Lu Jun activated his Psychic Invisibility spell, moving after but arriving before the others, surpassing them both.
Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohou and the other were completely unaware, still struggling to climb upward.
Moments later, he had left the two far behind, becoming the first to reach the summit of the altar. Upon the blood-colored throne, he saw a set of worn, floating black-gold armor.
No one else had arrived. Fang Gu, who was supposed to come first in the original timeline, was nowhere to be seen.
"As expected, good thing I didn't follow him. The odds of that gamble were too low—probably dead by now."
Lu Jun shook his head, took a deep breath, and stepped up to inspect the black-gold armor.
He keenly sensed that the material of the armor seemed identical to Dragon Pattern Nethersteel.
At the same time, the Ancient King's armored robe harbored a boundless, vast energy, like staring directly into a black ocean profound and unfathomable, eternal and indestructible.
In that instant, Lu Jun was momentarily dazed. Standing before the armor, he felt as if he had become incomparably tiny, drifting in the endless Nethersea. One misstep, and he would be overturned.
Buzz... Within his spiritual world, his Platinum Nebula resonated. A Sword Seal soared skyward, manifesting externally as a black-gold dragon-patterned sword.
The three-foot-long blade trembled, and the two engraved runes on the sword gradually became clear—Tai'a—shining brilliantly.
Just then, the black-gold armor on the throne seemed to react, its scales unfurling with a shhhhhhh sound. A bewitching voice echoed in his ears.
"I have been sealed for countless ages and now behold my successor. He who ascends the throne and dons my armored robe shall inherit my power and all that I possess."
Upon hearing this, Lu Jun sneered. As expected, the Ancient King's armored robe had brewed a residual soul all these years an evil entity attempting to devour a living soul to restore itself.
At present, the residual soul's power was extremely weak. After all, the armor itself was a seal, converting the Ancient King's entire essence into immense stored Nether Radiance it posed no threat.
If a Forbidden Curse necromancer were to reach this place, it would be the greatest opportunity in history.
With the power of Forbidden Curse, they could easily subdue and refine this Nether force and ascend to the level of an emperor-class warrior like Hua Zhanhong.
But to an ordinary mage, this was a disaster easy to lose control and fall into demonic corruption.
"I am Qin Shi Huang! You're the imposter!"
His expression suddenly changed as he shouted these words with righteous indignation.
At that, the armored robe trembled and froze in place. The residual soul inside seemed stunned, not knowing how to respond.
Suddenly, Lu Jun acted. He manipulated his Star Constellation. Overhead, the Underworld opened wide, and crimson-black Curse Well space released silken threads.
Psshhh! A massive, dark-red cursed spider crawled down, opening its huge maw and vomiting a torrent of blood that drenched the Ancient King's armor.
The black-gold armor became soaked in dark red blood, which writhed of its own accord and formed one strange demonic curse symbol after another. The air grew thick with the corrosive scent of Blood Abyss Curse Mark.
This blood had been extracted from Zu Jiming, a descendant of the Ancient King.
Lu Jun had tampered with it, embedding Psychic Curse power to counterattack the Ancient King's residual soul.
This method was something he couldn't manage before. But now that he had reached the high-tier in Curse Element and gained control, he could be called a master of the Curse Element.
Zzzzzzz... Very soon, countless wisps of black smoke began to evaporate from the Ancient King's armor. On the helmet, a twisted face emerged, screaming in agony.
The immense origin force contained within the armor remained unchanged, but the soul's spiritual fluctuations sharply plummeted several levels.
"I rule by the Mandate of Heaven. Who dares defy me? I sentence you to death!"
The black-gold armor went berserk. It suddenly sprang up and lunged at Lu Jun, attempting to forcefully seize his body and soul through spiritual possession.
"Heh... You call yourself 'Emperor' every other word. Someone who didn't know better might actually think you're the real Ancient King. But you're just a remnant soul influenced by memory."
While mocking, Lu Jun swiftly retreated and grabbed the White Tiger Pendant.
Roar!
To his surprise, the White Tiger Pendant burst into brilliant platinum light. It broke free from its chain and materialized outside into a majestic, spectral white tiger.
Seeing this, Lu Jun was astonished. Only now did he realize that the pendant, having absorbed the energy of a million undead in war, was just one step away from becoming a Star River Magic Tool.
The massive white tiger swatted the Ancient King's armor away with one paw, then pinned it to the ground with both claws. Without mercy, it sank its bloody maw into the armor.
Buzz!
A ball of ghostly blue soul was forcibly ripped out. It screamed in terror, "I am Qin Shi Huang! You treacherous—"
Before it could finish, the white tiger devoured the soul, its voice fading and finally stopping.
The great feline spirit contentedly patted its belly. The black-gold armor that had been struggling beneath its paws went still, now lying motionless.
It lowered its head and pressed the [王] character on its brow against the armor. Light flared, and platinum divine patterns spread across the Ancient King's armored robe.
Then the illusory white tiger turned and leapt, condensing mid-air back into a white tiger pendant that dropped down.
Lu Jun hastily reached out and caught it. Concentrating his gaze, he saw it was entirely crystal-clear, the size of a river pebble. A white tiger lay curled, its fur and expression vivid and lifelike, exuding majesty without anger—clearly it had further awakened.
The moment it touched his hand, Lu Jun felt the pendant radiating immense warmth, gently nourishing his spiritual world from all directions.
[Star River Arcane Artifact]!
In addition, the white tiger pendant brewed a pure killing force that surged up his arm, pouring grandly into the metallic-element star nebula in his quiet spiritual universe, aiding him in assaulting the high-tier barrier.
Lu Jun was overjoyed. The white tiger, with its soul-devouring powers, could easily grow stronger by consuming lost spirits.
Now, having refined that remnant soul, the white tiger pendant fed back an immense amount of energy.
Lu Jun immediately sat down cross-legged, absorbing the pure energy and focusing entirely on breaking through.
Rumble!
Within his spiritual world, in the platinum star nebula, an unparalleled immortal sword, empowered by the white tiger, sliced through the heavens. With a tearing sound, it split open the thick barrier.
The star nebula expanded rapidly, shaking the entire spiritual universe. A magnificent platinum star river burst forth like a celestial dragon sword, its edge razor-sharp.
In the outside world, Lu Jun was glowing with platinum brilliance. In front of him, a three-foot black-gold dragon-patterned sword hovered, undergoing the same baptism. The two engraved seal characters on its surface finally became clear: [Tai'e Sword]!
Behind him, one star chart after another in platinum interwove and unfolded, forming a brilliant constellation, manifesting a scene of Myriad Swords Returning to Origin, with 343 stars sparkling at their nodes.
Breakthrough: Metal Element High Tier!
Lu Jun sensed in his mind three star rivers of differing brilliance coiling together—azure blue, black-red, and platinum—filling the entire spiritual universe, and a powerful feeling surged through him.
He had been stuck at mid-tier Metal Element for so long, and now had finally reached the high tier.
What surprised him even more was that, through the white tiger pendant, he had instantly grasped the Elemental Domain of the Metal Element.
Its basic effect was a massive increase in control over metal elements, allowing complete transformation of metal properties and forms for example, turning solids into liquids, or converting large cubes into nanospheres.
He could even manipulate various metallic ions to recombine into alloys.
If scientists from his previous life saw this, they'd probably cry out that humanity's hope had arrived.
Whether space elevators, nuclear fusion, aerospace turbines many cutting-edge fields had been stuck because of one root problem: materials science.
For additional chapters
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