24: Shadow devours the remnant, dark river hides the sword

“Boom—!!!”

The monstrous ghostly claw, covering the sky and sun, carrying a Soul-freezing chill and an immense force capable of crushing everything, slammed down with ferocity! Space groaned under the unbearable pressure, and spiderweb-like black cracks spread menacingly in the Void Realm. The shadow of death instantly engulfed everything below!

“Puff!”

Lin Chen bore the brunt, his body struck as if by a heavy hammer, sent flying backward. The blood he spat out was dark and viscous, mixed with fragments of internal organs. The cracks on his body, which had just healed, all burst open, and blood gushed out like a spring! The violent Soul Power within him, which had been surging due to devouring the Origin of the stronghold, suddenly went out of control, wildly crashing through his damaged Meridians. His Dantian Qi vortex twisted violently, on the verge of exploding! In the depths of his Soul, Protector Wu’s roar, filled with venom and greed, was like a tangible ice pick, fiercely striking his Sea of Consciousness!

Excruciating pain! Pain that tore everything apart! The icy breath of death choked his throat!

However, just as that destructive energy was about to touch his body, the Hall of Souls brand on his left wrist, deep in color with purplish-black venomous patterns wriggling like living things, suddenly erupted with a bone-chilling coldness! This coldness was not external pressure but rather an almost instinctive “stress response” generated by the brand itself after being stimulated by higher-tier energy of the same Origin! In the depths of the brand, the faint connection established by devouring Protector Wu’s Origin, like a drop of water in boiling oil, intensely seethed! A cold, tyrannical Soul fluctuation, originating from Protector Wu’s main body, surged through this fragile channel like a reverse current, fiercely impacting Lin Chen’s Sea of Consciousness!

“Ugh ah—!” His head felt like it would split, but this impact brought a moment of fatal “distortion”!

Protector Wu’s enraged strike, his will locked onto Lin Chen like a precise javelin. But the violent Soul fluctuation, belonging to Protector Wu himself, transmitted by the brand, was like throwing a pebble onto the javelin’s trajectory! Two wills of the same Origin but with conflicting targets caused an extremely brief, imperceptible “interference” at the small “node” of the brand!

A hair’s breadth between life and death!

The destructive energy of the sky-covering ghostly claw, condensed to its extreme, enough to instantly crush Lin Chen into dust, showed an imperceptible turbulence and delay just before touching his body! It was as if a aiming scope was momentarily blurred by its own breath!

“Rumble—!!!”

The ghostly claw ultimately slammed down hard on where Lin Chen had just been! The entire underground space, like a fragile glass sphere, collapsed with a roar! Rocks as hard as iron were annihilated into dust under absolute power! A terrifying shockwave, mixed with Soul-freezing chilling energy and destructive spatial fragments, swept out like a raging sea! The earth violently heaved, and above ground, the sturdy buildings of the imperial capital collapsed in swathes, smoke and dust obscured the sun, a scene of doomsday!

Lin Chen’s body was violently swept by the edge of this destructive shockwave! His entire skeleton groaned, and his internal organs felt as if they were being kneaded by an invisible giant hand! Excruciating pain devoured his consciousness. But the hair’s breadth of vitality gained by the brief interference from the brand, and a thin but exceptionally tough purplish-black energy shield spontaneously formed by the massive Hall of Souls Origin energy he had just devoured, became his last straw!

“Thud!”

He was swept away by the violent impact, like a cannonball, smashing through the collapsing rock layers and falling into an even deeper, colder, and more turbulent underground river! The bone-chilling, foul-smelling river water instantly submerged him, and immense water pressure squeezed him from all directions.

“Cough…” The icy stimulation forcibly recalled a trace of his remaining consciousness. Lin Chen bit through his tongue fiercely; the intense pain dispelled his dizziness, and the Shadow Erosion Dou Qi in his Dantian, on the verge of dissipating, was laboriously activated, stabilizing a trace of his Qi. He struggled like a dying fish in the turbid, turbulent undercurrent, drifting with the flow, while simultaneously pushing the hidden characteristics of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi to its extreme, desperately converging all his aura fluctuations. He completely merged with the cold river water, the mud at the riverbed, and the flowing shadows! In this state of absolute “low profile,” the instinct originating from the shattered source core within him quietly operated, and faint but pure shadow energy and the cold Death Qi in the river water, as if drawn by an invisible force, silently permeated his damaged body, slowly and continuously nourishing his crumbling Meridians and Qi vortex. Though it was a drop in the bucket, it was better than nothing.

The brand on his wrist still burned with pain, but the feeling of being precisely locked on, as if through a thick frosted glass, became blurred and distant the moment he fell into the underground river and his aura completely blended with the environment! Was it the turbulent and chaotic flow of the underground river and the abundant water-attribute energy interfering? Was it the immense energy chaos caused by the ghostly claw’s strike temporarily shielding his perception? Or was it… the pure Hall of Souls Origin of the same source within him and his current state of perfect integration into the Shadow Erosion Death Qi forming an excellent “disguise”?

Lin Chen had no time to ponder. He only knew that he had temporarily escaped the death lock that felt like a thorn in his back! The price was an almost completely ruined body and the Hall of Souls energy within him that could go berserk at any moment.

He desperately controlled his body, stabilizing his direction in the surging underground river. Shadow Erosion Dou Qi enveloped his entire body, minimizing his presence to the greatest extent, like a stubborn rock drifting along the riverbed. His perception, like injured tentacles, cautiously probed backward.

Amidst the collapsing roar and the rumble of the water, Xiao Yan’s furious and shocked shouts, the explosive roar of the xuan heavy ruler breaking through the air, and Protector Wu’s roar, like a frigid wind from the Nine Nether, faintly reached him. Clearly, Xiao Yan had borne the aftershocks of the ghostly claw and had become Protector Wu’s secondary target for venting! Each violent explosion of the xuan heavy ruler colliding with black mist, each sizzling sound of the different flame burning Soul Power, was accompanied by a large amount of violent and pure energy fragments being scattered and annihilated within the chaotic battlefield space!

“Fight… the fiercer the better…” A cold light flashed in Lin Chen’s eyes, his heart undisturbed. Using Xiao Yan to clear the way, break the situation, and attract firepower was always part of his plan. Ally? In the face of absolute power and his own survival, he was merely a dispensable pawn. Without any lingering attachment, he used the cover of the underground river and the earth-shattering energy fluctuations behind him, pushing his stealth to the extreme, silently lurking deeper into the underground river, further away from the core of the imperial capital.

And as he lurked, the Shadow Erosion Dou Qi, perfectly integrated with the Shadow Erosion Death Qi, like invisible tentacles, greedily and cautiously captured extremely faint energy fragments that escaped from the battlefield behind him, mixed in the river’s mist and spatial turbulence—these were the inactive, pure Soul Power embers remaining after the different flame burned the Hall of Souls energy, the Dou Qi residue carrying an unyielding will that escaped after Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi burst, and even the cold, negative emotional fluctuations that scattered when Protector Wu attacked in a rage! These energy fragments were negligible to both sides in the fierce battle, like dust, but for Lin Chen, who was severely injured and on the verge of death, and whose Shadow Erosion Dou Qi was in a dual state of “extreme hunger” and “perfect stealth,” they were like fireflies in the dark, sweet springs in the desert!

Each cautious act of devouring slightly alleviated the tearing pain within Lin Chen’s body, and the dying Dou Qi liquid droplets in his Dantian received a faint but real replenishment, like drops of dew seeping into a dry riverbed. He was like a ghost walking on a razor’s edge, silently plucking the energy “scraps” generated by the fierce battle between the two powerful experts, on the brink of death!

He did not know how long he had drifted in the cold, turbulent underground river. When the burning pain of the brand on his wrist stabilized at a lower threshold, and when the earth-shattering fluctuations from behind were completely isolated by thick rock layers and water flow, Lin Chen’s taut nerves finally dared to relax a little. The “plucked” energy fragments, combined with the nourishment of the Shadow Erosion Death Qi from the underground river itself, allowed him to barely cling to life.

He struggled, controlling his broken body, to climb ashore onto a rocky bank covered with slippery moss in a river bend. This place was the edge of a huge grotto carved out by the underground river, damp and cold, permeated with earthy smells and water vapor. Craggy stalactites hung overhead, and the dark river water below was unfathomable. Absolute darkness and dead silence enveloped the area, with only the whimpering of the water echoing in the empty cave. The rich shadow and dead Qi in this place slightly invigorated Lin Chen’s spirit; Shadow Erosion Dou Qi spontaneously circulated, greedily absorbing nourishment from the environment, and his Cultivation efficiency quietly improved.

“Puff!” Another mouthful of black blood spurted out, and Lin Chen collapsed onto the cold rock. Excruciating pain surged over him like a tide, but it was slightly less severe than when he fell into the river. Upon internal inspection, the situation was still shocking:

His Meridians were covered with fine cracks, many broken, making Dou Qi circulation sluggish and difficult.

In his Dantian, thirty-seven drops of liquid Dou Qi were dim and shrunken, like dying puddles in a dry riverbed, their rotation almost stagnant. The core source core fragment was dormant.

The most dangerous was the large amount of unrefined Hall of Souls Origin remaining in his body! This pure and violent energy, without guidance, surged wildly through his damaged Meridians, causing tearing pain, constantly eroding his vitality, and intensifying the burning pain of the brand on his wrist.

His Soul was severely wounded, his Sea of Consciousness turbulent, and the Soul Erosion Guidance caused a piercing pain like a maggot in his bones.

“I must… refine it as soon as possible… otherwise, I will surely die…” His consciousness struggled amidst the pain and weakness. Lin Chen forced himself to sit cross-legged, forming an ancient and incomplete hand seal with his hands, originating from the depths of the shattered source core, inclined towards “annihilation” and “suppression.”

Shadow Erosion Dou Qi was cautiously mobilized, no longer greedily devouring, but transforming into countless extremely subtle black threads containing a pure will of annihilation, like the most precise surgical knives, probing into the violently surging Hall of Souls Origin within his body. In this grotto, rich in shadow and permeated with Death Qi, his mind found it easier to calm, and his control over Dou Qi also seemed a bit more refined and subtle.

Annihilation and refinement!

This was the most dangerous and mentally taxing precision operation! The Annihilation Threads accurately pierced into the core of the raging energy mass, forcefully stripping, decomposing, and annihilating the fragments of Protector Wu's residual tyrannical will and the Hall of Souls's unique corrosive pollution, bit by bit, thread by thread! Only the purest, most Origin, and unaligned Soul energy essence remained. The stripped-off negative emotions and polluted Death Qi were not wasted; instead, they were silently absorbed and transformed by Shadow Erosion Dou Qi, becoming additional fuel to support the refining process!

The process was slow, painful, and consumed a massive amount of mental energy. Lin Chen's forehead was drenched in cold sweat, his body trembled slightly from the intense pain, yet his gaze was as cold and focused as a hunter's. Each successful annihilation and purification released a wisp of pure, gentle Soul energy, like sweet dew nourishing his parched Meridians and his Dantian Qi vortex, which was on the verge of collapse.

Inside his Dantian, the thirty-seven shrunken Dou Qi liquid drops greedily absorbed the energy, slowly regaining their luster and power as they spun. Part of his Soul Power merged into his Sea of Consciousness, soothing his turbulent Soul, and the burning pain of the Soul Erosion Guidance mark on his wrist also lessened. In this perfectly concealed environment, the refining efficiency seemed to be a notch faster than usual, and the Shadow Erosion Dou Qi's absorption and transformation of negative energy were also smoother.

Time flowed in the dark, dead silence. Lin Chen's aura was as faint as a rock, completely indistinguishable from the shadows and stillness of the cave. The silent yet perilous annihilation and refining continued within his body.

After an unknown period, when the last surge of violent Hall of Souls Origin was successfully decomposed, annihilated, and completely absorbed as pure nourishment, Lin Chen's mind suddenly relaxed.

“Hoo…” He exhaled a turbid breath, heavy with the scent of blood. He slowly opened his eyes, and the dim light deep within his pupils re-condensed, a sense of composure added to his exhaustion. Being in this shadowed, dead place, having just completed a dangerous refining, his presence was almost at rock bottom, as if he were merely a cold rock extending from the cave itself.

Upon introspection:

The cracks in his Meridians had mostly healed under the nourishment of Soul Power, and his Dou Qi circulation was essentially unimpeded.

Inside his Dantian, the thirty-seven Dou Qi liquid drops had not only fully recovered but had also become even more solidified! Each drop was like concentrated obsidian, its edges glowing with deep, dark purple light, exuding a hint of cold Soul fluctuation. His strength was firmly established at the Early Stage of a Three-star Dou Master! His Foundation, refined by annihilation, had become even more solid.

His Soul injuries were mostly healed, his Sea of Consciousness was stable, and his perception was sharper and more condensed. The stinging pain of the Soul Erosion Guidance was suppressed to its lowest point.

The most significant change was the Hall of Souls mark on his left wrist! Its color remained deep, but the eerie purplish-black toxic lines had strangely become introverted and dormant, with its creeping almost stopped. The burning sensation was imperceptible, and the feeling of being remotely locked onto had vanished without a trace! In its place was a strange “resonance”? As if this mark was no longer purely a shackle, but had become a “receiver” capable of faintly sensing fluctuations of homologous energy.

Just then, his perception, which had become exceptionally sharp after being nourished by Soul Power, caught a faint energy fluctuation, distinctly different from the shadowy Death Qi of the cave. This fluctuation carried a… pure and cold energy sensation, seemingly emanating from a very hidden crevice deep within the cave. What moved Lin Chen even more was that this energy fluctuation was subtly mixed with a wisp of… ancient and tyrannical remnant Soul resentment!

A cold light flashed in Lin Chen's eyes, without the slightest hesitation. Like the most inconspicuous shadow in the cave, he silently slid down the reef, his Shadow Erosion Dou Qi perfectly concealed, his aura completely merged with the environment, and quietly crept towards the source of that energy fluctuation. In this state of absolute concealment, his Shadow Erosion Dou Qi seemed even more active, and his perception of that wisp of remnant Soul resentment became clearer—it was excellent nourishment!

Deep within the dark cave, beneath the rugged rock wall, a narrow crevice cleverly hidden by thick stalactites and hanging vines came into view. The pure, cold energy fluctuation, mixed with ancient resentment, was faintly emanating from deep within this crevice.

Lin Chen carefully pushed aside the vines, and a clearer aura, carrying rich Water attribute Spiritual Qi, extreme coldness, and a hint of savage ferocity, assailed him. He squeezed sideways into the crevice, and after only about ten meters, his vision suddenly opened up!

A hidden small space, only a few meters in circumference, appeared before him. In the center of the space, there was a small pool! The pool water was crystal clear to the bottom, yet it exuded bone-chilling coldness, and a faint white cold mist permeated the surface. Most striking was a fist-sized, irregularly shaped, dark blue crystal lying quietly at the bottom of the pool! That pure and cold energy fluctuation originated precisely from this crystal! Wave-like halos flowed across the crystal's surface, and wisps of visible cold Qi energy emanated like living things.

And next to the dark blue crystal, in the mud at the bottom of the pool, several broken, pale white bones covered with strange runes were half-buried! The bones retained an extremely faint but ancient and savage pressure, clearly belonging to some powerful ancient Demonic Beast! The wisp of remnant Soul resentment that attracted Lin Chen was precisely emanating from the fractures in these bone segments! Wisps of pure but mixed life essence and Soul fragments were slowly frozen and preserved by the cold Qi emanating from the extremely cold Ice Soul Crystal, forming a unique “Bone Spirit Cold Qi” containing life essence and tyrannical Soul Power after a long period!

“Ancient Beast Bones… Ice Soul Crystal… Remnant Soul Resentment…” Lin Chen's eyes burst with uncontrollable brilliance! This was simply a heaven-sent Treasure Trove! The pure energy contained in the extremely cold Ice Soul Crystal was an excellent supplement, the life essence sealed in the ancient beast bones could repair hidden injuries, and that wisp of remnant Soul resentment… was the supreme delicacy for Shadow Erosion Dou Qi to enhance Soul Power and strengthen its predatory characteristics! Especially the rich shadowy Death Qi environment here, which perfectly matched his Cultivation Technique, making the Devour and refining twice as effective!

Without any hesitation, his Shadow Erosion Dou Qi transformed into two invisible hands, carefully reaching into the icy pool water. The bone-chilling coldness instantly spread along his Dou Qi, almost freezing it! He immediately increased his Dou Qi output, his Annihilation Will contained within it, forcefully resisting. One hand steadily grasped the dark blue extremely cold Ice Soul Crystal! The moment it touched, a terrifying cold energy surged like a tide, covering Lin Chen's entire arm with thick white frost! He grunted, his Dantian Qi vortex spun wildly, and his Shadow Erosion Dou Qi enveloped the crystal, beginning to forcefully devour the pure icy energy within it! His Annihilation Will brutally stripped and decomposed the icy attribute, leaving only the most Origin energy core, which merged into his Dou Qi liquid drops. Thirty-five Dou Qi liquid drops greedily absorbed, increasing in volume and becoming darker in color. With the enhancement of the shadowy environment, the efficiency of Devour and transformation was much faster than expected!

The other hand firmly grasped the pale white beast bones! Upon contact, the violent, unwilling remnant Soul of the ancient beast, mixed with pure life essence, surged towards Lin Chen's Sea of Consciousness like an awakened Vicious Beast! At the same time, the rich Death Qi contained in the beast bones also gushed out!

“Hmph! A mere wisp of remnant Soul dares to be presumptuous!” Lin Chen was well prepared; his Annihilation Will, condensed in his Sea of Consciousness, transformed into an invisible sharp cone and fiercely stabbed out! At the same time, the Devour characteristic of his Shadow Erosion Dou Qi fully erupted! Being in this shadowy dead place, his control over negative energy reached its Peak! The surging remnant Soul resentment and vast Death Qi, instead of shaking him, were greedily swallowed by his Shadow Erosion Dou Qi as if they had met their best container!

“Roar—!” A phantom beast roar, full of unwillingness, echoed in Lin Chen's mind, then was ruthlessly crushed and decomposed by his Annihilation Will! The remnant Soul fragments in the beast bones were purified, leaving only the purest Soul Power and that vast life essence. This power, like a warm current and a cold Soul spring, quickly merged into his limbs and Sea of Consciousness, repairing hidden injuries, nourishing his internal organs, soothing his Soul, and even temporarily silencing the stinging pain of the Soul Erosion Guidance! After receiving this life essence, his Dantian Qi vortex spun more smoothly and powerfully, and the characteristic of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi to plunder vitality became more subtle and potent! Moreover, a part of the pure ancient beast Soul Power directly settled into his Soul Origin, causing his Soul perception to surge by a significant margin!

The dark blue Ice Soul Crystal visibly dimmed at a rapid rate, eventually turning into a pile of useless powder. The pale white beast bones also lost all their luster and ferocious aura, becoming fragile. And Lin Chen's aura, in this gloomy cave, like a Vicious Beast lurking in the abyss, quietly climbed and solidified! The cracked wounds on his body rapidly healed under the nourishment of life essence, leaving only faint red marks.

Three-star Dou Master, Middle Stage Peak! All his hidden bodily injuries were recovered, and his Soul Power surged! The Hall of Souls mark on his wrist, after devouring a large amount of pure energy (especially that ancient beast Soul Power), became even more stable in its dormant state, almost merging with his skin, barely discernible unless carefully examined. He slowly withdrew his hands, feeling the surging power within his body, his resilient physique, his condensed Soul, and that transcendent state perfectly integrated into the shadowy environment. A cold yet satisfied arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Protector Wu… Xiao Yan…” Lin Chen's gaze seemed to penetrate the thick rock layers, directed towards the Imperial Capital, still shrouded in terrifying pressure. His eyes were as deep as a ten-thousand-year-old cold pool, “The ‘afterglow’ of your life-and-death struggle tastes good. It would be best… if you left more ‘leftovers’.”

He turned, his figure like a naturally flowing wisp of shadow in the cave, silently sliding into the deeper darkness, completely disappearing. Only the cold pool water and a scattering of soulless residue were left behind, witnessing another silent plunder and metamorphosis. The dark underground world had become his best shield and hunting ground. The prelude to his humble development, to pluck every possible ‘ hair’, had just begun.