376: Chapter 376 Even a lion needs to use its brain to hunt a rabbit.

The wild winds howled as the shadow of death instantly and completely enveloped the three of them.

That giant black hand, condensed from pure Laws of Death, smashed down like a heavenly punishment. The air was extremely compressed, letting out a series of ear-piercing sonic booms.

"Go!"

Xu Chen did not choose to resist head-on.

He held the trembling Tuoba You tightly in his arms, grabbed Ji Qingyun's jade-like hand with his other, and pushed the power of the Law of Space within his body to the limit in an instant.

Just as the giant black hand made contact with the purple-gold shield, erupting in an earth-shattering roar—

The figures of Xu Chen's trio, like reflections in water, vanished into thin air amidst a violent distortion of space.

"Rumble—"

More than half of the ancient palace ruins were completely turned to powder under this strike.

The violent shockwave swept out in all directions, snapping the ancient stone pillars that had stood for tens of thousands of years in half.

"Roar?"

The Great Emperor's remnant soul in the sky let out a roar tinged with a hint of confusion.

Its eyes, like blood-colored abysses, swept over the area below, only to see a patch of empty ruins. The cooked duck had actually flown away right under its nose!

The remnant Soul flew into a total rage.

It opened its terrifying, featureless maw, and an invisible Soul sonic wave mixed with overwhelming Death Qi spread frantically in all directions like a tsunami, attempting to shake out those few escaping "bugs."

Meanwhile, in a dried-up basin hundreds of miles away from the ancient palace ruins.

The Void Realm rippled violently.

Xu Chen emerged from a spatial rift, stumbling out with the two women.

As soon as he landed, Xu Chen let out a muffled groan, and a trace of purple-gold blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Although that teleportation just now had successfully evaded the remnant Soul's fatal blow, forcibly tearing through space under the pressure of a half-step Quasi-Emperor meant that even a Physical Body at the Peak of the Great Saint Realm would inevitably suffer some backlash from spatial turbulence.

"Husband!"

Seeing this, Ji Qingyun's cold face was filled with anxiety.

Disregarding everything, she circulated the Longevity Origin that had just stabilized in her body, channeling streams of pure creative vitality into Xu Chen's body.

"I'm fine, it's just a superficial injury."

Xu Chen raised his hand to wipe the blood from his mouth and gave Ji Qingyun a reassuring smile.

There was not a hint of dejection in those deep eyes; instead, they flickered with a light as calm and burning as a hunter's.

He looked down at Tuoba You, who was still clinging tightly to him like a frightened kitten, and gently patted her back.

"Youyou, we're safe now."

Tuoba You then cautiously opened her eyes. She looked at the relatively calm surroundings and felt that the terrifying pressure behind them had become very distant. Only then did she breathe a long sigh of relief, and her originally pale little face regained some color.

She stepped back from Xu Chen's embrace, and seeing the blood on the corner of his mouth, her eyes filled with heartache and self-blame.

"Big Brother, it's all Youyou's fault. Youyou is so useless, I couldn't even help fight the bad guy, and I even caused Big Brother to get hurt..."

The little girl twisted her fingers, her eyes reddening again. Her innate monstrous strength, which she was so proud of, failed to give her even a shred of courage to resist when facing her greatest childhood nightmare, leaving her in extreme frustration.

Seeing the girl's aggrieved look, Xu Chen rubbed her head affectionately.

"Silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about? It's already incredible that you didn't collapse under that level of pressure. Fighting is a man's job; you just stay obediently behind Big Brother."

Xu Chen's words were not hypocritical comfort, but the most direct and overbearing protection.

Ji Qingyun stood to the side, watching as Xu Chen remained composed and gentle toward them even while facing such a powerful enemy. In her long, autumn-water eyes, brilliant light flickered, and the love in her heart surged like a frantic tide.

This man, no matter what desperate situation he faced, possessed a straight spine and a calm mind that radiated a fatal attraction.

"Husband, what should we do next?" Ji Qingyun asked softly. "The Aura of that remnant Soul is still expanding; this basin will likely be covered by Death Qi soon."

Hearing this, Xu Chen turned to look toward the ancient palace ruins.

In the vision of his Heavenly Dao Divine Pupils, the Death Qi of the entire core zone of the forbidden area was converging toward that remnant Soul at a frantic speed. With the continuous infusion of Death Qi, the remnant Soul's size had grown to an appalling extent, almost threatening to burst the entire sky.

"No rush."

A cold arc curved at the corner of Xu Chen's mouth. His fingertips lightly brushed through the void, tracing out mysterious Formation runes that radiated purple-gold light.

"Although that old fellow's Aura is staggering right now, it is, after all, just a remnant Soul. Without a Physical Body to house it, the more Death Qi it absorbs, the more chaotic the energy in its body becomes. Once it leaves the Formation's support in that extreme Yin land of the ancient palace, its power will be greatly discounted."

As Xu Chen spoke, he took out a large amount of array Materials from his natal space.

top-grade divine source, star meteor iron engraved with ancient Dao patterns, and even several broken Magic Treasures radiating Saint Dao pressure. These were all spoils of war he had obtained from "stocking up" in the outside world earlier, and they happened to be of great use now.

"This basin was once a node of a Great Emperor's remnant array. Beneath the ley lines lies a hidden, extremely pure subterranean fire Yang Qi. It couldn't be more suitable for setting up a Formation."

Xu Chen's hands moved like fluttering butterflies, rapidly forming seals in the void.

Pieces of top-grade divine source and star meteor iron were accurately struck into specific positions around the basin using the Law of Space. Those smooth, flowing movements, combined with his focused and confident expression, left Ji Qingyun mesmerized.

She had originally thought her husband was only a peerless Sword Cultivator with unparalleled combat power, but she hadn't expected his attainments in the path of Formations to be so unfathomable as well.

In the short time it took for an incense stick to burn—

A massive Formation covering a ten-mile radius began to take shape in Xu Chen's hands.

As the final piece of divine source serving as the Formation core was struck into the ground, the entire basin shook violently. A surge of crimson subterranean fire Yang Qi burst from the earth, intertwining with the Formation runes in mid-air to form a giant flaming net.

"This [Nine Dragon Heaven-Burning Formation], while not comparable to a complete Great Emperor's killing array, has miraculous effects against those incorporeal Yin-evil entities."

Xu Chen clapped the dust off his hands, looking at his masterpiece with satisfaction.

"When that old fellow chases us here, the fire Yang Qi in this Formation will be enough to forcibly strip away the chaotic Death Qi in its body. When that time comes, it will be time for us to close the net and slaughter the fish!"

Xu Chen's textbook-level tactical deployment was not at all reckless; instead, it exuded a sense of calm and cunning, as if everything was calculated.

He never fought an unprepared battle. Since he intended to slay a god, he had to factor in the right time, the right place, and the right people.

Tuoba You looked at the giant flaming net radiating terrifyingly high temperatures, her little face full of worshipful stars.

"Big Brother is so amazing! If that bad guy dares to come over, he'll definitely be burned to ash!"

The little girl waved her small fist. Her previous fear had mostly dissipated under Xu Chen's strategic arrangements.

Xu Chen smiled and pinched her little face.

"When the fight starts later, you and Qingyun stay outside the Formation. Don't get too close, so you don't get hurt by the shockwaves. Understood?"

The two women nodded obediently.

Just then, the distant sky suddenly churned violently.

That sky-blotting black remnant Soul had followed the lingering Aura of Xu Chen and the others, crushing countless spatial barriers along the way, frantically hunting them to the edge of the basin!

"Ants... hand over... life..."

The remnant Soul let out a broken, rasping roar, like the sound of a broken bellows. That massive pressure, like a black tsunami, instantly slammed into the [Nine Dragon Heaven-Burning Formation] Xu Chen had laid down.

The great array emitted a violent hum, and the crimson flaming net swayed frantically under the impact of the Death Qi, looking as if it might be extinguished at any moment.

Xu Chen stood at the core of the Formation.

There was not a hint of panic on his incomparably handsome face.

He slowly drew the pitch-black demonic sword from his waist, the tip of the blade pointing straight at the terrifying remnant Soul above the heavens.

"Old thing, your era passed long ago. Today, This Young Master will send you to your final rest!"