CHAPTER 172: DIVINE ABILITY MASTERED! REFORM THE DIVINE EYE

"Lord Wind Dragon, can you see anything?" Nantian Wan'er sensed his return and asked softly, "When can I open my eyes? I feel Lu-gege's emotions fluctuating greatly."

"I can't see either. Let's just sit and wait." Wind Dragon sat down cross-legged with a hint of helplessness in his tone, closing his eyes. "But I can feel the power that is obstructing our vision pouring madly into Little Lu. It should fade away soon."

Minutes passed. In Lu Chen's mind, the black-and-white void began to thin, yet the dividing line of grayish-brown light between the brows of his Divine Psyche Incarnation only grew denser. It was even starting to solidify.

Just then, Lu Chen's Divine Psyche Incarnation suddenly let out a cold snort. "Cough... I'm finally done."

The dividing line instantly drew back into his brow. "It's only one move, but I've managed to turn this divine art into one that's exclusive to me."

Both Wind Dragon and Nantian Wan'er opened their eyes at the same time.

"Was it a success?"

"Lord Wind Dragon, I can see now."

"Yes, I can see too."

Lu Chen's Divine Psyche Incarnation laughed, drawing in and releasing the power of the Void around him. The grayish-brown line gradually contracted further, pulling back into his body, while black-and-white rays condensed into two thumb-sized arcs at his forehead.

The arcs joined together at one end, forming a small Taiji-shaped ring in the center. Their other ends stretched upward and downward, fixing the mark firmly in place upon the Divine Psyche Incarnation's brow.

"So, just like that, the Divine Eye has been reforged?" Wind Dragon stared blankly at the mark. "This time, Little Lu condensed the divine ability himself. With his own strength, he reforged the Eye of the Ancestral Dragon. Compared to that mysterious person's Divine Eye, this is far more precious."

Nantian Wan'er turned toward the Divine Psyche Incarnation. His chest still heaved sharply, the black-and-white energy in his mind had grown faint, and even the movement of his hands was slowing down.

"Wan'er, Wind Dragon, step back. What comes next may be too violent." Lu Chen's Divine Psyche Incarnation's voice softened as he pressed both palms slowly against his abdomen. "Tell Little Jun and the others to stay away from my physical body as well. The farther the better. I'm afraid I might hurt them."

"Alright..."

***

On the second floor of the Scripture Hall, Lu Chen mirrored the movement of his incarnation. He pressed his palms together, gathering spirit qi, before slowly resting against his lower abdomen, where his Heavenly Pool lay.

Nantian Wan'er quickly stood, dragging Jun Laoye along. "Brother Jun, hurry! Lu-gege is about to unleash his power!"

Jun Laoye had only just steadied his steps and was about to sit when Nantian Wan'er pulled him into another sprint. "What? We just got here, and now we have to run again?"

She had been inside the small world for some time, and even longer within Lu Chen's mind. The time in both of those places flowed at vastly different speeds compared to the outside world.

The small world alone had a time difference of ten to one: ten days inside equaled a single day outside. The flow within the mind was even stranger. It wasn't about speed, but the old saying, "a thought spans a thousand miles, a glance contains a lifetime" captured it best. Even if one lived a lifetime within the mind, only a few seconds would pass in the outside world.

That was why, from Jun Laoye's perspective, it felt as if he had only just approached Lu Chen. He had barely steadied himself before suddenly being forced to flee again.

Nantian Wan'er kept her eyes closed, running with all her strength. "There's no time to explain. We have to run."

She had no idea how far was far enough. She could only follow Lu Chen's warning: the farther, the better.

"Wan'er, wait. This should be far enough," Jun Laoye stopped her after they had covered almost three-quarters of the Scripture Hall's floor. "At this distance, even Second Uncle wouldn't be able to attack."

"Far enough? But Lu-gege said the farther the better," Nantian Wan'er muttered under her breath, then suddenly slapped her forehead and turned around, rushing back. "Oh no! We forgot something!"

"What did we forget? Nothing's missing. My spear is here," Jun Laoye called out without turning his head. "Little Jian, did you lose anything? Wan'er, did you drop something?"

Nantian Wan'er shouted back, "Brother Jun, you really did forget something! Look up!"

"What could I have forgotten? Nothing's missing. Little Jian, speak up if you lost something."

Only then did Jun Laoye glance in the direction she pointed. There, Nantian Yijian still lay unconscious.

"Damn it!" Jun Laoye cursed, spirit qi surging into his legs as he exploded forward, his speed breaking the sound barrier. "We didn't forget something, we forgot someone! Little Jian's still unconscious!"

But before he could reach Nantian Yijian, Lu Chen had already made his move.

Black and white spirit qi surged out of Lu Chen's Heavenly Pool, twisting like serpents as they rose upright at his sides. Their glow spread outward, gradually enveloping a radius of two zhang around him.

Seated cross-legged, Lu Chen shouted, "Divine Eye—open!"

Black and white markings flared between his brows, flickered a few times, and then released a beam of gray-brown light. Wherever the beam swept, its corrosive Void energy dissolved everything into nothingness. The second floor had once been filled with towering stone pillars, but as Lu Chen shattered their foundations, the pillars above began to tremble, unable to stay upright.

The light swept across again, stone fragments raining down as several pillars collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Seeing the chamber falling apart, Jun Laoye flung his arm back, sending Nantian Wan'er flying to safety with a burst of spirit qi. "Wan'er, go! I'll save Little Jian!"

More pillars toppled as he spoke. Forced to act, Jun Laoye drew the Heavenly Dao Spear and cut down the falling columns blocking his path. The spear flashed ceaselessly through the rubble as he pressed forward using the simplest techniques—slashes, thrusts, and sweeps.

After several blasts from his new Divine Eye, Lu Chen sank back into a cross-legged posture. The twin beams still coiled protectively at his sides, lashing out whenever a nearby pillar collapsed.

From a distance, Nantian Wan'er stole a glance at him, then closed her eyes and dove once more into his mind.

***

"Lord Wind Dragon, what's the situation?" she asked anxiously. "This divine ability is too strong. Everything outside is in chaos."

Wind Dragon stood beside Lu Chen, channeling spirit qi as he guided the Void's power back into the mark on Lu Chen's forehead. "It's no use. The power is too overwhelming, and Little Lu can hardly control it. We must find a way to contain it."

"Use the sphere formed from chaos spirit qi[1] beneath his divine chamber. It should be strong enough," Lu Chen's Divine Psyche Incarnation said as he clenched his teeth, his voice strained. "I remember that man's techniques. This ocular art shares the same origin as the divine ability he left behind. Since the chaos sphere could hold the Void's power[2] he left, it should be able to hold this as well."

Wind Dragon nodded. "They are indeed similar. Let me try."

He formed a series of seals, manifesting his six true bodies, then coiled his colossal form around the chamber.

"Wind Dragon, I'm reaching my limit. Draw out the chaos sphere beneath us!" Lu Chen's Incarnation shouted as the black and white lights spiraled tighter around him. "I'll gather both forces above. Once you pull it out, throw it skyward!"

With a thunderous roar, Wind Dragon thrust his spectral tail into the ground. In an instant, the chaos sphere emerged. "I'm ready. How about you?"

"Let's do this!"

Lu Chen struck the ground with his right hand and leapt upward. The spiraling lights converged in his grasp and condensed into two orbs, one black and one white. With a powerful kick, he launched them into the sky. The three pearls collided in midair and detonated in a surge of energy.

Radiant rings rippled outward, battering the walls within the mindscape. The force tore at the barriers, only for the rifts to swiftly patch themselves shut.

Looking up at the three colliding pearls, Lu Chen's Incarnation said, "Next, we'll merge them into the chaos sphere. The backlash should expand the mindscape even further."

He glanced at Wind Dragon, stomped his foot, and shot into the air. "Come!"

Wind Dragon roared, "Well done, Little Lu. Let's go!"

His long body spiraled upward. Carrying the Divine Psyche Incarnation on his head, he soared toward the orbs and chaos sphere above.

"Dao Art, Spirit Light Chains!"

Standing atop the dragon's head, Lu Chen's Divine Psyche Incarnation formed seals in rapid succession. In just a few days of studying countless manuals through his three avatars in the Scripture Hall, his knowledge had already grown far beyond what it once was. Faced with this crisis, he instantly conceived a solution.

"The Innate is formed, and the Acquired is born!"

With a sharp shout, he hurled the manifested Dao Art upward, sending chains of light lashing toward the orbs and sphere.

Nearly a thousand meters long, the radiant chains split into three as they pierced the orbs and sphere.

"The Innate acts as the body, while the Acquired acts as the function." Wind Dragon watched Lu Chen's work and couldn't help but praise, "You've grown much in these few days. This trip to the Scripture Hall was well worth it."

"It's still not enough. There are still many detailed concepts I don't understand at all. Once the matters here are settled, we'll head to the higher floors right away."

1. Refer back to Chapter 110 and 111, where the golden figure and the black dragon compressed the violent spirit qi of the Innate Green Sovereign Divine Tree into a black sphere ☜

2. Raw states that the power he left behind is the power of the Void as well. ☜