This person, and the spiritual phantom below, shared an identical face.
With a casual gesture, the figure in the spiritual lake transformed into flowing water, merging into the newcomer.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
The other party spoke first, a smile on his face: "My name is Zangdi, one of the three mountain lords of Zangshan."
As expected.
Chen Fan's pupils contracted.
It was indeed a Half-Emperor's personal visit, truly formidable.
With just one palm strike, had it not been for the Dragon Pattern Compass warning him in advance and the River of Rules blocking the attack, he would likely be dead by now.
Half-Emperors were indeed extraordinary.
"And you?"
Zangdi smiled and asked, "Outsider, won't you introduce yourself?"
"Chen Fan, City Lord of Jiancheng."
"Jiancheng."
Zangdi savored the two words, then nodded after a pause: "I know, the lucky fellow who recently renamed himself Jiancheng from Freedom City. My memory tells me you're from the lower realms, the... polluted wasteland?"
Chen Fan: "..."
Seeing the expression on the other party's face, as if he were flipping through something.
Chen Fan suddenly became vigilant.
He vaguely guessed something.
"Heh heh."
Zangdi found the memory he was looking for and spoke again: "You even possess a divine artifact. Truly, heaven aids me."
In Zangdi's memory, even Kuang Tian Di had not managed to wield a divine artifact in his time.
Chen Fan suddenly spoke, "You devoured the memories of outsiders?"
"Correct."
Zangdi admitted, "This lake is my territory. Anyone who passes over it becomes my spiritual food, including their memories."
"Impressive."
Though impressive, it was also ruthless.
"So, you intend to devour me too?"
"Correct."
There was no need to conceal it; it was the truth. "Everything about you will become my nourishment, including... that River of Rules."
"Hoo."
Chen Fan took a deep breath of the turbid air and said, "Did your true body come here?"
"Of course."
"Very good."
A smile appeared on Chen Fan's face: "Then let's see if I kill you first, or you devour me first."
Upon hearing this, Zangdi paused.
Then he burst into laughter: "Haha, interesting, interesting. My memory tells me you are a madman, daring to kill even the Son of a Heavenly Emperor. Not bad, I like your spirit."
This was too amusing.
An Emperor Dao expert was going to kill a Half-Emperor.
How audacious.
"Kill."
This time, Chen Fan struck first.
The Tian Cong Yun Sword was peerless in its lethality.
Infinite sword energy converged, forming an Yin-Yang grinding disc, which descended.
Where the Yin-Yang Sword Disc passed, everything was ground into nothingness.
"Rumble."
Shattering, destruction.
Nothing could escape the pulverization of the Yin-Yang Grinding Disc.
Zangdi's eyes lit up: "A good technique. To wield rules to such a degree, it seems you are only one step away from becoming a Half-Emperor, perhaps even possessing the embryonic form of an Emperor's Palace."
The River of Rules was the embryonic form of an Emperor's Palace.
And it was different from others.
Kuang Tian Di's Emperor's Palace had destruction as its main path, with all other accompanying rules also related to destruction.
This inner world did not permit the existence of other rules.
Chen Fan's River of Rules, the embryonic form of his world, however, was a fusion of all paths.
"It's mine, haha."
Zangdi laughed heartily.
Without any apparent action, Chen Fan's mind erupted with a 'boom', his soul jolted.
This single jolt caused Chen Fan's body to stagger.
And...
The Zangdi before him vanished.
He reappeared in Chen Fan's sea of consciousness.
"Rumble."
The sea of consciousness immediately ignited.
The soul served as fuel, being set ablaze.
Amidst the burning flames, Zangdi's figure reappeared, a look of enjoyment on his face: "Your memories are so vivid."
These burning flames were all absorbed by him.
They would become his nourishment.
When the soul fire completely burned out, it would be time for him to utterly devour Chen Fan.
To devour others, he did not even need his true body to act.
Because ordinary people could not find this place at all.
But Chen Fan was different; not only did he find this place, but he also injured Zangdi's soul clone.
Therefore, he had come personally.
He intended to devour everything about Chen Fan.
...
"Ah..."
The burning of the soul was incredibly painful.
Even with Chen Fan's fortitude, he could not help but let out a pained roar.
This was the true technique of a Half-Emperor.
Devouring everything.
"Get out."
Such a method was simply impossible to guard against.
Chen Fan had no good means to counter it.
"Haha."
Zangdi laughed heartily: "Why would I leave? Your memories are so wonderful, I like them very much. Hmm... River of Rules, embryonic form of an Emperor's Palace. Lucky boy, I never expected you to have such an opportunity.
Haha, but it's all mine now. River of Rules, after I devour it, I will immediately transcend the Heavenly Emperor realm once I leave the Kuang Realm."
Such a grand opportunity, even Zangdi, a Half-Emperor, could not resist.
This opportunity was truly immense.
...
A certain death situation.
The ability of the soul was Zangdi's trump card, and also Chen Fan's weakest point.
Even now, his soul power was not strong.
He possessed the strongest physique, the strongest Dao of Rules, but he lacked any abilities related to the soul.
"Life."
"Boom."
Within the River of Rules, the Dao of Life was activated.
Power flowed continuously into his body, attempting to halt the continuous decline of his vitality.
Yes, as his spiritual energy was burning, it was also consuming Chen Fan's life force.
He was close to death.
Truly close to death.
His soul was about to be devoured.
But... he was truly unwilling to go like this.
I haven't dragged you out yet. It must be very cold there, right?
...
"Buzz."
However, just as Chen Fan was unwilling to die like this.
The Heavenly Crown suddenly lit up silently.
A faint glow emanated from the Heavenly Crown.
Within the glow, it seemed a figure was slowly taking shape.
That figure glanced at Chen Fan.
Its eyes also saw the other divine artifacts on Chen Fan.
"Finally, you've arrived."
The illusory figure spoke.
Then, it glanced at the River of Rules, shaking its head and saying, "Still too weak. I don't know if it will be enough. Well... I leave this trace of my departing essence here to save your life at a critical moment. This debt, you will repay when you come."
As if talking to himself, the figure emerging from the Heavenly Crown pointed a finger at Chen Fan's forehead.
He merely tapped it lightly.
He didn't even exert much strength.
But a will drilled into Chen Fan's mind.
At this moment, Chen Fan's soul was still burning fiercely.
The speed was extreme.
But suddenly, a chill appeared.
It was very faint, but it instantly extinguished all the burning flames.
"What is this?"
A trace of terror appeared in Zangdi's eyes.
The sudden turn of events stunned Zangdi, who had been laughing heartily.
In terror, he tried to turn around.
But his body was also frozen in place.
The next moment...
"Bang."
All the ice crystals exploded.
Including Zangdi's body.
The exploding ice crystals transformed back into Chen Fan's soul.
"Boom."
The power of the soul surged forth instantly.
A gale seemed to sweep through the sea of consciousness.
In the Heavenly Crown outside, an immense spiritual power was injected into Chen Fan's body.
"Rumble."
The sea of consciousness erupted with earth-shattering turmoil.
The soul was growing madly.
...
"Swish."
Chen Fan suddenly opened his eyes at the bottom of the river.
With this gaze, he saw the dissipating figure.
"Wuji."
Chen Fan recognized the other party's name with a single glance.
The other party merely waved his hand, saying nothing, or rather... unable to speak.
With a wave, Wuji's figure vanished.
The Heavenly Crown, however, instantly established a connection with Chen Fan.
Before this power existed, Chen Fan had not fully controlled the Heavenly Crown.
This was because Wuji had left a part of his power there.
Now, after this power dissipated, the Heavenly Crown was finally completely controlled by Chen Fan.
Rumble.
The sea of consciousness was growing rapidly.
And Chen Fan's aura was also continuously soaring.
"Crack."
A lightning bolt suddenly appeared in the sky above.
The lightning struck down, precisely hitting Chen Fan's forehead.
"What's happening?"
Chen Fan was a little confused.
He touched his head; his hair had been singed off by the lightning.
The next moment, he understood what this lightning was.
"Half-Emperor's Heavenly Tribulation."
Anything related to the character "Emperor" had to undergo the test of heavenly tribulations.