Chapter 196: Confrontation

Although this labyrinth was intricate and enormous, the minds of its powerful inhabitants were equally vast. With a little time, it was still possible to find the exit.

Their original goal was the true divine treasure trove beyond the labyrinth. But the moment they saw the exit, they had to turn back to search for the nine keys that opened it.

These nine keys could only appear one after another once the previous key had appeared and been obtained.

Chen Xiao obtained the third key right away upon arriving. The moment he got it, the entire labyrinth trembled slightly, and the fourth key appeared in a corner of it.

Now Chen Xiao finally understood that these powerful beings were not actually searching for the treasures scattered throughout the labyrinth. Compared to those, the divine treasures beyond the labyrinth were the real goal, and their aim was to find those nine keys.

“One key is enough.” Chen Xiao took out the golden key he had obtained, holding it in his hand. The key emitted a golden glow, with strange laws emanating from it—it was actually a virtual divine artifact.

“Moreover, since the emergence of the third key already posed such danger, guarded by a virtual divine artifact beast with the strength of a ninth-level domain master, the other keys must be even more difficult to obtain.”

After thinking about it, Chen Xiao decided not to deliberately search for the other keys. Someone else would find them eventually.

Chen Xiao wandered around the labyrinth as if strolling leisurely. If anyone noticed, they would see that his movements were flawless, as if he knew the path and was heading straight for the exit.

During this time, he also picked up a few powerful spiritual artifacts and magic tools.

Thanks to the strange summoning aura deep within the Tianlong Secret Treasury, Chen Xiao easily found the exit to the labyrinth.

The exit was a golden portal. The moment Chen Xiao appeared before it, a beam of golden light shot out from the portal and entered his mind.

Instantly, information about the nine keys reached Chen Xiao’s consciousness.

“It even has an automatic reminder function.”

Chen Xiao curled his lips. He felt even more convinced that the Tianlong Secret Treasury was controlled by some giant hand, with those with supernatural abilities or cultivation skills searching for treasures being nothing but its playthings.

At the exit of the labyrinth, there were already over twenty people divided into two groups, sitting cross-legged and resting. When they sensed Chen Xiao’s arrival, they slightly opened their eyes.

But when they saw that he was just an eighth-level supernatural being, they closed their eyes again and ignored him.

These people were the factions that had obtained the first and second keys. They had the ability to get and protect those keys, so their strength was naturally immense.

Just as Chen Xiao planned, since he already had one key in hand, there was no need to bother searching for others—unless he could obtain all nine keys, which was utterly impossible.

If all nine keys fell into the hands of the same faction, it was likely that everyone would unite to attack them.

“It’s Chen Xiao!”

Suddenly, a green-robed old man sitting cross-legged on the ground showed a cold glint in his eyes.
“Chen Xiao!”
As soon as the green-robed old man spoke, the eleven people beside him opened their eyes at the same time, their gazes sharp as iron, fixed on Chen Xiao.
“After endless efforts to find you, you show up right in front of us without any effort at all,” said a red-faced old man in a yellow robe, standing up while laughing loudly.
“Hmph, Chen Xiao, we couldn’t deal with you in the mortal world, but we never expected you to come right here,” the red-faced old man said with loud laughter.
“Members of the Dragon Family?”
Chen Xiao stepped back half a step, his brows slightly furrowed.
“That’s right. You kid actually has some courage. This is a great chance to capture you and lure Chen Jianzhou out!”
The green-robed old man who first spotted Chen Xiao showed a sinister expression.
“Strange. Since the Dragon Family members are here, why aren’t the people from the three major families—Rainy Night, Clear Night, and Snowy Night—present? These three are the most powerful families in the Eastern World of Supernatural Abilities. There’s no reason they can’t get the key.”
Chen Xiao had already noticed that the other faction, those who obtained the other key, were not the supernatural forces from Earth but the powerful warriors from the Land of Origins.
“Capture him first.”
The red-faced old man suddenly stood up, extending his claw, which condensed into a blood-red giant hand in the air, aiming straight at Chen Xiao’s body.
“Break through!”
Chen Xiao pointed with one hand, and the Abyssal Annihilation Sword, which he had hidden behind his back, flew out instantly, piercing through the blood-red hand.
Then, the Abyssal Annihilation Sword didn’t stop but shot straight at the red-faced old man.
“What?!”
The red-faced old man was merely a martial artist at the third level of Domain Mastery, having grasped the Law of Immortality. Yet his actual combat strength was far greater than that of other cultivators at the same level.
Upon seeing the Abyssal Annihilation Sword, his heart sank suddenly, and he instinctively tried to dodge. But how powerful was the Abyssal Annihilation Sword? It had instantly killed a Dark Blood Clan member at the sixth level of Domain Mastery.
“Damn it! This is a virtual divine weapon that can unleash the power of the ninth level of Domain Mastery!”
The other eleven members of the Dragon Family suddenly stood up and jointly struck, pushing back the Abyssal Annihilation Sword.
Among these twelve members of the Dragon Family, the red-faced old man was the weakest in strength.
Seeing the members of the Dragon Family fighting with Chen Xiao, the dozen people on the other side opened their eyes, showing great interest as they stared over.
As the Abyssal Annihilation Sword was pushed back, the eleven members of the Dragon Family also suffered greatly, each stepping back. The Abyssal Annihilation Sword was a strange existence, half-creature and half-virtual divine weapon. It had its own intelligence and could unleash its power without needing Chen Xiao’s control.
“Damn it! Where did this damned thing come from?” The green-robed old man’s face turned slightly pale, his bones trembling from the shock.
The red-faced old man’s body split in two, severed by the sword energy of the Abyssal Annihilation Sword.
In the next moment, the Law of Immortality within his body took effect, reuniting his two halves. Yet his face was pale, clearly severely injured.
But just then, before he could recover, his body was split again. This time, the Law of Immortality was completely broken, and he died on the spot.

In an instant, all of his soul memories were refined.
“Long Gu!”
The other eleven people were horrified upon seeing this scene.
“Chen Xiao, die!”
Among them, another old man whose appearance closely resembled the dead Long Gu showed a trace of madness in his eyes. His body suddenly rushed forward, transforming into a blood-red divine dragon that charged at Chen Xiao’s body.
This divine dragon was not the Long family’s ultimate technique, the Ancestral Dragon Ascending to Heaven Fist—it was simply this old man unleashing the bloodline of the Heavenly Dragon clan within him, transforming directly into a Heavenly Dragon under the power of the laws.
“What an overbearing power!”
Chen Xiao’s mental energy moved, and a peerless sword technique from the secret chamber of the Soul of China flowed directly into Yuan Mie.
Originally, Yuan Mie relied on the rigid Virtual God Law within him to fight enemies—just brute force and speed, without any strategy. Now, with this peerless sword technique, its power soared instantly.
Buzz!
A faint blood-red glow appeared on Yuan Mie’s sword blade. In an instant, the entire sword dispersed, turning into countless small swords that formed a massive sword whirlwind, sweeping toward the blood-red divine dragon.
“Argh!”
After a series of shrill screams, the blood-red Heavenly Dragon shattered into pieces of flesh and blood.
Chen Xiao showed no mercy either. He sent out a beam of green water, absorbing all the life essence from those fragments of flesh.
In the blink of an eye, another master of the Long family fell.
“Damn it! So the Long family had been preparing all along, with masters on standby.” Chen Xiao had obtained Long Gu’s soul memories from the Shadow, causing him to frown slightly.
“Suo Hen, go inform Fu Yun to stop the full-scale attack on the Long family’s stronghold. Wait for me to return before making any decisions. The plan regarding the Long family’s secular forces remains unchanged.”
This place was a different world from the World of Superpowers. With his current strength, Chen Xiao couldn’t penetrate the barrier between the two worlds to contact his followers. So he could only inform Suo Hen to use the Main God Space to reach the World of Superpowers and pass on the news to Fu Yun and the others.
Although the Long family was extremely interested in this Heavenly Dragon secret, they hadn’t sent their strongest forces to seize it. The forces remaining in the Long family’s stronghold were still very powerful. If Fu Yun led his men there now, they risked total annihilation.
“Damn it! Facing such a divine treasure, they can remain so calm and not mobilize all their forces?”
Chen Xiao had noticed that although various powerful families in the World of Superpowers had sent their hidden experts here, they hadn’t used their strongest forces, seemingly holding back for some reason.
……
“Long Shan!”
The old man in green robes, who was leading them, saw Long Shan and Long Gu die instantly, and his eyes turned red. But considering Yuan Mie’s presence, he didn’t act right away and stopped the others.
“Yuan Mie, the strongest sword formation—kill them!”
Seeing that the opponent wasn’t moving, Chen Xiao ordered coldly. He wouldn’t show any mercy toward the Long family members who had shattered his grandfather’s bones.
The Divine Sword Yuan Mie let out a clear howl, and its blade once again turned into a sword whirlwind, sweeping toward the ten surviving members of the Long family.
“Break through!”

Suddenly, the old man in green robes saw a flash of light in his hand, and a giant axe appeared instantly. He swung the axe at the swirling blade form of Yuanmie. This giant axe was actually a powerful Virtual Divine Artifact, embodying refined laws of the Virtual Divine realm, even surpassing those of Yuanmie. Yet, despite its strength, this Virtual Divine Artifact axe could not be fully utilized by him, who was merely an ancient martial artist at the Domain realm. Nevertheless, his axe still managed to break through Yuanmie’s resilient swirling blade. But the broken swirling blade did not disperse; instead, it transformed back into countless sword shadows that enveloped the old man in green robes. …