When Lu Chen fully controlled the Burial Furnace, he immediately used Divine Thought to explore the world inside the Burial Furnace.

However, he suddenly discovered at that moment that although his Divine Thought could enter the Burial Furnace, it was unable to probe the situation within the Chaotic Sea.

Even after regaining his strength, his Divine Thought still couldn’t sense what was inside the Chaos Qi.

He could only perceive the Tianyan Immortal Domain and Tianchen World.

Perhaps the lid of the Burial Furnace had been open for too long; the Tianyan Immortal Domain had already collapsed into several continents, and the Chaos Qi had invaded the Tianyan Immortal Domain.

Similarly, Lu Chen’s Tianchen World was in a bad state too, as fissures appeared in the child worlds surrounding Tianchen World, seemingly on the verge of breaking apart at any moment.

Lu Chen realized that if this continued, both the Tianyan Immortal Domain and Tianchen World would inevitably collapse. Thus, he had to inject his power into these two worlds to stabilize them.

Yet, doing so would cause his strength to plummet, and his memories might once again be sealed.

Ultimately, Lu Chen chose to protect his children. To him, these children were not just children; they were also a causal link with those Ancestors of the Strange. Even if it meant sacrificing his Cultivation State, he wanted to protect them.

Lu Chen quickly closed the lid of the Burial Furnace, then stepped out, his body transforming into a stream of light, heading directly toward the Spirit Realm.

Lu Chen moved swiftly, reaching the edge of the Deceit Realm within moments.

Yet, as he was about to reach the Spirit Realm, he discovered that the current Spirit Realm had undergone considerable changes.

Once, there was a barrier between the Spirit Realm and the Deceit Realm, a Boundary Wall that typically prevented the Mysterious Power from the Deceit Realm from crossing into the Spirit Realm. Only when the Ancestor of the Strange acted would the Boundary Wall briefly create a passage, allowing Mysterious Life to enter the Spirit Realm and harvest vitality.

Now the Boundary Wall had completely vanished, with no obstacles between the Deceit Realm and Spirit Realm. In other words, the Mysterious Life from the Deceit Realm could enter the Spirit Realm to harvest vitality at will.

Lu Chen’s face darkened; this must be the work of the Netherworld Evil Emperor. As Yun Yudie and others had said, the Netherworld Evil Emperor aimed to destroy the entire Spirit Realm, with no intention of continuing to harvest vitality.

The current Spirit Realm had probably become a Human World Purgatory.

Thinking of this possibility, Lu Chen accelerated his pace.

His body swiftly traversed the void, passing one shattered Small World after another, all completely turned to ruins with no vitality or living creatures within.

Lu Chen subconsciously clenched his fist, wondering if the Spirit Realm had been entirely destroyed by the Mysterious Life.

If that were the case, would there still be a place for him?

He needed to inject his power into the Burial Furnace to sustain the world within, ensuring a home for his children and the beings of the Tianyan Immortal Domain.

Once his power dispersed, he would be in extreme danger; without a safe place, he might face a life-and-death crisis.

Lu Chen continued to traverse the Spirit Realm, spending hundreds of years searching for a place to settle while merging the Tianyan Immortal Domain and Tianchen World, infusing Tianchen World with more power to resist the erosion of Chaos Qi and sustain its existence, which drastically diminished Lu Chen’s strength.

Hundreds of years passed quickly. Just as Lu Chen thought the Spirit Realm had been completely destroyed, he suddenly noticed in a corner of the Spirit Realm a presence that made his heart palpitate.

Lu Chen wondered if a strong entity still existed in the current Spirit Realm. If so, it meant the Spirit Realm hadn’t been completely annihilated.

Lu Chen immediately headed toward the source of the unsettling energy, and in under a hundred years, he arrived at the place emitting the sensation. Upon arrival, Lu Chen discovered the source was not a powerful entity, but a massive vortex.

The center of the vortex emitted blue Spiritual Energy, while the vortex edges radiated Mysterious Power, continuously twisting the surrounding space-time. The area around the vortex was devoid of anything, as if all had been sucked into the vortex.

Lu Chen thought to himself that perhaps the people of the Spirit Realm had entered the world beyond the vortex. Could it be that there was an even larger world outside the Spirit Realm?

Lu Chen decided to venture into the vortex, hoping the world beyond could be a place for him.

Subsequently, Lu Chen rushed toward the vortex.

As soon as his body entered the vortex, he felt his power being recklessly torn, as if his body and Divine Soul were about to be shredded.

Lu Chen broke into a cold sweat, instantly realizing the situation. There must be another world beyond the vortex, and this world had different laws, making his original powers Forbidden Power there. To enter this world, he had to release all his powers, or the world beyond the vortex would tear him apart.

Understanding the situation, Lu Chen intended to leave this world but found himself completely trapped by the vortex.

Now only two paths were left for him: either be torn apart by the vortex or willingly release his power.

Upon confirming he couldn’t escape the vortex, Lu Chen immediately channeled most of his power into Tianchen World within the Burial Furnace, then divided a strand of Divine Thought to attach to the Burial Furnace, and used his remaining power to seal the Burial Furnace.

Once his power dissipated, Lu Chen’s vision went black, and he entirely lost consciousness.

...

Spirit Ruins Continent.

Great Zhou Dynasty.

The glazed tiles of Smoke Cloud Hall shimmered coldly under the moonlight, with strange runes engraved on the columns, emitting dark blue light that appeared eerie at night.

At this moment, the incense burner in the hall released a strand of smoke that rose straight to the palace ceiling, then dispersed and descended, filling the hall with fragrance.

On a soft couch in the hall lay a young man, his hair loose and face pale.

At this moment, a maid beside the couch whispered, "I wonder when this gentleman will wake up."

Another maid said, "I don’t understand why the Princess brought him back. He doesn’t have even a trace of spiritual evil, clearly just a normal person."

The maid who spoke first said, "This is the Princess’s decision; we shouldn’t question so much. Let’s do our job."

With that, the two maids turned and left.

At this moment, the young man’s eyebrows slightly twitched, and soon, he opened his eyes.

The moment Lu Chen regained consciousness, he felt a severe headache, as if his head was about to explode.