10: Chapter 10 Blood Axe Xiao Chen? Prematurely Annihilated

On the floating stone platform, everyone was rushing to heal their injuries.

The disciples of the Medicine Clan leaned haphazardly against the stone walls, while Yao Wangui, with a livid expression, distributed medicinal pills to the wounded, muttering curses under his breath.

The Yan Clan and Lei Clan each occupied a corner of the stone platform; the once arrogant elders had lost their temper, sitting cross-legged to regulate their breathing, their Dou Qi fluctuations significantly weakened.

Over at the Sky Mansion Alliance, several of Zi Yan's dragon scales had been blasted away, and she was lying on the stone platform letting Yao Chen apply medicine.

Every time he applied the ointment, she would hiss and gasp, muttering, "When we get out of here, I'm definitely going to roast that Purification Lotus Demon Flame and eat it."

Xiao Yan stood at the edge of the stone platform with his back to the crowd, his xuan heavy ruler planted diagonally in the ground beside him, his gaze heavy as he stared at the surging magma sea in the distance, lost in thought.

Hun Feng sat on the other side of the stone platform, also closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

The Sea Heart Flame circulated slowly through his meridians, healing the minor injuries caused by the previous self-detonation of the Fire Slaves little by little.

Yao Yao leaned against the stone wall beside him with her bone whip resting on her knees.

Her peach-blossom eyes were half-closed as if she were dozing, but her fingers remained hooked over the first vertebra of the bone whip—a posture that allowed her to strike at any moment.

In a corner difficult for others to see, Hun Qinger sat silently on a protruding black rock.

A veil obscured her expression, and her ice-blue eyes swept calmly over this seemingly peaceful magma sea.

In truth, the entire magma sea was not peaceful.

As a Seven-Star Dou Sheng, Hun Qinger's perception far exceeded everyone else present; she could clearly detect the auras quietly moving deep within the magma.

They did not surface, nor did they launch an attack, but instead regrouped in the depths in an extremely orderly fashion.

It was like a well-trained army reassembling in the dark, waiting for the next command.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, thinking to herself that this Purification Lotus Demon Flame was indeed not a beast that only knew how to use brute force.

It was waiting—waiting for this group of intruders to exhaust their physical strength, Dou Qi, and medicinal pills to a critical point in the previous war of attrition, before unleashing its true lethal move.

"Young Master," Yao Yao suddenly opened her eyes, her peach-blossom eyes devoid of any sleepiness, "Don't you feel like something is not quite right? This magma is too quiet."

It wasn't the kind of aftershock that should remain after a Fire Slave's self-detonation, but a silence as if something was suppressing it.

"Because it's not over yet."

Hun Feng did not open his eyes, his tone as flat as if he were discussing a trivial matter, "The ten Fire Slaves were just the first wave; the real big one is still to come."

Before his voice had even faded, the depths of the magma sea suddenly exploded.

It wasn't the dull sound of bubbles bursting as before, but an earth-shattering roar that caused the entire magma sea to tremble violently at that instant.

A massive pillar of magma shot into the sky, hundreds of zhang high, illuminating the dim space as if it were daylight.

At the top of the magma column, a figure as burly as an iron tower slowly descended.

It was a giant nearly a zhang tall, his hair and beard as white as snow, disheveled and draped over his shoulders.

His skin was bronze-colored, and his muscles were knotted like the roots of an old tree.

He was bare-chested, and on his chest was carved a Xiao Clan tattoo that had largely faded—a unique mark of the powerful figures of the Xiao Clan from a thousand years ago.

There were no pupils in his eyes, only two clusters of milky-white Purification Lotus Demon Flame burning, each blink bringing up a wave of scorching heat.

What truly made everyone's pupils contract was the giant axe in his hands—the axe body was entirely blood-red, and dark bloodstains that had solidified for who knows how many years remained on the blade.

The mere murderous aura faintly leaking from the blade pierced directly through their Dou Qi protective shields, causing several young disciples with slightly weaker cultivation to go weak in the knees on the spot, retreating several steps before barely managing to stand firm.

Blood Axe Xiao Chen.

The terrifying pressure of a late-stage Four-Star Dou Sheng crushed across the entire floating stone platform like a physical object, making everyone feel as if an extra mountain had appeared out of thin air on their bodies.

"Xiao Clan... Blood Axe Xiao Chen?"

Yao Wangui's voice changed, carrying unbelievable horror, "The Xiao Clan ancestor who disappeared a thousand years ago is actually still alive—no, he has also been controlled by the Purification Lotus Demon Flame!"

Xiao Yan stood up abruptly, his pupils shrinking fiercely.

Others might not recognize this ancestor from a thousand years ago, but the Xiao Clan bloodline flowing in his body boiled suddenly as if branded by a hot iron at this moment.

This was his predecessor from the Xiao Clan, the ancestor who had disappeared while trying to tame an exotic fire, and also the only Xiao Clan Dou Sheng in thousands of years to survive a hundred moves against the Purification Lotus Demon Flame.

This bloodline resonance made him instinctively take a step forward, but he immediately suppressed his urge—there were eyes from all the major factions here, he could not act rashly.

"Hun Feng was right, there really was a big one. Ancestor Xiao Chen disappeared while trying to tame an exotic fire back then, I never expected him to be trapped in the Demon Flame Space and turned into a Fire Slave for a thousand years."

Xiao Yan quickly composed his emotions and turned to the Gu Clan side, "Elder Gu, Ancestor Xiao Chen is a predecessor of my Xiao Clan, we—"

"You want to save him?" Gu Nanhai frowned, "Xiao Yan, he is no longer the ancestor of your Xiao Clan now; he is a Fire Slave of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame, a late-stage Four-Star Dou Sheng, even more troublesome than the previous ten combined. If even the ancestor Xiao Chen, who was a Five-Star Dou Sheng back then, could be controlled by the Purification Lotus Demon Flame, how long do you think we can hold out? While he hasn't completely locked onto us yet—"

"Then we must save him even more."

Xiao Yan interrupted him, his voice filled with unquestionable certainty, "I can wake him up. The Xiao Clan tattoo can awaken the part of his consciousness suppressed by the Purification Lotus Demon Flame within his clan bloodline, as long as there is still a trace left in his body—"

"You want everyone here to take a risk?"

Yao Wangui sneered, waving his hand to make the Medicine Clan disciples retreat dozens of steps, "Forgive me for not accompanying you, this is already far beyond the enemy level we estimated."

Boom!

Xiao Chen's blood-colored giant axe had already swung down.

One axe, without any fancy Dou Technique, without any unnecessary movements, simply by pouring Dou Qi into the giant axe, and then swinging it down.

But the moment the axe blade fell, a fissure a thousand zhang long was split directly into the magma sea, the magma on both sides of the fissure hanging down like a waterfall, and the blood-red axe light continued on, slashing fiercely into the void in front of the floating stone platform, tearing a black crack in space itself.

The entire floating stone platform shook violently, and over a dozen cultivators at the edge of the stone platform were blasted away by the shockwave raised by the axe light, falling into the magma sea with screams, and were instantly swallowed up without a trace.

Those lucky enough to remain on the stone platform were pale, retreating one after another.

Gu Nanhai, Yao Wangui, and several other Four-Star Dou Sheng struggled to stand at the very front, although they were not forced back by this axe, their faces were already as white as a sheet—just from this one axe, they could conclude that Xiao Chen's strength was definitely not something they could withstand.

"How are we supposed to fight this?" The Yan Clan elder said hoarsely, "He is more than one grade stronger than the previous Fire Slaves!"

Just as everyone was hesitating, Hun Feng moved.

He did not consult anyone, nor did he even exchange glances with Soul Mie Sheng, but shot out like a black lightning bolt.

The Sea Heart Flame erupted in his palm, the deep blue flame turning into a flame blade several zhang long, slashing fiercely at Xiao Chen's neck.

At the same instant, Yao Yao's figure disappeared from the other side of the stone platform, and when she reappeared, she was already behind Xiao Chen, the seventy-two skulls on the bone whip lighting up simultaneously, a soul-piercing shriek stabbing toward the back of Xiao Chen's head like an awl.

Soul Mie Sheng gave a cold snort, seemingly dissatisfied with Hun Feng's unauthorized action, but his strength as a peak Five-Star Dou Sheng erupted without reservation at this moment.

He slapped out with his palm, and a jet-black Dou Qi wave smashed toward Xiao Chen's chest like a meteorite, evaporating even the magma into nothingness wherever it passed.

The Deputy Hall Master of the Hall of Souls flanked from the side, his peak Two-Star Dou Sheng Dou Qi turning into black chains that entangled Xiao Chen's feet.

"The Young Master has attacked! Brothers, charge!"

One of the ten low-level Dou Sheng of the Hun Clan shouted, and then they all flew up in pursuit, and for a time, there were black shadows rising into the air everywhere.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan became even more anxious, and just as he wanted to rush up, he was pressed down firmly by Yao Chen.

"Xiao Yan, don't be impulsive! Let's see the Hun Clan's fighting style first—"

But it was already too late. Although Xiao Chen's consciousness had been controlled by the Purification Lotus Demon Flame, he had not lost a single bit of his thousand-year combat instinct. He swept his axe with his right hand, splitting Hun Feng's Sea Heart Flame blade aura in two with a single strike, while simultaneously reaching out with his left hand, his five fingers hooked like claws, directly grabbing Yao Yao's bone whip.

His blood-attribute Dou Qi collided with the soul-piercing shrieks from the bone whip, emitting a harsh, metallic screeching sound. Yao Yao's expression changed abruptly. She tried to retract her whip but found it firmly clamped, and the terrifying disparity in strength meant she didn't even have time to change her move.

Xiao Chen violently flung his left hand, smashing Yao Yao, along with her whip, toward Soul Mie Sheng's palm force. Their Dou Techniques collided in mid-air and exploded with a roar. Yao Yao let out a muffled groan, flipping several times in the air to dissipate the force. When she landed, the silver bells on her ankles rang more urgently than ever before.

But this delay was enough. Soul Mie Sheng's Dou Qi wave was blocked by Yao Yao's body for less than half a breath, but in that half-breath, Xiao Chen's giant axe had already swung back, its blood-colored axe aura cutting across and forcing Soul Mie Sheng back ten steps. The Deputy Hall Master of the Hall of Souls' black chains had not yet coiled around Xiao Chen's feet before being shattered into pieces by a flick of his toe.

"This guy is at least three times stronger than a Fire Slave of the same rank. Everyone, break formation and don't take him head-on!"

Hun Feng flipped backwards in the air to dissipate the force, spat out a mouthful of blood-stained saliva, and secretly condensed the Sea Heart Flame into a line, burning along the axe handle toward Xiao Chen's forearm. Xiao Chen felt the pain and withdrew his axe to change his move, allowing Soul Mie Sheng to seize the opening and push him back half a step with a palm strike, but he immediately swung the axe back, his momentum rising rather than falling. He had to admit that the Four-Star Dou Sheng Xiao Chen was truly a monster. Although his own peak Three-Star Dou Sheng strength could hold him off for a short time, trying to kill him through brute force was simply a fantasy.

"Soul Mie Sheng!" Hun Feng shouted in mid-air. There was no need for more words; Soul Mie Sheng already understood his intention.

Black and blood-colored Dou Qi circulated to the extreme within Hun Feng's body. The two types of attribute Dou Qi fused rapidly between his palms, emitting an aura even more violent than a full-power strike of the Sea Heart Flame. Soul Mie Sheng's peak Five-Star Dou Sheng soul power poured out like a tide, laying down a soul cage around Xiao Chen and trapping him within—although it could only trap him for a mere breath, it was enough. Yao Yao streaked in from the side. The seventy-two skulls on her bone whip all fell off, transforming into seventy-two soul spikes that sealed off Xiao Chen's movement path from every angle. The Deputy Hall Master of the Hall of Souls poured all his Dou Qi into his palms, blasting a black beam of Dou Qi from the front—this was the strongest strike of his entire life's cultivation.

As Hun Feng pressed the ball of black and red intertwined energy in his hand toward Xiao Chen's back, he dropped a sentence in a deep voice. The tone was not heavy, but he did not hesitate on a single word: "You have been trapped in the Purification Lotus Demon Flame for thousands of years; I will help you find release."

Boom! Four forces struck Xiao Chen simultaneously. The deep blue firelight of the Sea Heart Flame mixed with Hun Feng's dual-attribute Dou Qi, Soul Mie Sheng's soul cage detonated from within, Yao Yao's bone spikes pierced through Xiao Chen's protective Demon Flame, and the Deputy Hall Master of the Hall of Souls' black light beam pierced through Xiao Chen's chest.

Xiao Chen let out a heaven-shaking roar, raising his blood-colored giant axe one last time—but before the axe could fall, the Xiao Clan clan tattoo on his chest, which had been dim for a thousand years, suddenly lit up at this moment. The golden lines spread rapidly like a burning fire, from his chest to his shoulders and then to his arms. Wherever it passed, the milky-white Demon Flame quickly receded, revealing his original skin color. His eyes, which had been covered by the milky-white flames for a thousand years, suddenly cleared for an instant. His gaze passed over everyone present and landed on the black-clothed youth holding the xuan heavy ruler on the distant stone platform. There was no pain or resentment in that gaze, but rather a sense of relief, gratification, and deep regret.

His lips moved a few times, as if he were saying something, but the sound was too soft for anyone to hear clearly. Only Xiao Yan understood the lip movement—he had said "Xiao Clan". That was the clan tattoo personally carved by Clan Leader Xiao Xuan a thousand years ago, and now his descendant had finally arrived. Then Xiao Chen closed his eyes, his lips even moving slightly, as if he were smiling.

Then his body began to disintegrate from the clan tattoo on his chest. Golden cracks spread rapidly over his entire body like a spiderweb, taking the remaining Demon Flame with them. His massive body turned into golden light dust filling the sky, drifting over the magma sea area. The blood-colored giant axe slipped from his loosened fingers, tumbled a few times in the air, and fell blade-first into the magma sea, kicking up a pillar of magma that shot into the sky before slowly sinking into the depths of the sea. A thousand-year Fire Slave, an ancestor of the Xiao Clan, had fallen in the Demon Flame Space today.

On the floating stone platform, there was dead silence.

Xiao Yan stood at the edge of the stone platform, staring wide-eyed at the golden light dust that was gradually dissipating. His lips moved for a long time, but he could not say a single word. Yao Chen's hand was still pressed on his shoulder, and he could feel his disciple's body trembling slightly—not because of fear, but because of anger. He had witnessed his own ancestor being besieged and killed by the Hun Clan, turning into flying ashes the moment he recognized him. And the person who gave the order was standing on the stone surface not far away, looking down and tidying his scorched cuffs, his expression as calm as if he had just casually crushed a fly.

"Hun Feng!" Xiao Yan's voice had never been this cold, not even when Yao Yao interrupted his Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus in the Corpse Burial Mountain Range. His knuckles gripping the xuan heavy ruler were white without a trace of blood. "He is my Xiao Clan ancestor, he was almost about to break free from the control of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame, and you clearly saw it—that last look of his, he recognized me, and you saw it too, didn't you? Why didn't you stop?"

Hun Feng turned around and looked at Xiao Yan calmly, his tone devoid of any guilt: "It is precisely because I saw it that I had to kill him all the more. He did indeed regain his consciousness in that last moment, but regaining consciousness does not equal regaining strength, and it certainly does not equal regaining freedom. The remnant soul imprint of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame within him had already triggered its final self-destruction the moment he regained consciousness—I had already sensed it before I made my move. Even if I didn't kill him, he would have voluntarily detonated himself, making all of us be buried with him. You want to ask why I didn't stop?"

He brushed off the scorched cuff and his gaze did not dodge in the slightest. "Because for me to stop would have been equivalent to letting everyone present die together."

He had actually only told half the truth. Xiao Chen had indeed triggered the self-destruction imprint in his final moment, but for the first half of the silencing, he had suppressed his cultivation, and for the second half, he had let Soul Mie Sheng act even more decisively than him, all to cut off this possibility before Xiao Chen could be awakened. Otherwise, if Xiao Yan really used the clan tattoo to awaken Xiao Chen, the Hun Clan would have ended up with a genuine Five-Star Dou Sheng enemy. In the Demon Flame Space, with one more Five-Star enemy, the Hun Clan would have to take at least ten percent less of the opportunities. He had calculated this account very clearly.

Xiao Yan stared at him fixedly, the fury in his eyes almost solidifying. But he did not act—reason told him that what Hun Feng said was not entirely false; those few golden lights that pierced through Xiao Chen's chest in the end had indeed surged toward the entire stone platform, and that kind of destructive fluctuation would make even a Five-Star Dou Sheng frown. Yao Chen's hand pressing on his shoulder increased in force, and he slowly shook his head at him.

Gu Nanhai had also recovered from his brief stiffness at this time, turning his head to look in the direction of Hun Qinger—that woman had not made a move from start to finish, yet not even Xiao Chen's axe aura had deviated an inch toward her. This "Four-Star Dou Sheng" stood too steadily, so steadily that she was even more composed than he, an elder of the Gu Clan. He secretly decided that after going out, he must immediately inform his clan.

Hun Feng did not look at Xiao Yan again, turning and walking toward the depths of the stone platform. Yao Yao put away her bone whip and followed behind him. There was not a hint of her usual playfulness in her peach-blossom eyes, only a quiet sigh of relief after confirming that the Young Master had not been seriously injured.

The Sea Heart Flame danced on his fingertips one last time before obediently retracting into his body. He lowered his head and glanced at his scorched cuff, his lips curling slightly, his voice so low that only those beside him could hear. "The biggest variable has been removed. What comes next is the main course."