Chapter 154: The Temple of Freedom

“What?!” Leng Shi’s expression changed drastically. He quickly stretched out his hands, forming various seals to activate his domain. But it was all in vain—his domain was tightly suppressed by the golden light from outside, preventing it from exerting any power.
“Hmph!”
Leng Shi was no ordinary person. Seeing himself enveloped in golden light, a fierce glint appeared in his eyes. He instantly reached out with both hands, aiming at Chen Xiao.
“Death-defying!”
The voice rang out in the sky once again. A golden palm appeared as if by teleportation, descending from above and slapping Leng Shi to the ground.
Chen Xiao remained motionless, a faint smile on his face. “Old man, what’s your decision? Follow me and become my subordinate—I can give you everything.”
Chen Xiao’s voice was filled with endless temptation.
“You’re Chen Xiao!” Leng Shi wasn’t a fool. He quickly figured things out. He struggled to get up, but the palm pressing down on his back held him fast, preventing him from escaping.
“That’s right, it’s me.” Chen Xiao smiled slightly. A faint blue glow flashed around him, revealing his true appearance.
“ Ridiculous! Chen Xiao, you truly aren’t an ordinary person. No wonder the Guardian of the Sea God fell into your hands.” Leng Shi said through gritted teeth.
“That so-called Guardian of the Sea God isn’t with me at all.” Chen Xiao’s expression turned cold instantly. “If you’re after that, then you’re really being wronged.”
“It’s not with you… Wait! How do you know about the Guardian of the Sea God?” Leng Shi suddenly heard something hidden in Chen Xiao’s words.
“Of course, I heard it when your great king discussed it with his ministers.” Chen Xiao smiled nonchalantly.
“You…” Leng Shi trembled all over. Suddenly, he thought of another possibility. “Could it be you…?”
“That’s right, it’s me.” Chen Xiao smiled and ignored Leng Shi, turning to the sky and saying, “Fuyun, take him back. This isn’t the place to talk.”
They were very close to the Hunters’ Guild in Chi Meng Domain, and anyone could arrive at any moment, causing unnecessary trouble.
“Yes, young master,” Fuyun, hidden in the sky, replied. Then, with a single grab, he seized Leng Shi and vanished as a streak of light.
Watching Fuyun disappear, Chen Xiao frowned slightly. “It seems I still need to obtain the main card of the Flame Soul Domain; otherwise, it will be inconvenient.”
Helpless, a blue glow flashed across Chen Xiao’s body, changing his appearance once again into that of an ordinary middle-aged man. Then he turned and returned to Chi Meng Domain.
…
“Fuyun, how is that guy?” Chen Xiao returned to the temple and asked Fuyun.
“That old fellow is extremely stubborn. He refuses to surrender no matter what.” Fuyun’s white eyebrows also furrowed slightly.
“Chen Xiao, Chen Xiao! Hmph! You’ve taken over the entire Sea God Temple. Now prepare to face the wrath of the Sea God—and the wrath of my Atlantis Empire!”

As soon as Leng Shi saw Chen Xiao, he started screaming frantically.
“The Sea God’s wrath?” Chen Xiao sneered and said, “Since he refuses to submit, extract his memories directly. Also, keep his soul—don’t kill him.”
“No problem!” Fu Yun patted his chest to assure him.
Chen Xiao didn’t kill Leng Shi now because he was worried that if Leng Shi died, Atlantis might sense it and send someone else to cause trouble again. If that happened, Chen Xiao wouldn’t be so confident.
Leng Shi was a powerhouse at the first level of the Domain Realm, having mastered the laws of the soul, making his soul extremely resilient. After his memories were extracted, he didn’t become demented like others; instead, he simply became listless.
There was a huge gap between the first and fourth levels of the Domain Realm. Against Fu Yun, he had no chance of resisting at all.
This time, Fu Yun didn’t record the memories as he had last time; instead, he absorbed them directly. Fu Yun’s soul was countless times stronger than Leng Shi’s, so absorbing his memories posed no issue.
“Young master!” At that moment, Fu Yun’s eyes lit up.
“Speak,” Chen Xiao said without wasting words, just staring at Fu Yun.
“I know what that Sea God’s blessing is now.” A hint of excitement flashed in Fu Yun’s eyes. “The Glory of the Sea God, the Protection of the Sea God, and the Blessing of the Sea God—these are the three keys to unlocking the three treasuries of the Sea God in the Tianlong Palace.”
“Three treasuries left by the Sea God in the Tianlong Palace?” Chen Xiao showed slight surprise.
“Young master, according to the memories of this old man named Leng Shi, the Tianlong Palace, or what’s now the Tianlong Secret Treasures, was left by a powerful deity—seemingly our Dragon Clan’s Dragon God. The Tianlong Secret Treasures contain countless treasures blessed by gods, and even… divine entities. The Sea God’s treasury is just one of those many deities’ treasuries. Those three so-called divine artifacts are the keys to unlocking the three treasuries. But now, Atlantis only has one left—the Glory of the Sea God.”
Fu Yun took a breath and forced himself to calm down. The Tianlong Palace had now become a carrier of immense treasures, which stirred an indescribable sense of sorrow in Fu Yun’s heart.
“Divine entity?” Chen Xiao immediately paid attention to the term “divine entity,” as his current achievements were entirely due to the accidental fusion of a primary divine entity.
Now that he heard about divine entities, how could Chen Xiao not be intrigued? Not only Chen Xiao but even Fu Yun couldn’t help but swallow hard.
“Can you use that Crown of the Sea God’s Blessing?” Chen Xiao reached out and took the Crown of the Sea God’s Blessing.
“Young master, this is truly a divine artifact, containing the divine power of blessings that can elevate the rank of those with supernatural abilities.” Fu Yun took the crown and continued, “But it can only be activated through an ancient spell, a spell that… only the priests of the Sea God Temple know. This Leng Shi doesn’t know it.”
Fu Yun shook his head.
“I see. It seems I need to find time to go to Atlantis again and bring back some priests from the Sea God Temple,” Chen Xiao thought to himself.

“What is the actual strength of the Atlantis Empire?” Chen Xiao finally asked the question that mattered most to him.
“Young master, currently in Atlantis, the strongest ones are those who have reached the third level in three domains and have grasped the law of immortality. Besides them, there are also several cultivators below the third level in those domains who have understood the second law of life and the first law of the soul,” Fu Yun replied after gently closing his eyes and searching through his vast memories.
Those who have surpassed the Source Realm and grasped the laws cannot be called superhumans but rather cultivators. They have truly embarked on the path of cultivation, understanding the supreme laws of the universe.
Only by becoming a cultivator can one truly ascend to the ways of heaven, pursue nature, and transcend it.
The understanding of laws begins with oneself. In the first domain, one understands the law of the soul, gaining insight into one’s own essence. The domain thus created is only effective against the soul and can be used against enemies with lower cultivation levels. However, when facing another cultivator at the same level who has also grasped the law of the soul, this soul domain becomes useless.
Yet, the law of the soul is the foundation of all laws. Only by understanding the soul and achieving clarity within it, by knowing oneself, can one deeply comprehend external laws.
It can be said that the first three domains—soul, life, and immortality—are all about cultivators understanding and developing their own potential, and the power of their domains does not possess much destructive force.
Only by understanding the law of space can one truly grasp the natural laws, and such a domain carries great offensive power.
“As for those in other Source Realms, there are even more,” Fu Yun said, his expression turning slightly grim. Although the Glory Temple was led by him alone, along with a vast virtual divine artifact, it was sufficient to intimidate others. Yet, the overall strength of the temple was far inferior to that of Atlantis.
“Is there no cultivator at the fourth level of domains in the Atlantis Empire?” Chen Xiao pressed further.
“According to Leng Shi’s memories, Atlantis did have cultivators at the fourth level of domains. But ten thousand years ago, a major disaster struck the entire Atlantis underwater world, and that cultivator at the fourth level perished in that incident,” Fu Yun said, giving Chen Xiao a peculiar look before adding, “As for the Domain Heart he left behind, you, young master, already took it.”
“Hmm…” Chen Xiao coughed a few times. Even though his confidence had grown immensely, he still felt somewhat embarrassed.
“Also, young master,” Fu Yun continued, “the King of Atlantis seems to have anticipated that you would be unable to use the Blessing of the Sea God, so he will go to the Kingdom of Atlantis once again. A thorough net has already been set up there.”
“Are you that sure?” Chen Xiao was stunned. Going to Atlantis again was just a temporary idea of his; he might not actually go after all, especially since he now had the power of faith, which could also help enhance the strength of his subordinates to some extent.
“We must go,” Fu Yun said. “To open the Sea God’s Treasury, we need to use that ancient spell. All the old priests who know that spell are now under the protection of the King of Atlantis.”
Chen Xiao lowered his head, silent, seemingly deep in thought.

“Young master.” At this moment, Wan Hu rushed in in a hurry, his expression quite abnormal.
“What’s wrong?” Chen Xiao had never seen Wan Hu like this before and asked with slight curiosity.
“Young master, in the world of supernatural powers, another temple has appeared. This temple worships a deity called the God of Freedom. From the very beginning, this Temple of Freedom has targeted our Glory Temple, claiming that the God of Glory worshipped by our temple is a false deity invented on purpose.”
Wan Hu’s expression was grim.
He had already sent his most reliable subordinates to investigate, but to his surprise, all of them were killed within half a day, their heads hung in front of the Temple of Freedom.