Alert! The Dragon Lord has emerged from seclusion!

"More importantly... I believe in my path, and I believe in them."

He sensed it—in this white void, there were six faint but tenacious thoughts, subtly connected to his consciousness.

It was Su Qingxue and the others.

Even in this state, the connection of the seven stars in symbiosis still exists.

"Alright." In the lingering thought, a feeling akin to "gratification" appeared for the first time. "Then... let's begin."

The white void began to shrink, converging towards Lin Chen's consciousness.

Countless memories, rules, and insights surged forth like a torrent!

Lin Chen felt as if his consciousness was about to burst, but he gritted his teeth and persevered, circulating the Chaos Dao in an attempt to sort out and absorb this information.

Within his dantian, a nascent, chaotic sprout was growing wildly!

From three inches to one foot, and then to three feet...

The tender buds sprouted branches and grew leaves, showing a clear tendency to grow into small trees.

The white light within the fragments is gradually dimming.

Just then, something unexpected happened!

A cold, greedy, and malicious intent suddenly erupted from the depths of the fragments!

"Finally... this opportunity has come!"

That thought, laughing wildly, surged towards Lin Chen's consciousness:

"The echoes of the ancient Heavenly Dao are about to dissipate; your chaotic Dao body... is mine!"

It's Jiang Wuyai?!

No, that's not right.

It was a fragment of Jiang Wuyai's soul left in the shards before his death!

He had anticipated that Lin Chen might try to absorb the fragments, so he secretly laid this trap!

"Chen'er, be careful!"

Seven familiar thoughts simultaneously arrived—it was my masters!

They noticed something unusual at the bottom of the pool!

However, the speed of the split soul was too fast, and it instantly crashed into Lin Chen's sea of ​​consciousness!

"Hahahaha! A perfect body! The Chaotic Dao Body, Seven Stars in Harmony! This is even better than I imagined!"

The split soul manifested as Jiang Wuyai's phantom in Lin Chen's sea of ​​consciousness, grinning as it lunged at his main consciousness.

Lin Chen felt a splitting headache and his consciousness began to blur.

"Don't even think about it!"

Six sharp shouts rang out simultaneously!

The thoughts of Su Qingxue, Ye Qingcheng, Shen Qingqiu, Qin Yurou, Chu Ling'er, and Mu Qingyao forcefully entered Lin Chen's sea of ​​consciousness through the Seven Stars Symbiotic Chain!

Six beams of light of different colors formed a barrier, blocking Lin Chen's main consciousness!

"Oh? Seven Stars Protecting the Master?" Jiang Wuyai's divided soul sneered. "Too bad, you're all too weak!"

With a wave of his hand, dark red killing rules surged forth, instantly shattering the six barriers!

The six women groaned, their minds wounded.

But in that moment of delay, Lin Chen regained his senses.

"Trying to possess my body again...?"

He opened his "eyes," and a chaotic color permeated his consciousness.

Within his dantian, the sapling of chaos, which had grown to three feet tall, suddenly trembled!

Countless roots emerged from Lin Chen's consciousness and pierced into the phantom of Jiang Wuyai's divided soul!

"What is this?!" The split soul was horrified and tried to break free, but those roots were like a bone-deep infection, frantically absorbing his soul power!

"The Way of Chaos encompasses all things." Lin Chen's voice was icy. "Since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep... then become nourishment for my Chaos Tree!"

"No--!!!"

The split soul let out a mournful scream, its phantom image rapidly fading before being completely devoured by the roots.

The Chaos Tree grew taller, its branches and leaves becoming more lush, and dark red patterns faintly appeared on its trunk—marks left after absorbing the rules of slaughter.

The crisis is over.

But Lin Chen dared not relax and continued to absorb the remnants of the fragments with all his might.

The white light grew weaker and weaker.

Finally, the last ray of light entered Lin Chen's consciousness.

The fragment faded completely, turning into a transparent crystal that floated quietly within the seal.

The bottom of the pool returned to calm.

The consciousness of Lin Chen and the other six returned to their bodies.

They opened their eyes at the same time and found themselves still in a circle, suspended at the bottom of the pool.

The water in the pool above is slowly becoming clear—the celestial radiation is dissipating.

"Did you succeed?" Ye Qingcheng looked at Lin Chen.

Lin Chen nodded, but suddenly his body swayed and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"Lin Chen!" Su Qingxue helped him up.

"I'm fine..." Lin Chen gasped, "I just absorbed too much information and need time to process it..."

He looked at the transparent crystal: "The problem of the fragment is solved. It is now just a pure 'Heavenly Dao Crystal,' which can be used for refining weapons, setting up formations, or assisting in cultivation."

"The masters are...free now."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of water came from above.

Seven figures swiftly descended, none other than the seven masters.

Seeing the dim fragments of crystal and that Lin Chen and the other six were safe and sound, they all showed expressions of relief.

Bai Bingli swam to Lin Chen's side, reached out to check on his condition, and after a long while, sighed softly:

"You did it."

Hongluan excitedly swam towards the crystal: "This thing is safe now? So, can we...?"

"You can go out now," Qing Shu said with a smile.

"Three hundred years have passed..." Zi Suan sighed.

Xuanzhen silently put away the array flags, while the white beast in Huayu's arms curiously poked its head out, sniffing the now clear pool water.

The seven masters were finally able to leave this icy prison that had confined them for three hundred years.

The group floated to the surface and returned to the edge of the ice pool.

The moment they stepped ashore, the seven masters looked up at the long-lost sky in unison—although it was still a snowy day, the invisible sense of constraint had disappeared.

"The feeling of freedom..." Hongluan stretched out her arms, took a deep breath, "It feels so good!"

Bai Bingli looked at Lin Chen: "Chen'er, what are your plans next?"

Lin Chen paused to catch his breath, his complexion improving: "I need to go into seclusion for a while to digest what I've learned. Also, Yun Yi's spiritual light..."

He looked at the jade bottle in Qin Yurou's arms—the silver spiritual light inside the bottle was now flickering slightly, and seemed to be brighter than before.

"After the Heavenly Dao radiation dissipates, the crystallized fragments can help nourish the soul," Bai Bingli said. "Place the jade bottle next to the crystals, and within three months, the Yao Guang Body should be able to reassemble its soul."

Lin Chen felt a sense of relief.

In this way, Luo Yunyi can also be saved.

"Then we..." Ye Qingcheng looked at Lin Chen, "where will we go after you come out of seclusion?"

Lin Chen thought for a moment, then looked at his seven masters: "Masters, now that you've regained your freedom, have you decided where you're going?"

The seven masters exchanged a glance.

Hongluan smiled and said, "We plan to travel around first and see what the world has become in the past three hundred years."

Qing Shu nodded: "Perhaps we will reopen the mountain gates and take in a few disciples."

Zi Suan fiddled with her abacus: "I need to rebuild our intelligence network. We've been too isolated for the past three hundred years."

Xuanzhen silently wiped the array plate, while Huayu teased the white beast, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Bai Bingli looked at Lin Chen one last time: "Chen'er, you must walk your own path. But remember, no matter what, Kunlun Heavenly Prison—or rather, our new mountain gate—will always be your home."

Lin Chen's eyes welled up slightly, and he nodded emphatically.

Three days later.

Lin Chen began his seclusion by the ice pool.

Qin Yurou placed the jade bottle that nurtured Luo Yunyi's spiritual light next to the Heavenly Dao Crystal. The pure energy emanating from the crystal was slowly nourishing that silver spiritual light.

Six women took turns protecting him.

The seven masters packed their belongings, preparing to leave the Heavenly Prison and return to the mortal world.