Chapter 400: Divine Luck

"Wait a second." The Grand Elder’s voice echoed through the air, making Priam immediately stop in his tracks.

When he raised his eyes toward her, Priam saw the planet’s skies twist. A magnificent golden aura emerged from the heights, covering the entire region within moments.

Only a few seconds passed before a radiant beam shot down from above, landing directly in front of Priam.

The beam suddenly slowed, revealing a small golden sphere pulsating with sublime energy.

"This is your first-place prize: a karmic blessing granted by the world’s very own laws. You can store it in your spatial ring, and whenever you want to activate it, you simply need to let it fuse with your Celestial Core," the Grand Elder briefly explained.

"As you’ve probably heard, it will grant you a temporary burst of extraordinary luck. Luck is merely probability, nothing guaranteed. However, there have been cases in the past where the champion used this blessing directly in the Spectral World you’re heading to. If activated inside the central structure, this luck may guide you to a chaotic spatial fragment filled with legendary treasures."

Priam listened to every word and nodded. Without wasting any time, he stored the golden sphere in his spatial ring, turned toward his companions, and quickened his pace.

His six generals and the two soldiers took a deep breath, burning through the little energy they had just recovered thanks to the Grand Elder’s assistance. Everyone hurried toward the abyss.

In less than a minute, the group reached the edge of the rift.

Just below them was the smaller channel through which the Specters usually emerged. Now, however, choosing a passage made no difference—all the channels led to that same Spectral World.

Priam took the first step, jumping off the cliff and diving directly into the dimensional rift.

Without hesitation, the other nine jumped in after him.

The transition was instantaneous, like walking through a portal straight into another reality.

In the blink of an eye, they found themselves in an environment plunged into complete darkness, dominated by sand dunes and a freezing cold that pierced all the way to their bones.

As they stepped onto the barren ground, the ten felt a chill run through the air. Dense Yin energy of death flowed throughout the entire dimension. It felt like walking through a cemetery of colossal proportions.

Priam let out a restrained snort. This Spectral World was nothing more than a fragment of one of the worlds the Sovereigns had devoured in the past—most likely, this place had been the final bastion of resistance, where the last battle had taken place, and all its inhabitants had perished.

The resentment of the dead had permeated every inch of this land.

Because they had been beings of immeasurable power, close to or at the level of Immortals, or perhaps even immortal themselves, their resentment remained eternal, like a vengeful will. The deathly energy of the grave refused to dissipate.

Furthermore, there was a core at the center of all that devastation—and it was precisely this core that fed the resentment and will of the dead, giving rise to the endless horde of Specters. That was the true origin of everything.

"Let’s move forward. What we’re looking for is a few kilometers from here," Priam said calmly. "Digging through this desert blindly would be a waste of time. We only have thirty days, so let’s head straight for the guaranteed objective."

Everyone readily nodded. Each of them had already read the historical records left behind by the ancient champions of the Celestial Event. Reaching the central region wasn’t difficult; the real challenge was managing to enter the structure.

Normally, only the top three Sages in the Celestial Event possessed enough power to force their way inside—and even then, there had been generations when not even the 1st-place finisher was able to get through.

Because of this, most participants ended up spending the thirty days randomly digging through the sand, hoping they would get lucky and find something valuable. However... Priam was leading the group, and his voice carried an unwavering confidence. To his nine followers, success was already an absolute certainty.

Without hesitation, they moved forward at a rapid pace.

Since none of them besides Priam possessed Creation Essence to fly, they raced across the ground, with Priam keeping pace with the group.

It took them nearly four hours to reach the center of the dimension.

As they climbed to the top of a tall sand dune, they spotted a vast black plain stretching out before them.

The ground looked as though it had been carved from a single colossal block of obsidian, extending for several kilometers. At the heart of this structure stood a small mountain, equally black, with a gloomy entrance at its center.

The ten took a deep breath and advanced. However, before they even stepped onto the obsidian surface, an oppressive pressure struck them, trying to force them backward.

With every step they took, that invisible force doubled in intensity, as if an entire mountain were collapsing onto their shoulders.

Before they had taken even twenty steps, Priam’s nine companions were already struggling with all their strength just to move forward. ℴℴ𝘮

Priam stopped.

[Use Power Rune?] [Yes / No]

He activated a high-level Yang Barrier Rune. All that suffocating pressure came from the very will of the dead, as if they absolutely didn’t want this group entering that place. With the complete eradication of the Specters, the only force remaining in the atmosphere was the Yin of death.

That was what was pressing down on them, so a barrier infused with high-level energy of the opposite nature was incredibly effective.

Priam gave a slight wave of his hand, and a translucent barrier with reddish tones emerged around him, expanding several meters outward.

The other nine members of the group immediately moved closer, being completely sheltered and protected beneath the barrier’s dome.

"Let’s go."

He gave the order and advanced, leading the group.

From that moment on, they encountered no more obstacles. They advanced with firm, steady steps until they entered the depths of the black mountain.

As soon as they reached the inside of the cave, a pulsating, multicolored light emanated from the depths of the chamber.

Floating in the center was a spherical crystal more than five meters in diameter.

Looking at the structure felt like staring at a mirror shattered into countless cracks. Each fissure glowed and pulsed with a different hue, alternating, appearing and disappearing in an endless cycle.

Priam let out a restrained sigh as he sensed the dense spatial power accumulated there.

Those fissures weren’t merely visual effects, but fragments of chaotic space—tiny miniature worlds containing treasures within them.

There were countless fragments orbiting and constantly moving around.

Slowly, the ten approached the crystal.

Priam turned toward the other nine. "There isn’t any real danger lurking inside. Each fragment is an environment completely devoid of life and free from any direct threats. The only thing is that once you enter a fragment, you won’t be able to leave or choose another one. You’ll remain there until the end of the thirty days, at which point you’ll automatically be transported outside."

Everyone nodded, their eyes shining with anticipation. Since they were exhausted and drained of energy, the absence of any dangers was an immense relief.

Priam began carefully examining the fragments, trying to pick up any clue about which one would be better to enter. Any hint would be valuable... however, their constant fluctuations made it extremely difficult to read them.

"Oh?" Suddenly, he remembered the item he’d just acquired and took it out.

Under everyone’s attentive gazes, Priam took out the Karma Blessing sphere, closed his fist, and absorbed it directly into his body.

"There’s no reason to save this for later," he said calmly, looking at the group.

[You have been temporarily blessed by the laws of the world.]

[The seal of your Transcendental Fate Wheel has been almost completely released.]

[Remaining time: 12 hours]

Priam read the System notifications and gave a satisfied nod. Just as he’d predicted, the Karma Blessing had temporarily broken the restrictions of the Fate Wheel. His luck, which already defied common sense, had now risen to the level of absolute divine luck.

He turned back toward the spatial fragments and, without hesitation, randomly picked one and pointed at it.

"That one. Zeytin, go!"

"Yes!" The Holy Sage promptly responded and jumped toward the indicated spatial fragment, which suddenly opened and swallowed her before closing again.

Priam continued watching the crystal and pointing toward the fissures, calling each of his companions by name, one after another.

Following his instructions exactly, they all plunged into the indicated fragments and disappeared completely.

Finally, only Priam remained in the cave.

He took a deep breath, randomly chose a fragment orbiting in the center, and took a step forward...

"?"

Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks.

At that exact millisecond, he felt a strange resonance echo through his own body, suddenly surging upward.

More precisely, the reaction came from the countless Life Lightning Runes within his body. He had obtained that power after surviving the previous Heavenly Tribulation, keeping the runes in a continuous absorption process to nourish his body.

Until now, not even ten percent of that energy had been consumed.

Priam swallowed hard. He focused his gaze on the floating crystal and noticed a tiny fragment situated right at the edge of the structure.

The resonance was coming from that exact spot.

"Hmm... why not?"

That vibration had only manifested now thanks to his absurd luck, which had caused something abnormal to flow outward.

It was precisely something connected to what he already had! Now that was what you called being blessed by the heavens!

With a faint smirk, Priam changed targets and advanced toward that subtle fragment, diving into it without hesitation.