168: Soul Burial Mountains, the final battle

Three days later, the Soul Burial Mountain Range.

The once eerie and desolate mountain range was now completely ignited by monstrous killing intent and violent energy! Over the mountain range, dark clouds gathered, lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled, as if heaven and earth had sensed the terrifying aura of the impending world-ending war.

On the east side of the mountain range, the Anti-Alliance army stood ready! Banners fluttered, and battle qi surged into the sky! The Pill Tower's Star Guards formed the Heavenly Stellar Array, their starlight brilliant and their killing intent stern; the Yan Clan's Fire Dragon Army transformed into a heaven-burning sea of fire, with rolling heatwaves and earth-shattering dragon roars; the Ancient Dragon Island's Dragon Guards manifested their thousand-zhang dragon bodies, their dragon might vast and tearing through the sky; the Flower Sect's Hundred Flowers Battle Array transformed into an endless sea of flowers, a captivating killing intent, concealing profound mysteries; the Sound Valley's Heavenly Sound Legion played the prelude to war, their sound waves turning into blades, shaking souls and seizing spirits! Furthermore, powerhouses from various forces like Starfall Pavilion and Sound Valley connected their auras, forming an iron torrent! In front of the army, Xuan Kongzi, the Flame Emperor, and the Dragon Emperor (Projection), three high-level Dou Saints, stood proudly in the void, their might unparalleled! The entire Anti-Alliance army, though fewer in number than the Soul Hall, had a rainbow-like momentum and monstrous fighting spirit!

On the west side of the mountain range, the Soul Hall Alliance's camp was a different scene of hell! The light screen of the Netherworld Erosion Heaven Array covered the sky and obscured the sun, with countless resentful souls wailing and tumbling within it, and the dense death qi condensed into black raindrops falling, corroding the earth! Within the array, the Soul Hall's soul army was as boundless as a tide, emanating a cold and desolate aura; the Heavenly Nether Sect's nether beasts roared ferociously, and the Ice River Valley's cold qi froze the void; there were also various puppets and demonic creatures controlled by the Soul Hall, diverse in form, emitting chaotic and evil fluctuations! Deep within the heart of the array, a Netherworld Throne made of piled bones floated in mid-air, and upon the throne, a blurry figure, enveloped in dense death qi and emitting a terrifying imperial might that could freeze souls, appeared indistinctly! It was Hun Tiandi's ritual clone! His aura had terrifyingly reached the peak of a Six-turn Dou Saint! Beside the throne, Soul Destruction Heaven and other high-ranking Soul Hall members stood solemnly, their eyes cruel and fanatical. Further away, the faint phantom of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's destiny chessboard flickered in the dark clouds, and strands of karmic lines, like venomous snakes, coiled above the battlefield, manipulating the fate of the war!

Billions of troops from both sides confronted each other, their killing intent clashing, causing the space in the middle to constantly collapse and reorganize, forming a deadly vacuum zone! The great battle was on the verge of breaking out!

“Woo—!!!”

The desolate sound of a horn, like a death knell, heralded the prelude to the decisive battle!

“Kill—!!!”

Without any superfluous words, accompanied by earth-shattering shouts, the armies of both sides, like two destructive torrents, slammed fiercely into each other!

“Rumble—!!!”

Heaven and earth lost their color, and the sun and moon dimmed! The colossal sound of energy collisions shattered eardrums, and battle qi, death qi, flames, ice, sound waves, illusions... energies of various attributes fiercely bombarded and annihilated each other! In an instant, tens of thousands of low-level cultivators were reduced to dust in the aftermath! Blood instantly dyed the earth red, and severed limbs flew everywhere, like a Shura hell!

High in the sky, the duels of top powerhouses were even more earth-shattering!

Xuan Kongzi's soul transformed into a sword, his Stellar Sword Qi tearing through the netherworld, fiercely clashing with Hun Qianmo's Nether Ghost Claw, the Grand Elder of the Soul Hall, each collision exploding the void!

The Flame Emperor transformed into a thousand-zhang Flame Emperor, his heaven-burning and sea-boiling flame laws fiercely eroding with Ming Yuan's Nine Nether Yellow Springs death qi, the Sect Master of the Heavenly Nether Sect, burning a huge black hole in the sky!

The Dragon Emperor Projection roared to the Nine Heavens, his Azure Dragon Sky-Rending Claw striking at Venerable Bing's Absolute Zero Domain, the Valley Master of the Ice River Valley, an ultimate clash of ice and fire, freezing thousands of miles, then instantly vaporizing!

Sect Master Sect Master of Flower Sect, Granny Tian Yin, and other powerhouses of the Anti-Alliance also faced off against the Dou Saint elders of the Soul Hall Alliance, the battle fiercely intense!

However, relying on the amplification of the Netherworld Erosion Heaven Array and their numerical advantage, the Soul Hall Alliance gradually gained the upper hand! Although the Anti-Alliance army was brave, under the endless sea of resentful souls and the unpredictable interference of destiny, they suffered heavy casualties, and their defense lines retreated steadily!

“We can't wait any longer!” Xuan Kongzi forced back Hun Qianmo with a sword, looking at Hun Tiandi's clone on the Netherworld Throne, a look of determination flashing in his eyes, “Someone must restrain Hun Tiandi! Otherwise, the army will surely be defeated!”

“I'll go!” A calm but undeniably authoritative voice rang out.

Everyone looked to see Xiao Chen step out, chaotic qi flowing naturally around him, his majestic Saint might of a Two-turn Dou Saint unleashed without reservation! His gaze was like lightning, directly locking onto Hun Tiandi's clone on the throne!

“Xiao Chen!” Flame Heart cried out worriedly.

“Don't worry.” Xiao Chen gave her a slight smile, his smile full of confidence and reassurance. Immediately, his figure moved, ignoring the spatial distance, appearing a thousand zhang in front of the Netherworld Throne in the void!

“Hun Tiandi, your opponent... is me!” Xiao Chen's voice was not loud, but it clearly spread throughout the battlefield, carrying an invincible belief of severing karma and controlling his own destiny!

“An ant... dares to shake the heavens?” From the throne, Hun Tiandi's clone let out a hoarse and majestic cold snort, and a gigantic Netherworld hand, covering the sky and obscuring the sun, slowly extended, carrying an imperial might that could crush all things and devour life, grabbing towards Xiao Chen! This palm strike was several times more powerful than when he was in the Netherworld Hall!

“Good timing!” Xiao Chen's eyes blazed with battle intent, and the Chaos Sacred Realm instantly unfolded! Although its range was only a hundred zhang, its quality was extremely high, with earth, water, fire, and wind faintly forming within it, and laws generating themselves! He pointed his fingers like a blade, unleashing a Chaos Heaven Opening Slash, which fused Source Qi Origin and the Heaven Opening Axe Intent!

“Chii—!”

The blade light and the giant hand collided, with no loud bang, only the erosion and annihilation at the law level! The chaotic blade light severed death qi and purified resentment, actually splitting a huge gap in the Netherworld giant hand! Although the blade light also dissipated, Xiao Chen was unharmed!

“Hmm? The power of Origin Qi? A little interesting...” Hun Tiandi's clone let out a light gasp, seemingly showing a hint of interest, “It seems you are... more qualified to become this Emperor's... blood food... than I imagined!”

He slowly rose from the throne, his body boiling with death qi like a sea! The terrifying pressure of a Six-turn Dou Saint peak, like a materialized mountain, heavily pressed down on Xiao Chen!

“Netherworld... Yellow Springs Kingdom!”

Hun Tiandi's clone formed hand seals, and the death qi of the entire Soul Burial Mountain Range frantically gathered, transforming into a Netherworld world that enveloped heaven and earth! In this world, the Yellow Springs surged, myriad ghosts worshipped, and reincarnation reversed! The powerful suppressive force of the domain made even Xuan Kongzi and the others fighting in the distance feel suffocated!

“Chaos Sacred Realm, Heaven and Earth Creation!” Xiao Chen roared, pushing the Chaos Sacred Realm to its limit, the hundred-zhang world expanding wildly, with chaotic qi evolving into clear and turbid, and the Heaven Opening Axe Intent transforming into a pillar supporting the sky, forcefully propping up a pure land belonging to him within the Yellow Springs Kingdom!

“Boom boom boom—!”

The two great domains fiercely collided and eroded! Although Xiao Chen's Chaos Sacred Realm was small, its essence was extremely high, containing the characteristics of Origin Qi and the will of Heaven Opening, surprisingly managing to withstand the suppression of the Yellow Springs Kingdom! But Xiao Chen also bore immense pressure, a trace of blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth!

“Let's see how long you can last! Myriad Souls Devour Heart!” Hun Tiandi's clone sneered, and within the Yellow Springs Kingdom, countless powerful resentful soul emperors condensed and roared as they pounced towards the Chaos Sacred Realm!

“Origin Qi as the guide, Sacred Fire burns the heavens! Chaos Purifying Flame!” Xiao Chen cupped his hands, drawing upon the Source Qi Origin, and a monstrous sacred fire ignited within the Chaos Sacred Realm! This fire was neither gold nor red, but of a chaotic color, specifically countering all yin and evil! Resentful souls ignited upon contact, emitting shrill screams and turning into green smoke!

“Stubborn fool! Nine Nether Reincarnation!” Hun Tiandi's clone evidently lost patience and unleashed a killing move! In the center of the Yellow Springs Kingdom, a giant reincarnation vortex appeared, emitting a terrifying suction force that devoured souls and obliterated imprints! Xiao Chen's Chaos Sacred Realm violently vibrated, cracks appeared in its boundary, and even his soul seemed about to be torn from his body!

“Not good!” Xuan Kongzi and the others' expressions changed drastically, wanting to rescue him, but were tightly entangled by their opponents!

“Brother Chen!” Flame Heart desperately wanted to rush over, but was firmly held back by Ao Zhan.

Facing this deadly strike, Xiao Chen's eyes were unusually calm. He felt the exhilaration of the wisp of Source Qi Origin within his body, and the primal urge of Heaven and Earth Creation deep within the Chaos Sacred Realm!

“Since that's the case... then... let it all go!” A look of madness flashed in Xiao Chen's eyes, and he actually voluntarily retracted the defense of the Chaos Sacred Realm, pouring all his power, along with that wisp of Source Qi Origin, into the vague Heaven Opening Axe Intent at the center of the sacred realm!

“With my soul, I sacrifice my realm! Origin Qi as the edge, Heaven and Earth Creation! Ultimate Profound Meaning—Chaos... Heaven Opening... Creation!”

He roared, compressing and condensing the entire Chaos Sacred Realm, along with most of his Saint Soul and Saint Blood, into a giant Heaven Opening Axe that spanned the void, as if it could sever karma and redefine earth, water, fire, and wind! Upon the giant axe, Origin Qi flowed, laws encircled it, exuding the dual artistic conceptions of creation and destruction!

“Slash!”

Xiao Chen transformed into the axe, man and axe as one, carrying a desperate will to advance fearlessly and open up a new heaven, fiercely slashing towards the Nine Nether Reincarnation Vortex and Hun Tiandi's clone behind it!

This axe strike transcended skill, transcended energy; it was a clash of will and Dao! It was a rebellion against predetermined fate! It was a declaration of war against destruction!

“What?! You dare...” Hun Tiandi's clone finally changed color! He felt a threat from this axe strike! A real threat!

“Netherworld... Imperial Descent!” He dared not neglect, burning the essence death qi of this clone, unleashing a forbidden technique that approached a strike from his main body! A blurry phantom of Hun Tiandi, radiating true imperial might, emerged from behind him, pointing a finger at the Heaven Opening Giant Axe!

“Boom—!!!!!!!!”

An indescribable cataclysmic, massive explosion occurred! At the point where the axe and finger met, space, time, laws, karma... everything was annihilated! An absolute dark sphere that swallowed light rapidly expanded, sending both sides' fighting powerhouses flying! Most of the Soul Burial Mountain Range was wiped away! Billions of troops suffered countless casualties!

At the center of the explosion, the Heaven Opening Giant Axe shattered inch by inch, and Xiao Chen's figure flew backward, covered in blood, his aura extremely weak, clearly severely wounded!

And Hun Tiandi's clone, too, became ethereal and transparent in the explosion, its aura plummeting, clearly also not in good condition!

“Bastard... Xiao Chen... this Emperor... will surely kill you...” The clone let out a venomous roar, finally completely dissipating into the air.

Hun Tiandi's clone... was destroyed!

Although he paid a heavy price, Xiao Chen... succeeded! With the body of a Two-turn Dou Saint, he directly confronted a Six-turn peak clone and... took it down!

At this moment, the entire battlefield fell silent! Everyone was utterly shocked by the result of this world-shaking battle!

“We won... we won!” The Anti-Alliance army erupted in earth-shattering cheers! With the destruction of the main commander's clone, the Soul Hall Alliance's morale collapsed, and their army began to rout!

However, Xiao Chen, high in the sky, fell powerlessly. Flame Heart, Xuan Kongzi, and others frantically rushed towards him.

But just then, another anomaly occurred!

In the sky, the destiny chessboard, which had been hidden, suddenly burst into brilliant light! A cold, emotionless voice echoed through heaven and earth:

“The time has come... destiny... harvest!”

Countless karmic lines, like chains, entangled the severely wounded and falling Xiao Chen! The Pavilion Master Tianji's true killing move had only now... revealed its fangs!

“No—!” Flame Heart let out a desperate cry.

The fate of the continent, the survival of the Anti-Alliance, Xiao Chen's life and death... all hung by this final... thread!