225: Chapter 225 Entering the Ancient Battlefield

"Bzzzt—!"

Accompanied by a space-rending sound that stabbed at the eardrums, the streamlined void flying boat shuddered violently, like a small skiff forcibly charging into a raging, turbulent sea vortex.

After a few breaths, the shaking stopped abruptly.

The scene before their eyes instantly transformed.

The originally clear, azure sky of the outside world vanished, replaced by a gloomy, dark crimson canopy.

High in the firmament, a full nine broken crimson moons were arranged in a ring, emitting an eerie and desolate light, casting a layer of ominous filter over the entire world.

The earth appeared a scorched black, as if burned by raging fires, crisscrossed with immense canyons like the earth's hideous, gaping wounds.

The air no longer contained the pure, vital spiritual energy of the outside world. Instead, it was a turbid current mixed with decay, blood, and violent killing intent. Drawing it into the lungs caused a burning, stinging sensation.

The moment they landed, an invisible pressure, heavy as a mountain, descended upon them.

"Mmgh..."

Hua Jieyu grunted, her charming face instantly paling several shades.

Her figure swayed violently, forcing her to reach out and steady herself against a nearby long-dead black iron tree. Her chest heaved dramatically as her breathing became labored:

"So... so heavy a suppression. The gravity here is at least a hundred times that of the outside world, and spiritual energy circulation is incredibly sluggish, like swimming through a quagmire."

She tried to mobilize the spiritual energy within her body, only to find that the holy power she once commanded with ease was now suppressed within her dantian, difficult to summon. Her cultivation level had plummeted from the early Saint realm to the Quasi-Saint realm, and it was still unstable.

This was the rule of the Ancient Battlefield.

The laws of heaven and earth were incomplete; the Great Dao did not exist here. Any living being entering this place would be viewed as an anomaly by this world, subjected to all-around rejection and suppression.

Mo Han, standing nearby, remained silent, but the veins on the back of her hand, clenched tightly around her dagger, bulged, clearly indicating she was also enduring immense pressure.

As a natural-born Shadow Physique, her perception of the environment was the most acute.

Here, light and shadow were distorted. Her proud concealment techniques were greatly diminished. Her body, once capable of perfectly merging with shadows, now seemed somewhat exposed under the illumination of the crimson moons.

"Young Master, you..."

Hua Jieyu looked at Xu Chen with some concern.

She was a spirit cultivator, suppressed this severely. Although the Young Master had achieved sainthood through his physical body, he was ultimately still a cultivator and would likely be affected as well.

However, when she looked up, she froze.

She saw Xu Chen standing on the scorched earth as if nothing was wrong, casually stretching his limbs.

"Crack— Crack—"

With his movements, a series of thunderous bone-cracking sounds emanated from within his body.

Xu Chen took a deep breath.

The violent killing intent that ordinary cultivators would avoid was drawn into his body by him. The Hongmeng Golden Body instantly began operating on its own. Every cell in his body seemed to awaken, letting out a cry of ravenous joy.

For him, who specialized in physical cultivation, the gravitational suppression here was merely equivalent to wearing a weighted vest. It instead gave him a sense of solid grounding.

"Quite interesting indeed."

Xu Chen rotated his neck and casually threw a punch into the void before him.

"Boom—!"

Not using a trace of spiritual energy, pure physical strength instantly compressed and exploded the air.

A visible white shockwave erupted in a fan shape, leveling a black earthen mound a hundred meters ahead, sending dust flying into the sky.

"This is the benefit of achieving sainthood through the physical body."

Xu Chen retracted his fist, looking at the two stunned women. He grinned, revealing a row of white teeth:

"Here, spiritual energy is suppressed, and divine sense is isolated. But only the fist belongs to oneself."

"This environment... suits me just fine."

Hua Jieyu and Mo Han exchanged a glance, seeing profound shock reflected in each other's eyes.

While they felt like they were trudging along with a mountain on their backs, this guy actually thought it was "just fine"?

Was this the difference between a monster and a genius?

"Alright, since we're here, we might as well settle in."

Xu Chen clapped his hands, his gaze sweeping over this desolate land, a peculiar light flickering in his eyes.

[System Notification: Scanning current region...]

[Scan complete.]

[Three thousand meters directly ahead, one hundred meters underground, a complete "Ancient Flame Dragon" skeleton is buried. Bone marrow remains. Quality: Saint-rank Supreme.]

[Five hundred meters to the right rear, deep within the withered forest, a "Nine Nether Soul-Returning Herb" grows. Age: Fifty thousand years.]

[Ten li to the left, there is a dilapidated "Sword Emperor's Tomb," containing three strands of Great Emperor Sword Intent...]

A flood of information instantly poured into Xu Chen's mind, marking this seemingly barren dead land into a treasure map of gold scattered everywhere.

The corner of Xu Chen's mouth lifted slightly.

Those old fogies from the Soul Hall had really chosen a good place for him.

This kind of not-yet-fully-developed Ancient Battlefield was practically his own backyard for someone with a system.

"Let's go. Time to work."

Xu Chen's gaze sharpened, directly locking onto the black swamp directly ahead.

There, buried, was the "local specialty" he had promised to bring for Long Aoxue.

"Young Master, shouldn't we find a place to hide first?"

Hua Jieyu asked nervously, looking at the sinister surroundings. "The Soul Hall people are surely lying in ambush. And with divine sense limited here, it's easy to be ambushed."

"Hide? Why hide?"

Xu Chen strode forward confidently, his voice echoing across the desolate plain, carrying an absolute sense of confidence:

"Here, I am the greatest danger."

The three of them headed west.

After walking for about a quarter of an hour, a vast black swamp appeared ahead. Bubbles constantly rose from the swamp, emitting a pungent sulfur smell. Countless massive beast bones were scattered around.

"We're here."

Xu Chen stopped, his gaze fixed on the center of the swamp.

"What's here?" Hua Jieyu asked, puzzled.

Before Xu Chen could answer, the previously calm swamp suddenly began churning violently.

"ROAR—!"

A savage roar erupted, shaking the surrounding withered trees.

A giant crocodile, over thirty zhang in length and covered in black scales, burst forth from the swamp. It opened its bloody maw, teeth like saw blades, and with a suffocating stench of decay, it lunged to bite down on the three of them!

"A peak Saint-realm Killing Intent Beast!"

Hua Jieyu's face changed dramatically.

These Killing Intent Beasts were native to the Ancient Battlefield. They possessed no intelligence, only a killing instinct. Moreover, having fed on killing intent for years, they were thick-skinned and tough, with defensive power comparable to Emperor weapons.

Coupled with their suppressed cultivation, facing such a monster was almost a death sentence.

"Young Master, be careful!"

Mo Han reacted with extreme speed. Even under the heavy pressure, her assassin's instincts made her react instantly.

Her Emperor weapon dagger left its sheath. Her figure transformed into a blur as she rushed forward to block the attack.

But a figure was faster than her.

"Get back."

Xu Chen remained standing in place, unmoving. He simply raised his right hand, and then—

Swatted.

The golden palm instantly enlarged, like a five-fingered mountain descending from the heavens. Carrying a terrifying, crushing force, it slammed squarely onto the giant crocodile's head.

"SMACK—!!!"

An incredibly crisp explosive sound.

The ferocious crocodile, formidable enough to swallow a Saint whole, didn't even have time to let out a shriek. Its massive head was directly slapped into its chest cavity by that single blow.

Its enormous body shot backward like a cannonball, flying hundreds of meters before crashing heavily into the swamp, stirring up a sky full of mud.

The giant crocodile twitched twice, then fell completely still.

Instant kill.

"This..."

Mo Han, who had only charged halfway, forcibly halted her steps, almost wrenching her waist.

She looked at the now-corpse of the giant crocodile, then at Xu Chen, who was disdainfully taking out a handkerchief to wipe his hand. On her perpetually expressionless ice-cold face, an extremely rare look of stupefaction appeared.

Just... dead?

That was a peak Saint-realm Killing Intent Beast! Its thick hide was something even her Emperor weapon might not pierce, yet the Young Master had slapped it to death with one palm?

"Really, I didn't want to make a move, but you had to throw yourself at my hand."

Xu Chen casually tossed the handkerchief aside, then pointed at the swamp vortex beneath the crocodile's corpse:

"Jieyu, keep watch around us. Mo Han, watch my back."

"I'm going to dig something up."

With that, Xu Chen directly jumped into the swamp.

Protected by the Hongmeng Purple Qi, the corrosive mud couldn't get near him.

His hands hooked like claws, and he began digging fiercely into the iron-hard mud layer. Moments later, he grabbed a massive bone and pulled with sudden force.

"Up!"

"Rumble—"

The earth trembled.

An intensely scorching aura erupted from underground, instantly evaporating the surrounding swamp water.

Immediately after, a hundred-zhang-long, crimson-jade-like massive dragon skeleton was forcibly dragged out from the depths by Xu Chen.

Though the dragon was dead, its dragon might remained. Especially the golden marrow flowing within its spine bones emitted a rich life essence, causing the surrounding killing intent to retreat.

"This is... an Ancient Flame Dragon skeleton?!"

Hua Jieyu exclaimed, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Her surprise wasn't at the item's preciousness, but at Xu Chen's methods.

"Young Master, how did you know this was here? Divine sense clearly can't penetrate the ground here. I couldn't sense a thing."

Mo Han also cast a curious glance.

Xu Chen single-handedly shouldered the massive dragon skeleton, storing it in his system space. He turned back, pointed at his own eyes, and said in a calm tone:

"Those who achieve sainthood through the physical body have senses that reach the divine."

"In your eyes, this is a death zone. But in these eyes of mine, the radiance of some things cannot be blocked by mere soil."

Full marks for this explanation.

It both concealed the system's existence and maintained an air of profound mystery.

Little stars of admiration instantly sparkled in Hua Jieyu's eyes: "The Young Master is truly amazing! So where do we go next?"

Xu Chen's gaze shifted slightly, looking toward the withered forest to the right front.

According to the system prompt, there wasn't just the true flame seed Feng Jiuyou needed there.

More importantly.

There were over a dozen sneaky auras there, using the cover of the dead trees to quietly encircle their position.

"The Soul Hall rats have quite the sharp noses."

The corner of Xu Chen's mouth lifted slightly, a flash of bloodthirsty cold light flickering in the depths of his eyes.