Nine Star Hegemon Body Art

While Long Chen didn’t know what was happening, his first reaction was to grab the startled Long Tianrui.

In an instant, Long Chen and Long Tianrui were sucked into the barrier. The disturbance ended up waking up Long Zimo from his meditation. He could only watch as Long Chen and Long Tianrui entered.

“Bastard!” Long Zimo growled, his teeth grinding in frustration.

He was shocked that Long Chen had broken through the eighth barrier so quickly. For a peak heavenly genius like him, falling behind was an unbearable humiliation.

Meanwhile, Long Zaiye had just cleared the sixth barrier. His face twisted in fury as he realized how far ahead Long Chen was.

Long Zaiye shouted, “Damn this!”

On the other side of the barrier, Long Tianrui’s stunned voice broke the silence. “I haven’t even taught you the mnemonic to break through. How did you open the barrier?”

She stared at Long Chen with wide eyes. To assist him earlier, she had used a significant amount of her precious bloodline power, which affected her own efficiency. She had assumed she’d be far too drained to advance.

Both had consumed pills to recover, and Long Tianrui had planned to teach Long Chen the mnemonic once they were both rested. Yet here they were, already through the barrier.

Long Tianrui’s face reddened when she noticed Long Chen was still holding her hand. She pulled it back quickly.

“There’s a mnemonic?” asked Long Chen, surprised.

He had no idea about anything like that. He thought the point was to use the mind to communicate and comprehend the barrier, perhaps obtaining its approval or reaching some kind of set target.

After the redness on Long Tianrui’s face faded, she solemnly asked, “How did you do it?”

“I don’t know?” replied Long Chen, recounting the vision he had seen and the runes he had played with.

Long Tianrui’s amazement grew as she listened. After that, she said, “I don’t know if you’re just unbelievably lucky or if your comprehension is unparalleled, but you deciphered an inner secret of the divine clans just like that.”

This technique was a closely guarded secret, known only to core disciples of the divine clans. Furthermore, they were all bound by powerful oaths, making it impossible to share such knowledge without triggering fatal consequences.

Only the likes of Long Tianrui, Long Zaiye, and Long Zimo did not face such restrictions. But Long Chen somehow managed to figure it out on his own.

After hesitating for a while, Long Tianrui asked, “Can I ask what character you comprehended?”

“Defend,” Long Chen replied simply.

Then, without hesitation, he placed a finger on her forehead and transmitted the scene of his comprehension to her.

“You…”

Long Tianrui was utterly stunned. She couldn’t believe Long Chen was willingly sharing something so profound. This knowledge was powerful enough to reshape the balance of power among the divine clans if revealed.

In truth, such a personal thing was something she shouldn’t have asked, but she couldn’t resist the temptation. If Long Chen refused to tell her, wouldn’t that be awkward?

Long Chen smiled lightly. “I can still pass it down while it’s in an embryonic form. Once it matures, it’ll likely be bound by the same restrictions you mentioned.”

He didn’t yet understand how to use the Jiuli immortal character, but he felt indebted to Long Tianrui for her help. Since he couldn’t give her a child as she half-jokingly demanded, this gift would have to suffice.

However, Long Tianrui bit her lip, her gaze lingering on him. “Even so, you still owe me a child.”

Long Chen was speechless.

She’s really not letting this go…

“Let’s move on,” Long Chen said, shaking his head.

As they continued, the surrounding space grew increasingly misty, obscuring their figures. Long Tianrui seemed in a better mood now and even struck up a conversation.

“You’re quite clever. The entire Long clan should have viewed you as a mortal enemy, yet you’ve managed to keep most of them at bay, aside from Long Zaiye,” she remarked.

According to what she knew, breaking through the eighth barrier was incredibly difficult. The fastest recorded time was two hours, and based on those records, getting through it normally took six to ten hours.

Now that Long Chen had broken through the eighth barrier, it instantly applied a large amount of pressure to Long Zaiye, Long Zimo, and the others. That would affect their speed as well.

With Long Chen’s ability, recovering in these few hours should be more than enough. Now, no one could threaten him.

Long Chen snorted, “From top to bottom, the Long clan is filled with trash. I don’t like them.”

Long Tianrui replied, “I also don’t like them, but I need their resources. As they also need me, we are each getting what we need. In this world, nothing truly belongs to me. That’s why I fight to claim something that does.”

Her voice carried a rare note of vulnerability, and Long Chen’s heart trembled. Long Tianrui was an ancient expert who had been sealed away for eons, and she had awoken to find her family long gone. It was like standing alone in a world that had moved on without her.

As a result, she didn’t have that many desires or wild ambitions. In fact, it seemed she only had one goal left in life.

Long Chen couldn’t help but sigh. Even a peak heavenly genius like Long Tianrui—someone envied and admired by countless people—lived such a bitter life. Sometimes, being alone was the most frightening thing.

Compared to her, Long Chen realized how fortunate he was. He had people he cared about deeply, and they, in turn, cared for him. Their presence painted his world with warmth and vibrant colors.

The ninth barrier was ahead of them, its oppressive force suffocating. Long Chen instinctively took a step back as its overwhelming energy radiated outward.

One rune after another shuttling across the barrier, exuding immense pressure. Even Long Chen felt his soul shudder as he looked at those runes.

It’s just a rune, but it possesses the power to transform heaven and earth. It can become a divine ability that can reverse the ten thousand Daos.

Suddenly, Long Chen thought of the runes on the Earth Cauldron. He had never managed to understand them. Now, he realized that those runes were most likely original Jiuli immortal characters.

Long Tianrui's voice broke through his thoughts. “The ninth barrier’s runes form the cornerstone of Jiuli immortal characters. They’re the source of all formations, magical arts, talismans—everything. The entire cultivation civilization could trace its roots to them.

“Some believe that merging multiple runes into a singular, complete form and calling its name will allow one to pass and reach the Jiuli Divine Stele. Others argue that focusing intently on a single rune—treating it as a treasure chest to unlock—might also suffice. There are even cases where they forget how they broke through entirely. The lack of clarity leaves no reliable information about the ninth barrier.”

With a faint smile, Long Chen shook his head and said, “Forget all that. There are countless paths to the gate of the Grand Dao. What works for others won’t necessarily work for us.”

“I’ll go first,” he added, his tone steady and resolute.

Sitting cross-legged before the barrier, Long Chen started forming hand seals. A dazzling seven-colored divine light enveloped him, joining into a radiant hand that extended slowly toward the ninth barrier.

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