171: Chapter 171 Digging Your Own Grave

The thought had barely formed before his body failed to make any effective response.

He could only watch helplessly as that lethal golden light expanded infinitely in his field of vision—in an instant, it was upon him!

"Pff..."

A faint sound, barely audible.

There was no expected piercing pain, no blood splashing, no sound of shattering bones.

The moment the broken golden sword touched his back, it transformed into a warm halo of flowing gold—soft as water, warm as the sun, silently seeping into his skin.

Like a water droplet merging into a sponge.

Like starlight merging into the night sky.

It wound down his Meridians, passing through flesh and blood, crossing bones, and finally settled into his Dantian Qi Sea, hovering steadily beside his Golden Core.

"What?!" Xuanyuan Zhanxian's mind shook violently, and he hurriedly turned his focus inward.

He saw the broken sword floating quietly, emitting a faint yet stubborn golden light, subtly merging with his own spiritual energy, as if they were of the same origin, a perfect Fusion—as if it had always belonged here, as if it had been waiting for this moment for a million years.

At the same time.

A clearer, heavier, and colder sense of Karma connection, like an invisible shackle from the Eternal Graveyard, slammed onto his Divine Soul!

He could no longer break free.

He could no longer strip it away.

Behind him, the briefly chaotic group of skeletons instantly calmed down.

The soul fire in their eye sockets suddenly flared—burning with a killing intent that was crazier, more concentrated, and more unforgettable than before, firmly "locking" onto Xuanyuan Zhanxian!

The broken sword entering his body did not eliminate the mark; instead, it completely fused that unique "Slaying Immortal" aura with him, making him like a blazing sun in the dark night—dazzling, impossible to hide, attracting the monstrous hatred of all the dead remains!

"Persistent as a ghost!" Xuanyuan Zhanxian's face turned livid, his heart filled with shock and rage.

This broken sword was definitely not acknowledging him as its master; it was clearly a forced parasitism!

Trying to strip it away now was nothing but wishful thinking, a fool's dream.

The path ahead was uncertain, there were pursuers behind, and an ancient hidden danger had been planted within him that could erupt at any time—it was like a hidden mine submerged in deep water, ready to explode at any moment, blowing him and his future to pieces.

Without a moment's hesitation.

He gritted his teeth until his jaw trembled.

He frantically activated the Kunpeng Treasure Technique again.

His spiritual energy burned like flames, his Meridians tightened like strings, and his figure turned into a blurry gray line, speeding desperately toward the deeper, darker, and more unknowable unknown of the Eternal Graveyard.

And deep within his Dantian Qi Sea, the broken golden sword that had just settled suddenly trembled, almost imperceptibly.

This vibration was extremely subtle, so light as to be almost non-existent—yet it carried a strange rhythm that spanned the ages.

It was as if it were responding.

Responding to the call from the deepest part of the graveyard.

In the distance.

A relatively intact group of ancient tombstones stood silently under the dim light, casting twisted shadows across the ground, like countless withered claws reaching out from underground, hideous and eerie.

Second Prince Wu Yuanchen stood with his hands behind his back behind the tallest broken stele, his black robes unmoved by the cold wind—these robes were too heavy, so heavy that even the wind could not stir them, so heavy that it was as if he were wrapped in a layer of invisible iron.

Behind him, hundreds of Great Wu Cultivators stood in solemn rows.

The aura of Golden Core Late Stage and even Peak Cultivators merged into one, like an invisible giant net covering the surroundings, turning this area into an inviolable absolute Domain—any living creature that stepped into this place would be shredded by this net.

His long, narrow eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze like a poisoned hawk, firmly locking onto the figure struggling and fleeing in the sea of pale bones.

A cold smile silently curled at the corner of his mouth.

"First Prince Wu Zhanxian, oh First Prince Wu Zhanxian."

A low syllable rolled from his throat, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, carrying long-suppressed pleasure and the cruelty of a cat playing with a mouse.

"Why must I, this Prince, take action myself? You have already dug your own grave, becoming a stray dog in this Eternal Graveyard that everyone wants to beat."

He saw it clearly—the strange golden light that had just erupted around Xuanyuan Zhanxian was clearly a great Opportunity.

But this Opportunity had also become the deadliest curse.

It was like a double-edged sword, slashing at enemies on one side and cutting himself on the other.

It completely ignited the silent dead spirits sleeping in the entire graveyard, turning them into a tidal wave of death that devoured everything.

The overwhelming wave of white bones, even from several miles away, allowed one to feel the terrifying power within that crushed everything—this power was too strong, so strong that even he, an Imperial Dynasty prince accustomed to storms and mass killing, unconsciously clenched his trembling hand inside his sleeve.

In his eyes, Xuanyuan Zhanxian was already prey trapped in the situation.

His vitality was completely cut off.

He could not escape even with wings.

"That is fine, it saves me from dirtying my own hands."

Second Prince Wu Yuanchen's eyes grew more sinister, his gaze sweeping over the fleeing figure, full of condescending mockery, full of indifference as he watched an ant struggle.

"It is a pity about the other Opportunities that might be hidden on you... However, being able to see you chased and bitten like a wild dog, leaving no bones behind, is quite satisfying."

He had no intention of acting.

Whether it was lending a helping hand or kicking someone while they were down—approaching this tidal wave of skeletons at this moment was tantamount to playing with fire and seeking one's own death.

He was happy to hide in the darkness, coldly watching this death drama personally performed by Xuanyuan Zhanxian.

At the same time, Cultivators in other areas of the graveyard were also shocked by this earth-shattering scene.

"Hiss—"

A Prodigy dressed in the attire of the Penglai Dynasty had just destroyed a skeleton in front of him when he was captivated by the white tidal wave blocking out the sky in the distance.

He gasped, his voice full of horror, even his hand holding the sword trembling slightly:

"Did this Xuanyuan Zhanxian dig up the ancestral graves of these dead bones? He actually caused the skeletons of the entire graveyard to riot for him!"

He watched Xuanyuan Zhanxian's figure weaving through the sea of bones like a frightened bird, with white bones following like shadows, covering the sky—the scene was like the arrival of the apocalypse, with heaven and earth inverted.

"No." A companion beside him with a steady aura and a resolute face suddenly spoke.

His eyes were sharp as knives, fixed firmly on the abnormally persistent movement of the skeleton group, his brow knitted into a tight knot.

"Look at them—the target is extremely clear, with deep-seated hatred in their madness. This is definitely not an ordinary provocation."

He paused, his voice low but each word hard as iron:

"He must have triggered some core taboo of this Eternal Graveyard, or obtained some... supreme treasure that made the entire graveyard 'angry'!"

"Supreme treasure?!" The previous Prodigy's pupils shrank, and shock was instantly replaced by burning greed.

His knuckles turned white from gripping his sword tightly, and his breathing became heavy.

"Something that can trigger such heaven and earth anomalies and make dead things go crazy must be a Heaven-Defying fortune! Perhaps it is a core fragment of an ancient divine weapon, or an immortal Dao seed left by an ancient almighty!"

The two words "supreme treasure" were like a huge stone thrown into a quiet lake.

They stirred up monstrous waves in everyone's hearts.

The Cultivators who were originally struggling to support themselves under the siege of skeletons and showing fatigue suddenly had fierce, wolf-like lights bursting from their eyes—this fierce light was intense, greedy, and desperate.

They all looked in the direction where Xuanyuan Zhanxian had fled.

Where was that a dead end?

It was clearly a ladder to the heavens paved with Opportunities!

"Chase after him!" The steady Penglai Dynasty Prodigy made a prompt decision, his voice like clashing metal, unquestionable.

"Although the skeletons are numerous, the target is only him! Take this good Opportunity, perhaps we can fish in troubled waters and get a share!"

"Opportunities must be sought in danger, how can we let him monopolize it?" Another Cultivator immediately agreed, pinching finger seals rapidly, sacrificing a flying shuttle of flowing light, spiritual light flickering.

"Follow! Keep your distance, do not get caught in the tide! When he is exhausted... that will be the time for us to seize the fortune!"

In an instant, the Cultivators who were originally scattered in various places moved at the news.

Some drove their escape lights to fly low across the ground, trying their best to conceal their auras, like shadows sliding along the ground; some sneaked and hid by using broken walls and bones, like hunters in the dark night, silent and soundless; even stronger small teams joined forces to activate Sect Magic Treasures, condensing a brilliant light shield, forcibly tearing a gap in the sea of skeletons, and approaching circuitously.

The focus of the entire Eternal Graveyard.

Completely converged on one person.

Xuanyuan Zhanxian.

He relied on the extreme speed of the Kunpeng to flee for his life in front, with an endless, murderous tidal wave of skeletons behind him.

The "clack" sound of white bones colliding and the "hiss" sound of soul fire burning intertwined, converging into a death-inducing funeral song—pressing step by step, following like shadows, endless and relentless.

And on the flanks and behind the skeleton tide, dozens of figures followed like hyenas that had smelled blood, keeping a distance.

Their eyes flashed with greed and calculation, a cold smile hanging on their lips, just waiting for the moment the prey was exhausted—to swarm up.

To tear and eat.

Second Prince Wu Yuanchen, hidden in the shadows of the stele forest, took it all in.

His complexion suddenly turned as gloomy as iron.

He had not expected that the situation would take such a sudden turn for the worse—the oriole that was originally sitting firmly on the fishing platform now had countless competitors eyeing it covetously out of thin air.

"A bunch of... flies that don't know whether they are living or dead."

He snorted coldly in his heart, but his aura suddenly became dangerous and sharp.

His figure moved, taking everyone behind him to chase rapidly in the direction of Xuanyuan Zhanxian.

He must seize the initiative.

Before everyone else succeeded, he had to lock in that must-kill strike.

Ahead.

Xuanyuan Zhanxian, fleeing for his life, felt pressure surging from all directions like a landslide and tsunami.

He not only had to avoid the unknown dangers ahead—those traps buried deep under the bloody soil, those ancient killing arrays that had been sleeping for ages; he also had to dodge the pursuit behind him that was like a bone-eating maggot—those crazy skeletons, those burning soul fires.

He also had to be vigilant at all times against those malicious auras coming from the flanks.

Each one was like a blade hanging over his neck.

It made his Divine Soul tense, and cold sweat streamed down.

What made him even more palpitating was—inside his Dantian, the silent broken sword actually began to faintly heat up.

This heat was not intense, but it was scorching.

It was like silently mocking the "everyone in the world is an enemy" situation caused by it, and it also seemed to be pulling him in the dark, rushing toward some destined end...

There was a dead end in front, pursuers behind, and enemies on all sides.

His escape path had long surpassed the struggle of life and death, turning into a constantly expanding dangerous vortex—drawing more and more greed and killing intent into it, spinning faster and faster, deeper and deeper.

A blood-colored storm sweeping through the entire graveyard.

Was silently gathering.