87: Chapter 87 Suppressing the Coffin, Executing the Son, Shocking Change

"Waiting for me for a long time?" Lin Wan's expression was calm. His gaze swept over the bronze ancient coffin exuding an evil aura, then looked at Alliance Leader You Ming Zi, and those controlled Cultivators acting as sacrifices, the chill in his eyes deepening. "It seems you knew long ago that I, this Apostle, would come. So, the matter of Burning Flame Valley, and your 'ritual' here, really did have someone behind the scenes tipping you off, or perhaps... it was part of the plan all along?"

"Jie jie jie..." Alliance Leader You Ming Zi emitted a harsh, strange laugh, his ghostly green eyes flickering with madness and trickery. "Lin Wan, you are indeed smart. Correct, the Fire Origin Fragment of Burning Flame Valley, and this 'Nether Corpse Coffin' of my Nether Palace, are both part of the 'Saint Lord's' grand plan for resurrection. It's just unexpected that the Fire Origin Fragment was actually refined by you... but it doesn't matter. As long as the 'Saint Lord' successfully resurrects, you, and these Five Regions, will all become blood food and nourishment for the 'Saint Lord's' return to the mortal world!"

"Saint Lord?" Lin Wan raised an eyebrow. "Does that refer to the thing inside this coffin? Or is it some existence imagined by you evil heretics?"

"Presumptuous! How dare you show disrespect to the 'Saint Lord'!" Alliance Leader You Ming Zi shouted sharply, his ghostly Qi erupting violently around him. His Nascent Soul Great Perfection cultivation was released without reservation, faintly triggering a resonance throughout the entire Nether Palace, making the Yin evil and Death Qi within the hall even more intense. The kneeling sacrificial Cultivators groaned in pain one after another, the speed at which their life essence was being drained increasing.

"The 'Saint Lord' is the Supreme of the ancient Nether, an Supreme existence governing death and Reincarnation! Because Heavenly Dao is unfair, it was sealed here by the joint efforts of the Five Elements Dao Venerable and the false gods of the heavens! Now, the 'Heavenly Rift' is about to open, and 'the end' is approaching; it is time for the 'Saint Lord' to break free, regain control of life and death, and establish the Supreme Nether Divine Kingdom! I have received the 'Saint Lord's' Legacy, acting as a Nether Apostle, and today, I will use the flesh and Soul of you, this 'Inspector Apostle', as the first grand gift for the 'Saint Lord's' resurrection!"

Before the words had even faded, Alliance Leader You Ming Zi had already made his move!

"Ten Thousand Nether Ghosts, heed my command—Hundred Ghosts Night Parade, devour Souls and seize spirits!"

His hands abruptly formed Seals, and he spat out a mouthful of pure, pitch-black ghost blood, which merged into the void. In an instant, inside the entire Nether Palace, Yin winds howled, and ghost cries shook the heavens! Countless solid, hideous ghost phantoms exuding monstrous resentment emerged from the walls, stone pillars, and even the void of the great hall, dense and numerous, numbering more than thousands! These fierce ghosts had an aura at their weakest comparable to Golden Core, with many at the Nascent Soul level, and they faintly formed some kind of ghost path grand formation, emitting ear-piercing shrieks as they turned into a pitch-black ghost tide, sweeping towards Lin Wan and Yue Lingfeng, covering the sky and earth! Wherever it passed, space froze, and Divine Souls trembled, as if trying to drag living beings into eternal pain and fear.

"What a powerful ghost path Divine Ability! This Alliance Leader You Ming Zi is truly not simple!" Yue Lingfeng's face turned pale. Facing this seemingly endless ghost tide, even he felt immense pressure. But his Sword Heart was firm, and with a low roar, his Sword Qi soared into the sky, turning into a brilliant sword screen that firmly protected him, while he swung his sword to slaughter the approaching fierce ghosts. However, there were too many ghost creatures, impossible to kill completely, and their attacks targeted his Divine Soul directly, making him feel extremely strained.

Lin Wan, however, remained expressionless. Facing this terrifying ghost tide, he didn't even draw his sword; he simply raised his hand again, opened his five fingers, and gently pressed down towards the surging pitch-black ghost tide.

"Five Elements Returning to Ruins, all techniques are empty, evil spirits—Nirvana."

The calm voice sounded like a true mantra of the Dao. "Om—!!!"

Centered on Lin Wan, an indescribable Chaos Dao rhythm, as if capable of "smoothing out" all energy and returning all things to "nothingness," rippled out like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly spreading and sweeping across the entire Nether Palace!

Wherever the Dao rhythm passed, that seemingly boundless, monstrously ferocious ghost tide, like ice and snow meeting sunlight, rapidly melted, faded, and disintegrated! Whether they were Golden Core fierce ghosts or Nascent Soul ghost generals, they had no power to resist before it. They couldn't even manage a scream before turning into wisps of blue smoke, swallowed and assimilated by the Chaos Dao rhythm, becoming nutrients to nourish the Dao Fruit.

In just a single breath, the "Hundred Ghosts Night Parade" that even Yue Lingfeng found troublesome vanished into thin air, as if it had never appeared.

"What?!" The madness and complacency in Alliance Leader You Ming Zi's eyes instantly froze, replaced by unbelievable horror. This "Hundred Ghosts Night Parade" of his was one of his ultimate Divine Abilities. Using his own essence blood as a guide to communicate with the Yin Soul resentment accumulated in the Nether Palace for ten thousand years, its power was enough to threaten an Early Stage Soul Transformation Cultivator! It was actually... so casually, with one press, just... gone?!

"Is that all you've got?" Lin Wan withdrew his hand, looking at Alliance Leader You Ming Zi with a calm gaze, as if watching a monkey jumping up and down. "If your reliance is only this Nether Palace and this coffin, then today, you and your so-called 'Saint Lord' shall together return to dust and dirt."

"Bastard! How dare you underestimate me! Underestimate the Saint Lord!" Alliance Leader You Ming Zi was enraged by shame and became completely frenzied. He turned abruptly, knelt down towards the opened bronze ancient coffin, and chanted even more rapid, strange incantations while frantically beating his own chest with both hands, spitting out mouthfuls of essence blood that merged into the ancient coffin.

"With my blood, I call your name! With the Souls of ten thousand spirits, I sacrifice to your body! Sleeping Nether Supreme, ruler of death, please heed the call of your most loyal Apostle and awaken! Let death and darkness once again shroud this hypocritical world!"

Following Alliance Leader You Ming Zi's blood sacrifice and chanting, the bronze ancient coffin suddenly began to vibrate violently! The dark red and pitch-black mist pouring from the coffin instantly became ten times denser! An even more ancient, terrifying, and pure evil aura, which seemed capable of freezing the vitality of all things and returning all existence to the Origin of "death," erupted from within the coffin, instantly filling the entire Nether Palace!

"Ka cha... ka cha cha..." The lid of the ancient coffin, amidst the violent vibrations, slowly opened a bit more! A pale, withered palm, covered with strange black patterns and nails as sharp as hooks, slowly extended from inside the coffin and rested on the edge!

Immediately following was the other palm. Then, a figure shrouded in thick Death Qi, whose face could not be seen, only two points of blood-red light full of endless tyranny, greed, and desire for destruction visible, slowly... sat up from inside the coffin!

"The Saint Lord... has awakened! Hahaha! Hahaha!" Alliance Leader You Ming Zi appeared frenzied, prostrating himself completely before the figure that had sat up, trembling all over with excitement.

"Roar—!!!" The figure that had sat up abruptly threw its head back and let out a roar that was silent, yet struck directly into the depths of the Soul, filled with the will of destruction and death! The entire Nether Palace, along with the grey space it was located in, vibrated violently in response! The kneeling sacrificial Cultivators, amidst this roar, instantly lost all vitality, turning into dried corpses, their remaining Souls and life essence, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, being swallowed entirely by the figure as it opened its mouth to inhale!

"Not good!" Yue Lingfeng's face turned deathly pale. Under this terrifying pressure of death, he felt his Sword Intent trembling, and his vitality seemed to be draining rapidly. The thing in this coffin had definitely reached the Soul Transformation level, and it was extremely evil and powerful!

"Ancient Nether Supreme? Ruler of death?" Lin Wan looked at the figure that had sat up from the coffin, exuding a terrifying aura of death, but his brows furrowed slightly. He felt that while the figure's aura was powerful and evil, it seemed... somewhat "hollow"? Moreover, the aura of "death" on its body seemed different from the true "death" that originates from "the end" and "terminates" everything; it was more like some kind of extreme plunder and hatred of "life," twisted and magnified.

"Regardless of what kind of sacred being you are, since you use living beings for blood sacrifice, commit such Heaven-Defying acts, and use 'the end' as a name to wreak havoc on the world, then... I cannot let you remain!"

A cold light flashed in Lin Wan's eyes. No longer hesitating, he gripped his right hand in the air, and the chaos dao sword appeared in his palm out of thin air. On the sword body, chaotic brilliance flowed. The Supreme Sword Intent, which cuts through Karma, shatters illusions, and has an innate restraint against evil and filthy forces, rose once again, faintly forming a stance to rival the death aura exuded by the "Nether Supreme"!

"Five Elements Returning to Ruins, Sword Slashes the Nether—Suppress!"

Lin Wan shouted lowly, stepped out with his sword, and his figure had already appeared before the bronze ancient coffin. The chaos dao sword in his hand burst forth with unprecedented, brilliant light, and he slashed down directly at the "Nether Supreme" figure that had just sat up and seemed still a bit "bewildered"!

This sword strike not only contained the majestic power of the Chaos Return-to-Ruins Dao Fruit, but also contained a preliminary mastery of the Law of "the end," a certain restraint against the Origin of "death," and the Supreme sharpness of the chaos dao sword itself! Wherever the sword light passed, space was torn apart, leaving behind Chaos sword marks that could not heal for a long time. The thick black Death Qi, as if meeting its nemesis, retreated and dissolved one after another!

"Roar—!" The "Nether Supreme" seemed to also feel the threat, letting out an angry roar. Its two pale, withered palms were raised abruptly, ten fingers like hooks, wrapped in Death Law so thick it could not be dissolved, and it fiercely grabbed towards the descending chaos dao sword light! It attempted to use pure death power to erode, decay, and disintegrate this sword light.

"Chi—!!!" The sword light and the death ghost claws collided fiercely! There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a more essential, intense annihilation and counter-clash at the level of Laws! Within the chaos dao sword light, the contained "end" Dao rhythm and the "death" Law of the death ghost claws clashed intensely, eroding and wearing each other down. The sharpness of the sword light and the solidity of the ghost claws were also frantically battling.

"Ka cha!" A slight, crisp sound. On the ghost claws that seemed indestructible and wrapped in Death Law, a deep crack was actually cut by the chaos dao sword light! Wisps of pitch-black liquid, full of a decaying, withered aura, seeped out from the crack.

"Roar—!" The "Nether Supreme" let out a painful hiss, the tyrannical color in its scarlet eyes deepening. It abruptly opened its mouth, spitting out an even denser, greyish-colored, death breath that seemed capable of decaying all things, and it descended directly upon Lin Wan, who was close at hand!

"Mere parlor tricks." Lin Wan's expression remained unchanged. He raised his left hand, splayed his five fingers, and the Chaos Return-to-Ruins Dao Fruit shone brightly. A more vast, chaotic Qi stream that seemed capable of containing, refining, and terminating all things surged from his palm, turning into a Chaos-colored light shield, blocking in front of him.

"Zi zi zi..."

The ashen breath of death slammed against the Chaos light shield, emitting a sound like strong acid corroding metal.

However, the light shield remained unmoved; instead, it rapidly decomposed, assimilated, and absorbed that breath of death, turning it into nutrients to strengthen itself.

Meanwhile, Lin Wan's right hand continued its relentless sword momentum, the light of the chaos dao sword intensifying as it thrust fiercely into the crack of the ghost claw!

"Puchi!"

The tip of the sword pierced the very center of the Nether Supreme's withered chest!

"Aooo—!!!"

A more shrill, more frenzied roar erupted!

The black Death Qi around the Nether Supreme surged wildly, attempting to force out and corrode the chaos dao sword.

But how could the chaos dao sword be ordinary?

On the blade, Chaos brilliance flowed, and the Dao rhyme of Five Elements Returning to Ruins erupted, acting like a miniature Chaos vortex that frenziedly devoured and refined the Origin of death and evil power within the Nether Supreme!

Furthermore, a Supreme Sword Intent capable of severing Karma and shattering illusions flowed down the blade, invading its core and destroying the "Foundation" of its existence!

"No! Holy Master!!"

Below, Alliance Leader You Ming Zi let out a despairing shriek; he had not expected that the "Holy Master," whom he had painstakingly awakened through the blood sacrifice of countless living beings, would be so vulnerable before Lin Wan?!

How could this be possible?!

"There is no Holy Master; it is merely an ancient corpse that has been eroded by 'the end,' undergone bizarre mutations, and luckily retained a sliver of instinct."

Lin Wan's cold voice rang out, revealing the truth.

With the perception of his Chaos Return-to-Ruins Dao Fruit, he had already clearly seen that the core of this so-called "Nether Supreme" had long been eroded and corrupted by some even more bizarre and chaotic "the end" power.

It only retained an extreme hatred for "life" and a predatory instinct, along with some death Law strengthened by Alliance Leader You Ming Zi using ghost cultivation secret arts.

In essence, it was similar to the fire source fragment in Burning Flame Valley, only with different attributes.

Due to the special environment of the Nether Palace and the Foundation of the ancient corpse, it simply appeared more powerful and bizarre.

"It is over."

Lin Wan's eyes sharpened, and the Chaos Infant Essence and the power of his Dao Fruit within his body were poured into the chaos dao sword without reservation!

"Five Elements Returning to Ruins—Annihilation!"

"Boom—!!!"

The chaos dao sword erupted with a terrifying power capable of destroying heaven and earth!

On the blade, the Chaos brilliance instantly retracted, transforming into an ultimate "Annihilation" Sword Intent that seemed capable of ending all existence and returning all things to nothingness; it erupted from within the "Nether Supreme"!

"No—!!!"

The "Nether Supreme" let out a final roar filled with unwillingness, resentment, and a trace of... relief.

Its withered body, along with the eroded and corrupted core within, crumbled and disintegrated inch by inch under this "Annihilation" Sword Intent like a weathered sand sculpture, turning into countless grey-black light spots.

They were then completely devoured and refined by the chaos dao sword, becoming another serving of "nutrients" for Lin Wan's Dao Fruit and cultivation.

Left in place was only an empty, cracked, and spiritless ancient bronze coffin, and... a trace of extremely subtle, yet purer and colder, grey-black aura that seemed to represent a higher level of "death" or "the end" Origin.

It floated slowly, seemingly wanting to escape, but was firmly locked by Lin Wan's Chaos Dao rhyme.

"Is this... the remaining, most fundamental 'death' Law fragment after stripping away the Impurities of the corpse?

No, it seems to also contain a trace of... a more bizarre 'the end' Dao mark, similar to the source of 'the end'..."

Lin Wan's eyes flashed; without hesitation, the Chaos Return-to-Ruins Dao Fruit once again activated its devouring power, sucking this trace of grey-black aura into his body to begin refining and absorbing it.

This would be of great benefit to perfecting the "the end" aspect of his "Returning to Ruins."

As the "Nether Supreme" was completely refined and the grey-black aura absorbed, the entire Nether Palace seemed to lose its support and began to shake violently.

The dense Yin-sha Death Qi within the palace also began to dissipate rapidly.

The Hell scenes carved on the stone pillars and walls quickly dimmed.

"No... no... my Holy Master... my power..."

Alliance Leader You Ming Zi collapsed to the ground, his face ashen, his eyes filled with despair and madness.

His greatest reliance, his lifelong pursuit, was just... gone?

Lin Wan retracted the chaos dao sword, his gaze falling upon Alliance Leader You Ming Zi, cold and ruthless.

"Colluding with evil demons, blood sacrificing living beings, plotting misconduct—your crimes deserve death."

He pressed his fingers together into the shape of a sword and pointed lightly at Alliance Leader You Ming Zi.

A Chaos sword beam instantly pierced his brow, annihilating his Nascent Soul, Divine Soul, and the ghost Dao Origin within his body.

The leader of the Xuanyin Alliance, Alliance Leader You Ming Zi, had fallen.

After finishing all this, Lin Wan looked at the cracked ancient bronze coffin and the crumbling Nether Palace.

"This ancient coffin seems to be a decent Ghost Dao Supreme treasure.

Although it is damaged, its Materials and the partial Nether Law contained within are still useful.

I will take it."

Lin Wan flicked his sleeve, putting away the ancient bronze coffin.

"This place is not suitable for a long stay.

Yue Lingfeng, let's go."

"Yes!"

Yue Lingfeng hurriedly replied; the way he looked at Lin Wan was now like looking up at a god.

In such a short time, suppressing the ghost tide, slaying the "Nether Supreme," and killing Alliance Leader You Ming Zi—the strength of this Inspector was simply unfathomable!

The two quickly exited the collapsing Nether Palace and arrived in the dim space outside.

They saw that the space was also becoming unstable; cracks appeared in the sky, and the earth was collapsing.

They did not stay any longer and quickly returned along the original path.

When the two rushed out of the entrance of the Ten Thousand Ghost Cave, a rumbling sound came from behind.

The entire mountain where the Ten Thousand Ghost Cave was located began to shake violently and collapse.

The dense Yin-sha Death Qi, as if having lost its source, began to dissipate rapidly.

Elder Zhou, Liaokong, and the others had already dealt with the remnants of the Xuanyin Alliance outside and rescued the Cultivators who had not been blood sacrificed; they were nervously guarding the outside.

Seeing Lin Wan and Yue Lingfeng come out safe and sound, and witnessing the great changes in the Ten Thousand Ghost Cave as the Yin Qi dissipated, they were all overjoyed.

"Inspector! Are you alright?

Inside..."

Elder Zhou hurriedly stepped forward.

"Alliance Leader You Ming Zi has been executed, and the evil creature he awakened has been purified by this Inspector.

The hidden danger of the Ten Thousand Ghost Cave has been removed."

Lin Wan said calmly.

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and their gazes toward Lin Wan became even more reverent.

"The Inspector's Divine Might!"

"Amitabha, excellent, excellent."

Lin Wan waved his hand, about to give instructions for the next step.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed sharply, and he turned his head abruptly to look at the eastern horizon!

Almost simultaneously, all Cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and above present also sensed something and looked up.

They saw that in the eastern horizon, the originally clear sky had, at this moment, without any warning, split open into a huge spatial rift that was a hundred miles long, pitch-black as ink, with constantly twisting edges, and emitting a heart-palpitating aura of destruction that seemed capable of devouring all light!

Within the rift, dark red, blood-like viscous lightning flickered, and there were bursts of eerie roars and whispers filled with chaotic, insane, and destructive will, faintly drifting over, causing one's Divine Soul to tremble!

"That is... the direction of Liangjie Mountain?!"

Elder Zhou exclaimed.

"A Heavenly Rift... branch?! No, this aura... is more... terrifying than an ordinary Heavenly Rift branch!"

Mo Wen's face turned pale; the probe Magical Artifact in his hand had its needle spinning crazily, and finally, with a "crack," it shattered directly!

"Such intense spatial fluctuations!

And... the aura of some even more bizarre, malicious existence..."

Liaokong pressed his palms together, and Buddha light lit up involuntarily, attempting to resist the invisible pressure permeating from the rift.

Yue Lingfeng, Hua Qingxuan, and the others also felt a fear and chill originating from the depths of their Souls.

Lin Wan stared fixedly at that huge, pitch-black spatial rift that seemed to connect to some indescribable place of terror.

The Chaos brilliance in his eyes flowed frantically, and his brow's Dao Fruit transmitted an unprecedentedly strong palpitation and... a trace of indescribable... excitement and longing that even he himself had not noticed?

He could clearly feel that what was being emitted from that rift was not just chaotic spatial power and destructive Void Realm lightning, but also a more essential, more proximal "the end" Origin, filled with "the end," "nothingness," "Chaos," and "insanity"—a Supreme evil power!

Its level far exceeded the fire source fragment of Burning Flame Valley, and far exceeded the "Nether Supreme" of the Nether Palace!

Moreover, with the appearance of the rift, he vaguely felt that the newly refined Chaos Return-to-Ruins Dao Fruit within his body seemed to have generated a extremely faint, yet impossible-to-ignore... resonance and connection with some existence within the rift regarding the control of "the end" Law?

"This is..."

A terrifying thought arose in Lin Wan's mind.

Could it be that this is not an ordinary "Heavenly Rift" branch, nor a simple spatial anomaly...

But... a more "direct"... "entryway" for "the end" to erode this world?

Or rather, is it a harbinger of some more terrifying existence hidden behind "the end" that is about to... descend?!

"Inspector... what should we do now..."

Elder Zhou's voice, carrying a trace of trembling, pulled Lin Wan's thoughts back.

Lin Wan took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent waves in his heart, his gaze becoming cold, sharp, and firm once again.

"The plan has changed."

"Immediately transmit a message to the Alliance headquarters, as well as all branch Alliances in the Southern Region, Western Desert, Eastern Wilderness, and Northern Plains: highest alert!

Report that a super-large-scale, terrifying spatial rift suspected to be directly connected to the source of 'the end' has appeared at Liangjie Mountain!"

"Elder Zhou, you, Great Master Liaokong, Elder Hua, and Mo Wen, quickly take the personnel here and evacuate, return to the nearest safe stronghold, and organize forces to evacuate the surrounding living beings, establish a defense line, and strictly prevent ghosts and demons from pouring out of the rift!"

"Yue Lingfeng, follow me, immediately head to Liangjie Mountain!"

"This rift must be dealt with as soon as possible!

Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

As his voice fell, Lin Wan had already transformed into a streak of Chaos light, shooting rapidly toward the hideous black rift in the east!

Yue Lingfeng did not hesitate and followed closely on his sword.

Leaving only Elder Zhou and the others behind, looking at the terrifying rift in the sky that resembled an eye of doomsday, and Lin Wan's resolute back as he departed, their hearts were heavy, filled with fear of the unknown, and... endless worry and anticipation for that Inspector who had set off alone to the most dangerous place.

The storm, it seemed... had just begun.