277: Chapter 277 The Killing Arrives

The scarlet vortex suddenly expanded a hundredfold, its diameter reaching a full thousand zhang. Within the vortex, blood-red colors churned and black Qi swirled, resembling a greedy behemoth that had been dormant for eternity, finally opening its bloodthirsty maw to devour everything—

It radiated a terrifying suction force that induced despair.

This time, the suction force no longer acted merely upon space and the Physical Body; it directly locked onto Chu Zhanxiao's very "existence"—his Bloodline Origin, his Dao Foundation, his Divine Soul, and even his innate life imprint were all firmly locked by this irresistible suction force—

It intended to completely strip him bare and devour him, transforming him into nutrients for Saint Son Yao Wuyue!

The silvery-gold True Dragon phantom behind Chu Zhanxiao, which had been on the verge of collapsing, could no longer hold on. It let out a mournful cry filled with unwillingness, sorrow, and despair. In this cry, there was the humiliation of the Ancestral Dragon Bloodline, attachment to its host, and even more, fury toward the evil spirits, yet it was ultimately powerless to reverse the situation.

Before the mighty power of the Formation jointly driven by five Mahayana Stage Cultivators, it was like a candle in the wind, swaying violently. Its Dragon scales shattered inch by inch, turning into a sky full of golden light particles. Its Dragon horns snapped upon impact, its Dragon body crumbled with a boom, and finally, with a "pfft" sound, it completely dissipated—

Turning into golden light dust drifting across the sky, vanishing into the Void Realm without a trace.

"Argh—!!!"

An unprecedented, excruciating pain swept through every inch of Chu Zhanxiao's flesh, every wisp of his Divine Soul, and every cell like a tsunami!

This was not the ordinary pain of the Physical Body, nor the agony of severed Meridians, but the deprivation and tearing from the very Origin of life—it was the despair of being extracted inch by inch from the crevices of his bones, the heart-piercing agony of having his Bloodline forcibly stripped away, and the endless torture of having his Divine Soul ground to pieces—

It was the ultimate pain where even the Soul was about to be torn apart and annihilated!

He clearly felt that the "Dao Bone" within his spine—the innate bone that carried all the mysteries of the Ancestral Dragon Bloodline and supported his True Dragon Dao Body—was being forcibly "sucked" out of his body inch by inch by a brute force that was extreme and unreasonable!

The sensation was like someone using a dull knife to slowly saw through his bones. Every inch of stripping was accompanied by the pain of his Divine Soul being torn apart—

Making him wish he were dead.

The silvery-gold Dragon blood power and the purple-black demonic Formation power clashed madly and pulled violently within him. His Meridians were repeatedly torn and crushed by the two forces, emitting a teeth-grinding "creak, creak" sound—

As if even the Void Realm was about to be torn apart and collapse under these two extreme forces!

The skin on Chu Zhanxiao's back split inch by inch. Golden Dragon blood gushed out like a spring, carrying the majesty and warmth of the Ancestral Dragon, yet it was instantly devoured by the scarlet vortex, not even a trace able to spill—

Not even a single drop of blood could remain on his body.

A golden bone segment, crystal clear throughout, densely covered with natural Dragon patterns and exuding a noble and domineering Dragon prestige, was slowly detaching from his body, inch by inch, rising toward the scarlet vortex under the pull of the scarlet beam of light—

For every inch it rose, Chu Zhanxiao's aura weakened by a fraction, and his life dimmed by a fraction.

At the same time, the pale silvery-gold Dragon blood surging in his blood vessels seemed to receive the strongest summons. It began to flow backward crazily, boiling and burning, turning into fine silvery-gold streams that rushed to break through the blood vessels, detaching from his body and throwing themselves into the scarlet vortex that devoured everything—

Becoming nutrients for Saint Son Yao Wuyue to plunder.

With every drop of Dragon blood lost, his power receded rapidly like a tide; with every inch of Dao Bone stripped away, his vitality became like a candle in the wind, dimming day by day; that innate Ancestral Dragon prestige, which made all Yao Race creatures prostrate and tremble, and made Heaven and Earth revere him, was also dissipating rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye—

Replacing it was a weakness and despair that seeped into his very marrow.

"Mas... ter..."

Chu Zhanxiao's eyes were splitting, his eyeballs bloodshot. Hot, bloody tears rolled down the corners of his eyes, dripping onto the cold Formation patterns, only to be instantly devoured by the black Qi.

His Soul was roaring hysterically, his voice shattered and broken, filled with endless unwillingness and guilt:

"Disciple... Disciple is afraid that this time... I will truly fail your expectations!!!"

"Father... Mother... everyone, I, Chu Zhanxiao, am incompetent... I am afraid I cannot avenge you..."

He could clearly feel that the essence of his life was being barbarically stripped away, his Dao Foundation was collapsing, and his Divine Soul was dissipating—

Even his consciousness was beginning to blur.

This was a void more terrifying than death, the despair of losing the Foundation of one's own existence, an eternal silence where not even Reincarnation could be entered—

It was an ending where even turning into fly ash had become a luxury.

He wanted to resist, wanted to struggle, wanted to clench his fists, even if he had to exhaust his last ounce of strength to deal a fatal blow to these evil spirits. But his body was as if nailed to the spot; he couldn't move even a single finger, and could only watch helplessly as his Bloodline was plundered, his Dao Bone stripped away, and his life devoured—

He could only endure this catastrophic disaster amidst endless pain and despair.

Deep in his Sea of Consciousness, the emerald-gold leaf shadow condensed by Chu Changsheng was currently swaying violently with an extremely frantic posture.

Every inch of the leaf veins was taut like a drawn sword. The emerald-gold spiritual light was like a dying firefly, flickering unsteadily in the Chaos of the Sea of Consciousness, exhausting its last wisp of spiritual power to desperately prop up a crumbling barrier—

Protecting that wisp of residual Soul that was on the verge of collapsing.

But the scarlet Formation set up by the five Mahayana Elders had long since turned into an airtight net of heaven and earth.

Rolling blood-red light condensed into tangible chains, layering over each other like ten thousand jun of mountains crushing down, carrying the baleful Qi that corroded bones and devoured Souls, trapping the leaf shadow firmly within a square inch.

Every time the leaf shadow struggled, dense cracks would be constricted into it by the blood chains, and the green light would dim by a fraction; meanwhile, the Dao Bone and Bloodline within Chu Zhanxiao's body would be extracted by another fraction by the scarlet vortex.

This was the heart-gouging pain of the Divine Soul being forcibly stripped away—

It was the despair that made even the bone marrow wail.

On the demon's withered, ghost-like face, two clusters of ghost fire danced scorchingly in his eye sockets, reflecting his twisted, extreme grin. His voice was hoarse like a broken gong, yet carried bone-chilling pleasure:

"Do you see it? Kid! Before absolute power, any struggle is futile! This leaf, along with that so-called expert hiding behind it, will eventually become the stepping stone for the rise of my Myriad Demon Palace!"

"Once this old man refines your Dao Bone and Bloodline, even if that old thing arrives in person—"

"He will only be able to drink hatred and die here!"

Saint Son Yao Wuyue's gaze had long been glued to that wisp of Dao Bone being slowly extracted.

The Dao Bone circulated with a warm, jade-like golden light, suffused with the intoxicating aura of the Ancestral Dragon Origin, almost making his breath stagnate.

Wild joy swept through his limbs and bones like a monstrous tide. He had even begun to fantasize—after fusing with this Dao Bone and Bloodline, how he would crush his peers, how he would wield power in the Myriad Demon Palace, and how he would lead the Yao Race iron cavalry to flatten the four seas and eight wildernesses—

Dominating the entire Yao Domain!

At that time, the name of Saint Son Yao Wuyue would surely resound through eternity!

Chu Zhanxiao's consciousness had long fallen into boundless Chaos. His vision was completely devoured by the vortex intertwined with scarlet and golden light. After the extreme agony, there was a coldness and powerlessness that seeped into his marrow.

The shrill roars when his clansmen died miserably, the clanking oaths sworn during the inheritance of his sect, the immense pride when battling on the battlefield... Scene after scene flashed rapidly in his Sea of Consciousness, only to shatter just as quickly—

Like a candle in the wind, it could be extinguished at any moment.

Could it be... that it is really going to end here?

In such a humiliating way, becoming someone else's food in a cauldron, an object in a bag?

Unwilling!

Resentment!

Fury!

But all these surging emotions, amidst the weak flickering of the Divine Soul fire, dissipated bit by bit, returning to dead silence.

Just at the moment when the last wisp of Dao Bone was about to leave his body, and the Divine Soul fire was about to be completely extinguished—

"Hum—!"

A sword hum suddenly resounded throughout Heaven and Earth!

At first, this sound was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, as if coming from the other end of eternal time and space, but in the next instant, it suddenly soared, turning into a majestic sound capable of tearing the universe apart!

This was the roar of a sword, the bellow of the Dao, like an ancient Dragon God that had been asleep for hundreds of millions of years, finally breaking through the Chaos, opening its turbid eyes, and letting out the first roar after awakening—

Carrying supreme majesty and the magnificent righteousness that cleanses the universe, shaking the entire Heaven and Earth until they trembled!

Rumble—!

Following closely behind was a vibration like the collapse of Heaven and Earth!

This was by no means a tremor caused by the Formation, but a mournful cry originating from the Laws of this Heaven and Earth!