Chapter 657: Heavenly Punishment

Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. Two ancient Sacred Runes, emanating mysterious fluctuations, slowly revolved around him. Ripples spread out from the void, continuously expanding.

The surroundings were perfectly silent.

This silence lasted for a long time, with no discernible movement in the surroundings.

However, Zhou Yuan maintained a calm state of mind. He knew that since Old Ancestor Cang Xuan had guided him here, he naturally wouldn't hide the third Sacred Rune in a place where even Zhou Yuan couldn't sense it.

Half an incense stick's worth of time quietly passed.

Zhou Yuan's tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, as the two ancient Sacred Runes revolving around him seemed to emit an imperceptible low hum.

And just at this moment, a ripple of the same frequency emanated from somewhere.

Then, Zhou Yuan saw the space around him begin to tremble. In front of him, the space rippled like water after a stone had been dropped into it, and from within those ripples, an ancient stone platform slowly rose.

On the stone platform, a crystal-like sphere of light stood motionless, continuously shimmering and emitting an enigmatic glow.

The two ancient Sacred Runes around Zhou Yuan hummed softly at this moment.

Zhou Yuan's heart quickened. He swiftly stepped forward and looked closely, then, to his uncontrollable delight, he saw a mass of liquid slowly flowing inside the crystal sphere.

The liquid seemed to possess a life of its own, at times swirling, at times condensing. Faintly, it also transformed into a complex light pattern, emanating an ancient, primeval aura.

"The third Sacred Rune..."

Zhou Yuan gazed at the mysterious light pattern inside the crystal sphere, murmuring with a slight tremor in his voice.

Based on the unusual activity of the two Sacred Runes by his side, he could confirm that the mysterious light pattern within the crystal sphere before him was precisely the third Sacred Rune, stripped from the Cang Xuan Saint Stamp.

What he had long dreamt of was finally before his eyes. Even with Zhou Yuan's composure, he couldn't hide his inner excitement at this moment.

As Zhou Yuan felt this excitement, countless lights suddenly surged on the stone platform before him. These lights, like a tide, poured into the crystal sphere, causing it to tremble slightly.

Following that, a small ball of light slowly rose from within it.

Zhou Yuan stared at the small ball of light, momentarily stunned, because he discovered that within the light ball was a roughly four-colored Divine Dwelling Treasure!

His pupils suddenly constricted.

Could it be that all the Divine Dwelling Treasures within the Jade Wall were condensed from this Sacred Rune?!

This Sacred Rune could actually create Divine Dwelling Treasures?!

Zhou Yuan's mind was in turmoil. Divine Dwelling Treasures were specialties of the Profound Origin Heavenly Grotto. Although he didn't know if similar rare items existed in other Grotto-Heavens or blessed lands, at least in the Cang Xuan Heaven, this seemed to be the only place.

It was said that this was because the Profound Origin Heavenly Grotto, as a blessed land, possessed unique rule-power, allowing the Genesis Qi of this world to accumulate over time and transform into miraculous Divine Dwelling Treasures.

But now, it seemed this third Sacred Rune could actually accelerate this process of condensation and accumulation, allowing Divine Dwelling Treasures to be born.

Such an ability truly left Zhou Yuan awestruck.

"Is it drawing the world's Genesis Qi from the outside through this stone platform?" Zhou Yuan glanced at the shimmering stone platform and muttered softly.

He let out a sigh of wonder, then, no longer hesitating, he approached, cautiously extending his palm towards the crystal sphere.

But just as his palm approached the stone platform, a faint light barrier instantly rose from the platform, protecting the crystal sphere within. Though seemingly translucent, the light barrier emanated an extremely terrifying fluctuation.

If that fluctuation were to spread even slightly, it would be enough to instantly reduce Zhou Yuan to ashes.

Zhou Yuan cautiously stared at the light barrier, sensed it for a moment, and his eyes narrowed slightly, because he actually detected two familiar fluctuations on the light barrier.

They were none other than the Barrier-Breaking Sacred Rune and the Earth Sacred Rune!

A smile appeared on his lips. It seemed this had been set up by the Cang Xuan Sect in the past, utilizing the power of two Sacred Runes. Therefore, any future entrant wishing to obtain the third Sacred Rune would need to possess the Barrier-Breaking Sacred Rune and the Earth Sacred Rune.

Clearly, Old Ancestor Cang Xuan had been worried that with the passage of time, some of his arrangements might develop loopholes, allowing people to inadvertently intrude and obtain the Sacred Rune.

"The Old Ancestor was truly cautious."

Zhou Yuan murmured, but he also knew that the Sacred Runes were extremely important. If they fell into the hands of the Sacred Palace, the Sacred Palace Master would be able to sense the location of the Cang Xuan Saint Stamp and thus gain control over it.

And once the Sacred Palace Master obtained the Cang Xuan Saint Stamp, he would become the new Lord of Cang Xuan Heaven, and the entire Cang Xuan Heaven would fall under his control.

The Cang Xuan Sect, as a major enemy of the Sacred Palace, would undoubtedly be the first to be destroyed then.

"The Sacred Palace Master greatly covets the Cang Xuan Saint Stamp. If he obtains the Saint Stamp, he will certainly sense the location of the Sacred Runes..." Thinking of this, Zhou Yuan's expression became much more solemn.

If such an existence set its sights on him, he would have no chance of survival.

Fortunately, however, it was likely that even the Sacred Palace Master had not anticipated that the four Sacred Runes on the Cang Xuan Saint Stamp had already been stripped away by Old Ancestor Cang Xuan.

Suppressing the thoughts in his mind, Zhou Yuan extended his palm. The Barrier-Breaking Sacred Rune and the Earth Sacred Rune immediately began to spin beneath his palm, then made contact with the light barrier.

Buzzing!

As the two Sacred Runes spun, ripples immediately spread across the light barrier, and it was then easily torn open.

The two Sacred Runes, like keys, effortlessly opened the light barrier that contained extremely terrifying Genesis Qi fluctuations.

As the light barrier split open, the crystal sphere inside immediately floated up slowly. The crystal sphere began to melt at a visible rate, and after a few breaths, the mysterious, liquid-like substance contained within it appeared before Zhou Yuan.

Mysterious, ancient, primeval.

The Barrier-Breaking Sacred Rune and the Earth Sacred Rune floated out, circling around the third Sacred Rune, as if letting out joyful chirps.

They were originally one entity, so they were naturally incredibly familiar with each other.

After the three light patterns intertwined for a moment, the Barrier-Breaking Sacred Rune and the Earth Sacred Rune led the way back, one plunging into Zhou Yuan's eye and the other into his palm.

The third Sacred Rune, after a slight roll and a moment of hesitation, finally moved slowly towards him, accompanied by the two familiar fluctuations, and in Zhou Yuan's fervent gaze, it directly entered his body.

The instant the third Sacred Rune entered his body, a low boom resonated in Zhou Yuan's mind, and a flood of information immediately poured in.

Amidst that information, Zhou Yuan immediately learned the name of the third Sacred Rune.

Its name: Heaven Punisher.