53: The third level of the Heavenly Tomb and Xiao Xuan's tomb

After forming an alliance with Lin Xiuyai, Zi Yan, and others, Xiao Chen and his group rested and decided to venture into the more mysterious and dangerous third level of the Heavenly Tomb.

At the entrance to the third level, spatial fluctuations were extremely chaotic, and a massive energy storm, like a barrier, blocked their path; the pressure it emitted made even Dou Zong experts feel a sense of dread.

"The spatial storm here is too strong; an ordinary Dou Huang would probably be torn apart directly," Lin Xiuyai said with a solemn expression.

Xiao Chen closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, his Late Spirit Realm Soul power meticulously analyzing the storm's patterns: "The storm has gaps. There's a brief energy trough every thirty breaths in the northeast direction, lasting about three breaths. That's the only chance."

Everyone waited as instructed, and under Xiao Chen's precise command, they narrowly passed through the storm barrier.

The moment they stepped into the third level, an ancient and profound aura, like that of primordial times, washed over them; the energy concentration here was more than ten times that of the outside world, but it was also filled with violent factors, making it impossible for ordinary people to absorb directly.

The scenery of the third level was even more desolate, with giant skeletons and ruins of shattered palaces visible everywhere, and a faint pressure permeated the air, indicating the terrifying power of the experts who had once fallen here.

After traveling for only half a day, people from the Soul Hall pursued them like shadows.

This time, the leader was a black-robed old man whose aura had reached the Five-Star Dou Zong level, followed by several Dou Huang-level Soul Hall Venerables, a formidable lineup.

"Xiao Chen, where do you think you'll escape this time!" The black-robed old man sneered, forming a seal with his hands, and a Soul barrier covering a thousand zhang instantly unfolded, trapping everyone within it.

Inside the barrier, countless vengeful souls roared, constantly assaulting everyone's souls.

"Oh no, it's the Myriad Souls Devouring Spirit Array!" Zi Yan's expression changed; her Ancient Void Dragon physique had high resistance to Soul attacks, but Lin Xiuyai and others already showed signs of pain.

Xiao Chen's eyes narrowed; he knew he had to act quickly. "Buy me ten breaths of time!" he shouted to Zi Yan and Lin Xiuyai.

Zi Yan let out a long cry, revealing a portion of her Ancient Void Dragon true form, and her immense Dragon Might temporarily forced back the pouncing vengeful souls.

Lin Xiuyai's sword qi surged, firmly blocking the Five-Star Dou Zong's frontal attack.

Xiao Chen sat cross-legged, his Spirit Realm Soul operating at full capacity, the Spirit Nurturing Art pushed to its limit.

He wasn't trying to forcefully break the barrier but rather spread his Soul power like a spiderweb, reverse-analyzing the energy nodes and constituent laws of this barrier! [System, assist in Scan of the barrier structure, find the core weakness!]

[Scanning... Detected that the barrier is composed of 137 Soul nodes, the core control point is located three hundred meters to the southeast, guarded by a One-Star Dou Huang.]

"Found it!" A sharp glint flashed in Xiao Chen's eyes, and an extremely condensed Soul spike shot out silently, bypassing the main battle and precisely piercing into the mind of the Soul Huang guarding the node!

"Ah!" The Soul Huang was caught off guard, clutching his head and screaming miserably, and the barrier instantly showed a trace of disorder.

"Now!" Xiao Chen erupted, forcibly seizing partial control of the barrier that he had just analyzed, and with a flick of his hand, directed most of the vengeful souls within the barrier towards the Soul Hall members! "An eye for an eye!"

The Soul Hall elder hadn't expected Xiao Chen to possess such bizarre Soul attainments; caught off guard, their formation fell into chaos.

Xiao Chen seized the opportunity to launch a fierce assault with Zi Yan and Lin Xiuyai, severely wounding the Five-Star Dou Zong and forcing the Soul Hall members to retreat in disarray.

In this battle, Xiao Chen, relying on his extraordinary Soul power, achieved a reversal of strength, defeating the stronger opponent.

After shaking off the Soul Hall, the calling in Xiao Chen's heart became clearer and clearer.

Following the guidance of his bloodline, he arrived before a massive ruin.

In the center of the ruins stood a seemingly ordinary yet infinitely majestic cyan stone tablet, on which was carved a vigorous and ancient character: "Xiao."

As Xiao Chen approached, the clan mark on his glabella automatically appeared, emitting a faint golden glow.

The stone tablet resonated in response, and a phantom figure slowly condensed.

It was a man in a cyan robe, with a blurred face, yet he exuded an aura of looking down on the world; it was a wisp of Soul Imprint left by the Xiao Clan's ancestor, Xiao Xuan!

"Descendant of the clan... I've finally waited for you..." Xiao Xuan's remnant soul emitted a wave of relief, "Your Soul... is very unique... having already touched the Spirit Realm... Very good..."

The remnant soul informed Xiao Chen that deep within the Heavenly Tomb lay a portion of Dou Di origin and the true inheritance of the Xiao Clan, preserved after his failed attempt to break through to Dou Di, but it required Xiao Chen to reach the Dou Saint level and possess a sufficient Soul realm to unlock it.

For now, this wisp of remnant soul could impart to him the first half of the Xiao Clan's secret Heaven-tier low-grade Soul cultivation method—the Soul Emperor Canon.

The Soul Emperor Canon was profound and extensive, far beyond what the Spirit Nurturing Art could compare to, specializing in cultivating the Soul origin, containing supreme methods for Soul attack, defense, illusions, alchemy, and even a trace of time manipulation.

Xiao Chen regarded it as a priceless treasure, and under the guidance of Xiao Xuan's remnant soul, he entered seclusion before the stone tablet to comprehend it.

After an unknown period (time flowed differently within the Heavenly Tomb), Xiao Chen's Soul fluctuations surged, and the clan mark on his glabella shone brightly, successfully breaking through to the Late Spirit Realm!

His Soul perception range expanded to five hundred meters, his control over energy became meticulous, and he even initially mastered a powerful Soul combat skill from the Soul Emperor Canon—the "Soul Emperor Finger," which, with a single flick, could shake mountains and rivers and extinguish souls.

When Xiao Chen emerged from seclusion, he found that Zi Yan and Lin Xiuyai had also had their own fortuitous encounters nearby, their strength greatly increased.

The time for the Heavenly Tomb to open was nearing its end, and everyone embarked on their return journey.

At this point, his Soul power had undergone a qualitative change, allowing him to contend even with high-level Dou Zong.

After returning to Jia Nan Academy, Xiao Chen's name once again shook the Inner Academy.

His deeds in the Heavenly Tomb spread, earning him the title of the Inner Academy's top Soul cultivation genius in a hundred years.

However, Xiao Chen was not complacent; he knew that the Late Spirit Realm was far from enough.

Ancestor Xiao Xuan's inheritance, the threat of the Soul Hall, and the secrets of his own system all pointed to a broader world—the Central Plains.

He made the cultivation of the Soul Emperor Canon his core focus, while also beginning to use his system abilities to synthesize large quantities of high-grade pills, accumulating energy to prepare for replicating more powerful treasures.

His next goal was clear: to quickly raise his strength to Dou Zong and even Dou Venerate, and then, to travel to the Central Plains to find the true location of Xiao Xuan's tomb and uncover all the mysteries.

A new journey had begun.

Xiao Chen's trip to the Central Plains was bound to be even more magnificent.