191: The Emperor's Shadow Arrives, Life and Death on the Line

At the core of the Ten Million Souls Prostration to Emperor Formation, above the altar.

The blurry, ten-thousand-foot-tall Emperor Shadow was not Hun Tiandi’s remnant thought, but rather a battle imprint of a true ancient Dou Di, forcibly summoned from the river of history by the Pavilion Master Tianji at the cost of burning the array’s origin!

Although it was only a fragmented projection, the pressure it exuded was several times more terrifying than Hun Tiandi at his peak!

It was the supreme majesty that transcended laws and commanded a world!

The Emperor Shadow’s face was blurry, its exact appearance indiscernible; only its eyes, like two burning stars, gazed down indifferently at Xiao Chen!

Wherever his gaze fell, space instantly solidified, and the flow of time became chaotic!

A destructive Emperor’s might, like a tangible mountain, heavily pressed down on Xiao Chen’s Chaos Sacred Realm!

“Crack! Crack!”

The Chaos Sacred Realm trembled violently, and the realm wall was instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks!

The four fundamental laws of earth, water, fire, and wind within the Sacred Realm were on the verge of collapse under the pressure of this Emperor’s might!

Xiao Chen’s ten-thousand-foot Dharma Idol, as if bearing the entire sky, was slightly hunched, his bones groaning under the unbearable burden!

“Emperor… Emperor’s might?!” Xiao Chen’s pupils contracted to pinpricks!

An unprecedented sense of crisis surged from the depths of his soul!

This was absolutely not the pressure of a Half-Emperor, but genuine Dou Di aura!

Although it was only an imprinted projection, its essence was too high, forming an absolute hierarchical suppression over him!

“Hahahaha! Xiao Chen! Do you see?! This is the true power of the Emperor Realm!” The Pavilion Master Tianji let out a wild and triumphant laugh, his starlight body flickering slightly from over-exertion, but his eyes were filled with fervent greed!

“Before the Emperor Shadow summoned by this seat, you are nothing but a slightly stronger ant! Kneel! Submit! Become a part of this seat’s Emperor body!”

“Submit? Dream on!” Xiao Chen gritted his teeth, an unyielding flame erupting in his eyes!

He frantically activated the origin qi seed deep within his Qi Sea!

Buzz—!

The origin qi seed erupted with unprecedented brilliant light!

A pure and ultimate Chaos Origin Qi, like sweet dew, surged through his entire body, forcefully supporting the Coming soon collapsing Chaos Sacred Realm!

At the same time, deep within his soul, the Heaven Opening will of the Progenitor, Xiao Xingchen, was completely stimulated!

“My Dao is the Chaos Heaven Opening! Even if a true Dou Di personally arrives, he will not make me yield!” Xiao Chen roared to the sky, his ten-thousand-foot Dharma Idol suddenly straightened!

He cupped his hands, and all the energy and laws within the Chaos Sacred Realm frantically converged towards his palms!

A colossal axe phantom, seemingly capable of splitting chaos and reordering the universe, once again materialized!

But this time, upon the giant axe, not only did Chaos Qi flow, but it was also embedded with the brilliant core formed by the origin qi seed!

At the axe’s edge, space constantly annihilated and regenerated, exuding a terrifying aura that even made the Emperor Shadow slightly avert its gaze!

“Chaos Heaven Opening Axe! Ultimate Profound Meaning—Origin Sacrifice… Heaven Opening!”

Xiao Chen poured all his understanding of Origin Qi, his ultimate comprehension of the Heaven Opening artistic conception, and… a portion of his burning soul origin, without reservation… into this one axe stroke!

This was the strongest strike he could currently unleash! He had bet everything!

“Slash—!!!”

The giant axe cleaved down!

There was no earth-shattering commotion, only an extreme silence as if the entire world was about to return to its origin!

Wherever the axe light passed, space was not torn, but all matter, energy, and laws transformed into the most fundamental Chaos Qi!

Even that terrifying Emperor’s might was forcefully… cleaved open by this Heaven Opening will!

“Hmm?” The Emperor Shadow above the altar seemed to let out a faint sound of surprise.

He slowly raised a finger and gently… pointed at the incoming axe light!

“Buzz—!”

The moment the fingertip collided with the axe light!

Time seemed to stand still!

An indescribable storm of laws erupted with a roar, centered on the point of collision!

The entire Ten Million Souls Prostration to Emperor Formation trembled violently!

The altar collapsed!

The sea of blood evaporated!

Innumerable resentful souls were annihilated in wails!

“Pfft—!!!”

Xiao Chen was hit hard, his ten-thousand-foot Dharma Idol instantly disintegrated!

His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, blood gushing like a fountain from his mouth and seven orifices!

A tearing pain came from his soul!

The origin qi seed in his Qi Sea also dimmed considerably!

One strike! Just a casual finger from the Emperor Shadow had almost taken half his life!

The gap… was too great!

“Cough cough…” Xiao Chen heavily crashed onto the shattered altar debris, struggling to get up, but again spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura extremely weak!

He looked up, staring intently at the still unmoving Emperor Shadow, his eyes filled with unwillingness and despair!

“An ant is an ant! In the face of true Emperor Realm power, all struggles are futile!” The Pavilion Master Tianji sneered, controlling the Emperor Shadow to raise his finger again!

This time, the destructive energy condensed at the fingertip was more than ten times stronger than before!

Clearly, he intended to completely… annihilate Xiao Chen!

“Chen’er—!!!”

Far away at the outer perimeter of the array, Xuan Kongzi, Flame Heart, and others, who were leading the Anti-Alliance powerhouses in fierce battle against the Heavenly Secret Pavilion’s outer forces, saw this scene through a special water mirror and all let out heart-wrenching cries of grief!

Flame Heart’s vision even went black, and she almost fainted!

“Is it over…” Xiao Chen looked at the slowly descending finger of death, his consciousness beginning to blur.

Scenes from the past flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

His teacher’s expectations, Flame Heart’s tears, the survival of the Anti-Alliance, the fate of the continent… Finally, it settled on the majestic figure of the Progenitor, Xiao Xingchen, opening the heavens and earth!

“No!!! I… cannot die!!!” An unyielding and protective obsession, stemming from the depths of his bloodline, erupted like a volcano!

Xiao Chen’s eyes suddenly burst forth with a final, Crazy light!

“origin qi seed! Burn! With my soul! Sacrifice my blood! Chaos… Return to the Void! Nirvana… Rebirth!”

He actually… intended to self-detonate his origin qi seed and soul origin for a final desperate gamble!

However, at this critical moment—

“Buzz—!”

In Xiao Chen’s embrace, the xiao clan tribal mark jade pendant, which had been silent all this time, suddenly erupted with unprecedented brilliant light!

A vast, ancient, and tragic battle intent, like a giant dragon that had slept for eons, roared to life!

The jade pendant broke free from his embrace, floated in the air, and transformed into a towering blue-robed phantom!

It was… the last battle imprint of the Xiao Clan’s Progenitor—Xiao Xingchen!

“Later generations… encountering an Emperor… what should one do?” The phantom emitted a low and majestic voice, as if traversing endless time and space!

“Fight!!!” Xiao Chen roared with his last ounce of strength!

“Good!” The Progenitor’s phantom nodded slightly, then turned to look at the approaching Emperor Shadow’s finger, his eyes erupting with a supreme battle intent that disdained all under heaven!

“Even a wisp of a remnant soul, still dares… to wield an axe… against an Emperor!”

The phantom raised his hand, and a giant axe, similar to the Heaven Opening Axe Xiao Chen had condensed, yet more solid and ancient, appeared out of thin air!

Upon the axe’s blade, flowed true… Emperor’s blood!

“Heaven Opening… Third Form—Reverse Slash… Firmament!”

The Progenitor’s phantom cleaved with one axe stroke!

This axe seemed to contain his lifelong Dao and Dharma!

Where the axe light passed, time reversed!

Karma flowed backward!

The approaching Emperor Shadow’s finger actually… slightly… trembled!

“Boom—!!!!!”

The two attacks, imbued with Emperor’s might, once again… fiercely collided!

This collision would decide… the ultimate… life or death!