208: The core of the ancient pagoda, the heart of the emperor's coffin

The battle in the Blood Fiend Sea quickly subsided after Xiao Chen struck down the Blood Fiend Ancient Demon with one palm and shattered the ancient pagoda with one finger. The surrendering remnants of the Soul Hall were taken into custody by Venerable Feng and his men, while Flower Without Shadow and Miao Yin directed their disciples to treat the wounded and stabilize the defenses.

Xiao Chen did not linger on the battlefield. His figure flickered, and he appeared above the ruins of the destroyed black ancient pagoda. His gaze, like lightning, swept across the messy ground. Although the pagoda body had collapsed, a strange fluctuation, originating from the same source as the ancient pagodas in Ten Thousand Bones City and Nether Abyss, still faintly emanated from deep within the pagoda's foundation.

“Indeed... there's still something,” Xiao Chen murmured to himself, then pointed his fingers like a blade and gently drew a line across the ruins below. Chaos Qi surged, and the hard ground was cut open like tofu, revealing a dark, bottomless Cave entrance. A more intense and purer aura, a mix of death qi and soul power, emanated from it, accompanied by a trace of heart-palpitating... Emperor's might!

“Saint Xiao, be careful!” Flower Without Shadow and Miao Yin rushed over, their expressions changing upon sensing the aura from the hole.

“It's fine,” Xiao Chen waved his hand, and with a movement of his body, he transformed into a streak of light and shot directly into the dark hole.

The inside of the hole was not as narrow as imagined; instead, it was a world of its own. A massive underground grotto appeared before his eyes. In the center of the grotto, there was no altar, but an even more bizarre... blood pool!

The blood pool was not large, only about a zhang in circumference, but the liquid within was not ordinary blood. Instead, it was a viscous, mercury-like, dark red liquid with faint golden glints... Emperor's blood! Above the blood pool, a fist-sized, constantly pulsating... heart floated!

That heart was entirely dark gold, its surface covered with profound and complex natural patterns. Each pulsation caused the space of the entire grotto to tremble! A vast, ocean-like Emperor's might, mixed with extremely pure life essence and death qi, emanated from the heart! The Emperor's blood in the blood pool was being... continuously... swallowed and absorbed by this heart!

Around the heart, nine thick, dark red, blood vessel-like energy channels were connected. These channels pierced through space, extending to unknown destinations. Xiao Chen could feel that the soul power and energy previously extracted from the ancient pagodas in Ten Thousand Bones City and Nether Abyss were being continuously... poured into this heart through these channels, transcending space!

“This is... the core of the burial emperor coffin?!” Xiao Chen's pupils contracted sharply! He could clearly feel that the power contained within this heart was far more terrifying than any component he had encountered before! It seemed to be the power source of the entire burial emperor coffin! Once it was completely formed, the consequences... would be unimaginable!

“I must... destroy it!” A cold light burst from Xiao Chen's eyes. He raised his hand without hesitation, and the Chaos Return to Ruins Finger... was ready to strike!

“Heheheh... Xiao Chen, you... finally found this place.” A cold and familiar voice suddenly echoed in the grotto. In the shadows beside the blood pool, a figure condensed from starlight slowly appeared. It was another projection of the Pavilion Master Tianji! The aura of this projection was more solid than the one before the burial emperor blood curtain, almost reaching seventy percent of his true body's power! The ripples of destiny emanating from his body caused the laws of the entire grotto to become chaotic!

“Pavilion Master Tianji!” Xiao Chen's eyes narrowed, and his vigilance greatly increased. The opponent had left such a powerful projection here, clearly showing his extreme Pay attention to for this heart!

“You only think of destroying the heart of the emperor source now? It's already... too late.” The Pavilion Master Tianji's projection let out a hoarse laugh, pointing his hand at the pulsating heart. “Do you know how much effort I expended to cultivate it? How many strong individuals' soul origins and Emperor's blood were extracted? It... is about to... mature.”

“Once the heart of the emperor source matures, it can... actively devour all Emperor Realm related power in this world! By then, not only Soul Heaven Emperor's remaining Emperor's source, but even that wisp of Origin Qi in your body, and... the inheritances left by those sleeping ancient Dou Emperors... will all become its nourishment! The burial emperor coffin... will... truly... be complete!”

“And you... Xiao Chen... will be... the first... sacrifice... to be devoured by it!” The Pavilion Master Tianji's projection's voice was filled with fanaticism and cruelty!

“Wishful thinking!” Xiao Chen snorted coldly, no longer wasting words. The long-prepared Chaos Return to Ruins Finger... was fiercely unleashed! Its target... pointed directly at the heart of the emperor source!

“Hmph! Stubborn fool!” A cold light flashed in the Pavilion Master Tianji's projection's eyes, and his hands rapidly formed seals! “Destiny... grafting! Karma... transference!”

“Buzz—!”

An invisible barrier of destiny instantly appeared in front of the heart of the emperor source! Xiao Chen's finger force, powerful enough to annihilate a Sixth Revolution Dou Saint, upon contact with the barrier, inexplicably... shifted direction and slammed heavily into the grotto's rock wall!

“Boom—!” The rock wall collapsed, but the heart of the emperor source... was... unharmed!

“It's useless!” The Pavilion Master Tianji's projection sneered, “Here, I can temporarily control a portion of... Emperor Realm level destiny laws with the power of the heart of the emperor source! Your attack... simply... cannot... reach it!”

“Is that so?” Xiao Chen's eyes were cold, and his Chaos Sacred Realm... roared open! “Then I will... annihilate... both you... and this space... together!”

“Chaos Sacred Realm... Ultimate Form... Chaos Return to Void... Domain!”

The light of the five-hundred-zhang Chaos Sacred Realm instantly... illuminated the entire dark grotto! The power of the world... crushed down madly! This time, Xiao Chen was no longer simply defending or attacking, but intending to completely... drag the entire grotto... into his Chaos Domain, to perform... an absolute... crushing... at the law level!

“What?!” The Pavilion Master Tianji's projection's face finally changed! He felt that the surrounding space was being forcibly stripped from the main world, and even his connection with the heart of the emperor source began to become... blurry!

“Come in... for me!” Xiao Chen roared, and the devouring power of the Chaos Sacred Realm... exploded to its limit!

“Crack... crack...”

The spatial barrier of the grotto emitted a cracking sound under the immense pressure! The blood pool, the heart of the emperor source, the Pavilion Master Tianji's projection... everything... began... to be forcibly dragged into... that chaotic world!

“Bastard! Don't even think about it!” The Pavilion Master Tianji's projection went completely mad! He burned the origin of his projection, desperately urging the power of destiny to stabilize the space!

“heart of the emperor source! Help me!” He shrieked, trying to draw upon the power of the heart of the emperor source!

That dark golden heart pulsed even more violently, and waves of Emperor's might spread out like ripples, resisting the devouring of the Chaos Sacred Realm!

For a moment, the two... became locked in a stalemate!

“Let's see... how long you can last!” Xiao Chen's eyes were sharp, and he pushed the power of the origin qi seed to its limit! Within the Chaos Sacred Realm, earth, water, fire, and wind roared wildly, beginning to... evolve... the ultimate scene of... creation!

“Pfft—!” The Pavilion Master Tianji's projection was the first to fail, spitting out a mouthful of blood condensed from starlight, and his figure became increasingly illusory!

“No—!!!” He let out an unwilling roar, “My master... will not... let you go!”

“Take care of yourself first!” Xiao Chen pointed a finger, and a finger wind condensed with Chaos origin, ignoring spatial distance, directly... pointed towards that... heart of the emperor source!

This time, under the absolute control of the Chaos Sacred Realm, the destiny barrier... failed!

“Hiss—!”

The finger wind... precisely... hit the core of the heart of the emperor source!

“Buzz—!!!”

The heart of the emperor source... trembled violently! The dark golden light on its surface instantly... dimmed! A destructive energy... erupted from within!

“No—!!!” The Pavilion Master Tianji's projection let out one last desperate shriek, and along with his figure, he was completely... swallowed by the exploding energy!

“Rumble rumble rumble—!!!!”

The entire underground grotto... along with the Blood Fiend Sea above... violently... collapsed... and was destroyed at this moment!

The core of the fourth ancient pagoda... the heart of the emperor source... destroyed!