Chapter 20: The Primordial Dragon Vein, the Divine Soul Transformation, and the Absolute Sovereign of the Central Continent

The morning following the conclusion of the Young Geniuses Martial Tournament broke with a serene, amber twilight hanging over the floating islands of the Grand Tang Imperial Palace Archipelago. The chaotic roars of half a million spectators that had echoed through the Imperial Martial Arena for days had finally softened into a quiet, reverent murmur across the three-hundred-mile capital of Chang’an.

Inside the deep, secluded subterranean sanctuary beneath the third floating island, an ancient spatial array platform formed from solid Void-Star Jade glowed with a rhythmic, pulsating golden light.

Surrounding the platform stood Princess Li Zhaoyang, dressed in her grandest crimson imperial court gown, accompanied by General Li Tiangang and four ancient imperial ancestors clad in dark gold dragon robes. Their faces were solemn, their eyes filled with deep, unshakeable respect as they looked at the three young figures standing before the spatial array.

Lin Chen stood at the center, his snow-white crane-down robe clean and crisp, layered over a deep emerald silk tunic embroidered with gold-and-silver dragon-scale patterns. Beside him stood Su Qingyao, her pristine ice-blue dress fluttering gently against the subterranean spatial drafts, her Nine-Ice Sword resting at her hip. To his right, Huang Yanyan held her crimson lace fan, a confident, alluring smile playing upon her lips, her dark hair bound by red silk ribbons.

Princess Li Zhaoyang stepped forward, holding a pristine velvet tray upon which rested the ancient, bronze key shaped like a sleeping dragon—the Key of the Primordial Dragon-Vein Sanctuary.

“Young Master Lin, Miss Su, Lady Huang,” Princess Li Zhaoyang spoke, her clear voice echoing softly against the carved jade walls. “The Primordial Dragon Realm beneath Chang’an is the foundational origin pulse of our entire Central Divine Continent. Every hundred years, the dragon vein condenses its pure liquid energy into the Dragon-Vein Spirit Pool. Entering it will allow your Golden Cores to absorb the purest continental luck and primordial spirit liquor.”

She looked at Lin Chen, her eyes flashing with a quiet, profound awe.

“However… the deeper one descends into the core of the dragon vein, the heavier the subterranean spatial pressure becomes. Even Peak Golden Core masters usually cannot endure more than three days inside the spirit pool before their dantians begin to crack under the origin weight. Please proceed with utmost care.”

Lin Chen reached out, taking the bronze dragon key from the velvet tray. His smooth, magnetic smile was as warm and unshakeable as ever.

“Thank you for the warning, Princess Li,” Lin Chen replied smoothly. “Three days should be more than enough.”

Lin Chen raised the bronze key, inserting it into the central keyhole of the Void-Star Jade platform.

HUMMMMMM!

A blinding column of brilliant, golden dragon-shaped light erupted from the array, engulfing Lin Chen, Su Qingyao, and Huang Yanyan! In a fraction of a microsecond, the spatial laws folded around them, and their figures vanished completely from the subterranean sanctuary!

Inside the Primordial Dragon Realm:

When the blinding golden light faded, Lin Chen, Su Qingyao, and Huang Yanyan found themselves standing atop a floating, circular altar of purple crystalline jade, suspended in an cavernous, infinite realm of swirling amber mist.

The realm possessed no sky, no ground, and no sun. Instead, directly beneath the floating altar, a colossal, hundred-mile river of glowing, golden-amber liquid flowed continuously through the void—the legendary Primordial Dragon-Vein Spirit River!

The moment they stepped onto the altar, the sheer, staggering density of the origin energy hit them like a physical wall!

The ambient spirit liquor was so dense that every breath taken caused pure, liquid gold condensation to settle along the hem of their robes. A normal First-Level Foundation Establishment cultivator entering this space without preparation would have their dantians exploded instantly by the overwhelming ambient pressure!

“The origin density here…” Su Qingyao observed softly, her ice-blue eyes glowing as she felt her Nine-Ice Sword humming with excitement against her waist. “…is at least fifty times greater than the imperial court above. My ice-vein meridians are automatically absorbing energy at five times my normal cultivation speed!”

Huang Yanyan twirled her lace fan, her eyes scanning the vast golden river below with a mixture of delight and awe. “Look at the center of the river, Husband… the energy there isn’t even liquid anymore. It’s crystallizing into solid dragon-amber!”

Lin Chen looked down toward the deep center of the hundred-mile spirit river, his golden pupils flashing as his system interface automatically mapped the realm:

[System Analysis: Primordial Dragon Realm Core]

[Energy Concentration: Peak Continental Grade]

[Dragon-Vein Spirit Essence Density: 100%]

[Optimal Cultivation Node Identified: Core Dragon Eye (10 Miles Below)]

[System Recommendation: Initiate Sovereign Core Refinement & Nascent Soul Ascension]

“Qingyao, Yanyan,” Lin Chen spoke gently, turning to his wives. “The outer pool of the dragon river is ideal for stabilizing your foundations and pushing your Golden Cores toward the Late Stage. Cultivate here atop the altar and within the upper river layer. I am going down into the Core Dragon Eye at the bottom of the river to complete my breakthrough.”

Su Qingyao looked into his eyes, her expression warm and full of boundless trust. “Go, Lin Chen. We will hold the altar and refine our foundations.”

“Be careful down there, Husband,” Huang Yanyan purred, stepping close to give him a soft, lingering kiss on his cheek. “Don’t consume the entire river before we finish our share.”

Lin Chen smiled warmly, stroking her crimson hair gently. “I will save plenty for you both.”

With a light step, Lin Chen stepped off the edge of the floating jade altar, plunging straight down into the roaring, hundred-mile golden river of primordial dragon essence!

SWISH!

As Lin Chen descended deeper into the golden spirit river, the physical and spiritual pressure multiplied at an exponential, terrifying rate!

Ten miles down… twenty miles down… fifty miles down!

At the sixty-mile mark, the liquid golden spirit essence turned as dense as molten lead, exerting millions of pounds of spatial weight upon his body. Any normal Peak Golden Core master would have been flattened into a blood mist instantly.

Yet, Lin Chen descended with total, effortless grace. His Nine-Ring Sovereign Golden Core inside his dantian spun with a deep, harmonic resonance, generating an invisible, three-foot Sovereign Void Barrier around his body that completely negated the crushing physical weight!

Finally, at the absolute bottom of the realm—eighty miles beneath the surface—Lin Chen reached the Core Dragon Eye.

It was a vast, silent, fifty-yard sphere of pure, crystalline amber space, anchored directly over the continental origin pulse! Floating in the center of this amber sphere was a three-foot, pulsing orb of liquid liquid star-gold—the Primordial Dragon Core Essence!

Lin Chen hovered cross-legged in the center of the amber sphere.

He took a slow, deep breath, closing his golden eyes, and completely released the suppression on his Nine-Ring Sovereign Core!

BOOM!

Inside Lin Chen’s dantian, the nine-ring golden-and-silver sovereign core exploded into a terrifying, galaxy-like vortex!

[System Notification: Primordial Ascension Initiated!]

[Consuming Remaining Fate Value Points: -15,000 Points]

[Activating Innate Heavenly Furnace Mastery…]

[Absorbing Primordial Dragon Core Essence…]

WHOOSH!

The three-foot orb of liquid star-gold in front of Lin Chen was drawn into his chest like a reverse waterfall!

The divine energy entered his dantians, flooding into his Nine-Ring Sovereign Core!

RUMBLE!

Outside the Primordial Dragon Realm—in the real sky three thousand feet above the capital of Chang’an:

The bright morning sky suddenly turned completely dark! A five-thousand-mile circle of glowing, golden storm clouds descended from the upper sky, forming nine massive, concentric rotating vortexes directly above the Imperial Palace Archipelago!

Inside those nine vortexes, nine golden divine dragons composed of pure celestial lightning materialized, their roars shaking the foundations of all seven continental dynasties simultaneously!

In the imperial palace, the ancient emperor of Grand Tang and the four grand ancestors rushed out into the court balconies, staring up at the five-thousand-mile golden dragon clouds in absolute, speechless, trembling terror!

“NINE… NINE DIVINE DRAGON TRIBULATION?!” the ancient Tang Emperor stammered, his imperial crown nearly slipping off his head in panic. “Five thousand miles! That isn’t a Golden Core breakthrough… THAT IS THE LEGENDARY SOVEREIGN NASCENT SOUL ASCENSION!”

“Who… who in the world is ascending beneath our capital?!” an ancient ancestor whimpered, falling onto his knees. “Is it Lin Chen?! HE WAS AT THE FIRST LEVEL OF GOLDEN CORE YESTERDAY!”

Deep inside the Core Dragon Eye:

The nine golden celestial dragons of the Heavenly Tribulation tore through the spatial boundaries of the dragon realm, striking down upon Lin Chen’s body one after another!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Yet, as each wave of celestial divine lightning struck Lin Chen, his Innate Heavenly Furnace inside his chest swallowed the lightning completely, converting it into pure, sovereign origin essence!

Inside his dantian, the Nine-Ring Sovereign Golden Core began to crack!

CRACK!

A brilliant, divine golden light erupted from the interior of the core!

The solid golden core dissolved, giving birth to a thumb-sized, translucent golden baby that looked exactly like a miniature version of Lin Chen!

Around the forehead of this miniature golden baby rested Nine Glowing Golden-and-Silver Spatial Crowns, and in its tiny hands held a miniature replica of the Nine-Illuminations Cauldron!

[System Notification: Breakthrough Successful!]

[Host Cultivation Level: First Level Nascent Soul Realm (Nine-Crown Sovereign Soul)]

[Dantian Capacity Expanded: x100 Times!]

[Sovereign Void Domain Upgraded: Level 2 (Absolute Spatial Control)]

[Life Expectancy Extended: +10,000 Years!]

CLANG!

An absolute, cosmic wave of sovereign pressure erupted from Lin Chen’s body, instantly sweeping through the entire Primordial Dragon Realm, sweeping through the floating islands of Chang’an, and radiating across all seven dynasties of the Central Divine Continent!

Every Golden Core master, every Nascent Soul elder, and every hidden Soul Transformation ancestor across the entire continent felt their spiritual cores tremble, instinctively dropping to their knees in deep, unshakeable reverence toward the direction of Chang’an!

Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes.

His pupils were no longer merely golden-tinged; they were deep, boundless galaxies of star-gold and silver spatial light.

He stood up smoothly, his white robes untouched, his aura calm, majestic, and completely divine.

He looked up toward the upper layer of the realm, stepping smoothly through space, appearing back atop the floating jade altar beside Su Qingyao and Huang Yanyan in less than a microsecond!

Su Qingyao and Huang Yanyan had both completed their own breakthroughs under the rich origin energy—Su Qingyao reaching the Fifth Level Golden Core Realm with her Nine-Ice Sword Intent fully realized, and Huang Yanyan reaching the Fifth Level Golden Core Realm with her Crimson Phoenix Bloodline fully awakened!

Seeing Lin Chen reappear, surrounded by an invisible, divine spatial halo, their eyes filled with deep, boundless love and pride.

“Congratulations on reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, Husband,” Su Qingyao smiled tenderly.

“You truly are the supreme sovereign of this world,” Huang Yanyan purred, stepping into his arms.

Lin Chen embraced them both gently, holding them close against his chest as he looked out across the shimmering golden dragon river.

“The Central Continent is stabilized,” Lin Chen spoke smoothly, his clear, magnetic voice carrying the calm, absolute authority of a divine king who ruled the heavens and the earth.

“Now… our alliance shall usher in an era of eternal peace.”

[End of Chapter 20]