Chapter 174: Sacred Mark

Deep within the Golden Pool, Zhou Yuan broke through the water, staring at Tun Tun who was leading the way, and followed closely.

As he continuously descended, Zhou Yuan also began to feel a powerful pressure surging from all directions, a pressure far greater than that of ordinary pool water.

"What intense pressure," Zhou Yuan thought, his expression solemn. "Even though I've reached the Heavenly Gate stage, I'm struggling to withstand it." The depths of this Golden Pool were clearly not a place for ordinary people.

Dark golden Genesis Qi began to surge from Zhou Yuan's body, enveloping him.

However, the Genesis Qi's protection didn't last long; it gradually reached its limit.

Zhou Yuan stopped helplessly, a bitter smile on his face. He hadn't expected the bottom of this Golden Pool to be so difficult to reach.

Tun Tun noticed this, quickly swam back, thought for a moment, and then settled on Zhou Yuan's head. Powerful Genesis Qi emanated from it, enveloping Zhou Yuan like a bubble.

The overwhelming pressure immediately subsided.

"Thanks," Zhou Yuan said, stroking Tun Tun on his head.

Tun Tun waved its paw, leading Zhou Yuan to rapidly descend again. After several minutes, they finally saw the end...

At the bottom of the Golden Pool, dazzling golden light permeated everything. Numerous broken stones glowed like gold, exceptionally brilliant.

Zhou Yuan's gaze swept around, a hint of confusion in his eyes. His Spirit perception was not weak, yet he found nothing unusual at the bottom of the Golden Pool.

Tun Tun swam down, landed on the pool bed, and suddenly began to repeatedly dig at a certain spot with its paw.

Countless golden fragments shot out.

After a while, Zhou Yuan's eyes suddenly narrowed. He saw that as Tun Tun dug, a broken stone slab began to emerge from the bottom of the Golden Pool.

Zhou Yuan waved his sleeve, and Genesis Qi surged out, sweeping away all the fragmented stones. The stone slab was then fully unearthed.

The stone slab was mottled and broken, covered with signs of corrosion, and looked exceptionally ordinary. However, Zhou Yuan's gaze focused on its surface.

On the surface of the stone slab were ancient marks, appearing naturally formed, as if they had existed since the beginning of the world—mysterious and vast.

Traces emitting faint light connected with each other, seemingly forming an ancient and mysterious light pattern.

Zhou Yuan stared intently at the mysterious light pattern. He could feel that his Genesis Qi seemed to stagnate at that moment, as if subjected to some indescribable pressure.

And clearly, that pressure emanated from the mysterious light pattern.

"This light pattern has a familiar aura..."

Zhou Yuan's thoughts churned. After a moment, a sudden flash of insight struck him: "I remember now, it's the aura of that Saint Monument in the sky!"

But this wasn't surprising, as the entire Saint Remains Region was formed from the remains of that fallen Saint.

"This is a Saint Rune..."

Zhou Yuan muttered to himself. This light pattern must have originated from the fallen Saint. Although he couldn't comprehend its mysteries, it was clear that this "Saint Rune" was certainly not simple.

Otherwise, Tun Tun wouldn't be so eager.

Tun Tun also extended its paw at this moment, pointing to the stone slab, then to Zhou Yuan.

"You want me to touch it?" Zhou Yuan asked.

Tun Tun nodded repeatedly.

Zhou Yuan hesitated for a moment, but finally gritted his teeth, descended, and cautiously reached out his palm to touch the ancient and mysterious "Saint Rune" on the stone slab.

The moment Zhou Yuan's finger touched the "Saint Rune" on the stone slab, the Saint Rune suddenly erupted with brilliant light. The light shot out, directly aiming for Zhou Yuan's glabella.

As soon as the light touched Zhou Yuan's glabella, he felt a low booming sound echo in his mind.

Zhou Yuan's spirit vibrated intensely, feeling as if the world was spinning. An incredibly massive ancient light pattern appeared before him, slowly rotating, and an immense pressure descended.

*Crack!*

Zhou Yuan's spirit almost instantly began to shatter, clearly unable to withstand such pressure.

Zhou Yuan was filled with immense horror, for he knew that his spirit would not last ten breaths under the pressure of that ancient light pattern. If it continued, his spirit would undoubtedly be completely shattered.

"How could this be?!" he exclaimed in alarm.

"Don't panic, this is spirit pressure, oppression from that ancient Saint Rune!" Zhou Yuan forced himself to calm down. He knew that if he panicked, his spirit might truly be crushed.

"As for my spirit..."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, suddenly closed his eyes, and the cultivation mantra for the "Chaos God Grinding Visualization" flowed through his mind.

The void behind Zhou Yuan began to shatter, transforming into an boundless chaotic starry sky. Within that chaos, a colossal, mottled grinding mill, seemingly without end, slowly emerged.

The mottled grinding mill crushed forward from behind Zhou Yuan, aiming directly at the ancient Saint Rune.

*Creak!*

Two equally ancient entities collided in that void.

The entire world seemed to begin to shatter under that collision.

The pressure that had almost shattered Zhou Yuan's spirit finally dissipated. Zhou Yuan felt a wave of relief, his heart pounding as he watched the clash of the two colossal entities.

"What exactly is that Saint Rune? It's so terrifying that even the Chaos God Grinding Mark left by Master Cang Yuan couldn't crush it," Zhou Yuan thought, secretly astonished.

The God Grinding Mark in his glabella was inscribed by Cang Yuan, carrying a trace of the God Grinding aura. It was because of this mark that anyone who dared to attack Zhou Yuan with spirit power in the past met with no good end.

Those spirit attacks were ultimately crushed by the God Grinding Mill.

But this time, the God Grinding Mill did not sweep everything before it as it had in the past; instead, it was resisted by that ancient Saint Rune.

The two colossal entities stood in a tense stalemate in the void.

"Now, I can only wait." Zhou Yuan had no other option; such a clash was beyond the intervention of his Spirit at the advanced Void Realm.

So he simply sat down cross-legged, staring into the void.

He stared, losing track of how much time passed, until his spirit began to feel fatigued...

*Rumble!*

Just as Zhou Yuan was about to give up, a colossal sound suddenly echoed through the heavens and earth. Zhou Yuan hastily looked up and saw the mottled God Grinding Mill slowly retreating, finally disappearing into the chaotic starry sky.

In contrast, the ancient "Saint Rune" also burst with light at that moment, rapidly shrinking until it transformed into a streak of light that descended from the sky and shot into Zhou Yuan's glabella.

At the bottom of the Golden Pool, Zhou Yuan's eyes, which had been tightly closed for an unknown duration, suddenly snapped open.