Under a huge rock that was covered in darkness, there were tens of millions of rocks of different sizes piled up into ruins. In the deepest part of the ruins, in a corner, there was a faint glimmer of starlight. The starlight was like a natural barrier. Even though the rocks were filled with power that could even crush a World Realm expert, they were still unable to break through the barrier.
Inside the barrier, a black-robed young man was sitting cross-legged.
After a while, the young man slowly opened his eyes, revealing a confident and proud smile.
The youngster was undoubtedly Qin Shi, who had left the Deep Sea Genesis reservoir after being deemed dead by the outside world. However, not only was he still alive, his aura was extremely calm, as if he had never been injured in the slightest.
"Looks like my guess was right."
Qin Shi laughed. At this moment, he opened his hand, and the green dragon-headed key floated in the air.
Qin Shi raised his head and stared at the thousand-ton boulder. What Ling Zhu had seen at the end was indeed true. He had really been smashed by the thousand-ton boulder, and there was a bone-piercing lightning energy within the boulder. Once struck, it would be akin to being struck by a meteor. If it was an ordinary World realm expert, they would die on the spot. But sadly, although the boulder was powerful, it had no effect on the barrier created by the cyan key.
On the contrary, the energy within the boulder seemed to be extremely obedient to the green key. After the boulder smashed down, Qin Shi was sent to a safe place by the energy within the boulder. Only when the chaos outside had died down did he slowly open his eyes. At this moment, he was no longer in the ruins. Instead, he had been sent to the depths of the Third Branch Hall by the energy within the boulder.
When Qin Shi stood up, there was a majestic palace in front of him. The palace was made entirely of top-grade Mysterious Crystal, and it emitted astonishing spiritual waves from the inside out.
"Is this the real Third Branch Palace?" Qin Shi could not help but exclaim in surprise as he looked at the majestic palace.
"Hehe, little fellow, you're very brave." Suddenly, a laugh rang out in the air.
Qin Shi raised his head and saw the golden statue standing in front of the palace, looking down at him from above.
Qin Shi grinned, "Didn't the elder leave this test for those who have the guts to enter?"
The statue was taken aback for a moment before it burst into laughter, "Interesting, interesting. So you've already seen through the test?"
Qin Shi smiled and did not deny it. In fact, he was not confident in the beginning. He only knew that the key in his hand definitely had a way to open the Third Branch Palace, but he was not sure how to do it. It was only when the statue appeared that Qin Shi figured it out. Previously, the statue had displayed the Profound World Realm in the outside world, which was a strength that surpassed all the disciples. Logically speaking, if the statue was a test, no one would be able to enter the Third Branch Palace.
Therefore, Qin Shi felt strange at that time. There must be a way to break the test. Therefore, he concluded that the statue's Profound World Realm was fake, and the purpose of the statue was to scare away the disciples who entered. During this period, Qin Shi had activated the God Character Formula to increase his Spiritual Energy. As his Spiritual Energy increased, the Spiritual Energy within the statue also increased slightly. This made him even more certain that the statue was just a decoy. Even if the person who entered the Third Branch Palace was a Profound World Realm Expert, the statue would still display the Profound World Realm Expert's Profound World Realm Expert.
When the statue appeared, the sky and earth fell. Qin Shi immediately thought that the master of this place was most likely testing one's courage.
In addition, the key in his hand was resistant to the surrounding energy. That was why Qin Shi made such a bold move.
"Hehe, but now it seems that my gamble was correct." Qin Shi smiled proudly.
The statue was stunned for a moment, then it smiled and said, "Interesting, interesting. The younger generation nowadays is really good."
"However, little fellow, the reason why you were able to enter this place is because of your courage. If you want to obtain the inheritance here, you will have to rely on your own abilities. The thing that you want is inside this palace. However, whether or not you can enter it will depend on yourself."
The statue smiled. At this moment, the statue suddenly turned its wrist, and the ground in front of the palace suddenly split open, forming a circular depression, turning the palace into an isolated island. The cracked ground suddenly flashed with a golden light, and from that golden light, there were actually flashes of lightning and sparks flying.
Looking at the pool of lightning, Qin Shi furrowed his brows. "What a terrifying lightning power!"
Qin Shi was of the lightning attribute, and it was very rare. Over the years, he had only met one out of the thirty-seven ancestors in the Sword Sect's Holy Spirit Hall. And although that celestial was also very strong, it was not to the extent that he was afraid of it. But today, when he saw the pool of lightning, Qin Shi was deeply shocked.
Compared to the lightning power in the pool, he was like an ant.
"The lightning power in the pool of lightning actually has some heavenly might?" Qin Shi exclaimed.
"Little fellow, it seems that everyone has underestimated the strength of the Buried Tomb. This Buried Tomb is not at the peak of the World Realm."
"Not at the peak of the World Realm?"
"Yes, from the lightning power that contains heavenly might, it is very likely that the master of the Buried Tomb was … in the Transcendent Realm!"
"Transcendent Realm … Hiss …" Qin Shi sucked in a breath of cold air. Although he had seen a few Transcendent Realm cultivators, when he heard that they were like gods, he still felt a lingering fear.
"The lightning power contains the power of the Heavenly Secrets!"
"The power of the Heavenly Secrets?" Qin Shi clenched his fists. After so many years, was he finally going to touch the power of the Heavenly Secrets?
"Little fella, if you want to snatch the treasures within this palace, you'll have to walk through this Lightning Pool. The thing you want is within this palace."
The statue chuckled.
Qin Shi clenched his teeth, and his eyes turned extremely solemn. He could feel the terrifying power of the lightning pool that could even shatter his own lightning attribute. It would not be easy to cross the lightning pool.
However, Qin Shi had already expected this. If it was easy, why hadn't anyone in the Deep Sea Source Reservoir found this tomb in the past thousand years?
At this moment, Qin Shi raised his eyes and glanced at the lightning pool. He couldn't help but feel his scalp go numb.
Due to the lightning pool, heavy thunderclouds had gathered in the sky above the branch palace. The thunderclouds were even more terrifying than the Heavenly Lightning Tribulation that a Nine Heavens expert had to undergo.
"There's a lightning pool below and a Heavenly Punishment above. It's impossible to fly over. It seems that I can only cross the lightning pool one step at a time."
Qin Shi took a deep breath. Since he could only cross the lightning pool, he didn't waste any more time and finally took the first step towards the lightning pool.
Bang!
Immediately, the instant his feet entered the pool of lightning, it was as if a mad dragon had risen from within the pool of lightning. Thousands of lightning dragons rose from within the pool of lightning and pierced through the thunderclouds in the sky, forming streaks of lightning that seemed to be able to destroy the heavens and the earth. Within the pool of lightning, the lightning liquid was also surging. This lightning liquid was even more terrifying than the magma of a volcano, causing people to tremble in fear.
The thousands of lightning bolts were like ferocious beasts that mercilessly pounced towards the thin figure above the lightning pool.
Bang!
In just an instant, Qin Shi's body went numb, followed by an intense pain that spread throughout his entire body. In an instant, even his heart felt as though it had stopped beating. A heart-wrenching pain came from every part of his body, as though there were thousands of steel needles stabbing into his body. Qin Shi furiously clenched his fists and was sent flying back tens of meters, out of the Lightning Pool.
After being sent flying out of the lightning pool, Qin Shi gasped for breath and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
However, he was not in a hurry. After calming his emotions, he stepped into the lightning pool again. The second time was almost the same result. However, he forcefully endured the two huge lightning dragons and took three steps forward before he was knocked out of the lightning pool.
Qin Shi repeated the same result hundreds of times over the course of half a day.
His best time was when Qin Shi activated the Fallen Star Tyrant Body Technique, as well as the dragon and phoenix energy around him. But even then, he barely managed to walk a third of the lightning pool.
Qin Shi couldn't help but feel vexed. "If this continues, my body will develop quite a bit of resistance each time the lightning dragons attack. However, if this continues, it will take at least half a year for me to completely adapt to the lightning pool's power. Half a year … I don't have half a year to waste here."
"Haha, brat, using brute force doesn't seem like your style."
"Hm?" Qin Shi was slightly taken aback. He didn't quite understand what the Nefarious Devil was saying.
At this moment, the Nefarious Devil smiled. "Why don't you use such natural lightning energy for your own?
What if you can use this energy for your own? "
"You mean to say that I should absorb the energy in the lightning pool?"
"Why not?
You're at the crucial moment of breaking through to the Half-Step World Realm. Where else in this world can you find a more suitable energy than this lightning pool? "
Suddenly, Qin Shi snapped out of his daze. When he looked at the lightning pool again, the look in his eyes changed slightly.
"Yeah, why didn't I think of that?
If I can absorb the energy in the lightning pool, it'll definitely be enough for me to break through to the Half-Step World Realm. "
"Furthermore, I can use this energy to strengthen my own domain."
As he thought of this, Qin Shi's eyes lit up with joy. "Haha, if that's the case, who knows, this lightning pool might even become a blessed land for me."
Qin Shi had always been a man of action. Suddenly, he wasn't in a hurry to enter the lightning pool. Instead, he slowly expanded his domain outside the lightning pool.
The domain he expanded was filled with golden lightning dragons.
Qin Shi suddenly grinned. At this moment, he stretched out his hand and the power of his domain slowly moved towards the lightning pool.
"Haha, little brats, weren't you all very fierce just now?
Now, do it to your heart's content! "