163: In front of the Nether Palace, the holy war will begin

In the Pill Tower Holy Domain, the phenomena atop the star tower gradually subsided, but the vast Saint's might, like a brand, was deeply etched into the soul of every witness. A Dou Saint was born, and the heavens and earth celebrated! Throughout the entire Anti-Alliance, morale soared to its peak!

Xiao Chen did not linger in the Holy Domain. He knew that the Soul Hall and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion would never sit idly by and watch him grow. He had to strike preemptively, disrupting their plans before they could fully react. After an urgent discussion with Xuan Kongzi, Flame Emperor, Dragon Emperor, and other Anti-Alliance giants, he personally selected an elite squad to carry out the most dangerous "beheading" mission.

The squad consisted of only five members, yet they represented the peak strength of the Anti-Alliance's younger generation!

Flame Heart (Five-Star Dou Zun Peak): Princess of the Yan Clan, possessing a top-tier flame bloodline, deeply in love with Xiao Chen. Her combat strength was considerable, and she was skilled in the Yan Clan's secret flame tracking and barrier-breaking techniques.

Ao Zhan (Six-Star Dou Zun Mid-stage): Commander of the Azure Dragon Guard on Ancient Dragon Island. His physical body was incomparably powerful, and his dragon clan battle techniques were overbearing, making him an excellent front-line attacker.

Flower Without Shadow (Five-Star Dou Zun Initial stage): The chief disciple of the Flower Sect. Her illusion techniques were exquisite, and her stealth and assassination skills were unparalleled among her peers.

Wonderful Sound Emissary (Five-Star Dou Zun Initial stage): A genius from the Sound Valley. Her mastery of sound waves had reached an advanced stage; she could attack, defend, interfere with souls, and probe for weaknesses.

Xiao Chen (First-turn Dou Saint): The core and absolute main force of the squad, with unfathomable strength.

Although small in number, this squad gathered top talents in attack, defense, stealth, reconnaissance, and support. More importantly, they had experienced life and death together, sharing implicit trust and seamless cooperation.

"This journey to the Netherworld Hall and the Heavenly Secret Realm is fraught with extreme danger. Are you afraid?" Xiao Chen's gaze swept over the four, his voice calm yet carrying an invisible pressure.

"We are willing to follow Saint Xiao, even if it means certain death!" The four responded in unison, their eyes firm and fearless. Especially Flame Heart, her beautiful eyes sparkled with excitement; to fight alongside the man she loved, even death would be without regret.

"Good! Let's go!" Xiao Chen waved his sleeve, and a chaos star raft, only ten zhang long, enveloped in chaotic airflow, and with its aura completely restrained, appeared out of thin air. This was his Natal Saint Tool, the "chaos star raft," which he had reforged after advancing to Dou Saint, using his own Chaotic Saint Power combined with the remnants of the Void Dragon Boat. Its speed far surpassed before, and it also possessed abilities for stealth, defense, and attack.

The five stepped onto the star vessel. With a thought from Xiao Chen, the star vessel trembled slightly and silently merged into the void, speeding towards the Soul Burial Mountain Range, where the main hall of the Soul Hall was located! Its speed was comparable to a high-level Dou Saint's spatial shuttle!

Inside the star vessel, a small world had formed, filled with misty chaotic airflow and abundant energy. Xiao Chen sat cross-legged in the center, closing his eyes to meditate and familiarize himself with the power of a Dou Saint. Flame Heart and the other four cultivated individually, adjusting their states to their peak.

"Xiao Chen," Flame Heart leaned a little closer and asked softly, "The Netherworld Hall, the main hall of the Soul Hall, is a tiger's den, and it's guarded by the Netherworld Erosion Heaven Array. How should we infiltrate it?"

Xiao Chen opened his eyes, chaotic light flowing within them: "A frontal assault is naturally out of the question. However, now that I have become a Saint, my comprehension of spatial laws far surpasses before, and I also have the Source Qi Origin to obscure heavenly secrets. I can directly tear open the spatial barrier around the Netherworld Hall's periphery and shuttle directly to its core area from within the spatial turbulence. Although this method is perilous, it can bypass most of the outer restrictions and guards."

"Directly shuttle through spatial turbulence?" Ao Zhan gasped. The spatial turbulence was incredibly violent, filled with destructive spatial storms and spacetime rifts. Even a Dou Zun Peak entering it would have a nine-out-of-ten chance of death! Only a Dou Saint expert, with absolute control over space, could barely pass through.

"Don't worry, with the chaos star raft protecting us, it's enough to withstand ordinary spatial storms," Xiao Chen said confidently. The chaos star raft was refined by him using Chaotic Saint Power, its essence was extremely high, and it had strong resistance to spatial turbulence.

A few days later, the chaos star raft had quietly arrived at the periphery of the Soul Burial Mountain Range. From a distance, the mountain range was still shrouded in dense death energy and the light curtain of the Netherworld Erosion Heaven Array. However, compared to the last great battle, the array's light seemed to have dimmed a bit, indicating that the destruction of the Netherworld Blood Pool last time had dealt a considerable blow to the Soul Hall.

"Indeed, the Soul Hall's vitality has not recovered; this is a good opportunity." A sharp glint flashed in Xiao Chen's eyes. Instead of directly charging the array, he maneuvered the star vessel to a secluded corner, finding a spot where the spatial structure was relatively weak.

"Open!" He pointed his fingers like a knife, lightly drawing a line in the void! A subtle spatial crack quietly appeared. Beyond the crack was a colorful, yet destructively powerful, spatial turbulence!

"Enter!" Xiao Chen shouted. The chaos star raft transformed into a streak of light, instantly diving into the spatial crack!

Upon entering the turbulence, the external scenery changed abruptly! It was no longer calm void, but violent energy storms, twisted spacetime fragments, and enormous spatial vortices! Terrifying tearing forces came from all directions, and the chaotic light shield around the star vessel fluctuated violently!

"Hold steady!" Xiao Chen's Saint Power surged, stabilizing the star vessel. At the same time, his Great Perfection of the Heaven Realm soul power, like the most precise compass, accurately discerned directions in the chaotic turbulence, shuttling towards the coordinates of the Netherworld Hall's core area!

This kind of navigation, dancing on a knife's edge, lasted for about half a day. During this time, they encountered several powerful spatial storms, all of which Xiao Chen forcibly overcame with his formidable strength. Flame Heart and the other four watched with trepidation, gaining a more direct understanding of Xiao Chen's power.

"We've arrived!" Xiao Chen's gaze suddenly sharpened. He controlled the star vessel to rush towards a relatively calm spatial node! The star vessel shook violently, piercing through an invisible spatial barrier!

The scene before them suddenly opened up! It was no longer violent turbulence, but a gloomy, oppressive, massive underground space! The air was filled with a dense smell of blood and death energy. In the distance, a majestic and sinister black palace loomed, which was the core of the Netherworld Hall—the Nine Nether Yellow Spring Palace! And further away, the heart-pounding fluctuations of the Netherworld Blood Pool came again, faint but carrying an ominous restlessness!

"We really infiltrated!" A look of pleasant surprise flashed in Flower Without Shadow's beautiful eyes. Bypassing countless outer checkpoints and arrays and directly reaching the core area was undoubtedly a huge success!

"Don't be careless." Xiao Chen's expression was solemn. His soul power carefully swept the surroundings. "The Soul Hall suffered a great loss last time, so the defenses of the core area must be even stricter, and... I sense several unusually subtle yet powerful auras lurking in the dark."

His gaze was like lightning, looking towards the depths of the Nine Nether Yellow Spring Palace: "The energy fluctuations in the direction of the Netherworld Blood Pool are unusual; it seems... the Soul Hall is trying to reactivate it! And, I faintly sense a trace... of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's unique karmic line fluctuations!"

"People from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion are here too?" Wonderful Sound Emissary's face changed slightly.

"It seems their ambitions are not dead." Xiao Chen sneered. "Good, let's catch them all in one fell swoop! Ao Zhan, Wuying, you two are responsible for clearing the outer sentries; Wonderful Sound Emissary, monitor the energy fluctuations and find the array nodes; Flame Heart, follow me directly to the Netherworld Blood Pool!"

"Yes!" The four acknowledged the order, their figures scattering like ghosts, each performing their duties.

Xiao Chen, taking Flame Heart, concealed all his aura, moving like two wisps of smoke, stealthily heading towards the Netherworld Blood Pool. The closer they got to the Netherworld Blood Pool, the denser the evil, chaotic aura became, and a soul-stirring pressure faintly emanated!

"It seems that even after being destroyed, that clone of Soul Heaven Emperor left behind considerable contingencies... or, there are even stronger existences in the Soul Hall that have awakened..." Xiao Chen's heart was vigilant, his Saint Power quietly circulating, ready to unleash a thunderous strike at any moment!

The decisive battle in the deepest part of the Netherworld Hall was on the verge of breaking out! And what kind of killing intent did the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's hidden hand conceal? What astonishing brilliance would Dou Saint Xiao Chen's first frontal assault unleash in this tiger's den?

The storm has arrived at the doorstep!