11: Soul-Burning Breakthrough, Ascension and Shocking Change

The Foul Blood Demonic Arrow frantically burrowed and corroded Chen Feng's back wound, like ten thousand ants gnawing at his heart. The withered old demon, burning his vital essence blood to cast 'Blood Escape for a Thousand Miles,' was enveloped in monstrous demonic might and defiling blood light, tearing through the night sky. In an instant, he was already closing in on Dragon Severing Ravine! That terrifying pressure was like a tangible giant hand, fiercely gripping Chen Feng's throat, and the coldness of death had already frozen his marrow!

"Hehehehe! Ore Marrow Essence! Profound Yin Cauldron! They're all mine!" The old demon's deranged cackle echoed through the night sky. Demonic claws formed from foul blood covered the heavens and earth, descending with absolute power that could imprison space and defile all things, aiming for Chen Feng, whose light flickered and aura surged behind the pile of rocks, and Su Wanzhao, whose breath was as faint as a wisp of smoke!

No escape! Nowhere to run!

Despair! A true certainty of death!

Chen Feng's eyes were blood-red! The dark-gold ore marrow energy forcibly absorbed by the cosmic destiny plate in his sea of consciousness was like an out-of-control torrent of lava, frantically tempering his body and assaulting the bottleneck of the Qi Refining Third Layer! The excruciating pain intertwined with the tearing sensation of rapidly surging power, driving him almost to madness! And the old demon's world-destroying claw strike pushed him further into an abyss of eternal damnation!

Gamble with his life! Only a gamble with his life!

"cosmic destiny plate! Calculate for me! Calculate a sliver of hope!!!" Chen Feng let out a hysterical roar from the depths of his soul! He no longer cared about any cost, pouring his spiritual power, which had just broken through to the peak of the Qi Refining Second Layer and was not yet stable, along with his will, which was on the verge of collapse from the impact of the ore marrow energy, recklessly into the gray disc in his sea of consciousness!

Buzz—!

The cosmic destiny plate trembled violently! The profound runes on the disc spun, combined, and disintegrated at an unprecedented speed! What was consumed was no longer lifespan or spirit stones, but Chen Feng's own collapsing soul origin! With each rotation, his soul felt as if a layer was forcibly scraped away, bringing a tearing pain as if his true spirit was being ripped apart!

[Warning! Forced deduction exceeds current authority! Irreversible soul origin payment required!]

[Deducing... Heavenly secrets chaotic... Interference immense... Target locked: Old Man Dry Bones (Foundation Establishment Mid-stage, severely injured)... Target locked: Su Wanzhao (Profound Yin Maiden Body, blood-burning backlash)... Environment locked: Dragon Severing Ravine, Earth Vein Node...]

[Found sole path to survival probability node: 0.0007%]

[Associated coordinates: Dragon Severing Ravine core, ancient teleportation array remnants (seven hundred zhang deep, above earth fire lava)!]

[Activation conditions: Using pure Profound Yin origin as a guide, mixed with the violent energy of the earth vein ore marrow, impact the remaining spatial runes at the core of the ancient array!]

[Success rate: ??? (Too much interference, unable to calculate)]

[Cost: Deductor's soul severely damaged, realm falling risk 99.9%; Guide (Su Wanzhao) burns out last Profound Yin origin, certain death!]

[Do you wish to pay remaining soul origin (30%) to obtain the activation sequence for the ancient teleportation array's spatial runes?]

[Yes / No]

0.0007%! Certain death!

The information fed back by the cosmic destiny plate was cold and cruel, like the final judgment! The severe pain in Chen Feng's soul almost made him faint, but the words "certain death" branded his soul like a red-hot iron!

Su Wanzhao would certainly die after burning out her origin! His soul would be severely damaged, and his realm would fall, making him almost a cripple! And the hope of successfully activating that ethereal ancient teleportation array was as slim as dust!

Is it worth it?!

The whistling of the foul blood demonic claw tearing through the air was already overhead! Old Man Dry Bones' distorted, greedy skeletal face was clearly visible in the blood light! The aura of destruction had already touched his hair!

No time to weigh options!

Chen Feng's bloodshot eyes suddenly looked at Su Wanzhao beside him, whose aura was faint and who resembled an ice sculpture. Her closed eyes, pale cheeks, and that heaven-shattering sword strike she unleashed by burning her blood to save him... past scenes flashed through his mind like lightning.

No! I refuse to accept my fate! Even if the cosmic destiny plate calculates all the calamities in the heavens, I will still fight for this 0.0007%!

A will, mixed with boundless ferocity, unwillingness, and determination, erupted like a volcano from the deepest part of Chen Feng's soul! He no longer looked at the cosmic destiny plate's prompt, his crimson eyes fixed on the foul blood demonic claw descending from above. His right hand, stained with his own and his enemy's blood, carrying all the power, all the Poisonous Fiend Spiritual Power, all the violent ore marrow energy, and the meager spiritual power that had just broken through to the peak of the Qi Refining Second Layer, pressed down fiercely on Su Wanzhao's icy cold glabella like a red-hot iron!

"Su Wanzhao! Trust me! Burn your soul! Break the boundary!!!"

This press was not an act of taking, but an ignition! A sacrifice! It was to use everything he had, along with the violent ore marrow energy, as the fiercest kindling to ignite the last bit of ice-blue spark, representing the Profound Yin Maiden Body's origin, that remained in Su Wanzhao's body!

"Ugh ah—!" The unconscious Su Wanzhao let out a bloodcurdling shriek that was not human! Her transparent body trembled violently, and from her glabella, a dazzling, unlookable-at, ice-blue light, as if it could freeze souls, suddenly lit up! It was not fire, but burning ice! It was the Profound Yin origin that could incinerate everything!

The violent power and ore marrow energy Chen Feng poured in were like pouring boiling oil onto ice! Instantly igniting that ice-blue origin! An indescribable, terrifying energy storm, mixed with extreme cold, destruction, spatial tearing, and earth vein pulsations, erupted with a roar, centered on the two of them!

"Madmen! You're courting death!" Old Man Dry Bones was utterly horrified! He felt the terrifying power contained within that energy storm, enough to threaten his life! The foul blood demonic claw accelerated its descent, attempting to crush the two of them along with this out-of-control energy!

Too late!

The destructive energy storm, a mixture of Profound Yin origin, Poisonous Fiend Spiritual Power, violent ore marrow, and all of Chen Feng's spiritual will, did not spread outwards. Instead, guided by Chen Feng's hand pressed on Su Wanzhao's glabella, it found an outlet, transforming into a highly condensed, strangely dark blue-gold three-colored spiral light pillar. It ignored the foul blood demonic claw's blockade and fiercely blasted downwards into the ground—towards the coordinates of the ancient teleportation array remnants, seven hundred zhang deep, as indicated by the cosmic destiny plate!

Rumble rumble rumble—!!!

This time, it was a real mountain collapse and earth-shattering event!

The entire Dragon Severing Ravine shook violently! The earth was fiercely ripped open as if by an invisible giant plow! A bottomless, enormous rift valley, its edges flickering with dark blue-gold three-colored destructive arcs of light, instantly appeared beneath Chen Feng and Su Wanzhao's feet! Deep within the rift valley, instead of lava, dazzling, chaotic silver-white spatial turbulence erupted! Within the turbulence, countless broken remnants of huge stone pillars covered in profound runes were vaguely visible, their residual spatial power brutally activated and ignited by this destructive mixed energy!

A silver-white light gate, only about a zhang in diameter, extremely unstable, its edges wildly twisting and flickering with spatial cracks, was forcibly propped open within the turbulence!

"No—!!!" Old Man Dry Bones let out a roar of desperate unwillingness! His foul blood demonic claw fiercely grabbed at the chaotic light gate!

Sizzle! Boom!

Like a red-hot iron block falling into ice water! The defiling demonic energy and violent spatial power furiously clashed and annihilated each other! The demonic claw was instantly torn apart and pulverized! The light gate vibrated violently, its edge's spatial cracks spreading like a shattered mirror, on the verge of collapsing!

The moment the energy erupted and blasted open the ground, Chen Feng had already been jolted by the backlash, blood spurting from all seven orifices. His soul felt as if it had been pierced by ten thousand steel needles. His realm instantly plummeted from the peak of the Qi Refining Second Layer to the First Layer, and his foundation was completely shattered, his breath faint! But the hand he had pressed on Su Wanzhao's glabella was like it had been welded there, gripping tightly!

"Go!!!"

Using his last shred of remaining consciousness, he embraced Su Wanzhao, who was in his arms, her life force almost severed due to the complete burning of her Profound Yin origin, her body as cold as ten thousand-year-old profound ice, and leaped towards the wildly flickering, about-to-collapse chaotic light gate beneath their feet!

The figures of the two were instantly swallowed by the violent silver-white spatial turbulence!

"My fortune!!!" Old Man Dry Bones' eyes were splitting with rage. He recklessly transformed into a streak of blood light, also wanting to rush into the rapidly closing light gate!

Boom—!!!

Just as he touched the edge of the light gate, the already extremely unstable spatial passage, having endured the impact of the foul blood demonic claw and the chaotic energy Chen Feng last poured in, finally reached its limit! An indescribable spatial annihilation storm erupted from within the light gate!

Old Man Dry Bones screamed. Half of his body, along with his outstretched withered claw, was instantly twisted into the finest particles by the violent spatial storm! His shattered body was violently blasted away like a rag, carrying a sky full of blood rain and spatial fragments, crashing into the collapsing cliff in the distance, his fate unknown!

And the forcibly propped-open chaotic light gate, after erupting with one last silver-white light pillar that pierced the night sky, completely collapsed and dissipated. All that remained was a bottomless, enormous rift valley with terrifying spatial tearing marks on its edges, and the devastated, utterly silent Dragon Severing Ravine.

Cold. Silent. Chaotic.

Chen Feng felt like a withered leaf caught in a raging hurricane, tumbling and being torn apart in an endless silver-white current. Every twist and fold of space brought with it excruciating pain, as if his body were being pulverized. The damage to his soul was like countless blunt knives cutting him repeatedly; his consciousness floated and sank in an abyss of endless suffering, leaving only a faint flicker of stubborn obsession, desperately guarding the last trace of clarity in his spiritual platform.

He did not know how long passed—perhaps an instant, perhaps an eternity.

Boom!

A muffled crash, accompanied by the agonizing pain of his entire skeleton nearly falling apart, violently jolted him awake from the chaos!

A cold, hard, and strangely slick sensation came from beneath him. Chen Feng struggled to open his eyelids, which felt glued shut. His vision was filled with a hazy, soft white mist. With every weak breath, he felt countless icy needles piercing down his windpipe into his lungs, bringing tearing pain and an... indescribable feeling of 'bloating'?

He found himself lying on a milky-white surface, smooth as a mirror, neither metal nor jade. Wisps of white mist, brimming with vigorous life force, flowed across the ground. This mist was so dense that it had even condensed into liquid dew clinging to the cold 'ground'.

"Cough, cough..." Chen Feng struggled to move, but a metallic sweetness mixed with dark gold fragments and ice shards surged up his throat. He lowered his head, his pupils contracting sharply!

The flesh around the wound on his left shoulder, where the foul blood demonic arrow had pierced him, was strangely crystallized, emitting faint spatial fluctuations and residual demonic energy; the pain was bone-deep. The rotting wound on his back was even more terrifying, deep enough to see bone, with black, necrotic edges that gave off a stench. Even worse was his internal state—his meridians were broken inch by inch, like a dried, cracked riverbed. His Dantian Qi Sea was completely empty, the drop of dark silver poison having vanished, leaving only a deathly silent ruin. His realm had plummeted to the Qi Refining First Layer, and his foundation was utterly shattered, his spiritual power sensing so faint it was virtually nonexistent!

Crippled! A terrifyingly clear realization, accompanied by icy despair, seized his heart.

"Su... Su Wanzhao..." He suddenly remembered, and ignoring the tearing pain throughout his body, he twisted his head with difficulty.

Less than three feet away from him, Su Wanzhao lay quietly.

Her blood-stained white robes were now tattered, revealing the skin beneath, which was covered in fine spatial lacerations but possessed a strange ice-jade texture. Her face was completely colorless, transparent like the purest crystal, allowing him to see the faint blue, almost stationary blood vessels beneath her skin. Long eyelashes covered her eyelids, crystallized with tiny ice shards. Her aura... was so weak it was almost imperceptible, more ethereal than a candle in the wind, as if she might dissipate completely in the next second.

Most shocking of all was her glabella.

There, on her previously smooth skin, a crack about an inch long, extremely tiny, yet radiating a faint blue glow, had appeared! Deep within the crack, a minuscule, ice-blue star glow flickered with difficulty, like a dying candle flame. This was the price of burning her Profound Yin source essence to forcibly tear open the spatial channel—her Source Essence Mark was shattered! This was no simple severe injury; it was the collapse of her dao foundation and the scattering of her source essence, beyond the help of even immortals!

Chen Feng’s heart sank to the bottom, icy despair engulfing him like a tide. Paying such a terrible price, his realm plummeted, his foundation destroyed, and Su Wanzhao was on the brink of soul annihilation... Where exactly had they escaped to? Was this 0.0007% chance of survival merely a desolate dead end?

He forced himself to prop up his upper body, enduring the dizziness as he looked around.

As far as the eye could see, everything was a hazy white. The thick, milky-white Spiritual Mist filled every inch of space, preventing visibility beyond thirty feet. Beneath him was the smooth, cold, milky-white 'ground' where the Spiritual Mist flowed, extending deep into the fog. The air was incredibly heavy; every breath felt like inhaling not air, but heavy mercury, pressing down on his already broken meridians with sharp pain. Even more bizarrely, the 'spiritual energy' permeating this space was... pure! Vast! Far exceeding the limits of his understanding! But it was also heavy! Overbearing! And filled with a sense of high-and-mighty 'repulsion'! His shattered Pseudo Spiritual Root and broken meridians, facing this pure yet domineering 'spiritual energy,' were like a tattered sack trying to hold molten steel—not only could he not absorb it, but it brought stronger burning pain and rejection!

"This... What place is this?" Chen Feng was horrified. The spiritual energy environment here was hundreds of times stronger than the Qingyun Sect's Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land! Yet, that heavy 'texture' and intense repulsion made him feel like an ant who had wandered into a land of giants.

Just as he was filled with surprise and uncertainty—

"Buzz..."

An extremely faint hum, yet one that seemed to resonate directly in the depths of his soul, came from his Sea of Consciousness.

It was the cosmic destiny plate!

The gray wheel was dim now, with several fine cracks appearing on its surface, clearly severely damaged during the forced deduction and spatial transit. But at this moment, it was rotating extremely slowly and laboriously, transmitting a faint, intermittent stream of information:

[Scanning environment... Energy Level: ??? (Exceeds cognitive limit)]

[Spatial Law Stability: Extremely high (Strong rule suppression exists)]

[High-dimensional energy detected: Immortal... Immortal Spiritual Qi...]

[Warning! Host's physical strength, soul strength, and energy adaptability... are severely mismatched! Continued exposure to high-concentration Immortal Spiritual Qi will lead to physical disintegration and soul annihilation!]

[Discovered... homologous... weak spatial beacon... Analyzing...]

[Beacon source: Su Wanzhao (Dying state)... Glabella... Broken... Sword Mark...]

[Analysis result: Sword Mark fragment contains... Ancient Immortal Domain... Guang... Han... remnant... coordinates...]

[Warning! Warning! High-energy life form detected approaching rapidly! Energy characteristic: Immortal Essence Power! Carrying strong... malice!]

Immortal Spiritual Qi?! Immortal Essence Power?! Ancient Immortal Domain?! Guanghan?!

Words far exceeding the limits of Chen Feng's knowledge exploded like thunder in his Sea of Consciousness! Even with his resolute will, he was plunged into immense shock and bewilderment!

Ascension?! Had they actually ascended to the Immortal Realm through that chaotic ancient teleportation array?!

But why was this Immortal Realm so deathly silent? This dense fog... this malicious Immortal Essence Power... The final warning from the cosmic destiny plate was like a bucket of ice water poured over him! Chen Feng suddenly raised his head, his crimson eyes fixed on the depths of the dense fog to his left!

Swoosh—!

A dazzling streak of golden light, like a sharp blade tearing through cloth, instantly penetrated the thick milky-white Spiritual Mist, descending above the two of them with an overbearing, cold, and emotionless pressure.

The golden light dissipated, revealing a figure.

It was a middle-aged man wearing a pale gold, cloud-patterned immortal robe. His face was stern, golden light flickering in his eyes when they opened and closed. His entire body radiated a powerful aura that perfectly blended with the heavy Immortal Spiritual Qi yet carried a strong sense of exclusion. He stood upon a golden flying sword, suspended in the air like a deity looking down on ants, his icy gaze sweeping over Chen Feng and Su Wanzhao, who lay like broken rag dolls by the cold 'pool edge'.

When his eyes landed on the crack faintly glowing blue on Su Wanzhao's glabella, an undeniable trace of shock and... greed flashed deep within his pupils!

"Lower realm ascenders? You managed to draw the guiding immortal mist from the edge of the Immortal Transformation Pool?" The Gold-Robed Immortal Envoy's voice was like the clash of metal, devoid of emotion, carrying an air of judgment. "Foundation completely destroyed, source essence scattered... Hmph, trash!"

His gaze, like a cold blade, scraped across Chen Feng's tattered body and his faint Qi Refining First Layer aura, filled with undisguised contempt. But when his attention returned to the shattered Sword Mark on Su Wanzhao's glabella, the greed intensified.

"However..." The Gold-Robed Immortal Envoy curled his lips into a cold arc, as if he had discovered a rare treasure. "This girl's glabella mark... is quite interesting. Although shattered, the residual aura... is absolutely not from the lower realm! Bring her back to the Immortal Cleansing Palace; perhaps it can be stripped and studied..."

Before his voice faded, he flicked his finger!

A golden Immortal Essence Lock, condensed to substance and radiating the will to confine and strip, shot out like a venomous snake, instantly crossing space and wrapping itself around Su Wanzhao, who was unconscious on the ground and powerless to resist! Its target was precisely the faint blue crack on her glabella!