56: Chapter 56 Blood Fiend Core

Inside the metal wreckage, it was far more vast and complex than it appeared from the outside.

The passageways were not singular; they were crisscrossed like a labyrinth, extending in all directions into the depths of the darkness.

Many of the passageways had already collapsed and were blocked, their broken metal components twisted into hideous shapes, covered in thick, dark red moss that seemed alive, emitting a dense scent of blood and decay.

In the air, that heartbeat-like "thump, thump" sound and the whispers of evil wills became clearer and clearer, like maggots on a bone, constantly eroding the minds of the intruders.

"The density of Evil Qi and the weight of the resentment here far exceed that of an ordinary ancient battlefield.

I fear that those who perished here were by no means ordinary Cultivators, and… their deaths were extremely tragic. The resentment has lingered for ages, and having been nourished and mutated by some kind of power, it formed the demon spirits we encountered earlier."

Liao Chen sensed this using his Buddhist Divine Ability, his expression grave. He chanted a Buddha's name, and Buddhist light circulated around his body, attempting to purify the uncomfortable aura surrounding them, but the effect was minimal.

The "Evil" and "wickedness" here seemed to be of a very high level, not something that ordinary Buddhist Dharma could easily resolve.

Han Lingtian held his heavy sword, scanning his surroundings vigilantly, and said in a deep voice: "The traces of battle on the walls and the residual magical power fluctuations… are extremely chaotic and violent.

It does not look like a spar between fellow sect members, but rather like… they encountered some terrifying existence that was impossible to understand or resist, leading to a desperate, frantic counterattack. Moreover, it seems that the Five Elements power was dominant."

Lin Wan walked in the lead, his Chaos Infant Essence forming a thin, yet incredibly tough film of light around his body, isolating all the incoming blood Evil Qi, evil thoughts, and whispers.

The Five Elements Guixu Dao Seed between his brows pulsed with light, not only resisting the negative erosion but also clearly capturing the residual Five Elements aura of this place, as well as the call coming from the depths—a call that was of the same Origin yet twisted.

"Indeed, this place was an important stronghold and military supply depot of the Five Elements Sect. Judging by these traces, it must have experienced an extremely tragic battle back then, and was eventually breached and contaminated."

Lin Wan nodded, his gaze sweeping over a broken wall where a partial, incomplete rune remained. That was the unique Formation rune of the Five Elements Sect used to stimulate "Five Elements Battle Qi," but now it was soaked in filthy blood, having lost all its spirituality and instead emitting an evil aura.

"The Five Elements Sect… how glorious they were in the ancient era, yet they ended up in such a state. What exactly is that 'the end'?" Han Lingtian sighed in a low voice.

"Everything, perhaps, lies ahead." Lin Wan did not stop, following the guidance of his Dao Seed as he moved quickly through the labyrinthine passageways.

His exquisite control over the Five Elements power and the Dao Seed's sensitivity to the same-Origin aura allowed him to always find the most correct path, avoiding some hidden dangerous traps and energy turbulence.

Thus, they traveled for about half an hour through the oppressive, deathly silent, and evil-aura-filled passageways.

Up ahead, the passageway suddenly opened up, revealing a huge, hemispherical space.

This space was over a thousand zhang in diameter and several hundred zhang high; it must have been the core area of this military supply depot. However, the scene that met their eyes now made the three of them tremble, and a chill immediately arose.

In the center of the space, it was not the control hub or warehouse they had expected, but rather… a huge, slowly writhing "giant egg" of flesh and blood, over a hundred zhang in diameter, formed from viscous, dark red "blood Evil Qi" and countless twisted resentful spirits!

The surface of the giant egg was covered with hideous blood vessels and holes that constantly opened and closed, oozing filthy pus. From within came a strong, powerful "thump-thump" sound like a beating heart, which was the source of the sound they had heard outside.

With every pulsation, an evil will—dense and inseparable, mixed with destruction, madness, and hatred—spread out like a shockwave, impacting the entire space and the Divine Souls of the intruders.

Even more shocking was that around the giant egg stood twelve massive metal pillars, several dozen zhang high and dark gold in color!

These giant pillars were clearly core components refined by the Five Elements Sect for some kind of large-scale Formation or ritual, inscribed with complex and profound Five Elements runes.

But now, these runes had been stained and twisted by filthy blood, turning into a strange purple-black color. They were constantly absorbing the blood Evil Qi permeating the space, transforming it into twelve thick, dark red beams of energy, which were continuously injected into the "giant egg" in the center, as if… nourishing and incubating it!

And on the ground outside the twelve giant pillars, there were countless bones that had long since decayed but were still vaguely identifiable, piled up densely!

There were human shapes, beast shapes, and even some strange, unrecognizable skeletons, entangled and stacked together, forming mounds of pale white bone mountains!

Judging from the faint spiritual light remaining on the bones, these deceased had, at the very least, a cultivation of Golden Core during their lifetimes, and many had reached Nascent Soul, or even… higher! But they were all dead; they died here, turning into "nutrients" for this evil giant egg and a part of the surrounding Evil Qi.

The entire space was permeated with a nauseating smell mixed with sweetness, blood, and decay; the aura of evil, despair, and madness was so thick it had almost materialized.

"What… what is this thing?!" Han Lingtian gasped. Even with his mental fortitude, seeing such an evil and eerie scene made his scalp tingle.

"Amitabha… such heavy resentment, such deep evil karma!" Liao Chen's face turned pale, and his Buddhist light fluctuated violently; he was clearly also under great impact. "Inside this giant egg, I fear something unimaginably evil is being gestated! Moreover, it is absorbing the resentment and Evil Qi of the countless fallen here, as well as… the residual Formation power of the Five Elements Sect, to incubate itself! It must not be allowed to be born!"

Lin Wan stared fixedly at the huge flesh "giant egg" and the twelve contaminated Five Elements pillars surrounding it. The Five Elements Guixu Dao Seed between his brows was currently transmitting a violent throb, mixed with anger, sorrow, and a trace of… urgency!

He could feel that inside the giant egg, it was not merely an evil object eroded by the aura of "the end."

Deep within that endless evil and madness, there seemed to be hidden a trace of… an extremely faint, yet incomparably pure, spiritual fluctuation that carried the unique Battle Intent of the Five Elements Sect?

Or rather, was it the last remaining bit of "Self" from the core "Formation Spirit" or "Guardian Will" of this Five Elements Sect military supply depot, before it was contaminated and eroded by "the end" and about to completely fall?

And this remaining "Self" was, through the Dao Seed, sending him a final plea for help, as well as… a resolute will to destroy this place at any cost!

"This giant egg is the 'nest' and 'incubator' for 'the end' to erode this place. It feeds on the resentment and Evil Qi of the fallen Five Elements Sect members, as well as the power of these twelve 'Five Elements Demon-Suppressing Pillars,' attempting to hatch a monster that combines Five Elements Battle Intent with the evil power of 'the end,' a creature even more terrifying."

Lin Wan spoke slowly, his voice cold, "And at the core of this giant egg, there remains… the last bit of true spirit of the Five Elements Sect's Formation Spirit here. It is calling to me for help, and urging me to destroy everything before it completely falls and merges with 'the end.'"

"Formation Spirit's true spirit?" Han Lingtian and Liao Chen were startled.

"Then what are we waiting for? Before it fully hatches, destroy this evil egg!" Han Lingtian gripped his heavy sword, murderous intent chilling in his eyes.

"It's not that simple." Lin Wan shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the twelve contaminated "Five Elements Demon-Suppressing Pillars" that were continuously providing energy to the giant egg. "These twelve Demon-Suppressing Pillars were originally the Formation cores used by the Five Elements Sect to suppress and refine demons. Now, they have been inversely contaminated and controlled, instead becoming the energy source for incubating the evil egg.

If we don't first cut off their connection to the giant egg, or destroy their source of contamination, even if we attack the giant egg, it will be quickly repaired by the energy provided by these twelve pillars, and it might even trigger a backlash from the Formation. Moreover…"

He paused, looking at the piles of bones: "Look, the positions of those bones are not chaotic; they faintly form a kind of evil sacrificial Formation. This entire space is itself a huge hotbed used to incubate the offspring of 'the end.' Attacking rashly might trigger the defense mechanism of the entire hotbed, or… accelerate the incubation process."

"Then what should we do?" Liao Chen asked.

"We need to combine internal and external actions." Lin Wan mused, "Fellow Daoist Liao Chen, you are skilled in Buddhist purification. Could you attempt to shroud the outer bone area with Buddhist light, suppressing and purifying the resentment and Evil Qi dissipating from them, to delay or even cut off their energy supply to the giant egg? I don't ask for complete purification, just interference and weakening will suffice."

"Amitabha, this humble monk is willing to try his best!" Liao Chen nodded solemnly, sat cross-legged, stuck his Zen staff in front of him, pressed his palms together, and chanted the "Great Sun Tathagata World-Purifying Mantra."

The Buddhist light around his body suddenly flared, turning into a pale golden Domain of Buddhist light that covered nearly half the space, slowly spreading toward the piles of bones.

Wherever the Buddhist light passed, the black aura of resentment dissipating from the bones made a sizzling sound, like melting ice and snow, and was constantly purified and dispersed.

Although it could not completely eradicate the resentment and Evil Qi that had accumulated for eons, it did indeed have a clear suppressing and weakening effect. The pulsation of the giant egg seemed to be slightly affected as well, becoming a fraction slower.

"Senior Brother Han," Lin Wan looked at Han Lingtian again, "Please act as my Protector, and keep an eye on the abnormal movements of these twelve Demon-Suppressing Pillars. If the pillars erupt abnormally when I cut the connection between the giant egg and them, or if other evil things lurking in this space are alerted, I will need you to fend them off."

"Rest assured! Leave it to me!" Han Lingtian held his heavy sword horizontally, standing by Lin Wan's side. His aura was as heavy and solid as a mountain, and his Divine Sense spread out, vigilantly watching every inch of the surrounding space.

Lin Wan took a deep breath, no longer hesitating. He moved his body and flew slowly toward the huge flesh "giant egg."

The closer he got, the more intense the evil, mad, and nauseating aura became, impacting his protective spiritual light and mind.

The giant egg seemed to sense the threat as well; from the holes on its surface, it suddenly sprayed out more viscous, foul-smelling pus, and countless blood-colored tentacles formed from resentful spirits and Evil Qi, like mad pythons emerging from a cave, lashed out and coiled toward Lin Wan with shrill shrieks!

"Five Elements Returning to Ruins, all Laws cannot invade—Defend!"

Lin Wan's mind stirred, and his Chaos Infant Essence surged out frantically, forming a slowly rotating sphere of Chaos-colored light several zhang in diameter around him.

Upon the sphere, five-colored radiance flowed, nebulae were born and destroyed, and the intent of Five Elements Returning to Ruins permeated the air.

Those lashing blood-colored tentacles, upon touching the light sphere, were like striking a red-hot iron, emitting a sizzling sound.

They were rapidly decomposed, assimilated, and annihilated by the power of Five Elements Returning to Ruins contained within the Chaos radiance, vanishing into nothingness.

Even the pus could not stain it in the slightest.

Without slowing his speed, he withstood the attacks of countless tentacles and flew straight above the giant egg, a mere few zhang away from the pulsating, vein-covered eggshell.

Here, the impact and whispers of the evil will reached their peak.

It was as if countless voices were screaming, cursing, begging, and seducing within his Divine Soul, attempting to stir the negative emotions of fear, greed, and slaughter within his heart to pollute his Dao Heart.

Lin Wan guarded his spiritual platform tightly, and the Five Elements Guixu Dao Seed shone with brilliant silver light, suppressing all evil and delusions.

His gaze was like lightning, piercing through the viscous, writhing eggshell to look into its depths.

In the center of the endless blood-red color and evil, he "saw"—a faint yet tenaciously flickering spiritual light manifesting pure Five Elements five-colored brilliance!

That spiritual light was currently being entangled and eroded by countless black, ominous chains, its brilliance flickering uncertainly, conveying pain, struggle, and... a faint glimmer of hope upon seeing him approach.

That was the final true spirit of the Five Elements Sect's Formation spirit here!

"Hold on, I will take you away, and also... send all of this to nothingness."

Lin Wan whispered to himself, his hands held in a hollow embrace before his chest.

At the center of his brow, the Five Elements Guixu Dao Seed shone with unprecedented brilliance.

A pure, vast, yet chaotic Dao rhyme carrying the intent of creating the world and ending all things erupted from within his body, surging entirely into his hollow-held palms.

"Five Elements Returning to Ruins, Dao Seed as the guide, break the evil—sever the spirit!"

He slammed his palms downward!

Within his palms, the Chaos energy—condensed from his entire cultivation, the power of the Dao Seed, and his supreme comprehension of Five Elements Returning to Ruins—transformed into a Chaos beam of light only as thick as an arm, yet condensed to the extreme, containing the scene of collapsing heavens and nebulae and the extinction of the Five Elements cycle.

It slammed violently onto the core position directly above the giant egg where the spiritual light flickered!

"Sss——!!!"

This time, it was no longer silent annihilation.

The moment the Chaos beam of light made contact with the giant egg, it erupted with a piercing shriek, as if thousands of living beings were wailing in unison!

The giant egg vibrated violently, countless veins on its surface bursting and spewing out even thicker foul blood.

The blood-colored tentacles that were entangling and attacking Lin Wan also retreated frantically, attempting to block the Chaos beam of light.

However, the true intent of "Returning to Ruins" contained within the Chaos beam of light seemed to be the absolute nemesis of all negative, evil, and chaotic energy.

The foul blood and tentacles were forcibly decomposed, purified, and returned to nothingness the moment they touched the beam of light.

The beam of light did not lose any momentum, like a red-hot iron rod piercing into solidified grease, breaking through like bamboo, violently stabbing into the interior of the giant egg, shooting with absolute precision toward that point of Five Elements spiritual light entangled by the black chains!

"Roar——!!!"

A roar filled with pain, rage, and endless malice erupted from the depths of the giant egg!

The entire space trembled violently, and those twelve contaminated Five Elements Demon-Suppressing Pillars shone with massive blood-colored light, frantically injecting energy into the giant egg, attempting to repair the wounds and suppress the invading Chaos beam of light.

"Senior Brother Han!" Lin Wan shouted in a low voice.

"Understood! Profound Heaven—Mountain Breaker!"

Han Lingtian, who had long been prepared, roared, and the heavy sword in his hand erupted with heavy sword radiance capable of splitting mountains and cleaving rocks, transforming into a cyan ribbon of light spanning heaven and earth.

He slashed fiercely at the three of those twelve Demon-Suppressing Pillars that had the most intense energy fluctuations and the closest connection to the giant egg!

He was not trying to destroy the pillars (nor could he easily do so), but rather to interfere with and disrupt the rhythm of their energy transmission!

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The heavy sword struck the foul blood runes on the surface of the pillars, erupting with a deafening roar.

The pillars vibrated violently, the runes on their surfaces flashing chaotically, and the energy beams transmitting toward the giant egg indeed experienced a momentary disorder and attenuation.

It was this momentary disorder!

Lin Wan seized the opportunity, the power of the Chaos beam of light increasing by another thirty percent, instantly piercing through the final layers of obstacles, and violently striking that point of Five Elements spiritual light entangled by the black chains!

"Crack..."

It was as if something had shattered.

It was not the spiritual light, but those black chains entangled upon it!

Under the impact of the Chaos beam of light, those chains containing the erosive power of "the end" broke, disintegrated, and dissipated into black smoke, inch by inch.

The Five Elements spiritual light suddenly brightened!

Although it remained faint, it revealed a sense of liberation, relief, and... a resolute will.

It did not immediately fly toward Lin Wan, but instead trembled violently, erupting with its final and strongest radiance!

This radiance was no longer pure Five Elements five-colored, but took on a tragic, golden-red hue, like that of a martyr.

Within the spiritual light, that faint "Formation spirit true spirit" conveyed a final, clear message:

"Thank you... latecomer... for the liberation... I will use my remnant spirit... to trigger... the 'Five Elements Demon-Suppressing Formation'... final... self-destruction... to purify... everything... be careful... the end... imprint..."

The message ended abruptly.

Immediately after, that point of Five Elements spiritual light, which had erupted with golden-red radiance, exploded with a boom!

It transformed into countless tiny golden-red light spots, like a meteor shower, rushing back against the energy transmission channels of the twelve Demon-Suppressing Pillars, instantly sinking into the core of every pillar, into those contaminated Formation eyes!

"Hum——!!!"

The twelve Five Elements Demon-Suppressing Pillars simultaneously erupted with blinding, chaotic light mixed with golden-red and black!

The pillar bodies vibrated violently, the foul blood runes on their surfaces flashing and twisting frantically, as if two forces were fiercely confronting and clashing within them.

One force was the final, most original power of the Formation, triggered by the Five Elements spiritual light exploding itself, used to suppress and purify demons!

The other force was the evil, twisted, contaminating power left behind by the erosion of "the end," which attempted to control everything!

"Not good! The Formation is about to self-destruct! Retreat quickly!" Lin Wan's expression changed slightly, and he shouted urgently to Han Lingtian and Liao Chen.

The three did not hesitate, their figures retreating violently, rushing frantically toward the passage entrance they had come from!

Just at the moment they were about to rush out of the passage entrance—

"Boom——!!!"

Behind them, the huge hemispherical space exploded with a boom!

Indescribable, terrifying energy, mixed with the pure Five Elements purifying power, towering blood-evil resentment, and the evil erosion of "the end," erupted completely, like a volcano that had been suppressed for eternity!

The blinding light instantly swallowed everything, and the destructive shockwave, like a raging sea, slammed violently against the three's protective spiritual light!

Even with Lin Wan's cultivation, he was knocked by this explosion shockwave, which far exceeded the Nascent Soul level, causing his blood and Qi to churn and his protective spiritual light to fluctuate violently.

Han Lingtian and Liao Chen let out muffled groans, blood spilling from the corners of their mouths, but fortunately, the three had retreated in time, and Lin Wan's Chaos Infant Essence had offset most of the impact on the outermost layer, so they were not severely injured.

They did not look back, flying outward along the path they had come at the fastest speed.

Behind them, the deafening roars of the explosion were continuous, the entire metal wreckage was collapsing and disintegrating violently, terrifying cracks spread like spider webs, and scorching heat waves and destructive energy turbulence chased frantically from behind.

They kept flying until they rushed out of the wreckage entrance and flew dozens of miles further, only then did the explosions and tremors behind them gradually subside.

The three stopped and looked back.

They saw that the originally huge metal wreckage, like an overturned giant bowl, had now completely disappeared, replaced by a huge crater over several miles in diameter, bottomless, with dark red magma and wisps of black gas still flowing at its edges!

Above the crater, dense energy turbulence and smoke still permeated, but the heart-palpitating evil aura and the pollution fluctuation of "the end" had greatly weakened, as if they had been forcibly purified and annihilated by that self-destructive explosion.

Only a trace of an extremely obscure, cold, yet seemingly "marking" strange feeling remained in the air, slowly dissipating.

Was that the "End Imprint" that the Formation spirit true spirit warned about at the last moment?

Was it some kind of mark or sensing left behind by the power of "the end" here?

With the destruction of this place, this imprint seemed to be dissipating as well, but it was unknown if it had already been sensed by some higher-level existences?

Lin Wan frowned slightly and silently noted this feeling.

"Amitabha... the evil of this place has finally been mostly purified. It is just a pity for that Senior Formation spirit of the Five Elements Sect..." Liao Chen looked at the huge crater with a compassionate expression.

"It chose to perish together with the evil, upholding the final dignity of the Five Elements Sect, and also cleared a 'the end' nest for us. Its will is worthy of respect." Han Lingtian said in a deep voice, his eyes filled with respect.

Lin Wan was silent for a moment, and bowed from afar toward the direction of the crater.

This bow was both a sign of respect for that Formation spirit true spirit and a consolation to the countless ancestors of the Five Elements Sect who had fallen here.

"This matter here is finished, but our goal has not yet been reached." Lin Wan stood up straight and looked toward the deeper parts of the Heavenly Ruins.

There, the sensing of the five elements token and the Dao Seed remained clear, pointing toward a more distant, more dangerous area—where the lost "War Barrier" was located.

"Junior Brother Lin, what next?" Han Lingtian asked.

"Continue deeper. The true 'War Barrier' is still ahead." Lin Wan said, "However, after this incident, we need to be more careful. The tentacles of 'the end' seem to extend deeper than we imagined. I fear this is not the only nest here."

"I shall accompany you." Liao Chen pressed his palms together.

"Let's go!"

The three adjusted their breathing slightly to recover some of their consumption, and then stopped lingering.

They transformed into three streaks of escaping light and continued to advance firmly toward the depths of the Heavenly Ruins, toward the area shrouded in even denser fog and chaotic Law.

Long after they left, in an inconspicuous shadow on the edge of the huge crater, the space slightly distorted, and a phantom figure shrouded in faint gray mist, with an unclear form and only two cold, flickering ghostly lights, slowly emerged.

The phantom "looked" at the crater, then "gazed" in the direction where Lin Wan and the others had left, its ghostly lights flickering slightly, as if it were recording, calculating, and... reporting.

A moment later, the phantom dissipated silently, as if it had never appeared.

Only the eternal fog and dead silence of the Heavenly Ruins shrouded this land that had just experienced a purification and destruction.