125: The stars are immortal, the soul palace is invaded

Upon the Star Altar, Xiao Chen sat cross-legged, his Heavenly Realm Soul Power and Xiao Clan bloodline surged like a tide into the incomplete stone tablet. The ancient divine script on the tablet lit up one by one, emitting an ancient and vast aura. A stream of information, far more immense and profound than before, rushed into Xiao Chen's Sea of Consciousness like a breaching flood!

This time, it was no longer fragmented images, but a relatively complete inheritance imprint!

"Star Immortal Body" General Principles: Draw upon the Power of Starlight of the universe to temper the body and soul, integrate the star origin into oneself, and forge a body indestructible through countless tribulations! The body is the star, and the star is my body! A thought creates stars, a thought destroys stars! ... (The specific cultivation methods that followed were blurred due to the incomplete stone tablet, but the general principles were already shocking enough!)

Fragments of Ancient Secrets: In the late ancient era, Outer Realm Heavenly Demons invaded en masse, plunging the Dou Qi Continent into turmoil. Progenitor, the Dou Di of the Xiao Clan, led his clansmen and allied forces in a valiant resistance, fighting for a thousand years on the outer realm battlefield. At a critical moment, the Soul Clan, also one of the Eight Ancient Clans, suddenly betrayed them, colluding with the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons to ambush Xiao Xingchen, causing his severe injury and demise! The Xiao Clan, caught between two enemies, was almost annihilated! The surviving clansmen desperately protected the core of their ancestral land, escaping into the void, leaving behind a seed of inheritance, hoping that a bloodline awakening in later generations could revive the Xiao Clan and settle the blood feud! As for the Soul Clan, they colluded with the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons, stealing the continent's origin with the intention of creating a new Demon Emperor! ... The Secret of the Ancestral Land Core: This Starry Minor World was forged by Progenitor using supreme divine abilities, by intercepting and refining the origin of a nascent star field! Its core is not a physical object, but a star origin imprint, hidden deep within the void beneath the altar! Obtaining this imprint grants preliminary control over this world and allows one to sense other Xiao Clan ruins scattered across the continent! However, to obtain the imprint, one must use pure Xiao Clan bloodline and Heavenly Realm Soul to jointly activate the power of the nine ancestral statues to break the seal!

The information flow abruptly ceased. Xiao Chen suddenly opened his eyes, Power of Starlight bursting forth from them, his entire body's blood and Qi boiling! Anger, shock, realization, responsibility... various emotions intertwined! He finally understood the truth behind the Xiao Clan's decline! The Soul Clan, this tumor of the continent, had been traitors since ancient times! And the Soul Hall was merely its extended claw!

"Soul Clan... Outer Realm Heavenly Demons... This feud is irreconcilable!" Xiao Chen clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, his eyes burning with raging fury. The burden on his shoulders was heavier than ever before! Not only did he have to revive the Xiao Clan, but he also had to stop the conspiracy of the Soul Clan and the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons!

"Brother Xiao, the spatial rifts outside are getting bigger and bigger!" Feng Xian's anxious voice came. Below the altar, in the starry sky, the rifts had spread into a giant spiderweb, and terrifying death qi seeped in like ink. The entire minor world shook violently, its edges beginning to collapse and vanish! The Soul Hall's attack had reached its most critical moment!

"No time to slowly digest the inheritance!" Xiao Chen stood up, his gaze resolute, "I must immediately acquire the star origin imprint and control this world! Otherwise, the ancestral land will be destroyed in an instant!"

He looked at the nine ancestral statues, and following the method from the inherited information, he pushed his Heavenly Realm Soul Power and Xiao Clan bloodline to their limits, transforming them into nine streaks of faint golden light, which shot into the grooves on the foreheads of the nine statues!

"Buzz buzz buzz buzz—!"

The nine statues vibrated simultaneously, erupting with brilliant starlight! The statues seemed to come alive, transforming into nine towering Star Battle God phantoms! The phantoms simultaneously raised their hands, and majestic Power of Starlight converged into a torrent, blasting towards the void in the center of the altar!

"Crack!"

The void shattered like a mirror, revealing a chaotic origin space! In the center of the space, an imprint the size of a palm, formed by countless starry light points, floated quietly, emitting a vast aura that nurtured all things! It was precisely the star origin imprint!

"That's it!" Xiao Chen's heart pounded, and a strong craving came from the depths of his soul! Without hesitation, his soul power transformed into a large hand, grasping towards the imprint!

However, just as he was about to touch the imprint, an unexpected change occurred!

"Hehehe... Thank you for helping this Venerable open the seal! This star origin is mine!" A cold and arrogant laugh came from outside the spatial rift! A stream of extremely condensed netherworld death qi, like a venomous snake, drilled through the rift, arriving from behind but reaching first, shooting directly towards the star origin imprint! Its speed and power far surpassed that of a Three-Star Dou Zun! The attacker was at least a top-tier Soul Hall Heavenly Venerable above the Five-Star Dou Zun level!

"Soul Hall Heavenly Venerable! Despicable!" Feng Xian roared, slashing out with his Star Sword Aura, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea, easily swallowed by the death qi!

"Dream on!" Xiao Chen's eyes were bloodshot! He would never allow the Soul Hall to lay hands on the core of the ancestral land! At this critical moment, inspiration struck him, and he merged the essence of the "Star Immortal Body" general principles he had just comprehended with the "Heaven Opening Axe Intent," erupting with full power!

"Stars as my body, axe cleaves chaos! Suppress!"

He pointed his fingers like a blade, and a hand-blade strike, imbued with the indomitable will of the Star Immortal Body, was unleashed! This strike was no longer a simple attack, but carried the supreme will of stabilizing the universe and protecting the origin! Where the hand-blade passed, the void solidified, and the netherworld death qi seemed to fall into a quagmire, its speed drastically reduced!

"Now!" Xiao Chen's soul-hand seized the opportunity to grab the star origin imprint! The imprint felt cold in his hand, instantly transforming into a stream of light, merging into his glabella and becoming one with his clan mark!

"Boom—!"

The entire minor world shook violently! Xiao Chen felt as if his soul was connected to this heaven and earth! Mountains, rivers, sun, moon, and stars, all were within his perception with a single thought! He had become the temporary master of this Starry Minor World!

"Minor world, heed my command! Power of Starlight, seal the heavens and lock the earth!" With a thought, Xiao Chen mobilized the minor world's origin power! Countless rays of Power of Starlight descended from the void, transforming into brilliant star chains, instantly binding, suppressing, and refining the invading netherworld death qi! At the same time, the spatial rifts around the altar began to slowly heal under the repair of the Power of Starlight!

"What?! You can actually control this world?!" From outside the spatial rift, the Soul Hall Heavenly Venerable's furious roar came, "Boy, you're courting death! Netherworld Eclipse Heaven Array! Break open this world for this Venerable!"

More violent attacks came from the outside, and the entire minor world shook even more intensely, the recently healed rifts tearing open again! Clearly, there was more than one Soul Hall expert outside, and they were forming an array to launch a strong assault!

"Brother Xiao, it's not safe to stay here for long! We must leave as soon as possible!" Feng Xian said urgently. Although the minor world could temporarily resist, it definitely wouldn't hold out for too long!

Xiao Chen felt the surging Power of Starlight within him and the sense of control that came from being one with the world. He glanced at the nine ancestral statues, which were gradually dimming, and the incomplete stone tablet, a hint of reluctance and determination flashing in his eyes. He had obtained the core inheritance of the ancestral land, but there was no time to explore more secrets and resources.

"Soul Hall... I'll remember this debt!" Xiao Chen gritted his teeth. He looked at Feng Xian, "Brother Feng, let's go!"

With a thought, he mobilized the power of the star origin, forcibly opening a temporary spatial passage above the altar! The other end of the passage connected to a safe coordinate on the outskirts of the Yun Shen Mountain Range (obtained from the star map).

"Stop them!" The Soul Hall Heavenly Venerable outside roared, and several terrifying death qi attacks pierced through the rifts, blasting towards the passage!

"Want to leave? Not so easy!" Xiao Chen's eyes were cold. He pushed the power of the star origin that had just merged into him to its limit, combining it with the newly comprehended Star Immortal Body essence, and unleashed a punch!

"Star Immortal Fist!"

With one punch, it was as if the power of the entire starry sky was mobilized! The brilliant fist glow, like a meteor streaking across the sky, collided violently with the several death qi attacks!

"Rumble—!"

A terrifying energy storm swept out, and the entire altar trembled precariously! The several death qi attacks were shattered by the fist glow! The passage was temporarily stable!

"Go!" Xiao Chen grabbed Feng Xian, and the two transformed into streaks of light, rushing into the spatial passage!

The moment they entered the passage, Xiao Chen looked back at the ancestral minor world, which was about to collapse, and made a vow in his heart: "Ancestors, Xiao Chen hereby swears! I will use the blood of the Soul Clan to honor you! I will revive the Xiao Clan and settle the blood feud!"

The passage closed, and their figures disappeared.

The next moment, the entire Starry Minor World, under the Soul Hall's frenzied attack, collapsed with a roar, transforming into countless starry fragments and dissipating into the chaotic void currents... A significant ruin of the ancient Xiao Clan was thus completely annihilated.

And Xiao Chen's journey, carrying the ancient blood feud and the inheritance of the stars, entered a new stage. The tides of Zhongzhou would become even more turbulent because of the secrets and powers he had obtained! The final battle with the Soul Hall had already begun!