The little chubby child's expression changed. He clearly didn't want to come out, but now that he'd been discovered, there was nothing he could do but cooperate. With a resigned sigh, he tapped the stone from inside—Boom!—the boulder split apart, and he stepped out slowly.
Not far from him, Su Chen, who had been silently sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes. Without wasting a second, he used his Earth Escape technique to dive deep into the mountain's core. He was confident he hadn't been discovered by Jiang Chen.
After all, Jiang Chen had only recently received a portion of a dragon's inheritance. While his strength had no doubt grown, it was still being suppressed by the laws of the Immortal Palace. As for how he had sensed the chubby child—it must've been due to that mysterious master of his, the one sealed inside the pendant.
"But me?" Su Chen smirked inwardly. "I wasn't noticed not because of my aura as an outsider… but because I'm wearing the Immortal Rebirth Armor."
Meanwhile, Lin Yu and the feminine man stood frozen in shock. They had been present the entire time yet hadn't sensed a single soul hiding nearby. Even though it was just a child who had emerged, no one dared to underestimate him—after all, everyone brought into the Immortal Palace trial was either blessed with a powerful physique or an exceptional talent.
"Hehe… little brother, you're quite clever," Jiang Chen said with a grin, folding his hands behind his back. "Clearly, you were hiding here in hopes of grabbing some opportunity for yourself."
The chubby child looked a bit embarrassed at first, but quickly composed himself. He nodded stiffly at Jiang Chen in agreement.
Jiang Chen continued, "Well, forget it. What matters is the treasure. Would you like to cooperate with us? We'll break the restriction together, and then divide the treasure fairly."
Lin Yu and the feminine man exchanged glances and gave small nods. The four of them then took positions at four corners surrounding the sealed treasure.
From a nearby hill, Su Chen watched everything unfold with growing anticipation. His heart beat faster—Dhak… dhak… dhak…—ready to strike at the perfect moment.
Just then, a voice echoed directly in his mind.
"Remaining time in the Immortal Palace: 24 hours."
Su Chen's eyes narrowed. Not just him—Jiang Chen, Lin Yu, the chubby child, and the feminine man all froze momentarily as the same divine message was transmitted into their minds.
Across the entire Immortal Palace, every trial participant received the same warning. The countdown had begun.
Everyone was in an uproar when they first arrived at the Immortal Palace.
At first, many thought they had been trapped or brought here against their will. But once they began to receive countless treasures, rare opportunities, and even inheritances from powerful figures of the past, no one wanted to leave early. Now, with only a single day remaining, chaos had broken out across the palace.
Those who had been hiding or staying neutral so far suddenly began attacking others—stealing treasures, ambushing the weak, and robbing cultivators in broad daylight.
Su Chen's mind was also in turmoil.
He had just received another spiritual message from Huang Wu, who claimed to have fully inherited purest Celestial bloodline and obtained the corresponding techniques. However, along with the inheritance, the old man inside the cave had secretly implanted a bloodline curse into his body and embedded a soul seed within his consciousness.
What's worse—the old man had been hiding a half-step Immortal weapon all along and hadn't handed it over.
Su Chen gritted his teeth as the System revealed all of this to him.
"Damn it... The house isn't even built yet, and the robbers are already at the door," he cursed under his breath. "That damn old geezer wants to take over my sub-body? Son of a bitch..."
With a cold sneer, Su Chen opened his System panel and directly transferred the Galaxy Immortal Sword into Huang Wu's sub-system space—just in case.
Meanwhile, outside…
Jiang Chen, Lin Yu, the feminine man, and the chubby child all launched their techniques together, bombarding the restriction around the Enlightenment Tea.
This restriction had been placed by an Immortal palace, and within this palace where everyone's cultivation was forcibly suppressed to the Core Formation Realm, even leaving a scratch on the Heaven Stairs was nearly impossible—let alone breaking an barrier.
However, the Enlightenment Tea was intentionally left behind for participants to fight over, so the restriction around it was designed to be weaker—low enough that if multiple cultivators attacked it simultaneously, it could be broken eventually.
Boom! Boom!
The attacks continued for nearly an hour, but the restriction didn't budge—not even by an inch.
"Agh... I can't wait anymore," Su Chen muttered, gritting his teeth. His patience had finally run out. He needed to loot more treasures.
Sure, the Enlightenment Tea Tree was undoubtedly a priceless treasure. But he couldn't afford to waste all his precious time on just one spot. After all, during the chaotic battle between Han Yue and Su Yang, he had already reaped unimaginable rewards. Just Su Yang's sword alone—crafted from two types of Immortal Gold and a rare Divine Iron—was enough to make the entire Upper Realm go insane with envy.
And this was only one treasure. The Immortal Palace had to be filled with similar artifacts… or people who possessed them. He couldn't afford to waste the remaining twenty-three hours of his precious time limit here.
A short distance away, the four cultivators who had been relentlessly attacking the restriction were showing signs of fatigue. Lin Yu and the feminine man had fought not long ago, so they were genuinely exhausted. As for the chubby child and Jiang Chen, they looked equally worn out—but Su Chen wasn't fooled. He could tell they were pretending, either to bait someone into making a move or to conceal their true strength.
But then again, Su Chen smirked inwardly.
"Since I've already put my head into the cutter machine, what's the point in fearing it getting chopped off now?"
Then swoosh—
Without hesitation, Su Chen activated the defensive ability of his Immortal Rebirth Armor, the flowing blue light instantly enveloping his entire body. His face was also covered in a demon like face mask, concealing his identity.