Boom! Another deafening crash echoed through the gorge. The sword-qi shattered the ground all around, sending countless rocks and clumps of earth swirling into the air with the energy storm. Yvonne Xuan and the other women ended up covered in dust, scrambling to throw up energy shields around themselves to avoid getting completely buried.
Even this strike failed to break the barrier. Evan Chu probed it with his divine sense and found not a single crack—it was as if the barrier hadn’t been attacked at all, his attack power seemingly vanishing through it without a trace.
How is this possible? Do I really need to use even stronger attacks? Evan wondered to himself.
The women soon flew over to Luna Nangong’s side. That last strike had left them speechless—Luna had just watched them make fools of themselves, though none of them dared say it aloud. After all, it was their own fault for not backing away.
"I refuse to believe I can’t break this barrier!" Evan roared, Chaos Immortal Force surging madly within him as he quickly channeled it into his right arm. His left arm was still useless—just for show now, only after reaching the God Realm could he truly wield it again.
In an instant, his Unicorn Arm combined with Divine Cleave erupted forth. This strike was truly earth-shattering—the sound carried far and wide, the entire gorge quaked, and countless rocks tumbled down from the cliffs. The scene was more than a little terrifying.
Inside the grand hall of Loveless Sword Tomb, Nolan Nangong and Jade Qin were chatting. They’d felt some tremors earlier but hadn’t paid them any mind—until now, when the entire hall started shaking, startling them both.
"What’s going on? Is someone attacking Loveless Sword Tomb? We’d better go out and take a look," Jade Qin said.
"No one would dare, would they? Evan’s here—who’d be crazy enough to cause trouble? Maybe it’s just Evan and his group stirring things up. They didn’t come back last night," Nolan Nangong replied.
As soon as the two stepped out of the hall, an elder rushed over. "Sect Master, something’s wrong—there’s violent commotion in Falling-Sun Gorge, like a landslide or an earthquake. Could some monster be emerging?"
"Are you sure it’s Falling-Sun Gorge?" Jade Qin’s expression changed instantly as she pressed for confirmation.
"Absolutely. The commotion is definitely coming from Falling-Sun Gorge. I’ve already sent people to investigate—there should be news soon," the elder replied.
"No need. We’re heading there ourselves right now. It’s obvious this is Luna and the others’ doing. That rascal girl—how could she bring Lord Chu and his group there? She has no idea what she’s messing with! The miasma down there is brutal—if you get caught, you’ll be stuck for ten days or half a month at least," Jade Qin said.
"What’s really going on, Xiaojiao? What kind of place is Falling-Sun Gorge, and how do you know Luna brought them there?" Nolan Nangong was totally lost.
"Falling-Sun Gorge is one of Loveless Sword Tomb’s most mysterious places. It’s shrouded in clouds and mist all year round—you can’t even see what’s down there. We went down once, and it was so beautiful you never wanted to leave. Flowers everywhere, in every color—a real ocean of blooms.
I’m sure that’s why Luna took Lord Chu and the others there. With all this commotion, they must’ve run into trouble—we have to help them," Jade Qin said.
"So that’s it. Let’s hurry, then. Evan’s strong, but he’s still a bit inexperienced—we need to back them up," Nolan Nangong said.
Jade Qin immediately led Nolan Nangong and the elder toward Falling-Sun Gorge. But when they arrived, the whole scene had changed—where there used to be mist everywhere, now you could see straight to the bottom of the valley.
"Let’s go down. Something’s definitely not right here," Jade Qin said.
When they reached the valley floor, Jade Qin was even more shocked—the riot of blooming flowers was gone, replaced by bare rock everywhere. Not a single blade of grass remained; the place looked utterly desolate.
Meanwhile, Evan Chu stood there, frustrated, staring at the barrier in front of him. With his current strength and the Unicorn Arm, he could unleash attacks on par with a demigod—but the barrier still didn’t budge, not even a single crack.
"No way! Even this isn’t enough? Looks like this barrier really is unbreakable. Maybe we just aren’t fated for the God-Venerable’s treasure," Evan said, dejected.
"Young Master, this barrier gets stronger the harder you hit it. It was laid by a God-Venerable, so how could you break it so easily? Maybe they never intended anyone to get the treasure inside," Jade said.
"You’ve got a point. Maybe we should just head back—if it’s not meant to be, why force it?" Evan said.
"Linfeng, that’s not like you at all! Go ahead and unleash your strongest attack—if it still doesn’t work, then we’ll give up. But I believe you can break it this time!" Yvonne Xuan said.
"Linfeng, don’t you have a corrosive skill? Try using it on the barrier—even if you can’t break it, maybe you can wear it down a bit. Then hit it with your strongest attack again—it just might work," Serena Frost suggested.
Her words were a wake-up call—Evan felt as if a light bulb had gone off. "Ruolan, that’s a brilliant idea! Maybe this could actually work," he said, grinning.
Just then, Jade Qin, Nolan Nangong, and the elder arrived. "What on earth happened here? How did Falling-Sun Gorge end up like this?" Jade Qin asked Evan.
"Mom, I’ve got incredible news—Big Brother Evan found our Falling-Sun Gorge treasure! It’s protected by a God-Venerable barrier, left behind by a powerhouse. We already broke the illusion in the gorge, and now we just need to open the entrance. Once it’s open, the treasure is ours!" Luna Nangong said excitedly.
"A God-Venerable treasure? That’s impossible—this is the Immortal Realm, how could there be a God-Venerable’s treasure here? Besides, we don’t even know what that realm really is. So all that commotion was Evan trying to break the barrier?" Jade Qin asked.
Luna Nangong quickly explained how they’d entered Falling-Sun Gorge. Meanwhile, Evan activated Darkshift, channeling darkness element into his hand. His Darkshift was now at the second layer—its corrosive power was formidable.
He kept up the attack for nearly ten rounds before finally stopping, then locked his divine sense onto the spot where the darkness element had corroded the barrier. After a long wait, the darkness faded—but just as Serena Frost predicted, the barrier had thinned out considerably.
"Ha, it worked!" Evan laughed aloud. It had taken a lot out of him, but if he could break the barrier, it was worth it. At that thought, he summoned even more darkness element to his palm and sent it surging toward the barrier once again...