opportunity to break through to become Eternal.

“The second treasure.” The turtle-shelled elder pointed at the second illusory figure.

The second illusory figure had three rings: black, white, and gray.

“You should be following the Chaos Hole lineage. This is an Eighth Tribulation treasure array formation that uses the Chaos Hole law as its core—the Tri-Ring Chaos Hole Array,” said the turtle-shelled elder. “Each Tri-Ring treasure is an Eighth Tribulation treasure worth a million cubes. It’s even rarer when combined. Most of the weapons and treasures used by Seventh Tribulation Eminences aren’t as powerful as this.”

Meng Chuan’s eyes burned. This was the strongest treasure he had ever seen in the Chaos Hole lineage. Eternal Tower wouldn’t sell such an item to outsiders.

“The third and final treasure.” The turtle-shelled elder pointed at the final illusory figure. It was a token. “A rare treasure—Spacetime Token. It can only be used when one has grasped a spatial law,” said the turtle-shelled elder.