356: Chapter 356 The Blood Pool of Ten Thousand Bones! That Glowing Azure Lotus

The Xu Family's massive starry sky fleet advanced slowly through this gloom. As the army pushed deeper into the central Forbidden Zone of Life, the surroundings became increasingly eerie. The air was no longer filled with simple Death Qi, but mixed with a viscous, crimson substance.

This crimson mist seemed alive, clinging to the fleet's outer Ultimate Shields and emitting tooth-grinding corrosive sounds. The consumption rate of Spirit Stones in the Formation's core doubled, leaving the Elders in charge of controlling the Formations drenched in sweat.

Xu Chen stood on the dragon-bone deck at the bow of the flagship, his brow furrowing slightly.

It should have been noon in the outside world, but deep within this forbidden zone, it was as dark as the Nine Serenities of Hell. Only the faint light from the shields barely illuminated a distance of several hundred yards ahead.

In this oppressive atmosphere, the silent System radar panel deep in Xu Chen's mind suddenly erupted with a piercing red light without warning.

The light flashed at a startling frequency, like the rapid beat of a war drum.

To the northeast on the radar map, a blood-red coordinate point was emitting a Soul-stirring halo.

It was less than fifty miles from his current position!

A silent text panel emerged at the edge of Xu Chen's vision.

[Target Locked.]

[Identity: Descendant of the Demon Emperor.]

[True Form: Creation Green Lotus.]

[Comprehensive Score: 97.]

[Current Status: Life Origin damaged, currently under siege by high-level undead.]

Watching these lines of cold data, a sharp glint flashed in the depths of Xu Chen's eyes.

"Fleet, halt!"

Xu Chen raised his right hand and issued the command in a cold voice.

As the massive roar of spiritual power faded, the nine ancient Flood Dragons stopped swimming, and the massive fleet came to a steady halt in this crimson sea of mist.

Commander Xu Zhan of the Broken Army walked quickly behind Xu Chen, his heavy armor clanging.

"Young Lord! Have you discovered something wrong?" Commander Xu Zhan followed Xu Chen's gaze to the northeast, but he could perceive nothing except the churning blood mist.

Xu Chen turned around.

"Fifty miles to the northeast, there is a source of Evil Qi. The Laws there are extremely chaotic, and even space is sealed by blood energy. The fleet is too large; if we force our way through, the Ultimate Shields would likely be torn apart by that Evil Qi."

Commander Xu Zhan's expression changed, and he immediately knelt on one knee to request the mission.

"The Young Lord's precious life must not be risked! This general is willing to lead a thousand Broken Army death-sworn soldiers to form a wedge battle Formation and scout the truth for the Young Lord. Even if we must fill it with our lives, we will surely seize the Opportunity inside for the Young Lord!"

Commander Xu Zhan's loyalty was beyond doubt, but such a suicidal proposal was naturally rejected by Xu Chen.

"There is no need to go to your deaths," Xu Chen waved his hand, his tone relaxed yet carrying an unquestionable authority. "Stay here and maintain the Formation's operation, ready to provide support at any time. This Young Master will go personally."

Commander Xu Zhan grew anxious and hurriedly looked up to dissuade him.

"Young Lord, please reconsider! The things inside can even tear through warship shields. If something goes wrong while you are there alone, this general could never atone for such a crime even with ten thousand deaths!"

"Enough, don't be so fussy. This Young Master is going to pick a beautiful flower, not to my death," Xu Chen joked humorously, reaching out to pat Commander Xu Zhan's heavy shoulder guards. "Guard the warships. Without This Young Master's order, no one is allowed to step outside the shield."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Chen gave Commander Xu Zhan no chance to continue his persuasion.

With a light tap of his foot, his body transformed into a purple-gold stream of light, instantly penetrating the Ultimate Shield and plunging alone into that thick, crimson sea of mist.

The moment he stepped out of the shield's protection, the blood-evil energy from all directions rushed toward Xu Chen like sharks smelling blood.

Xu Chen sneered. The Hongmeng Creation Origin Body within him roared into operation.

A layer of pure purple-gold halo emerged on his body's surface.

The poisonous blood mist, capable of corroding the flesh of powerful Cultivators, melted away without a trace the moment it touched this purple-gold halo, like snow meeting a blazing sun.

Not only could it not harm him in the slightest, but it was instead stripped of traces of pure Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, which fed back into Xu Chen's entire body.

With such a Heaven-Defying Physique protecting him, Xu Chen was like a fish in water in this Forbidden Zone of Life.

He followed the guidance of the radar coordinates in his mind, moving rapidly through the blood mist.

The closer he got to the northeast, the heavier the smell of blood in the air became, and the ground beneath his feet gradually turned an eerie dark red.

After traveling about thirty miles, the surrounding scenery made Xu Chen's gaze turn completely solemn.

Ahead was no longer a flat wasteland, but a series of rolling hills. With the light from the purple-gold halo, Xu Chen saw the true nature of these hills.

They weren't made of earth and rock at all, but were mountains of corpses piled high with countless bleached white bones!

There were skeletons of ancient giant beasts the size of mountains, as well as the remains of powerful Human Race experts emitting an immortal divine luster.

Under the erosion of time and the soaking of Death Qi, these bones had lost their former luster, leaving only a heart-pounding dead silence and desolation.

Stepping on the creaking withered bones, Xu Chen restrained his entire aura and silently crossed the highest bone mountain.

The view ahead suddenly opened up.

On the other side of the bone mountain, there was a massive sinkhole spanning dozens of miles!

Inside the sinkhole, a pool was filled with a crimson, viscous liquid. The liquid churned and bubbled like boiling lava; every time a bubble burst, it released hundreds or thousands of mournful Soul phantoms.

This was the dead land in the middle of the forbidden zone, the Blood Pool of Ten Thousand Bones!

The pungent smell of blood, mixed with malicious curses capable of corroding the Divine Soul, raged through this space. If an ordinary Saint were here, just one breath would likely drive them insane, turning them into a walking corpse that knew only slaughter.

But in Xu Chen's sight, in the center of this blood pool filled with filth and death, there existed an extremely discordant and wondrous sight.

At the very center of the blood pool, there was a protruding dark red reef.

Atop the reef, a crystal-clear Creation Green Lotus bloomed quietly.

It was only about three feet tall, with lotus leaves as green as top-grade emerald. On the lotus platform, which was about to bloom, traces of pure and flawless life Dao rhymes flowed.

In this Blood Pool of Ten Thousand Bones full of death and decay, this azure lotus was like the world's purest pearl, emitting a refreshing fragrance that gladdened the heart.

That fragrance was actually able to briefly repel the surrounding churning blood water, forming an absolute pure land about ten feet wide around the reef.

Standing atop the bone mountain, Xu Chen looked at the azure lotus, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

The radar coordinates in his mind were locked tightly onto the lotus platform of that azure lotus.

This was no ordinary divine medicine; this was clearly a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Embryo nurturing a peerless beauty!

Such a Heaven-Defying life Origin, if seen by those ancient Quasi-Emperor monsters near the end of their lives in the outside world, would likely cause them to exhaust their entire clan's strength to fight for it.

Unfortunately, Xu Chen wasn't the only one eyeing this azure lotus.

The shores around the blood pool were densely packed with thousands upon thousands of undead monsters.

They were of various forms—some with three heads and six arms, some like a pile of mud—but without exception, they all emitted a bloodthirsty light, staring fixedly at the azure lotus in the center of the pool.

The life fragrance emitted by the azure lotus had a fatal attraction for them. As long as they devoured that lotus, they could shed their decaying Death Qi and re-condense a flesh-and-blood body!

Only out of fear of the sacred life barrier surrounding the azure lotus did these low-level undead simply roar anxiously on the shore, not daring to enter the water.

"Roar!"

A roar that shook heaven and earth erupted from the depths of the blood pool.

The boiling blood water was instantly split down the middle by a terrifying force. A massive black shadow, a hundred feet tall, stepped over the churning blood waves and walked out from the bottom of the pool step by step.

It was a humanoid Undead Commander.

It wore tattered ancient bronze armor, and its exposed skin was a shriveled greenish-gray.

In its hand, it held a massive, rusty war halberd. With every step it took, the entire Blood Pool of Ten Thousand Bones trembled violently.

A terrifying pressure that surpassed the Peak of the Saint King and faintly touched the threshold of a Quasi-Emperor weighed down on the entire blood pool like a mountain.

An Early Stage Quasi-Emperor Undead Commander!

Under this pressure, the frenzied low-level undead on the shore all fell to the ground in fear, trembling and not daring to even breathe loudly.

Two clusters of crimson Soul fire leaped in the Undead Commander's hollow eye sockets. It ignored the surrounding low-level undead and walked straight to the reef in the center of the blood pool.

It slowly raised the rusty war halberd. A cluster of concentrated Death Qi, as black as ink, gathered at the tip of the halberd and smashed fiercely toward the life barrier surrounding the azure lotus.

Boom!

A dull, massive sound rang out.

The azure lotus's life barrier shook violently, and its emerald light dimmed slightly. The lotus platform emitted a slight tremor, as if a helpless young girl were shrinking back in pain.

Although this azure lotus had a Heaven-Defying Origin, it was clearly not yet fully mature. Under the violent bombardment of the Early Stage Quasi-Emperor undead, that barrier would not last long.

The Undead Commander let out an excited and cruel roar, raising its war halberd again for the next heavy strike. As long as it shattered this shell, the pure life Origin would be its to take.

Standing atop the bone mountain, Xu Chen saw this scene, and his eyes, which had been somewhat playful, instantly became bone-chillingly cold.

Could he stand by and watch his pre-designated 97-point stunning blind box be defiled by a disgusting skeleton emitting the stench of a corpse?

What a joke!

The flower Xu Chen had set his eyes on—not even a single leaf was for this group of mud from the sewers to touch.

Xu Chen slowly reached his right hand toward the Void Realm.

An ancient and heavy demonic sword was drawn inch by inch from a spatial rift.

The sharp and matchless Supreme Sword Heart beat wildly within his chest. The purple-gold Hongmeng Creation Qi climbed along his arm and clung to the black blade, emitting a crisp sword hum.

Xu Chen's gaze locked onto the Early Stage Quasi-Emperor Undead Commander below, and a cruel sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

"You dare touch This Young Master's Opportunity? Today, this Blood Pool of Ten Thousand Bones shall be the grave where you are completely annihilated!"

Xu Chen kicked off, and the bone mountain beneath his feet instantly collapsed.

He was like a purple-gold lightning bolt, piercing through the dark and oppressive sky, carrying the phantoms of countless gods and demons as he fell straight toward the center of the blood pool.