216: Chapter 212 The Mysterious Crystal

That sea of thunder that destroyed everything had long since vanished with Chen Zhiwen's earth-shattering sword strike.

Between heaven and earth, only a deathly silence remained.

Above the shattered firmament, Chen Zhiwen leaned on his sword, gasping violently. Every breath sounded like pulling an old, broken bellows, emitting a heavy and hoarse sound.

His chest heaved violently, and every movement tugged at the three terrifying wounds on his back, deep enough to reveal bone.

The flesh there was already turned outward, and one could even see the stark white bone fragments. Intense pain surged like a tide, wave after wave, assaulting his nerves and attempting to completely drown his consciousness.

The Spiritual Qi sea within his body was nearing exhaustion, with only a few scattered wisps of golden Spiritual Qi remaining, flickering like a candle about to go out in the vast and empty Spiritual Qi sea.

His Physical Body had reached the brink of collapse.

Every inch of his muscle was moaning under the unbearable burden, and every bone seemed covered in fine cracks, as if they would completely disintegrate at any moment.

This was a level of weakness he had never experienced since his Transmigration.

Meanwhile, tens of miles away, the situation for the six remaining Powerful Members of the Remnant Clan was no better.

They struggled to stand from the ruins, ragged and covered in blood, their auras withered to the extreme, like candles in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

The way they looked at Chen Zhiwen was filled with indescribable, complex emotions.

There was the bone-deep hatred of seeing their kin slaughtered, the indelible shock after witnessing that sword strike which transcended understanding, but more than that, it was a fear from the depths of their Souls that threatened to devour their very reason!

They... had lost.

What a heavy, what a humiliating word!

Dozens of Peak Grandmaster powerhouses who had awakened from the ancient era and looked down upon all living beings had even formed a formation to surround and kill a mere youth of the Human Race to ensure success.

Yet, in the end, they were slaughtered by him in a nearly overwhelming, domineering manner, with the vast majority of their kin killed!

What an absurd, what an incredible battle record!

If this kind of monster were allowed to leave alive today...

Just as this thought flashed through the Black-Armored Leader's mind, a bone-chilling cold shot straight from his tailbone to his crown, causing him to tremble uncontrollably.

No!

Absolutely not!

He suddenly raised his head, and within his once-turbid eyes, a crazy and resolute scarlet blood-light ignited once more!

"This boy... must never be allowed to live!"

His voice was hoarse and cold, like a sinister wind blowing from the depths of the nine netherworlds. Every word seemed squeezed from between his teeth, making the other five survivors' hearts tremble.

The Black-Armored Leader stared fixedly at Chen Zhiwen's tottering yet still spear-straight figure, saying word by word:

"We... are all at our wits' end."

He caught his breath and continued: "But he is still alive."

"Look at him! Look at his eyes! There is not a shred of fear in them! Only Battle Intent that burns everything!"

"If we cannot completely eradicate him here today and give him more time to grow... my Remnant Clan will never have a chance to rise again! Our waiting through the ages will all turn into a joke!"

These words were like poison-tipped hammers, striking hard at the hearts of the other five Powerful Members of the Remnant Clan.

Their expressions became grave to the extreme, and they nodded in unison, the fear in their eyes replaced by a shared, fanatical determination.

That's right.

A Prodigy who, at the Grandmaster Realm, could single-handedly slaughter dozens of their peers.

If he were allowed to make another Breakthrough and step into that legendary Realm, how terrifying would that be?

By then, not to mention regaining control of the Desolate Province, their entire clan would likely face total annihilation! They wouldn't even have the chance to survive in misery!

"The leader is right!" said an armless Powerful Member of the Remnant Clan, gritting his teeth, blood and tears streaming from his eyes.

"This boy must die here today!"

"For the future of our clan, for our fallen brothers! Even if it means dying together, we must not let him live!"

"Burn my broken body, forge the might of our clan!"

The last trace of hesitation in the eyes of the remaining six was replaced by absolute madness.

They looked at each other, and then, in unison, took out a strange crystal from their bosoms, about the size of a thumb, pitch-black all over, yet emitting an eerie red glow.

The crystal seemed to have countless wailing Souls inscribed upon it. Just one glance at it made one's mind sway, as if about to fall into an endless Hell.

This was a Taboo object refined by their clan using ancient secret arts, by extracting the essence blood and resentment of countless living beings—the "Grudge Soul Blood Crystal."

This object was their final trump card, and also a poison that quenched thirst with more poison.

Without any hesitation, the six of them opened their mouths simultaneously and swallowed the strange crystal!

"Gulp."

As the crystal entered their stomachs, a visible black-red aura, like a volcanic eruption, instantly burst forth from within their bodies!

"Ugh, ahhh—!" The six of them let out agonizing roars simultaneously. On the surface of their bodies, blue veins bulged, writhing crazily beneath their skin like twisted earthworms.

Their flesh felt as if it were being torn apart by countless vengeful Souls, and their Souls felt as if they were being scorched by the karmic fire of Hell.

But accompanying this extreme pain, their already withered auras suddenly climbed at an incredible speed!

The terrifying, bone-deep sword wounds on their bodies, shrouded in the black-red aura, were actually writhing and healing at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In just a few breaths, the injuries of the six were fully restored!

Their auras also returned to the Peak state of their lives! Even, under the enhancement of that evil power, they were a notch stronger than their previous Peak!

That strange crystal had actually allowed them to fully recover in an instant!

However, their eyes had completely turned into a scarlet color devoid of any emotion, and the aura emitted from their bodies had become even more evil and violent.

Clearly, this was a Taboo method that overdraws the Origin of life and sacrifices all future possibilities in exchange for a momentary Peak.

"This..." Seeing this scene, Chen Zhiwen's pupils, burning with golden flames, suddenly constricted.

He never expected that these Powerful Members of the Remnant Clan would still be hiding such a strange trump card.

Originally, he wanted to rely on this battle, in this unprecedented life-and-death adversity, to seek that sliver of opportunity for a Breakthrough.

He could clearly feel that his paths of Body Refining and Soul Refining were only one last layer of window paper away from the Peak Grandmaster.

As long as he could pierce through it, today's crisis could be easily resolved!

But... why?

He had already pushed himself to the limit and had hovered on the edge of life and death several times. He could feel the craving of his Physical Body and hear the shouting of his Divine Soul, but that profound barrier of the Realm remained as firm as divine iron, impossible to shake.

Was it really so difficult to break through to the Peak Grandmaster in the paths of Body Refining and Soul Refining?

Was there really no way today?

Watching those six figures, who had climbed back to their Peak and were now surging with monstrous killing intent, transforming into six streams of destructive light as they charged to suppress and kill him, Chen Zhiwen's heart slowly sank.

But the Battle Intent in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest; instead, it burned even more fiercely.

Even if he were to die, he would die standing! And he would take these last few to the grave with him!

Chen Zhiwen took a deep breath, forcibly squeezing out the last trace of power within his body, and slowly raised the buzzing dao-slaying sword in his hand.

He prepared to make a final, desperate stand against these six Powerful Members of the Remnant Clan!