198: The bloody curtain shatters, and the journey home finally begins

"Crack—! ! ! ! !"

That sound, like a colossal shattering from the end of the world, tore through the eternal silence of the Chaos Sea! Xiao Chen, burning his innate bloodline and origin qi seed, unleashed his ultimate attack—World Cleaving Emperor Slash—with all his might, forcefully striking the burial emperor blood curtain that spanned the heavens and earth!

Wherever the axe light passed, it wasn't a simple energy explosion, but a more fundamental annihilation of laws! The strange runes wriggling on the dark red light curtain twisted violently as if encountering their nemesis, then... disintegrated inch by inch! Countless wailing resentful souls, under the supreme artistic conception of creation and purification of all things contained within the axe light, let out a final sigh of relief, and... vanished into thin air! The phantom coffin suspended in the center of the light curtain trembled violently, emitting an unwilling hum, but ultimately could not withstand this transcending strike, and... exploded like a shattered mirror!

"Rumble rumble—! ! !"

The entire burial emperor blood curtain, centered on the point where the axe blade struck, erupted with an unprecedented blinding light! Within the light, there was an extreme contradiction of destruction and rebirth! In the next instant, the light curtain... completely... shattered! It transformed into dark red light specks flying all over the sky, like a tragic blood rain, sprinkling into the chaotic currents, and finally... assimilated and annihilated by the Chaos!

The last—and most terrifying—barrier obstructing Xiao Chen's return path... thus... vanished into thin air!

"Pfft—!"

Almost at the same moment the blood curtain shattered, Xiao Chen's thousand-zhang-tall Chaos Dharma Idol, as if all its strength had been drained, swayed violently, then... rapidly shrunk and dimmed! The Chaos Holy Fire burning all over him instantly extinguished, and that terrifying aura... rapidly receded like a tide! Finally, the Dharma Idol completely dissipated, revealing Xiao Chen's true form, pale as paper and tottering!

"Wah—!" Xiao Chen suddenly spat out a large mouthful of vital essence blood containing golden light specks, his body went limp, almost falling from the void! He felt as if he had been completely hollowed out! His meridians were empty, his Qi Sea was depleted, and his soul origin was even covered with cracks, causing waves of tearing pain! The clan mark on his glabella was so dim it was almost invisible, and the origin qi seed had shrunk significantly, its light faint, as if it could extinguish at any moment!

The cost of burning his origin was extremely heavy! At this moment, Xiao Chen was extremely weak; even an ordinary Dou Zun would probably be enough to threaten his life!

"Cough cough..." Xiao Chen struggled to steady himself, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked up at the familiar Central Territory space barrier revealed after the blood curtain shattered, his eyes filled with... relief and hope!

"Finally... I broke through..." He murmured to himself, his voice hoarse and weak, yet with an unspeakable determination. "Teacher... Xin'er... Anti-Alliance... I... am back!"

He knew that his current condition was extremely dangerous. He had to immediately return to the Pill Tower for the deepest level of closed-door healing! Otherwise, his foundation could suffer permanent damage!

"Pavilion Master Tianji... this time you were ruthless... but next time... I will never... let you... succeed!" A cold killing intent flashed in Xiao Chen's eyes. He could feel that at the moment the blood curtain shattered, an extremely subtle but resentful divine sense had fled in panic from a great distance! Clearly, Pavilion Master Tianji's main body was not nearby, but he must have already known about the change here!

"I must... quickly... recover my strength!" Xiao Chen dared not delay, he forced out his last shred of strength, identified the direction, and with a flicker of his figure, transformed into an extremely dim stream of light, swaying unsteadily... flying towards the Pill Tower Holy Domain!

The return journey, finally... reopened! But this time, he was no longer the spirited, rapidly strengthening Fifth Revolution Dou Sheng, but a severely injured body, exhausted and in urgent need of rescue!

His speed was much slower. Along the way, he had to carefully avoid the violent spatial turbulence and chaotic storms, lest he aggravate his injuries. Each spatial jump pulled at his entire body's injuries, bringing excruciating pain.

He didn't know how long it had been, perhaps several days, perhaps even longer. When Xiao Chen finally saw the familiar outline of the Pill Tower Holy Domain, he was almost at his limit, his consciousness even beginning to blur.

"Chen'er?! Chen'er is back! !"

"Quick! Activate the Holy Domain Array! Go meet Saint Xiao!"

"His aura... is so weak! Quick! Prepare the best healing holy medicine!"

From the direction of the Pill Tower, Xuan Kongzi, Flame Heart, and others, who had long sensed the spatial fluctuations, rushed out immediately! When they saw Xiao Chen's pale-as-paper face and tottering figure, everyone's hearts instantly clenched!

"Brother Chen—!" Flame Heart cried out, her voice choked with tears, transforming into a flash of fire, she rushed forward recklessly, tightly embracing Xiao Chen, who was about to fall! Feeling the nearly depleted vitality within Xiao Chen's body, her tears fell like broken strings of pearls.

"It's good you're back... it's good you're back..." Xuan Kongzi said with tear-filled old eyes and a trembling voice, quickly stuffing several pills exuding a rich life aura into Xiao Chen's mouth, while continuously infusing pure Dou Qi into his body.

"Return to the star tower immediately! Activate the Star Gathering Origin Array! At all costs, we must save Chen'er!" Xuan Kongzi ordered hoarsely.

Everyone dared not delay, escorting the unconscious Xiao Chen, they quickly returned to the star tower.

Xiao Chen... finally... returned. Carrying severe injuries and exhaustion, but also... the shocking news of breaking through the burial emperor blood curtain, and... a warning about Pavilion Master Tianji's even more terrifying conspiracy!

And how would the continental situation change because of his return? What would Pavilion Master Tianji's next step be? Everything... was still unknown.

But at least, the spark of hope... had been... rekindled!