171: Crossing Chaos, Resisting Alliance Crisis

Deep within the Chaos Sea, spatial turbulence was like boiling, furious waves, and violent energy storms could easily tear apart ordinary Dou Venerates. A cyan-robed figure, whose body was enveloped in chaotic energy and whose aura was almost integrated with the surrounding environment, was moving through it at an incredible speed. It was Xiao Chen!

After advancing to Three-Revolving Dou Saint, his control over spatial laws reached an exquisite level. Without a star-chariot, he could easily twist space and perform long-distance spatial jumps with just his own saint power. Every step he took could span tens of thousands of miles of void, reaching extreme speeds! His Chaos Sacred Realm naturally formed an invisible domain, easily repelling or assimilating the incoming spatial storms and chaotic turbulence, making it feel like walking on flat ground.

“Although the Chaos Sea is vast, with my current speed, if I travel at full force, it shouldn’t take too long to return to the Central Region.” Xiao Chen’s soul power spread out like a spider web, covering hundreds of thousands of miles, precisely avoiding some particularly dangerous energy vortices and dormant ancient chaotic beasts. He was eager to return, worried about the Anti-Alliance’s safety.

However, the depths of the Chaos Sea were fraught with danger, far from as simple as imagined. After flying for about ten-odd days, an extremely strange area suddenly appeared ahead. The chaotic energy there was no longer violent; instead, it presented a dead and viscous state, and its color had turned a dark, dull gray-black. When soul power probed into it, it was like a mud ox entering the sea, perception was severely weakened, and a chilling sensation that eroded the soul was transmitted.

“This is… the Silent Death Domain?” Xiao Chen frowned slightly. The ancestor inheritance mentioned that certain areas of the Chaos Sea, due to ancient wars or special laws, would form absolute dead lands where all things returned to silence. Time was stagnant and space solidified there, making it difficult even for Dou Saints to escape once trapped, eventually leading to their assimilation and annihilation.

“Detouring would take too much time…” Xiao Chen pondered for a moment, a determined look flashing in his eyes, “Just in time to test the limits of a Three-Revolving Dou Saint!”

Instead of retreating, he accelerated to his maximum speed and charged directly into the Silent Death Domain!

Upon entering the Death Domain, it was as if he had stepped into another world! All sounds and energy fluctuations from the outside instantly vanished, leaving only eternal silence! Space became viscous like glue, and an invisible force of silent laws squeezed in from all directions, attempting to solidify his saint power and freeze his soul!

“Hmph! Chaos Splits Heaven, All Laws Invulnerable!” Xiao Chen roared lowly, his Chaos Sacred Realm fully unleashed! The hundred-zhang world glowed brightly, with the four basic laws of earth, water, fire, and wind operating on their own, evolving purity and turbidity, forcibly carving out a vibrant pure land within the silent domain! The power of silence crashed against the Sacred Realm’s barrier, emitting hissing sounds of erosion, yet it could not advance an inch!

Xiao Chen’s speed did not diminish; like a sharp sword, he tore through the viscous space, forcing his way through! Wherever he passed, the silent gloom was dispelled by the light of chaos, leaving a temporary energy channel!

However, in the depths of the Death Domain, a more terrifying existence seemed to be startled! A will of silence, comparable to a Fourth-Turn Dou Sheng at their peak, locked onto Xiao Chen like an awakened primordial fierce beast!

“Intruder… die…” A cold, hollow, emotionless thought directly impacted Xiao Chen’s soul!

Immediately after, in the gloomy void ahead, countless gray tentacles, condensed from the laws of silence, swarmed forward like venomous pythons, each containing terrifying power that could annihilate life!

“A being of silent laws? That’s rare!” A hint of surprise flashed in Xiao Chen’s eyes, but he showed no fear. He pointed his fingers like a sword, and the chaotic energy at his fingertips was highly compressed, forming a grayish Void Breaking Sword Aura!

“Void Breaking!”

The sword aura slashed out, silent, yet containing the supreme artistic conception of severing laws and shattering illusions! The moment the gray tentacles contacted the sword aura, their internal structure was forcibly disintegrated, transforming into the most fundamental silent energy, which was then devoured and refined by the Chaos Sacred Realm!

“Roar!” The silent will let out an angry roar, and more tentacles, silent lightning spears, and withering storms attacked him in overwhelming numbers!

Xiao Chen’s figure was like lightning, weaving through the attacks, his sword aura crisscrossing, his fist imprints shattering the heavens! He treated this journey as a form of tempering, constantly familiarizing himself with the power of a Three-Revolving Dou Saint, and integrating the Chaos Splits Heaven intent with various Dou Techniques, doubling their power!

The fierce battle lasted for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and Xiao Chen finally forced his way through the core area of the Silent Death Domain! The silent will seemed to have some reservations and did not pursue him relentlessly.

Breaking out of the Death Domain and seeing the violent yet vibrant chaotic energy again, Xiao Chen let out a slight sigh of relief. Through this battle, his control over his own power became more refined and effortless, and his Chaos Sacred Realm also became increasingly stable.

He dared not delay and continued to rush at full speed. After another month or so, he finally sensed the familiar spatial coordinates of the Central Region!

“I’m here!” Xiao Chen’s spirit was invigorated; he tore through space and stepped out!

However, when he clearly saw the scene before him, his heart instantly sank to rock bottom!

This was not the Pill Tower Holy Domain, but a ruin on the border of the Central Region, scorched for a thousand miles, with smoke rising everywhere! Once prosperous cities had turned into rubble, mountain ranges were flattened, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood and lingering death qi! Occasionally, he could see some tattered Anti-Alliance flags wailing in the wind, and scattered fragments of Soul Hall puppets!

“A great battle happened here…! Judging by the traces, it was not long ago!” Xiao Chen’s soul power swept wildly, his expression growing increasingly grim. From the residual energy, it was clear that the combatants were extremely powerful, with at least several Dou Saints participating! Moreover, the Anti-Alliance seemed to be at a disadvantage!

“Something happened to the Anti-Alliance!” An ominous premonition surged in his heart, and he immediately tore through space, rushing frantically towards the Pill Tower Holy Domain!

With each spatial jump, he saw more scars of war! The mountain gates of many subordinate forces of the Anti-Alliance were destroyed, and the cultivators he encountered along the way were all terrified and hurried. Xiao Chen grabbed a fleeing Dou Zong cultivator to inquire, and the news he received sent him plunging into an icy abyss!

“It’s over! It’s all over! The Soul Hall army, allied with the Heavenly Nether Sect and Ice River Valley, suddenly launched a full-scale attack three days ago! The Soul Burial Mountain Range defense line has been breached! His Majesty Emperor Yan is severely injured! The Dragon Emperor Projection has been shattered! Tower Master Xuan Kongzi was forced to activate the Heavenly Stellar Array to desperately defend the Pill Tower! The Flower Sect and Sound Valley’s mountain gates are surrounded and in dire peril! The Anti-Alliance… is about to collapse!” the cultivator said, his face filled with fear.

“What about Hun Tiandi? What about the Heavenly Secret Pavilion?” Xiao Chen asked urgently.

“Hun Tiandi’s true body doesn’t seem to have fully awakened yet, but two more terrifying high-level Dou Saint elders have appeared in the Soul Hall! The Heavenly Secret Pavilion… the Heavenly Secret Pavilion’s destiny chessboard has enveloped the entire Central Region, completely interfering with our communications and mobilizations, leaving us fighting individually and being defeated one by one!”

“Bastards!” Xiao Chen’s eyes blazed with fury! He hadn’t expected that during his period of slumber, the situation would deteriorate to such an extent! The Soul Hall and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion—they intended to annihilate the Anti-Alliance in one fell swoop!

“Teacher! Flame Heart! You must hold on!” Xiao Chen pushed his speed to the limit, the space around him constantly twisting and collapsing, transforming into a chaotic meteor tearing through the sky as he headed towards the Pill Tower Holy Domain!

He had to arrive as quickly as possible! Every moment of delay increased the danger of the Anti-Alliance’s annihilation!

Meanwhile, outside the Pill Tower Holy Domain, dark clouds pressed down, threatening to crush the city!

The Soul Hall army, covering the sky and obscuring the sun, had surrounded the Holy Domain, making it impenetrable! A Netherworld Erosion Heaven Array, even larger and filled with more death qi than the one at the Soul Burial Mountain Range, was frantically attacking the Pill Tower’s Heavenly Stellar Array! The array’s light barrier fluctuated violently, cracks spreading, clearly about to give way!

Inside the array, Xuan Kongzi, the heavily injured His Majesty Emperor Yan, and the remaining strong individuals of the Anti-Alliance were all wounded, holding their ground at the array’s core with determined expressions. Flame Heart, Venerable Feng, and others were covered in blood, evidently having endured a fierce battle.

“Xuan Kongzi! Stop your futile resistance! Hand over Xiao Chen, disband the Anti-Alliance, and your Pill Tower may retain a glimmer of its heritage! Otherwise, today will be the day you all turn to ashes!” Outside the great array, Soul Destruction Heaven, standing atop a netherworld bone dragon, his voice like a chilling wind from the Nine Netherworlds, resonated throughout heaven and earth. Beside him, two black-robed elders of the Soul Hall, whose auras had clearly reached Fifth-Turn Dou Sheng, stood like reapers, exuding a despair-inducing pressure! Further away, the ethereal image of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion’s destiny chessboard flickered, manipulating the destiny of the battle!

“Dream on!” Blood spilled from Xuan Kongzi’s lips, yet his gaze was incredibly firm, “The Pill Tower only has souls who die in battle, not people who surrender! If you want to break the array, you’ll have to step over this old man’s corpse!”

“Stubborn fools! Then… be utterly destroyed! Netherworld Erosion Heaven, Ten Thousand Souls Return as One! Break for this temple… me!” Soul Destruction Heaven roared fiercely, forming seals simultaneously with the two black-robed elders. The power of the Netherworld Erosion Heaven Array surged, and a destructive death ray, condensed from billions of vengeful souls, like a world-ending spear, fiercely slammed into the weakest point of the Heavenly Stellar Array!

“It’s over…” Everyone inside the array showed despair; this strike absolutely could not be stopped!

Just at this critical moment!

“Buzz—!!!”

A chaotic pillar of light, spanning heaven and earth, like a divine punishment that split the heavens and earth, tore through the void from an extreme distance without warning, arriving later but striking first, precisely impacting that destructive death ray!

“Boom boom boom—!!!!!!!”

An indescribably terrifying explosion swept forth! The Netherworld Erosion Heaven Array violently shook, and the destructive death ray shattered inch by inch! The aftermath of the explosion sent the Soul Hall army on the periphery reeling!

“What?!”

“Who is it?!”

The Soul Hall powerhouses paled in shock, and Soul Destruction Heaven’s pupils suddenly constricted!

Under everyone’s disbelieving gazes, a cyan-robed figure, surrounded by chaotic energy, with black hair cascading down and eyes as cold as ancient ice, slowly stepped out from the center of the explosion, standing aloft above the Pill Tower Holy Domain! The vast saintly might emanating from him suffocated the entire battlefield!

“Those who harm my Anti-Alliance… die!”

Xiao Chen’s gaze, like two heaven-splitting sharp swords, instantly locked onto Soul Destruction Heaven and the two black-robed elders! The terrifying aura of a Three-Revolving Dou Saint, like an awakened primordial giant beast, swept across heaven and earth!

“Xiao… Xiao Chen?! You… you’re not dead?! And… your strength…” Soul Destruction Heaven sounded as if he had seen a ghost, his voice becoming shrill!

“Chen’er! (Saint Xiao!)” Inside the array, Xuan Kongzi, Flame Heart, and others were first stunned, then erupted in earth-shattering cheers! In the midst of despair, the dawn of hope suddenly arrived!

Xiao Chen… had returned! And in a powerful, kingly manner!

The climax of the final battle, due to Xiao Chen’s timely return, suddenly began! A bloody storm of vengeance and salvation was about to fully ignite, centered around the Pill Tower Holy Domain!