Chapter 137: The One Buried a Million Years Ago

"The ten minutes are up. We've finally done it." Song Ping brushed his right hand over the Serene Void Stele, and Lu Chen's identity token appeared suspended in midair. "Next, we'll empower the token."

Suddenly, the stele split down the middle, revealing a blank identity token floating in the air.

"Lu Chen, the new token has appeared. Let's move to the next step." Song Ping released his spirit qi, restoring the stele to its original form, then held the token and walked toward Lu Chen.

He dropped to one knee and shouted, "Disciples of Serene Void, take your positions and welcome the chief!"

The disciples behind him followed suit, kneeling in unison.

Nantian Yijian whispered, "We—"

Jun Laoye immediately tugged him down to kneel. "This ritual is important. Just watch quietly."

"But we don't have our tokens yet. What do we do?" Nantian Yijian asked under his breath. "How are we supposed to receive the power—"

Jun Laoye cut him off. "Don't worry, you'll get them later. We need to continue the ritual now."

Song Ping tossed the two identity tokens into the air, keeping his right hand raised, and shouted at Lu Chen, "Chief, please bestow the identity token!"

"Chief, please bestow the identity token!"

"Chief, please bestow the identity token!"

"Chief, please bestow the identity token!"

Over two hundred people filled the Serene Void Plaza. Some were injured, others incapacitated, yet all endured their pain and mirrored Song Ping's movements. To them, this ritual was sacred and untouchable.

Song Ping noticed Lu Chen standing frozen. "Chief, please bestow the token. Release your spirit qi and link with the chief disciple's identity token to begin the ritual."

"

Uh...

got it." Lu Chen responded, releasing his spirit qi to touch the token floating before him.

Before he could process its information, his consciousness was pulled into pitch-black emptiness.

Lu Chen waved his hands, sensing only a faint breeze. "I can feel things, but my eyes see nothing? Where is this? Such emptiness... could this be the aura of the void?"

"Song Ping, what do I do next?" he called again and again, but no answer came. "Song Ping? Wan'er? Little Jian? Little Jun?"

He kept moving through the darkness, shouting. "Is anyone here? Can someone tell me what comes next?"

"No need to shout. They can't hear you."

Wind Dragon had been in the Heavenly Pool when Lu Chen was pulled into the void. He appeared above him. "Only your consciousness has been drawn in. Your body remains outside. This chief disciple identity token is extraordinary. Who would have thought it could even contain the void?"

Lu Chen stopped calling out and listened. "So what now? We can't just stay here forever."

"Let's explore." An eye opened on Wind Dragon's forehead, scanning the endless dark. "This seems to be a storage space within the token. Its purpose isn't clear, but we may find something if we wander deeper."

"Alright. I've already taken control of the token, so there shouldn't be any danger."

After a moment's thought, Lu Chen began moving quickly through the void.

He didn't know how long he'd traveled before a dazzling white light appeared in the distance. "Wind Dragon, I see something! There's a white light ahead."

"Looks like that's what we have been looking for. Let's go see."

"Alright, let's move."

Lu Chen stepped into the white light and glanced back. Darkness still pressed in from all sides. The radiance now surrounding him looked like a great stone bowl overturned in the endless void. His vision could reach only as far as the light extended; beyond that lay nothing but emptiness.

"Life within the void?" Wind Dragon murmured, eyes narrowing at the glow. "Could this be the Yin-Yang Dao Artifact that Lord Seventh once sought?"

A hoarse voice suddenly echoed from within the light. "You're finally here... I've waited far too long. After so many years, you are the first to arrive."

Lu Chen frowned. "Who are you? Why have you been waiting for us?"

He searched the space, but saw no one. Instead, he saw only the stark white within the circle, and the endless black beyond.

"You need not know who I am," the rasping voice replied, echoing across the white expanse. "Just know that someone has waited here for you across millions of years. The one buried beneath the mountain... He has been waiting. Now it is time for you to find him."

"The one beneath the mountain? Do you mean the one buried under the Heavenly Mandate Hall?" Lu Chen called out. "So he really has been waiting for me! Who are you? Answer me! I've never set foot here before. Why summon me now?"

A low laugh drifted through the glow. "

Hehehe...

The path of cultivation is one of solitude. When the time comes, you will understand."

A surge of ancient black-and-white spirit qi suddenly pierced into Lu Chen. "I dwell within this talisman. If you have questions, you may seek me here. For now, it's time you return."

"Wait, I still have questions!" Lu Chen's divine sense cried out as it was pulled back into his body. "Wait!"

Song Ping's voice snapped him back. "Lu Chen, what's wrong? Why are you dazing off? The junior disciples are still waiting for their tokens."

Lu Chen shook his head and refocused on the Serene Void Plaza. "

Ah...

right."

Below, the disciples still stood with their right hands outstretched, as if nothing had happened at all, leaving him to wonder if the entire vision had been no more than a dream.

Lu Chen reconnected his spirit qi with the chief disciple identity token. The residual traces of Song Ping's spirit qi instantly vanished from the tokens hovering above the disciples' heads. At the same time, he felt an invisible thread form between his mind and the consciousness of every Serene Void Academy's disciple.

"Senior Brother Song, I've linked with the identity token's will. What should I do next?" Lu Chen asked as he floated into the air, both hands holding the token. "I can sense the physical states of all the disciples now. This must be the first function of the chief disciple identity token."

"Already? Seems the position of chief disciple suits you perfectly," Song Ping said, tilting his head back toward him. "It took me two years of practice before I could barely manage that."

"Lu Chen, focus your consciousness on the chief disciple token. You should see a glowing area," Song Ping instructed. "Now, inscribe one of your traits into it. Once you do, the network between the chief disciple and the other disciples will be fully established."

"A glowing area?" Lu Chen narrowed his eyes and soon saw it. "One of my traits... what should I put there?"

"This choice requires careful thought," Song Ping cautioned when he noticed Lu Chen's casual tone. "You must engrave your strongest attribute. The chief disciple identity token still holds many undiscovered functions. If used well, it can elevate the strength of the entire academy."

"I understand... then I can't choose lightly." Lu Chen's spirit qi stirred unconsciously.

The twin black-and-white fish are my trump card, the Green Sovereign Divine Tree my greatest support, the Golden Snake Nine Variations, the Innate Bagua Diagram...

Weighing everything he possessed, Lu Chen etched a towering tree onto the chief disciple token with his qi. It was neither the Innate nor the Acquired Green Sovereign Divine Tree, but a fusion of the ancient parasol tree at Greenheaven Village's entrance and the two Green Sovereign Divine Trees.

The moment the tree was complete, over two hundred beams of light burst forth from the chief disciple token. They linked with the tokens floating above the disciples' heads before descending toward Nantian Yijian and the others. The beams drew iron across the heaven and earth, condensing three tokens onto the ground.

"This is my identity token?" Nantian Yijian bent down and picked one up, surprise flashing in his eyes. "Major sects are something else. Even their tokens are crafted with such care."

He rose together with the Serene Void Academy's disciples, then glanced sideways. "Little Jun, why are you acting so strange?"

Jun Laoye picked up the other two tokens, frowning. "Something's not right. This feels like a mutation."

He raised his gaze to Lu Chen, who still hovered in midair with eyes shut tight. "I remember the Heavenly Mandate Hall's identity tokens were all crafted by specialists. But this time, three tokens were born directly from heaven and earth itself. That's highly irregular."

"You might be right," Nantian Yijian said, pointing at the disciples floating around them. "It looks like everyone's being influenced. Even Senior Brother Song is affected. Isn't this supposed to be just the token-granting process?"

"The chief disciple is always awake when granting identity tokens. I don't know why a mutation is happening with Lu Chen," Jun Laoye muttered. "But he's clearly entered a special state. This change must be connected to him." He spread his spirit qi beneath the three of them. "We can't let anyone find out. Blend in with the others, but don't wake them."

Nantian Wan'er said through their spiritual link. "

I understand. Brother Jun, how long will this take

?"

She could clearly feel Lu Chen's strength rising, yet his cultivation still appeared to be at the Qi Regulation Realm.

"I don't know, but it should be over soon," Jun Laoye replied, releasing the tokens into the air and beginning to link with them spiritually. "First, let's link our minds with the identity tokens. This will greatly benefit us."

"Understood..."

Nantian Yijian and Nantian Wan'er followed Jun Laoye's instructions, mentally connecting with the identity tokens.

***

Meanwhile, outside the Serene Void Academy, more and more people were running frantically up the floating steps toward the main gate, as if Lu Chen and the academy were helpless lambs ready to be devoured.

Yet none of them realized they were about to face a group of tigers, currently busy sharpening their teeth.