Chapter 290: Soul Passage, Eight-Armed Divine Ape, Celestial Battle Beast

As the colossal beasts headed toward the Dragon Palace, Chen Chu and the others flew for six hours on their plane, spanning several thousand kilometers to arrive at the Yueshan Nation.

At the bustling economic hub of Yueshan's capital city, their plane glided to a landing under the guidance of Dongdu Airport’s control tower.

Alongside the runway, a dozen luxury cars and buses were parked, with several remarkable individuals standing by, some accompanied by bodyguards.

Once the plane came to a stop and the door opened, Bai Yunfeng and Yan Ruoyi quickly disembarked. Following them were Chen Chu, dressed in a suit and white shirt with sunglasses to embody the look of a professional bodyguard, along with Li Daoyi, Xu Xiaoqi, and Li Long.

A middle-aged man in glasses amid the crowd greeted them warmly. "Hahaha... Director Bai, Miss Yan, and everyone, welcome to Dongdu City."

Bai Yunfeng smiled and replied, "Mr. Jin is too kind. You didn't need to come in person; your arrangements for someone to meet us would have sufficed."

"No, that wouldn't do. This is Miss Yan's first visit to Dongdu. Sending just anyone would be disrespectful to her and Mr. Yan.

"Let me introduce you. Here is Master Momokawa, the master of the Chongshan Academy. He is a renowned expert in Dongdu and has made outstanding contributions to the city’s stability in recent years.

"And this is his daughter, Miss Momokawa Sakura. She graduated from Dongdu Martial Arts High School a year ago at the Fourth Heavenly Realm, and is known as a genius among the younger generation of Dongdu.

"And this is the director of the Suzuki Group and president of Dongdu Chamber of Commerce. His group will be responsible for the lighting and audiovisuals for Miss Yan's concert..."

While both sides exchanged pleasantries, Chen Chu's gaze swept over the crowd, his eyes lingering on each person for two seconds, bringing up detailed information about each individual.

These were high-ranking figures in Dongdu's political and business sectors, as well as top leaders of prestigious martial arts academies, all influential figures whose actions could shake Dongdu with a stomp of their feet. Yet, despite their status, they treated Yan Ruoyi with great courtesy, showing humility in her presence.

When Akunus took the initiative to reveal his existence earlier, the authorities had partially disclosed Yan Ruoyi's identity information. Many were stunned to learn that the international superstar, who had become inexplicably famous, was none other than the youngest daughter of Heavenly King Xuanwu.

At that moment, Li Daoyi leaned in slightly and used true power to constrain his voice, whispering, "How's it going, Brother Chu? Any discoveries?"

After Akunus had laid his cards on the table, Li Daoyi had become seriously vigilant, deeply impressed by Chen Chu's extraordinary sensory abilities. Although he had known beforehand, being able to determine someone's malicious intent just by their gaze was still rather freakish.

Chen Chu also used true power to constrain his voice and replied in a low tone. "I don't sense anything unusual from these people. Should be fine, but we can't let our guard down."

"I understand." Li Daoyi nodded.

One had to remain cautious at all times; the methods of king-level existences were too bizarre and powerful.

Soon after exchanging greetings, everyone got into their respective vehicles. Li Long and the other bodyguards climbed into various cars, while Yan Ruoyi and Bai Yunfeng sat in a luxurious business car under the guidance of an official named Jin Zihua.

The interior, as spacious as a bus, was comfortable and could accommodate over ten people for casual conversation. It was equipped with a sound system, air conditioning, a refrigerator, and a television.

However, as Chen Chu and Li Daoyi, disguised as bodyguards, followed behind Yan Ruoyi and Bai Yunfeng onto the car, one person's gaze subtly flickered. Instantly, Chen Chu's eyes narrowed slightly behind his sunglasses as he glanced at the middle-aged man named Yamaki Mikaze.

This man was a renowned official of the Great Heavenly Ghost Shrine in Dongdu, and had been introduced earlier with modesty. After exchanging greetings with Yan Ruoyi, he had stood silently on the edge of the crowd.

The middle-aged man's gaze just now seemed normal, devoid of hostility or malice, only showing surprise like any regular person would. It seemed he was surprised that these bodyguards could sit in the main car with Yan Ruoyi.

Under his brief gaze, however, Chen Chu inexplicably felt uncomfortable, as if he had been glanced at by someone he disliked while passing by on the street. This person could be problematic.

Lost in thought, Chen Chu sat down beside Yan Ruoyi. Soon, the luxury bus started, and the convoy headed toward the city. During the journey, Chen Chu remained vigilant of their surroundings.

Back in Kyrola, he had been ambushed twice on the airport road, which made him react subconsciously to the stretch of road between the airport and the city. The fact that there was someone on the bus who seemed suspicious certainly didn’t help.

Fortunately, the next twenty minute journey passed without any danger, and soon a bustling metropolis came into view before everyone's eyes, one that gave Chen Chu a feeling reminiscent of a major city from his past life.

The Yueshan Nation was considered average among middle-tier countries, with a decent population and economy. Of course, it wasn’t much compared to the likes of East Xia; of the Federation’s total population of 2 billion, over 1.4 billion people lived in one of the three major empires.

Following this trio of powerhouses were eleven middle-tier countries, including Yueshan, with populations ranging from tens of millions to over a billion. Finally, there were the dozens of small countries scattered across the globe, that possessed populations from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions.

Country ranking was determined by population, military strength, economy, territory size, and the number of cultivators and top-level experts. Most of these experts hailed from the three major empires, while middle-tier countries usually had one or two each, along with up to ten times less cultivators, and the small countries had the fewest overall cultivators.

The primary reason for this disparity was due to the concentration of free transcendent energy. Thanks to the barriers, the density of transcendent energy within the three major empires was ten times higher than in the rest of the world. This led to more “mutants” possessing cultivation talent, as well as a faster cultivation speed—one year of practice inside was equivalent to several years outside.

With a larger number of cultivators, the base of powerful individuals in the empires naturally expanded, allowing them to claim more territory and resources in the mythical world, which in turn led to rapid domestic development and an ever-widening gap between them and ordinary countries.

However, lifting the barriers to allow more transcendent energy to permeate the world wouldn’t result in fair cultivation for all humans across countries. The human world was vast beyond measure; even if the three major empires were to release all of their transcendent energy, it wouldn’t reach half the concentration already present in smaller countries.

This was why the supreme powerhouses had decided to create the barriers in the first place thirty years ago. Had they chosen otherwise, the number of human cultivators today likely wouldn’t reach a tenth of the current count, let alone provide enough numbers to engage in front line battles with the Purgatory Demon Clan.

The daily influx of transcendent energy into the human world was like a tide, sustaining countless cultivators in their daily consumption. However, this extra energy didn’t come without cost.

Every year, numerous rifts connecting to the mythical world appeared across various regions, including middle-tier and smaller countries. The vast majority of them usually went undetected and vanished quickly; it required a strong individual to capture and stabilize them using spatial materials to form a permanent stream of energy.

Currently, the largest passage in the human world was the world passage of the three major empires, massive and stable enough to accommodate even mythical creatures and kings. Regardless of their size, though, maintaining, consolidating, and expanding these rifts consumed a significant amount of resources.

As the convoy entered the city without incident, Chen Chu diverted some of his attention and tapped on the side of his sunglasses to link up via wireless signal.

"

Beep! Beep!

Connecting to the Celestial Think Tank... Verification passed, access granted. Welcome to the Celestial Think Tank."

Chen Chu’s will flowed out to manipulate the flickering screen before him. With a slight touch on the "secret scripture" option, the options of the three major empires immediately appeared.

He clicked on North Lin, and one by one, names of gene martial art secret scriptures appeared before Chen Chu's eyes.

Among hundreds of top-level secret scriptures, only a dozen belonged to the king level, while the rest were made by Ninth Heavenly Realm powerhouses. Some creators had already reached the peak of the Ninth Realm, while others had fallen.

Since his goal was to reference the abilities of colossal beasts, Chen Chu selectively opened and looked through the introductions. Soon, his gaze settled on a secret scripture named "Eight-Armed Divine Ape".

This secret scripture, when cultivated to its peak, allowed one to transform into an Eight-Armed Divine Ape, integrating the power of four colossal beasts and possessing formidable combat strength. Especially intriguing was the concept of using the power of colossal beasts to form arms, which made Chen Chu's eyes light up at his luck.

After confirming the secret scriptures from North Lin, Chen Chu proceeded to browse through the catalog of secret scriptures from the West Meng Empire, ultimately settling on one named "Celestial Battle Beast Mech."

The goal of this secret scripture's creator was to regard the human body as a celestial body, integrating materials, inscriptions, and colossal beast abilities into mech suits shaped like humanoid celestial beasts.

In theory, these mech suits would not only be colossal, but could also activate a stellar domain similar to planetary gravity, with planets orbiting within the domain to showcase immense power. Of course, theory and reality differed significantly.

"Confirming application for 'Eight-Armed Divine Ape' and 'Celestial Battle Beast Mech' secret scriptures?"

Chen Chu mentally clicked "Confirm.”

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Application uploaded. Please wait for notification from Federation Headquarters. Ongoing mission detected in applicant’s files. Route analysis in progress... Analysis complete.

"Projected delivery of printed versions of secret scriptures will be in ten days to Qingshan City, Baihu nation."

Ten days, that's about right.

Chen Chu pondered.

After defeating the Nine-headed Serpent, both Chen Chu and the Thunder Fiery Colossal Beast would focus on comprehending innate spatial runes. In ten days, he should be able to lay the foundation for the secret scriptures.

Then, with reference to the essence of the two newly acquired secret scriptures and the creator's ability fusion experience, he should be able to quickly create his own secret scripture. After thinking this through, Chen Chu's lips curved slightly upward.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the convoy with Yan Ruoyi and the others stopped beneath a six-star resort hotel in Dongdu.

After exchanging greetings and leaving a staff member behind, Jin Zihua and the others departed.

While Li Long and the others took over the hotel’s security, Chen Chu followed Yan Ruoyi into the hotel's top floor with guidance from the staff. He circled the presidential suite on the top floor as he inspected it to ensure everything was in order. Afterward, while Yan Ruoyi and her assistant were packing their belongings, he went out onto the balcony.

Pressing twice on the edge of his sunglasses, Chen Chu connected to the military channel.

"I'm Operator Zero, Mr. Chu, hello."

Chen Chu spoke softly. "I need detailed information on Yamaki Mikaze in Dongdu, including information on the Yamaki family."

While the sunglasses could recognize faces and retrieve basic information, more detailed and comprehensive data required the expertise of professionals.

"Mr. Chu, please wait a moment. Relevant information will be gathered and provided to you shortly."

***

Underneath the deep sea, a towering ice crystal palace, over a hundred meters tall and two hundred meters wide, emerged with the Silver Dragon’s breath, rugged and majestic.

Roar! Ghidorah, from now on, this shall be your Nine-Headed Dragon King Palace.

Several hours had passed, and the black serpent, its external wounds already healed, emitted a chaotic yet excited roar.

Roar! Roar! Roar! Thank you, Saixitia.

The Silver Dragon lifted its head slightly and roared proudly.

Roar! You're welcome. This is my responsibility as the master of the Dragon Palace.

However, after speaking, it suddenly felt somewhat puzzled.

Wait, I'm the master of the Dragon Palace. Why am I the one building a palace for the colossal beasts joining us?

Facing the Silver Dragon's puzzled gaze, the Thunder Fiery Colossal Beast naturally wouldn't say, "Because your abilities are suited for construction".

As the Serpent swam into the palace and curled up to sleep, the Thunder Beast turned to the Silver Dragon.

Roar! I remember what I promised you. Let's go, Ao Batian.

With these words, the Silver Dragon spread its wings and glided underwater into its Icestorm Dragon King Palace, followed closely by the menacing black and red colossal beast.

As the two colossal beasts entered the palace, a frosty aura enveloped the entire palace, and a ten-meter-thick ice wall sealed the gates, as the Silver Dragon’s domain spread out to cover the entire place.

Only then did the Silver Dragon crawl to the center of the palace and close its eyes slightly. Instantly, white light emanated from the scales on its forehead, revealing mysterious patterns.

As complex, brightly shining spatial patterns emerged on its scales, a three-dimensional holographic rune projection unfolded in the water, spanning over ten meters. It resembled countless silver spirals forming into a rotating illusion of galaxies, emitting an extremely profound aura.

This rune projection, activated with the Silver Dragon’s soul power, was akin to writing out an immensely complex mathematical problem with various formulas. It was telling the Thunder Beast how to deduce, where to begin, and why the reasoning proceeded as such.

This display was almost as transparent as when the Thunder Beast had broken through, when its seven major ability runes manifested from nothing to something.

After absorbing and integrating the innate spatial rune, this rune had become the Silver Dragon’s fundamental law, hence its caution. At the same time, displaying its fundamentals before the Thunder Beast also indicated the Silver Dragon's trust in it.

The Thunder Beast lay on the ground, its golden pupils entirely focused on the rune as it gradually sank into an endless abyss of spatial information, wildly absorbing countless pieces of information to enrich itself.

Chen Chu valued this innate spatial rune so highly not only for its potential as the foundation for a companion secret scripture, but also to explore the possibility of opening a passage.

Using the soul bond between his avatar and main body as a focal point, opening a spatial passage that could allow items like Life Crystals to pass through between his avatar and main body. Otherwise, even if the avatar was powerful, the resources it obtained would be inaccessible to the main body.

However, if a stable passage could be established between the two, allowing the colossal beast to share some of the resources obtained from the ocean with its main body, Chen Chu's strength would skyrocket at an astonishing speed.

Especially with Life Crystals!