14: The dark river devours blood, and the snake sheds its skin to survive

Cold, viscous, deathly still.

The rushing sound of the dark river echoed outside the rock crevice, but it couldn't dispel the aura of death that permeated Lin Chen’s body. Each faint breath tugged at his fractured chest, bringing tearing pain and a heavy, rusty taste. Soul Erosion Guidance churned in his Sea of Consciousness like a thousand ice needles—Yingu Old Man’s venomous whispers, the insane hallucinations of the poisonous miasma, Medusa Queen’s cold, condescending purple eyes… countless negative fragments surged wildly in his collapsing consciousness.

He was like a wreck abandoned at the edge of the Underworld River, clinging instinctively to the dark shadow source core fragment on his chest, drawing a faint yet continuous cool energy from it, barely sustaining the last sliver of life in his heart. In his Dantian, five thin drops of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi, their edges tinged with dark purple, spun with difficulty like a flickering candle in the wind, absorbing the sparse yin-cold earth Qi and water-attributed energy from the rock crevice, and also greedily decomposing the residual potent poison, purple petrification energy, and… the life essence escaping from his own damaged flesh and blood.

Devouring himself, barely clinging to life!

This was the instinct of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi in desperation—overbearing and cruel. He could feel his body being slowly consumed by this sinister Cultivation Technique, like fuel thrown into a furnace. But if not for this, he would have long ago turned into withered bones under the multiple injuries and Soul erosion.

“Can’t… die…” His remaining will struggled in the Soul storm, like a drowning man grasping at a last straw. Lin Chen arduously turned his blurred gaze, scanning his dark, damp sanctuary—jagged black rock walls, slippery dark green moss, and…

Hiss—

An extremely faint sound, like tearing cloth, came from the edge of the rushing dark river not far away.

Lin Chen’s dying senses were sharply triggered by this tiny sound! He gathered his last bit of Soul Power, extending it with difficulty like a snail reaching out its feelers.

Behind a large black reef being scoured by the dark river, a half-rotten, dark purple object, soaked by the river water and emitting a faint, sweet, and strangely fragrant scent, gently undulated with the waves. The tearing sound was precisely from the edge of this object being pulled apart by the current.

Snake Shedding!

Moreover, it wasn't the shed skin of an ordinary snake! The residual scale patterns carried an indescribable nobility and profundity; even soaked in the river water, it still faintly shimmered with a very light purple glow, exuding a Bloodline pressure! More importantly, at the fractured tail of the snake Shedding, a small piece of dark purple, congealed blood scab was attached! The energy contained within that blood scab was pure, overbearing, and carried a… seductive power that even made the Shadow Erosion Dou Qi in Lin Chen’s Dantian stir!

Yingu Old Man’s memory fragments instantly churned—Medusa Queen’s evolutionary residue! The snake Shedding contained a part of her essence Origin!

This discovery was like a ghost fire suddenly lighting up in a dark abyss! Hope and a tremendous sense of danger simultaneously seized Lin Chen’s heart!

Medusa Queen’s essence blood! Even if it was just a trace, the energy and Bloodline Power it contained were enough to drive a Dou Wang expert mad! For the dying Lin Chen, this was undoubtedly a ray of hope in desperation, and an enormous stroke of Heaven-Defying fortune! But equally, this was also an extremely poisonous, gut-wrenching poison! In his current state of exhaustion and shattered Meridians, rashly devouring this essence blood, which contained the Bloodline Power of a Peak Dou Huang, the greatest possibility was not recovery, but instant self-detonation and death, or having his Soul completely obliterated by the residual Queen’s will within it!

Greed and rationality waged a fierce tug-of-war on the brink of death.

The moment Shadow Erosion Dou Qi sensed the aura of that essence blood, it was as if it had been injected with a stimulant; the five dim Dou Qi liquid drops in his Dantian suddenly accelerated their rotation, erupting with unprecedented greedy craving! It was an extreme yearning for high-level energy and life Origin, stemming from the Cultivation Technique’s instinct!

“Fight… or not to fight?” On Lin Chen’s face, covered in blood scabs and purple-gray patches, his muscles twisted from intense pain and struggle. He looked at his almost crippled body, feeling the cold despair of his Soul being continuously eroded.

If he didn't fight, he would surely die, turning into withered bones in this dark rock crevice.

If he fought, it would be a near-death experience, but if he succeeded… it would be a complete transformation, a Heaven-Defying change of fate!

“Shadow Erosion… devours all things… even Medusa’s poisonous swamp could be devoured… a mere trace of essence blood…” A thought, mad to the extreme, completely gained the upper hand! The last trace of hesitation in his eyes was utterly replaced by burning dark-red blood light and eerie purple glow!

“Give me… bring it here!” Lin Chen let out a beast-like growl, using all his remaining strength to fiercely plunge his only barely movable right hand into the slippery rock crevice beneath him! His fingernails instantly shattered, bleeding profusely, but he was oblivious! He wasn't trying to grab the snake Shedding, but rather using the blood from his fingertips and his remaining Shadow Erosion Dou Qi to carve on the rock beneath him!

An extremely crude, yet imbued with the unique devouring will of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi, traction rune!

“Buzz!”

The moment the rune was completed, a faint black light flashed and disappeared. An invisible devouring suction, like a lame hungry wolf, arduously extended towards the snake Shedding by the dark river!

“Hiss…”

That small piece of snake Shedding, adhering to the dark purple blood scab, slowly detached from the reef under the pulling force. It drifted with the current, gradually being pulled towards the rock crevice where Lin Chen was located!

This process was slow and arduous; each pull consumed Lin Chen’s already limited Soul Power and Dou Qi. Blood oozed from his mouth and nose, his body convulsed violently from the intense pain, and his consciousness repeatedly flickered between lucidity and unconsciousness. Soul Erosion Guidance seized the opportunity to counterattack wildly, the tearing pain in his Soul almost making him collapse.

Finally!

“Plop!”

That small piece of snake Shedding, still adhering to the dark purple blood scab, was washed by the current to the edge of the rock crevice, landing within Lin Chen’s reach!

An intensely suffocating, pure energy and Bloodline pressure rushed over him! The dark purple blood scab subtly squirmed as if alive, emitting a fatal allure and terror.

No hesitation! Only mad determination remained in Lin Chen’s eyes! He stretched out his trembling right hand, covered in wounds and poison patterns, and grabbed the piece of snake Shedding! Shadow Erosion Dou Qi burst forth from his palm without restraint, instantly enveloping the snake Shedding along with the dark purple blood scab!

“De—vour—!!!”

In his Dantian, the five drops of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi, like sharks smelling blood, erupted with unprecedented brilliance! The black vortex spun with an unparalleled frenzy! A terrifying devouring force, following his Meridians (though most were broken), like countless greedy venomous snakes, fiercely bit into the target in his palm!

Boom—!!!

It was like directly thrusting a red-hot branding iron into a pot of oil! An indescribable, utterly violent torrent of energy, mixed with incomparably pure life Origin and the terrifying Bloodline Power from Medusa Queen, instantly surged into Lin Chen’s right arm!

“Ugh ah ah ah—!!!”

A shrill, inhuman shriek erupted from Lin Chen’s throat! His right arm instantly swelled and twisted, purple-black blood vessels on his skin bulged, as if about to burst! The flesh and bones beneath his skin groaned under the unbearable strain! The power contained in that essence blood was too overbearing! Far exceeding the limit his body could currently withstand!

Even more terrifying, a cold, noble, and supremely authoritative will fragment, like a sleeping Vicious Beast startled awake, surged along the essence blood torrent and violently crashed into Lin Chen’s Sea of Consciousness!

“Ant… how dare you profane this Queen’s essence blood!” The cold Queen’s whisper directly exploded deep within his Soul! Although this will fragment was weak, it carried a trace of Medusa Queen’s Divine Thought pressure, even more terrifying than Soul Erosion Guidance, crushing down like the collapse of the heavens, intending to utterly pulverize and erase Lin Chen’s Soul!

Attacked from both inside and out! His body was on the verge of exploding! His Soul faced a double fatal blow!

Lin Chen’s body convulsed and spasmed violently, as if thrown into a refining furnace! Blood, mixed with faint traces of purple energy, oozed from his seven orifices! The purple-gray petrified patches on his body instantly spread and worsened! Tiny, snake-scale-like cracks even began to appear on his skin!

The shadow of death had never been so thick! The devouring instinct of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi and the violent power of Medusa’s essence blood engaged in the most brutal tug-of-war within his body!

“No… I can’t give up… Give me… refine it!!!” Lin Chen’s Soul let out a final roar under the dual crushing pressure! He poured all his remaining will into the core of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi! That overbearing will originating from the mysterious black stone, annihilating everything, devouring all things!

Buzz!

The black vortex in his Dantian seemed to sense its master’s resolve, and it suddenly shook! At the center of the vortex, a point of pure, ultimate darkness will was ignited! It no longer merely devoured energy, but began to frantically, recklessly… annihilate!

Annihilating the violent, unbearable excess energy in Medusa’s essence blood!

Annihilating the cold petrification characteristic that had invaded his body!

Annihilating the Queen’s will fragment that attempted to erase his Soul!

“Chii chii chii—!”

Lin Chen’s body became the most tragic battlefield! The violent essence blood energy was forcibly torn apart and annihilated, transforming into pure life essence and Origin energy, greedily absorbed by Shadow Erosion Dou Qi; the invading petrification Law and the Queen’s will fragment, under the resistance of the annihilation power, were gradually worn down and decomposed!

This process was ten thousand times more painful than being sliced a thousand times! Every second was a slow torture! His body repeatedly struggled between destruction and Rebirth; his shattered Meridians were roughly repaired, widened, and strengthened by the newly generated Shadow Erosion Dou Qi, fused with the essence blood Origin! His bones made a grating sound as they shattered and healed, gradually taking on a faint, dark purple metallic luster! His flesh and blood became tougher amidst annihilation and Rebirth, their contained power steadily rising!

Even more astonishing were the changes in his Sea of Consciousness! The annihilation will of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi fiercely collided with Medusa Queen’s will fragment, like two torrents crashing! Although the Shadow Erosion will was at an absolute disadvantage, under Lin Chen’s desperate support, it miraculously wasn't instantly crushed! Each collision, like a hammer forging refined steel, though agonizing, forcibly tempered Lin Chen’s Soul will on the brink of destruction, making it more condensed and resilient! The distracting thoughts brought by Soul Erosion Guidance and the mental toxins of the poisonous miasma were largely purged and annihilated in the aftershocks of these two higher-level wills colliding!

Break and then establish! Rise from death!

Time flowed in extreme pain. After an unknown period, when the piece of snake Shedding in his palm, along with the dark purple blood scab, completely turned to dust and dissipated, when the last trace of violent essence blood energy was forcibly refined, and the last bit of Queen’s will fragment was arduously annihilated…

“Boom—!!!”

An aura several times more powerful than when he previously Broke through to four-star, suddenly erupted from Lin Chen’s broken body! The violent Qi wave scattered the broken stones and water droplets in the rock crevice!

The slippery rock beneath him cracked inch by inch! The poison scabs and purple-gray patches covering his entire body peeled off in large areas, revealing newly regenerated skin beneath, with a bronze luster subtly tinged with dark purple patterns! His originally broken and twisted left arm and sunken chest had already begun to heal, and although still weak, the strength and resilience of his bones far surpassed before! An explosive sense of power surged through his limbs and bones!

The most significant change was in his Dantian! The original five thin drops of Dou Qi liquid had disappeared, replaced by a full thirty drops of new liquid Shadow Erosion Dou Qi, as viscous as black jade, yet with a deep dark purple glow flowing at their core! They revolved around the noticeably larger and more steadily powerful black vortex at the center, emitting the surging fluctuations of a Peak six-star Dou Zhe! Only one step away from seven-star!

Not only that, the newly generated Shadow Erosion Dou Qi contained a faint yet extremely tenacious sense of power and a natural affinity for yin-cold energy—this was the hidden benefit brought by refining Medusa’s essence blood! Although he didn’t acquire the Naga Bloodline talent, his Physique had undergone a Heaven-Defying transformation!

And in his Sea of Consciousness, although the cold stinging pain of Soul Erosion Guidance still lingered, the condensation level of his Soul and his spiritual perception had both significantly improved due to that brutal will confrontation! His comprehension of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi’s annihilation characteristic had deepened even further!

Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes; in the depths of his pupils, dark-red blood light and deep dark purple ethereal light alternately flickered, carrying a coldness and ferocity born from enduring life-and-death tempering. He looked down at his left wrist; the dark-red chain brand, entwined with purple-black poison patterns, had become even more eerie and profound in color after absorbing some residual aura of Medusa’s essence blood, like a living cursed totem. However, that cold tracking sensation seemed to be temporarily suppressed and confused by the newly generated, powerful Shadow Erosion Dou Qi and Naga essence blood aura.

He struggled to sit up, feeling the surging power within his body and his still faintly aching injuries. There was no joy of surviving a disaster on his face, only an icy coldness.

“Medusa… Hall of Souls…” A hoarse voice echoed in the dark rock crevice, carrying bone-deep killing intent.

He looked in the direction of the rushing dark river; there was the exit from the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. And also… the starting point for re-entering this cruel world, to begin his revenge and plunder.

The dark river devoured blood, the snake Shedding sought survival. The power gained from a near-death experience would become the first cornerstone for him to stir up a bloody storm on this Dou Qi Continent.