173: The Holy Power is Unparalleled, and the Aftermath is Still Unsettled

Above the Pill Tower Holy Domain, the energy aftermath from Soul Destruction Heaven's fall had not yet fully subsided, dyeing the sky a strange, chaotic blend of grey and black. Below, the Soul Hall army, having lost its commander, plunged into complete disarray and panic, scattering like headless flies. Meanwhile, the Anti-Alliance army, having been suppressed for so long, surged with morale under the command of Xuan Kongzi, Flame Emperor, and others, launching a thorough and exhilarating pursuit!

Shouts of killing, explosions of energy, and the dying wails of Soul Hall cultivators echoed throughout the heavens and earth.

However, the protagonists of this pursuit were no longer them.

Xiao Chen stood with his hands behind his back, suspended at the very center of the battlefield. Streams of chaotic Qi slowly flowed around him, and the pressure of a Three-Revolving Dou Saint enveloped the entire battlefield like an invisible celestial curtain. He did not personally pursue the fleeing soldiers; at his level, those Dou Venerates and Dou Sects no longer held his interest. His gaze pierced through space, spanning thousands of miles, coldly locking onto the weak blood-red light that was frantically fleeing towards the Soul Burial Mountain Range, relying on the remaining power of the Netherworld Erosion Heaven Array—it was precisely the black-robed elder of the Soul Hall whom he had crippled an arm and left gravely wounded!

"Flee? Can you escape?" A cold arc curved on Xiao Chen's lips. With a slight thought, he did not unleash any flashy Dou Technique. Instead, he simply pointed his fingers like a sword and lightly swiped at the direction the blood-red light was fleeing.

"Chii—!"

A faint, almost invisible grey sword Qi silently tore through space, ignoring distance, and instantly caught up to the blood-red light!

"No!! Xiao Chen! You cannot kill me! Hun Tiandi His Majesty..." The black-robed elder's desperate and shrill soul cry came from within the blood-red light.

However, before he could finish, that seemingly insignificant grey sword Qi had lightly pierced through the layers of Netherworld shields hastily set up around the blood-red light, precisely striking its soul origin!

"Puff!"

A faint sound, like a bubble bursting. The blood-red light suddenly solidified, then completely dimmed and dissipated. Along with the terrified, distorted soul phantom within it, it turned into nothingness.

Another Fifth-Turn Dou Sheng had fallen! And he was instantly killed with a single strike from afar, his soul obliterated!

This scene was captured by some keenly perceptive powerhouses on the battlefield, all of whom turned pale with shock, a chill rising from the depths of their hearts! Their awe and fear of Xiao Chen reached their peak!

"Clear the battlefield, repair the Great Array, and treat the wounded!" Xiao Chen's calm voice echoed in the ears of every Anti-Alliance cultivator, carrying a reassuring authority. His figure flickered, and he appeared within the Pill Tower Holy Domain, at the core array eye of the Heavenly Stellar Array.

"Chen'er!"

"Saint Xiao!"

Xuan Kongzi, Flame Emperor, Flame Heart, Venerable Feng, and others immediately gathered around. Their faces were filled with the joy of surviving a catastrophe and undisguised shock. Especially Flame Heart, who directly threw herself into Xiao Chen's arms, hugging him tightly, her delicate body trembling slightly, sobbing uncontrollably, as if to release all the worry, fear, and longing she had accumulated during these days.

Xiao Chen gently patted Flame Heart's back, his gaze sweeping over everyone. Seeing Xuan Kongzi's unstable aura, Flame Emperor's chest wrapped in bandages imbued with rich life energy, and Venerable Feng and others all bearing injuries, his heart ached. He said in a deep voice, "Teacher, Your Majesty, everyone, you've worked hard! I returned late."

"Not late! Not late at all!" Xuan Kongzi's old eyes welled up with tears as he excitedly grasped Xiao Chen's arm. "If you hadn't returned in time and turned the tide, the Pill Tower... the Anti-Alliance... would probably no longer exist!" He sensed the unfathomable and vast Saint Force within Xiao Chen's body, feeling both relief and emotion. "Three-Revolving Dou Saint... and definitely not an ordinary three-revolving one! Chen'er, what exactly did you experience in the ancestral land?"

Xiao Chen briefly recounted his process of healing in the Chaos Xiao Realm, merging with the ancestor inheritance, and breaking through his realm, omitting some details about the Origin Qi core and the ancestor's will. Even so, it left everyone present in awe and wonder.

"Chaos Ancestral Land... the true origin of the Xiao Clan... no wonder..." Flame Emperor looked at Xiao Chen with a complex expression, a mix of admiration and a hint of imperceptible solemnity. Xiao Chen's growth rate was too fast, incredibly so. While this was fortunate for the Anti-Alliance, it also meant that the enemies he would face would become increasingly terrifying.

"Chen'er, although you are strong now, you must not be careless." Xuan Kongzi's expression became serious. "Although Hun Tiandi's main body has not fully awakened, the destruction of his clone will surely enrage him. After this defeat, the Soul Hall and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion will definitely not let it go. Especially the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, whose movements are secretive and methods are unpredictable; they are the biggest hidden danger."

Xiao Chen nodded, his eyes sharp: "Teacher, rest assured, I understand. I have personally experienced the Pavilion Master Tianji's 'Harvest of Destiny'. This villain has grand ambitions, far more than simply assisting Hun Tiandi. We must take the initiative and not wait for them to set up another scheme."

He paused, then continued, "The most urgent task is to quickly stabilize the Anti-Alliance and integrate our forces. The siege of the Flower Sect and Sound Valley must be lifted immediately. At the same time, we must find a way to contact the Dragon Emperor's main body on Ancient Dragon Island, as well as other reclusive powerhouses on the continent. Hun Tiandi and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion are enemies of the entire continent!"

"Indeed!" Flame Emperor agreed, "After this battle, the prestige of our Anti-Alliance will surely rise significantly. Now is the time to unite all parties and fight against the common enemy!"

Everyone discussed for a while longer, settling on an initial plan. Xiao Chen personally took action, using his pure Chaos Saint Force in conjunction with high-grade elixirs from the Pill Tower's collection to heal and restore the meridians of the gravely wounded, such as Xuan Kongzi and Flame Emperor. The effects were remarkable, and everyone's injuries quickly stabilized.

Subsequently, Xiao Chen ordered Venerable Feng, Ao Zhan, and others to lead elite forces to support the Flower Sect and Sound Valley separately. He, himself, remained in the Pill Tower, on one hand to solidify his newly broken-through realm and digest the ancestor inheritance more deeply; on the other hand, to use his Great Perfection of the Heaven Realm (touching the Saint Realm) soul power to monitor the entire Central Region, guarding against counterattacks from the Soul Hall and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.

However, for several days in a row, the Central Region was unexpectedly calm. The defeated remnants of the Soul Hall seemed to have vanished, and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion became completely silent, without any movement. This abnormal stillness, however, made Xiao Chen, Xuan Kongzi, and the others increasingly uneasy.

"The calm before the storm..." Xiao Chen stood atop the star tower, gazing in the direction of the Soul Burial Mountain Range, his brow slightly furrowed. His soul perceived that the area was shrouded in an extremely powerful mist of destiny, isolating all prying eyes. The Pavilion Master Tianji was undoubtedly brewing an even greater conspiracy.

"I must increase my strength as quickly as possible! Three-Revolving Dou Saint is still not enough!" Xiao Chen felt a sense of urgency. He returned to his quiet room, and with a flip of his palm, the Origin Qi crystal he had obtained from the Primordial Ancient Palace, which was largely depleted, appeared in his hand. Although only a trace of its origin remained, the energy and laws it contained were still of great benefit to him.

"If I can completely refine this trace of Origin Qi, my Chaos Sacred Realm might advance further, and perhaps even... touch the threshold of the Fourth-Turn!" Xiao Chen's eyes flashed with determination as he began a new round of secluded cultivation.

And just as Xiao Chen entered seclusion, far away in the deepest part of the Soul Burial Mountain Range, at the core of the Netherworld Hall, enveloped in endless death Qi.

At the bottom of a ten-thousand-foot blood pool, boiling with viscous black blood, a blurry, massive black shadow, emitting a terrifying aura that caused space to constantly collapse, slowly wriggled. Within the black shadow, two gigantic eyes, like blood-red stars, suddenly opened! The eyes were filled with endless brutality, greed, and... a hint of disturbed anger!

"Xiao... Chen..." An ancient, hoarse voice, as if from the deepest depths of the Nine Netherworlds, echoed at the bottom of the blood pool. "Repeatedly ruining this Emperor's plans... and destroying an important clone of this Emperor... Your bloodline... Your Origin Qi... This Emperor... will have them..."

"Tianji... how much longer will your plan take?" The voice turned towards a certain spot in the void.

In the void, a blurry figure condensed from starlight quietly appeared. It was a projection of the Pavilion Master Tianji's will, its voice ethereal and cold: "The time is nigh... The 'Myriad Souls Adoring the Emperor' Great Array is about to be completed... When Your Majesty Hun Tiandi is fully revived, that will be the moment the net of destiny closes, and Xiao Chen and the Anti-Alliance... will be reduced to ashes..."

"Hmph... It better be... This Emperor's patience... is running out..." The black shadow at the bottom of the blood pool slowly sank into silence, only the soul-freezing Emperor's might growing increasingly dense... A greater storm targeting Xiao Chen and the Anti-Alliance was quietly brewing beneath the dead silence! And how would Xiao Chen, with his increased strength and determination to take the initiative, respond? The true struggle for the Imperial Path had already begun!