127: Chapter 127 Corrupted Heart Evil Spirit, Divine Seal

Blood palm covering the sky, fishy wind in the face, the decay Dao rhythm poured down like a tide, wanting to smash Lin Wan and this space together, to corrode, and to turn them into nourishment for decay.

Although that blood person was just a temporary body condensed by some existence using the power of the blood pool and altar, its power might not be one ten-thousandth of the main body, but the pressure it emitted had already surpassed ordinary Void Refining Peak, vaguely touching the threshold of 'King' level. Especially its pure, ancient 'decay' power, its restraint on living beings reached a terrifying level. If hit by this palm, even an ordinary Void Refining Late Stage expert would likely have their life essence cut off instantly, Physical Body decayed, and Divine Soul sunk.

"Hmph, just a remnant will fragment surviving, using evil methods to condense a filthy body, yet you dare to be presumptuous before me?"

Facing this terrifying strike, Lin Wan's eyes showed no fear, instead flashing with a sharp cold light. He wanted to test exactly how strong this part of the 'Lord of Decay''s power was, whether it could match its 'King' level, or even surpass the 'King' level title. At the same time, he also wanted to verify to what extent the 'Primordial Chaos Qi' he had initially mastered could restrain this pure, ancient power of 'the end'.

"Chaos Reincarnation, all Laws cannot invade!"

Lin Wan gave a clear shout, the 'Chaos Samsara Dao Fruit' in his body shone brightly, strands of Chaos airflow fell, weaving and condensing in front of him, turning into an ancient, heavy Chaos giant shield that seemed capable of bearing the heavens and myriad worlds. On the shield surface, Chaos grey light flowed, countless tiny Dao patterns that seemed to contain the birth and death of the Universe appeared and disappeared.

"Boom—!!!"

The huge blood palm slammed fiercely onto the Chaos giant shield, erupting with an earth-shattering loud noise! The violent energy shock instantly plowed deep, bottomless gullies into the ground within hundreds of feet, and those scattered bones and weapon fragments were directly shaken into powder! The altar in the distance also shook violently, the blood pool churned, and the black light cluster flickered on and off.

However, that blood palm, which seemed capable of smashing mountains and decaying all things, fell on the Chaos giant shield, but only made the giant shield shake slightly. The Chaos grey light on the shield surface flowed, absorbing, decomposing, and assimilating all that terrifying power and decay Dao rhythm! The giant shield did not move at all! Lin Wan behind the shield did not even have the corner of his clothes flutter, his expression calm as usual.

"What?!" The huge blood person, in its scarlet eyes, revealed clear astonishment and disbelief for the first time. This palm of its contained part of the 'heart of decay''s Origin power; even a true Void Refining Peak expert would not dare to take it head-on like this. This ant whose aura seemed to be only Soul Transformation Middle Stage could actually block it so lightly?

"It seems that this will fragment of yours is nothing more than this." Lin Wan shook his head, seeming a bit disappointed. He had originally thought he would see more exquisite application of the 'decay' Law, but it turned out to be just brute force.

"Ant! You have angered me!" The blood person seemed completely enraged by Lin Wan's indifferent tone, emitting an even more violent thought roar. The entire blood pool boiled because of it, more viscous blood surged into the sky and merged into its body, making its body become more solid and huge, and its aura surged again!

"Decay Torrent, all things return to Guixu!"

The blood person's palms closed sharply, then opened, spraying a viscous, filthy, pungent, pitch-black torrent containing the ultimate decay Dao rhythm towards Lin Wan! This torrent was no longer simple blood, but the manifestation of the decay Dao Law containing the Origin power of the 'heart of decay'. Wherever it passed, even space was corroded into black holes, emitting "sizzle" sounds that set teeth on edge. Its power was many times stronger than the previous palm!

"This is a bit interesting." In Lin Wan's eyes, a look of seriousness finally flashed. He could feel that this 'decay torrent' already contained a trace of the true Law essence belonging to a 'King' level existence. It was similar to the 'calamity' power of the previous 'King of Calamity', but it seemed purer and closer to the source of 'decay'.

"Primordial Chaos Qi, evolve the heavens. Holy Light of Purification, scour all evils!"

Lin Wan's heart moved, and the 'Primordial Chaos Qi' in his body, which had grown quite a bit, suddenly gushed out, turning into a more solid and profound 'Chaos Seal' above his head. At the same time, the 'Purification Fragment' between his eyebrows shone brightly, and the pure white light of Purification, like the first ray of light when the world was created, merged into the 'Chaos Seal'.

"Chaos Purification Seal — Suppress Evil!"

The Chaos Seal that merged with the power of Purification was no longer pure Chaos grey, but presented a strange state with Chaos as the base, Holy Light as the surface, and containing endless Purification Dao rhythm. The Dao Seal spun and flew out, meeting the terrifying 'decay torrent'.

"Chi chi chi—!"

The two collided, erupting with more violent energy annihilation. The pitch-black decay torrent, like the filthiest ink, frantically impacted and eroded the 'Chaos Purification Seal'. And the 'Chaos Purification Seal', like a bright mirror that could absorb all filth, remained unmoving regardless of how the torrent impacted. The Chaos grey light and Purification Holy Light flowing on it continuously decomposed, purified, and assimilated the impacting decay power.

For a time, the two were deadlocked, forming a distinct dividing line in the Void Realm, one side was pitch-black filthy decay, the other side was chaotic and sacred Purification.

"Roar! Impossible! My 'heart of decay' Origin, containing the great power to end all things, how could it be restrained by the power of an ant like you?!" The blood person let out an unwilling roar, more frantically driving the power of the blood pool, trying to crush the 'Chaos Purification Seal'. It could feel that the small Dao Seal had an almost Origin-level restraint on its 'decay' power! This completely overturned its cognition! In its long memory, except for a few legendary, long-extinct divine objects, no power had ever been able to restrain its 'heart of decay' Origin so directly and so thoroughly!

"There is nothing impossible. Your 'decay' is the end, it is death, it is deformity, it is pollution. And my 'Chaos' is the starting point of all possibilities, and also the destination of all existence. In my eyes, your power is just Chaos residue that has taken the wrong path, a deformed product polluted by the will of 'the end'. Today, I will use the power of Chaos to purify your filthy existence, let you return to Chaos, and end this ancient obsession and resentment!"

Lin Wan's voice, like the sound of the Great Dao, echoed at the bottom of the abyss. He formed Seals with both hands, the 'Chaos Samsara Dao Fruit' in his body operated crazily, and that strand of 'Primordial Chaos Qi' was driven to the extreme by him, perfectly merging with the power of the 'Purification Fragment', and poured into the 'Chaos Purification Seal' without reservation.

"Hum—!"

Gaining Lin Wan's full support, the 'Chaos Purification Seal' suddenly shone brightly, its rotation speed accelerated again, and a more terrifying and purer power of Purification and assimilation erupted! That pitch-black 'decay torrent' could no longer resist, and began to be pushed back by the 'Chaos Purification Seal' at a speed visible to the naked eye, rapidly dissolving, disintegrating, and purifying!

"No!! I am the 'heart of decay', born from the will of 'the end', should decay the heavens and end the myriad worlds! How could I be defeated by your hands!!" The blood person let out a desperate and unwilling roar. Under the light of the 'Chaos Purification Seal', its huge body began to twist and collapse violently, like a wax figure thrown into the hot sun, rapidly melting and dissipating.

Finally, in a silent shriek full of endless resentment and madness, the huge blood person, along with the 'decay torrent' it sprayed, was completely purified and annihilated by the 'Chaos Purification Seal', turning into countless pure energy particles without any will, merging into the surrounding Chaos grey light, becoming some nourishment to nourish the 'Primordial Chaos Qi'.

The blood pool also stopped churning. The viscous blood in the pool lost the support of that evil power and began to solidify, dry up, and turn into black filth rapidly. The pitch-black stone pillars around the altar also cracked and collapsed one after another, and the strange runes on them completely dimmed and disappeared.

Beside the 'corruption heart key', that fist-sized pitch-black crystal seemed to have become weak in its pulsation because it lost the support of the blood pool's power, and the decay aura it emitted also dimmed a lot.

The crisis seemed to be temporarily lifted.

Lin Wan slowly retracted the 'Chaos Purification Seal', his face slightly pale. The full-force activation of the 'Primordial Chaos Qi' and 'Purification Fragment' just now was a significant drain on him. But his eyes were still bright, and he had a clearer understanding of the power of this 'heart of decay' and the might of his own 'Primordial Chaos Qi'.

"A remnant will fragment of this 'heart of decay', using the power of the blood pool and altar to condense a temporary body, already has combat power close to the 'King' level. Its main body is probably at least at the Peak of 'King' level, and may even have touched a higher level. No wonder the 'Temple of Decay' attaches such importance to it and is willing to pay any price to wake it up." Lin Wan thought to himself, "However, the restraint effect of my 'Primordial Chaos Qi' on it is even better than expected. It seems that the power of 'Chaos' can indeed fundamentally restrain and even assimilate these powers polluted and deformed by the will of 'the end'."

He did not delay anymore and walked towards the edge of the altar. First, he waved his hand to take the floating 'corruption heart key' into his hand. It was ice-cold to the touch, and the pure 'decay' Origin aura contained within it made the 'Primordial Chaos Qi' in Lin Wan's body slightly restless. He could feel that this 'corruption heart key' sealed a trace of the most core Origin of the 'heart of decay', which was the key to opening the outer Seal of the place where the 'Lord of Decay' slept, and also the most important link in the 'Temple of Decay''s plan to wake up the 'Lord of Decay'.

"Keeping this thing will surely be a disaster. It is better to... completely purify and destroy it." A cold light flashed in Lin Wan's eyes, and he was about to inject 'Primordial Chaos Qi' into the 'corruption heart key' to completely purify and annihilate it.

However, just at this moment, an accident happened again!

That crystal skeleton that had been lying quietly beside the 'corruption heart key', holding the 'star-moon divine mirror', the ancient bronze mirror in its hand suddenly "hummed", flew up on its own, and hovered above the skeleton. On the mirror surface, the thick dust that had originally covered it was shaken off instantly, revealing the smooth-as-water mirror surface underneath, as well as the ancient patterns of the sun, moon, stars, mountains, and rivers engraved on the back of the mirror.

"Hum—!"

The "star-moon divine mirror" erupted with brilliant starlight. From the mirror's surface, a gentle beam of starlight, containing some profound Seal power, projected forth and instantly enveloped the "corruption heart key" in Lin Wan's hand! At the same time, two faint yet incredibly resolute points of starlight suddenly lit up in the hollow eye sockets of the crystalline skeleton.

A faint consciousness, ancient, weary, yet carrying endless relief and obsession, transmitted from the skeleton, along the beam of starlight, into Lin Wan's Sea of Consciousness:

"Latecomer... thank you... for slaying the evil demons... and stopping the blood sacrifice... This 'corruption heart key' is formed from the core Origin of the 'heart of decay'. It contains extreme power of decay and the end, and is also the key to sealing its main body... It must not be easily destroyed, otherwise... it might cause its main body to sense it prematurely and break through the Seal..."

"I am the last Sect Master of the 'Star-Moon Sect', Daoist Xinghe... Back then, I brought the 'star-moon divine mirror' and fought a decisive battle here against the 'heart of decay'... I was no match for it, so I used the power of the divine mirror and detonated my Dao Fruit to barely strip away its core Origin, transforming it into the 'corruption heart key'. Then, with my remaining body and the divine mirror, I set up the 'Zhou Tian Star Sealing Demon Formation' to suppress it here and delay its awakening..."

"However, this formation has been eroded by the ages, and coupled with the repeated harassment by the evil disciples of the 'Temple of Decay', it is on the verge of collapse... You must use the 'corruption heart key' as a guide to re-stabilize and repair the Seal... or... find a more powerful force to completely carry out Purification..."

"My remnant consciousness is about to dissipate... I have no strength left to maintain the Seal... I only ask that you, as a latecomer, for the sake of our shared Human Race and the protection of all living beings... take this 'corruption heart key' and head to the deepest part of this abyss, to the place where the 'heart of decay' main body is sealed... Use the divine mirror as a foundation, combine it with the 'corruption heart key', and perhaps you can reseal it... or... find a way to resolve it completely..."

"Remember... the 'heart of decay'... is not an ordinary creation of 'the end'... Within it... it seems to contain a trace... of a more ancient, more bizarre... 'Nirvana' Dao Rhyme... and... it is related to the 'samsara mirror'... You must... be careful..."

The intermittent consciousness grew weaker and weaker, until it finally dissipated completely. After conveying its final message, the crystalline skeleton seemed to have completed its last mission. The starlight in its eyes extinguished completely, and the skeleton lost its final luster, turning into a handful of ordinary grayish-white dust that scattered with the wind. Only the "star-moon divine mirror" remained suspended in the air, emitting soft starlight. Light flowed across the mirror's surface, faintly pointing toward a certain direction deeper in the abyss.

Lin Wan listened quietly to the narration of Daoist Xinghe's remnant consciousness, his heart shaken. So, this "corruption heart key" was not merely a key, but was formed from the core Origin of the "heart of decay"; it was a part of the Seal and also the key to reinforcing it. Daoist Xinghe had used his own life and the "star-moon divine mirror" to set up the great formation, suppressing the "heart of decay" here and delaying its awakening. Such sacrifice and sense of duty were admirable.

What concerned Lin Wan even more was what Daoist Xinghe mentioned last: the more ancient and bizarre "Nirvana" Dao Rhyme contained within the "heart of decay" that was related to the "samsara mirror".

"Nirvana" Dao Rhyme? Related to the "samsara mirror"? Could it be that this "heart of decay" is not a pure creation of "the end", but has a deeper connection to the shattering of the "samsara mirror", or to that ancient "War of the End"?

"It seems the secrets of this 'Abyss of Buried Gods' are even more numerous than I imagined. I must go and see the main body of the 'heart of decay'. Perhaps I can find more clues about the 'samsara mirror' and the Origin of 'the end' from it." Lin Wan's eyes became profound. He put away the "corruption heart key" and raised his hand to take the floating "star-moon divine mirror" into his grasp.

The "star-moon divine mirror" felt warm to the touch. It contained pure star power and a tenacious Seal Dao Rhyme. Its quality was extremely high, at least a top-tier Dao Artifact, and possibly even a damaged Immortal Artifact. Its mirror surface seemed capable of reflecting and perceiving certain falsehoods and secrets. Lin Wan could feel that this mirror also had some faint resonance with the "samsara mirror" fragments.

"Senior Daoist Xinghe, rest assured, I accept this task. The 'heart of decay', and the 'Temple of Decay', I will resolve them both." Lin Wan said solemnly toward the direction where Daoist Xinghe's skeleton had dissipated.

He turned around and looked at Blood Bone, who was slumped on the ground with a face full of fear, then looked at the dried-up blood pool that still exuded an ominous aura, as well as the chaotic scene all around.

"Blood Bone, do you know where the place of the Seal for the main body of the 'heart of decay' is, in the deepest part of this abyss?" Lin Wan asked.

"I... I know a little." Blood Bone recovered his senses and hurriedly said, "According to sporadic records in the Temple's ancient books, the main body of the 'heart of decay' was sealed by ancient powerful beings with supreme Divine Ability at the very bottom of the 'Abyss of Buried Gods', in a forbidden land called the 'Eye of Guixu'. That place is the source of the Death Qi, resentment, and decay Qi here, and also the gathering point for all erosion of 'the end'. It is incomparably dangerous. Successive powerhouses of the Temple, including the several Elders who fell here previously, have all attempted to enter the 'Eye of Guixu' to find a way to awaken the main body of the 'heart of decay', but without exception, they all failed, and not one could come out alive. Only... only by holding the 'corruption heart key', at a specific time, and using a specific method, might one be able to open a relatively safe passage to enter its periphery."

"The Eye of Guixu... shares the same name as the 'Guixu Sea'? Is it a coincidence, or..." Lin Wan's heart stirred, thinking of the "Guixu Sea" marked in the "heavens star map" fragments, which was suspected to contain "samsara mirror" fragments.

"Take me to the entrance of the 'Eye of Guixu'." Lin Wan commanded.

"Yes, yes." Blood Bone dared not disobey. He hurriedly stood up, identified the direction, and pointed behind the altar, toward that area which was even more profound, dark, and seemed capable of devouring everything. "Senior, go that way. After going about a hundred miles deeper, you will arrive at the edge of the area where the 'Eye of Guixu' is located. But further in, this Junior does not know. That is a true forbidden land. Divine Sense cannot probe there, and there is an extremely terrifying 'Nirvana' aura that can erode everything permeating the place. Even a Void Refining Cultivator, if they get stained by a trace of it, will quickly have their vitality cut off and their Divine Soul extinguished. It is said that this is the most fundamental 'Nirvana' Dao Rhyme emitted by the main body of the 'heart of decay'."

"Nirvana Dao Rhyme..." Lin Wan's gaze narrowed slightly. It seemed Daoist Xinghe's words were true. He hesitated no longer and said to Blood Bone: "You stay here and guard the altar. Do not run around. If I have not returned within three days, you may leave on your own, but you must not return to the 'Temple of Decay'. Otherwise, the Restriction will trigger, and both your body and Soul will be destroyed."

"This Junior would not dare! This Junior will surely wait here for Senior's triumphant return!" Blood Bone hurriedly bowed and replied, though in his heart, he breathed a sigh of relief. Not having to follow him to that forbidden land to die was naturally a good thing.

Lin Wan said no more. He put away the "star-moon divine mirror", held the "corruption heart key" in his hand, with Chaos gray light flowing around his body, and stepped toward the direction Blood Bone pointed, toward the place filled with endless darkness and "Nirvana" aura, walking slowly.

The further he went, the more deathly silent the environment became. Even the Death Qi and resentment that were everywhere before seemed to have been devoured and assimilated by some even more terrifying power, disappearing without a trace. In the air, only a feeling of pure, suffocating "emptiness" and "nothingness" remained, as if all existence, here, was heading toward a final, complete "Nirvana".

The ground beneath his feet was no longer dark red, but had turned into a pure, pitch black that seemed capable of absorbing all light. The ground was as hard as iron and bitingly cold. All around, there were no skeletons, no broken weapons, not even a speck of dust; it was so clean that it made one's heart crawl. Only that omnipresent "Nirvana" Dao Rhyme, which seemed capable of freezing thoughts and annihilating vitality, surged from all directions like an invisible tide, attempting to erode Lin Wan's protective spiritual light and invade his body.

The Chaos gray light around Lin Wan's body flared, firmly keeping that "Nirvana" Dao Rhyme outside. He could feel that this "Nirvana" Dao Rhyme was of the same Origin as the power of "decay", but it was purer and closer to the essence of "the end"—a will that sought to completely erase all existence and return it to absolute "nothingness". Even his "Primordial Chaos Qi", when facing this pure "Nirvana" Dao Rhyme, felt significant pressure; the speed of Purification and assimilation became much slower.

"Such a pure intent of 'Nirvana'... This 'heart of decay' is likely not just simply eroded by 'the end'. Its core might truly contain a trace of 'Nirvana' Dao fragments related to the 'samsara mirror' and involving the final destination of the Universe..." Lin Wan felt a shudder in his heart and became even more careful.

After advancing for about an hour, the path ahead suddenly opened up. A gigantic, bottomless circular abyss, as if it had been forcibly dug out of the earth, appeared before Lin Wan's eyes. The edge of the abyss was as smooth as a mirror, presenting a perfect circular arc. Inside the abyss was absolute darkness; even Lin Wan's gaze and Divine Sense could not penetrate it in the slightest. An aura of "Nirvana" that was ten or a hundred times denser than before, and made the Soul tremble, surged up from the bottom of the abyss like a physical substance, causing the Chaos gray light around Lin Wan's body to fluctuate violently.

This was the "Eye of Guixu", the deepest part of the "Abyss of Buried Gods", and also the place where the main body of the "heart of decay" was sealed!

At the edge of the abyss, on the side close to Lin Wan, Lin Wan saw a broken phantom of a huge formation diagram composed of countless star runes, covering the abyss. In the center of the formation diagram, there was a tiny crack, and wisps of pitch-black "Nirvana" aura were continuously leaking out from that crack. The light of the formation diagram had dimmed to the extreme, as if it could collapse completely at any moment.

This should be the "Zhou Tian Star Sealing Demon Formation" that Daoist Xinghe set up with the "star-moon divine mirror" as the core. Having endured through the ages and suffered repeated harassment, this formation had reached the point of exhaustion.

And directly below that crack in the formation diagram, in the absolute darkness of the abyss, Lin Wan faintly "felt" that there was a terrifying existence, indescribable in words, unimaginably huge, and exuding endless auras of "Nirvana" and "decay", which was slowly, rhythmically... pulsating.

As if it were a pitch-black heart belonging to "the end".

The "heart of decay"... main body!