30: Blessed by the Spirit of War, Heroes Gather

The Dark Altar turned into ruins, and the evil aura gradually dissipated, but the oppressive feeling of the White Bone Wasteland had not completely faded. Lin Fan's gaze coldly swept over the two Black-robed figures captured: one bound by Zi Linger's demonic power and the other whose Divine Soul was restricted by Ethereal Moon's Reincarnation secret technique.

"State your purpose, Shadow Hall's deployment on the Ancient Road, and who the 'Lord of Sacrifice' is." Lin Fan's voice was devoid of emotion, like ice that had persisted for ten thousand years.

The two captives trembled violently, their eyes filled with fear, but under the influence of some Restriction or belief, their lips were tightly sealed, seemingly preferring death to disclosure.

Ethereal Moon took a step forward, her slender finger lightly tapping the center of one man's brow. In her clear eyes, dark rivers seemed to flow. "Look directly into my eyes. Let me see what kind of darkness and fear is hidden deep within your Soul."

Her voice carried a strange demonic power. The captive's eyes instantly became dull and vacant, as if his Divine Soul had been forcefully dragged into an endless Reincarnation Illusion. His body began to twitch uncontrollably, and strange gurgling sounds escaped his throat.

After a moment, Ethereal Moon withdrew her finger. The captive slumped to the ground as if all his bones had been removed, barely breathing. Ethereal Moon's face was slightly pale; clearly, performing this secret technique of searching the Soul was taxing for her.

"How is it?" Lin Fan asked.

Ethereal Moon organized the information she received and said with a solemn tone, "They know very little; they are just low-level executioners. Their mission was to construct the altar, draw in the so-called 'Power of Annihilation,' and pollute the Ancient Road nodes, preparing for 'Lord Shadow Nightmare' to descend upon the Myriad Worlds Battlefield."

"Lord Shadow Nightmare?" Zi Linger frowned.

"That should be the Dark God Son we mentioned in the outline for Volume Two, the one who hunts Prodigies in the Myriad Worlds Battlefield, named Shadow Nightmare," Lin Fan said deeply. This matched the previous setting. "The Lord of Sacrifice probably refers to an Incarnation or alternate name of the entity behind them, the Lord of Annihilation."

"They also mentioned that there is more than one altar like this in the early stages of the Ancient Road. Their purpose is to weaken the Ancient Road Law's repulsion against Dark Forces, and to collect the Prodigies' Qi and blood and Divine Souls as nourishment." Ethereal Moon added.

As the clues connected, the conspiracy of the Dark Forces became clear. They not only sought to hunt Prodigies but also fundamentally pollute this trial path connecting the Six Realms!

"It seems we must speed up and reach the Myriad Worlds Battlefield as soon as possible to converge with the other Prodigies and thwart their plan." Lin Fan made his decision. Destroying one or two altars alone held little meaning; they had to defeat the core conspiracy on the final battlefield.

With a wave of his hand, two concentrated bursts of finger wind ended the lives of the two captives, who had long been corrupted by darkness and were beyond saving. Being merciful to the enemy is cruelty to oneself.

The moment the two Black-robed figures died, another anomaly occurred!

Beneath the ruins of the Dark Altar, which had been destroyed by the Holy Light of purification, the originally suppressed and corrupted massive Death Qi and Battle Intent did not dissipate after losing the restraint of the dark core. Instead, they began to slowly rise and condense! These auras originated from the ancient deities and powerful experts who had fallen here. They were originally the Battle Intent of heroic spirits, forcibly twisted and utilized by the Dark Altar. Now that the darkness had dispersed, the Unyielding Battle Intent and the remaining heroic Souls seemed to have gained liberation and purification.

Streaks of pale yet pure Soul Fire drifted out from the piles of white bones, gathering above the ruins like fireflies, gradually condensing into a massive, slightly blurred phantom image, dozens of meters high, radiating majestic, grand, and Unyielding Battle Intent! That phantom seemed to be the residual will of an Ancient God of War. Its gaze swept over Lin Fan and the other two, carrying a hint of approval and entrustment.

"Successors, thank you for dispelling the darkness and purifying my sleeping place," a grand and ancient thought entered the minds of the three, intermittent but full of power. "Our remains have decayed, but only the war soul is immortal. With this meager strength, we shall help you cleanse the evil spirits and guard the Ancient Road."

As the voice fell, the massive war soul phantom image instantly dispersed, transforming into three extremely condensed streaks of pale light, containing pure Battle Intent and a portion of the Ancient Road Origin aura, which plunged into the brows of Lin Fan, Zi Linger, and Ethereal Moon respectively!

The three of them simultaneously jolted!

Lin Fan felt a scorching and massive power surge into his limbs and bones. It didn't elevate his cultivation, but rather seemed to brand a "war soul Mark" into his Qi and blood and Divine Soul! This mark greatly enhanced his fighting will, making his mind more focused and his will firmer when facing enemies. It could even, to some extent, weaken the mental pressure and illusion effects imposed by enemies! At the same time, his adaptability to the Ancient Road environment improved, and the sluggishness caused by the surrounding chaotic Law aura was significantly reduced.

Zi Linger and Ethereal Moon also showed pleasant surprise, clearly having gained similar benefits. Zi Linger felt her demonic power circulate more smoothly and her Battle Intent was high; Ethereal Moon felt her Reincarnation secret technique was more compatible with the remaining Life and Death Law within the Ancient Road.

This was a blessing from the ancient war soul! It was a gift from this place after they purified the Dark Altar!

["System," Lin Fan suppressed the joy in his heart and seized the opportunity to silently chant, "Sign in at the core of the White Bone Wasteland."]

[Ding! Sign-in location detected—Core of the White Bone Wasteland (Fragment of an ancient battlefield, containing pure war soul Power and Ancient Road Origin). Sign-in conditions met. Sign-in successful!]

[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: war god talisman (One-time use)!]

A bone talisman with an ancient design, engraved with abstract battle patterns, appeared in the System Space. war god talisman: One-time consumable item. When activated, it can greatly enhance the Host's combat instinct, reaction speed, and power burst in a short time, entering a state like "God of War Possession," ignoring most mental interference, and skyrocketing combat power.

"Good!" Lin Fan felt settled. This was another trump card for a critical moment.

Having received the war soul Blessing, the three no longer lingered. Following the direction implicitly conveyed by the blessing, they rapidly advanced toward the end of the White Bone Wasteland, which was the direction leading to the next region—the Myriad Worlds Battlefield.

With the augmentation of the war soul Blessing, their travel speed increased severalfold. Some White Bone Creatures they encountered along the way didn't even dare to approach the invisible Battle Intent Domain around them.

Several days later, a massive, distorted curtain of light, seemingly pieced together from countless shattered spaces, appeared at the edge of the horizon. Beyond the curtain of light, a vaster, more desolate scene, filled with Killing Intent reaching the sky, was faintly visible. That was the endpoint of the first half of the Tongtian Ancient Road, and the core stage for the contest among the Six Realms' Prodigies—the Myriad Worlds Battlefield!

Before the curtain of light, on a relatively flat bone plain, dozens of figures had already gathered!

Their auras were strong or weak, and their races varied. Human Race, Yao Race, Demon Race, Ghost Cultivators, and Buddhist Disciples—all were Prodigies from various races who had survived the early stages of the Ancient Road and successfully arrived here! They maintained a cautious distance from each other, and the atmosphere was solemn and murderous.

The arrival of Lin Fan and the two women immediately attracted many gazes.

"It's them! Lin Fan of the Eastern Region, Zi Linger of the Yao Race, and that mysterious Ethereal Moon!"

"Those three actually teamed up? It seems their strength cannot be underestimated."

"Hmph, they just got lucky. The Myriad Worlds Battlefield is where they'll truly be tested."

In the crowd, Lin Fan saw a few familiar figures.

Mo Yuan, dressed in black robes and possessing an aura as deep as an abyss, was standing alone in a corner, resting with his eyes closed, ignoring the surrounding discussions. But when Lin Fan looked at him, he seemed to sense it, opened his eyes, and looked back. Their gazes met in the air, as if lightning flashed between them.

On the other side, Su Zhiqing, whose white robes surpassed snow, stood holding her sword. Her cold gaze swept over Lin Fan and the two women, and she nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

Besides them, there were several other existences whose auras were equally powerful, no weaker than Mo Yuan or Su Zhiqing, such as a young monk enveloped in golden Buddhist Light, an Elf Race Woman with transparent butterfly wings on her back and exceptionally beautiful features, and a Giant Clan Warrior over three meters tall, whose muscles were knotted like a Demon God.

The top Prodigies of the Six Realms were almost all gathered here!

Lin Fan could feel the ancient path token in his embrace heating up slightly again, resonating strongly with the vast Myriad Worlds Battlefield beyond the curtain of light. Only those holding the token could pass through this curtain of light and step into the final place of contention!

He took a deep breath and exchanged glances with Zi Linger and Ethereal Moon.

The center of the storm was right before their eyes. The dark conspiracy and the favored children of all heavens would clash on that ancient battlefield, producing the most magnificent yet cruel sparks.

He felt no fear; only boiling Battle Intent was in his eyes.

Myriad Worlds Battlefield, Lin Fan has arrived!