7: Source core fragments, Shadow Breaker!

Deep in the mine shaft, the muffled "thump... thump..." sound, like a giant beast's heartbeat, became increasingly clear. Each beat was like a heavy hammer striking the Soul, making one's Qi and blood churn.

The air was as thick as glue, mixed with a suffocatingly strong stench of decaying corpses and an indescribable, chilling evil Qi that felt as if one's Soul was being frozen.

Xiao Yan forcibly suppressed his churning Qi and blood, his fingertips once again condensing a small cluster of pale white flames, but its light was much dimmer than before. Continuously activating the Bone Chilling Flame projection, even with Yao Lao's secret protection, was a huge burden on his Meridians, which were at the Dou Zhi Qi stage.

Beside him, Guard Captain Xiao Shan's face was pale, his lips stained with blood. The injury under his ribs throbbed faintly under the erosion of the chilling Death Qi, but his eyes were still fierce like a wounded lone wolf, and earthy yellow Dou Zhi Qi flowed over his body, desperately resisting the omnipresent evil Qi erosion. The other two guards were even more tottering, relying entirely on their will to stand.

Suddenly, the front opened up!

A huge natural grotto, as if the mountain had been hollowed out by immense force, appeared before everyone's eyes. Countless pale white stalactites hung from the grotto's dome, like inverted sharp teeth.

In the center of the cave, instead of the expected mountain of corpses and sea of blood, there was a massive throne entirely constructed from twisted, pale white bones and dark, strange rocks!

The throne was three zhang tall, exuding an nauseating chill and ominous Aura. Countless struggling Souls were faintly visible as bas-reliefs on the throne's surface, wailing silently.

And directly above the throne, a slowly rotating, viscous, ink-like mass of darkness, the size of a millstone, floated! It silently devoured the surrounding light, sound, and even vitality, and was the source of that "heartbeat" sound—the Shadow Source Core! The cold, ancient, and evil will it emitted was even purer and more terrifying than the one on the altar at the bottom of Soul Severing Cliff!

On the throne, a figure was seated.

It could no longer be called a human. He was completely shrouded in a large, tattered, pitch-black cloak, its edges appearing corroded by strong acid, utterly ruined. The exposed "hands" and parts of the "face" were skeletal frames, pale with a deathly gray hue! The surface of the bones was covered with dense, dark red, eerie patterns, throbbing slightly like living blood vessels.

Deep within the empty eye sockets, two clusters of eerie green Soul flames, like ghost fires, flickered, "staring" fixedly at Xiao Yan and his group who had intruded!

"Hoo... hoo hoo..." A hoarse laugh, like sandpaper rubbing, came from the opening and closing of the skull-like jawbone, filled with deep mockery and greed.

"Fresh... flesh and blood... Soul... and... the Aura of a Heavenly Flame? This is... an unexpected... surprise!" His withered bone hand slowly lifted and pressed onto the armrest of the throne—there, a pitch-black crystal, slightly larger than the one Lin Chen had and also covered with dark red patterns, was embedded! A wicked fluctuation, originating from the same Source Core as the one on the throne, but even more condensed, spread out.

"Yingu Old Man?! No... it's an evil entity formed by a remnant Soul's obsession attached to a skeleton!" Yao Lao's solemn voice boomed in Xiao Yan's mind, carrying an unprecedented warning, "Be careful! He was at least at the Peak of a Battle Spirit in his lifetime! Although only a remnant Soul and withered bones remain, with the help of that source core fragment and the abundant Death Qi here, he can exert the power of a Peak Dou Master! The core is the Soul fire in the skull and the source core fragment on the armrest! The Death Qi here is too strong; my Bone Chilling Flame is suppressed and cannot fully assist you!"

"Peak Dou Master?!" Xiao Yan's heart trembled violently, his face growing even uglier. His strongest combatant, Xiao Shan, was severely wounded, and he himself was greatly depleted. How could they fight back?

"Little... little bugs... become... my... Puppets!" The Yingu Old Man (for now) suddenly waved his skeletal palm!

Rumble!

The grotto floor shook violently! More than a dozen corpses—some miners, some Xiao Family guards—buried under the bones and rubble, suddenly burst out of the ground! They also bore the same pitch-black handprints, but the Aura they emitted was far stronger than the corpse Puppets in the mine shaft, all having reached the seventh or eighth stage of Dou Zhi Qi! Eerie green Soul fire flickered in their empty eye sockets as they roared and lunged at Xiao Yan and the other three! At the same time, a viscous, muddy, chilling pressure suddenly descended, like an invisible shackles, attempting to restrain their movements!

"Young Master, be careful!" Xiao Shan's eyes were bloodshot. Ignoring his injuries, he let out a furious roar, and his earthy yellow Dou Zhi Qi erupted wildly!

"Thick Earth Wall · Triple Peak!"

Three thick rock barriers instantly rose from the ground, layered one upon another, blocking everyone's front!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The strongest corpse Puppets at the forefront crashed heavily into the rock wall, emitting dull thuds, and shattered rocks flew! The rock wall shook violently, and cracks spread!

"Flame Splitting Wave · Lingering Fire!" A fierce glint flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes as he frantically poured his remaining Dou Zhi Qi into the pale white flame at his fingertips! The flame blade reappeared, though not as powerful as before, it swept out with a resolute determination to burn everything to ashes! Hiss, hiss, hiss! The first two corpse Puppets were cut in half at the waist, and the special properties of the Bone Chilling Flame barely incinerated the Soul fire controlling them! But more corpse Puppets surged forward fearlessly!

The battle erupted instantly! Xiao Yan and Xiao Shan stood back to back, charging left and right through the horde of corpse Puppets, facing constant peril! The brilliant white flame blades and earthy yellow Dou Zhi Qi glow flickered in the viscous darkness and eerie green Soul fire, each collision sparking dazzling energy fireworks!

Xiao Yan's Dou Zhi Qi was rapidly depleting, and a tearing pain came from his Meridians. Each swing of the flame blade felt as heavy as a thousand jun. Xiao Shan, meanwhile, constantly bled from the corner of his mouth. The earthen rock barriers continuously shattered and reformed under the corpse Puppets' frenzied attacks, each defense further aggravating his injuries. The two other guards had long since fallen, their fates unknown.

And above the grotto entrance, in a corner completely covered by the shadow of a huge stalactite.

Lin Chen was like completely melted darkness, pressed against the cold rock wall. The fierce battle below, the terrifying pressure, the dense Death Qi, for him, were the perfect cover and... a feast!

The pitch-black Qi vortex in his Dantian, which had expanded to nearly the size of a pigeon's egg, was rotating with an unprecedented frenzy! Shadow Erosion Dou Qi spontaneously formed a flowing shadow film on his body, greedily sucking in the pure, chilling Death Qi pervading the grotto and the evil will originating from the Shadow Source Core! His power was steadily increasing, but all his attention was fixed on the throne—on the pitch-black crystal embedded in the armrest under the Yingu Old Man's withered bone hand! And the eerie green Soul fire flickering in the old man's skull!

The black crystal core in his embrace had become scorching hot! The dark red patterns flowing within it were like red-hot brands, emitting a strong desire and guidance! A clear thought called out: "Fragment... Fusion... power... return to place..."

"Return to place? No..." Dark red blood-light burned fiercely in Lin Chen's eyes, like the fires of Hell. "It's Devour!"

There was only one chance! Just as Xiao Yan fought desperately and the Yingu Old Man's attention was drawn away!

Lin Chen moved!

He didn't directly charge the throne but, like the most cunning venomous snake, his figure silently detoured to the side, following the deepest shadows cast by the stalactites on the dome! His target—the area behind the throne, where a large amount of bones were piled up and the Death Qi was most concentrated! Shadow Erosion Dou Qi circulated at full power, suppressing his presence to near nothingness!

Below, Xiao Yan was fiercely knocked back by the immense force of an axe-wielding corpse Puppet, crashing into the rock wall and spitting out a mouthful of blood. The pale white flame in his hand flickered erratically, almost extinguished! Xiao Shan roared as he blocked in front of him, enduring several attacks, spitting blood wildly, his Aura extremely weak!

"Hehehe... struggle... is futile!" The Yingu Old Man's skull jaw opened and closed, his eerie green Soul fire flickering, carrying cruel pleasure. His withered bone hand lifted, and a thick, ink-like black light, exuding extreme chill and Soul-eroding power, condensed at his fingertips, about to deliver a fatal blow to Xiao Yan!

Just at this critical moment!

Behind the throne, amidst the mountain of piled bones, a subtle, almost completely merged with the shadows, dark stream of light, like a venomous snake that had been lurking for a long time, suddenly burst forth without warning!

Shadow Erosion · Fang Thrust!

The target—not the Yingu Old Man, but the elbow joint of his withered bone arm that was pressed on the armrest of the throne!

Fast! So fast it surpassed the limits of visual capture! Vicious! Precise! Carrying terrifying penetration and devouring annihilation power!

Puff!

A soft sound, like a hot knife cutting through rotten wood.

The Yingu Old Man's withered bone arm, at the elbow joint, was silently pierced and annihilated by that dark stream of light, leaving a bowl-sized hole! The bone hand that was pressed on the source core fragment, along with half of the forearm, instantly separated from his body!

"Roar—!!!" A shrill, angry, and incredulous Soul roar suddenly erupted from the Yingu Old Man's skull! The entire grotto shook violently under this terrifying Soul impact! The eerie green Soul fire in his eye sockets flickered wildly and surged!

Who?! Who?! How could someone evade his senses?!

At the broken arm, there was no flesh and blood, only wisps of viscous black energy like foul blood escaping. The source core fragment embedded in the armrest, having lost the bone hand's suppression, instantly became chaotic in its glow!

This sudden drastic change and Soul impact instantly stunned Xiao Yan and Xiao Shan below, who were preparing to fight to the death!

And what Lin Chen wanted was this instant of chaos and opportunity!

At the same time as he launched "Fang Thrust," his body, poised and ready, sprang out from the pile of bones like a compressed spring! His target was the source core fragment that had rolled off the throne's armrest and was still in mid-air!

Shadow Erosion Dou Qi erupted under his feet, his speed soaring to its maximum! At the same time, his left hand shot into his embrace like lightning, pulling out the black crystal core that was already scorching hot and resonating with him!

"Devour it for me!" Lin Chen roared silently in his heart!

Just as his fingers were about to touch the larger, rolling source core fragment, he fiercely pressed the smaller crystal core in his hand, which belonged to him, against the other!

Buzz—!!!

The moment the two source core fragments touched! An indescribable, terrifying dark energy, like the Big Bang of the Universe, erupted! Viscous as ink and bone-chilling darkness instantly swallowed Lin Chen! Countless chaotic, violent torrents filled with endless negative emotions and ancient evil will, like billions of ice needles, fiercely pierced into his mind, tore at his Meridians, and impacted his Dantian!

"Ugh ah ah ah—!!!" Lin Chen let out a silent roar (submerged by the dark energy), and black blood instantly overflowed from his seven orifices! His body was like being violently struck by an invisible giant hammer, flying backward at an even faster speed than he came, crashing heavily into the rock wall at the edge of the grotto, deeply embedding himself within it! Terrifying dark energy raged and crashed within his body like a storm!

"Bastard!! Ant!! How dare you covet my power!!" The Yingu Old Man was completely enraged! His Soul fire surged, turning a ghastly white! The remaining Death Qi and Source Core power in the grotto frantically converged towards him, and black energy even began to condense into new bone claws at the broken arm! He abandoned his attack on Xiao Yan, all his venom and killing intent now focused on the swirling darkness in the rock wall!

However, at this moment, Lin Chen had no time for anything else.

In his Dantian, the pigeon-egg-sized pitch-black Qi vortex was violently trembling, expanding, and deforming under the impact of the terrifying dark torrent unleashed by the collision of the two source core fragments! It felt as if it would burst in the next second! Excruciating pain engulfed him like a tide.

"Cannot burst... for me... Condense!" Lin Chen roared in the depths of his Soul, his remaining will like a lone boat in a raging sea, firmly controlling the core instinct of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi—Devour! Assimilate!

The Shadow Erosion Qi vortex rotated in reverse with an unprecedented ferocity! No longer simply absorbing, but like a millstone, frantically grinding, tearing, and devouring the surging dark torrent! The volume of the Qi vortex was forcibly expanded at the brink of destruction, and its internal structure underwent a dramatic qualitative change under terrifying pressure! Viscous, pure Shadow Erosion Dou Qi was frantically compressed under high pressure, transforming from a gaseous state to a liquid state!

Crack!

A crisp sound, as if from the depths of his Soul.

The pitch-black Qi vortex, expanded to its limit, suddenly collapsed inward! All the violent dark energy torrents, as if finding an outlet, were forcibly compressed and condensed!

One drop!

Two drops!

Three drops...

Viscous, deep, pitch-black liquid, as if capable of devouring all light, slowly condensed and dripped in the center of his Dantian! This liquid contained unimaginable terrifying energy and a pure shadow-devouring will!

Qi vortex liquefaction! The realm of a Dou Master!

Boom!

A chilling Aura, several times stronger than before, suddenly erupted from the rock wall where Lin Chen was embedded! The swirling dark energy storm, like a whale sucking water, was forcibly gathered and devoured into his body! Revealing his disheveled but completely different Aura—blood vessels protruded on his skin, appearing eerily blue-black, black blood hung from the corner of his mouth, but the dark red blood-light in his eyes was as deep and cold as a Hell abyss! The Shadow Erosion Dou Qi swirling around him was no longer a thin airflow, but like a viscous black mist, carrying a heart-palpitating devouring power!

"Battle... Dou Master?!" The severely wounded Xiao Shan below felt the chilling, powerful Aura and exclaimed in shock, his eyes filled with disbelief! The sneak attacker had actually achieved a Breakthrough in a desperate situation?!

Xiao Yan stared intently at the figure in the rock wall, feeling the familiar, cold and slick Dou Zhi Qi fluctuations, instantly realizing the other's identity! It was the handyman from the slaughterhouse! It was the mysterious person from the bottom of Soul Severing Cliff! New and old grudges instantly surged in his heart!

And the Yingu Old Man, the Soul fire in his skull had turned ghastly white due to extreme rage! "Good! Good! Good! You devoured my Source Core... then you shall repay with your body... your Soul...! Become my new body!" He abandoned condensing an arm, his entire skeletal body suddenly floated up from the throne, transforming into a pale white bone shadow, carrying monstrous Death Qi and venom, directly pouncing on Lin Chen, who had just achieved a Breakthrough and whose Aura was not yet stable! The huge Shadow Source Core on the throne also fluctuated violently with his movement!

The three parties confronted each other, and killing intent instantly ignited! Inside the grotto, dark, pale white, and ghastly green energy lights collided frantically! The final showdown was imminent!