82: Dark incarnation, crossing realms to arrive

Above the Nether Rift Valley, the grey-white vortex continued to rotate slowly.

But at this moment, wisps of viscous black Qi began to seep from the edges of the vortex.

The black Qi, like a living creature, wound and gathered in the Void Realm, gradually outlining the silhouette of a gate—a twisted portal made purely of darkness, standing a hundred zhang high.

In the center of the portal was endless pitch-black, as if connected to some unspeakable abyss.

"What... what is that?!"

"Such an evil aura... My Divine Soul is trembling!"

"Retreat! Get further away!"

The Cultivators gathered all over the rift changed color in horror and retreated frantically.

Some minions of the Void Abyss lurking in the shadows knelt on the ground one after another, facing the dark portal, kowtowing fanatically:

"Welcome, Lord Priest!"

"Welcome, Darkness Incarnation!"

"May darkness endure forever!"

Boom—!

The portal opened completely.

A giant hand covered in black scales, with sharp knife-like fingertips, slowly reached out from the portal.

Just a single palm blotted out half the sky, and the pressure it emitted made all living beings within a thousand miles feel suffocated!

Those below the Soul Transformation stage collapsed directly to the ground, their Divine Souls on the verge of shattering.

Even those at the Soul Transformation stage could barely stand, covered in cold sweat.

Even the few Body Integration old monsters who had luckily escaped the Hall of Rebirth were now pale, their teeth chattering.

"Tribulation Transcendence Stage... a true Tribulation Transcendence Stage aura!"

"Although it is only an Incarnation... it is definitely not something we can contend with!"

"It's over... The Opportunity of the Hall of Rebirth is completely out of our reach..."

Amidst countless fearful gazes, a complete figure finally stepped out of the dark portal.

It was ten zhang tall, its entire body covered in black scales with flowing dark red patterns, with a pair of curved demonic horns on its head, and three pairs of pitch-black bone wings behind it that blotted out the sky. Its face was shrouded in a rolling mass of dark mist, with only a pair of eyes burning with blood-colored flames visible.

It stood in the Void Realm, and its very existence caused the surrounding space to constantly collapse, repair, and collapse again.

"Lu... Qing... xuan..."

A hoarse, low voice, as if billions of wronged Souls were roaring in unison, resounded across the world.

The Darkness Incarnation lowered its head, looking at the main hall below.

Its blood-colored eyes pierced through the roof of the hall, locking directly onto the figure in black robes sitting cross-legged in front of the reincarnation stele.

"You killed my projection... ruined my plans..."

"Today, this Priest shall use this 'Darkness God-Spawn' body to bestow upon you... eternal sinking."

Before the words faded, it raised its scale-covered right hand and pressed it into the void towards the main hall.

"Abyss · Hand of Sinking."

Hum—!

A pitch-black giant hand that blotted out the sky condensed out of thin air above Lu Qingxuan's head. The patterns on its palm seemed to have countless twisted Souls wailing, carrying the terrifying power to suppress all things and sink everything, slamming down fiercely!

This blow had truly touched the threshold of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage!

Inside the main hall, Lu Qingxuan suddenly opened his eyes.

The Chaos Qi and the ring of Reincarnation lit up in his eyes simultaneously.

"Formation, rise!"

He formed seals with both hands, activating the 【Chaos Reincarnation Killing Formation】 with all his might!

Boom—!

The grey-white light of Reincarnation soared into the sky, condensing into a huge shield of Reincarnation above the main hall.

The surface of the shield circulated with scenes of countless living beings' Reincarnation, endless and ceaseless.

The pitch-black giant hand and the shield of Reincarnation collided with a boom!

Dong—!!!!

An indescribable roar erupted!

The terrifying shockwave spread in a ring, and wherever it passed, mountains shattered, the earth cracked, and hundreds of Cultivators who were closer were shaken into blood mist before they could even scream!

The main hall shook violently, dust falling from the roof, but in the end... it held on!

Countless fine cracks appeared on the surface of the shield of Reincarnation, but it did not shatter.

A trace of surprise flashed in the blood-colored eyes of the Darkness Incarnation.

"A mere Soul Transformation, relying on a Formation, can actually block a blow from this seat?"

"Interesting... but, how many times can you block?"

Its three pairs of bone wings spread out simultaneously, and endless aura of darkness gathered from the Void Realm, condensing into nine hundred-zhang-long dark spears in front of it!

Each spear was entwined with rich Laws of destruction, corrosion, and sinking, and the space at the spear tips was constantly annihilated.

"Abyss Nine Spears · God-Slaying!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...

The nine spears tore through the Void Realm, carrying the power to destroy everything, shooting towards the main hall from different angles!

This time, Lu Qingxuan did not take it head-on.

His figure flickered and disappeared from the spot instantly.

Almost at the same time, seven Star Nirvana Demonic Puppets appeared in his original position. The seven Puppets formed a Formation, and the power of Star Nirvana erupted, transforming into a small Star Domain, meeting the nine dark spears.

Boom! Boom! Boom!...

Chain explosions resounded across the world.

The Star Domain composed of the seven demonic Puppets shattered with the third spear, and the fourth spear pierced the chest of the leading Puppet at the Body Integration Middle Stage!

But the Puppet felt no pain; instead, it hugged the spear tightly, and the rules of the 【Word Law Dao Ruling】 erupted within its body, forcibly imprisoning it.

The remaining Puppets followed suit, using their bodies to block all the spears in a self-destructive manner!

The price was—four Puppets completely disintegrated, and the remaining three were also dilapidated, their aura plummeting.

Seeing this, the Darkness Incarnation did not get angry but laughed instead.

"Good! A good Lu Qingxuan! You are actually willing to use such precious Body Integration Puppets as cannon fodder!"

"But I want to see how many trump cards you still have!"

It clasped its hands together, chanting ancient, evil abyss incantations.

As the incantations sounded, the Death Qi of the Netherworld that had been silent for countless years below the Nether Rift Valley surged out like it was summoned, gathering around the Darkness Incarnation and condensing into a thousand-zhang-tall, three-headed and six-armed Nether Demon God phantom!

"Nether Summoning · Great Dark Heaven!"

The six arms of the Demon God phantom spread out together, slamming down fiercely towards the main hall!

The power of this blow was more than ten times stronger than the previous Hand of Sinking!

The space above the main hall was completely twisted and collapsed, revealing the pitch-black void turbulence behind it.

And at this critical moment.

Lu Qingxuan's figure appeared on top of the main hall, no one knew when.

He looked up at the falling giant palm of the Demon God, with no fear in his eyes, but instead a trace of... mockery.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

He raised his right hand, palm upward, and his five fingers slowly opened.

In the palm of his hand, a grey-white strange rune was shining brightly.

That was—a special rune he had just secretly deduced and condensed using 20 pieces of 【Reincarnation Law fragments】, combined with 【Word Law Dao Ruling】 and 【Chaos Law】!

【Reincarnation · Guide to Return to Void】!

"Using Reincarnation as a guide, summoning the power of Return to Void..."

"Old dog of the Void Abyss, do you know..."

"What exactly is suppressed under this Hall of Rebirth?"

Lu Qingxuan's voice spread calmly across the world.

The Darkness Incarnation's movements stalled abruptly.

For the first time, a look of uncertainty appeared in its blood-colored eyes.

And Lu Qingxuan had already gently pressed that grey-white rune onto the roof of the hall beneath his feet.

Hum—!

The rune merged into the hall body.

The entire bronze ancient hall shook violently at this moment!

It was not a vibration caused by an external attack.

But... as if some behemoth sleeping deep at the bottom of the hall had been awakened!

Rumbling...

The earth began to crack.

With the main hall as the center, bottomless cracks spread in all directions. What gushed out from the cracks was not magma, nor Nether Death Qi, but... a kind of grey, chaotic Qi flow that seemed to be able to swallow all light!

"Chaos Qi?! How is that possible?!" the Darkness Incarnation exclaimed.

And what horrified it even more was yet to come.

Those gushing Chaos Qi flows did not disperse but, as if guided, rushed frantically to the bottom of the main hall.

With the infusion of Chaos Qi, a heavy, heartbeat-like thumping sound came from the bottom of the main hall.

Dong... dong... dong...

Each sound made the space within a radius of ten thousand miles tremble.

"Not good!" The Darkness Incarnation finally reacted, and unprecedented terror surged in its blood-colored eyes, "This is not a simple Reincarnation rift! Is this place... suppressing an 'ancient god corpse'?! And the corpse is absorbing Chaos Qi... waking up?!"

It wanted to escape.

But it was too late.

Lu Qingxuan stood on the roof of the hall, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold arc.

"Want to leave now?"

"Too late."

He formed seals with both hands, and the 【Chaos Reincarnation Killing Formation】 reversed!

The Formation power originally used for defense and killing enemies was now all converted into traction power, firmly locking onto the Darkness Incarnation.

At the same time, beneath the main hall, that heartbeat sound became louder and more urgent.

Finally—

Boom!!!!

A grey giant hand covered in stony skin, as large as a mountain, suddenly reached out from the cracked earth beneath the main hall!

The giant hand opened its five fingers, carrying the terrifying power to crush stars, and grabbed towards the Darkness Incarnation!

"No—!!"

The Darkness Incarnation let out a shrill scream, burning its Origin frantically, trying to tear open space to escape.

But the speed of that grey giant hand was beyond imagination.

It seemed to ignore spatial distance, appearing instantly above the Darkness Incarnation's head, its five fingers closing.

Crack!

A teeth-aching sound of bones breaking resounded across the world.

The ten-zhang-tall God-Spawn body of the Darkness Incarnation was deformed like a toy in the grey giant hand, scales shattered, bone wings broken, and the flames in its blood-colored eyes dimmed rapidly.

"Lu... Qing... xuan...!!!"

A roar full of endless resentment came from the gaps in the giant hand.

"This seat... will remember you..."

"When the main body descends... I will surely make you... sink forever..."

The voice grew weaker and weaker.

Finally, it disappeared completely.

The grey giant hand slowly opened, leaving only a mass of extremely pure Darkness Origin in its palm, as well as... a few broken pieces of Tribulation Transcendence Stage Divine Soul.

The giant hand trembled slightly, seemingly wanting to absorb these "nutrients".

But Lu Qingxuan's voice sounded just in time:

"These things are useless to you; they will only pollute your Chaos essence."

"Give them to me."

The grey giant hand paused for a moment, seemingly having "understood".

It gently tossed the mass of Darkness Origin and Divine Soul fragments towards Lu Qingxuan on the roof of the hall.

Lu Qingxuan rolled his sleeves and collected everything.

The grey giant hand then slowly retracted into the ground, and the heartbeat-like thumping sound gradually subsided.

The earth cracks closed slowly, and the gushing Chaos Qi dissipated along with it.

Everything seemed as if it had never happened.

Only the lingering, suffocating pressure, and the Cultivators in the distance who were limp on the ground and almost scared silly, proved the short but terrifying collision just now.

Lu Qingxuan stood on the roof of the hall, overlooking the surroundings.

Wherever his gaze reached, no one dared to look him in the eye.

He turned and stepped back into the main hall.

Behind him came his calm voice:

"Within three days, those who trespass into the main hall..."

"Will be killed without mercy."

The voice was not loud, but it was like a declaration of death, branded deep into the Divine Soul of every surviving Cultivator.

No one doubted the truth of this statement.

Because just now, they had witnessed with their own eyes... even a Tribulation Transcendence Stage Darkness Incarnation had been suppressed and killed by him borrowing power!

Although it was mainly due to the power of the ancient god corpse, being able to awaken and guide such an existence... was itself a terrifying ability.

Inside the main hall.

Lu Qingxuan sat cross-legged and looked at the mass of pure Darkness Origin and Divine Soul fragments in his palm.

【Successfully defeated 'Darkness God-Spawn Incarnation (Tribulation Transcendence Stage)'】

【Obtained: Darkness Origin (extremely pure) x1 unit (equivalent to ordinary Darkness Origin x10000)】

【Obtained: Tribulation Transcendence Stage Divine Soul fragments (complete) x3】

【Obtained: Abyss Priest Mark x1 (can be used to reverse-track and curse its main body)】

【Special Hint: The ancient god corpse (Chaos? · Semi-awakened state) has a faint 'approval' emotion towards the host, and a preliminary connection can be attempted】

The harvest was huge.

But Lu Qingxuan's attention fell on the last hint.

"ancient god corpse... semi-awakened state..."

He looked at the ground beneath his feet, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of the hall to see the behemoth sleeping in the Chaos Qi.

"So, this is the true secret of the Hall of Rebirth."

"The so-called Reincarnation rift might just be a cover. The real purpose is to use the power of Reincarnation, combined with this ancient hall, to suppress and purify the 'Chaos evil thoughts' remaining in this ancient god corpse..."

"And the Purple Firmament Reincarnation Body is the key to the purification Formation."

"The Void Abyss is probably not just trying to destroy Reincarnation... their target is very likely this corpse itself."

His thoughts gradually became clear.

Lu Qingxuan closed his eyes, and his Divine Thought followed the connection between the 【Chaos Reincarnation Killing Formation】 and the ancient hall, cautiously probing towards the ground.

He wanted to make contact with... the "neighbor" who had just done him a huge favor.

And at the same time.

Inside the Legacy space.

Su Linger, sitting on the lotus Dao platform, suddenly shook.

The Purple Firmament Reincarnation mark on her forehead shone brightly, and fragments of scenes appeared before her eyes:

A grey giant standing between heaven and earth, fighting against some unspeakable dark existence in the endless Chaos... In the end, the giant fell, its corpse fell into a great world, its remaining Chaos evil thoughts polluted the earth, forming a dead zone... Several ancient mighty ones joined forces, using supreme Divine Abilities to forge the Hall of Rebirth, borrowing the power of Reincarnation to purify the evil thoughts... One of the purple-robed women used her own Dao body as the foundation, becoming the core of the Formation, forever suppressed here...

The scene finally froze at the moment the purple-robed woman looked back.

That face... was seven parts similar to the phantom of the Purple Firmament Sovereign Lord!

Su Linger opened her eyes abruptly and looked at the Purple Firmament Sovereign Lord opposite her.

"Senior... you are..."

"Indeed." The phantom of the Purple Firmament Sovereign Lord nodded slightly, her expression carrying a trace of exhaustion and relief, "My main body was the Purple Firmament Dao Lord who suppressed this with her body back then. This wisp of lingering thought has been waiting here... for one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred years."

"Now that you have obtained the Legacy, the core authority of this purification Formation... is handed over to you."

She raised her hand, and a purple-gold Dao seal floated slowly towards Su Linger.

"Remember, although most of the Chaos evil thoughts in the ancient god corpse have been purified, there is still a wisp of 'Chaos God-Resentment' remaining at the core. That is formed by the unwillingness and resentment of the ancient god when he fell, and cannot be erased by ordinary means."

"You need to use the 'Rebirth' power of the reincarnation sapling, combined with the Purple Firmament Reincarnation Body, to send that wisp of God-Resentment... into Reincarnation before the corpse fully wakes up."

"Otherwise, once the corpse fully wakes up and is dominated by the God-Resentment... this Eastern Domain will face a... Chaos catastrophe."

Su Linger took the Dao seal and nodded heavily:

"Linger... will definitely live up to the trust!"

The phantom of the Purple Firmament Sovereign Lord smiled with relief, then began to dissipate slowly.

"Child... take care."

"This world... is entrusted to you..."

The voice drifted away.

Su Linger gripped the Dao seal tightly, feeling the surging power of the Purple Firmament Reincarnation within her, as well as... a certain connection faintly established with the ancient god corpse beneath her feet.

She looked up, her gaze seemingly piercing through space, seeing the figure in black robes in the main hall.

"Brother Qingxuan... wait for me."

"This time... I will truly stand by your side."