Chapter 698: Please Believe Me

Zhang Xuan had intended to examine the heart, but the moment his finger touched it, he was seized and his mind paralyzed. Helpless, he had no choice but to confront it directly.

To his surprise, the entity actually released him.

Once freed, he immediately consulted the books in the library. Only after reading them did he understand.

Although the entity spoke with great authority, it had, in fact, only recently awakened. Even if it could possess him, it would undoubtedly come at an immense cost.

However, if he willingly allowed the possession, it would be considerably simpler, saving a great deal of trouble.

Realizing it was merely a paper tiger, he saw no reason to hold back. He immediately unleashed the Codex of Heavenly Dao.

This artifact, the most powerful item currently in existence, was generated by the heavens. Even if this creature was truly a formidable figure from Master Kong's era, it surely couldn't withstand it!

Indeed, the moment the book appeared, the entity seemed instantly shackled. All the power it had imposed on Zhang Xuan vanished, and he regained his freedom.

"Who am I? I'm your granddaddy!"

With a mental command from Zhang Xuan, the book slammed down. The round platform beneath it, unable to bear the immense pressure, instantly cracked apart.

*Rumble!*

The moment the platform collapsed, the entire underground palace's formation seemed utterly destroyed. Spiritual energy dispersed wildly, and the palace began to shake violently.

"Oh no, I forgot this was the core of the formation..."

Zhang Xuan's face paled.

Having just escaped danger, he had been so focused on using the book to crush the heart that he'd forgotten its location was precisely the core of the underground palace's formation.

The grand formation maintaining the spiritual energy and vitality of this underground palace centered on the heart's location—that small circular platform.

With the platform's collapse, and the formation's support gone, the underground palace, buried for tens of thousands of years, could no longer hold. It began to collapse instantly.

He was deep within the palace, at least two or three minutes from the exit. His clone had been chased to an unknown location. If the palace completely collapsed, he would undoubtedly be trapped and buried alive!

"Don't kill me... I can lead you to a safe place..."

Seeing the golden book continue to press down, threatening to crush it into a pulp at any moment, the heart cried out in desperation.

"Alright, I'll trust you this one time!"

He knew he had no choice but to trust the heart. With the underground palace collapsing, his own strength wouldn't be enough to escape, so he had to rely on it.

The entity had survived for tens of thousands of years and surely knew all the secrets of the underground palace. Perhaps it truly could lead him to safety.

"Instead of killing it, can I seal it?"

As he was about to retract the book, a sudden idea flashed through his mind.

The golden book had a time limit; once retracted, it would vanish. Losing this powerful tool would make controlling the entity again nearly impossible.

Since this item could enhance his mental composure, allow him to memorize knowledge, and even slay enemies at his command, then... could it possibly transform into something that could seal this heart?

If it could be locked away and prevented from acting against him, there would be nothing to fear.

*Whoosh!*

Before he could finish his thought, the book flashed, opened with a *whoosh*, and with a gentle flick, clamped the heart within its pages.

Instantly, the golden pages lost their luster, transforming into an ordinary book that then floated downwards.

"Huh?"

Reaching out, Zhang Xuan caught the book and opened it. Inside, he saw a heart continuously beating, unable to escape no matter how it struggled, resembling a bizarre illustration.

"Release me..."

The heart roared, a grotesque face contorting upon its surface.

"Lead me to a safe place!"

"I am 'the formidable one' whom even Master Kong feared! How dare a mere junior like you disrespect me..."

The heart, contorted with rage, roared furiously. Before it could finish, it saw a finger flicking towards it.

The heart recoiled violently, as if struck by lightning, tumbling several times within the book.

"'Formidable one,' eh? Good. Come on, give grandpa a smile! Let me see how formidable you truly are!" Zhang Xuan remarked, looking at it.

The heart twitched violently, on the verge of tears.

"It truly was a formidable being that once roamed the world... Although it had been slain and hadn't fully recovered its strength even after tens of thousands of years, it could still easily kill Saint realm experts..."

"Yet now, it was sealed within a book by a mere twenty-year-old, being flicked about with a finger..."

"Damn it!"

"What about my dignity as a mighty Celestial Envoy?"

Although it didn't know what kind of magical artifact had trapped it, the profound authority of the Heavenly Dao emanating from it filled the heart with dread, rendering it unable to resist.

Forget escaping; merely being alive was a stroke of luck.

"What? No smile?"

As it seethed in anger, it saw the finger bend, ready to flick again...

It instantly recoiled, "I'll smile, I'll smile..."

The heart immediately shifted, forming a human-like face with a forced smile.

Not smiling was not an option. Sealed within the book and facing instant annihilation, even the most formidable being was powerless!

A smile was plastered on its face, but inside, its heart bled...

"I truly contended with Master Kong! I was a formidable expert who roamed the world, capable of crushing a Nine-Star Master Teacher with ease."

"Yet now I'm forced to fawn..."

"That's better. Now, quickly, lead me to a safe place!"

Seeing the entity under control, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. The ground, however, was shaking with increasing intensity, threatening to collapse at any moment.

"Yes!" The heart, relieved that it was no longer being flicked, couldn't help but bellow, "Lead the way now!"

At its command, the surrounding puppets dared not hesitate and immediately surged forward.

Zhang Xuan, holding the book, followed closely, while simultaneously communicating with his clone mentally.

Soon after, his clone flew over and was stored in his spatial ring.

His clone, crafted from the Nine-Heaven Lotus Embryo, was virtually immortal. Even when pursued relentlessly by two puppets, killing it was impossible.

It had simply expended too much primordial qi and would require significant rest to recover.

With the heart subdued, the puppets dared not show him the slightest disrespect. In fact, two of them, finding him too slow, actually lifted him up.

The Saint realm puppets, running at full speed, were incredibly swift. In less than two breaths, they reached a small room.

At that very moment, the outer sections of the underground palace finally gave way and completely collapsed.

The area immediately plunged into darkness.

He casually tossed out a luminous pearl, illuminating their surroundings.

"This is a refuge, built when the underground palace was constructed, to prevent humanity from completely wiping us out," the heart explained from the book. "Here, even if the palace collapses, one can survive. However... there is no exit from this place either..."

The Otherworldly Demons had once been relentlessly hunted by humans, nearly to extinction. As one of their most powerful individuals, it had naturally prepared a retreat.

This place was designed so that even if humans pursued them here, they could die together.

However, to prevent outsiders from discovering it, no exit was provided. While they were temporarily safe, whether and how they would escape remained entirely unknown.

"No exit?"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

If there was no way out, was he truly fated to be trapped and perish here?

"Yes..."

The heart affirmed.

"Alright then... since we can't get out anyway, I'll just figure out how to refine you. Perhaps that'll boost my cultivation!"

With a flip of his hand, he pressed down on the book's pages.

With the entity sealed by the Codex of Heavenly Dao, he could crush it with a mere thought.

"Wait, wait..."

The heart felt like weeping.

Back when it roamed the world, which demon, monster, or ghost didn't fear it? Even Master Kong had shown it a measure of respect. But this youngster, he beat it when he pleased, and dealt with it on a whim, driving it absolutely mad!

But what good was going mad? Judging by the other party's demeanor, he truly looked capable of refining it without a moment's hesitation!

This was simply preposterous.

It had finally awakened, believing it could once again gallop across the world and lord over the Nine Heavens. Yet, it hadn't even left the underground palace before encountering such a bizarre individual and such a formidable artifact...

Master Kong's painstakingly refined Spring and Autumn Grand Codex, though rumored to possess the power to reverse Yin and Yang and alter time, hailed as a divine artifact, didn't seem to have such a devastating effect either!

"Who exactly are you? Where did you come from?"

"There truly is no exit, but... now that we're safe, we can certainly dig one out. It might just take a few days!"

Knowing Zhang Xuan truly dared to refine it, the heart wasted no time and quickly replied.

"Dig one out? You're right. Then tell these puppets to dig faster!"

Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Although they were underground, if such an immense palace could be excavated in the first place, then digging a path out from within shouldn't be too difficult.

Besides, with so many puppets, he wouldn't need to lift a finger himself.

"Yes!"

The heart affirmed, then used some unknown method to issue a command. The many puppets nearby immediately began digging outwards.

These were all Saint realm puppets, so digging a single-person passage was not difficult. The only concern was that since the palace had just collapsed, secondary cave-ins were highly probable.

While the puppets dug the passage, Zhang Xuan continued to wait there, not feeling rushed.

He lowered his gaze and looked at the book once more.

"Alright, I'm going to ask you some things. Answer me truthfully, every single detail!"

"Yes..."

The heart responded.

"Since you are from the same era as Master Kong, and even fought against him, have you heard anything about him possessing congenital fetal poison?" Zhang Xuan inquired.

He knew the heart was speaking truthfully; it had indeed existed during Master Kong's era. Given this, it might know about the congenital fetal poison.

"Congenital fetal poison? I don't know... Master Kong and I were enemies. The first time I encountered him, he was already incredibly powerful..." The heart replied.

In that era, their Otherworldly Demons ruled humanity. Master Kong, however, had risen unexpectedly from unknown origins, possessing extraordinary strength at a young age, and had reunited humanity to defeat them.

They knew very little about this pinnacle expert of the human race.

"You don't know? Are you lying to me?" Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed.

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare... Ah!"

The heart hurriedly tried to explain, but before it could finish, it saw the finger flicking towards it once more.

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

Inside the Codex of Heavenly Dao, it tumbled several times, instantly convulsing as if electrocuted, twitching uncontrollably and foaming at the mouth.

"You little trickster, dare to hide something? Believe me, I can finish you off in minutes!" Zhang Xuan threatened.

"Yes..."

Tears flowed from the heart's surface as it continued to twitch.

"I really am a formidable being, one who dominated ancient times, whom even Master Kong greatly feared..."

"Please believe me!"