79: Blood Axe inheritance, breaking out of the situation

Inside the grotto, the situation was extremely critical! The faint golden protective light shield vibrated violently under the fierce attack of the Soul Hall Elder, an Eight-star Dou Zong, and cracks spread like a spiderweb, on the verge of shattering. Inside the light shield, Xiao Chen endured the injury on his shoulder, with the fragment of the heaven burning furnace suspended above his head. The crimson light curtain flickered erratically, and his Spirit Realm Great Perfection soul power was pushed to its limit, firmly locking onto the powerful enemy outside the light shield. Meanwhile, Han Yue and Lin Xiuyai were fully attacking the energy nodes connected to the Xiao Clan ancestor's remains inside the light shield, attempting to seize the three items in front of the remains before the light shield completely shattered.

"Death throes, how long can you last?" The Soul Hall Elder outside the light shield sneered repeatedly. His withered hand once again gathered a vast amount of dark death qi, transforming into a ferocious ghost head, which slammed fiercely into the light shield! At the same time, the two Five-Star Dou Zong Soul Emissaries behind him also attacked, their soul chains whipping the weak points of the light shield like venomous snakes.

"Crack!"

A heart-palpitating cracking sound echoed, and the cracks on the light shield suddenly expanded, about to completely shatter!

Just at this critical moment, an unexpected change occurred!

In the center of the altar, the pale golden skeleton, sitting cross-legged, seemed to sense the nauseating death qi from the Soul Hall outside and the intense resonance of Xiao Chen's bloodline inside. The originally dim battle axe mark on its brow suddenly erupted with blindingly bright golden light!

"Buzz—!"

A primordial, ancient, and overwhelmingly powerful battle intent, like a giant dragon that had slept for eons suddenly awakening, surged through the entire grotto! The almost shattered pale golden light shield, infused with this battle intent, instantly became incomparably solid, glowing brightly. It not only repaired all the cracks but also expanded outwards with a sudden force, pushing the unprepared Soul Hall Elder and his two Soul Emissaries back in a stumble!

"What?! This relic still has a remnant soul unextinguished?!" The Soul Hall Elder's expression changed dramatically, and for the first time, a look of horror appeared in his eyes. The strength of this battle intent far exceeded his expectations; it was definitely an indomitable will that only a Dou Zun Peak could leave behind!

The golden light did not attack anyone; instead, as if alive, it gathered into a solid golden beam of light, ignoring spatial distance, and instantly shone upon Xiao Chen's forehead, where his clan mark was burning intensely due to bloodline resonance!

"Boom!"

Xiao Chen only felt as if a thunderclap had exploded in his mind! Innumerable complex and vast information streams, mixed with a terrifying will to advance relentlessly and cleave through everything, surged madly into his sea of consciousness!

It wasn't sound, nor text, but a transmission of an artistic conception, an imprint of a battle soul!

He "saw" fragmented images: on the primordial land, a burly figure holding a giant axe battled a terrifying magical beast that blotted out the sky. One axe strike, and mountains and rivers fractured! He fought a bloody battle against eerie powerful enemies shrouded in black robes, and wherever his battle axe pointed, souls scattered! Finally, the figure was gravely wounded, used his last strength to create this tomb, and sat in meditation here, his battle intent undying, guarding his legacy... At the same time, an incomparably pure, pale golden energy, far surpassing Dou Qi, surged into Xiao Chen's limbs and bones along with the golden light! This energy, both domineering and gentle, furiously flushed his meridians, tempered his bones and flesh, and nourished the origin of his soul! The barrier of his Three-Star Dou Zong rank was like paper in front of this energy, instantly broken through, and his cultivation directly soared to the Peak Dou Zong (Fighting Sect) Rank, and was still steadily increasing! More importantly, the Origin Qi seed that had been dormant deep within his Qi Sea, stimulated by this high-level energy of the same origin, became active again, refining the new power he had gained to be even purer with each inhalation and exhalation!

The entire process seemed long, but in reality, it happened in a flash of lightning!

When the golden light slowly receded, Xiao Chen suddenly opened his eyes! A flash of golden light flickered in his eyes, and an incomparably sharp battle intent soared into the sky. His entire demeanor underwent an earth-shattering change, as if he were a drawn battle axe, its edge fully revealed! His cultivation was, surprisingly, stable at the early Four-Star Dou Zong! Although his soul realm had not broken through to the Heavenly Realm, the origin of his soul had grown by a full thirty percent, becoming more condensed, and he had gained an initial understanding of the newly acquired "Heaven Opening Axe Intent"!

"Ancestor... Blood Axe Clan Leader..." Xiao Chen murmured to himself, his heart filled with gratitude and shock. He had received a partial inheritance from this ancestor, not just energy, but also a will to fight and a set of incomplete axe techniques called "Nine Axes of Heaven Opening"! Although he currently only had a vague understanding of the first three axes and no corresponding Dou Technique, their power would definitely far exceed that of an Earth-tier Dou Technique!

"Boy! How dare you steal something from my Soul Hall! You're courting death!" The Soul Hall Elder recovered from his shock, furious beyond measure. He sensed Xiao Chen's aura instantly surging, and the inheritance of the remains had clearly been obtained by him! He could no longer care about anything else, forming hand seals, black mist churning around him, a massive Nether Ghost Claw, entwined with countless resentful souls, tore through space, carrying a destructive aura, and fiercely grabbed at Xiao Chen, who still seemed to be digesting the inheritance! With this strike, he had used his full power, vowing to annihilate Xiao Chen along with the inheritance!

"Xiao Chen, be careful!" Han Yue and Lin Xiuyai, who had just broken through the internal array nodes and obtained the scroll and ring, cried out in alarm, but it was too late to rescue him!

However, facing this terrifying attack, Xiao Chen's eyes showed no fear; instead, a blazing battle intent ignited! He had a sudden inspiration, pointed his fingers like a blade, using his hand as an axe, and infused the trace of "Heaven Opening Axe Intent" he had just comprehended into his soul and Dou Qi. Facing the giant Nether Ghost Claw, he struck out with an "axe"!

There was no dazzling Dou Qi light, only an invisible Heaven Opening Axe Intent that seemed to cut through everything and cleave chaos, emanating from his fingers!

"Hiss—!"

As if a hot knife cutting through butter, the Nether Ghost Claw, which had condensed the full power of an Eight-star Dou Zong, was instantly split in two the moment it made contact with this invisible axe intent, and it disintegrated with a roar! The dissipating aftershock impacted the dim golden protective light shield, which finally completed its last mission, completely shattering and disappearing.

But the Soul Hall Elder's killing move was easily broken by Xiao Chen's seemingly casual "axe"!

"Impossible!!" The Soul Hall Elder's pupils constricted, his face filled with disbelief! How could he, a dignified Eight-star Dou Zong, have his full-power strike so effortlessly broken by a boy who had just broken through to Four-Star Dou Zong?! What kind of power was that?!

Not only him, but even Han Yue and Lin Xiuyai were stunned. They clearly felt that Xiao Chen's attack just now contained a kind of "intent" power that they couldn't understand and was of an extremely high level!

Xiao Chen himself was also deeply shocked. The power of this Heaven Opening Axe Intent far exceeded his imagination! Although the consumption was enormous, with thirty percent of his soul and Dou Qi gone after one strike, its unparalleled sharpness meant that nothing could stand in its way!

"Go!" Xiao Chen instantly reacted; now was not the time for a direct confrontation. He grabbed the dark red broken axe blade from the altar. It felt incredibly heavy in his hand, and a warm sensation of bloodline connection came over him. At the same time, he shouted to Han Yue and Lin Xiuyai.

Han Yue and Lin Xiuyai immediately understood. The three of them retreated rapidly, rushing towards a dark passage in another direction of the grotto—an alternative exit that Xiao Chen had previously sensed with his soul.

"Stop them!" The Soul Hall Elder was exasperated and chased after them furiously with the two Soul Emissaries.

"Soul Emperor Bell! Myriad Souls Devour!" Xiao Chen fought as he retreated, the phantom of the Soul Emperor Bell protecting the three of them, while his Spirit Realm Soul power transformed into countless sharp thorns, interfering with their pursuers. Han Yue's sword light was like the moon, freezing the passage, and Lin Xiuyai's vines grew wildly, setting up obstacles.

The passage was narrow, and although the Soul Hall Elder was powerful, he found it difficult to fully exert his strength for a while. Relying on the inheritance he had just obtained and his surging strength, Xiao Chen fought and retreated, actually managing to barely resist the pursuit.

After an unknown period of fleeing through the dark and winding passage, a glimmer of light finally appeared ahead! The three of them were greatly invigorated and sprinted with all their might!

"Puff!"

The moment they burst out of the passage, dazzling sunlight poured down. The three of them found themselves in another area of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, with a steep cliff behind them, and the entrance to the ancient tomb was extremely hidden.

"Did we shake them off?" Lin Xiuyai asked, panting.

Xiao Chen's soul perception spread out with full force. A moment later, he let out a sigh of relief: "We've temporarily shaken them off, but the Soul Hall will never give up. We must leave here immediately and return to the academy!"

The three dared not linger. After identifying their direction, they flew with all their might towards Jia Nan Academy.

Along the way, Xiao Chen silently digested the immense gains from this trip. His Four-Star Dou Zong cultivation, his strengthened soul origin, his initial comprehension of the "Heaven Opening Axe Intent," as well as the broken axe blade, the black scroll, and the bronze ring in his hand. He vaguely felt that the axe blade seemed to have some connection with the "Nine Axes of Heaven Opening" artistic conception in his sea of consciousness, and the scroll and ring probably held the secrets of the Xiao Clan.

Several days later, the three returned to Jia Nan Academy without incident. After reporting the mission situation (omitting the core details of the Xiao Clan inheritance) to Elder Su Qian, it naturally caused a huge stir. The infiltration and attack by the Soul Hall enraged the academy's high-ranking officials, leading to further heightened vigilance.

Xiao Chen returned to his small courtyard and began a new round of secluded cultivation. He needed to thoroughly consolidate his Four-Star Dou Zong cultivation, deeply comprehend the "Heaven Opening Axe Intent," and study the three relics from his ancestor.

He knew that after this battle, his enmity with the Soul Hall was irreconcilable. And the winds and clouds of the Central Plains Continent, stirred by his butterfly wings, had begun to accelerate. The path ahead would be more difficult, but also much broader. Perhaps it was time to put the plan of traveling to the core regions of the Central Plains on the agenda.