The Three-Year Period Has Arrived

"What's wrong?"

"This is..."

Chen Guan looked down at Yin Chen’s hand gripping his wrist, then raised his head, cutting off the unfinished sentence.

"I know. It’s not for you."

Yin Chen’s hand let go.

Chen Guan walked over to Yin Tianzheng and set the coffin down from his back. The black mystic iron landed on the metal platform with a dull, heavy thud.

"Old Master, once the seal is opened, how long will it take for me to sense the power of the remnant?"

"Almost no delay."

Yin Tianzheng’s palm was still pressed against the metal plate.

"The remnant’s instinct has been trying to break the seal all along. The moment the opening appears, it will surge out instantly."

"Once it surges out, the first wave is spiritual. The Heart-Calming Jade will be able to withstand that for you."

He raised his head and looked into Chen Guan’s eyes.

"But from the second wave onward, it’s pure, unadulterated power crushing down. Your Godshard fragment must complete the guidance before the first wave ends. It needs to wrest the remnant’s focus away from the array’s eye."

Chen Guan took the Heart-Calming Jade out of his pocket and clenched it in his palm.

"Within five seconds, I’ll pull that child’s soul out. Then I’ll seal the opening immediately."

Yin Tianzheng looked at him and continued.

"But before the seal closes, your Godshard will already have formed a link with the remnant. Sealing the opening only cuts the earth vein’s conduction—it won’t sever the resonance between you and it."

"As for the rest..."

He didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was clear.

On the side, Hong Yuan felt her scalp crawl and chimed in.

"Then what can we do to help?"

Yin Tianzheng swept a glance at her.

"Take Guan Jinyue’s little sister away."

"After the soul is stripped, there’ll be a brief state of drift. It needs someone with stable enough spiritual power to receive it, or the soul will dissipate."

Su Yuehe raised her hand.

"I’ll do that."

Yin Tianzheng looked at her for two seconds, then nodded.

"Word-forged ability user. Suitable."

All eyes finally converged on Guan Jinyue.

She stood at the edge of the platform, silver hair draped over her shoulders. Her face showed little emotion, only the fingers hanging at her side still curling slightly.

"Ready?"

Yin Tianzheng’s voice carried across the wind.

Guan Jinyue tilted her head and said two words softly.

"Let’s begin."

Yin Tianzheng said no more.

He bent his knees, slowly crouching down, and pressed both palms flat against the metal plate beneath him.

Spiritual power seeped from his palms into the metal, flowing down the tower’s structure all the way. The humming grew louder and louder, and the entire platform began to tremble at a visible frequency.

Chen Guan pressed the Heart-Calming Jade to his forehead and closed his eyes. With his other hand, he grasped the coffin beside him.

The temperature of the mystic iron soared beneath his palm.

Inside the coffin, something began to stir restlessly, unconsciously.

"Countdown."

Yin Tianzheng’s voice squeezed through gritted teeth.

"Ten."

"Nine."

"Eight."

The hum under the metal plate rose by a full octave. The entire Oriental Pearl Tower swayed slightly under the force.

Chen Guan opened his eyes. The color of his pupils was shifting.

"Seven."

"Six."

"Five."

Guan Jinyue walked over to Su Yuehe and stood in front of her, less than a step between them.

She didn’t look at Su Yuehe. Her eyes were fixed on Yin Tianzheng’s back.

"Four."

"Three."

Long Ao and Hong Yuan retreated to opposite sides of the platform, each gripping their weapons.

Yin Chen’s Frostbone Wolf let out a low growl. The temperature plummeted below freezing, and frost spread rapidly across the metal plates.

"Two."

Yin Tianzheng’s palms pressed two deep imprints into the metal.

"One..."

The old man’s ten fingers thrust downward simultaneously. The entire metal plate shattered with a crack.

A dark red beam of light exploded upward from the broken gap, carrying a suffocating weight, slamming straight into the night sky.

At the same time, Chen Guan stepped forward.

The moment the dark red beam tore open the night sky, the entire Oriental Pearl Tower emitted a mournful groan that resonated deep in the marrow.

Cracks on the metal platform spread outward at a visible speed. Beneath the shattered plates, dense golden runes surfaced, layer upon layer, glowing from deep within the tower’s structure like ignited veins.

The moment the runes lit up, all the partially sealed spatial cracks in the sky began to shake violently.

Even the Frostbone Wolf crouched low, limbs pressed flat against the ground, silver fur standing on end like needles, a faint whimper escaping its throat.

"Don’t panic."

Yin Tianzheng’s voice came through clenched teeth. Both hands buried in the broken metal, veins bulging on the backs as he wrestled with something three hundred meters below.

"The earth vein’s connection point is opening. The three-hundred-meter seal is being dismantled layer by layer."

His speech quickened, each word weighted heavily.

"Seventh layer. Sixth layer. Fifth layer..."

Every time the runes dimmed a layer, the oppressive force surging from below grew heavier.

By the third layer, a streak of blood at the corner of Yin Tianzheng’s mouth dripped down his chin, pooling into a small dark red stain on the metal.

Chen Guan stood five steps from Yin Tianzheng. His left hand held the Heart-Calming Jade against his forehead; his right hand pressed the mystic iron coffin beside him.

The coffin’s temperature was climbing rapidly.

At first, it was warm. Then it was scorching hot. Then it became a burning pain.

He didn’t let go.

Something inside the coffin was stirring. Something had awakened, churning and battering against the closed walls of mystic iron, one impact after another, faster and faster.

Resonance.

That feeling started from his palm, shot up his arm to his chest, then blasted straight to the crown of his head. Every bone in his body rattled in sync.

"Second layer lifted."

Yin Tianzheng’s voice turned hoarse.

"Last layer."

"Everyone, get ready."

An Changqing drew his sword. Starlight rippled along the blade. He didn’t assume an offensive stance; instead, he held the sword crosswise before him, prepared to defend.

Long Ao and Hong Yuan spread out at the platform’s flanks, one with clenched fists, the other gripping an axe, every muscle strained to the limit.

Su Yuehe stood beside Guan Jinyue, hands crossed in front of her chest, spiritual energy gathering between her fingers as a soft ball of light.

Guan Jinyue’s gaze pierced through everyone, landing on the shattered metal plate beneath Yin Tianzheng’s feet.

Her fingers spread open, palms facing down. Silver light flowed through her fingers, the form of spatial energy compressed to its extreme.

Three years.

She had waited three years.

"Last layer. Lifted."

Yin Tianzheng’s fingers pressed downward another three inches.

The golden runes all extinguished.

And then, that thing arrived.

No sound. No light. No concrete form that could be captured by the naked eye.

But everyone present felt it at the same time.

It was the fear that came from the soul itself—the primal memory of being prey, buried deep in the genes. That mere brush of its will made everyone’s scalp go numb, patch by patch, starting from the back of the skull.