CHAPTER 176: EGGY THE TROUBLEMAKER

Wind Dragon spotted the hollow at the center of the chaos sphere and shouted, "It's over... the chaos spirit qi is about to explode. We need to leave."

He grew larger as he prepared to flee with the Divine Psyche Incarnation. However, the chaos sphere remained completely still, without the slightest sign of exploding.

Carrying the Divine Psyche Incarnation into the sky, Wind Dragon studied the sphere in puzzlement. "Hm? No reaction? That makes no sense. The core is already shattered. The high-grade spirit qi should have erupted by now. But instead of erupting, the hollow seems to be mending itself..."

He circled the sphere with his massive body, still unable to figure it out. Meanwhile, Eggy rammed the Hunyuan Greatsword around wildly within Lu Chen's mind, trying to smash open an escape.

The Divine Psyche Incarnation shouted, "Eggy, come back!"

He quickly formed hand seals to summon the sword. But before his spirit qi could reach it, Eggy had already driven the blade close to the Green Sovereign Divine Tree, and in the next instant, it charged straight into the tree.

Seeing the sword heading toward the tree, Wind Dragon circulated his spirit qi, transformed into his human form, and charged forward. "Not good! That little rascal ran off! Little Lu, chase after it, quick! That tree has become a coordinate within our sea of consciousness. That brat's intelligence isn't fully developed. If it gets out, it'll cause chaos. The chaos sphere should be fine for now. Go after it first."

He pressed a hand onto the sphere. "I'll guard this place. Don't worry, just focus on chasing her down."

"He's gone into the small world. I'll leave the three avatars here to help you," the Divine Psyche Incarnation replied before entering the divine chamber. At the same time, he summoned Nantian Wan'er into the small world.

***

Inside the small world.

Feng Tiancheng stood beneath the Innate Green Sovereign Divine Tree, eyes locked on the Hunyuan Greatsword darting through the air. He had seen with perfect clarity all that had taken place within the mind.

Feng Tiancheng rapidly formed hand seals, trying to restrain the rampaging sword.

"Grandpa Feng, get back! My weapon is out of control!" Lu Chen rushed in with Nantian Wan'er, shouting at the soaring blade. "Eggy! Come back! You're too unstable right now!"

"Creak! Creak! Eggy wants to play! Eggy wants to play with Phoe-Phoe!"[1]

Seeing Lu Chen chasing after it, Eggy let out an unhappy cry and shot straight toward the Green Sovereign Divine Tree. "Phoe... Phoe, let's go play..."

With a sharp squeak, the Hunyuan Greatsword blazed with dazzling white light. Sword qi of white void, nearly a zhang long, slashed toward the Innate Green Sovereign Divine Tree. "Phoe-Phoe, I'll take you out to play..."

Seeing what Eggy was about to do, Lu Chen's heart clenched with panic. "Eggy, stop! You mustn't touch that tree!"

He could no longer worry about Eggy's feelings. With a word of command, he invoked the laws of the small world, pressing them down on the Hunyuan Greatsword.

"Creak... I want Phoe-Phoe..."

Eggy shrieked again, the white void light blazing even brighter. The sword tore through Lu Chen's suppression and struck the Innate Green Sovereign Divine Tree, severing the Spirit Light Chains binding the Fire Phoenix.

Golden Dragon cried out in shock as the sword rampaged through. "How could this be? It broke through the small world's law suppression?!"

"The Spirit Light Chains broke?!"

Lu Chen stared at the changes in the tree and immediately sent a voice transmission to Wind Dragon. "The Spirit Light Chain was actually cut, yet the Innate Green Sovereign Divine Tree remains completely unharmed. The chaos sphere was the same just now... what on earth is happening?"

But the reply he received was that the chaos sphere had already restored itself beneath the divine chamber. Not just that, but its core had even expanded and was now several times larger than it had been before being struck.

***

Above the Thirty-Three Mountains west of the small world, the green-robed Daoist and black-robed general hovered in the air.

The green-robed Daoist glared at the shattered chains around Fire Phoenix, fuming. "I knew it. I knew it... I knew he'd make a complete mess of things. Seriously, what's wrong with Original? Why must he always stir up these ridiculous disasters?"

"Isn't this all because you handed him that fragment of the Eye of the Ancestral Dragon art?" The black-robed general sneered. "You were too hasty. He's nowhere near ready to control it."

"I know! It's not like I expected him to master it right away!" The Daoist's face twisted with anger. He looked as though he was ready to kill Lu Chen on the spot. "The reason I gave him a fragment was because I saw the chaos sphere and the Divine Eye left behind by the Original from the future. Since both are techniques stemming from the Eye of the Ancestral Dragon, and he hasn't even learned how to use them yet, I thought letting him familiarize himself with a fragment of the art first would make cultivating the complete form easier later.

"Who would have thought that, even with the most broken fragment, he could still cause this much trouble!"

"Heh, you should be grateful. I think you've been away for too long and forgotten just how good Original is at stirring up trouble."

"Hmph... and you dare blame me? I refuse to believe the void power would have stirred without your interference."

"So what? This whole mess still started because of you..." The black-robed general sneered again, releasing black spirit qi to probe the Hunyuan Greatsword. "Luckily, the Hunyuan Greatsword didn't cause too much trouble. Otherwise, the future Boss would notice, and then we'd all be in trouble."[2]

***

Lu Chen quickly brought Nantian Wan'er beneath the Innate Green Sovereign Divine Tree and grabbed the Hunyuan Greatsword. "What exactly is happening? How did the chaos sphere repair itself? Could it be the power of the fourth button?"

Nantian Wan'er bowed to Feng Tiancheng and the chieftains, then proceeded to speak and make a hypothesis. "After getting enveloped in white light, the Hunyuan Greatsword didn't only shatter the Spirit Light Chains sealing it. It also broke through the suppression of the small world's laws and repaired broken things as well. Lu-gege, could its power be to break spatial seals and repair damage?

"Eggy pierced the chaos sphere just now. Once it repaired itself, it grew stronger. Afterward, the Spirit Light Chains binding Fire Phoenix were broken with a single strike, and Fire Phoenix itself grew stronger too."

Lu Chen held the Hunyuan Greatsword, deep in thought. Eggy seized the moment, shaking the sword free of his grip and sending it charging toward the Innate Green Sovereign Divine Tree. At the same time, Fire Phoenix grew unusually excited and, like lightning, leapt onto the sword, vanishing into the tree together.

Having lost his hold on the sword, Lu Chen quickly turned and shouted toward its path. "Not good! The Innate Green Sovereign Divine Tree connects to the outside world. Eggy, it's too dangerous out there! Come back!"

He called out again, "Grandpa Feng, please help me examine the changes in the small world first. I'll retrieve the Hunyuan Greatsword."

With that, he chased after it, diving into the Innate Green Sovereign Divine Tree.

Seeing him leave, Nantian Wan'er quickly bowed once more to Feng Tiancheng and the others, then disappeared, returning to the outside world.

Eggy and Fire Phoenix re-entered the Heavenly Pool with the Hunyuan Greatsword, circling the Acquired Green Sovereign Divine Tree once and attracting the attention of the black-and-white twin fish. The Hunyuan Greatsword charged at the Acquired Green Sovereign Divine Tree, and the twin fish instantly leapt from the sea of qi, one landing at the sword's tip, while the other landed at its hilt.

Lu Chen arrived at the Heavenly Pool just in time to see the little creatures riding the Hunyuan Greatsword straight through the Acquired Green Sovereign Divine Tree into the outside world. "Hopping on and off the Hunyuan Greatsword like that... Do you all think it is a carriage?"

He laughed while scolding, "How did I not notice it sooner? Eggy is such a troublemaker! It has barely developed its intelligence, yet it's already causing havoc across three spaces. Once it matures, it could turn the Eastern Continent upside down!"

He activated the Acquired Green Sovereign Divine Tree to suppress the surging spirit qi in the Heavenly Pool, then returned to the outside world himself.

***

On the second floor of the Scripture Hall.

The Hunyuan Greatsword appeared in mid-air. Fire Phoenix and the black-and-white twin fish scattered in surprise, curiously glancing around.

Jun Laoye caught sight of the sudden appearance of the Fire Phoenix and the twin fish. He froze, completely forgetting about the debris flying around him. "What are these? A flaming bird? And pure black-and-white fish?"

Nantian Wan'er returned to the outside world. "Brother Jun, move!"

Drawing the Dragon-Slaying Sword, she activated her Flutter Willow movement art and rushed to Lu Chen's side. "Don't worry. Those are Lu-gege's treasures."

Lu Chen shouted, "Ha! Dao Art, Spirit Light Chains!"

His eyes widened as he turned toward the Hunyuan Greatsword. "You little troublemakers, let's see where you're running!"

Following his return to the outside world, the tremors across the Scripture Hall subsided. All the falling debris slammed to the ground, while four Spirit Light Chains shot from Lu Chen's palms, flying toward the four airborne troublemakers to entangle them.

With the falling stone crisis resolved, Jun Laoye lowered his Heavenly Dao Spear and watched Lu Chen. "Little Lu seems to have grown stronger again."

Seeing that Lu Chen had unleashed the Spirit Light Chains without forming hand seals, his face twisted in frustration. "I thought this time I might finally surpass him. Looks like that plan's gone up in smoke."

Nantian Wan'er's eyes followed Lu Chen intently, a gentle smile on her face. "Haha, Brother Jun, I'm sure you'll surpass Lu-gege eventually. But first, we need to find Brother Yijian. He must be buried somewhere ahead."

"Will Little Lu be able to handle it alone?" Jun Laoye glanced at the four fleeing creatures. "Should I go help him?"

"No need. Those are all Lu-gege's treasures. They're just a little mischievous today. Lu-gege will catch them soon enough. I can already see where Brother Yijian is. Let's rescue him first."

Nantian Wan'er reluctantly tore her gaze from Lu Chen and moved toward a pile of heaped debris, where the disturbance had exposed a corner of Nantian Yijian's clothing.

1. Phoe-Phoe refers to the Fire Phoenix. ☜

2. Refer to the first avatar that is in their future timeline. ☜