txolops Chapter 70 Burning Soul
Chapter 70 Burning Soul
Drop by drop, it hit the crack in the rock, the sound not loud, but it made the deathly silence after the battle seem even heavier.
After the broken Zhuiyin Treasure Mirror shattered, it was as if someone had suddenly choked the surroundings. Only the cold, fishy vapor pressed down into the cave, mixed with the smell of burnt food, blood, and the bitter, fishy medicinal smell of the dissolved Northern Sea Black Elixir.
Huang Chen stood on the half-collapsed stone platform, his chest rising and falling slightly.
His right arm muscles were still numb, his hand was split open, and blood was flowing down the hilt of the Asura Blood Blade. Zhao Wuji, on the other hand, was in no better shape. Half of his shoulder bone had collapsed, and his body, which had originally resembled a human, now looked as if it had been soaked in black water and then forcibly pulled out. Black scales bulged under his skin, growing wildly down his neck and towards his face.
Zhao Wuji tilted his head back and swallowed the Northern Sea Black Pill completely.
Gudong.
That choked sound was particularly jarring in the grotto.
The next instant, the fascia on his back bulged violently, as if fish bones were crawling under his skin, and a series of hoarse laughs squeezed out of his throat, which turned into coughing up blood at the end.
The black blood dripped onto the ground, making a sizzling, corrosive sound, and even eroded the stone surface, leaving small pits.
"Huang Chen".
'
Zhao Wuji raised his head, the whites of his eyes were already stained black, but his pupils shrank to the size of needles.
"Where is the torch?"
'
He spoke slowly, each word deliberate and deliberate, like driving a nail into a stone.
Where are the people you took away?
'
Huang Chen looked at him but didn't reply.
Zhao Wuji grinned, revealing blood between his teeth.
"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it." He took a breath, his voice even hoarser than before, "Missing disciples, broken outer sect communication talismans, Chu Yunfei's disappearance, the death of a steward, the collapse of the Ancestral Hall, the sinking of the flying boat, the breakage of the Blood Valley's supply chain, the destruction of the Ancestral Mountain's protective hall... one by one, the sect remembers them all."
'
He raised his hand, his fingertips trembling, but he still pointed at Huang Chen.
"The sects have been merged."
'
"The Case of Human Anomalies"
The sound of black water dripping inside the grotto continued.
Huang Chen narrowed his eyes, but a thought quickly flashed through his mind.
The clues planted in Chapter 11 were finally filled in by this old man himself.
As expected, the Xuantian Sect had already connected the missing disciples' information. It wasn't that they hadn't investigated; they had been investigating all along, but they hadn't really pinpointed him yet. Now that Zhao Wuji had brought up all these old grievances, it meant that the Xuantian Sect had internally concluded that this series of broken connections in the mountains was related to "a certain human anomaly that suddenly appeared."
It's not bad news.
At least, the clues have finally surfaced.
Seeing that Huang Chen remained silent, Zhao Wuji took another step closer, the black water beneath his feet spreading out like a distorted human face.
"Before Chu Yunfei died, his message was cut off on the outskirts of the miasma valley."
'
"The deacon's life tablet was shattered on the ancestral mountain."
"Your bloodthirsty aura still lingers in the ruins of the Ancestral Hall."
'
"No matter how well you hide, you'll only live a few more days."
By the end, his throat sounded like it had been rubbed with sand, and his voice was terribly unpleasant.
Tell me, where is the torch?
Huang Chen suddenly smiled.
The smile wasn't strong; it carried a hint of coldness.
"You're practically rotten, and you're still thinking about this?"
'
Zhao Wuji's face twitched.
Huang Chen shook the blood off his hands, his tone low, yet every word seemed to pierce the lungs of the person speaking.
"The Case of Human Anomalies?"
"It sounds like a serious crime."
'
"It's a pity that after investigating for so long, what did they find out? They found out that you, Zhao Wuji, swallowed a demon pill, threw yourself into the Northern Sea, and turned yourself into half a rotten fish?"
'
A fierce light suddenly flashed in Zhao Wuji's eyes, and the black patterns behind him suddenly spread out.
"court death!
'
With a stomp of his foot, the black water exploded, and he charged straight at us like an arrow released from a bow.
Huang Chen did not respond directly.
He shifted his body slightly, his Mountain and River Boots slamming against the shattered rocks, and leaped out along the collapsed stone wall, slicing through a stalactite-like pillar above with a backhand strike. The boulder crashed down, shaking the cave and causing the black water to churn, blurring the view in a fleeting moment.
Zhao Wuji roared and smashed through the falling rocks, giving chase.
Huang Chen ran extremely fast.
The ancient path ahead was half-collapsed, and wisps of cold water hung from the cracks overhead. Wind blew in from deeper within, carrying the smell of rust and the stench of decay that had been hidden from the sun for many years. On the stone walls on both sides, ancient lock patterns could still be seen occasionally, darkened by the black water, like the veins of a dead man clinging to the surface of the rock.
He wasn't running around randomly.
In the previous chapter, when they were fighting in the half-submerged cave, he used the Spirit Listening Technique to detect the echoes of this ancient road.
Not far ahead, there is an abandoned Soul Locking Gate. The old formation still remains. The terrain is narrow and the water veins are sinking, making it the perfect place to compress the movement space of Zhao Wuji's broken Dharma Body.
More importantly, there are people there.
It wasn't the aura of a cultivator; it was that of an ordinary person, locked up and left in a corner, breathing weakly, like consumables being used for testing the waters.
Zhao Wuji pursued relentlessly from behind, the sound of his footsteps growing ever closer.
"run?"
"Huang Chen, where do you think you're going!"
'
boom!
A black, scaled palm print grazed Huang Chen's shoulder and slammed into the stone wall, instantly shattering the rock surface. The flying debris stung his cheek.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Huang Chen rolled into a sloping tunnel, braced himself with one hand, and used his Pulse Fire Battle Domain to suppress the surging blood clots within his body, swallowing them back down.
When he looked up, he could already see the Soul-Locking Gate.
The gate was dilapidated, with only half of its dark blue stone frame standing crookedly, and a broken chain hanging from the lintel. Next to it was a row of iron cages embedded in the mountain wall, the bars of which were stained with rust and bloodstains, and in some places still stained with muddy water.
The gate was dilapidated, with only half of its dark blue stone frame standing crookedly, and a broken chain hanging from the lintel. Next to it was a row of iron cages embedded in the mountain wall, the bars of which were stained with rust and bloodstains, and in some places still stained with muddy water.
A few people were huddled inside.
Three adult men, a teenager, and a woman were huddled in a corner with heavy chains around her ankles.
Everyone's face was covered in mud and blood, their eyes were empty, and when they heard a noise, they first trembled, then desperately shrank back, as if they had seen a monster that neither side could afford to offend.
"M-Sir, please don't kill me..."
Some people shouted themselves hoarse, their voices trembling.
"We were just scouting ahead, we didn't see anything..."
Huang Chen didn't stop walking, he only glanced at it.
stranger.
human race.
Live.
enough.
He raised his hand and punched directly at the outermost cage door latch.
Click!
The rusted lock, along with half of the iron bar, exploded.
The man inside was still stunned when Huang Chen smashed the other two cages with two more punches. The iron cages rattled and shattered, and several servants cowered in fear, unable to react at all.
"Get out of here, run to the low ditch on the left."
Huang Chen's voice was cold, but he spoke very quickly.
"When you see a fork in the road, stick close to the rock face with white salt crystals and don't look back."
The boy looked up, his eyes filled with confusion and fear.
“Who…who are you?”
Huang Chen did not answer.
The black water exploded behind them as Zhao Wuji had already caught up to the outside of the sluice gate. He rushed over, enveloped in a foul stench, his black scales on his face growing denser, and even his brow bone was covered with a layer of glossy black keratin, making him look like a half-human, half-demon with an astonishingly murderous aura.
"You're asking for it!"
'
He turned his face away when he saw Huang Chen casually release the person.
"You dare to be distracted and save a piece of trash at a time like this!"
'
Huang Chen kicked the dazed slave out of the cage and shouted.
"run!
'
The group seemed to be jolted awake by lightning, scrambling out of the iron cage. The woman stumbled and fell halfway, and the boy hurriedly turned back to help her up.
Huang Chen swung his sword backhand and severed the chains on her feet, the blade scraping the ground and sparks flying.
【Ding!
The system detected that the host rescued five coerced human slaves.
Merit +120.
】
The system notification flashed by in an instant.
Huang Chen remained perfectly calm, not even blinking.
Zhao Wuji had already rushed in.
The space inside the abandoned Soul Lock Gate was narrower than the outside, with low-hanging beams overhead, broken chains hanging down, and ankle-deep black water accumulating on the ground.
As soon as Zhao Wuji stepped into the gate, the remaining old soul-locking patterns around him seemed to be awakened by the blood energy, emitting a low hum.
His movements paused slightly.
Just this once.
Huang Chen suddenly turned around, and the Pulse Fire Battle Domain spread out with a roar.
The battlefield, a mix of crimson gold and dark red, instantly filled the stone gate. The black water beneath their feet was steamed by the intense heat, and the surrounding broken chains taut, as if an invisible hammer was pressing down on this narrow space. Zhao Wuji felt a sudden weight on his shoulders, and his knees buckled uncontrollably downwards.
"you--"
He roared, the medicinal power of the black pill surging wildly within his body, his chest rumbling like a tidal wave.
Immediately afterwards, he formed hand seals, veins bulging on his forehead, and wisps of grayish-white soul mist shot out from the top of his head, quickly piecing together a tall, remnant soul dharma image behind him.
The dharma image was draped in a tattered Taoist robe, its features blurred, except for its dark, empty eye sockets. When it raised its hand, the entire Soul Lock Gate seemed about to be crushed by its palm.
The remnant soul of the Xuantian Sect.
Huang Chen's pupils contracted, but he didn't take a single step back.
This thing is not a complete Dharma form; it is a shell that Zhao Wuji forcibly created using his remnant soul and sect secret techniques.
It has the imposing presence, but the foundation is hollow. If you suppress the fulcrum on which it lands, this thing is not a mountain, but a rotten frame that will fall apart.
Kneel down!
'
Zhao Wuji roared wildly, blood seeping from all seven orifices.
The remnant soul's avatar slammed down with a single palm strike.
Huang Chen didn't dodge; instead, he rushed forward.
The Pulsefire Battle Domain suddenly sank downwards, as if the entire earth vein pressed down at that moment, directly pressing down on the knees of the remnant soul dharma image.
Faxiang's leg, which had been raised, suddenly dropped, and a cracking sound came from his kneecap, causing his entire upper body to tilt by half an inch.
Right now.
Huang Chen rammed into Zhao Wuji's arms, his left shoulder slamming into the other's sternum, and his right fist swung up, the dark gold witch runes on the fist flashing.
The first punch landed on Zhao Wuji's chin.
click!
Zhao Wuji spat out a mouthful of broken teeth mixed with black blood, his head tilted back, and the newly formed black scales on his neck were smashed open.
The second punch landed on his chest.
boom!
The black scales on his chest collapsed, and he crashed into the stone gate behind him, causing the broken chains to swing wildly.
The third punch landed on the left rib.
The fourth punch lands on the right shoulder.
The fifth punch was aimed directly at the area above the dantian.
The sixth punch, the face-breaking punch.
The Seventh Punch —
Huang Chen let out a low roar, his back muscles tensed, and his entire right arm swung like an iron dragon's tail, slamming hard into the junction of Zhao Wuji's throat and collarbone!
boom!
That final punch felt like it poured all its power into it.
The black scales on Zhao Wuji's body exploded layer by layer, and fragments mixed with blood and flesh flew everywhere. The stone gate behind him could no longer hold on and split in two with a loud crash. He was hit and embedded in the rubble, making strange gurgling sounds in his throat, and his eyes were unfocused for a moment.
The remnant soul of the Xuantian Sect also shook, and most of the gray mist emanating from its empty eye sockets dissipated.
The laughter was intermittent, like a leaky, tattered bag.
"it is good."
"What a human anomaly."
'
He raised his head, half of his face was sunken, but his eyes shone with a strange light.
"You think... all I brought with me when I chased you all this way was that broken mirror?"
'
Huang Chen's heart sank.
Zhao Wuji's left hand convulsively opened its five fingers, his palm tightly gripping a black soul nail about an inch long.
The soul nail was inconspicuous, its entire body resembling some kind of ancient iron soaked in corpse oil and incense ash. However, the nail itself was engraved with extremely fine cloud-shaped characters, and the four characters at the top, when splashed by the black blood in Zhao Wuji's palm, suddenly emitted a chilling and eerie light.
By order of the Xuan Tian Ancestor.
With just one glance, Huang Chen felt as if a needle had lightly touched his brow, and a stinging pain instantly rose at the edge of his sea of consciousness.
This is not an ordinary magical artifact.
This thing specifically targets the soul.
Zhao Wuji seemed to be on the verge of collapse as the soul nails continued to devour the flesh and blood in his palms, and even his wrists quickly withered away.
He seemed completely unconcerned, grinning and laughing loudly, his mouth full of blood and foam.
Huang Chen!
'
"You were hiding so well!"
"Let me see if your extraordinary soul can withstand the ancestral decree nail!"
'
The moment he uttered the last word, his entire left arm exploded, and blood mist mixed with soul fire poured into the soul nail.
hum-
Inside the Soul Lock Gate, all the remaining chains vibrated simultaneously.
The jet-black soul nail seemed to come alive, its tip suddenly rising and pointing directly at Huang Chen's brow.
The next instant, a burst of black light shot out.
Huang Chen's pupils contracted sharply, his Pulse Fire Battle Domain swirled wildly, and the Myriad Souls Token and the Merit and Karma Fire in his sea of consciousness trembled simultaneously. He twisted his foot, forcibly turning his head half an inch away, and his right hand instinctively rose, his palm grabbing fiercely at the nail-like light.
The wind arrived first.
A line of blood instantly split open on the skin between his eyebrows.
The Soul Nail was already right in front of them.