197: Desperate situation breaks out, source sacrifice opens the sky

“Chi chi chi——!”

Dozens of dark-red chains, wreathed in dense death qi, clung to Xiao Chen’s Chaos Dharma Form like maggots to bone! The grotesque grimace (ghost faces) formed by the chain tips furiously tore at the Dharma Form’s energy barrier, emitting an ear-splitting corrosive sound! The icy, bone-chilling Buried Emperor death qi surged into Xiao Chen’s body along the chains like a poisonous tide, eroding his meridians, bones, and even… directly assailing his soul’s origin!

“Ugh ah—!” Xiao Chen let out a suppressed cry of pain! He felt as if he had fallen into a ten-thousand-year ice cave, his vitality and soul power rapidly draining away! The Chaos Sacred Realm violently shook under the impact of the death qi, and cracks on its boundary wall grew more numerous! Although the origin qi seed desperately emitted purifying light, facing this terrifying death qi containing a trace of true Buried Emperor law, it also seemed somewhat powerless!

“It’s useless! Xiao Chen! Give up struggling!” The Pavilion Master Tianji’s projection floated before the light screen, dark-red death qi swirling around his starlight body, emitting a smug and cruel laugh. “The power of the burial emperor blood curtain originates from my master’s supreme will! Let alone you, a mere Fifth Revolution Dou Sheng, even a true Dou Emperor descending might not easily escape! Your Origin Qi… is ultimately a rootless duckweed, how can it contend with my master’s accumulation of eons?!”

“Obediently become a sacrifice, and for my master’s return… offer your last value!”

More dark-red chains, like sharks smelling blood, surged out from the light screen, wrapping around him in layers! Xiao Chen’s ten-thousand-zhang Dharma Form was bound like a giant zongzi, its movements completely restricted! The erosion of the death qi grew fiercer, his consciousness began to blur, and multiple illusions appeared before his eyes—the anxious face of his teacher Xuan Kongzi, Flame Heart’s tear-streaked cries, the tragic scene of the Anti-Alliance fighting a bloody battle under the iron hooves of the Soul Hall… “No… I can’t… fall here…” A strong sense of unwillingness and obsession erupted from the depths of Xiao Chen’s soul like a volcano! “Teacher… Xin'er… Anti-Alliance… the common people of the continent… are still waiting for me!”

“I promised… to protect them!”

“I swore… to revitalize the Xiao Clan!”

“I pledged… to eradicate all evil demons!”

“Ah——!!!” Xiao Chen roared to the sky, a sound that shook the Chaos Sea! The chaos light in his eyes was suddenly covered by a resolute blood-red hue! A terrifying power, far exceeding his own cultivation level, began to awaken from the deepest part of his body!

“Burn! My bloodline! Burn! My soul! Burn! origin qi seed!”

“In the name of Xiao Chen! With the myriad battle souls of my Xiao Clan as sacrifice! Chaos… Origin Sacrifice… Heaven-Splitting!”

“Boom——!!!!!”

An indescribably vast fluctuation erupted from Xiao Chen’s center! The xiao clan tribal mark on his forehead burst forth with unprecedented dazzling light! Within the light, countless phantom battle souls of Xiao Clan ancestors seemed to roar and burn! In the depths of his sea of qi, that origin qi seed was no longer gently nourishing, but like a ignited star, furiously releasing destructive energy!

“Crack! Crack! Crack!”

The countless dark-red chains entwining the Dharma Form shattered like fragile ice crystals under the impact of this sudden violent power! The ghost faces let out horrific screams, instantly evaporating into nothingness! The Buried Emperor death qi that had surged into Xiao Chen’s body was also forcefully expelled and purified by this incomparably domineering power!

Xiao Chen’s ten-thousand-zhang Dharma Form not only instantly broke free from its restraints but also expanded further! Three hundred zhang! Five hundred zhang! Eight hundred zhang! Finally… it settled at a height of a thousand zhang! Around the Dharma Form, there was no longer just simple chaos qi, but a Chaos Holy Fire that seemed capable of incinerating all heavens! Within the flames, axe shadows of creation flashed, and visions of stars perishing floated! The pressure it emitted actually… temporarily… suppressed the imperial might emanating from the burial emperor blood curtain!

“What?! This… this is impossible?!” The smugness on the Pavilion Master Tianji’s projection’s face instantly froze, replaced by disbelief, shock, and fury! “You… you actually burned your origin bloodline and Origin Qi?! Are you insane?! Even if you temporarily gain power this way, you’ll surely die afterward!”

“Die?” Xiao Chen’s thousand-zhang Dharma Form, burning with Chaos Holy Fire, emitted a sound like a grand bell, carrying a resolute and mocking air of facing death as if returning home: “If I can drag you and your damn master… to hell with me! I, Xiao Chen… will die a worthy death!”

“Now… it’s your turn!”

Xiao Chen’s giant Dharma Form arm lifted, and in his palm, Chaos Holy Fire and Origin Qi light were compressed to their extreme, forming a giant Heaven-Splitting Axe that seemed to be composed of countless burning stars and shattered worlds! The aura emanating from the giant axe caused the surrounding Chaos Sea to begin… collapsing and returning to ruin!

“Chaos Origin Sacrifice… Heaven-Splitting… Ninth Form…”

“Realm-Shattering… Emperor-Slaying!”

Xiao Chen roared! The thousand-zhang Dharma Form gripped the giant axe that seemed capable of splitting the entire Chaos Sea with both arms, and fiercely… brought it down… upon the massive burial emperor blood curtain before him, and the Pavilion Master Tianji’s projection, whose face had drastically changed, standing before the blood curtain!

“No——!!!” The Pavilion Master Tianji’s projection let out a desperate shriek, frantically urging the power of the blood curtain to condense a Buried Emperor Shield made of countless vengeful souls and imperial bones! At the same time, his body rapidly retreated, attempting to escape into the depths of the light screen!

But… everything was… too late!

The giant axe came down! There was no sound, no light, only an ultimate silence… where all things returned to their origin!

Wherever the axe blade passed, the Buried Emperor Shield… silently… melted away like snow under the sun! The Pavilion Master Tianji’s projection didn’t even have time to scream before it was completely… annihilated… by the axe light containing the intent of Realm-Shattering Emperor-Slaying!

Immediately after… the giant axe… slammed fiercely into… the burial emperor blood curtain… that spanned heaven and earth!

“Crack——!!!!!”

A colossal sound… as if the entire world had shattered… finally… erupted!