22: Dark channels devour the source, dark clouds gather over the city

The bustling noise of the Imperial Capital was blocked by thick stone walls, leaving only the gurgling of sewage and the scurrying of rats. It was cold, damp, and reeked of rot. Deep within the Imperial Capital's vast sewer System, a disused branch channel, half-blocked by collapsed boulders, had become Lin Chen's temporary lair.

He was curled up in a cold stone crevice, his body convulsing from intense pain. Each breath tugged at the horrific wound on his chest, torn by Yun Yun's Sword Qi, bringing searing pain and a heavy scent of blood. His skin was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, like a porcelain vessel about to shatter—a sign that his body was overwhelmed from forcibly devouring Protector Wu's Soul Origin. Most critically, inside him, a vast, cold, and resentful Dou Zong-level Soul energy raged and crashed like an out-of-control torrent through his Meridians and Dantian!

"Ugh... Ah..." A suppressed groan of extreme pain squeezed from deep in his throat. Lin Chen's eyes were bloodshot, his teeth clenched so hard that blood seeped from his gums. He desperately circulated his Shadow Erosion Dou Qi. The pitch-black Qi vortex in his Dantian, which had just Broken through to two-star Dou Master and should have been stable and growing, was now violently trembling and distorting under the impact of the rampant Soul energy! Thirty newly condensed liquid Dou Qi droplets spun frantically, attempting to devour and refine this external energy, but they were like a school of fish trying to swallow a whale, scattered and shattered, with droplets constantly being torn apart and annihilated by the violent energy!

Backlash! An unprecedented backlash!

Protector Wu's Soul Origin contained fragments of his Dou Zong Realm will and pure Soul Power, mixed with the insidious erosion of Hall of Souls's secret techniques! This power far exceeded the limits Lin Chen's current Realm could withstand! The Shadow Erosion Dou Qi's innate devouring instinct was fully triggered, greedily wanting to assimilate this power, but the Annihilation will couldn't instantly purify the Dou Zong will and the unique contamination characteristics of the Hall of Souls contained within it! The two forces engaged in a fierce tug-of-war within his body!

His Meridians felt as if they were repeatedly pierced, expanded, and torn by countless red-hot iron skewers! His bones groaned under the strain! His Sea of Consciousness was the hardest hit! The Soul Erosion Guidance, stimulated by Protector Wu's Origin, went completely berserk, like billions of venomous insects gnawing frantically! Countless chaotic images and malicious whispers flooded his mind: Yun Shan's dying resentment, Protector Wu's angry roar as his Origin was seized, the endless darkness and wails from deep within the Hall of Souls... Lin Chen felt his consciousness was like a small boat in a stormy sea, liable to be completely torn apart and devoured at any moment!

"No... can't... be devoured!" His remaining will let out a dying cry. Lin Chen bit his tongue sharply, the intense pain and metallic taste of blood forcing a sliver of clarity into his chaotic thoughts! As if grasping at a last straw, he immersed his entire mind into the core of the Dantian Qi vortex, frantically activating the Shadow Erosion Dou Qi's most core Annihilation will, which originated from the source core fragment!

Annihilate! Annihilate for me!

It was no longer about devouring energy, but the purest, most domineering clash of wills! Annihilate all external will! Annihilate all contamination and Impurities!

The pitch-black Qi vortex in his Dantian suddenly erupted with a deep, eerie glow! An invisible torrent of will, possessing absolute destructive power, like an awakened Vicious Beast, slammed into Protector Wu's rampant Soul energy within his body!

"Chiiii chiiii chiiii—!"

A silent clash of wills unfolded in every inch of his body! The Dou Zong will fragments and Hall of Souls contamination contained within Protector Wu's Soul energy, facing the pure Annihilation power, were like encountering their bane, letting out silent screams as they were forcibly erased and decomposed bit by bit! The pure, unowned Soul Origin energy, once stripped of Impurities and will, was then greedily absorbed and assimilated by the Shadow Erosion Dou Qi!

This was an extremely painful, slow, and perilous process. It was like a precise yet brutal war being waged within his body. Lin Chen's body became the battlefield, constantly oscillating between destruction and rebirth. Purple-black blood beads seeped from the cracks in his skin, only to slowly heal under the nourishment of new energy. His aura fluctuated wildly around the two-star Dou Master Realm, at times seeming ethereal and on the verge of dissipating, at others solid as a mountain.

Time flowed by in extreme agony. Who knew how long it had been, when the last trace of Protector Wu's resentful will was finally annihilated with great difficulty, and when that torrent of violent Soul energy was finally tamed, most of its Impurities annihilated, leaving only the purest Soul Origin to be completely absorbed by the Shadow Erosion Dou Qi...

"Buzz—!"

A powerful aura, far more condensed, heavier than before, and carrying a hint of icy Soul Power fluctuation, suddenly spread from within Lin Chen's body! The sewage beneath him was pushed aside by an invisible Qi wave, forming ripples! The cracks on his body healed and disappeared at a visible rate, his new skin gleaming with a tough, bronze luster, subtly revealing a metallic dullness. In his Dantian, the pitch-black Qi vortex stabilized, rotating more steadily and powerfully, its volume noticeably larger! At its core, viscous, ink-like liquid Dou Qi droplets re-condensed, reaching a count of thirty-five! Each droplet contained even more terrifying energy, the dark purple glow swirling at its edges deeper, and even mixed with a hint of icy, eerie light originating from the Soul Origin!

Two-star Dou Master Peak! Just one step away from three-star!

Not only that, his Soul, having undergone the brutal tempering and devouring refinement of Protector Wu's Origin will, became even more condensed and resilient! Although the stinging pain brought by the Soul Erosion Guidance still existed, the feeling of his Soul being on the verge of tearing at any moment was greatly reduced! His spiritual perception also rose, becoming sharper and more extensive! His comprehension of the Shadow Erosion Dou Qi's Annihilation characteristic deepened by another layer!

"Hoo..." Lin Chen exhaled a long, turbid breath tinged with blood, slowly opening his eyes. In the depths of his pupils, dark red blood-light, dark purple eerie glow, and a hint of icy Soul eerie glow intertwined, cold and profound, carrying a sense of exhaustion from surviving a calamity and a more restrained ferocity. He looked down at his left wrist; the dark red chain brand, after absorbing some of Protector Wu's Soul Origin aura, seemed to have undergone a subtle change! The color of the brand seemed deeper, the purple-black venomous patterns clearer, subtly wriggling like a living thing. The icy tracking sensation still existed, but Lin Chen vaguely felt that between himself and this brand, there seemed to be a vague, weak connection originating from a shared energy source? As if he could vaguely perceive the approximate location and faint emotions of that icy presence at the other end of the brand?

This discovery shocked him! Was it a blessing or a curse? Had devouring Protector Wu's Origin given him some degree of "affinity" or "resistance" to this Hall of Souls brand?

However, before he could ponder further—

"Rumble—!!!"

A dull roar, as if from deep within the earth, penetrated the thick layers of soil and stone walls without warning, slamming into Lin Chen's eardrums! The entire sewer System shook violently! Sewage churned, and broken stones clattered down!

Immediately after, an indescribable, icy, deathly, and terrifying pressure, filled with endless resentment and greed, like an invisible tsunami, instantly enveloped the entire Gama Sacred City! This pressure was far stronger than Yun Shan's! It even far surpassed the projection of Protector Wu that Lin Chen had sensed in the desert ruins!

The sky, in an instant, darkened! It wasn't overcast, but as if the light itself was forcibly devoured and twisted by some power! Above the Imperial Capital, an enormous, slowly rotating pitch-black energy vortex slowly formed! In the center of the vortex, countless twisted, suffering Soul phantoms wailed and floated, exuding a despairing aura that froze the Soul! The temperature of the entire Imperial Capital plummeted, and fierce winds howled, carrying a bone-chilling coldness! Countless commoners looked up at the sky in terror, trembling, as if the end of the world had arrived!

Protector Wu! His true body had arrived!

"Ant... stealing my Origin... hiding in filth..."

"I've found you... your Soul... your flesh and blood... will all become sacrifices for me to reassemble my source core!"

An icy, hoarse, majestic voice, carrying supreme authority and monstrous rage, like rolling thunder, directly exploded deep within the Soul of every living being in the Imperial Capital! It was filled with naked killing intent and greed!

The target was directly deep beneath the Imperial Capital!

Lin Chen's heart was instantly squeezed by an invisible, icy hand! Every hair on his body stood on end! The slight sense of power he had just Broken through to was instantly crushed into dust before this boundless and terrifying pressure, like a firefly before the bright moon!

He suddenly looked up, as if he could penetrate layers of rock walls and see the death vortex enveloping the Imperial Capital! The brand on his wrist was like a lit branding iron, the searing pain in his Soul suddenly intensified, clearly pointing to his hiding place!

"Damn it... so fast..." Lin Chen's face was ashen. He hadn't expected Protector Wu to come in his true body, at such a great cost! And he hadn't expected the other party to pinpoint him so quickly! Devouring the other party's Origin had indeed provoked relentless, maddening retaliation!

Escape! He must escape immediately! Leave the Imperial Capital! The farther, the better!

He struggled to stand up, but his body was still weak from the previous refinement and severe injuries, his movements sluggish.

Just then—

In the darkness at the other end of the sewer, a hurried footsteps approached from afar! Accompanied by a low shout, filled with shock and anger:

"Lin Chen! Is that you?! That aura just now... and what's in the sky... did you bring it?!"

A figure broke through the sewage and appeared at the entrance of the branch channel where Lin Chen was hiding. The newcomer wore a black robe, had a youthful face, and his aura was somewhat chaotic, clearly having just escaped from the earth-shattering battle on Cloud Mist Mountain. His face showed unbelievable shock and solemnity; it was Xiao Yan!

The xuan heavy ruler in his hand pointed diagonally at the ground, the Green Lotus Core Flame leaping on the ruler, warily locking onto Lin Chen, and even more warily sensing the terrifying pressure that enveloped the entire city above. Old Yao had fallen into a deep sleep after controlling the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus earlier, and now, he faced this sudden, catastrophic disaster and this mysterious, unpredictable "ally" who had caused such immense trouble, all alone.

Their eyes met. Inside the sewer, sewage gurgled. Above, was the shadow of death cast by the Hall of Souls's Dou Zong's true body. Two equally young men, both burdened with great secrets and hatred, met again in this desperate place. The air solidified, and killing intent and suspicion, like icy venomous snakes, permeated the narrow space.